This is my Process Pics Page.

I'd like to share with you my process for creating a Ray Harryhauden tribute painting. From the first painting (Cyclops vs Dragon) I decided I wanted to recreate reminicent scenes in letterbox format. My intent is to capture those fantastical moments that stand out in our memories. Although easier said then done. Like all my other RH tribute paintings these actual scenes are not in the film but are comprised of various clippings of actions that I recomposed in Photoshop to best depict the overall feel of those sequences. Jason battling the Skeletons was actually a lot more challenging to properly compose in one still image. As you can see below I went thru several possiblities debating whether I should re-stage the characters so that Jason would be in the middle as normaly the focal point of a painting. But I'm more of a pureist and wanted to stage it fairly accurate to the film so I needed to find the proper composition that would not only feature Jason but flow visualy fighting as a team while still showcasing the 3 main Argonauts and all 7 skeletons.


Screen Grabs : First step was to capture as many screen shots of poses I liked from the film. After capturing approximetaly 300 images...I had plenty to material to slice up and collage new action possibilities.
Photoshop layers showing some of the cut out poses that intrigued me. Now to find the right combination of poses for a good composition.

Rough concept 1 : The challenge was to find the right combination of poses that best depicted the characters fighting in unison.
Rough concept 2 : Another option was to feature only Jason and not the other 2 Argonauts.

Concept 1 : Found the right cloud referrences and played with the idea of re-arranging their positions as Jason was on the left in the film and kinda wished he was in the middle for composition and focal point.
Concept 2 : Decluttered some of the skeletons on the right but I still wanted to include all 7 skeletons. Although the composition looked fine with Jason in the middle...knowing I alltered their positions didn't feel right for me.

Concept 3 : So back to featuring Jason on the left side as he was in the film and played with their overall poses to create a visual flow of action.
Concept 4 : Nice action pose for Jason but a bit too "up skirt" flowing kilt and his face was too shadowed.

Concept 5 : I'm liking the flow of action accept for just one skeleton on the right holding the lance. I didn't want his back towards the viewer.
Final concept : Yes, that's the one! I'm going with it!

Cut Masonite boards to 24"x40" and glue them together for strength and regidity. Then applied 3 coats of Gesso lightly sanding between coats.
Penciled in the background and platform and planned to paint the set till I was ready to include the final characters.

Applied a thin layer of Raw Umber oils diliuted with Liquin medium to cover all that white and that also ceals in pencil lines.
Roughed in basic blue sky.

Roughed in stage platform.
Finished details on foreground platform.

Roughed in some clouds and will adjust tones and colors with glazing.
OK, the stage is set and ready for adding characters.

I saved a file of just the posed characters with a medium gray background for projecting.
I lined up the characters with the background and platform then outlined them with a brush in oils.

Roughing in some color and tones.
 I decided to paint these tribute paintings on Masonite because it gave it an old school look.

Almost done, just tightening up and adding details.
Done! After about a week it's finished. Woohoo!

Close up 1
Close up 2

Finished painting - Click for larger image

Thank you for visiting this page, hope you enjoyed my creative process.






Copyright © 2011 Den Beauvais. All rights reserved.