Artist: Heather R. Hitchman Website: HeatherHitchman.com Tumblr: @heatherhitchmanart Title: “Mother of Unicorns” Medium: Swarovski Crystal and Silver Metallic Watercolor Hand Embellished Digital Giclee Size: 13x19
My concept for this collection ties in with my World Building project”Terratoff” about a world of magic and paranormal activity.
In my story, “The World of Man” mirrors Terratoff in many ways. Earth has a ruling race “Humans”, while the ruling race in Terratoff are the Satyr (Fauns). Earth was also once a world of magic, but sadly it died away long ago. This series explores mythical sea versions of the magical creatures that once roamed earth many centuries ago.
To find out more about Terratoff and become a Terratoffian yourself, visit
“Immune” Digital Painting (Process & Swarovski Prints)
“In Terratoff, unicorns are the only creatures immune to the “Rott”. It is believed
that their unique power lies within their magical horns. They often
linger around graveyards to guide mourning travelers to the graves of
their loved ones. Even though their immunity only protects themselves,
the unicorn’s presence offers comfort and peace to the traveler. Here awaits a young unicorn to guide a mourner to their destination.“
In Terratoff, Unicorn foals are considered one of the most precious and
fragile creatures. They are always well guarded by their parents, the
rest of the herd, and human’s known as “unicorn maidens” who dedicate
their lives to living alongside these magical creatures. Newborns can’t
walk immediately, so the mother has to leave them alone on occasion to
feed herself so she can provide milk. Even when mothers are away, you
can be sure there are many eyes watching and ready to defend the
newborn.
Should a lucky traveler happen to stumble upon a hidden
foal they MUST avoid direct contact at all cost, lest they be pounced
upon by the guardians. But so long as you keep your distance and make no
threatening movements, unicorns will allow their young to be observed.
This one is waiting for it’s mother to return to it, happy and content
as it can be, knowing it’s family surrounds it.
PROCESS:
-
Light blue sketch with mechanical pencil
-Adding more color and value with pink mechanical colored pencils.
-
Create a sepia tonal quality by adding a touch of darker Tombow colored
pencils from their sepia collection.
-Final pass of detail / line weight with a heavy dark graphite mechanical lead.
STORY: The Rott never came to the world of man, magic died there long before that eventuality could come to pass. But despite the lack of magical energy to sustain them, mermaids persevered longer than any other magical creature on earth. Thanks to their reclusive nature and ideal habitat for hiding, the merfolk were able to evolve with the times and adapt to the new world for many centuries.
One of the side effects of this new world, with precious little magic remaining, was mermaids losing their ability to survive underwater. The last of the mermaids were known to steal diving gear to help them breath while remaining in hiding under the waves. This solution was only sought out in desperation since it almost always lead to capture. Legends say that eventually mermaids shed their tails and joined the world above the sea, but nobody knows for sure.
PROCESS:
-
Light blue sketch with mechanical pencil
-Adding more color and value with purple mechanical colored pencils, plus spots of green in the hair!
-
Create a sepia tonal quality by adding a touch of darker Tombow colored
pencils from their sepia collection.
-Final pass of detail / line weight with a heavy dark graphite mechanical lead.
STORY: Hippocamp (or Hippocampus) are truly the steeds of the sea! Much like land horses, there are domesticated and wild hippocamp. In the wild, they swim across the oceans in tightly knit family groups, while domesticated hippocamp live and work with their merfolk partners.
Hippocamps represent both strength and grace, so having one as a steed was considered a great mark of rank. They are also highly intelligent and form intense bonds with their merfolk partners. Loyal and trustworthy, a there is no greater companion for a mermaid or merman.
PROCESS:
-
Light green sketch with mechanical pencil
-Adding more color and value with orange mechanical colored pencils, plus spots of pink!
-
Create a sepia tonal quality by adding a touch of darker Tombow colored
pencils from their sepia collection.
-Final pass of detail / line weight with a heavy dark graphite mechanical lead.
STORY: Even though magic has long been gone from earth, there are still slivers of what once was that yet remain. Many do not consider Narwhals to be magical creatures, but in truth they may just be the last of their kind. “The Unicorns of the sea” Narwhals are elusive and mysterious creatures. Despite the great achievements and technology of the modern era, there is still precious little that we know about them.
Narwhals were once the steeds of the most prominent and highest ranking merfolk. Their iconic horns used to slay foes in ferocious battle. It’s hard to believe that such an adorable creature was once considered a deadly weapon.
PROCESS:
-
Light blue sketch with mechanical pencil (Tiny thumbnail was so cute, I didn’t venture far from the original doodle)
-Adding more color and value with darker blue mechanical colored pencils
- Create a sepia tonal quality by adding a touch of darker Tombow colored pencils from their sepia collection. Also used some Tombow pencils from the greyscale collection to add deeper values.
-Final pass of detail / line weight with a heavy dark graphite mechanical lead.
STORY: Mermaid children dream just like any other. They look up hopeful at the night sky through the waters above, and see starlight that glimmers through the ocean’s waves.
Mother Mermaids commonly cradle their children in shallow, yet secure, holes dug in the ocean floor sand. They will decorate these cradles with starfish, shells, and other treasures to bless their children with sweet dreams.
PROCESS:
- Light blue sketch with mechanical pencil (had to redo this one at first since my first pose was too stiff any the proportions were off)
-Adding more color and value with several darker mechanical colored pencils
- Create a sepia tonal quality by adding darker Tombow colored pencils from their sepia collection
-Final pass of detail / line weight with a heavy dark graphite mechanical lead.
