Undulation

Starting out, right off the bat, I knew this was gonna be fun, and that I WILL run into problems. I've never really drawn lions before. And to be honest, lions aren't really my favorite animal either. I'm not a fan of the manes

So you can see from the beginning of the sketch here, I was trying to minimize the mane.... It never looked right though, so I finally gave it, and just gave the mane for volume.




And I'm glad a did. I finally reached a state in the sketch, that I was actually pretty pleased. I gave the mane some volume, I adjusted him for composition, and I'm starting to just take mental notes of how I'm gonna color this thing.


(Click for Full View)


I used Artrage2.5, to digitally paint this piece. It's a great program (though 3.0 just came out!). I naturally starteed with traditional mediums, with acrylic paints being my favorite. So I love working with a (cheap) program that simulates real mediums decently well.

But I DID try something different this time. Usually when I work in Artrage2.5, I'll primarily work with one layer, or in minimal layers. I usually have no linework at all, or if I do, I have it on the same layer as my color layer. I also usually start coloring first, then start blending in natural linework if any. That's how I do it in real life with traditional mediums.

BUT, this time, I went back to my digital routine, where I did some inkwork first, then made a layer for my colors. And I think it resulted a lot better, and closer to what I'd do with traditional mediums, so I'm pretty pleased with the results, and I think I found a better way for myself to work in Artrage.

I also added even MORE volume to the mane. Also, as much as I don't really care for manes, I gotta say that PAINTING them, was a LOT of fun, because I got to play around a bit, and I aimed for a blurred line between the main looking like smeared paint, yet being organized and intentional enough to look like the natural mane of the lion.

I usually go into Photoshop for a few touch ups, but with this piece, It was purely painted in Artrage. :)

Twas a fun piece!