A few weeks ago this painting started as sketch.
The intention was always to turn it into a painting and I made a color comp which I am showing you guys for the first time.
The color comp gave me a rough idea of how I wanted the final painting to look, but it had some good things going for it. One of the things that bugged me was that I thought the sky was too blue and the lighting didn’t convey the warmth of the desert.
The mostly completed painting you see as today’s sketch of the day corrected for some of these deficits and while it is not quite done, I thought you guys might want in on this super secret stealth painting mission. I still need to add in the bats and bring the render up in a few places, but all in all I am pleased with the state of the painting.
The faithful Simian Nation might notice that the hitchhiker in the background is not quite the same as my most recent hitchhiker character design.
The original sketch was completed before I had really hammered out the character design so I was kind of locked in. I am also not sure to what extent my future character designs of Dr. Gonzo and Raoul Duke will resemble the characters in this painting so I guess between you and I we can pretend that we are in a parallel Gonzo universe.
You never know what’s coming next at Jay Zuck’s Sketch of the Day so if you haven’t done it yet join the proud ranks of the Simian Nation and subscribe.
awesome i have this on a large wall in my room… lol not your painting but a stencil of one i did.
unbelievable man! this is incredible. i want to buy it if you would sell it when you’re done!
That’s pretty cool… it captures the essence of the happy/craziness of those two characters in their journeys.
~ Kristi
I love the dynamic perspective. My eye catches the hitchhiker first then pans to the driver … fantastic
why does Dr. Gonzo/ Óscar Zeta Acosta have a beard? in the movie and book he had a handle bar stash.
thanks for sharing it with us, Jay! I think the Duke’s eyeglasses should be bigger, but other than that, superb!
@faze: Yes, my painting is not on your wall or anybody’s wall yet. I’d love to see your stencil version. It sound awesome.
@Spencer: Glad to see you dropping by. I’m not sure exactly when I will be done with the painting, but I’ll contact when it’s done.
@Kikolani: Gotta love a touch of craziness from time to time. It’s cool see that you are feeling the vibe.
@Kmuzu: I enjoyed hearing how you took in painting. It let’s me know I am doing something right. Thanks for your kind words.
@who?: Great question! This was my first pass at designing the Dr. Gonzo/Oscar Zeta Acosta character. I was experimenting with various looks and for this painting at least I decided to do my own thing. Obviously, within that artistic license I wanted to convey the character and I hope I have done that. However, you still make an excellent point and I am still working on the finalized Dr. Gonzo character design. I hope you come by and check it out when its done and let me know what you think. As I mentioned, that is the next big thing I am working on.
@Isaac: I will have to marinate on that as a design my final character. There is much experimentation ahead.
The Beard is freaking perfect
I’d buy that in a second.
love the composition.
good job.
I really like your work. If it ever becomes available as a print or a poster I’d love to get a copy.