GOT Character Design Illustrations
The GOT (Game of Thrones) character design illustrations project was made for the upcoming season of Game of Thrones (HBO). Since I'm a huge GOT fan, I've decided to paint my favourite (and still alive) characters from season 7 - Jon "you know nothing" Snow, Sansa and Arya Stark from the northern faction, Cersei Lannister from the center one, Danaerys Targaryen from the eastern one and two more characters without a specific faction but with very important roles - Melisandre and Brienne of Tarth.
I've been working on my artstyle since I graduated from college this February. Part of my searching process involved creating characters with great personality and a memorable appearance. When GOT season 7 was announced, I thought that could've been a great opportunity to practice. Since GOT have a huge fandom, painting its characters mantaining their appearance/look and the books features/characters was a challenge.
I chose the square format because, initially, the project was meant to be uploaded on Instagram, while the colors came from various palettes taken from the series screencaps.
My purpose was to create a bunch of portraits of the most important characters from the three main factions (the northern one, the center one and the easern one) described in the story, each one with a peculiar background and a distinct look.
I usually start my painting project sketching the initial idea on my digital white sheet in Photoshop CS6. At this stage the sketch is rough, it's just an idea of what I intend to do: I mostly draw shapes.
Then I refine the said sketch on a new layer choosing the right proportions and adding details: this is the final step of the drawing process, and it's mostly definitive.
The painting process is relatively simple: I start creating flat colors layer, then I add both texture and shadows with various textured guache brushes.
People really liked my project, especially on Behance and Instagram. What I've learned from this project is this: the final version of a painting and its appeal doesn't influence the reception of an artwork as much as it is presented: behance users prefer projects to single images, while Instagram users favour both the look and the content of it.
Great work! :D