Wednesday, August 26, 2009

And The Winner Is...

Sebastian Rice! Congratulations Sebastian! This was really tough to judge--there were lots of guesses that had some parts
right, but other parts wrong, so we had to balance it all out by taking into account more rights and
less wrongs. Thank you, everybody, for taking part--you really made this fun for us all!

Here's the actual breakdown on who did what:

The original concept was figured out between Julie and the client.
Boris did the original sketch and laid the main elements out on the board.
Julie painted the background and foreground-- all of the sky, foliage, rocks, trees, etc.
Boris started the wolf, Julie made adjustments and final touches to him.
Julie painted the head of the front horse (on the right) and Boris painted the body.
Boris painted the back horse (on the left).
Boris painted the woman’s body, Julie made some final touches to her face.
Julie painted the woman’s halter top, Boris painted her skirt and boots.
Boris painted the sword in the foreground.

There is no particular formula of how we work together because every painting is different. The decision as to “who paints what” is mostly based on convenience. We are usually working on several different projects at any given time and, in the interest of efficiency, we try to both stay pretty busy. Sometimes Boris will do the original layout, sometimes Julie. Sometimes Boris will paint the figure, sometimes Julie. Same with the background, whatever. If there is any particular part of the painting that one of us really wants to do, we will say so and do that--but we do sometimes have to arm wrestle to come to a final decision. Just kidding! :) There are times when one of us starts a face, then has to stop for some reason, and the other one will pick up where it was left off.

It’s a really fun way to work and we don’t run into ego battles about it. We both respect each other’s vision and ability equally. We do recognize that it’s an amazingly unique situation and that we’re luckier than our wildest dreams could have ever come up with!

So, Sebastian, send us an e-mail at bjart1@imaginistix.com!

21 comments:

Gregory Becker said...

That was so much fun. Congratulations to Sebastian.
I can't wait till the next one.

Boris and Julie said...

Thanks for writing, Gregory! We have to say that you were among our top finalists.
It was a really fun contest for us, too!

Joe said...

Congratulations Sebastian! When are we going to do this again?

Velvet Dog Studio said...

Hi, Julie and Boris! I took a look for fun, I"m sure family members weren't eligible,anyway! Man-that was a toughie! I was sure that Boris did the background, While Julie painted the wolf and horses. i was tossed up on the figure because my computer screen is kind of small and I couldn't see a lot of detail. So, Congrats to Sebastian. Your blog looks great!'
Toodles,
Suzanne

Boris and Julie said...

Hey Suzannie! Thanks for playing!

Boris and Julie said...

Joe--We'll come up with another contest soon!

Cbreeze said...

Yea! Congrats to Sebastian! That was a fun contest!

Jennifer G. Oliver said...

Congrats Sebastian! You really have a sharp eye-especially on a fairly low resolution image. That's impressive! I thought for sure that background was all Boris' (except for maybe the leaves on the upper right) mostly because of the use of color and the way some of the washes were done. Man, you guys really know how to blend your styles together seamlessly!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Nice one Sebastian! :)

mesike said...
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Peter Tikos said...

Congratulations, Sebastian!
I thought it's easier to figure it out. In the next time I'll be cleverer :)

Unknown said...

Hey Boris and Julie,
Great contest, and great explanation. Thanks you so much. However, I have a technical question: since you paint with different color palettes (as shown in your Fantasy Art Workshop book), how do you choose what colors (or whose palette) you'll use on a given painting?

Boris and Julie said...

Well, no, Arnaud. We each use our own palette. If we have a question about a color that the other started we just ask. So far we have not have any problems.
Very good question, though.

Patrick j Jones said...

Nice work Sebastian!

Who painted the wolf really had me stumpted. Love that foreground horse! The colours..the colours...

You created a great community spirt in this contest, Boris and Julie, thanks.

Best wishes,
P.

Unknown said...

A big thanks to Boris and Julie - for both a great prize and a really challenging competition.

Looking forward to my large print of "John Carter of Mars".

Jaime Gervais said...

What a great contest! Sorry I missed it. :D Congratz, Sebastian - I don't think I would have guessed as well as you!

Boris and Julie: are you still using the strathmore 500 CP illustration board? If so, what ply are you using? I find their 20 ply a little thin - does this hold up to the oils when taped to foamcore? I'm trying a multitude of surfaces.

Hope to see another contest and more beautiful artworks coming! :D

Boris and Julie said...

We are using the Strathmore Cold Pressed Illustration board, series 500--here is the link:
http://www.dickblick.com/products/strathmore-500-series-cold-press-illustration-board/
It doesn't say what ply it is.
We put three watered-down coats of gesso on one side of it, then tape it to 3/16" foamboard.
It's good that you are experimenting with different surfaces to find what works best for you!

Jaime Gervais said...

That's fantastic. My shipment of that exact product from Dick Blick just came in and I was hoping it is able to stand up to oils. I agree with both of you- canvas dimples kill fine details so I also like painting on wooden cradled panels too but they are quite thick and not fantastic for storage like illustration board. I will give it a shot. Thanks so much. It would be amazing to take classes from you two! :D

-Jaime <3

The Dark Elf said...

As amazing as the art is, and I have nothing but respect for the decades of wonderful visions that you two have produced, I find the level of cooperation and synergy that you (collectively) function at amazing.

I see but one painter with four hands.

Well done, Sebastion. In many ways this came down to deciphering the work of a single artist and detemining what was painted on a Monday as opposed to a Tuesday.

Congrats.

Boris and Julie said...

One artist with four hands--that's so cool! Thanks for the great thought, Dark Elf!