Draw and paint Chimera

How to draw and paint Chimera mythology creature monster design. Learn to draw then paint over a creature design from video lesson and step by step images with instruction. Chimera. This post is somewhat related to the previous post, How to draw lion head study. Intentionally I was going to do a creature tutorial and one of the creature that are often under represent is Chimera. So I am doing a step by step and video tutorial of how to draw and paint the Chimera creature from Greek Mythology. Well, originally it does have wings, but I put them in because I thought that would make it more powerful and such.
A brief statement about the creature, Homer’s brief description in the Iliad is the earliest surviving literary reference: “a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire”.
Anyway, I usually started off with just line drawn to get a sense of shapes, forms and possibly composition. Then I will just go into the image and block out the big shape as a whole first. Then later I will define the main shape using values, most likely two to three values should be enough to get the illustration going. As an underpainting or speedpainting, you don’t need much of values or color to represent your image. Just enough to make it read, but most of all the lighting is a crucial element. Because lighting is very much every thing (or it make image visible) so I am trying to painting according to the light. Whatever is in the shadow, will basically has similar values, not necessary exactly the same, but real close.

Here is a final creature concept Chimera.

chimera creature design

Watch a digital painting tutorial creature concept Chimera video.

Below are step by step how to draw and shade Chimera creature.

how to draw chimera creature

Anyway, I would probably do more of the creatures in the up coming post…and possibly mecha. Depending on what I see and what inspire me at the moment. But for sure I will always draw, paint and keep updating this blog, hopefully forever. And hopefully I will get better as I do more and more. That usually how it works, the more you draw or paint and study, the better you get. Sometimes slow, but sometimes you have a break through…but as long as you do it and it makes you happy then nothing else really matters.
So this one I finish up the rendering of the creature, add the serpent tail, then the figure that later on becomes the Monkey king for no particular reason. The figure is there for the sole reason of exaggerating the massive scale and size of the Chimera monster. Then I thought it would be kind of fun to put Sun Wukong there just because it does not make sense that the Greek Mythology would mix up with Eastern Mythical figures. Below are the step by step and the final rendition of the painting.