Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Fantasy Art Essentials Ed9 2021

    Uploaded by

    Aleksei Vashchenko
    388 views148 pages

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    388 views148 pages

    Fantasy Art Essentials Ed9 2021

    Uploaded by

    Aleksei Vashchenko

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 148
    Fantas a essential Learn to paint meh IG he ee at CRC tel UlsI ae OMe ee Cuec wy i CS XN Lj —— Mélanie Delon and more! LEARN FROM... Brian Froud Fel da ma\= Varela SRE BST techniques oo GET INSPIRED AND CREATE Le Eg BETTER CHARACTERS AND Pc) CREATURE ART! H.R Giger Dan Scott Inside ey SZC TCE era 72 1} ——— Learn to paint like the fan did ddd di did ddd dl dd Ad ddd dl hh | didi di deh dhe A A de hd dd A de dd hd dA de A dl VV VV Vr V rrr rrrPrrrPrrrrrr? | di Al dl dl de A Ae A Ad de Ae A A A de Ae A A A dl A de A Ad A A ded dA de dd ed A A Add ddl ddd hd Ah ddd dl dd dd dd dl dd | A de A he he dd A de A de dd A dA A he A |Add Ad ddd dd dA hd AA dd AA hd A A | A Al Al dl dl de ddl Al Al Ae A dl dl Al dl de A A A dl A dl A A Nd de di dd Ae dd dl dl de de dh de hs A Ad A dl A Adhd dd ddd hdd hd hdd hdd dd A dl A ddd A A A dl hd A ed dd A he da | di Ai dl A dd A A A A de de A A A A hh dl A A A A | dl A A dl de de Ad A dhe A dd A de de A Ad dl A dl A A di did ded A A de Ae A A de dh A de hh dl dl dl de te dl dd A de de A dl dl A de Ad dd A A A MAAAMMMMAAAMMAMMMMADMMD MMA Dd | didi Ai de he he hd dds A A hd de he de A dd A A Ae A | pon nw ee lelelcellelUelrlel lel oeluelelelel el lel ole oe oe oe. Welcome to Fantasy-it ‘Whether youte an admire of fantasy ator you want to get to rps with ts ‘techniquesin your own wos, this timate guides for you. Featuring galleries ‘of nspaional imagery and css interviews with undisputed luminaries of ‘the fantasy rt word ike Rodney Matthews Bors Valo Bin Froud and mary more it packed with incredible antworkthat shows off the talents ofsome ‘ofthe worlds mast famous fantasy artists And that nota each interview i backed by a guide othe styles and techniques in question. ‘There ate even arise whol show you some ofthe sacrets ofthe late and muchrlamented Frank Frazetta, or the magic offer station, Plus, theres Cove hls section atthe back that’s packed wit the essentials you need to lear to create beautiful evocative fantasy art Youllean how to manage sin ‘and hair costume deals environments, materls and more, with exper advice ‘fom profesional ars, And dot foget to head over to Fleso to dowload tons of creative brushes made by some of the best inthe busines. 4 L FUTURE 4 r esseritials Fantasy-\rt BeBe hyY, essentia CONTENTS Learn to paint like the fantasy art masters Art legends a) Interview: Fantasy ats finest painter cee eee eters a ee Se ace) Interview: Facrie secrets and advice he ens eect eestid Pe OM un Pree eeeinnenenn tert! Sine eae ene Pak Pre terug at een ee eee Larry Elmore, Todd Lockwood and Ralph Ten emia enn PV e uci car) Se Peer enters Pre een Sr etre ncn cee Preteen Sie a Snes Se Scott sw: Fantasy art and career insights See er Sens Seen sian COR ag Interview: The Russian rise to fame See ee ete meee Cerone ity etree ‘Workshop: Leain how to draw characters batilingit out ered Poet teen! Pies eet ees Pesca og Workshop: Discover the skills you need for Pa emecen nis esnoy Derry oe een ery Peete tert emits) Dee a oy Workshop: The tricks to rendering avariety Siem ener er ene cols Contents Gallery Be inspired by the legendary artists behind some of fantasy's most iconic images Boris Vallejo Julie Bell yhePeruvian prodigy Boris prolificbodyofhyperealis fantasy Vallejo, profesional artist ar that celebratesthe fantastical body since the age of 16, was beautfl with dynamic heroines and, amongst thecore number ofartists myths creatures galore, thatdefined thease’ fantasy artof——_Witha slew of at books and the 1960s makinghisnamewith his calendars to their names, the couple iusrationsofTarzan, Conan The continue tops each other on, Tarbaran and Doe Sage ‘working together fora variety of Inthe 1990sbodybuilder, model commissions, ftom a campaigns and painter