Penumbra's Spellbook

[Penumbra]

Well I guess now is as good a time as any to make a start...
Here is a detail from the Medusa piece that I did for chow #100.
I probably shouldn't have painted at 400 dpi and 20" by 30".
I think that it lost a bit when I resized it for the chow jpg. It was
great fun to work on and an excellent topic.



This is just a start so that I have some motivation...


This was one of the first challenges that I tried. I think I have jumped into maybe 8 challenges so far. Bumskee kicked my butt in this one...



...and a wip of my idea for the Spanish Inquisitor guy...still really rough...

[Vorace]

wonderfull stuff penumbra... Great style

your entries are always inspiring to work harder and harder!

[Penumbra]

Thanks Vorace I really appreciate your kindness.

[Weenie]

The Medusa piece is really amazing - I'm glad you posted it large enough to see all of the details that you've put into it. Both of the colored pieces so far have great atmosphere.

You've got some great rendering down on the head of your Inquisitor, too!

Do you normally work at such a large scale with your digital pieces and how do you compensate for the processing speed on your computer (so far, I've only really dealt with working as large as 300dpi, max 10"x15")?

[Penumbra]

The Medusa piece is really amazing - I'm glad you posted it large enough to see all of the details that you've put into it. Both of the colored pieces so far have great atmosphere.

You've got some great rendering down on the head of your Inquisitor, too!

Do you normally work at such a large scale with your digital pieces and how do you compensate for the processing speed on your computer (so far, I've only really dealt with working as large as 300dpi, max 10"x15")?

Hey thanks for looking... In regards to the file size issue...I started working on the images in sections... but my rig is fairly stout. I have a dual quad-core Boxx running with 8 gigs of ram. I can work pretty large without much slowdown. The Medusa piece, with multiple levels, was running about 600 to 800mbs until I merged the layers. Working in sections can help.

SArch- thanks for commenting and I am keeping an eye on those proportions as it goes along- his head may be a bit too large- I'll have to watch out for it.

[SArch]

I love how detailed these pieces are, especially the first piece with all of the armor and such. As has been said already, the colored pieces have really great atmosphere!

I like the Conquistador too, but he looks a bit strange to me. I don't know if it's because you posted it with only his head shaded or what, but his head looks just a little large to me in comparison with his shoulders. Perhaps it'll make a bit more sense to me once you finish shading the whole thing, but it was just something I couldn't help but notice. Other than that, it's a great start.

I can't wait to see more of your sketchbook stuff! :]

[AsaB]

Glad to see you've started a sketchbook, your work is both inspiration and amazing

The coloured pieces really show how confident you've gotten in digital rendering, both top-notch stuff. Makes me want to practice digital colouring myself, although it's still years till I reach your level! But improving is fun, so I'm not complaining that I've got guaranteed fun years ahead

Your Spanish conquistador has great rendering, I love your pencil shading. Can't wait to see the finished product.
Keep it up!

[Slash]

You got some nice detail here, the medusa is insane! What bothers me about it is that its mirrored, and the fact that it doesn't read as well when zoomed out. It's important to sit back and zoom out every now and then, but I'm sure you know that already.

Other than that its beautiful, especially the hand holding the globe, thats impressive!

Oh, btw, i was wondering, are you male or female? (No worries, i'm not trying to hit on you or anything creepy, i'm just curious. )

[Duq]

Cool to see you start a sketchbook Not much to say except echoing whats already been said.

So I will just say, keep your SB updated, would love to see more of you

[Penumbra]

AsaB-Thanks for looking and I will keep posting even if its just between contracts.

Slash-thanks for the crits and I will be keeping those comments in mind.
In regards to your question...I am a human male.

Duq-Thanks, I am deep in a project but I can always make time for some fun stuff.

[Dreamworker]

Great stuff! I admire your talent.
Ciao

[egerie]

I'm also happy to see you have a sketchbook here Do you have a website by any chance? Also, your first piece for Chow reminds me of some coloring technique I've seen in on of the old ABC warriors comic.

[Penumbra]

I'm also happy to see you have a sketchbook here Do you have a website by any chance? Also, your first piece for Chow reminds me of some coloring technique I've seen in on of the old ABC warriors comic.

