This is my signature character. It was completed shortly after graduating from college with a B.A. in Art (Illustration) from Western Ct. State University.
Up to this point I had been doing a great deal of blue line drawing, but had never finished a full color piece. So one week I spent about 40 hours painting this one out.
The sketch itself was done as a profile and a straight on set. I then scanned the picture into the computer and printed it onto Bristol Vellum. As the printer didn't have a straight through feature, it took several tries to keep the thicker paper moving through the printer.
Once I had the image on the paper I wanted, I used 3/0 and 5/0 brushes with Acrylic to lay in the base colors. After working through that phase, I switched to FW Ink and essentially used them as glazes. Color pencil was used sparingly to tighten up the darker areas and creases.
The basis of the design came from Bat skulls that I photographed at a Washington DC museum. The skulls had been recast in plaster and the photo I had taken was blurry. When you take away the literal reference for a general one, the result can be more instinctively creative.
Although this piece was finished in 2003, it remains a pivotal piece on my journey as a character designer.
My style has not changed much over the years and you will see, in a later post, how Snoggle goes through a redesign process.
Thank you for taking a look at my work and feel free to ask questions in the comment section.
Chris
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