Julie Bell married Hors, toMeat Loaf at Out of Hal 3 cover And since then they've produced « our minds work similarly in all kinds of ways. We spend 24 hours a day together and not only do we do it with ease, but we love it that way 9% Wise words PERFECT THE BODY ‘By drawing, youre Keeping your ‘unite le Inyour hens ofthe human bady end every me you raw fom fe you're jst aang Toit andreinorcing 8 Fantasy Art Essentials Boris Vallejo & Julie Gallery Wise words FORGET PERFECTION Lisa from the mattr and shun the ioa of achieving a iste stye:"in ‘and vecognised. They're nt ntersted imperfection or examination; they 10 Fantasy Art Essentials Moebius on —a trajectory like a rocket in At the end I will blow up, but I don’t know where 99 {seasytoforgettheinfluence | metaphysical Hethenwentonto help. | Hey Metal magazine. With Arch, theman behind fantasy'smost —_eptomisetheaeeof moder sc-f.—_-achivs popularised texte, non F. famousaliashashadoncomics —_-Makinghisnamewiththe 19608 linear comiestyle He was then hired and scifiar. Havingplucled the comicstip Baber (ntally using —_asaconcept aris fo the films Alin name Moebius outoftheairat22,Jean__ the pseudonym Gri) Ian then farmed and TRON. Moebius died in 2012, but took omicsintonnew word toached the United tRumanoidsin the 19708 by thesurveal and ledby the group responsible forthe ogi artlegacyisassured Fantasy Art Essentials Gallery that involve biomechanical istres of ‘machine and allen eb, his unig signalled change nis aention towards sculpture and architetual design which ied ac univers inary artistic visions i « what Iwas doing. I just did some clouds, then I would add an eye... 99 Wise words When worked on lion was inthe ‘ravel ane work with te 12. Fantasy art Gallery oe Hildebrandt Wars poser eight days before the film's release, thee image becamean instant clase Acaeerin comics ads, D&D {nd Sur Warsbooks ha pres the brother self stored sty for and ede im del in 2006, but Greil pains, and his American Beauties Pin-up artis widely recognised GREG HILDEBRANDT, BE A TWIN Tmamazed by any arts as bn invidual who manages tocompieteanthing. nthe coy days ‘we me snd that wouldbe the end of the teak Fantasy Art Essentials 15 Gallery « fictitious cover of a book He was once a living entity 9 endeveloped his art chops ‘working on horror comic, butt was his workon the cover of tock band KISS fist platinum abu him into the bigtime, introducing him hole new word of fans More dha 40 yea ater, Ken KISS arworks sill popular on his websie f Butbefore the anc rock images, his ‘workon horror comic titles like Eve Crepyana Vania as shown alongside art by Fank Fazeta and Neal Adams, Franka Ke 16 Fantasy Art Essentials ‘commercial artistry and even reworked Kens int comminsioned pie ‘As KISS became supers, rmakinghisnameasa book rts roducinga series oftimeless Conan ‘the Barbara images forthe kes of Rober E Howard and Robert Adams With aspate of dynamie Dark Howse ‘Sur Wars comic covers inthe 1990 Ken has continued to produce great art forockbands and has even gone fall cite, pantingcoves forthe revamped BEBASIC “rm more Neanderthal han anythin. Ian towards the dramatic efor ae Tighting and panting style.” Gallery there are still so many doors that haven't been opened yet 99 Wise words ACT NOW, THINK LATER sents 19 hough brandishing the wehnical skills ofa hypetelist, Spaniard Luis Royo classes himselfsquarely asa fantasy ars, saying: “Tim not looking, forreality..My goal sritto reflect today’s ‘environment or elie” Tishonedhiseraftasa draftsman then ‘entered the world ofeomic inthe 19805, butheis pethapsbest known for is 20- ‘odd art books From the 1990s onwards, hehas released est of compilations as swells eroually charged collections, and also projec specific books like Dome, ‘which documents his commissioned paintingofa bug resco in a Russian case. Seed by the aesthetics ofthe female fon, neal allo Lui artinvolves the Fantasy Art Essentials, 29 Art legends 2» mecalawatimpreed bm abou Frank wera moon aie Thundering rapa vend: ‘lng babains ook ona I vai ct own, which shaped he imagination of many aris ‘working today, me