This will be an ongoing post to show my progress (and hopefully motivate me) to get this project done for my friend for Christmas. This is a picture of most of the characters that play the “Hogwarts”-esque D&D game he has been running for us for the past 4 or so years. This also represents my first try at an entirely digital painting/drawing/what-have-you. It is done in GIMP and, yes, I know, is taking me a very long time to complete.

Day 1: I managed to make a very rough sketch of where everyone would be. I am experiencing extreme disconnect while trying to draw without looking at the paper/tablet and instead looking at a screen. It’s makes me feel really clumsy in my drawing and I feel like my drawing is really crude and rough- even in these first stages.

 

Day 2: I made some good progress with Pudge (the raccoon) and Hodge (the red headed gnome). I am a little concerned about the quality of this. I made the canvas 11″x17″ so that it could be printed out at that size, but doing any little details is like doing it pixel by pixel. I feel like I should have made it bigger. Ah well.

 

Day 3: I spent a lot of time making this drawing bigger and, even though it messed up Hodge and Pudge a little (which can be fixed when I’m not feeling so butt hurt about it), I am so glad I did it. Most folks are now rounded out with semi-permanent features. I’m having wardrobe troubles with almost everyone, though I am having a lot of fun with Lance’s clothes (the guy in blue and gold). I think I’m mostly going to start blocking out colors so that I have a better idea of where everyone is spatially and so that I can jump around to various folks.

 

Day 4: I didn’t have a lot of time to work on this today, but I did get a character description that I needed to flesh out Pierre and Scruffy. I also blocked in a lot of color today in the hopes that I can get some details in soon. I realized too, today, that I am missing a character who has played a decent amount… I am debating adding him, but I probably will at some point. Anyway, off to bed!

 

Day 5: I did not have time to work on this piece at all this weekend, and only had a few hours tonight, but I think I got some good work done. I really wanted to represent our DM (the recipient of this drawing) somewhere in the drawing but for the longest while, I just couldn’t figure out a good way to do it. However, since we had game last night, I was reminded that a “manuscript” plays an important role in our campaign. So, by putting the group of us on a manuscript-type background, I was able to break the fourth wall and put one of the DM’s prominent NPCs in the picture in a creatively-dominant way. I like the way it looks so far, and though there is still a lot to be done, I am happy with the way that it is gelling as an entire piece.

 

Day 6: Christmas is looming ever closer, and I find myself with not a lot of time left! The picture is HUGE (I think?) to work on these days at over 1 gig of layers and such and my computer is finding it a little hard to work with. I think I have to nail down a few of these characters and merge their layers to free up some space to work. With that in mind, I worked on Tabby (the girl in green) for a while tonight and will likely try to finish Hodge and Pudge and then merge as many layers as possible. The pressure is on!

 

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT DAY IT IS!!- It’s Crunch Time and I’m certainly feeling it. So much left to dooooo! AAAAAAAAH!

 

Another Day: The Christmas season means that I have SUCH limited time to work on my projects what with mandatory family parties and all that jazz. Panic has begun to set in as I still have 4 characters that I haven’t done anything with and two GIANT familiars to deal with. I’m really happy with Candoro, the DM’s character but I have to get a move-on! Looks like I’m bringing my computer to the ‘rents’ place to try and get some work done there…

 

Eve of Christmas Eve: Well, this was the last day that I was able to work on this drawing before being absorbed into family Christmas. I’m sad that I didn’t get as much done as I wanted to, but I will have time after the holidays to work on it. My intention is to put this progression into a book, along with the final product, and get it printed out beautifully. So, there it is. Jefe, thank you so much for this wonderful adventure and all the time and energy you have put into it over the years. I have had so much fun with this campaign, and you are a wonderful DM. Thanks again, and Merry Christmas!

 

12/27/14: Well, I finally got back home and was able to work on this a little more. I was really sad I couldn’t get it finished for Christmas, but I did try. Pierre, the kid in the turban, got some work done on his coat and I made slight adjustments to some other characters. Hopefully I can work a little faster on the other characters, though I am still having wardrobe issues with most of them. Ah well.

 

12/29/14: I didn’t get too much done today, though I am almost finished with Pierre’s shirt. I decided that since he and Tabby are on the fencing team together, they should have mostly the same outfits. Pierre’s is, of course, the generic shirt given to fencing team members while Tabby’s is cut and altered to fit her perfectly and to make her stand out from the rest of the team. Hopefully I will have more time tomorrow to get more of this done.

1/26/2015: Happy New Year! Things have been so busy, but I finally got a chance to work on this again. I tried very hard to block everything in so that it all has color, so it’s coming along. I have to get this done soon, though!

 

2/11/2015: Got some more work done on this (mostly finished Kqawgur, the dirty-looking dwarf) and I’m so very, very close. One more figure and three familiars and I’m done! I can almost taste it!

 

2/22/2015: I was really close. Really close. I had Dorry, the bear, almost completely finished and was getting revved up to do the other two familiars when I blew the stupid fuse on my surge protector and lost an hour of really productive (and awesome-looking) work. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Well, anyway, folks have magic weapons now and Hayden is almost complete, so I guess I’ll call it a night.

 

2/24/15: More progress! Almost there! Though now I feel like the best thing I’ve done so far are the cuffs on Tugg’s (the big monkey’s) wrists. Ah well. Just him, the octopus, and some touching up left to go!

 

2/26/2015: I am so close. I wish I could stay up tonight and finish it… but I know I would end up sacrificing details and just generally not making it the best. I have only to finish the octopus and Scruffy’s broom and then touch everything up. So excited to almost be dooooonnnneeee!

 

2/27/2015: I’m Done!! It’s DONE! After 3.1 GB of information and 128 layers, this painting is finally finished- or, at the very least, I’m happy with it! Without further ado: