This is the pencil sketch for the bull prior to adding the wings. The outline, again without wings, is shown below. One of the cool things I can do in Procreate is use the symmetry tool. In this case, I used it on the head of the bull when doing the outline to get the horns the same and have the bull looking straight at the viewer. By tilting the center axis of the symmetry, it gives a more natural position to the head and makes for a stronger overall image.

After various delays and diversions, it is finally finished. The further I tumble down this rabbit hole, the more I understand the simplicity of Smith’s original designs. sometimes, I get so caught up in the artistry, that I lose myself in the details. I end up spending hours on things that no one else will likely ever see.

As always, I would love to know what people think. Use the Contact link at the top of the page leave a comment.

Below is a larger image of just the artwork from the card to give an idea of just how much detail will be missing if I ever get them printed in card format. This shows what I mean when I talk about putting in things that only I will ever see.

“Wheel of fortune” First Look

This is probably my least favourite card I’ve worked on so far. Mostly because it’s not a scene. This one is just a collection of disparate creatures whose only unifying features are wings and books. Except for the ones that don’t have either.

Due to the unique nature of the subjects, I had to go old school for some of them. The sphinx, bull and lion were all sketched out with a pencil and paper, photographed with the iPad. From there, I imported the photo into Procreate where I added a layer to create the outline for the linework. I then hide the photo layer, copy the outline, open the artwork for the card and paste the outline there. At that point, I can scale the pasted creature and ink it to match the style of the rest of the image.