inched.” LICENSING BREAKTHROUGH Frankforged anew kind of relationship bets att and cient Hispoicy of retaining original works and licensing his an, coupled with his wife He seting up a poster business o sel Frank's work, created 2 business model that has empowered aust to this dy. Rank wasa ‘success the profesional illstrator amined by his peers respected by his clients and dosed bys fans As Tam Sharp says, “Fazeta ‘gave fantasy art credibility ~and itefist roe superstar” ‘Franks stats inthe 1970sand the impact ofhis at on popular culture ‘exploded inthe 1980, Including work on allum covers Tshirts and fils, ‘ulminaingin the movi Fie and ke While previous ims sah aon ils Conan The Barbra drew insptatin fom rank fortheirant direction, Pre and ee was more personal. Longtime ried and animator, Ralph Bashi fresh from work on Lod of the Ring and Wears, asked Franko ‘collaborate onthe movie, Working cotely ‘with Ralph, Rank designed the characters, their world and even sain othe easing nd live-action filmingsessons “Thad the piilege of working as background painter on Fe and ce” says James Gurney ashe remembers time spent ith anleat het, "We bays tied to get Franko give the eudioacliss ‘on gue raving and composition, bute never did, probably because much of what hed was nitive That intiton combined witha fre confidence inthe power of pure imagination, made his Images unforgettable and truly immortal” Altera disappointing reception to Fie «an. Fankreturned to histo, During the 1980s and 1990, he conned to pl ‘reatingart fer album covers and posters aswell as developinghis own theres; he aimed new versions of Death Dealer and Cat Woman, Celebrity fans courted hi, and inched Seven Spielberg, George [cas and Arnold Schivarzenegger His ‘ale scared and even unfinished sketches ‘wold sel for thousands of dlls, Despite thi, ankrefusedo sll many ofhis ‘original paintings Instead, he opened the Frazetta Museum in East Sroudsbarg, Penneyleania so that they could be erage bythe public at pn 10 naa the ao and por 30. Fantasy Art Essentials 666 'm constantly asked how Learned to paint. My standard answer is, I taught myself. In reality, 1 didn't, Frank Frazetta taught me how to paint. Ican pinpoint the exact moment when Frank changed my life. Itwas the day I picked up that copy of Conan the ‘Conqueror from the drugstore paperback rack as a child in Hawaii. twas then that I knew what I wanted to be. I literally copied his paintings to teach ‘myself how to paint. Eventually, he taught me that I ‘couldn't be him I needed to be my own artist Dave Doran THESILVER WARRIOR Frankgaidof the museum projet that “tral Elli idea, We were alays geting calls from the fans asking they could comesee the originals. The best we hl done though the years was to have some exhibits at various conventions, but that gottobea hasle Weel the museum forall tbe peopl who have had fun with my artoveethe year, east orpeofi= if ‘wanted 10 make money l would sol the orginal. My joyisin showing the work" LATEIN LIFE chin hese, ak’ ah was ‘oreingbt Bb ago al, ‘pest himcommandingen dude opting "When et hin 199 you his prec when | heer theron ys Bo. Tankwastecoreng fn awoke stcetine had bdr hand paras buthe had tug histo Ah ister. “Hew nea piu endaver End nan omer Hwee wen low arti ne Ron aloo and mystfmet i, nha or ture ake tbh, was chan Inuit expen rsh Ron Spied he hank et and Two Gy Wel miss Pak bth hasta permanent on nt jt ft bt hea onl are” i208 te cover lian burouph Bean Voss $2510 In 2003 the iin Coan che nem psiting od pty millon, pun ha po ak ad rly fed olay oi gal Conant andi bana contin ie, ich rat ded thetrmeta ly Toth dy sander emacs Panne fhe tate to ang hat such unseemly ables veri ‘colton vest harmed bi Brecon spaces Fier ihn avahnion oul ever Teach Astin eal “wana yer ld tren se yt ant cane The Inpac wass geattatan ilel the celine ve pen lee ‘hen tgingtocaptrean cance ofthe td pore of weks by green are the beter sarge Trak ean alent Hebdged the ap betwen he tana the Collen ge mass andi fie mmodemer sara fal eat lncep ‘pry ine oneingt cea Pak Fazet iliveon in biping ann ‘hebruh ke