Rocket Raccoon and Baby Groot

I recently submitted an artwork for the ARtstyleArt competition here on Steemit (https://steemit.com/artstyleart/@aksinya/5th-artstyleart-winners-modern-africa-25-steem-15-sbd-to-giveaway). The subject matter was for an African theme using a modernist approach and after viewing a number of modernist painters I felt that I could get the right look and tell a story by combining both the traditional and digital techniques. The process was so much fun that I decided to try it out again and I've been wanting very badly to draw these two characters.

So here's the breakdown!

I always start with little bitty thumbnails so that I can see what the feel will be like at the end of the painting. It's always a good idea to use simple stick figures and shapes to see if your final image is going to read clearly and to give yourself a lot of room to experiment.

Loose sketch, Rocket protecting Baby Groot. I like that Rocket has a soft side that he hides

Next comes the sketch phase. I still stay pretty loose with this because I know that when I start adding details and shading, the image is going to tighten up and I want to try to not have a stiff pose at the end. After I've got something I like and I feel like the important information is there I go in with a wash of warm and cool colors where I think the lights are going to be.

First wash of colors

After the wash dries up I start going in with more thick opaque paints to build up the important shapes I want for the final.

Finished watercolor base

Once I feel happy about the base I've laid for my painting I take it over to the scanner and bring it into photoshop. This is the cool part. I set the painting to an overlay layer and mess with the levels so that it retains the original look. All of the digital painting is done underneath this layer so that the brush strokes and the texture of the paper stay on top.

Rocket and Baby Groot

I've really enjoyed this additive process and I feel like I don't have to sacrifice the sketch phase now that I can use it in my process. Digital painting just got more natural and fun!

I hope you've enjoyed this, thanks for stopping by!