As you may have noticed, I recently shared a series of portraits of the characters in Seers Isle. I had the pleasure of collaborating with Ludovic Rivalland to produce these portraits, “with four hands”, so to speak.
The Sketch
First, I build a version of the portrait in grayscale. I will, of course, start with a first sketch.
The Shapes
I quickly define the drawing with some grey values by choosing an orientation for the portrait light.
I then define the shapes, defining the textures as I go along, always in grey level.
Until a satisfactory version of the values is reached.
The Colors
I give this version to Ludovic as well as a color reference from the game.
Ludovic not only adds colors but also considerably reworks the shapes by softening the gradients while defining the light(s).
Finally, I get this colored version and by a clever mix of alpha layer and incrustation fusion mode, I “mix” our two images to get the final version.
There you go!
I wanted to share the happiness that this little collaboration has brought me. Ludovic is a very talented Bordeaux artist specialized in video games and illustration. You can discover (or rediscover) his work on ArtStation.
Nico.