oma fsa $Maspiingto fellow in isfotseps. em s Frank Frazetta Fantasy Art Essentials 31 ie lose LOOK es See ret ee eens reine TEP ee er ee ee eee poe ete Enemy ror ee ery eee tes peterecren ttre) Pee eee en tees eee ene ty oer rerornertny sletches to sce what movement would be oes enemy | Cerne Sonesta ae en See erent Peete erent irs Sa TO FRAZETTA FOR INSPIRATION Tap into Frank Frazetta’s iconic style of painting without ending up with a poor copy. Jean-Sébastien Rossbach tips his hat to the master artist Pete to rid ieee ere oo Parenter em eee ne ee oT eee tad reece nent ten eee eon ener pee et eters eed The aim isto first mail the cers peevrernrats yt) cee ey session, and begin witha big charcoal or Ped eras Peroni Pee pees ed erent ey) seulp the shapes eer fe RET ai} eerste rae ees Sens Soc iter eens Perec eee peed ie east ee meer! peeereetetty eet PROFILE ei ‘WORKSHOP BRUSHES = supe Tener weoyl on ners Peete rere a rn Cee ee Po ceeemeeecey Fees eee eee TES Tey eee er eat Pen eee ue ce era Peer) ens right These wavy ines wil neon Ee eter ae Poe eee ee ey ere een et as compositions the mostimportantstep fee es per Art legends TOU brennan a cn reeeen irc Poteet ae ee Sree oer eis ete ees eed nce = Recerercer se ert Perea etree 1 Fen nee cetet e . ence ners ts Seen oy Peete Pere en G The beast within Doerner tents eens Pee et ent eee eons ee nem Poraeetenr seat peers eet Rap eR Srey ees en ay ens Seeing en ne eeree rs eter thathelps crete atmosphere and characte will lok diferent ifyou eee eat ne eT Sees tet tne ene eee Pea ere ree ee a Co ees eee eet ee aera et eee ae eer SC are Parone titers eee ete See een Se rs aati toratent eed ore eee Peete tet ens ae oe Peete erent eee Peco ees eee eee oes eee es ones EST eet! Te sovernercnn Does er erent ere ea ee ee Seed Pe eer ee oneness Se ees composition ssn from the See Pancras eee Poets enero) Pee ees eas eee a) en nee ee at ty ee ee ea eee 0 ‘eer to your eerie Se ey eed et eciy ey inital wavy composition, ners pees ei ere neenen ee ete ee en eee ey ere vetoes ere ers ey renee res Sens cere Diep Ru Coc tag Leanne enter ets seers ert eee er eerste ea ent ety eee ee ee eee ee ene ee eet eee ees en eer tee eee eer ace ete ey PP Re Cr while refining the details: Ici o ada te er eee Se NS eee ey ee eee etd fee at eee ete tay Se eet) eked feeeresn ncn) ae eet eee eet eee ne) Premera sith Pee nets ee eee ee eee) ae et ee Peon ates Sate terete ttre ees on ree eer ay vale and yellow and ed fr highlights. 6 Coo eo = arent re ty on oes Sten comnts rere area in of thing, Using Curvesisa great way eee ee er nee Poe eheeteiee nc) ir eet nents Pe ae ey Bette ier eens cond Ceo \ _ fooseenenetiy Pee ry ee eee eee er ete Sree pee ro ee ete eee err a) Rectan trsteney enc c eetroney eer eerer ies and there (do this sometimes). You can See era eens eat nett Coens etree a ett ee ery ee nner ett ee Se ts a Pe eee teint ee Ee ee eet Soot ees SECRETS aor aed renee Heep ere eet) cenereiarey erin’ peieery pormeotertod Coa Brian Froud Brian Froud With every painting, the artist Brian Froud brings to, life characters and creatures from British folklore, reaching back thousands of years ont belie everything you! hear about frien. They arent, always cuteand kindly Uke a Disneyfed Tinker Bell. They'e notmade-up,ufiynonsense that should beconfined tothe nursery. Instead of ving in erieland, the’ ihabitanss ofthis wold, pat of ts fabricand piri. Wyo had the chanceto take inthe artwork ofthe great Brian Froud atany time, yo might have an idea of what wee setting at. For more than 30 years this British paiterhas made himself an expert, conduit between fcretalecrestures and human beings aes, tol and goblins anesome ois favourite subjects and he hasa keen understanding oftheir characteristics and theie meaning ‘STRONG IMAGINATION Brian has many booksto his name ~The land of Froud, Fueris, Good Faeries. Ba Fares and Lay Catingtn’s Pes Fry Talking to Brian, it's clearly not oe about imagination. He sees his work as being something that starts in reality 9% Book to name a handful He' also worked ‘wth Jim Henson, bringing many wonderful