The Little Tuskarr Illustration (Patreon)

Recently I finished a commission for Folk and Fairytales of Azeroth, a World of Warcraft short story book from Blizzard. Today I'd like to share some of the behind-the-scenes work I did on it with you.   

For this image, I began with a value comp that I turned in to the client: 

I kept this color comp very basic, with only 3 major tones. This helps simplify the composition, helping it read faster and more clearly. It also helps give a better sense of the space in the environment. 

These little comps also help me know what kinds of reference I will need from the IP and from my nature reference for the project. I always prefer to do my thumbnails in a vacuum, relying on imagination, before seeking out reference, which I find can blunt the clarity of my own original idea. 

After getting approval from the client on the comps, I went on to produce the clean drawing:

The traditional drawing above was produced on Strathmore 400 Bristol using Kimberly 2H and 2B pencils.

After receiving the green light on the drawing, I proceeded on to the color. The Process Guide below shows the stages the image went through on the way to the final version. 

For this image I began the color work by laying a color layer over my pencil layer before working on the values. (shown in frame 2) I particularly like doing this when you've got a character or detailed element in the background (like our giant sea serpent).  This helps push them back from the detailed elements in the foreground.  After laying in the color, I add the values. (frames 3 and 4)

Once color and value are fully established, it is simply a matter of blending the passages together so that they appear more natural, and then adding sharp details. While this part feels easier, since there isn't much new line, value or color to explore, it is also the most time-consuming as it requires so a great deal of subtle brush work. The very last effects added were the lighting reflections and the foam, both of which I had been waiting until the very end to work on.  

I hope you enjoy this one! It was a really interesting and complicated one and one of my favorite commissions that I've gotten in a long time.