Snow Bowl
2013
Here's a look at the process I use in creating these monstrosities!
It all starts with the conceptual sketch. Typically I work in blocky colors, focusing only on the mood and feel of the piece. Quite often the final piece won't match up 100% with the sketch (like in this piece). Ultimately, I'm more concerned with finding the mood and tone of the piece. So long as the end result has that same feel, I'm ok with the variations in execution.
After the sketch comes the rough pencils. I used to pencil much tighter than this but I found that if I keep the pencils loose, it gives me more room to explore when I drop the color flats on top of the pencils. This helps give the work a sense of life in every stage - which is very important to me.
You'll also notice at this point I chose to really zoom in on the figures. I love the atmosphere of the pulled back view in the concept sketch, but football is about action and clashing warriors. An up close shot, with the same color treatments carried through, would accomplish exactly what I needed it to.
After the pencils comes the color flats. You can see that I've started adding textures at this point, mostly because I'm too excited not to push into details! From this point its really a matter of filling in the details. And that's a wrap!
