Magical Desert Toad Turns Unsuspecting Passersby to Dust!

 In Videos, Works in Progress

Book of Wyrms have great ideas for songs, like undead pegasus’, ghost drifters and Dust Toads! Which is why I was so stoked to work on this Dust Toad tour poster for the band’s upcoming Premytholigizer tour.

You can hear one of the songs from their last release, Sci-Fi/Fantasy in the speed painting video above. If you like it, you should check them out on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Bookofwyrms/

The process for creating this piece was pretty straightforward. I cut-out a piece of illustration board, to size, at 11×17 inches and then coated it with acrylic gesso. After transferring the drawing using graphite paper, I got straight to work with oils. I did change-up my process this time by mixing all of my colors ahead of time. The upside to doing so is that I was able to work much faster. The downside is that I wasted a LOT of paint. I think next time around I’ll have a better frame of reference for how much paint to actually mix.

A side note: Premixed paint definitely requires good storage. I was able to use these paints for 3 weeks by storing them in the freezer in mini containers with caps (purchased at an art supply store), but I was starting to get some dry spots in the darker colors by the time I did my last sitting. I think any longer than 3 weeks would have been too long for them to be usable.

After completing the artwork, I flash dried it in front of an area heater and scanned it into my computer in pieces (it was too big to scan as a whole). Then I reassembled the pieces in Photoshop and created the final Poster Design using Adobe Illustrator.

I’ve said this before, but I’m a VERY slow painter. I think I clocked about 30 hours on this painting and another 4 to 6 on the drawing (believe it or not, that’s record time for me). Speed, and having adequate time to dedicate to making art at all is a constant struggle for me. I love doing this, but I often find myself questioning the purpose of it all, and am perpetually frustrated and discontented with my own work.

I want to do betterI want to be good at this.

I don’t know what that actually means, or if I’ll ever feel like I’ve actually ‘gotten there,” but lately I’ve found myself really tired and dejected. I’m taking a break from commissions (and maybe from art altogether) for a little while.

When you really love something, by default you give it the power to crush you. Passion is a heavy burden, and I feel like I’m slipping under the weight of it. I need to rest (lest I be crushed to death!)

As always, thanks so much to everyone who has supported my efforts. You have no idea how much it means to me

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