New illustrations - self promotional and commissioned. TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES

**MCeran** · November 6th, 2011, 12:10 PM

Hi,

it's been a while from my last visit.

In the meantime I've made some new illustrations. Some are self promotional, some are commissions. All are made in traditional techniques.

Here is the first part:

1. Fighter - made for Art Order Ultimate Fighter Challenge. Ecoline and gouache on paper, 50 x 40 cm

2. Awakening - self promotional piece, 2011. Ecoline and gouache on paper, 40 x 68 cm

3. Wargod - self promotional piece, 2011. Ecoline, airbrush and gouache on paper, 57,5 x 40 cm

4. The Gnome's Ride - illustration for Dungeon magazine no 194, Wizards of the Coast, 2011. Acrylic on paper, 50 x 23 cm

5. Eowyn and the Witch King - made for Art Order Eowyn and Nazgul Challenge, 2011. Ecoline and gouache on paper, 40 x 60 cm

6. Conan - interior illustration for the book "Conan Divlji Mač" (Savage Sword of Conan), Bookglobe, 2011. Ecoline and gouache on paper, 46,5 x 36 cm

**WyckdNick** · November 6th, 2011, 12:36 PM

Really great work.

**bjoern3000** · November 6th, 2011, 01:28 PM

Absolutely great!!!

**meth** · November 6th, 2011, 04:36 PM

love it man, odlichni radovi, pogotovo mi se dopada prva ilustracija

poz

M

**drbibin** · November 7th, 2011, 03:05 AM

Svaka čast!

**Badassm** · November 7th, 2011, 04:20 AM

nice to see old-school work. Looks teriffic

**Darjan Jurincic** · November 7th, 2011, 05:10 AM

Bravo i aplauz sa moje strane..

**Pavel Sokov** · November 8th, 2011, 10:36 AM

Oh jesus, I never knew gouache could look so good! Great work!

Two questions:
Why do you use gouache?
What is ecoline?

**Ccs** · November 8th, 2011, 12:02 PM

Wow, the poses and colors rock. In the first painting the legs look slightly awkwardly positioned, but that's my only criticism.

**MCeran** · November 8th, 2011, 05:29 PM

Thanks for comments! ... i hvala na komentarima

drbibin - vidio sam tvoje radove već negdje, vrlo mračno i "slikarski", jako dobro. mislim da je link bio na Meseldžijinom sajtu.

Mateja - sjajni su ti radovi pogotovo ovi najnoviji sa slikarskim štihom i vidljivim potezima!

Pavel: - in this examples I use gouache for highlights at the end in the making of illustration. I know what should I get from every technique. And I'm still very stubborn and don't want to work digitally.

- ecoline are water based colors - something between inks and watercolors. They are liquid, and very non-waterproof - much more than watercolors. That's great for achieving some effects in illustration. "Talens" in Holland produce this colors.

some more illustrations:

Undead Warrior - 2011. ecoline and acrylic on paper, 32 x 48 cm, personal work

Orc Warrior - 2011. ecoline and gouache on paper, 32 x 48 cm, personal work

Warrior Cat - 2011. acrylic, structure gel, oil on paper, 35 x 37 cm, for Art Order "Anonymus" Challenge

Flaming Sword - 2011. ecoline, airbrush, structure gel, 40 x 68 cm, personal work

Mask of Fear - 2011. ecoline, airbrush, gouache on paper, 22 x 28 cm, my very FIRST illustration for Wizards of the Coast - for Dragon Magazine nr. 400.

**Jeff Lafferty** · November 11th, 2011, 02:31 AM

I love your work. I saw the Eowyn vs the Nazgul piece somewhere before and it just blew me away. Really great work!
Jeff

**CarstenJ** · November 11th, 2011, 07:05 AM

Hi,

excellent and outstandig paintings. I especially love "The awakening". This piece I would like to have as poster.

**Darjan Jurincic** · November 11th, 2011, 07:16 AM

Sjajno! Sjajno! Sjajno!! Pogotovo mi se dopada Undead Warrior..

Pozdrav,
D

**Murr** · November 11th, 2011, 08:06 AM

Awesome sense of composition! And I really like the skull with the runes drawn on it.

**Cyberman** · November 11th, 2011, 06:32 PM

Just epic! really dig the dark fantasy genre man.

**fenko** · November 11th, 2011, 09:27 PM

Thumbs up!

**Coyotes_75** · November 12th, 2011, 08:43 AM

Soooo beautiful!

**Danilo** · November 20th, 2011, 09:38 AM

I allways wanted to learn traditional techniques so good that I can compete with digital. Expetialy water based media like ecoline and tempera.
can you post some step by step images?
Can you explain how you achieve such precision with ecoline? You do lineart first? You use airbrush?
What paper do you use?

thanks
Danilo

**Vaejoun** · November 20th, 2011, 12:28 PM

That Nazhgul piece was awesome, but the first knight and that undead in armor are my favorites.

**Mikko Voipio** · November 21st, 2011, 08:04 AM

I'm thinking five stars.

**f1x** · November 23rd, 2011, 04:36 AM

voted, five starts for great justice

the pieces are amazing, the first one and the eowyn one are among my favourites

**casio** · November 23rd, 2011, 06:30 AM

lovely stuff you got here

**lewiston** · November 23rd, 2011, 09:12 AM

boy - you know your craft... unbelievable that these are traditional media.
Thanks for showing these!

**thegrayslayer** · November 23rd, 2011, 09:42 AM

Great work.

~Slayer

**MCeran** · November 24th, 2011, 12:28 PM

Thank you all for great feedback... Hvala na komentarima

About the step by step process - I'll post some stages soon. Basically it all start with thumbnail sketches. Then more detailed sketch. After that - transfering drawing on paper, and stretching paper on the wooden board. Painting process - I use big wide brush (10 cm) for damping complete paper, and work wet in wet with ecolines and big watercolor brushes. At this stage I put big blocks of colors - basic shapes and working from background to foreground. Next thing are shadows, and going with smaller and smaller brushes. Texture is also important aspect of my illustrating process - splattering colors and water with tooth brush, or rough brushes etc.

Last part are highlights and painting details. I finish illustration with the smallest brush I have adding highlights with gouache.
Sometimes I use airbrush for big areas - adding darker tone or lighter "glow". Airbrush is especially good for those areas that are already painted and any brushwork could ruin it.
Often I use dry brush technique for smaller areas instead of airbrush.

At the end of painting process - and that's when AD approve it or I decide on my personal works the work is done, I take the high res photo and cut out the illustratrion (off the board).

Paper is Fabriano Artistico 300 g/m2.

Hope that helps....

**Harmageddon** · November 24th, 2011, 01:44 PM

Very cool. Nice work, man! I love traditional stuff.
And thanks for explaining your process.

**f1x** · November 25th, 2011, 06:05 AM

Indeed thanks for explaining, I'm eager to see those stages!

**MCeran** · December 9th, 2011, 12:17 PM

Since most of the people like the Fighter illustration, I've posted step by step process for that illustration. It's in the WIP sub forum:

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=233298

hope this will help to explain process of making from drawing to polishing details.