Kings Journal: The final opera stage (Patreon)

In a previous Kings Journal I showed you my concept art for an opera stage
In this journal I will show you the final versions.

The opera will be made for children so the stage is colourful and friendly, with many animals to discover. The story will be based on German folklore about a clever man who enjoys tricks and mischief.

The background literally

There is a forest on the left, fields in the center with a river and a church with a town on the right. The background contains an opera screen. It's a big metal frame with a screen, that can be illuminated. The church windows are big and extra colourful to stress, that it is a church.

The town houses

The houses reflect traditional German architecture. In general half-timbered houses can be found nearly all across Germany in many variations.

The cherry tree and the oak

These trees will be important for the opera's story. To make them more interesting the oak has different sized leaves and a massive trunk while the cherry tree is crooked and filled with honey (a bee hive).

The fountain

The fountain is one of my favourite elements and it contains the most animals.
There is also a separate silver fish, that rides the water (visible on the main overview at the top of the journal). 

The flora

There are several plants. Most are meant as decorative items, but the red currant is important for the story. The berries are much larger than in reality, because people who sit far away from a stage also need to be able to see them.

Fun fact: From all countries in the world Russia produces the most red currants followed by Poland, Ukraine, Germany and the UK.

The palace

On the backside of the houses are big palace windows with fluffy, red curtains. Golden sunlight shines through the glass and one can see a large maze in the palace garden. There are also hedges in the shape of a teddy bear, a popsicle and an ice cream in a waffle.
Can you see them?!

the lion throne

The golden lion throne is without a doubt an eye-catcher. He wears a crown and to the left and right are big blue gems. The lions eyes are glowing emeralds.

The creation progress

If you wonder how all this is made I have some examples for you.

All elements are drawn and sometimes combined with textures and pieces of photographs.

The curtains are completely self made. They consist of different gray colour "sausages" combined with a red fabric texture. The shadows and lights from the gray underground create the illusion of volume. The lion heads are originally door knobs which I cut out of a photo.

At the beginning I created a clear, black shape and added the concept art.
Then I drew a clean final version on separate layers.

Once all drawing work is done the artwork is rendered with a complex filter, that transforms the picture into an oil painting. It is not the regular oil filter you can find in Photoshop (which looks like shit imao by the way).

After the rendering the brush strokes must be cleaned manually, because some are too dynamic and reach into other colour areas. Some parts must also be repaired, because colour was lost during the rendering.

When all work is done the file is ready for printing.
The material will be a special fabric, that is normally used to decorate trucks and big outdoor ads.

In the next step I will order a test print to check the colours in real life.
If everything goes well I can order the real printing and my part in the creation process is finished. The next steps will be continued by a carpenter.

Much to do
Before I accepted this special opera commission I was worried if I can complete my own work (Patreon and commissions) and a separate big project.
I worked on on the opera stage for 4 months and I did extra shifts over the Easter holidays.
At the same time I prepared the Behemoth sketch and to keep things short:
It is a challenge to complete all work, but I am ambitious, because creating an opera stage is nothing that might be offered twice in life. Competition is enormous and getting such a job is an honour.

It was nice to draw something different from my regular routine. Something that looks very different from my usual artworks, but is still my creation.
So I am proud of participating in the opera project and I am also glad, that I can return to my routine, because I love it.  

Thank you for reading.