Get outta my way! - The process

Weekend at last! Oddly enough, this weekend is more forgiving than the others because there's a lot of time for me to do personal stuff. Weekends like these are getting rare so I'll take advantage of it. I love talking about how I do things so that's what I'm gonna do now.

I present to you one of my latest illustrations:

Warhammer: Invasion - Get outta my way!
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games & Games Workshop

This is the first illustration that I did for a card game and I feel so fortunate to have been commissioned to do this and several other illustrations that followed. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous when I received the briefing for the project. For this particular card, I was told to paint a frenzied orc swatting a goblin while charging. The following links lead to the reference images for both characters.

• http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1520951a_ORC_wallpaper_1024x768.jpg
• http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2009/6/29/40305_md-Checker%20Pattern,%20Goblins,%20Night%20Goblins,%20Warhammer%20Fantasy.jpg

Prior to this, I have never drawn anything related to Warhammer. In fact, I've never even played any Warhammer game and that made me twice as eager to please. When my art director instructed me to do three thumbnails, I decided to make four instead.

Warhammer: Invasion - Get outta my way! (thumbnails)

© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games & Games Workshop

The required dimensions for the image added challenge. It's no simple task to come up with an image implying a horizontal composition on a squarish canvas. I made these four and my AD selected the first one.

Given that it's a quick thumbnail, I got the proportions of the orc all wrong. He looked too human and the goblin didn't look like a Warhammer goblin then. I took care of that when I did the tight sketch.

Warhammer: Invasion - Get outta my way! (tight sketch)

© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games & Games Workshop

When I was at this point in the process, I kept thinking how my brain's gonna get fried with all those details. However, details are what make a painting look nice. That plus the fact that this composition was approved by an art director who definitely knows what he's doing gave me a measure of encouragement. Here are more progress shots.

Warhammer: Invasion - Get outta my way! (progress shots)

© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games & Games Workshop

The only major change that took place from the tight sketch phase to the final painted piece was that the arrows on the upper left corner were removed. I invested a great deal of time in underpainting to make sure that the colors in the final looked harmonious. I would summarize the procedures as follows:

• Tones
• Linear sketch
• Shading
• Flats (underpainting)
• Detailing
• Atmospheric effects (depth of field)
• Contrast fixes
• Post edits

I got really excited when I found out that the NDA has been lifted. Then, as if that wasn't cool enough, FFG even featured this card on the webpage where they announced the battle pack to which it belongs. You can check it out here:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3484

This is the first of several card game illustrations that I've done for the past months. I can't wait to be able to talk about the other ones that I've done so far! :)

For more information about the Warhammer: Invasion, please proceed to:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=85