This illustration was created with oil paints. I went out on the web and found a picture of Tolkien. I picked one that had visual interest and would be fun to paint. I decided on the color purple because I felt that it fit Tolkien's personality and works of literature. I really like how it turned out. His wrinkles and the way he smiles make you want to smile with him. Looking back, those wrinkles gave me the most grief, simply because every time I went
to the reference picture I noticed more wrinkles!
to the reference picture I noticed more wrinkles!
To create the wash I first sketched out the picture with charcoal. Then I started with a light wash and removed most of the white. After I was satisfied with the lights I sprayed the painting with a setting spray and started on the mediums. When I was done with those, I repeated the spraying process and moved on to the dark's. After the dark's were finished I put the final coat of setting spray on. I waited a few days for it to completely dry and then I scanned it and brought it into Photoshop. I enhanced the contrast and saturation. Producing the picture you now see. After studying his picture for so long I think Tolkien would have been a very interesting person to meet.
