Ivorytusk Fortress

Ivorytusk Fortress
14" x 18", oils on mdf
©Wizards of the Coast

Here's a bit on the process that Ivorytusk Fortress went through from thumbnail to final.  For some pieces I know right away what I'd like to do. For others, which is most of the time, the image must go through many incarnations before I'm happy with it. 

Small thumbnail sketches, sometimes pages of them, are done. Promising ones are imported into photoshop for further development. I like to think about value and color as early as possible, and photoshop allows me to do that rather easily. 

A page from my sketchbook. Not pretty. 

Various thumbnails, developed further and with values and color added

When I arrive at a rough I like, I usually go back to pencil and paper to really nail the composition down, adding information from reference, and working on the details. With everything worked out, the painting of the final image goes a lot smoother. 

The final drawing

The image as it appears on the card, in foil.