We’ve needed something to go above our tv for a while, and since we’re not in a spot to purchase a huge piece of original art, I decided to go ahead and make one. We’re big ol’ Harry Potter fans over here, so I pretty quickly decided to try a big sweeping pastoral scene of Hogwarts, with our pal Buckbeak hanging out. I started with a small thumbnail:
This gives me a sense of the overall composition. From there, I did sketches of individual elements of the piece. This is the stage where I typically do studies to figure out the bones of whatever I’m drawing.
Then I compile those sketches in Photoshop and make a value comp. This helps me figure out light and shadow before I launch into color.
Then I blow it up and transfer it to the canvas.
This is my first real dive into acrylics, so I went with my local art store’s brand of paint instead of splurging on fancier stuff. I began the painting with a blend of burnt umber and raw Sienna. At this point, I was just trying to figure out value relationships.
I added the sky first since it’s going to be the lightest, and loosest part of the painting.
Once the underpainting was established, I made my way across the painting, throwing in color, starting with darkest values first. I left the water blank until everything else was mostly finished so I wouldn’t have to go back and forth too much.
And the final!
