Tempest, Eclipse, and Orion
This is a back-dated post for my archive project, where I am copying over every piece of art I have ever submitted to DeviantArt, with the original submission date or watermarked year stamp, so a complete archive of my work can be found on this website.
Colored pencil on black paper
16.5″x8″
~16 hours of work
Photos provided by ~RedDrgn
Commission for ~RedDrgn of her three cats, Tempest, Eclipse, and Orion (left to right)
After RedDrgn commissioned this composite portrait, she sent me a half-dozen pictures of each cat, and if it wasn’t for her labels I would have been very hard-pressed to tell which cat was which. Now, after finishing the portrait, they look as distinct as if they had different coloring.
RedDrgn emphasized that she was counting on me to be able to accurately draw each of them as the individuals they are, so to that end I chose three pictures with the most similar viewpoint. That way I would be forced to find all the details of each cat, and depict them accurately.
I printed out the three photos on a single piece of paper and set it on my desk for a week. I wanted the lighting to match in the portrait, and I liked the lighting on the photo of Eclipse, so during that week I carefully considered the individual features of each cat, and how to apply the lighting from the one photo onto the cats in the other two photos.
I hope I did them justice. This project has been a delightful challenge, and I thank RedDrgn for giving me the opportunity to draw her three beautiful kitties. I can still make some small changes to the drawing at this time, particularly if any of the colored areas need adjustment. (Note: I adjusted the color in Eclipse’s ears to match the others. The appearance of different color in the photos was an artificial result of color variation and innacuracy in the photos.)
Demonstration showing the reference photos and all the WIPs: [link]
Colored pencil on black paper
Shown is a small section of a 12″x18″ paper
~4 hours of work so far
~RedDrgn provided me with a whole bunch of reference photos over the course of a couple weeks, from which I chose one of each cat for a composite portrait. I printed them out on a single piece of paper, and they’ve been sitting on my desk for the last week as I contemplate the minute differences of each cat’s appearance and how to alter the lighting from the pictures of Tempest and Orion so they match the lighting from the photo of Eclipse.
One of the major details that I want confirmation of is the eye color. In the reference photo, this cat’s pupils are much more dilated, so I am not completely certain that I proportioned the green and yellow correctly. RedDrgn, when you see this, please let me know if the colors need to be altered. It’s still possible at this stage. I can tell you exactly which of them is drawn if you need me to, but I am hoping to draw them accurately enough that you can tell which cat is which once I am done.
The odd-colored ghost lines are graphite marks, which will be erased as I color further. I did not take the time to completely clean up the digital copy. Please ignore the little flecks of loose pencil lead and the stray cat hair that ended up on the scanner bed.
Colored pencil on black paper
Shown is a small section of a 12″x18″ paper
~5 hours of work so far
This is as far as I got last night before I got too tired to work on it. I’m hoping to have time to work on it again tonight, without unexpected distractions. The ears are next, and I will probably adjust the lighting a bit more, but this particular kitty is almost done.
The odd-colored ghost lines are graphite marks, which will be erased as I color further. I did not take the time to completely clean up the digital copy. Please ignore the little flecks of loose pencil lead and the stray cat hair that ended up on the scanner bed.
Colored pencil on black paper
Shown is a small section of a 12″x18″ paper
~7 hours of work so far
A bit more work on the commission. The first cat is pretty much done, and any further changes will likely be very minute. The colors on this digital are much more accurate than the previous scans, as the addition of colored areas helps my scanner figure out what is what.
I plan to spend a good chunk of Sunday working just on this, so hopefully if I don’t finish it, I will at least be close to done.
I did not take the time to completely clean up the digital copy. Please ignore the little flecks of loose pencil lead and the stray cat hair that ended up on the scanner bed.
Colored pencil on black paper
Shown is a small section of a 12″x18″ paper
~10 hours of work so far
The odd-colored ghost lines are graphite marks, which will be erased as I color further. I did not take the time to completely clean up the digital copy. Please ignore the little flecks of loose pencil lead and the stray cat hair that ended up on the scanner bed.
Colored pencil on black paper
Shown is a small section of a 12″x18″ paper
~12 hours of work so far
The odd-colored ghost lines are graphite marks, which will be erased as I color further. I did not take the time to completely clean up the digital copy. Please ignore the little flecks of loose pencil lead and the stray cat hair that ended up on the scanner bed.
Colored pencil on black paper
Shown is a small section of a 12″x18″ paper
~14 hours of work so far
I had to scan the image in two pieces, and I didn’t take the time to perfectly match the colors.
You all know the rest of the disclaimer by now.
The odd-colored ghost lines are graphite marks, which will be erased as I color further. I did not take the time to completely clean up the digital copy. Please ignore the little flecks of loose pencil lead and the stray cat hair that ended up on the scanner bed.
All the WIPs will be scrapped after the final is uploaded.
I’m planning to assemble a demo deviation with the original reference photos and the WIPs, for those who are interested.
Colored pencil on black paper
16.5″x8″