Gryphons

Some older sketches and drawings that I forgot to put here earlier. 

Designing gryphons for a personal project, based on the premise that they're small fire-less relatives of true dragons and tend towards scavenger behavior. For my world building purposes I don't necessarily require them to be immediately recognizable as gryphons/griffins, but need them to look like a creature that could have inspired them.

As dragon relatives, their wings are bat-like, and rather than fur their bodies are covered with rudimentary feathers, something similar to what therapod dinosaurs would gallivant around in or what modern day ratites wear.

Reference! Mostly stuck to vultures but there's some fish in there for flavor. 

Did these silhouettes later after already finding my general look and feel. Just narrowing down little things like overall proportions and wing shape.

Messing Around

Some recent studies, speed-paints and other messes.

Below: Trying out something cartoony. Based on Zedig Diboine a bit and his approach to characters.

Quick moody messes playing around with an old dragon character. About ten minutes for each thanks to some musical motivation.

An unfinished matte painting experiment.

Lunch studies:

Facial Studies

Cold Wolfy Morning

Finished up the last painting of 2014, begun when I was on a werewolf kick and watching loads of terrible television shows. Didn't turn out how I intended but calling it done and moving on. 

Included a WIP to show how much it changed. I'll probably try a painting of a similar fall setting again soon to try and regain some of the things I feel I've lost from this images earlier phases. 

Vultures and a Scaley

Pentel Pocketbrush vultures and a zebre pen doodle dragon.

Leaves leaves leaves

Re-remembered I had found a photo of one of the previous studies under clear overcast conditions. I really like cloudy days (likely a result of growing up in the northwest), the even lighting makes everything stand out crisply and there's less overall ambient occlusion.

Doing these pretty sloppily on purpose, as I'm trying to care less about detail currently and focus on getting the light, color and composition right first.

You're going to have to bear with my atrocious handwriting. 

Env Noodles

 Practice. Some studies and speedy lunch messes.

Light and color, how dost thou function?