Greetings, friends!
I hadn't tried painting any concept art for the board game project I call Western Shores for quite a while. I am just helping with that task. From time to time. And I am still not experienced enough to know that it will work. Sometimes it does.
At other times...I have to scrap the attempts. After learning from my mistakes, that is.
A few things worked well initially. The mountains in the background, the basic layers of the sky and sea, the layout of the land, the feel of part of the settlement...
Then... after accumulating too many mistakes, I just continued trying things out and spoiling it all.
The relative reduction of scale is off. The attempts at iceberg (all right, those were made after the decision to scrap it.), the tilt of the piers, the perspective, and the details on the ships.
The question is...can I learn and keep the good things in my next attempt?
Just starting...
...and on better paper, despite the fact that it behaves differently. I have to sketch more carefully (or sketch anything at all, period) and pay more attention to the scale.
The scene
is supposed to be a Viking harbor in Greenland. And it needs to feel somehow grand. And busy. A colony on the path to exploration of the waters west from there. A land before further land is reached. It corresponds to Brattahlid although it remains a loose interpretation, of course. Brattahlid is the site that Erik The Red established on the south-western shores of the greatest island in the world. One of a size similar to that of Australia. But much more...wait for it...barren than that.
Unless ice is all you're looking for. They would have appreciated it a great deal on Arakis. A reference to Frank Herbert's Dune, nevermind.
Crowdfunding the project — Current State Info
The @thewesternshores account will be set as a beneficiary to receive 50% of the payouts.
The first goal is to fund the illustration process. There will be about 70 unique artworks. Of those, about 22 are now done. The remainder will take about six more months of work.
Once again, any support counts. Including your feedback!
You can directly donate to @thewesternshores.
Options for supporting the project by buying limited edition digital art will soon be available.
Thank you for being with us!
Yours,
Manol
A suggestion, if I may: Your paper is buckling because it can't expand - too much tape. I found it best to use a piece of plexiglas as a paintboard. I wet the plexiglas with a spray, and BOTH sides of the paper with a hake brush. The natural adhesion / suction then holds the paper on the plexi firmly in place while it is damp, without tape. With this method the paper can expand and contract as needed, so there is no buckling (with good quality paper). Hope this helps.
Sure it does, thanks a lot! Although, as you will be able to see in a few minutes when I publish the new result, it was too late for this one. But one learns and comments like yours help a great deal.
I like the painting very much! Are we our own worst critics? :)
Well, when you feel you seriously failed something, it's over. Can't unsee it. So I am trying to make a clean one now. What I wonder is...will I start using digital media instead. There's Undo there ;)
Excellent work, I didn't know you were an artist besides a photographer. Well done! 🤗
Mostly just having fun or venting my ego. Wouldn't say I can paint all that I want. Never with ease. Not that level yet. Sometimes it just flows the right way. And then I butcher it ;)
Thanks!
I'm really enjoying seeing the progress, and I think the game will have a super unique look with the watercoloured art. Very awesome!
Thank you :) The art is doing fine. I am just trying to add to it. When I do fine, too.
The rest of the game varies from being ready to..."Should we start all over?", depending on the mood. It's playable and enjoyable for a while as it is. But there's work to be done in order to kick more ass.