BEFORE THE BATTLE - Making of

The Scene in my Mind as an INTRO ?

Last June, I got an imaginary picture in my mind that kept coming back for a couple of days. In that case, for no particular reason at all, because I don’t recall thinking of it previously in relation to anything I was doing at the time. Problem is, when an image stick in my mind, there is only one way to make it leave… put it on paper, or in that case, on digital paper.

From the back, there was  someone, ready to go for the fight, but also with the impression that the surroundings were kind of hostile, although they appeared to be on the same side.





Strangely enough, A woman holding a pair of balls made of steel attached to her arms by heavy chains, to make the thing even more awkward and uncomfortable, or is it ? Was going to rename it training day, after some thought, but then… I guess I stuck with the first idea.

THE MOOD

For this personal piece, the mental snapshot conveyed an uncomfortable mood. It had this lemon/yellow/ocre zeist tone to it. 

THE COMPOSITION

The scene is heavier on the right side, like there’s no way out except move forward, to the fight. The main light comes from back left, maybe an early sunny day (I think I might have to put more work on that aspect of the picture).

WORKFLOW

Trying to convey a traditional look isn’t an easy, to me, at least. I’ve been talking this subject in my artwork on and off and feel like I have to keep doing it ‘till I’m bored, or ‘till I feel like I nailed the thing. 

Most of my artwork start with traditional paper sketch. I then take a picture of the sketch book page, or pages and trow it in as a base layer. 

Some times I have to do some editing, like it would save the fails, not always aware that vision tunnel is the worst enemy after all, but that’s another beast, on its own terms. 

W.I.P.

Now, back to the grind, I have this need to feel like it’s traditional, when I paint digitally. I enjoy more the notion of moving pixels, to simulate that sensation of moving paint. 

Mixer Brush is one of the more interesting tools to do the trick, I find. Smudge tool also does it for me. It’s like sculpting with pixels, I just love the feeling, what can I say…

FINAL PIECE

CONCLUSION

Although I recognise the need to "zoom in" less (or fight that zoning tendency), all transitions in the progress of this illustration piece were interesting to explore and put the mind to, as it was being crafted. For all I know, Art is the most rewarding journey I got myself into. I know I have quite a way to go, still, but each step of the way has been a place I enjoy to remember and further more explore. Sounds like a tree describing its ramifications, from underground to sky lit o2 exhausting mandibles… oh, way off topic dude…

Got myself some really nice feedback on that piece From Jasmo, courtesy of WMW community. An interesting growing Art community I like to hang in and chat while I’m working. Turns in, I have to revisit the piece, only because the feedback was accurate in some parts that need attention. Winter is approaching, will be nice to spend time on it when the outside light fades out early, I’ll feel more immersed while reworking it off.

PROGRESS SNEAK PEEK

I also made a combo video of most progress on the piece, if you want to have a look…

or the combined version on Twitch :

Before The Battle - Progress

Message in a bottle: If you have any feedback, suggestion, about the painting or anything I wrote in this post, please, feel free to comment…

Aumes Ronoy
Freelance remote Artworker available 4 art gigs/commissions