STORY: Ships always faced the danger of a strong storm dragging them down to the depth of the ocean floor. Sometimes those ships were carrying weapons, armor, even soldiers.
As mermaids learned to fight for their territory (both with other merfolk and mortal humans) they took advantage of the newly available resources these sunken troves provided. Here we see a warrior mermaid, prepped for battle with medieval aged weaponry. This was a great time for merfolk as they reclaimed much of their world back from humans, before magic began to leave earth and their powers started to falter. They eventually lost the ability to summon storms to sink the ships they needed to stay equipped, so weaponry became even more valuable as time went on.
PROCESS:
- Light blue sketch with mechanical pencil
- Clean up and building values with red,orange, and blu colored mechanical pencil
- Create more solid lines by adding Tombow colored pencils from their sepia collection
-Final pass of detail / line weight with a heavy dark graphite mechanical lead.
A special #Mermay Update! I made a painting of the Merlion drawing! It’s a very happy #Mermay gift for my loving husband TaD LamBerT. The original may be claimed but FEAR NOT! Limited hand embellished
GICLEES of this piece are now available in the CAC May
auction, “Deep Blue”!
Here are the many many steps I took to create this piece.
1) Printed the original sketch on Arches Hot Press Watercolor on very low opacity.
2) Redrew the artwork with Tombow sepia pencils and a touch of graphite pencil (I probably will skip the graphite next time because it did not hold up against all the wet media,but the Tombow Pencils did so I will instead use a darker colored Tombow for the darkest darks.
3) Thousands of layers of very diluted “black star” ink to create the values. (Creating the halo and not painting over the character too much meant slow and gradual painting) Also I used masking fluid on the bubbles to keep them unpainted…mostly. A touch of gold metallic paint accidentally got mixed in, but it turned out to be a happy accident because it ended up adding to the sense of being underwater with the slight glimmer.
4) Several light washes of diluted green and blue Watercolor over the values- I kept it light on the subject so as to not make him look too sickly.
5) Several washes of diluted rich brown watercolor over everything - This time I went heavier on the character and lighter on the background, especially the parts with fur. This will help separate the character from the background while the green wash keeps them in the same environment. The great push and pull.
6) Next came several layers of more opaque paint, starting with gouache. Sometimes I would dilute it and sometimes I’d put it on thick. I added layers of watercolor over top certain areas to create environmental light and richer shades where needed. I also used metalic paint on a few of the scales to add some sparkle.
7) Last but certainly not least, the rendering! I used the tombow pencils, graphite, and white chalk to tighten up details that were lost in the paint and add highlights. Voila! A Merlion is born!
STORY: One of the many land experiences Mermaids miss out on is the luxury of fancy clothes. But this adventurous one has luckily stumbled upon a sunken ship filled with fancy attire! It is completely impractical to swim in of course, but mermaids enjoy dressing up when they can.
The practice of mermaids salvaging was not just for play, it would soon become a vital part of their survival.
This gown is from the 1600s, far along into the Renaissance period. Magic was still plentiful on earth at that time, but was slowly and surely depleting. Soon mermaids would have to adapt to a world without magic, learning about the surface and their ways would soon become a necessity.
PROCESS:
- Light green sketch with mechanical pencil
- Clean up and building values with orange colored mechanical pencil
- Create more solid lines by adding Tombow colored pencils from their sepia collection
-Final pass of detail / line weight with a heavy dark graphite mechanical lead.
STORY: Merlions are both regal and ferocious creatures of the sea, but they also have a lot in common with their cousins above the water. Like the lions on land, they live in family groups called “prides” and are frequently spotted sunning themselves on the shores and rocks above.
They hunt large game together, their favorite prey being the hippocamp. Few have ever managed to capture or tame a merlion., which is why many believe they still may yet exist, even though earth has precious little remnants of magic left to sustain such a creature.
PROCESS:
- Light blue &orange sketch with mechanical pencil
- Clean up and building values with light Tombow sepia colored pencil
- Create a sepia tonal quality by adding darker Tombow colored pencils from their sepia collection
-Final pass of detail / line weight with a heavy dark graphite mechanical lead.
STORY:
Mermaids rarely get to see the wonders above the ocean. Stories of “the land” fill a mermaid’s heart with both wonder and dread. Many will never experience what lies above the shore. But some mermaids are more curious than others, these mermaids aren’t afraid to explore beyond their realm and discover new worlds. This one has
managed to “import” something special from a friend on the land.
The rose won’t live long, but as long as it survives this mermaid can call herself “the gardener”.
PROCESS:
- Light blue sketch with mechanical pencil
- Clean up and building values with red colored mechanical pencil
- Create a sepia tonal quality by adding Tombow colored pencils from their sepia collection
-Final pass of detail / line weight with a heavy dark graphite mechanical lead.
This piece has been a passion project of mine since 2016.
I am working on creating my own world building project, a paranormal fairy tale about a world of magic known as “Terratoff” This is one of the High Queens “Queen Gloria”
The process was lengthy and involved a lot of mistakes, here are the steps that actually worked!
1) Loose sketch in colored pencil on moleskine paper
2) Transfer to Bristol Board (ps I probably wont use bristol anymore, not enough tooth for my style of drawing)
3) Scan clean drawing and do digital cleanup
4) Print low opacity copy on arches watercolor hot press and redraw in sepia pencils
5) Ink wash with brown inks
6) Watercolor
7) Frame and bask in my own glory (jk)
This piece and a small run of prints are available in the “Changeling Art Collective” “All that Glitters” auction right now! Less then 24 hours remain to bid.
