Ragnarok: Fenrir Swallows Odin Whole

Yay! I FINALLY FINISHED! Sorry folks, that took way too long.  If memory serves we started this project back in november? Awful, simply terrible.  But I have been doing a couple commissions and arranging my wedding preparations, which include a bit of design work.  But I have finished.  This is my depiction of a small event that happens during Ragnarok, the Norse Armageddon, where Fenrir, a giant wolf, swallows Odin, the Norse Zeus, whole.  Don't worry, because later one of Odin's sons, Víðarr, cuts Fenrir's belly open, freeing Odin.  I love Odin, he's got one eye, carries a spear, has wolves and ravens at his bidding, and has a great big bushy beard!  I painted a portrait of my professor, Dennis Nolan, as Odin back in college.  I am Danish, so I have Viking blood in me, or at least I tell myself that every night before  I sleep, so I loved doing this piece.  I had been a little while since I had done something so big, 18" x 24", which I thought this painting deserved.  Hope you all like it!

Craig's Viking

Here is my not yet a viking youth and his vision of Valkyries. My grey underpainting pulled me towards a subdued color scheme with cool blue light.

Hartford Art School Low Residency MFA in Illustration

Have you ever thought about getting your MFA in Illustration, but were worried about the time commitment, the cost, having to move, etc? Well, I just want to take a moment to put in a plug for the Low Residency MFA in Illustration at the Hartford Art School. I am in the midst of my first year in the program, and fellow RWP-er Scott Murphy will be joining the program this summer. Since beginning the program last July I have my first two children's book proposals under review, I have gotten work from a dream client, I have had my work re-energized, my understanding of the history of the field of illustration has deepened, and my circle of illustration contacts and friends has expanded to include folks from across the country who work not only in the children's and fantasy markets, but who do concept work, editorial, licensing, and more.

For me, the best part about the program is that my classmates and the faculty are ALL working illustrators. Many of my classmates are mid-career, so have quite a lot of experience in the field, and at least half of them are already teaching on a college level. Every single person involved in the program, whether faculty or student, is a great resource for information and feedback.

The program is structured so that its students can continue to live their lives, so that it won't disrupt their freelance or teaching careers, or their other full or part-time jobs. Those that have families don't have to move, or be limited to only what is offered nearby. We are technically full-time students, but only meet for a total of four weeks out of the year for two years (three summers). These one or two-week intensives are exactly that - intense! I always come away from them full of inspiration and new ideas. In-between the intensives we work on some small assignments, and most importantly we develop our thesis projects. For a lot of students, the thesis is something that they have been wanting to work on for a while, but needed some motivation and guidance to make it happen. I have been working on my thesis for 7 months now, and have over a year to go, and I am incredibly excited about it. I'm sure I'll do some posting about it in the months to come.

So that's my little pitch for this fabulous program. If you are thinking about getting your MFA and the low residency format sounds right for you, you can read more about it on the website here - Hartford Art School MFA in Illustration. Be sure to check out the mind-blowingly amazing list of faculty, and links to the work of current students.

Lis's Viking Final - "Rán's Embrace"

Here is my final piece! Watercolor/acryla gouache/digital - I want to make the corrections in the painting that I made digitally. I just did them digitally first because it's easier to see what I'm right and wrong. Submitting it to Spectrum tomorrow along with two others!



I found some more great information about Rán here - http://reclaimingthedarkgoddess.blogspot.com/2010/03/ran-norse-goddess-of-sea.html

From the link:

"She has been called cruel, greedy and insatiable. She reigns over the the Underworld found at the bottom of the sea. Ran mated with Her brother, Aegir, the sea god, and they had nine beautiful daughters, the Waves... Her name means "robbery", and She could often be found lurking on the dangerous cliffs and, with the help of Her daughters, enticing mariners to approach; once within Her reach, She spread Her fishing net over them and calmly draws them down into Her realm.

"The Norse people believed that drowning victims were not admitted into Valhalla; instead, they went to Ran's realm of the dark. She was, therefore, also considered to be a Goddess of the Dead. If the dead had gold, they were treated well within Her deep sea abode, and the mead would flow freely... Ran represents water; and, as such, She controls the life force of all the creatures on Earth."

Craig's Viking Underpainting

Inspired by Petar Meseldzija I decided to do an underpainting for this piece.

http://petarmeseldzija.blogspot.com/2011/12/conan-commission-part-2.html

He, of course, has a lot of experience and I'm sure his handling of the thinness of the paint sets up a better underlayer than I've created here. Also I know a warm underpainting can set up some great contrasts and warm shadows but I simply used a grey palette made of Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue, and Titanium White. This was an experiment in planning tone for me. I spent too much time blending the background instead of just laying it in but I'm happy with the way I simply blocked in the forms on the rest.

P.S. I had a family friend pose for the face and made my viking even younger. This will also contribute to a better expression on his face. I added a bundle of sticks on his back for a little storytelling ... "I was out collecting firewood when suddenly ..."

Lots of painting still to go!

Becca's Viking Painting - In Progress

Hey All! Soooo I'm a bit late on this thanks to some commissions, but I'm posting the progress to see what you guys think of where it's going. I need to darken up that shield and play a bunch more with the background... basically everything can use some more work, but I'd love your thoughts before I finish it up! Thanks! (Also FYI the colors look a lot duller here than on my computer! Ug. Technology. Anyone have suggestions for that too?)

Lis's Viking Teaser

So my viking painting is finished but I'm expecting a critique tomorrow and might have a few changes. I don't want to post it until those changes are done! Here's a teaser (:

Becca's Vikings - Underpainting!

Hey guys! OK so I'm just so excited about this piece that I wanted to share the under-painting (in progress). Yay!

Ragnarok: Fenrir Swallows Odin Whole Sketch

Sorry for the quality of the picture, this was as good as I could do right now.  Fenrir, the huge wolf, eats Odin whole as Valhalla is destroyed in the background by falling meteors or fireballs or something epic like that.  In the final I'm thinking Fenrir will be tones of red, pretty much the entire pice will be in a reddish hue.  Snow will be falling, people will be running out on the gates of Valhallah.  It's gonna be fun.

Craig's Viking Drawing

Here is my Viking drawing. I need to do a color sketch next and in it I will be paying a lot of attention to planning out the tones of the various layers involved here including all the atmospheric hazy levels. For now I'd love to hear which details of the drawing work for you and which need tweaking. I'm pretty happy with most elements but I'll let you comment first. Thanks!