Drawing a nightmarish Panther and death scene
Quick process of designing this dark panther & skull scene. A new project I had recently been working on, on and off over the past year.
Cycling through some concepts, layouts and other ideas. I was initially led towards a symmetrical layout but decided against it.
This started out as a tattoo design but I decided to do something else with it and further develop it.
Initial pencil drawing is almost done, The panther's face still needed some work, among other things. Part of the intent of this design was to play with contrast and light. The Panther is loosely placed to align the shadows of the skull.
I've shared some interesting quotes relating to the artwork.
“They've promised that dreams can come true - but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too.”
- Oscar Wilde
I printed out a copy of the scanned pencil drawing and went over it with prisma colour pencils. It was mostly finished but I still wasn't happy with it at this point, it sat on the back burner for some time...
"Beauty is an omnipresence of death and loveliness, a smiling sadness that we discern in nature and all things, a mystic communion that the poet feels."
- Charlie Chaplan
Here's a quick animation/timelapse of the process from pencil sketch to finished painting.
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
- Terry Pratchett
"The fear of death is the beginning of slavery."
- Robert Anton Wilson
"In the sleep of death what dreams may come."
- William Shakespeare
"It is difficulties that reveal what men amount to. whenever you're struck by a difficulty, remember that God, like a trainer in the gymnasium, has matched you against a tough young opponent. 'For what purpose?', someone asks. So that you may become an Olympic victor: and that is something that can't be achieved without sweat."
- Epictetus. Discourses, 1.24
