Anyway, I started on the cover back in January and thought you might like to see the WIP... All of my paintings start with a sketch that features the central figures sans details to get the composition rolling...
Next I do a tighter drawing to refine the characters and fill in the details...
I hate painting on a blank canvas, so the next step for me is always to start laying in the background and atmospherics to start to establish the scene. I wanted to do a winter scene this time so I started by painting in some snow and a heavy sky. In the background there is a line of cavalry. I blocked in the horses so I could establish the spray in the foreground to give the effect of thundering hooves!
I decided I didn't like the sky so I reworked it. You can see a hint of dawn along the skyline. It's still not finished, but I will refine it as I go along - the main thing for me at this stage is to establish the mood.
This step is the most tedious of the whole project - I call it 'blocking in' which is basically coloring in between the lines. Every shape is filled with a block color, sort of like miniature painting.
I'll continue to update this topic as the painting progresses... now I'm off to work on my boards for Historicon.
