ImagineFX - 10.2019

QUICK DIGITAL

SKETCHING SKILLS

Is it possible to design and illustrate a fantasy beast in

about an hour? Monika Zagrobelna certainly thinks so!

I always wanted to

draw my imaginary

creatures as realistically

as possible, but also as

quickly as possible.

While these goals may seem

contradictory, after much trial and

error I developed a method that

produced decent results. I broke down

the drawing process into stages based

on their visual properties, similar to

render passes used in 3D modelling.

My method involves following a

specific order, drawing every stage on

a separate layer. This enables me to

add detail to the creature with every

step, and each stage builds on the

previous one. In the real world, the

final look of every object is a

composite of various effects, and

I applied this thinking as I developed

my approach. This turned out to be

perfect for the process of designing a

creature: I can decide on the colours,

the 3D form and the texture of the

body separately.

To optimise the process even

further, I work with a few simple

brushes, some fur brushes, and I

make good use of SketchBook’s

smudge tools. To add a textured look

to the body, I use custom texture

brushes based on photos. SketchBook

makes it simple to create these on the

f ly, and it takes me about an hour to

draw a creature this way.

1

Prepare the references

To make my creatures believable, I incorporate elements of real animals

into their design. I do this by keeping a set of photo references next to me

while drawing. For this concept I collected photographs of lions, okapis,

porcupine and echidna, which I found on Pixabay (www.pixabay.com).

2

Sketch the silhouette

First I try to draw a miniature version of the

creature. I focus on the general silhouette and the

most prominent features, using a thin brush.

Keeping it small stops me from adding unnecessary

details. Usually, it takes me a few attempts to come

up with a silhouette that I’m happy with.

SketchBook

Monika

Zagrobelna

LOCATION: Poland

Monika is a freelance

artist and a tutorial

author, passionate about

both learning and

teaching. Her speciality

are animals and realistic

imaginary creatures.

https://ifxm.ag/monikaz

Artist

PROFILE

SeaReeds/Pixabay.com

jggrz/Pixabay.com

Cairomoon/Pixabay.com

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