Welcome 2013!
I wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR =D
A bit late, but my one and only official calendar 2013 is out!
And available here =]
I'm really happy to announce that my little shop "Exuvia" is finally open!
Here is the link to the shop:
For the moment there are only 2 products available, Postcard book vol1 (12 postcards) & Bookmark collection vol1 (8 bookmarks):
I finally managed to finish and add a new illustration, some science-fiction for a change...(lots of lens flare I know)
Also, next week I will open my little online shop, I hope you will like it!
And, a little something I did after finishing ME3 few months ago...I'm a huge Mass effect fan, so I decided to do MY Shepard :p This a fan art/tribute to Bioware, thanks a lot for this brillant epic trilogy! =]:
Done for Elixir 2
Keeper of Heaven's gate...Done for my artbook Elixir 2.
Cover art done for Imagine FX issue 73. It was epic, but in the end quite fun to do =]
Inside the mag, you will find the full workshop for this illustration.
More infos HERE
Again a huge thanks to Paul & Claire!
Illustration done for the Share one planet contest. It's the poster for the harmony category.
There is also a small interview about this illustration here.
Sunday quick :] Photoshop CS5 & Painter XI
A little something to say I’m not (yet) dead^^ This was done with Photoshop CS5 & Painter XI.
Also I have re-opened my blog, which is now the place for very wild sketches :p
Another “quick”, as usual done with Photoshop CS4 and PainterXI.
Cover art I did for Imagine FX issue 57. It was really fun to do because this kind of character is not what I usually paint, and I hope you’ll like him as much as I do :) You’ll find of course inside the mag the full workshop of the illustration. And a big thanks (and huge kiss) to Paul & Claire =]
Done for the Imagine FX cover issue 18.
I painted this one few times ago (April 2008) :)
This was done for the CG Daily sketch topic at CGTalk, the subject was “Black swan”. But I’ve been a bit carried away and ended up far from a real sketch…Anyway, hope you’ll like it!
Little portrait, done for fun during my spare time. Photoshop CS5 & Painter XI
Tired of creating beautiful ladies, here is a kind of “monster”, even if I find her lovely in a certain way.
Well, little sista of “Heartless” …Done with Photoshop CS5 (which is AWESOME) & Painter XI
This one is from Elixir 1.
Well, her name is Eloïse, she may be a bit dark, but that’s what I wanted :)
A witch…done for fun. (not happy with the hair, but well that’s not important :p) Photoshop CS4, Painter XI, and Intuos 4
It’s my B-movie entry for the Cg challenge. It was EPIC at the end, time was really too short for me, but I tried my best to finish it on time =]
WIP link in the PLUS section
I needed to paint something just for fun :) Hope you’ll like it! Few hours of work, done with Photoshop CS4 & Painter X
This illustration was used for the cover of the german edition of Alera by Cayla Kluver
Happy Halloween everyone!
I’ve recently started Dragon age: origins (awesome game btw :p), and I decided to draw the character I would looove to play in such game^^ She’s a kind of dark wizard, mastering the sword, and also able to hide herself in the shadows…
Small wip done for Imagine FX issue 55 :
Done for IFX cover issue 23, wip & pdf link in the PLUS section.
Greeting card done for ImagineFX issue 50!
Well, she’s not perfect but I needed to do something just for fun and myself :)
Steampunk remake of The Lady of Shalott. Wip/step by step process in the PLUS section. I spent around 2 months of work to finish it, it was awfully painful at the end, but I'm really happy with the result =]
Illeys is an actress, she was betrayed by her lover. He gave the first role of their new play to another woman. And tonight, while the premiere of the play is running, she’ll invoke all the dark forces to bring misery and desaster upon the theater.
Norma editorial asked me to do their christmas card for this year, here it is =) I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year!
Just playing around with colors (done with Photoshop & Painter, 2 hours of work)
The wip :
Done with Photoshop CS4, Painter X and a Wacom Intuos4, I hope you’ll like it =)
Done for Imagine Fx issue 22, you can find a link to the pdf file in the PLUS section.
Eve is the last keeper of the Land of dreams. She comes at night with the mist, and when everyone is asleep, she steals the dreams and nightmares and locks them in a place that she keeps secret….
