Following the interest in my
earlier post where I outlined the various stages of a large group caricature, I thought I'd post another. Again, this was a privately commissioned piece where the artwork was ultimately going to be presented as a gift at an upcoming event.
As I usually find with this type of project, I found myself presented with a unique set of challenges and quite a few logistical headaches en route to the final illustration. I'd been given a very specific brief, and indeed quite a lengthy list of in-jokes and background elements (some of them
extremely specialised - cheers Google!) which needed to be included. In the end I was generally happy, though there are certainly areas where I feel I'd make improvements next time.
As with the Orient Express illustration, the following is a deviation from my usual private commission procedure where I don't submit roughs; however there was so much scale and intricate military detail that I really had to work closely with the client to ensure nothing was omitted or incorrect.
Step 1: Rough Pencils A. The first pass, informed by the client's description and in this case, rough sketch. The 'bubbles' were an idea I came up with when it became apparent some indoor scenes were required, despite the rest of the illustration taking place out of doors.
Step 2: Rough Pencils B. Some changearounds and modification to detail, but nothing too vast.
Step 3: Linework. Like much of my art, this was fully hand-drawn with markers & fineliner and then scanned into Photoshop for colour.
Step 4: Completed Artwork A. A low res JPEG, emailed to the client to ensure all was well. As it happens some of the uniform detail had been overlooked, as well as a couple of other small details.
Step 5: Completed Artwork B. The final article. As I said, there are still a few areas that niggle: the empty area of tree canopy on the right was always a concern, and it does unbalance the composition slightly. Though overall I'm satisfied with the final result (as was the client), and I've learned some good lessons in the process. Hope you've enjoyed this sneak peek!
