Before my arm injury this summer I received this fun Harry Potter fan art commission. Right in the middle of this commission I injured my arm, and I was not able to complete the piece until rather recently. Luckily, my patron was very understanding and gracious in the delay. It was decided to depict Hagrid and Harry walking down Diagon Alley and it was a great opportunity to work on environments and character design. Once again, I am pushing my style in a new direction with very graphic backgrounds behind figures created with line art. Not only is this style more pleasing to me, but it is rather quick to layout the piece. I don’t believe I have ever painted this opaquely before in my career! There is a certain confidence in line that is created when painting in this manner. Below are a few character studies, references, and color comps. Grab a print on my Etsy Shop.
Detailed shot.
Initial sketch of Harry. I wanted my own take on Harry so I gave him these huge glasses.
I really like this sketch of Hagrid.
Before I dive into a piece I like to gather reference photos. In my initial sketches, I draw directly from them to imprint the characters and designs to memory. Later, when I am actually executing the final drawing and painting, I use reference only a “fact check” to make sure I am still on the right track.
Very rough layout with characters. You can see here that I changed Hagrid’s position and design slightly. I inevitably went back to my initial design…sigh.
Really nice Nicholas! Love the lighting in your work. Hope your arm is better. I’m currently nursing my drawing hand back from a carpal tunnel surgery. Too much drawing I guess??
Hey thanks James! It is great to hear from you. Thanks for your kind words about my work, is great to see my progress. I’m so sorry to hear that you are also suffering from an arm injury. We certainly need to change something in our routine as our drawing is hurting their bodies. When did you have the surgery?
Had the surgery a few weeks ago. Not bad, had to wear a brace for a week or two, but recovery has been quick and the benefit is my fingers don’t go numb after drawing for 5 minutes now. I’m having the left one done in a couple of weeks also. Just getting old I guess… Always great to see your latest creation. Keep up the good work.