Original size 8.5*11 © 2011 Alex Ledante |
Lately I seem to be entering a Steampunk phase, which is a deluxe space for me to be in since I love to model pipes and gears- plus I still get to indulge my Goth fetish so this is nothing but win. Ever since I saw Castle Cagliostro (a depressingly long time ago) I've wanted to do a piece set inside a clock tower and now have finally realized that dream
Although I did do a rough sketch on paper, it didn't get scanned in; just drew it on the machine and went from there. She was easy to work on, only needed two major fixes before I had a final. Adopting a purely digital solution allows me to quite agile and rapid in the development process: Traditionally, I would have to do a few loose watercolor studies and then possibly a tighter final to really get a handle on how to proceed but this time I just built the models and did some low rez renders until I understood the possibilities
Even choosing the palette was a breeze, which is usually something I have to struggle with. Because there were no client requirements, I simply let the piece itself drive and allowed my color choices to flow organically from the existing scheme. Now that could've got me into trouble (I've literally painted myself into a corner doing this sort of thing before) but not this time so I'm either getting better at the process or better at pushing my luck
Because I am currently working on a swords & sorcery type RPG, you'd think that I would be doing that sort of work on my free time just because that's the head space that I am in but amusingly enough, all I want to do are Steampunk pics and Japanese schoolgirl pics. Go figure...