AZATHOTH PROGRESS PART 8

About halfway colored!

AZATHOTH PROGRESS PART 7

Usually flat color takes the shortest time out of all my steps. While that was still the case for this guy, it took wayyyyy longer than usual due to the complexity of this creature. 

AZATHOTH PROGRESS PART 6

Here's the completed inked Azathoth scanned and cleaned up. The next step is flat color, which surprisingly took a long time, due to the complex nature of this creep. 

AZATHOTH PROGRESS PART 5

Three quarters done. Getting really close.

AZATHOTH PROGRESS PART 4

The inking is half done! If you compare the pencils to the inks, you can see I cleaned up some things and added a few more details as I went.

AZATHOTH PROGRESS PART 3

Here are the first steps in inking my massive Azathoth drawing. There is a ton of detail in this one so it took a long time to complete this stage. Definitely longer than the drawing stage which can be loose and experimental. My inking is tight and controlled. 

You can see my technique in this video. 

AZATHOTH PROGRESS PART 2

So I know it seems like a bit of a jump to go from the thumbnail to the finished drawing but I really didn't do much planning with this one. I got al basic idea of shape and motion and then used stream of consciousness to draw. Like I've stated before this is the largest single monster I've ever drawn. It's on two pieces of 14"x 17" paper taped together. Not the most ideal art situation, I know, but as long as I can scan it and clean it up it works for me. 

I also tried to design my Azathoth to reveal different "faces" depending on how you turn that paper and look at it. So, if flipped horizontally, you may see faces that weren't as apparent when you first looked. I wanted to incorporate all sorts of monstrous elements as well; wings, fangs, fins, claws, scales etc. My thinking was that this creep is the thing at the center of the universe that's possibly dreaming us all, so it'd incorporate all sorts of bits and parts. I'll post some close ups once we get to more advanced stages.

Next up...I start inking!

AZATHOTH PROGRESS PART 1

Here's the very first baby-step towards my version of Azathoth. It's a super quick thumbnail I did in the margins of my sketchbook. It was inspired by a paint spatter on a sidewalk in South Philly. The finished drawing doesn't really look much like this but I really wanted to remember and capture that swirling spatter. 

News...

Hey everyone! I know it's been quiet here since the Hoard Of the Gibbelins went up for sale (only 3 copies remain!) but I haven't been idle. I've been working on the very last Lovecraftian monster I have left to draw....that's right AZATHOTH!!! 

"Outside the ordered universe is that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes."

-H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath

If you're wondering why this one is taking so long, it's because it's the most complex and largest creature I've ever drawn for this blog. So, what I'll be doing is posting progress shots. From sketch to pencils, from inked to flat color, all the way to the final rendered piece. 

In other news, I'll have a new zine coming out in August. It'll be Stories From the Borderland II collecting the 6 essays and 7 monsters from my project with Scott Nicolay! 

I'll also have a very exciting item up for sale at the same time.....Seventh Church Ministries t-shirts!!

Stay tuned for more details on both and for progress shots on Azathoth!