Guild Wars 2 Commission Process – Multi-character “Poster”

I recently started a commission project I’m excited about, and thought it might be fun to chronicle the process here! I’d like to try and do things like this more on this blog. I plan to update this post with future progress of this piece, Thank you very much again to the commissioner for such a fun project!

Finished Painting 
Below is the finalized piece!

This was a wonderful opportunity to paint a marvelously fun set of characters! The client commissioned the painting to commemorate 10 years of their journey playing GW2 together with their friend, and I could think of no better time to post it that during Guild Wars 2’s 10th Anniversary in the summer of 2022. I hope they enjoy many more years journeying together within the world of GW2!

Third WIP
Third work-in-progress crop! Continuing to block out the major forms.

Second WIP 
Here is the second work-in-progress crop! This shows about the bottom third of the painting:

Here I have started blocking in the major shapes of the figures. Guild Wars 2 characters tend to be on the more complex side, and because of this, it’s important for me to block out the major shapes in the clothing and armor, before considering smaller details and refinements later on in the process.

Here I’ve begun blocking out the major forms for the “Seer” armor on the bottom charr character, who is a necromancer from the game. She holds a “Sunspear Greatsword” in her hand, brandishing it powerfully ahead! Behind her, we have a male charr Firebrand character, who is conjuring spells using pages from the magical tome he materialized. Above these two characters are a sneak peek of a few additional characters, who will be revealed later on!

These are not the final colors, and are more exploration colors to see the possibilities for where the piece can go. They’ll continually be adjusted as we go further in the process!

This is part of the “sketch” stage, which means we are only in the block-out stage! Details and refinements start after the overall forms of this stage are settled on and approved by the client. Additional block-outs remain for this stage, and it is one of the most fun parts of the painting process, because it is where much of the problem-solving takes place!

Below is an earlier WIP, also from the sketch stage:

First WIP
Below is the first work-in-progress sketch! Here I have roughed out basic forms and poses for the characters.. This is to help I and the client decide upon a composition they will like!

The colors here are also not final, and are more generalized to communicate a basic tone for each character, as well as the piece overall.

I did three thumbnail sketches for this piece, and will probably update them to this post after the piece is finished!

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