Hey all,

Im a fan of 2D magazines...now the question is, i have always wanted to know how to come up with the kind of work they usually have there...you know, the amazing fantasy figures, the really photorealistic worlds(environments) and overall the great compositions they usually have there. Anyone who can shed some light on that is welcomed.

I'll post a some snapshots of what im talking about....

I think I have an idea of what you mean and I would say that most of this starts as drawn thumbnail sketches then is produced through graphic programs.

Digital art can be extraordinary but as with any type of art, you need to know the fundamental principles of drawing to be able to produce it.

Dear Friend:

I took figure drawing at school last year. It was great. A naked person, both male and female, posing for us, then we draw. Drawing from reference or a model is great. One of my favorite artists, Boris Vallejo, who paints amazing fantasy pictures, he uses real live models posing for him. Those amazing fantasy paintings/characters, he uses real models as reference.
Hope this helps...

rednova
-mobilis in mobile-

Hi shrepX,

I am a concept artist in the game industry and concept art like you see on the mags is what I do everyday. The standard workflow is :

1. First of all and the most important one is that some artist will start by looking for reference images online about the subject that they are about to base their drawings on.

2. They will make rough thumbnail sketches like IslanderNL mentioned in order to get a rough idea about the composition, because it is easier to analyse the drawing on a small scale than a large one and balance it accordingly. (some do the sketches directly on the monitor by using a graphic tablet while others like me, prefer to start on paper...I just love the feel of paper)

3. Then, after we have decided about the composition we start to draw seriously now. We know what we want as we had references and thumbnails to help us nail the idea. (knowing what you want is very important)

4. Scanning of the drawing at 300 DPI most of the time and we send it to a digital painting program like photoshop or painter and we start doing the digital painting (using a graphic tablet like Wacom Intous 3). Some artists still do the painting traditionally and then do some minor retouches on photoshop.

5. Sometimes you have to take a break like one day from the painting in order to start with a fresh look at it again. If you are looking at a drawing too much, you get saturated with it and might not notice if there is anything that is not working with the concept.

6. You enjoy that feeling of creation.

For character drawing, knowing anatomy is very important.
For environment you need to learn perspective and do a lot of outdoor practice.
For others like vehicle designs and creatures there is nothing better that good reference images to inspire you.
Taking pictures of everything that catches your attention wherever you go helps to develop your sense of attention to detail and further develop how you annalyse everything that's around you.

This is a drawing i did using the same technique metioned above.
hope you like it. It was done in 4 days (working at least 3hours per day)

Fabulous drawing Dean, and great information. I'm glad you could lay out the map of concept to final product.

I think many beginners get swept up in the wonder of gaming graphics and believe it all comes right out of someone's head without any references or drawing ability.

Like all forms of art, it takes lots of practice and lots of patience. You have had both by the looks of it.

great work!
Success only comes after lots of practices. The following is one of the exercises I give to my students to draw.
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