I am in the middle of revamping my website. I will post it when I get it to a point that pleases me, thanks for asking. I really loved the old ABC warriors. That's were I first saw Bisley's work and he was an inspiration to me back then. Glen Fabry as well. I sort of grew away from that extreme stylization as time progressed but I guess the influences are still present.

[Chermilla]

Hi there,

Wonderful start to your sketchbook. The Medusa piece is brilliant...just one small crit though, the way in which you've mirrored her armour in order to make it appear symmetrical looks a bit too obvious. It seems to spoil the image somehow, makes it feel too artificial I guess. Perhaps if there where tiny differences in each side, maybe a chip or dent..an imperfection here and there it would help take that feeling away?

I LOVE the 'Deaths Horse' CHOW entry...you say you got your arse kicked!? Well don't be disappointed because it's an amazingly cool effort!! I like how dark it is, and the regergitating of blood into a birds mouth is a nice touch. Also the hands for the hind feet! They are rendered so nicely. Can't wait to see more from you.

Cheers,

Cx

[daestwen]

hey, penumbra! Glad to see you're starting a sketchbook.

I think I told you before, but I will say it again. I really like your medusa, but your original one stole my heart away so thoroughly that this one couldn't get it back again. I really hope you finish the original piece, though I completely understand why you didn't take it to final ("Queenly" wasn't a word I would use to describe it). Maybe you'll post the original here....? <-- (this is a hint )

Anyway, uh, yeah, bye.

[Penumbra]

Here is an illustration that I did for a book project published by Barnes and Noble in'07. They refused to let me show the face. Isn't that odd...




It's a combination of colored pencil, oil and digital.

...and here is a study that I did...trying to teach myself how to control oil paints. The reference was this black and white photo from a magazine. If I can find it I will post it. It was only for educational purpose.Her name is Linda. I call her my muse. She has a look like she has seen the end of the road and doesn't abide much bullsh**. The study was fun but it looks a bit labored and a bit too dry brushed (the paint looks a little lifeless) but I did discover that if I want to spend the time I could take it further into photo-realism, and it helped me through a block. When I get blocked I just do a study of some real thing that I want to paint ,usually a face or figure, and the block crumbles. It is ironic that a work block is resolved by work at least for me anyway.
I ramble a bit....

[The Fez]

Was there any particular reason why they wanted the whole composition to be black and white except for the character's skin? The effect it has on the piece is strange. I'm not going to say it looks bad, because the composition is spectacular, but I might say that the skin tone is a detractive element.

[Penumbra]

Odin-They initially intended to use it as a 5th color endpaper and it would be printed in silver or copper metallic ink. The art director had a thing for semi monochromatic pieces and decided to use it as a partitle(chapter spread).

[lewisaurus]

Linda looks better everytime I see her.

[Penumbra]

Here is a spot illo from my current project. It's signed but it's just a WIP right now.

[Penumbra]

Linda looks better everytime I see her.

Thanks. I'll be gettin' back into the oils shortly.

[theUNKNOWNsketcher]

great!

[Cepro]

Your work is really great! Why does your oil-paint look so grainy if I may ask?

[Penumbra]

Your work is really great! Why does your oil-paint look so grainy if I may ask?

In the face piece It was an experiment using sponge textured gesso, lightly sanded on masonite. I was trying to get the feel of rough skin.

The angelic piece was done on an unsealed rough watercolor paper and it was a nightmare to work on. It sucked the oil right out of the paint and it was like working with nearly dried mud.(I also may have added a bit of noise digitally to obscure the unintentional texture- it was a while back) and for some reason the images show higher contrast online than they do on my end.

Thanks for the kind words.

[Eric Young]

wow! amazing stuff! Keep them coming!

[voraz]

great start to your sketchbook.
Fantastic illustrations, really strong stuff!

[kidult]

the winged character and old lady are really NICE!!!!

[Penumbra]

Here are some concepts for another project that I am involved in...

[Mark Bot]

wow man. just wow.
insane detail on your designs.
those dragon concepts are coming together nicely
really sweet stuff.

[algenpfleger]

crazy, crazy sketchbook sir. really inspiring.