Tuesday, November 27, 2012

WIP - Condor

Here is the Andean condor mostly finished. I have not been working on it much lately, because my son has been very ill the last few weeks. (They finally determined it was a food allergy; he is getting better now.) Anyway, I think this bird still needs some work. I want it to look like sunrise, so I need more contrast.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

WIP - Andean Condor

I have had the reference photo for this drawing for several years now, and I am finally getting around to drawing it. This is the Andean condor, one of the largest flying birds in the world (I think the albatross has a longer wingspan, but the condor is bigger overall). My reference photo was, of course, taken at the zoo, but the sun was fairly high in the sky. For this drawing, I am trying to move the sun to a lower angle to mimic early morning. This is proving challenging as I have to invent new shadows and highlights.
While the bird is mostly in place, I still need to work on building up the shadows in the body - especially lower body - and the right wing. The bird is mostly black but the strong morning sun should produce some bright highlights. Overall it is too light as it is now.

From there, I still need to work on the clouds a bit and finish the foreground.