Dune (1984) - Shai-Hulud / Sandworm

Dune (1984)
Shai-Hulud / Sandworm

The Spice muse flow!  There was something terrifying about the Sandworms in the book.  Sure, those tri-lobed annelids were pretty gnarly-looking in the movie, too, but in the book, they have a sense of dread--just waiting below the surface, like Jaws, waiting to strike if anyone moved in a rhythmic fashion while walking across the desert.

And, SPOILERS, they are the source for the Spice Melange, used by the Spacing Guild to navigate hyperspace, and by Paul Atreides to be given prescience as to the future of the Golden Path.

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STEP ONE: Here are the quick pencils, done on a 6" x 8" gessoed hard board which I tinted blue for no real reason, aside from it would be a complimentary color to the brown paint I was planning on using.

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STEP TWO: And here is the first pass with Acrylic paint.  

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting, with lots and lots of back-and-forth with painting, repainting, and re-repainting, and even painting some more.  I swear I may as well have re-painted it from the beginning for all the back-and-forth I did.

I sort of like the first pass better in many ways--the dust/spice clouds seem a bit better.  Sure, that's probably 'cuz they are looser, less formed and finished so my brain is busy choosing which shapes it likes better, etc.  When I tried to add the dust/spice cloud down the length of the Sandworm, but it looks weird (not nearly as good as it did the first pass), so I painted over that so it was back to the sky.  Also, I added in the tiny, needle-like teeth.

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Done traditionally with Acrylic Paint on 6" x 8" gessoed hardboard.

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