Making of the Naval Officerby GuzBoroda, Russia Web: www.guzboroda.ru



This image was created as a cover for the PC game for client Akella where the player had to participate in sea battles, trade with various countries and to establish own colony in East India. The main idea I choose naval officer in ceremonial suit at a marine landscape. I specifically avoid any action in this figure. I want to draw brave and nobility captain. Since the game takes place in the English colonies, I use English military costumes.

In the beginning, I fill background by beige, creating another layer with composite method “gel”, choose a 2B pencil and start drawing. Determine the composition and give full attention to the idea of the image, there is very important for me. In this case the main idea is a serious person officer. On this stage most important thing for me is to consolidate the basic idea in the beginning, and then the work goes much faster.



I make changes in the composition throughout my work. With the lasso I select the pieces of the picture increases and moving them as I want. From that moment I start searching the references for my subject - uniforms, ships and even the Taj Mahal. As the reference of human anatomy I use Andrew Loomis’s and Burn Hogarth’s books. I like the fact that they have to overstate the human body muscles, they helps me in understanding the anatomy. Photography can’t help it as a penciling. But! If Loomis and Hogarth can’t help me after all, I take the desktop mirror of my wife and find my answers there ;).



At the initial stage, I drew a mast behind the backs of the steering, but later when viewing the reference material, I understand it’s can’t be like this. I had to move not only the mast and pieces on the background, but I had to refuse a sail and placed ropes on another direction. At this stage, I draw everything by using the minimum number of colors, a round oil brush with a large diameter. I try to solve all the objects in tone and constantly think of the overall composition! The most important thing for artist is to look at own work and did not see three people + ship + the city and the sky, but see the spots, the unique shapes and rhythm. It is very important! In fact, the combination of these abstract forms most important rather than the correct anatomy and authentic costumes. If your composition do not take into account the movement of these forms, there is no beautiful military uniform can’t help your work. I will tell you honestly, in this work, I was carried away drawing “correct” blue jacket, cocked hat, and other parts of the scene and forgot about the forms that I wrote above. Now I know that the shrouds, mast, wheel and the edge of the ship should have been resolved differently. But, if you excuse me, I must give you one more advice: after you’ve finished the picture, and after the veil has fallen from your eyes and you saw a bunch of errors don’t turn back! Fixing old bugs you will never be able to develop your skills properly. If so disgusting to look at own work, draw it again, but did not correct the finished work. Start a new one! Remember your mistakes and in the future this knowledge will help you.




That I don’t get bogged down in the details, I use a large brush, and after I decide that nothing more I can do with this brush, I make a move to a small diameter. In this work, I used a few tools: pencil, eraser, round oil brush, blender (rare), lasso, and sometimes aerograph for overlay effect or staining. In my work with oil brush I constantly adjust Opacity and Grain. Adjusting Grain - changing mixing a brush’s paint with paint on canvas. When you need to fix the form without changing the color, you must reduce Opacity and increase Grain, then the color on the brush does not mix with the color on a canvas and smear will not look cut by scissors because of the low opacity. I do not use a palette. I mix colors directly on canvas. When mixing colors, I try to use oil brush rather than a blender, because it is harder and my sense of color is coached very well. All the sake of progress! ;)