Snake Studies (Term 50) (Patreon)

I learned so much about scales and I feel like I only brushed the surface of this study! Goodness!

I've only drawn snakes a handful of times (and I'm about to get tons more practice with this upcoming piece) but I had no idea how much I'd need a refresh until after this lil mini study. I haven't explained my process of a study in a while so bear with me if I'm rusty, but I'd like to share more behind the scenes as it seems some of you would be interested!

Some things I learned about painting snakes and their skin!

Colors!
There are so many colors and varieties, you can get away with really vibrant designs. What helped me capture some of the vibrancy in the highlights was toying around with overlay and color dodge layers. You can further amplify edges of scales and the rounded body of the snake with the same method. Create a new layer, or use different brush modes.

Snakes have very fleshy, muscled bodies!
This makes for very interesting shapes when parts of their bodies overlap, or they hang (like in the image above, to the left) from branches. The shape of the scales also bend and move with their strong lil bodies.

Scales.
There are many variations to scale shape, size and how they rest on the body. Some scales overlap, some scales sit flat and section together like puzzle pieces, and others are raised and spikey! Keeping in mind which shape might help determine what kind of creature you're dealing with, but in a fantasy world I think it's fair to experiment as you like! Even combine them and make a whole new creature.

There's always more to discover and I'll be sure to share more once I dive into our illustration of our horned viper babe! In case you were curious, here's a messy work in progress!

Oh, and since you all requested more studies/behind the scenes stuff - I'll have a timelapse process of this study too! It'll be available in your inbox around March 5th along with the rest of Term 50s goodies.