Munchkins: Evasive Little Buggers!

I finally got a good look at them and one thing is for sure... They don't wear bright multicolors, they don't have funky punky haircuts and they certainly don't have a "Lollipop guild" ;). This is more of an exploratory sketch for the final characters. There should be a third guy in there, but I ran out of space on my page... I'll post him later. I am pretty sure I will have my first sketch of Nick Chopper (pre-Tin Man) ready for posting tomorrow. The work is flowing rather naturally the more I spend time in this world... I am excited to continue!

Sketchbook: Refined Poses for Dorothy

These are my refined pose sketches for my first two pieces. The first one intended as an Ex-libris and based on the first compositional sketch I uploaded a little while back. The second is for the first story Illustration, and is based on the sketch in the post directly below. I had drawn another sketch for the Ex-libris pose last week, but I noticed that there was something off about it. I could not pin point it at first and then I realized that I had become far too relaxed with my rough anatomical pose. Granted this is Illustration, not a design for a film; one can get away with some anatomical inaccuracies here and there. Still, I was not comfortable showing that last sketch so I removed it. Ultimately what really drove me to draw it again was that I did not want to settle on a mediocre plan. After all, these are the poses that will be in the final piece, and I wanted to be confident in the plan that I am laying out because once the inks and watercolors are applied I have to go with it whether I like it or not.

It has been rather enjoyable doing these sketches of Dorothy. One gets to know the personality of these characters the more they are drawn. I think once I have finished my first Illustration she will have emerged fully in my mind. She will be much easier to draw over and over again as I work on further Illustrations. Now the challenge for these first two pieces will be painting the Calico pattern on her dress. This is before she switches to her "OZ attire."

The Tin Woodsman has taken a bit of a back seat but I feel it was necessary since I have also been working on sketches for the "Munchkin Council." This made me realize that my design for the Tin Woodsman was a bit premature since the Munchkins revealed themselves to be of a rather specific physiological design. Nick Chopper was originally a Munchkin, so I am working on a design that will follow the pattern I have discovered in my sketchbook. I hope to post the Munchkin sketches within the week. Thanks for looking.

Sketchbook: Composition Thumbnail 2

"The house must have fallen on her. Whatever shall we do?"

I am getting pretty excited to start working on some Illustrations. The above sketch is one I am itching to work on, however I still need to finish preparing my paper stretchers. It would be a shame to paint this on a nice sheet of Arches 140 # Hot Press without stretching it to avoid buckling. I am preparing two stretchers so I can work on this and the composition from my previous entry simultaneously. As the caption suggests, this is the scene where Dorothy discovers what is left of the Wicked Witch of the East and her Silver Slippers. This is still a very rough idea... what I would call a "color sketch." You'll notice that the Munchkin Council behind the Good Witch of the North are very roughly sketched in... I will be working out the final poses in my sketchbook before I start working on the final piece. I also want to try and resolve any compositional issues beforehand.

Meanwhile, the Tin Woodsman is coming along nicely, though I am working on his pre-tin portrayal, but it should go rather quickly since I am feeling the fire to get on to some scenes. Thank you for looking.