Thar, king, jeff johnson (2D)

[Morano]

nice medieval athmosphere,well done

[SeifoSid]

considering you had no reference, this is really good, not at all medieval but very renaissance.
The lighting is extremely soft, there are a couple of things that can be worked on, but it's a solid painting.

[Soverign]

very impressive, especially for no ref...you seem to have facial anatomy down (though I'm sure there will be an "expert" or two who would clam otherwise :-P)

really nice work. Technically very impressive & also very expressive & interesting

[Nickillus]

Congratulations on two fronts Jeff.
Lovely piece of atmospheric painting, full of subtle tones and nuances - and welcome to parenthood.

All the best Nick

[Sallow]

looks great , traditional medieval peice. I would of liked to see more green hues in the image but just me :). Overall very strong image.

[Madadman]

Nice chiaroscuro technique. Beautifully done – especially considering you had no reference.

[thejeff]

glad everyone seems to like this! how do others execute realism without references, i wonder out loud? i start with a thumb that i get excited about, then patiently react to each aspect of it and build up a case for each revision as being closer to the goal. it seems impossible for me to do this in line only, so i work in mostly sepia and with brushes a la direct painting. it is a bit ungainly, but i just have not gotten the knack of pure drawing. on the other hand, the thumbs can be worked up pretty rapidly, and the method produces what amounts to a solid underpainting, so it is a doable process. i would love to hear from others about how they go about making "something from nothing".

[Oninoko21]

Awesome! You have a very somber yet regal feeling with this painting.

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