Happy Halloween! - Zombie Dark Phoenix (Redux)

Happy Halloween!

OK, this one probably looks familiar to those who have visited the blog before.  It is pretty much the same as the drawing I did last year for Halloween of ZOMBIE DARK PHOENIX... but, this time, I flipped the pose around, did it in black and white acrylic paint, and got around to digitally coloring it.

For those interested in the process... well, you know the drill and keep readin'...  :-)

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STEP ONE:  Here is a real quick pencil layout on 9" x 12" sized and gessoed 1/8" masonite.  I wasn't completely happy with the pose and modified it a bit while I was painting it...

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STEP TWO:  Here is the black-and-white acrylic painting.  I took a digital photo of the painting and imported it into Photoshop to clean it up and to do some digital coloring.

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STEP THREE:  I added a MULTIPLY Layer and then put in a gradient.  I then added some flat color so I could create and Save some Selection Areas, which is why some of the coloring on the sash and Phoenix symbols are colored a little off-key--it is easier to select each part separately, and then recolor it once I save it as a Selection area.  I saved selections for the HEAD, BODY, GLOVES/BOOTS, SASH, and PHOENIX SYMBOLS.  I could then select them and add highlights without having to worry about the colors running over into something else I just colorized--I use the Saved Selections as a quick-and-dirty masked areas.

For fun, here is both MULTIPLY Layer with flat color over top the painting, and the colored MULTIPLY Layer by itself for comparison.

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STEP FOUR:  After looking at it a little bit, I thought it looked a little muddy and dark, so I decided to lighten and black-and-white painting a bit more.  I also digitally extended the top a little bit more, as the (undead) Phoenix Force was cropped a little close to the top-edge of the board.  

Here are the finished black-and-white layer, as well as the color plate.

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STEP FIVE:  And here is everything all put together.  I added another one or two layers for highlights and a few other odds and ends, then lightened the picture just a little bit more and Saved it.

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Done with acrylic paint on 9" x 12" sized and gessoed masonite panel, and digital coloring in Photoshop.

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