Nov/Dec 2020 Challenge: The Avori Lowlands

[cawood402]

Great work - I love the mountain contour detail and the rounded hills. Adds real character to the map.

[Kisachik the Wanderer]

Thank you for sharing your pencil secrets.

[Adfor]

Thanks a million, all. I've been trying a load of new things with this one, so I'm really glad everyone likes it.

Quick update. I'm laid off, so nothing to do but chores and hobbies. I drew for 11 hours today, to the point that I just can't stand to hold a pencil anymore, but I got a lot done.



Again, sorry for the phone snaps in less than ideal lighting. You can see the tint has darkened, with a bit of minor smudging. It's inevitable, unfortunately. Everything is outlined, though! I believe I'm done with waterways, as well. Did I meet the river quota? Anyhoo, still debating on a second coast line, but I want it to be subtle, maybe to do with the color.

I'm probably a few hours out from completing the primary pencil work. I want to do one final scattering of interesting things to look at after that. Any suggestions?

IR

[Bogie]

The linework is great and I am diggin' the details!

[Dimension Door]

Nice! I like how you hid some details like a fire breathing dragon and a wizards tower. It’s worth to pick up a maginfying glass and search the details

[- JO -]

Yep ! The dragon is so cool !

11hours ? Straight ? Wow... that’s dedication !

I don’t mean to be mean, but I can’t wait for the colors, even if it means more work : the line art is so promising !

[Adfor]

The linework is great and I am diggin' the details!

I'm glad! I've been keen on spreading little nuances throughout as I draw.

Nice! I like how you hid some details like a fire breathing dragon and a wizards tower. It’s worth to pick up a maginfying glass and search the details

Fire breathing? Pish-posh. How about acid breathing, he's a green dragon. I'll be adding a slew of other little details before I get to coloring, so keep the magnifying glass ready.

Yep ! The dragon is so cool !

11hours ? Straight ? Wow... that’s dedication !

I don’t mean to be mean, but I can’t wait for the colors, even if it means more work : the line art is so promising !

Hyperfocus has its uses haha. I can't wait for color either, this is a real pivotal moment for me as an artist. My roommate gave me a really relevant gift last night:

This piece shall be my first over land watercolor piece, and I'm so incredibly nervous that I'm gonna screw it up.

But for now, an update!


Other than some minutiae, I'm calling the line work finished. My poor, poor pencil, RIP.

IR

PS

This is what I have to work with, going to take inventory of what I want to use, and go from there. Any tips about painting in watercolor for a super beginner would be welcomed.

[Dimension Door]

Nice nice! Really cool. Unfortunately I can’t really give you advice on water colors since I’m not an expert..

[Kisachik the Wanderer]

Hi Adfor. I really like your drawing so far, I hope it turns out just as great when you get to use those watercolours. My tip would be to first take a whole page of the same paper and just create colour swatches, paint random blobs of intermixing colours, and see what colour combos you like. One of the most fun things about watercolours is how the washes can mix into all sorts of gradients, and it can be a bit unpredictable, depending on how you work, but is always fun to watch.

It can also be pretty daunting, especially when you are putting down multiple layers of colour, to see the colours fade when they dry. That's normal with watercolour. You always have to mix your wet colours a bit darker than what you want the final colour to look like. I recommend painting several mini-islands in colours you think you might like, and trying a few other colours for water as well, then see which combo you like best, or even post it here and ask.

One thing I do sometimes is create a high quality black and white version of my artwork before I colour it. I then feel very free to use whatever colours I want to try, knowing I have a digital backup that I can play around with another time, try other colours and techniques. It's like creating a save file or giving yourself an extra life in a game.

[- JO -]

You've really taken the term "challenge" literally...
I'm just unable to give you any advice, I never used watercolor... It appears to me as a very intimidating technique... but it sure looks beautiful !
You are in my prayer !