Phase 1
I leafed through my old sketches & found one of the centaur, Chiron (tutor of great warriors; Achiles, to name one). I did well to keep my sektches! Sketches = Ideas. Never throw ideas away!
It's been a while since I drew these great mythical beasts. I forgot how magnificent they were! Centaurs are a great subject!
The pose is commanding. A solid torso - broad shoulders, a heavy neck & expanded abdominals - give this guy a strong presence.
He will have a horse's mane & a ram's crooked horns. I will give him a scepter, instead of the common bow & arrow.
Most of the background shall be that of a sky, as our king will be standing on a rocky ledge. |
Phase 2
The abdominal area looked inflated, so I minimized it & allowed the ribcage to show more.
The lower extremities have been added. I gave him that of a warhorse's (not the prancing, spindle-legged showhorse's). I decreased the distance between the fore & hind legs so his body wouldn't look cumbersome. I want the upper body to appear as if it is as strong as the lower body (so they'd go together to form a powerful unit).
I am not too happy about his stance - he doesn't look regal/poised enough. He looks relaxed! |
Phase 3
I minimized the knee on a foreleg - now he looks as if he's standing tall.
I added thick masses of hair for his mane, tail & fetlocks.
I've marked where the scepter would be drawn in. Now I'm debating between a scepter or a spear!
Oh well, let's give it some thought & a rest. I'll get back to you later, your Highness. |
Phase 4
Instead of a scepter or a spear, I opted for a halberd. It suits a centaur well, don't you think? The design of this weapon was inspired from an actual European knight's halberd.
I am not sure if my original idea (a sky behind & a rocky ledge below) for the background would fit so I'll give it some more thought.
I cleaned up & darkened the lines - ready for inking. |
Phase 5
The Centaur King is now outlined in ink. All of the lines are perfectly drawn in except for the smudges along the blade of the halberd. I made the mistake of pressing on the ruler too firmly as I inked. White ink can cover them up. |
Phase 6
The head & torso were rendered by cross-hatching, while the hair via contouring.
I'm beginning to wonder whether the horns should be smooth, solid black or just roughly textured. |
Phase 7
The lower extremities have been rendered! It has yet to be darkened to create a bit of contrast with the upper extremities.
The tail & fetlocks have been Shaded-in high-gloss, after his mane.
This centaur's presence is so commanding - he looks larger than life. So, I should devise a background that would "tame" this aspect.
I am stuck with the horns, hooves & the halberd. It's been a long time since I rendered weapons. I have to give it extra thought & care before I ink it in. The key phrase is, "Think before you ink!". |
Phase 8
Decided on black for horns & hooves. There are actually some veins around the horns, which did not scan too well.
Delineated & re-hatched the lower extremities.
Handle of the halberd is solid black, the blade by stripe-ing.
The background is still a mystery to me. |
Phase 9
A friend suggested a dense wooded area for a background. It was an excellent idea though challenging, as I had very little white space left.
Ideally, there would be some grass on the ground but it would create friction with the centaur's fetlocks. So, I opted for a packed clay ground.
The immediate back shows just a minimal expression of a forest. Again, to avoid friction with our subject. |
|
|
|
