Wandelgart

An aspiring naturalist.

[wandelgart]

Plagioscutum illustration from 2018, done first in watercolour washes for values and oil paint after. Watercolour pencils were also used for additional blocking in of paint (fern details). Added above are colour schemes and composition thumbnails and an in-process picture of the oil painting stage.

Finished illustration.

For reference, I used pictures from trips or my surroundings (ferns, branch, etc.) and I created a model from artificial clay to get some perspective for the animal.

[wandelgart]

My second entry in the continuing series "A bit of Fry & Laurie". Though Hugh Laurie is perhaps best associated today with the brilliant character he played on the Fox hit show "House", the actor found initial success as part of a BBC comedy duo in the late 80's, along Mr. Stephen Fry.

Painted digitally in Photoshop CS6 - wet media brushes mainly (default set), on a Wacom Intuos tablet. Calligraphy brushes used for the type.

[wandelgart]

“Fry and Laurie” - Entry One

“A bit” of a portrait I’ve made of the wonderful Stephen Fry in his old comedy days (in this instance, “A bit of Fry and Laurie”, Season 1, 1989).

This is part of a “Fry and Laurie” series I’ve started doing. 

Had some problems with my values, as I was tweaking them constantly, but I toned it down after dire results. Done in Photoshop CS6, using a Wacom Intuos tablet and preset brushes.

[wandelgart]

Are you a freak?

To say the least.

[wandelgart]

Extracted my tiny Intuos from its cavernous hiding place and tried my hand at some digital art. First proper concept art/ character design I’ve ever done.  Still prefer traditional, but I enjoyed this first experience. 

Photoshop CS6, no reference.

I’ll be back with some (new) traditional paleoart. 

[wandelgart]

A STUDY IN CHARCOAL

Yes, that is a Sherlock Holmes reference. I’ve been doing charcoal studies lately in preparation for my coming illustrations and have decided to switch to this medium for my future preliminary drawings and underdrawings. The values stand out much better when using charcoal and my fears of the drawing being obstructed by the first layer of paint disappear. Observe that in the first picture I made notes on what had to be rectified (the corrected version being in the second picture).

[wandelgart]

Hi there! I improvised a tripod for holding my sketchbook from parts I found around my house. It's more of a novelty item I constructed in less than a day, but it does the job. http://wandelgart.blogspot.ro/2017/06/improvised-tripod.html?m=1

[wandelgart]

Another study of an Amanita regalis from last year.

[wandelgart]

Quick announcement: I present you my new signature (which I will use for illustrations only). Also, I have decided to use handwriting in my art from now on, as much as possible (experimenting a bit with calligraphy). :)

The last thing I would like to bring to your attention is a new project. A paleoart project. I am illustrating Coelophysis bauri, a species of coelophysid dinosaur that lived during the latter part of the Triassic Period. I will be posting photos, drawings, etc. which show the whole process of creating the illustration. I want to apologize for the lack of paleo-related content and I hope this project will make up for it.

[wandelgart]

This one I found a while ago as I was walking through the woods. I'm away from home and only have my phone to process the illustration, hence the different format. "Amanita regalis is a species of fungus in the Amanitaceae family. Common in Scandinavian countries, it is also found in eastern and northern Europe." Wikipedia

[wandelgart]

Here you have a member of the Mustela genus. Well, only its skull. When I stumbled upon it, the mandible and canine teeth were gone and nowhere to be found. Judging by its well developed sagittal crest, this guy was an adult.

Announcement: I’m going on a paleo dig next month so do expect notes, photos and illustrations.

Have a great day!  

[wandelgart]

Hey folks! School is almost over and I’ll have more time to illustrate. Until then, here is a Nephrolepis exaltata frond I made. Enjoy. :)

[wandelgart]

Greetings, fellow humans! It has been some a long time since I last posted something, I know. I am going to continue posting paleoart (which should be the main objective, but whatever), just give me some time. This is an extract from my mini school biology project on reptile vision and smell, extract which focuses on the vomeronasal organ. The green snake-head-thing is not an accurate representation of a snake head. I am actually ashamed of it because in a lot of places the scales or scutes are not placed correctly. But again, the goal was not to make an accurate representation of a snake head, but to show the olfactory system. Because it hasn’t turned out as accurate as it should have, I will, at one point in the future, do a proper one. But, until then, some paleoart projects.

[wandelgart]

Here I am, still alive and back with something a bit different: the Peruvian grapes. They are substantially larger than regular grapes, seedless (the kind that I ate) and the rachises have a very rough texture.

“Peru’s grape exports have skyrocketed in the past decade, going from practically non-existent in the year 2000 to about 280,000 tons last year. This significant change has been driven by attractive prices and numerous overseas market opportunities, and a major boost in production as a result of new areas planted in Peru. Grape production in Peru was estimated to reach 520,000 tons last year.” (source: eurofresh-distribution.com)

Note: I’ll be back with some paleoart soon. Hopefully. Plus I’ve got some pretty interesting upcoming projects. :D

[wandelgart]

Once again we fast forward (this time from the Middle Devonian to the Middle Carboniferous, meh... about...80 million years, give or take) to a time of change. Animals emerging from water in an ambitious attempt to survive the harsh conditions of their environment. It is the time of land conquering. The guy you see up here is one of the first true reptiles, one of the first to enter the Reptilia hall of fame. From here on, our true journey begins.

Artist’s note: I know, it has that old-school illustration look. I know it could’ve been better, but I just can’t help it. :)  Made in pencil on yellow paper and edited in PS6 (you know, contrast-wise). Oh, another thing. I’ll try to make one in colour next time.

(Sorry for the long break, but school work has taken up most of my time, not to talk about the countless exams. I’m still alive though.) 

[wandelgart]

Announcement

Hello everybody! I want to thank you for the amazing feedback and present some future plans for this blog:

1. I was thinking about starting to focus on illustrating prehistoric species that haven’t been regarded by paleoartists as important or worth illustrating (the lack of a more detailed reconstruction of a certain animal or plant also applies). Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t be occupying the rest of my already limited free time with other side-projects, such as illustrating famous and well documented species. This should give the blog a touch of uniqueness. :p

2. I will try making it a habit to post at least 1 illustration a week, if time permits. 

Thank you all again and I’m glad that you are my companion on this journey. Ba-bye

[wandelgart]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you what is probably, at the moment, the most complex and detailed reconstruction on planet Earth of Pterichthyodes. More exactly, Pterichthyodes milleri. You can see all the bone plates that form its heavy frontal (upper) body armour and the naked, scaly tail (lower) with the fins. Its wing-like appendages which correspond to and were derived from the pectoral fins seen in modern fish and other non-antiarch placoderms, were used for locomotion (probably crawling :p ).  

Artist’s notes: I made it in pencil on yellow paper and enhanced the contrast in Photoshop. Enjoy! :D