1984-Character Design 01 Winston Smith

1984 Telescreen, Ministry of Peace, & Another Quick Rough Color Study

A few new pieces for 1984. And I should have my new website up later this week (evanwoolery.com). 

Color Palette Study: Welcome to Oceania

I have been giving the color test a few tries and think I finally have something roughly worth showing! I changed the color scheme a bit. It just needed to be more intense and less a serene. So I did some hunting around and thinking about a color scheme that would better convey that. Looking at Rembrandt's work I thought of how he kept so much of the under-painting in the final product and how that adds a nice sense of grit to everything. Also instead of the almost entirely analogous color scheme like I had before, the maintaining of the reddish browns and more reds makes it a complimentary color scheme, due to the green. One thing that I do second guess is if I should have a sickly yellow-green in the foreground highlights or if the more subtle palette in this piece is sufficient (it seems like it is a bad idea to get too sickly, which is why I have it this way).

I also added some clouds to spice up the sky. They seem to add a touch more emotion to everything and further drawing the eye to the focal point. The telepost/telescreen coming out of the dirty vignetted frame seems to work a lot better with the green. It seems like it is coming along and that it is honing into a more stylized and cohesive vision.

Fine Tuning of Final Under-Painting

What a difference some vignetting and darker values make to draw the eye to the lightest area where the figure is. Special thanks to Marc Gabbana for his words of wisdom.

Finished Under-painting!!

After 2 months of work I have finished the under-painting. Now on to the glazing and finishing this thing.

Nearly Finished Under-painting

Almost done and here is what's left:

-propaganda posters plastered everywhere
*BB is watching you across the street on the other housefront (BB dark eyes)
-on every commanding corner (most dominant poster)
*Ingsoc @ street level with torn corner (alternately covering & uncovering it)
-helicopter (looking in windows)
*In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight.
-willow-herb straggled over heaps of rubble
-repairs
*balks of timber shoring up sides
*patched cardboard windows
*corrugated iron roof (wavy metal roof, like a shanty)
-little eddies of wind swirling dust up in bombsites& torn paper into spirals
-a few feral animals: birds mostly, rat, dog/cat

Welcome to Oceania In Progress Under-painting

The under-painting is largely completed for the 6'x3' acrylic painting. Around 1 to 2 days are left until adding color and glazing. All that is left is a few small rubble areas being completed and repainting Winston in a new pose with a more readable silhouette.

#1 Welcome to Oceania in Progress

Well it has be awhile since I have posted anything, but that doesn't mean I haven't been up to anything :) I am currently in production of a painting series based on George Orwell's 1984. There will be seven large acrylic paintings and the following is some of the preliminary work for the large 6'x3' painting, "Welcome to Oceania."



Preliminary half scale line drawing (1.5'x3').



Underpainting for small color study. Half way done (10"x20").



Color study.



In progress painted line work on final 3'x6' canvas. The composition was flipped. Mainly because of the fact that the main character has the entire world in his way. The other orientation made it appear that he has already conquered everything. Hopefully this large painting will be completed by mid May.