Freeing a Dragon

Alright.  Here are some colors for you all.  It is probably past the half way point.  I need to finish up some basic color spaces, and than get more into the details.  I kind of got a little too carried away with the sky.  I am going to push it aside for now and catch up with the rest of the image.

Newfound Strength for the Dying

Here are some updates.  The second image posted will be colored once all of the images for this story are finished.  Their are either two or just one left.

Here is a summary for each image.

 

The two companions return to the valley where the dragon is imprisoned.  The knight, with barely enough strength to stand or walk, is aided by the priestess, who hauls him towards the closest chain.  The dragon warns them of the dangers once the hammer hits the chains, and the priestess bitterly retreats to a safe distance.

Summoning all the strength that remains, the knight brings the massive hammer down, smashing into the enormous chains with an ear shattering thunderclap.  Immediately, the shock wave from the strike ripples through each and every link restraining the dragon, causing them to crack and explode violently, As the chains erratically whip back and forth in their death throws, they strangle and crack the obelisks they are tied to.  In a matter of moments, the dragons prison is turned to rubble.

From the Highest Tower to the Darkest Forest. A Peaceful Field Brings No Comfort

Here are some follow up images for the current story I am working on.

Picking up the story where we left off. The knight and the priestess are ambushed by spirits in an old cathedral. With the wisdom he had acquired from the dragon, the knight is able to defeat them with a fearless and pure heart. Searching through the cathedral, the adventurers do not find what they are looking for. Instead, they learn of another possible location for the artifact the knight is seeking. A long forgotten ancient temple city high in the mountains.


After weeks of travel, they make it to the abandoned temple city still standing tall after a thousand years of neglect. Several days pass until the knight and the priestess find the artifact they have been questing for. A massive hammer with the ability to disenchant and destroy magical items. Such as the chains that bind the dragon. The two leave the old city and head back down the mountain.


As the two companions make their way back to the valley where the dragon waits, two arrows fly out of the darkness of the forest hitting the knight and piercing his armor. He falls off his horse mortally wounded. Two bandits emerge, thinking that they have dealt with their only threat. When they get close enough, the priestess steals a sword from one of them, and runs him through, pinning him lifelessly to a tree. The other is trampled to death by the adventurers horses.


The priestess does all she can to mend the knight, but the wounds are too severe. Both know that the wounds are fatal. The knight and the priestess press on. He must fulfill his part of the deal. He must free the dragon before he succumbs to the icy hands of death. They travel for days, passing through beautiful wheat fields. overlooked my numerous towering windmills. It is a beautiful scene, but death is in the air. Vultures can sense it, and begin to trail the two companions.

Shadows in the Dark

This is a quick post. This image is the next piece in the Knight/Dragon story. While looking for a way to free the dragon from its enchanted shackles, the knight meets a priestess who claims to know what he is looking for. They travel to an old and neglected cathedral, only to be ambushed by a horde of ravenous specters.

"Dragon, I come Seeking your Council," or, "Im Going To Need A Bigger Spear"

A couple days ago, I had a sudden urge to do a landscape piece of a steep valley and a character on a horse. As more thought went into it, a dragon was added into the mix. At the time, I wanted to get back into ink washes, so the plan was to make a line drawing with a wash over top.

This is one of the first sketches made for this image, and by far the most established. I was testing out a couple things on this sketch. Mainly just getting back into ink washing.

Here is the final ink. Looks a lot different. After a simple pencil layout, I had a different idea which changed most of the expected drawing. The story behind the piece established itself more as well. The dragon if a prisoner, shackled by unbreakable magical chains for hundreds of years. A knight, hearing tales of the wise dragon, seeks it out. He confronts the dragon, asking for council and knowledge in return for its eventual freedom. Time passes, the dragon speaks, the knight becomes wiser, and when he is sated, rides off to fulfill his promise. The knight seeks a way to destroy the enchanted chains binding the dragon.

Will there be a part two, who knows. Maybe. I really like how this image turned out. It would be fun to draw and ink another one like this.

In the end, most of my goal was reached. I drew a rider on a horse and a rocky valley. But never got around to that ink wash. I am kind of happy without it. I feel that the final image looks pretty strong the way it is.

Comic Inks

Here are the inks for part one of my comic project. So, the original goal for this first part was to have it be around eight pages. Kind of missed that mark by six pages. I strongly believe that restricting it to eight pages would have cramped the story too much, so im not loosing any sleep over it. Except for the sleep lost while working on those extra pages. Har har har. Anyways, I finished them a little while back, and am just about finished with the edits for the text. So there will probably be another post with the final uncolored comic in a little bit. Until then, enjoy the inks.

A Pheonix In Flames Shall Rise From The Ashes Again

For the past couple weeks i have been putting most of my time into a comic. So far it will be around thirteen pages, and i am well beyond half way and in the middle of a double page spread. The comic will be posted when it is finished. In the meantime, here are some other things that i have been working on.



Here is the finished Founding Fathers image. Its been a long time coming, but i got caught nit-picking it for a while. I feel confident enough to call it a solid portfolio piece. There are a few other colored images done in the past that i can place in a portfolio as well, but this one takes the cake. I did learn a bunch of things from working on this image, and it was pretty enjoyable to color.


Here are some ninja inks that i worked on while taking a short break from the comic. Enjoy.