Almighty Zeus
Friday, April 25, 2008
Labels: Color Studies / Covers / Digital Color / Penciled / Photoshop / Technique![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCFML_rGS5MO3D-Th7PmMpU0arh2ruw5UvbFaIIJRpm8qzSCBdS8J9z0m35hzfGWTvOb1y7wJNA5XH3ImtvAbfGlAxFD8foDQmkQpiwNaRC-sHO3QY1rCipxhPBPFk7bBrkmI9OAngD6B/s400/ILIAD008COVr.jpg)
Here's the cover to The Iliad #8 that I showed on Monday, but the actual painting doesn't look like this. I gave him dark brown hair in the real version, but my editors wanted the top god to look a little older. So I simply printed out the head on matte photo paper and repainted the silver hair on top of that. I scanned it in and stitched it all back together again in Photoshop. Easy!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkNrkNmqZh7bTc37zR3j2jGvQ1BEAguOqDSSeJWlOwmVHcja1SpzrOfEe9xt3-aw_8m3cgxSx7JVI5ichITJP9R1XKuo74WTDoN6uWHaqt6Cx4r_JV_zkmDnmqy-tg3Ewekc_rKDA827s/s400/ILIAD008COV.jpg)
This is the actual painting on 11" x 17" bristol board.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rFqMmKt8fk7IDjIgdUlsmBCXATYs6ZX_c3HDC8nDsUH7WOjUlPjc7-cBsHlv1dBVevScBK2wudvfzBDXKNEK4F99ApW5xrOH0rJ4CBUJ9Wdo11OVzuu2niTGpmVvMo4yqDLigajVUxW_/s400/ILIAD008COV_3p.jpg)
I went through a little phase a couple weeks ago where I started using charcoal again. I needed something looser for my bigger images (like covers) because I don't like my technical pencil mark-making at that large a scale. The phase didn't last, however — it's just not tight enough for what I need. Since then, I've picked up my lead holder once again, which seems to be doing the trick.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKa0bBs1AtxemU-xHbfU0WUw1OeIHjIbNoO3-c4hYfC6wbRbg2k1T5J9zkSfQu1yJBk3DvcwxKSibRT8TgYbYipcf_XGVDhHKVAELSMMFF98T3FJD-ZXoEartJ3ooo7-Ufx7ZGBhyNvTU/s400/ILIAD008COV_2cs.jpg)
This is my typical digital color study. Most of the information is there, just less refined. As usual, I like this stage better.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2jY_hfkqcA9BcH_gmQSXmkDJJbTRcHD9FoUTsYV63o-sUAsSiRiEgBWrlI-ZEPHJATZ-HXLDPELk1cxrl2z5_onj0AvML7_8CyGN0UvLduw0-YZIPEd-FREgEzvCbIBn3zSMXLNRZUMnL/s400/ILIAD008COV_2csgs.jpg)
And I've been doing this for almost every color study now. I start with a grayscale painting where I get almost everything figured out compositionally. Then, I come back with a brush set to "color" mode, allowing me to change the hue and saturation without altering the brightness. I really got a handle on this technique when coloring my black and white Hulk paintings. Now, however, it's just a great way to divide and conquer my image-making problems.
In Mythos: Cap news, I'm on page 15! I'll be painting D-Day all day today.
Wonderful process, you seem to have nailed it. I dig the charcoal drawing - even though it doesn't work as a step in your process, it still makes for a beautiful study.
ReplyDeleteI like seeing the process. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteI like the brown haired Zeus painting better.
ReplyDelete:) He was the youngest of Kronos' children and so shouldn't have grey hair!
Thanks, guys! My editor said he is prematurely gray.
ReplyDelete