Clip Studio Paint - PAINT CULTURALLY INSPIRED FANTASY CHARACTER ART
ImagineFX|June 2023
Comic artist Ann Maulina talks us through the creation of a portrait made for her Raruurien universe
Ann Maulina
Clip Studio Paint - PAINT CULTURALLY INSPIRED FANTASY CHARACTER ART

This portrait is part of an illustration series called Fancy Hats. It’s a personal project where I focus on showcasing various headdress designs from seven different fantasy tribes within the universe of Raruurien, my original webcomic.

Each tribe was inspired by different ethnic groups. This particular piece was inspired by the Miao, an ethnic group from China and Southeast Asia.

My illustration works are mostly visual storytelling, with characters interacting with each other or their environments. Drawing portraits gives me interesting challenges, where I have to pay more attention to a character’s expressions, facial features, and the details of accessories and outfits. In this workshop, I’ll guide you through my process for creating this portrait and overcoming those challenges.

I have a consistent style in my drawings, but I’m quite flexible in the process. I think it’s due to how heavily I invest in my preparation. The pre-production phase consists of concepting, thumbnailing, and making a colour scheme. The result is a coloured sketch where I can see quite clearly how the drawing will look once it’s finished.

It’s like having a clear goal and blueprint ready to be worked on in the beginning. As long as I have that clear goal in my mind, I can use any different kind of method in the drawing and rendering process.

1 Create a concept

The character I’m going to draw is from the Tiger tribe, which lives deep in a tropical rainforest. I’ve done a design of a character from the same tribe before, so I didn’t have to start from scratch when it came to this one.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM IMAGINEFXView all
Jan Wessbecher
ImagineFX

Jan Wessbecher

Dominic Carter talks to the visual artist about creating his own comic and why sketchbooks are great for creative experiments

time-read
9 mins  |
Christmas 2024
Kyounghwan Kim
ImagineFX

Kyounghwan Kim

The Korean character concept artist speaks to Dominic Carter about staying open to ideas and the value of drawing regularly

time-read
5 mins  |
Christmas 2024
Slawek Fedorczuk
ImagineFX

Slawek Fedorczuk

Dominic Carter talks to the concept artist about what keeps him motivated and the advantages of using physical sketchbooks.

time-read
10 mins  |
Christmas 2024
Raquel M. Varela
ImagineFX

Raquel M. Varela

Raquel is inspired by magic, fantasy and fairy tales. She loves designing female characters from distant worlds. \"My greatest reference is Loish's art, thanks to her I learned to draw the movement and fluidity I like to convey.\"

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Estrela Lourenço
ImagineFX

Estrela Lourenço

Estrela is a children's book author and illustrator. Her work is influenced by her background in character animation and storyboards for clients such as Cartoon Network, and she channels comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Daria Widermanska
ImagineFX

Daria Widermanska

Daria, also known as Anako, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Inspired by Disney and classic anime, she loves creating new characters and often finds that a single sketch can spark a unique story.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Allen Douglas
ImagineFX

Allen Douglas

Allen has been painting professionally since 1994 for the publishing and gaming industries. Inspired by folklore, he distorts the size, relationships and environments of animals, and calls his paintings 'unusual wildlife'.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Thaddeus Robeck
ImagineFX

Thaddeus Robeck

Thaddeus has been drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil, but it was the 2020 lockdowns that gave him the time to focus on honing his skills.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK
ImagineFX

DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK

Learn how JULIÁN DE LA MOTA creates a composition from his imagination with a focus on crafting figures, volumetric modelling, and light and shadow

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2024
First Impressions
ImagineFX

First Impressions

The artist talks about his journey into the mythological world

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024