Quick done for the CG Talk daily sketch forum, the subject was “Lurking in the darkness”…
Playing around with colors =)
In the ancient world, a woman ruled the city of “Estirh”, the Queen “Nihaalen”. She was immortal, the Gods gave her the elixir of eternal life. In return she had to bring peace and justice to her people…But this gift became more of a curse to her, she was condemned to live alone for ever.
Done for the Daily sketch forum at CGTalk.
Aldéria, a demonic genius of games, roams from village to village in search of an easy pray. She plays with the souls and the lives of the neediest, promising them glory and fortune if they were ever to win.
Sandre saw her whole family die, her three kids and her husband who was the best sword maker in the Empire. All she has left is her sadness and hate,her only goal is to avenge her family and find peace within her.
Lya was a happy wife until her husband died during the war.Other then suicide, she has no other way to see her husband again, but will she have the courage to sacrifice not only her self but the little flame of life that is growing in her ?
Born in a family of noble merchants who died in an arson. Colombine was received and raised in a gipsy/actors company. She has been living on her own for a few years. Now she travels all over the world to find her parents’ murderers. She’s untameable and recluse and she earns money dancing and playing music on public places.
Made for a tutorial in Imagine FX, you can find a link to the pdf in the PLUS section =)
I painted this one to illustrate a french novel, a really sad story…
A quick portrait, done for fun^^ Photoshop cs2 & Painter IX
Her name is Myrhaelle and she lives alone on an island,she is the last descendant of the lords of this earth. She spends her days in the ruins of the ancient city,and often when the wind rises and blow through the walls of the old city, she plays the luth in memory of the past…
And who knows maybe one day someone will hear her song…
She’s a little princess, and as all children she loves candies.Through this portrait, I wanted to illustrate innocence of childhood.
No darkness in this one, I wanted to paint something different, she’s a little gypsy and she’s walking on the streets with her beloved cat…
Cover done for the first book of the new serie of Charlotte Bousquet : La peau des reves.
The novel is in french and can be purchased here
Plus d'infos sur le livre ICI
I have been invited to be a part of this artbook published by Leewiart, alongside many great artists.
Inside there is an ITW and a gallery featuring around 20 of my artworks =)
IThe book is exclusively in chinese.
Dimensions: 29.4 x 20.8 x 2.2 cm
Pages: 207 pages
Print and Paper: 128g matte coated art paper, full-color printing, paperback.
Language：Chinese
Price: US$17
You can find some puzzles of my illustrations, edited by Heye Verlag (some notebooks too) HERE
Published calendars
2010
Heye verlag & Heavy metal
2011
Heye verlag
2012
Heye verlag & Heavy metal
Second artbook of my serie “ELIXIR”
Pages: 48 pages full color, Hardcover.
Dimensions: 17×26
Languages:
For this one, I have tried to illustrate the feeling of imprisonment. She ‘s here, alone, and she’s only able to watch her birds flying away…
I did a small wip for FAERY artbook 1 by Nestiveqnen, infos here
This illustration is quite old (2006 I think), and I will remake/remix it pretty soon =]
First artbook of my serie “ELIXIR”
Pages: 48 pages full color, Hardcover.
Dimensions: 17×26
Languages:
Spanish Norma editorial
Italian Lizard edizioni
German Salleck Publication
English Heavy metal
French Milady Graphics
Tutorial book about digital painting published by Ballistic Publishing. You will find inside 3 of my tutorials (exclusives ones) along several tutorials from 3 others artists.
Pages: 208 pages (Slipcased)/208 pages (Limited Edition)
Dimensions: 220 x 297mm
Price: Paperback with slipcase (USD$69), Limited Edition (USD$170)
Postcard book with 11 illustrations from my book “Elixir”.
I think this is the very first time that I talk and show a commission.Mainly because it's a huge honour for me to have been choosen to illustrate the 7 volume of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time.
This is an e-book publication, anf for the event Tor book asked 14 artists to create the new covers.
You can find Irene Gallo's article about my cover HERE , she explains the creating process of the picture, with some wips.
And HERE you will find the covers of the previous volumes :)
CAN I USE SOME OF YOUR ARTWORK ?
You may use my works only for NON PROFIT usage, and I would like to be informed of any publication.
You may not:
-cut/resiz colors/add elements/deform or modify in any way my images.
-use my works for avatars or banners.
