Thursday, January 7, 2010

PAINTINGS - "The Vark Returns!"

Here's a piece I did over the holidays. I was experimenting again with trying to paint a robot conventionally. The image above is "sweetened" digitally in Photoshop...I couldn't make it look like I wanted without some help on the computer. (So sue me, all you "purists" out there!) Seemed like a good situation to put The Vark into...turns out, he's a pretty good Giant Bot Fighter!

This time I used acrylic paints (instead of oils, like I did for my "Hopscotch" painting). Below is the process. I didn't want to spend any time sketching out the idea beforehand, so I just went with what came to mind spontaneously. I would have to say, it might have turned out better with a bit more thought, but this was mostly just a test in technique. I used a sharpy marker on some canvas board, and just started drawing. Then I blocked in the larger areas, trying to stay loose. I just kept building up glazes on top.

This is where I left things in the final painting stage. I took this image into Photoshop and started working it over. I wasn't that excited about the way the painting looked, but I did like the final digital version enough to want to try this approach again sometime.

3 comments:

  1. It's interesting to see these "progressions" and the mix of traditional (analog? lol) and digital techniques.
    The "Vark" reminds me of Batman in this pic. The Dark Vark? ha ha

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  2. I always enjoy seeing the Vark!

    Plus, I'm making a comment because you need to know about this...
    http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/01/marvel-unveils-iron-mans-new-armor/

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  3. Appreciate the comments...the Vark will probably continue to reappear. He's been fun to goof around with.

    Thanks for the link, Kerry! One of the things I've always liked about Iron Man was that his armor changes all the time. Not sure what I think of the new version yet...it'll get redesigned by another artist later anyway.

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