STUDIO_PRACTICE: sketch book development concept of the vikings.

so far iv done quite a lot of research for the vikings them self to help influence the theme of this comic. how ever i feel i need to do more visual research for me to be able to execute believable vikings. i dont want the horns or any of that sterio crack, i want this to look the part, look the age. so even if a historian looked at my comic that person would say, the attire and living are spot on. this project is a huge challenge for im setting my aims high on what i want to achive with the visual and the impact the comic will have on the reader.

taking all that in, iv decided to research deeper and getting a better knowledge on the vikings.

how they lived, loved, worship what they ate. i want to know it all to help me create this comic book.

becuase i cant go ask the old viking at the end of the street its going to be a history channel marathon.

below - 3 documentaries i watched were i learnt the basics of what they looked like accurately and how they lived. and what they lived in. all these i need to help me make the characters.

below - ive used the vikings as referance for my character development. iv used this because on sites and fan pages a lot of people on there have said how close they have it to the real thing. such as the way they look and live. also the show seems more realistic than the action scene in the biographies above. like ive stated before i want this comic book realistic as possible, i want it true to what vikings was like. i need the reader to be lost and apart of the story.

i dont know how else to blog how i researched the attire of the vikings in the series. other than what i have just done. a lot of my notes when into my sketch book with my drawings. i could have added endless photos of the cast but that would seem pointless.

i made a journey to york to visit the Jarvik centre to do some on site drawing of the things in the musuem but on my arrival i found out that it is shut until 2017. so i decided to do some drawing the royal armouries and again, i found out that that centre has nothing vikings in it. now that im lost for on the field research im going to have to use the internet and films and books for my research.

Sketchbook research

below - a few pages from my sketch book. here i researched clothing and how to describe the material on paper. also doing this aloud me to get stuck in deep with the visual research and get a good feel of what vikings wear

below are sketches of the weapons that vikings would use.

each of my drawings has a fact about the vikings witch will help me create the vision in the comic book.

below- i began to jot down some ideas for the brothers that i had in mind for my comic.

i had a vision of a man in mind some one like albert from wwe. he needs to be bald brusson, shaped like a power lifter. sturn look and a beard. i achieved that in no time, i wasn't rushing and didn't want to come to the character so early but the one i point at in my sketch book is perfect!. so im not changing it.

again as above the other brother came quickly again this is exactly what i had in mind for the second brother.

i decided to study the characters had created by putting there faces through different expressions. it was here that i discovered a technique to draw beards effectively with a pencil. and i also noticed that the second brother was harder to draw but it was at 12.45 i was drawing so i decided to come back to him at a later date with a fresh eye.

using my sketch book i made a few flash sheets of head shots. not so rendered but just to practice with the style in ink.

below- fisrt man sketch on the first page pushed forward.

i used my good man tom as reference for this flash, i used tom to see if i could use ink and still get a life like feel with the image. i did BUT i dont like that style i will keep it life like but not too grounded i want freedom with a few of the character.