dragons for
beginners
I have plenty of references
on lizards, snakes and
crocodiles, but only for the
textures. For the structure
of dragons, I find one’s
imagination is more
reliable. It’s best to design
fantastical creatures
without help, relying on
memory and imagination,
before going back to the
photos to paint any details.Pencils for small sketches
A sketch needs to be legible. I prefer to do mine in
pencil, only doing colour sketches at gun point. I’ll
save colour for later, when I’ll be working full size.Artist insight Book cover
August 2017^113
1
establishing the setting
Not knowing the spine widths in advance,
I decide to extend the rocky scenery to the
left, just in case the book ends up wider
than planned. The first step is to paint the
sky using plenty of water and bright colours.
I really want to depict an evening scene,
because this means the foreground will be in
shadow, which is the look I’m after.2
the risky Part
I mask off the sky, silhouetting the cliff
and the dragon. I prefer using wide brushes
and generous gestures when painting rock,
so masking is crucial. It’s important to cut
most of the way through the thickness of the
tape but not quite, to avoid damaging the
paper underneath. I press down hard on the
tape, to avoid colours leaking underneath.3
keePing a light on
The blue glow of the sculptor’s hands
needs to be part of the background itself.
Lots of cliff and rock photos, mostly mine
but also scavenged from magazines, serve
as reference for details and general
structure. I paint the sculptor over the blue
glow, leaving out the hands themselves,
which will be added last.step-by-step: Painting the rocks and magical sculptor