KigaCon Badge Art

I was invited as a guest artist by KigaCon in Newport News, VA, and asked to design the badges for the convention. The theme was legends, so I was inspired by the legend of the war between the Dragon and the Phoenix.

This is the dragon design based on traditional Chinese design. I gave him five claws to indicate he was a royal dragon (though I went with a blue color scheme instead of a yellow one, so he would contrast with the phoenix).  

This is my phoenix sketch. As you can see, I tried to incorporate the flames into his plumage. The design is half peacock and half crane.

Here is the completed dragon with textured scales that reflect the texture behind him. I went with a cool color scheme, with one warm element (his golden whiskers and horns) to tie him to his foe, the phoenix. The background was textured suggested aged parchment.

The phoenix, being of middle eastern origin, I decided to texture with more Iranian patterns. I wanted the phoenix to look as though she was glowing from her breast. Note that she is warm colored but with blue touches to tie her to her foe the dragon. (In this version you can see the crop/bleed lines I was given.)

A week before the event I was asked to make a composite image of the two badges for a a paper ad to be posted around town and on the internet. This is how I arranged that, with both creatures fighting over the pearl of wisdom.