The Legend of the Golden Dragon

"The Legend of The Golden Dragon (Tong Long Huo)"
12"x16" pencil and digital
©William O'Connor












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The Legend of the Golden Dragon

A new Cover for a project coming out soon by the same name. Thought I would share some of the images and the process work. This was a great deal of fun because I got to play with Asian/Chinese design which I have always loved since my early work on Legend of the Five Rings.

Thumbnails:












Working in a sketchbook on thumbnail designs for the project is always the first step. The narrative was one that entailed great joy and celebration in victory. I wanted to denote this by a grand upward sweep in the composition. Confetti and balloon-like lanterns would give a frenetic and active element to the design to help enhance that sense of movement.

Finished Drawing:

Whether I draw digitally or traditionally is decided from project to project. I have been returning to more traditional techniques over the past year, favoring traditional pencil work.
This graphite on ledger drawing is 11'x14"

After doing some research I realized that the floating lanterns of china are not round but rectangular.




Painting Process:














Right from the start of painting I realized that I didn't like the square lanterns. They did not give the sensation of floating and appeared like bricks, so I changed them back to my original concept sketch with round lanterns. Although the lanterns are tethered, their balloon shape look like jelly fish and the perception of lightness and floating reads better.

The painting progresses in this manner for several days until complete.



Enjoy.

WOC




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