Artwork progress tutorial: lost bear and the source

in #artexplosion7 years ago

Dear Steemians!

Here's a very special artwork to me. It is actually a portrait of someone I love. The bear is lost in the forest. Being lost is no fun, but the bear was able to find a powerful source in the darkness. The forest ghost witnesses this unexpected and miraculous discovery.

This artwork is also an entry for ART EXPLOSION WEEK 20: Theme POWER organised by @juliakponsford, I love this initiative and wanted to become a part of it! The light symbolizes power in my artworks, amongst many other things, so the theme of the contest was a very lucky coincidence for me!

Here's my finished piece:

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Pen and ink on paper, 29,7 x 42 cm

The progress step by step

Working on this piece took me a lot of time, I think I'm putting pressure on myself to create something spectacular for Steemit and it turns out to be completely counterproductive (e. g. I'm overdoing the piece).
Can you relate? Please tell me in the comments, I would love to know more about your experience! :)

I started with a sketch to decide where to place different objects so that the composition would be nice. The toughest part was the bear, who was extremely difficult to draw only with outlines, that's why I added a bit of shading.

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Here you can see the rough outlines changing into a complete sketch, all the leaves and other features are visible and in their final shape.

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Next step was to redraw the outlines with pen. From now on I moved on to shading.

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I thought that maybe I should add more substance to the outlines. The tree in the middle was so tempting that i had to start with it. Ishaded only the leaves that are on the outskirts of the tree. I wanted this to give an impression of an internal light coming out of the source-tree. I also shaded the plant on the right.

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Then the dots started to appear in the background. I created fine lines on my pines to model them.

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I wanted to make the sky dark, and only with the flashes of light.

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Underneath the trees I wanted the background to have more magical appearance, so I stuck to the stippling.

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With every new dot and every new fine line the drawing started to look more and more ready.

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At this point I knew I wanted to change something in the tree and the lighy coming out of it.

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I added small dots, made sure that the light around the tree has a round shape, and thickened the outlines of the leaves in the centre of the tree.

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The last step was to add some linear shades to those leaves. And I was done!

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Here's a GIF showing the progress of the work step by step:

tutorialik4.gif

I hope you enjoyed this post, thank you so much for checking it out! <3
If you liked my tutorial, please let me know in the comments! I will prepare more tutorials like that, and you can also check my previous work! I've done several similar tutorials already.

All the best,

Klaudia

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Fantastic! Thanks you so much for the entry!

Hello, congratulations for winning the contest of the week. I really liked your participation, it's very tender your drawing <3 I stayed in the 3rd place I hope you could see my illustration.
https://steemit.com/artexplosion/@winizart/art-explosion-week-20-power-mind-original-illustration

I will be following your content closely, I invite you to also visit my blog to be in contact and exchange artistic information, greetings and hugs from Venezuela (:

Thank you @winizart! Congratulations to you as well! You're entry was beautiful, and I see you are a very talented artist! I'm following you and I'd love to keep in touch and support each other! Greetings from Poland ;) All the best to you, Klaudia :)

Thanks for participating to the contest. This is a great entry!

Thank you @vachemorte for your kind words! I'm very glad you like it :) I appreciate that this contest is organised and I wanted to participate in it also to show my support! All the best, Klaudia :)

Another great addition. Good use of animation to show the progress of your work. Bears are always boss and this forest scene is very much alive. Your style is just very unique, keep it up!

@Thank you @zeroooc for your continuous support, I really appreciate it! Love, Klaudia :)

Hey we're in this boat together, so might as well make it a fun ride ^^

Aye, mate! :)

A pirate's life for me!
I suppose some rum would help me hold my pencil straighter.

What's the most unusual surface/material you have painted on?

Hah. Let me think.... Hm, glass, I guess, a really long time ago. What about you?

Either our old garage or the toilet door that one time :)

I love the different shading techniques! I'm a big fan of using dots myself as well. Thanks for the process images, always fun to see.

Hi @erb! Thank you for your support, I appreciate that a lot! I see you are a creator yourself. Your B&W artwork is mind-blowing! I hope to catch you around more :) All the best, Klaudia :)

Wow!! What an art!

Thank you @kneelyrac! I see you are a talented artist yourself! I'll see you and your amazing artwork on Steemit Bloggers! All the best, Klaudia :)

Super cool and great to meet you. Thanks to Niki !! @ZeroOoC

Hi @mammasitta! Thank you for your support! It's very nice of you :) Oh, Niki's the best! I'm heading now to your blog ;) All the best and see you around ;) Klaudia

Amazing artwork , beautiful drawings on your blog , follow 😃👍🎨

Thank you @jaro-art, I appreciate your support! I visited your blog, your art is amazing. I am following you as well! Thanks for commenting and making it possible to connect ;)

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I am just such a big fan of your style. Your pieces are instantly recognizable, such a unique dreamy storytime feel. You should totally be a children's book illustrator! Seriously!

Much love - Carl

Thank you Carl! Your support means a lot to me! I have a feeling that the more I will draw, the more of a story will reveal through the works, and it also would be wonderful to illustrate children's book. Perhaps one day, hopefully... :) Love, Klaudia