-use my images without a link pointing to my site (melaniedelon.com) or a ©Melanie Delon somewhere in the image, or any kind of means to contact me
-use more than 4 images (if more please ask me before hand).
-use my images to promote ideas, concepts, commercial links, etc, that I do not approve.
Just in case, direct link is not authorized and don't work on my site, so if you want to display my work you'll have to save the picture on your own computer and upload it on your own server.
If in any case I do find a site that does not or didn't respect these few rules, I will not hesitate to take legal actions.
Just in case, here are some informations on COPYRIGHT.
For Commissions & licencing, please feel free to contact me :
Born in 1980 (in france, so excuse me for my very bad english ^^), and as far as I can remember I have always drawn… but on paper.
I studied archeology and history of arts, then I went to a gamedesign school (for 2 years), which just was not my thing.
I discovered Photoshop in 2005, since then I have became addicted to it.
All subjects are interest, they just have to talk to me, but fantasy and dreamy subjects are my favourites.
Besides painting, I am a fervent science-fiction and heroic-fantasy reader (P.K Dick, Tolkien, Zelazny, Pratchett…), I love movies ( Lord of the Rings, Star Wars Saga,…), playing video games, listening some music and spending time with my friends and family.
BIOGRAPHY/CLIENTS
Spectrum 14/15/16(cover)/17/18
Exotique 2/3/5/6 Ballistic Publishing
Exposé 4/5/7 Ballistic Publishing
D’artiste digital painting2 (Co-Author) Ballistic Publishing
Ubisoft
TOR Book
Random House
Fantasy art now
Imagine Fx magazine
2D artist magazine
For Commissions & licencing, please feel free to contact me :
I’ll try my best to answer you quickly ;)
Note that I DO NOT work for free, and DO NOT take private commissions.
For personal query, like using my artworks for tubes and such, please read the Legal term .
Interview done for 2D artist mag issue 014/February 2007.
Hello Mélanie, thanks for taking some time out to talk with us… Firstly, can you tell us a little about yourself; your current location, your background in art, your current projects and what it was that first inspired you to become an artist?
I’m a freelance Illustrator, living in Paris. I grew up in this beautiful city and I am totally in love with it. I studied Art History for two years, although perhaps “studied” is not quite the right word, because I spent all of my time drawing rather than learning… So, I decided to do something more creative, like 3D. But this wasn’t my “thing” either, even though I had a great time studying it at school, where I also discovered Photoshop and the CG world. That’s also about the same time when I bought my Wacom tablet and started to paint during my free time. Photoshop became a real drug for me, so when my second year of school had finished, I decided to improve my skills in painting and spent all of my time doing so. I’m currently working on my personal paintings and my art book, which will be published by Norma Editorial, which is the most important project that I have.
Do you think that, if you had grown up in any other city in the world, other than Paris, that you would have the same love for art as you do today? Do you think art is a gift that you inherit from your parents, or is it something that can be encouraged simply by your surroundings and lifestyle?
I really don’t know, but it’s obvious that Paris and its history influences me and my artwork. I am very fond of classical art, and this city offers great opportunities for me to discover the great Old Masters, but other cities like Berlin or Madrid also offer such opportunities, right?My family is not very fond of art. Of course they can appreciate it, like everyone does, but nobody within my family has had an artistic career. Nevertheless, my parents have always encouraged me in this way, ever since my infancy, and they have never told me that this job isn’t a “real” one - they really understand me and I’m very thankful for this.
Looking at your portfolio, you have an impressive collection of fine artworks of beautiful young females, which display your remarkable talent for capturing life - emotions, thoughts and feelings - through the expressions that you give your characters. What are the key elements to getting this right?
Expressions and emotions are the most important thing to me in a painting. To get them right, I try to feel what my characters are feeling, which I believe is the main key to capturing a good emotion, and is kind of like acting I guess. Also, I always create a story for the characters and their background, which I think helps a lot in understanding how the character lives and feels.
That’s really interesting! Do you practice facial expressions in the mirror to get a feel for how your characters’ faces will show their emotions in your artworks? What other reference material to you use to inform your characters’ beautiful faces? Or are they simply all figments of your imagination?
Yes, I’m always referring to myself for those things, and my little mirror next my computer is my best friend. For facial features and beauty, I generally try different shapes before I find the one I like. I do love “ancient beauties”, not necessarily perfect though, because perfection is too cold and meaningless, so I study a lot of paintings from the Old Masters, like Titien, or from old photos, but most of the time I work on faces without a specific reference.
