Monday 26 November 2007

Tiki Spirit

I have spent the last few days working on this new piece, as usual- here is a run-down on the process for those that are interested. After numerous thumbnail sketches getting the shapes right and drawing a lot of totems and skulls (so much fun to draw) i finally got the idea sorted and moved into artrage to pencil out a refined drawing on an oil textured pink background. The next sequential shots show the first few steps, the girls skin painted then the clothing.



The rest of the painting progressed in much the same way, tackling each section in separate files in order to bring it all together in a master photoshop file.



After the robots came the skulls, fish, mug and bottle, then the grass with the foreground leaves and the forest and volcano coming in near the end. Unusually for me, this piece was painted almost completely in painter with oil brushes then brought into photoshop for tweaks. This was largely due to the end effect i had in mind- i wanted this piece to look more like a painting on weathered wood and for more texture to be apparent. Painter allows me more freedom to create a work more closely resembling actual paint.

Almost the last piece to be finished was the girls tattoo, as you can see from the sequence- the majority of the painting is finished, this was so i could see how the colors would work together and get a better idea of the shape i had to work with.



Finally, distressed effects were added together with a more fitting border shape. Below is the final image together with some 100% closeups. Prints of Tiki Spirit are now available to buy through CIA Shop.



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent work, it hardly looks digital at all. Wish I had some of your skill in this area.

Along with the Creep Machine site, I also write weekly articles for SFWeekly, and I just added a print of yours this weeks roundup.

You can see it here:
SFWeekly prints article

Tom Bagshaw said...

Thanks for the feedback and the post on SFWeekly Creep Machine- unfortunately i cant find a contact email to say thanks in person- so hope you catch this ;)

imwithsully said...

I love looking at the process shots. Awesome work!

Maurizio Ercole said...

Awesome artwork! Is now published in somewhere?

Tom Bagshaw said...

thanks maurizio, it was actually a private commission.

Anonymous said...

it kinda looks like a band title. Very SEXY!!!!!!!!!!

Ginger Monnkey said...

ha ha...was researching a new illo and your piece came up in google. Beat me to the 'Tiki' dude...Freaking love this!!! Got my game face on now!

Unknown said...

Love the art, but came upon the image researching images for a hula girl tattoo, and her tattoo is exacly what i'm looking for, any chance you make a tattoo flash?