Cupboard Goblin: Process

Work on a series of paintings for prints led me to the idea of this little goblin-thief, surprised in the act of pilfering something from a household. Here's the road to completion:

 The earliest sketch that's survived shows a bit of my initial idea. But I needed some help with the pose, among other things...

...so this mannequin ended up posing for me--in a drawer.

http://tomsarmo.com/

My first thought was that the little fellow would be medieval-ish and stealing some liquor, but this bottle would have been goblin-sized, not human-sized. So I modified it to be a ring, and changed the face...

http://tomsarmo.com/

...and changed it some more. Also bumped the clothing to Victorian.

http://tomsarmo.com/

I traced up the border and cupboard sketch, with a back door in the cupboard...

 ...which didn't work; too much clutter. So here's the final inked line drawing, without the back door, ready for paint.

http://tomsarmo.com/

A detail of the lettering, and egg-and-dart-woodwork.

And a closer look at a detail of the completed work.

Had him (and a few others) printed up as affordable, premium-quality posters and cards. If you like them, please click on the link below and check 'em out at my online store--I appreciate your support!

Tom Sarmo's Shop

Thanks for the visit!

The Old Witch, Part One

http://tomsarmo.com/

The Old Witch (detail).

This is the second image for a recent project. I'm in the middle of the third, and The Creature http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/2014/08/httptomsarmo.html  was the first. I love drawing Frankenstein--same with witches--so heading to the studio has been a true pleasure lately.

Witches and apples in fairy and folk tales seem inextricably paired. And what's a magical person without a familiar? In this lady's case, it's a slightly tilting, crabby owl!

http://tomsarmo.com/

Disorganized (I am getting better), my prelims usually end up scattered in random sketchbooks and drawers. I know there were more, but these are some preliminary witch-head studies. The thumbnails for the composition elude me at the moment. 

The idea of The Old Witch has been with me for years, probably beginning with an old Aurora model I built as a kid, and...  

http://www.lambiek.net/artists/i/ingles.htm

...the amazing Graham Ingels' Old Witch! 

Growing up, a tremendous amount of images got seared into my brain thanks to the barber shop's comic book collection. This is only one of those pictures that scared the pants off me, thus never forgotten.

http://tomsarmo.com/ 

Dug up some more prelims--early versions of the venerable sorceress, and an idea for the text banner.

Once the witch's pose was settled on, a hand-selfie with apple was necessary.

http://tomsarmo.com/

But I'm getting ahead of the post.

http://tomsarmo.com/

I also worked on the border. Here it took on a Celtic spin...

http://tomsarmo.com/

...but changed my mind in favor of a cauldron. That doesn't last either. The bird skull finally takes shape here though.

Well that's it for Part One--more next post--and

Thanks, as always, for checking out my blog!