Orbaal Invasion

I have finished the art for upcoming Columbia Games kingdom release. Orbaal was a big project for me, lots of hairy, and fur wearing Viking types to draw. I had to draw and paint over 50 images for this one.
The kingdom article is a few weeks away from being published as it goes through final review and editing.

This image is for the front page of the kingdom. I decided to illustrate something of the struggle going on in that northern kingdom; an invading Ivinian attacking a Jarin warrior.

Coming Ivinian Storm, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I thought I would post a few of the reference photos to show a bit of my process. Also I wanted to explain to any neighbors who may read this blog why I was posing like this in my yard last week while my wife took photos.

While the above image is full of rage and testosterone, - well, the reference photos are too.

The reference shots, while very helpful, are just part of the process for creating the final image. I had to outfit these guys with proper weapons and clothing, but I also had to make the guys in the final image not quite so handsome. I also had to remove my awesome van in the background and replace it with the rugged coast of Orbaal. There were ton of other photos for the hands and face to use for reference as well, as the pose required more action or a changes. I tend to assemble a reference in Photoshop, arranging various photos, then selecting various limbs, hinging them at the joints to move around like puppets until I get a pleasing arrangement.

Let me know what you think- I am more interested in your thoughts on the top image.