I was inspired by the Netflix film Klaus and decided to create a background painting scene in that style. After figuring out the composition I completed the line layout and then painted the scene.
Final Image - Night version
Final Image - Day version
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
-Abraham Lincoln.
Before I started getting any ideations down I did a lot of research on the look, style and feel of a snowy Klaus style town. It was important that I aimed for specific authenticity. Here’s some of the images I pulled together for researching this project.
Research
2. Thumbnails
3. Line drawings
After going through all the research and figuring out my compositions I did 3 line drawings. These line drawings helped me understand what the final image would look like. In the end I went with composition 3 because I like how the buildings were layered in the shot. It gave the composition a lot of depth and mystery.
4. Final line drawing
Even though I finalized my shot choice and chose my line drawing. I decided that the line drawing didn’t fit the style of Klaus enough. I gave it another pass and this drawing because the underdrawing for the final painting. The line work is the foundation for the painting and it’s important that i didn’t rush this part of the process. I could’ve made a beautiful painting but if it didn’t fit the show style then I wouldn’t have met my goal.
5. Value scales
6. Color comps
The line drawing was finalized and i could move on to the next step. Color comps. Figuring out this process would help me understand the end goal I would be achieving with my painting. With the first comp I kept the colors rather plain. The second comp I experimented a bit with different colors to see what I would come up with. I was happy with the last comp because that red building added a layer to the story.
7. Final
Final paintings, thanks for reading!