Creatures and characters oie inthe ims The Dark Cal and Lari, Here’ man with vivid imagination, which he shared With his fans through paintings, Books and the bigscreen, ‘Talking to Bran though, it clearly not Justabout imagination, He sees his work as ‘UNICORN being something that starts in reality, rer th ena may i Fra looking at the naual werd. One of his ‘out of une carly influences was Arthur Rackham. > Fantasy Art Essentials, 37 dora seoueted cone fff Secause that's 3 dramatic ome He thousst twas ‘feat wasaraning “Loved his drawings of tees” sys Ban, "They were very expressive bat they alo had facesinthem, Iwasa shock of recognition, because a child wa alas ‘apa tree, abways climbing tres, aleays exploring woods, When sa Rackhamis ‘Muff eminded me of how fk about nature fl that nature had adden lifeto it tha everything hada soul a personaly" PAINTING TROLLS Brian moved to Dartmoor in the mid to70safterspensing several yearsasan Instatorin London. He began painting tolls and other fairytale creatures that appeared in books of Betis ilsstation ‘Soon be was asked to pt together collection ofhis wn work, which was released 25 The Lando Froud, an then ‘with fellow artist Alan Lee he worked on Freres, a book released asa followup to the popular Gnomes (Great lovers folklore and mythology fom around the Brith ses Ban and Alan retreated their own Ibraries and researched ll hey could about fais By referring to ris, Welsh ‘Scotish and English myths and legends, Brian Froud LUGHT AND DARK fe ‘Sty mot an ent they semed og the el low-down on faerie creatures. Accurately following descriptions ofthese mischievous and sometimes rather darlcheated creatutes, the pir gave their publishers abit ofa shock, Characters sucha enn Greenest who dragged children off into rvers and devoured them - were not theexpectation ‘of publishers who thought fereland ‘meantcute,swet, pink nd ty “Itwas eallyaeinstaterent ofthe power offre, says Bran, “Ithad been fora ong longtime relegated tothe nursery. Itwas thought be a childish thing the idea thachey were fairytales and nonsense, Here we went backo the sures, such a Yates The Clie Tighe bok, and tried to portray them as they realy are, with theirpower Faris were dangerous beings thatyou had t placate You had to eave litle gifs of food you had ‘olive with them relly and be nice to them. you were, dhey'ddo dreadful things to you, Thisapproach, of goinghackto folklore ann then peng inks Beans work with people deep inthe pas, who sw fetes tnd various other ceatres as part of ‘ature and the lanl around them rin himseifloves England fo its isto, the layers of old stories and the sense that there are mysteries neath your fet He connects to this and understands through swat he pints REAL-LIFE FANTASY ‘Asyou might have gathered by nos Printings no itera process foe Bian, Whatever he's working on he wants to convey if elit and feeling, “Tm abways fmazed when Hook at Amerkan fantasy fr leh | would call overrendeed very surfaces shiny. Irmeans tome that your eye skids off the art. Bat not only does Youreye hid off your emotions also skid offic” says Brian “What try to dois eave out certain bits ofinformation, sovhen you view ‘tyou have add bisto ito complete ic Thecompletingofit,icimbuesit with ite, Because it meansthatichasa lite bit of you in cand each time you ew it youve changed and it changes. Youener into relationship with the lage. That’ what wedo inthe art. and thats what we try to doin the graphics” ‘With hisbooks,Branhas gone astageor to further towards the goal of engaging GOBLINS the viewer or eader with the characters and Nesters, thestory. His secret isto make the book. Sornmerpar cit self both physical and anemotional > Fantasy Art Essentials, 39 ‘experience, With anormal book you pick itup open it page or read through it reach theend and then closet But Gon Far. al ers, for instance, has two font ‘covers You can start by reading om the Goad Faeries cover then tun over and flip itaround and tart readingabout the bad ‘ones, Your journey through can tart at ether end FAERIES ‘Theres nobeterexample ofthe physicality ‘ofa Brian