thumbnail 1

thumbnail 2

thumbnail 3

The above thumbnails were entered for inclusion in Art Order’s recent challenge entitled, “Gotta Have a Hook”.

Jon Schindehette, blogger and art director at Wizards of the Coast, put together a challenge in which the entrants must adhere to a standard production schedule typical of the Dungeons and Dragons Magazine.

20 of the entrants were selected by Jon for comment on their pieces.

While my batch of thumbnails was not selected for personal commentary, I see striking parallels between what some of the other entrants have done with their first takes on the assignment and what I elected to do.

So, I do believe I will be selecting one of the above thumbnails for refinement as I move onto the next stage of the challenge, which calls for a detailed drawing to be executed.

Based on Jon’s thoughts on other people’s work…

I am a bit torn between sketches 1 and 3.

Were I to proceed with sketch 1, I would tilt the creature’s head more towards the camera I think. There would be a ton of debris flying off the creature’s back.

I would also, of course, fine tune the composition.

Sketch number 3 seems to call for a slightly more upward camera angle to add drama. I would also make certain that the creature’s claws do not run parallel to the image’s border.

I think some upwards lighting would also seal the deal for me on that one…

We’ll see!

On an unrelated and entirely less interesting note, I just purchased a dozen 32″x40″ acid/lignin free Crescent Select mat boards at $7.99 a piece at www.aswexpress.com

A pretty good deal! It was half the price of what I was finding in retail stores and in a wide variety of tasteful colors.

I’d never before had to concern myself with matting work for display since all my work to date had been digital, but now I have to present my new originals at conventions and shows. Getting custom matting and framing done at a shop is hideously expensive, so being able to do it here in the studio is a real boon!

I just have to keep my eyes peeled for great deals on frames or be prepared to do that in the studio as well.

Oh, the trials and tribulations of the jobbing artist-type. :)