There are strong themes present in your works: madness, hate, deep-thought, imprisonment, nostalgia, calmness, innocence and suicide, are all evident. These themes seem to be based around the idea of “love”; love that has been lost, stolen, is being avenged, or is simply longed-for. Where does your inspiration come from? Are you a real romantic at heart?
My inspiration comes from a lot of things; music, movies, books, etc. I read and watch a lot, and when I love a movie I’ll watch it several times until I find what I love in it! For example, the last one was Pride and Prejudice which I’ve seen maybe 30 times now (I know, I’m crazy). I found it so beautiful and so very poetic and I will certainly use it for a future painting! And yes, I’m a tad too romantic. Love is the most important thing to me - it’s the reason why I’m painting and my sad stories are probably illustrations of my fears, losing the one I love...
Pride and Prejudice is a classic - I am sure it will inspire a very beautiful painting. 30 times is an impressive number of times to watch this film though! Over what period of time did you watch it 30 times (days, weeks, months, etc.)? What is the most you’ve ever watched one film? And did it result in a new painting?
Ha ha, I know it’s pretty weird, but I can’t help it! Well, maybe it was over 2 months? I really need to “over watch” a movie when I love it, and for this one I also listened to the soundtrack... whilst painting. I have to admit that this one has been my most watched movie, but for example, I painted “Pearl” after watching Girl with a Pearl Earring, which is a masterpiece movie for me - they have made a wonderful job on the art direction, so yes, movies help me to paint.
It is interesting when you say that you paint because you are familiar with the feelings associated with love and the fears that come along with a time when love may be lost. Because your artworks are all predominantly paintings of female characters, I wonder if you are ever inspired to introduce male characters to your paintings to accompany your beautiful creatures and further illustrate your stories?
Yes of course, I’m not against painting male characters, it’s just that right now I still have not found a great subject to work on. The only thing that I know is that I certainly won’t paint a big brute of a man with a whole mountain of muscles, I will most probably paint a man with more style and “class”, a kind of dandy or magician, with a lot of hidden things within him and has many mysteries...
Your artworks all tell a story. In fact, your image “Dechainée”, illustrates “a French novel, a really sad story”. What book are you reading at the moment, and do you think it will inspire a future masterpiece?
Yes, maybe. I’m actually finishing the Philip Pullman series, Sally Lockhart, which is actually for children, but I really like this writer. I will not paint a character like Sally but I’ll certainly use some details that I’ve read in the book, and will adapt them in my own way. I really love complex characters, with difficult choices to make. Music is also a great source of inspiration for me. I always listen to something while I’m painting, usually the same song for each painting, as this helps me to keep the right mood. For Dechainée, it was One from Apocaliptica.
What song are you listening to right now?
I recently fell in love with a song from a video game, Myst 3: Exile, which is the theme to be exact. It is really beautiful - with a choir - and when I listen to this song it makes me feel like I’m on the top of the world, and that’s pretty entertaining for painting! Most of the time though I listen to gothic music, groups like Epica, After Forever, or Within Temptation.
The eyes are the soul of your creations, and with the beautiful texture of the skin of your characters, they are able to seduce spectators. Can you tell us a little about how you create the lustrous quality of skin in your paintings?
The first step is the colour scheme - if you choose it right, the rest will all come naturally. I always use the same brushes to blend and smooth; a basic round-edge for the base, a speckled brush for the blending and, when I’m satisfied, I smooth the skin very lightly with another customised brush. I usually keep the little colour variations, and try not to over smooth, as this will add more texture to the skin.
You make is sound so easy! How long did it take you to perfect this technique? How about the eyes - are there any trade secrets you can share with us about how you create these masterpieces within your masterpieces?
...Errr, maybe about one year or so, but I am still trying to improve it. For the eyes, it’s all about light, shadows, colours and emotion. For instance, if you make blue eyes, then try to add some dots of another colour in, like turquoise or violet, and for light, go for a slightly more saturated tone than a pale/not-dynamic blue…
Some “quick” paintings feature on your website. I’m curious as to how quick these are. How long on average do these take you? To compare, when painting a complete picture, how long would expect to work on it before it is finished?