Fr book than Lady Catingin’s rsd ty Bok ist published in 199, ‘ith Terry Jones of Monty Python fame (also Labyrinth, seethe box opposite), ithas| 40. Fantasy Art Essentials become a successful series. The way ifs painted and bound enables the reader to pretend to catch faeriesby lapping the bbookelosedand pressing ther, jst ike the _main character Angelica Cotton does throughout the book. This fun, physical dea iswhat helped Brian to coavince Terry ‘owrite the book, and has played a msjor tole nits popularity which has been steady since ist publication “Thebook was a huge succes, butts abouteie” says Brian, “ts meant tobe funny; the Kea thar when you meet people who dont believe in fei ass00n 2s youtaleabout squashing fre and sou hangthe book closed, they cringe! And ‘SLEEPING BEAUTY ems ee Isay,See you've changed! Now youre Delevng Its about allowing people to believe about faeries” NEW BOOK ran eleased his test book in 2016, called Brian Fou Fare Tales. Ths new ‘book lke 20108 The Heart of the Fre ‘Once was illustrated by Brian but writen byhiswife Wendy. "Brians work speaks to people” she says of theircallaborations. "Each picturehas somethingto say" ‘Thebook lls the story ofthe Dusters 2 family of faeries who roam among human, cllectng their memories These faeries are Puppets created by Wendy, with heres of thebook filled with Brians artof the ‘various other inhabitants ofthe faerie ‘word complete wth theron stories. Brian and Wendy’swork certalnly basa magical ouch. Isitcharged with rie energy or just that park genius al great arthas? Perhaps you jst have to belive Aplistinsgh THE NATURE OF FAERIE ART Folklorist and faerie artist Mare Potts reveals his 21 tips to get inspired, and admits that in his area of specialism it helps to be just the tiniest bit loopy ay, sothisintaworkabop on | about the pre-Christian dees fold how to pint feriesandits You'd realise that fies ace all cmartstictchnig. [pint ot areca be dark. sinister nd artbased on fokloreand mythology somtimes plain mast. personally find Witches, dragons gods and goddesses it much more fun to paint the dark, the butt mainly known as painterof wicked and the downright bizare facres.Abitof a gilysubject! Notatall, The advice that follows is more about Faeriefolklore tseepedinpgan, mination, sources of eas and hove imtoo andi bu look i yoy | Lanpench my aia hopes Inspire you, too. 1DO FAERIES WEAR 2 NOT ALL FAERIES ARE GIRLS STRIPY TIGHTS? Dont forget the male of the species and the plain weird n disguise. Imps, ject bc Oberon ight, a folowing ‘ihc lleaborate on later. j ij 42. Fantasy Art Essentials Art legends 4 FOLKLORE Get hold of some books on faerie folklore, then read and assimilate. A Dictionary of Fairies by Katherine Briggs is a great source of ideas, as is her Fairies in Tradition and Literature. The Fairy Mythology by Thomas Keightley is also a good resource. There are a jot of faerie A-Zs available, but one that must feature on your list is Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, 5 FAERIE TYPES Hore are just afew of the many faeries that can be found in ancient folklore: Asral, Apole Tree Man, Abbey Lubber, Banshee, Barguest. Bosie, Brae, Brownie, Bwea, Changeling, Coblynau, Derrick, Dwar, Elf Ellylon, Fir Dartig, Faun, Firbolg, Ganconer, Gnome, Grindylow, Gruegach, Hag, Hedley Kow, Henkie, Hinky Punk. Imp, Jenny Greenteeth, kilmaulis, Knocker, Leanan Sidhe, Lepracaun, Loireag, Lunantishee, Luideag, Mermaid, Muryan, Ogre, wea, Phenodyree, Pixie, Puck Selkie, Skrker, Tro, Will Othe Wisp, Woodwose. Look em up! 44 Fantasy Art Essentials Faeries can be sinister beings, with a peculiar wrongness about them 99 6 MYTHOLOGY A bit grander in scale than folktales. Poring over books of world mythologies will soon pay off, throwing up ideas for the weird and wonderful. This can be applied to all forms of fantasy art, but there are faeries here, too. Think of the Elves, Orcs and Trolls in Lord/of the Rings — all mythologically inspired versions of the genre, but faerie art nonetheless. The Irish mythological cycle and the Welsh Mabinogion are good local examples. 