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Description
1 - This idea had been suggested to me weeks beforehand, so I had a few sketches down as I waited for a spare moment. They had been approved as a good basis, and I used that to work on the thumbnail. Getting a good flow with light and dark tones here was the main focus, as well trying out the landscape.

2 - Working from the sky to the front (with layers), I create depth and the forms. Everything is a little experimental at this stage: what color should the sky be? And the ground? And what shapes compliment the composition and mood I want to convey? Very little detail at this stage.

3 - Suddenly I knew exactly which cloud shapes I wanted, and I threw them in. Clouds are very challenging, and reference is imperative for early artists and experienced alike. Though I confess that I didn't look at a single cloud when I did these. So damn me for a hypocrite! On the right you can see how they begin: simple blobs which slowly give shape to something like those on the left. Also brightened the sky here, using a new layer, repainting, using overlay or soft light, and then merging down again.

4 - The painting was working, but I was losing interest in the landscape. I moved on to the birds. Never be afraid to move on to another part of the painting. In fact, always move around the painting, even if you like what you are working on! This will help the entire thing become unified and solid, as well as keep your interest fresh. The birds began with a simple blob which stretched into the distance, with a few quick sketches up close. Each one of those was painted in about half a minute. Never burn time on detail till everything important is on the canvas. You'll see some trees quickly painted in to the right, as well.

5 - Flip canvas, you know the drill. I did this a few times throughout the painting, just a little trick you will become addicted to. The lightning bird was added here, and I immediately thought: contrast. The background was far too light, and I could hardly see the bird, which was meant to be quite focal in the painting.

6 - The clouds were darkened. This helped the silhouette/contrast of the bird shine through, as well as balance out the painting's composition through tone. The clouds received extensive work here. I was still moving around the painting, though: you'll notice a few more dark birds, as well as an extension of the black cloud shape.

7 - More birds, as well as detailing on the lightning bird. The main focus at this stage was working with the terrain. Some of the background elements were pulled forward (by increasing contrast), and a few light rays were added to make the piece 'epic'. These are often overused (I'd say even these are a little too strong), so be careful. If you want them to be strong, then make them a focal point in themselves. Otherwise they become distracting to the viewer, and we wonder what the heck we're meant to be looking at. Adding the big bird was difficult, and this should have been considered earlier. But in the end it fit the composition quite well, and made the painting better.

8 - Adding a few trees to balance out the painting, as well as a heavy workover of the clouds. To be honest, those clouds should have a little less contrast, simply because they don't work with the mountains. The good thing I did here was desaturating them, as they were becoming a little too strong. But they could definitely have retained a little more of the gold, it wouldn't be out of place. The dark cloud shape has been erased a little so that it recedes into the distance more convincingly. Some lightning birds were added at the request of the person who had 'hired' me, and they created a point of interest, as well as telling the story more accurately.

9 - And the final: An adjustment layer, a little detailing, and we have it. Lux et Tenebrae: [link]

Description
1 - This idea had been suggested to me weeks beforehand, so I had a few sketches down as I waited for a spare moment. They had been approved as a good basis, and I used that to work on the thumbnail. Getting a good flow with light and dark tones here was the main focus, as well trying out the landscape.

2 - Working from the sky to the front (with layers), I create depth and the forms. Everything is a little experimental at this stage: what color should the sky be? And the ground? And what shapes compliment the composition and mood I want to convey? Very little detail at this stage.

3 - Suddenly I knew exactly which cloud shapes I wanted, and I threw them in. Clouds are very challenging, and reference is imperative for early artists and experienced alike. Though I confess that I didn't look at a single cloud when I did these. So damn me for a hypocrite! On the right you can see how they begin: simple blobs which slowly give shape to something like those on the left. Also brightened the sky here, using a new layer, repainting, using overlay or soft light, and then merging down again.

4 - The painting was working, but I was losing interest in the landscape. I moved on to the birds. Never be afraid to move on to another part of the painting. In fact, always move around the painting, even if you like what you are working on! This will help the entire thing become unified and solid, as well as keep your interest fresh. The birds began with a simple blob which stretched into the distance, with a few quick sketches up close. Each one of those was painted in about half a minute. Never burn time on detail till everything important is on the canvas. You'll see some trees quickly painted in to the right, as well.

5 - Flip canvas, you know the drill. I did this a few times throughout the painting, just a little trick you will become addicted to. The lightning bird was added here, and I immediately thought: contrast. The background was far too light, and I could hardly see the bird, which was meant to be quite focal in the painting.

6 - The clouds were darkened. This helped the silhouette/contrast of the bird shine through, as well as balance out the painting's composition through tone. The clouds received extensive work here. I was still moving around the painting, though: you'll notice a few more dark birds, as well as an extension of the black cloud shape.

7 - More birds, as well as detailing on the lightning bird. The main focus at this stage was working with the terrain. Some of the background elements were pulled forward (by increasing contrast), and a few light rays were added to make the piece 'epic'. These are often overused (I'd say even these are a little too strong), so be careful. If you want them to be strong, then make them a focal point in themselves. Otherwise they become distracting to the viewer, and we wonder what the heck we're meant to be looking at. Adding the big bird was difficult, and this should have been considered earlier. But in the end it fit the composition quite well, and made the painting better.

8 - Adding a few trees to balance out the painting, as well as a heavy workover of the clouds. To be honest, those clouds should have a little less contrast, simply because they don't work with the mountains. The good thing I did here was desaturating them, as they were becoming a little too strong. But they could definitely have retained a little more of the gold, it wouldn't be out of place. The dark cloud shape has been erased a little so that it recedes into the distance more convincingly. Some lightning birds were added at the request of the person who had 'hired' me, and they created a point of interest, as well as telling the story more accurately.

9 - And the final: An adjustment layer, a little detailing, and we have it. Lux et Tenebrae: [link]