They take me about 2 hours for a simple portrait if I’m having a good day. I paint them only for fun and for testing colours or new brushes. A complete painting takes me much more time, about 2 weeks of work, which is pretty long but I’m a perfectionistand I love details, which is probably my weakness. I can spend one whole day on a nostril, just to get it right! ...
Which of your characters has had the longest time spent on her nostrils?
It was for “So funny”, which is not by best piece but certainly one of my favourites, maybe because of all the time I’ve spent on her!
It has been lovely chatting with you, and I feel all inspired to read books, excessively watch films, and to paint my fears… But, before I let you go, do you have any advice for any artists out there who aspire to be freelance illustrators like yourself?
Thanks a lot Lynette, it was pretty nice to speak with you too, and for the advice, well, try to be honest with yourself; paint for fun and paint what you like, and always, always try to improve yourself and everything will all come naturally to you.
Interviewed by: Lynette Clee
for 2D Artist mag
RESOURCES & COMMUNITIES
MAGAZINES/BOOKS
FRIENDS
Some of my brushes
Please install the tablet drivers before using them.
Here are the brushes and settings I use most of the time, along with some useful settings.
You can find them (.abr) in the gift section.
“Do not forget to install the tablet drivers, if not you’ll never be able to use them properly.”
I always use them with Opacity & Hardness to 100%
BASIC
The basic round edge I use it for everything, sketching, refining, detailling…Its the best brush :)
Opacity sets to Pen pressure
Spacing 25%
DETAILS
Its a basic round edge with dynamic shape pretty useful to paint details.
Opacity sets to pen pressure
Spacing 25%
SPACKLED BRUSH
A custom brush, I have a few brushes like this one, extremely handy to paint skin, bring more texture or paint hair for example.
Opacity sets to pen pressure
Spacing 1%
SMOOTH
Another custom one, I use it for smoothing skin or fabric most of the time, but it can be use for sketching too.
Opacity sets to pen pressure
Spacing 12%
TEXTURE 1
Custom brush for texture or background.
Opacity sets to pen pressure
Spacing 1%
TEXTURE 2 and SKETCHING
One of my favorite brush, I use it for almost everything, I found it very cool for sketching but also for painting hair or backgrounds.
Opacity sets to pen pressure
Spacing 1%
Roundess jitter 25%
SETTINGS
Others dynamics > Opacity jitter 50% (or more)
Great setting to bring more texture and color variation.
Wet edges
Give a watercolor feeling to the brush stroke.
Scattering
Combined with a texture brush, this setting is perfect to create clouds or simply give more texture.
I decided to enter this challenge with a steampun k version of The Lady of Shalott.
Here is my entry thread with the full wip process LINK
Like in Photoshop, we can create anykind of brushes with painter, the process is quite the same as in Photoshop, let’s go!
Step 1 Create the shape
Open painter and open a new file or a file with the shape you want, I’ve created that one for example:
Step 2 Select it
Go in the box tool and choose “Rectangular selection” (it may works with circular selection, I did not test it :p) Then select your shape, no matter if its square or not, try to make it not too big :)
Step 3 Capture it!
Now go in the brushes menu (dark arrow next the name of your current brush) and select “Capture Dab”. Your shape is now captured.
Step 4 Settings and saving
Now go in the brush creator (Window > Show brush creator), now you can see the new shape. All you have to do is to set the new brush the way you want and save it in your own library :)
Step 5 Having fun
“Texture” is the name of the new brush ;)
Painter brushes are usually saved automatically on your computer, you can find them here :
C:\Documents and Settings\ “yourname” \Application Data\Corel\Painter IX\Brushes\Painter Brushes
STEP 1
Laying down colors is the easiest part of the process, I usually do that with a basic round edge.
STEP 2
Now with the same brush I'll softly paint over the separation line to obtain a new color. It's exactly the same process in traditionnal painting, mixing 2 colors.
STEP 3
Now with that new color I will blend the 2 others until the separation disapear completly
STEP 4
I’ll now smooth a bit the whole thing with the blur tool until i’m satisfied with the result
Hi everyone, here a small updtate to announce the release of Digital Painting vol1 by 3D total & Focal press.
They have published an article I wrote for 2D artist mag about customed brushes.
Even if it's an "old" tuto, I'm still using those brushes ;)
You'll find inside the book a lot of great tutorials and tips from many differents awesome artists.
More infos and preview here
