It’s been a long while since Rediscovered Realms dipped our paintbrush in some fantasy pigments. In fact, this is the first time we’ll be exploring the magical medium of watercolors to bring to life a lonely dragon perched high upon a rocky outcropping.
Will you grab your brush and join me on this quest, or just accompany me in exploring some of the wildly creative pages where this regal dragon was inspired . . . “Dreamscapes: Fantasy Worlds”? Either way, I welcome you, Adventurer!
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Coloring Your World with Fantasy
I’ve felt quite stuck in life as of late.
The daily grind, along with all the incessant pressures of the phrenetic present and the uncertain future has had me in a seemingly constant state of low-grade anxiety.
Details abound, but most do not belong in a magical realm such as this.
My personal tendency is to withdraw and become avoidant when energy is low.
In fact, you may have noticed a shift in my responsivity and the energy of the Rediscovered Realms newsletter this year.
If so, I apologize.
This is meant to be a place of Wonder and Fun and Creativity, mainly for adults to rediscover their sense of Play.
For without a playful attitude and a healthy sense of humor, life gets really hard.
Perhaps you can relate.
Affordability, AI, job losses, wars, health, gaining (just a little!) weight, the political divide, the environment, false friends, children growing up, saving for retirement, getting old enough to see your heroes and loved ones diminish & pass on to the Undying Lands . . .
That’s Life. I get it. But doesn’t it somehow feel different? A bit hopeless . . . a bit lonely?
That’s what I was thinking when my Inner Hero lifted me up by the bootstraps, slapped me across the face and asked:
“But have you been creating?”
I replied, “Of course I have! I publish the Rediscovered Realms newsletter every week without fail for going on 3 and-a-half years now. And if you slap me again…”
He interrupted my reply, “Sure, but speaking of “half” what about the gamebook you half-finished? And the joke book you finished but haven’t published? What about sketching or crafting for enjoyment like you used to do? What about the interviews you promised to do with other fantasy creators? What about the community you hoped to build here on Substack? . . .”
“. . . You haven’t been creating, you’ve been existing.”
He continued, “And worse, you’ve been letting the spirit of the world overtake your sense of adventure.”
Of course, I had a few choice words at the ready to unleash all over this uppity non-entity, but the realization struck . . .
. . . he was right.
I’ve been busying myself so much with concerns & worries that I went into autopilot-avoidant mode, crowding out the magic sense of wonder that had become part of my identity. And my life was worse for it.
I really didn’t have anything else to say to Inner-Hero-Guy, so I went immediately to my closet and picked up an art book I’ve been meaning to explore: “Dreamscapes: Fantasy Worlds”.
Determined to create something, and allowing Fate to (mostly) choose, I scried (a.k.a “flipped through”) instantaneously to a page with a guide to painting a lonely dragon perched on a rock.
The picture was small, tiny even, but it seemed to echo the way I had been feeling.
Yes, this would do nicely. And besides, it seemed to only require 3 steps!
Now, that’s the type of artistic re-introduction I can get behind.
Decision made.
But I hadn’t used watercolors in years. I know I had some laying around, but where were they? Where did I put those brushes? Paper?
And so began what I labelled: “The Quest to Find My Art Supplies (that if I didn’t have so much stuff would have been much easier to find)”
Yes, a long title, but a noble one.
My succinctly-titled-quest led me to many a dangerous plastic encased orifice (commonly known as “drawers”) in the Mage’s study and to underground spelunking in the Cavernous Crawlspace of Unnecessary Crap.
But victory was not to be denied - I had been successful in securing all 101 of the items I found necessary for this 3-step illustration.
After taking a long rest to rememorize my Find and Patience spells, I proceeded to get to work.
Would you like to see it?
I bet you would.
But that’s not how this works, pickup lines aside.
Nay, first we must explore a bit o’ the Dreamscapes volume before we get to the nitty-aqueous-gritty.
Here’s a bit about the author/artist, Stephanie Pui-Mun Law:
I won’t be showing every page, but just a sampling of what’s inside. There are several really useful pages on material and techniques.
I like Stephanie’s section descriptions, blending a bit of practicality with the fantastical.
There are sections on specific themes, like Castles, Trees, Clouds, Woods, Shadows, Textures and more.
The book is also interspersed with “Demonstrations” that give the reader the basic steps and materials to create the featured watercolor paintings. Here are several of my favorites:
Ok. That’s enough of the tour. I think you get the idea.
Time to confront our Lonely Dragon.
I took a closeup of the 3 stages in case you decide to paint along.
The 3 steps as interpreted by me are:
(1) Sketch the dragon lightly in pencil & put a watery colored “wash” over the entire thing
(2) Let the wash dry and paint over it (“glaze”) with dragon-colors and rock-colors
(3) Let it dry again and keep adding darker details & shading until you are satisfied.
What’s a “Graded Wash”?
I’m glad you asked.
Oh, and you would like to know a little more about “Glazing”?
I read it a couple times to understand why they call it “Glazing” instead of just “Painting”, but I guess it has to do with the translucent properties of watercolors - when you paint over another color, it can add a pearlescent look to your colors when the base coat is allowed to show through a bit.
