I recently did this watercolour painting as a surprise gift! (Not a gift from me, a surprise gift from one girlfriend to another of their WoW characters). I really enjoyed trying to capture a dynamic between the two characters and giving them some scenery. I took a few progress images with my phone/scanner, so I thought it’d be fun to share those.
Final sketch before painting. This is not the "first" sketch.
This next image is a bit shadowy because of being taken with my phone (I don’t scan at this stage because the paper is often still a bit damp and I don’t want to chance dirtying it).
First washes.
In case I haven’t mentioned this…photographing a painting is hard. Especially when you have to hold the painting in one hand, and the camera in the other (without getting your hands into the photo).
Not finished, but getting there!
The above still needs detailing on the shaman dress primarily.
Aaaand done!
This is the final image, scanned in and colour balanced as best I can. Scanning watercolours is tough because some subtleties always seem to be lost. I’ve found that the best way to handle this is to not use the scanner driver (my scanning software has an option) and then to turn off “Auto Tone” in the more advanced settings. This seems to prevent the scanner from washing out the lighter areas by trying to pre-set the contrast itself. Anyway, that’s Teeny and Claire enjoying an afternoon in Nagrand! You know I love any commission that involves draenei. No, I don’t have a problem, why do you ask?
Manalicious 
Comments on: "Tuesday Art Day: Teeny & Claire" (11)
That’s so gorgeous. I am so jealous of your artistic abilities!
“No, I don’t have a problem, why do you ask?”
/cough
So says the person who couldn’t bring herself to create a Sindorei….
/cough
Anyway, that’s a great job, Vid!!
Oh, that’s beautiful! I don’t understand how you can keep it so “clean” on a watercolour.. but that’s probably why watercolours and I never could get along.. I always get them too smeared out and all over the place *lol*
Nagrand is one of my favourite landscapes as well 🙂
Haha. Well, I force myself to be patient and wait for bits to dry before I paint other parts (or move to an other part of the painting away from an area I know is still wet). I also keep a piece of Kleenex really close by – ready to quickly dab off any colours that go outside of where I want them too, or are darker than I’d like! Somehow watercolours and I always just “clicked,” it’s acrylic and oil I don’t get along with as well! It dries so fast, or it takes so long to dry! I really want to apply myself at some point and try to learn one or both.
Beautiful. 🙂 I love the soft quality to aquarells. A very nice composition, too. I can almost hear them talking.
It’s so pretty on the wall! \o/
Thank you again for making my first commission experience so smooth and positive! ^^
That’s a beautiful drawing right there. I absolutely adore the peaceful atmosphere and the soft colors… You can really get a sense of the friendship they share and it makes me feel all mushy inside. 😀
I find it hard to be the seventh or eighth commentator here because I only want to say how amazing your artwork is, which has been said seven or eight times before. That said, your work is a stunning as always, and I found the process shots to be a very interesting view into how your work gets done. Great post, and great work!
Like Stubborn, I’m perpetually late to the party. So I’ll just say what I meant to say, and leave it at that:
“Fucking gorgeous. Amazing that you can get that much detail in watercolor.”
You’re too kind, really. Thank you for the comments!
[…] love commissions that have a story behind them like this one. I’ve done at least one other painting of a couple as a surprise commission. This one was a bit of a last-minute affair and I had to rush […]