7 FAERIES AIN'T PRETTY. Faeries can be sinister beings, with ‘2 peculiar wrongness about them. Use this notion when developing & character - combine beauty with something odd, tke a hare's f place of a hand, or twigs for hai. ‘A faerie doesn't have to have ‘ ‘wings, ether Simply making the eyes odd can set it apart from humans. Faeries often appear beautiful but there will be something that gives them avy. 8 THINK NATURE Isee faeries as nature spits or elemental beings, so look to the ratural world for inspiration, Leaves, twigs, Feathers and bits of plants could al be incorporated into a faerie character. | often do this as part ofthe faerie itself - lorganic growths sprouting from the bck or head, or from an arm cr leg. And if you must clothe your faeries, apply the same approach 10 elements of faerie clothing - a dress made out of leaves or 2 mask of twigs and feathers. 'm always collecting stuf for ‘reference when mm out and about 9 DO YOUR RESEARCH This isan important one ~ it wil eke your character more believable and give it substance. The wealth of information in my mind can shape itself into an idea fora picture or character. Im not suggesting that you hide yourself ‘away for years and ‘eventually emerse san authority on mythology. Putting ina few hours researchis perfectly adequate The nature of faerie art 10 SIMULACRA Look with an artist's eye. Gnarled goblin faces could 1m the bark or roots of a tree. Dragon heads could form in the shape of a weathered rock. IF the morning light is just right, faerie creatures leer out at me from the pattern in my bedroom curtains. If you really want to see them, they'll appear, peer ou 1COLOUR he shades of nature - the greens and flowers. The right colour to the subdued tones ours and build up translucent layers. 6 If the morning light is just right, faerie creatures leer at me from the curtains 99 12 GET THEM TO POSE if youre into the whole spirituality thing Fantasy Art Essentials, 45 IS ANIMALBITS 14 MAKE Faeries are said to be shape- + THEM GLOW. shifters, so try incorporating Faeries can be considered ‘animal parts that give this manifestations of supernatural ‘away. Faeries with energy, pulsing with ight. gossamerinsect wings | could suggest this eneray withthe arethe obvious choice, | flow of a paint bbuthow about using | lines to guide the eye. For instance, th wings instead faeries don't need wings to fy, so of butterties? they don't need to be structurally perfect. Instead of giving them solid wings, try impossible wings, Paint faerie constructad of light and colour, characters with froglessorrabbt §@ It’s not that ‘ears, horns or sonostcers there are no rules, voryinsectike- More that... the who's to say that a S niiyeersscne Tules are weird 99 15 SUGGEST ANARRATIVE ‘This approach lends itself well to faerie art. Has something just happened? Or might it be just about to hapnen? Suggest a narrative and let the viewer's imagination do the rest. Allow them to involve themselves and create a story in their mina, This can realy inspre, and can make a picture magical sometimes have a hal-formed story inmy head when | start a 1 times a story might come later, from a piece. Either way, youre creating folklore. 46. Fantasy Art Essentials The nature of faerie art 20 THERE ARE NO RULES Lastly -and ths srt a cop out ~ you can ignore al of the above and paint what you like. I's not that there are no rules, more that, as with the world of faeries itself, rules ae weird. Bring faene art up to date - how about dragging i aut of the wild places an city? You could paint od Fe ched by faerie. The ‘are endless, 16 ELEMENTAL SYMBOLISM Faeries can be classified according to the elemental nature, and this can be folowed in character dlevetopment. What might a fre sprit 100k lke? Or a dark earthy Trow? Anair spirit would probably ‘appear slight and ethereal, and aithough a mermaid is an obvious choice for water, how about thinking outside the box and painting an Asra or even a Jenny Greenteeth? Faeries themselves could be connected to the elusive fith element of spirit. ‘7 SKETCHING AND DOODLING aR

    You might also like