Now you know everything I did before I got started.
Time to sketch!
I stayed a bit messy and went heavy on the eraser where I felt like it.
The paints I would be using (Castle) had never seen the light of day, so I didn’t know if the pencil marks would show through, or if I put enough layers (or certain colors) would cover them up.
As you’ll see in a bit, some of my lines did show through the paint, but I didn’t mind. For many of them, I used a darker mix of Burnt Umber or Yellow to outline over the pencil marks.
Oh! And speaking of colors, I didn’t have the exact colors mentioned in the list, so I chose ones that were close enough.
Initial wash. I followed the instructions from above, using a tilted surface to allow gravity to help the paint run down.
Before that, I used a wide brush to apply just water to the entire surface.
I wasn’t satisfied with the boundaries and texture of the wash, so kept adding more paint or more water while brushing side-to side.
Watercolors are meant to have a life of their own, so giving up control and allowing them to bleed into places you weren’t expecting is part of the process (though I’m not opposed to re-wetting and blotting up spots I just don’t like at all!)
I taped down the edges. Technically, I should have “stretched” the paper first before painting, but figured the wash should accomplish the same thing.
(“Stretching” the paper means wetting it, taping it down and letting it dry to prevent it from warping later when you actually paint it and it dries.)
Here’s where you start applying dragon color and details.
I started by watering down the colors the most, then as they dried, they created darker and darker pigments.
If they get too dry?
Just add water!
When you’re using actual watercolor paper, it actually dries pretty fast, but if it’s not drying out fast enough for you, just work on a different area or wait for the other area to dry before painting over (or next to) it.
I also allowed my Lonely Dragon to start to drift from what the original in the book looked like. It’s all good to make it your own (whether intentionally or not!)
I actually painted this over a couple-few days. It’s another thing I like about watercolors. Just reconstitute your pallet and pick up where you left off.
Super easy to clean up between sessions - just wash your brushes real quick with water!
I tried to add some darker shading with using concentrated paint right out of the tube or “dryer” paint or by dabbing my brush in a paper towel after dipping it in the paint to reduce the amount of liquid in the bristles.
I also experimented with adding texture to the dragon skin by dabbing the brush instead of using strokes.
Eventually, you’ll get to a point where you’re either satisfied, tired of dinking with it, . . . or where your spouse yells to get your stuff off the dining table after a week.
That’s exactly when you know you’ve arrived!
Now, I’m no expert at this. My sketching isn’t great. My shading and technique can be magnitudes better. But you know what?
I don’t care.
I had fun.
I like how my Lonely Dragon turned out.
And more importantly, by Creating instead of just Existing - and sharing it with you - I don’t feel quite as lonely anymore.
And neither does the “Lonely” Dragon . . .
💬Tavern Talk
❓Are you going to make your own Lonely Dragon or some other art piece?
❓Do you find that creating something and bringing it into the real world helps relieve stress or brings deep satisfaction?
Dreamscapes: Fantasy Worlds is available as a Kindle eBook for a great price on Amazon (I wouldn’t get the print edition from there, as the prices are way higher than other used markets!)
“Remember to check out the Rediscovered Realms Amazon Storefront for the most epic gift-giving ideas for those important adventurers in your life (including yourself 🗡)” - Brodryk (Shopkeep)
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I know we are told to avoid choosing a book by it's cover (or even it's illustrations), but I tend to do so anyway. When I was younger, I simply enjoyed the art of the Lone Wolf rpgs (as an example) because they were cool. As I have gotten older, I still love those iconic images, but I also can appreciate all of the hard work and various steps that go into creating that one illustration.
I have always wondered how authors work with the illustrators. Does the author explain step-by-step what they want the illustration to look like? Or, do they give a basic theme and allow the illustrator to go from there?
If it is the latter, then the illustrator has some big-time influence on the story and seeing how they use color and shading to convey a thousand words in one picture is truly fascinating to me!
I think I speak for all of the denizens of Rediscovered Realms when I simply say Gio Lest (Sindarin Elvish for thank you) for all of the hard work that you put into the newsletter. We love the stories behind the stories and the illustrations. They are a brief respite from all of the distractions of the world. Fare thee well as you all go about your day/week/month.
Hey, great artwork!! I love doing creative things, it really helps my mental health stay positive.
I know we are told to avoid choosing a book by it's cover (or even it's illustrations), but I tend to do so anyway. When I was younger, I simply enjoyed the art of the Lone Wolf rpgs (as an example) because they were cool. As I have gotten older, I still love those iconic images, but I also can appreciate all of the hard work and various steps that go into creating that one illustration.
I have always wondered how authors work with the illustrators. Does the author explain step-by-step what they want the illustration to look like? Or, do they give a basic theme and allow the illustrator to go from there?
If it is the latter, then the illustrator has some big-time influence on the story and seeing how they use color and shading to convey a thousand words in one picture is truly fascinating to me!
I think I speak for all of the denizens of Rediscovered Realms when I simply say Gio Lest (Sindarin Elvish for thank you) for all of the hard work that you put into the newsletter. We love the stories behind the stories and the illustrations. They are a brief respite from all of the distractions of the world. Fare thee well as you all go about your day/week/month.