ZULU: Fish and Frog Scene - Life of an Illustration, Part 1

      Here is another painting I picked to take to the final stage from my Zulu book. Below are a couple of thumbnails that I initially made just to get the main/broad idea on paper. They are usually terrible with no sense of composition and other times they are practically perfect on the first try! Obviously this illustration took the long route... Once I've let the ideas brew for awhile, I make a full size (or almost full size) rough sketch to work on composition and make sure I leave room for the text. For this illustration I wanted to have fun with incorporating the text into the image. The one below is a later rough sketch. I made a few for this illo, so I eventually added a bit of value to it to help see where the problems were and what needed to be fixed for the final sketch. Next I made the final pencil sketch and expanded each side of the image by about .75" to allow for a bleed. (This is important for illustrators to remember early on or you will have a whole world of problems later!) Finally I added digital color to the pencil sketch and worked out some value problems. There are still some things I will change as far as value and color for the final painting, but it's a good reference while I paint.

      Tune in next time to see the final painting!