One of the most complete arguments I found on the topic by artist Steven Zapata:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjSxFAGP9Ss
and master artist Dave McKean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qOn0hx211A
Podium Audio - Cover Artwork
Happy to see they've just announced the new audiobook series for which I created the first book cover artwork https://podiumaudio.com/audio-book/godsfall-a-litrpg-adventure/
Painting this character and mood was a great adventure and I truly hope you enjoy my work on this one!
More art projects in progress for the new year, keep an eye on my IG stories for updates and news.
Thanks!
Book Cover artwork-Mondadori
Glad to share my fresh new work for Mondadori here! This was a big challenge because for the art director and me was essential to fully present the characters, let feel a bit of their mutual relationship and show some story/setting elements without telling too much. Hope this worked out fine, it was much fun and as usual I had my best moments with the color palette. They asked for a very colorful "liquid" look far away from realism to give the sense of magic and I've been pretty happy to find a balance in this complex color combination. Hope you like the result! Check my IG stories to be updated about my art news;)
Book cover art-The Broken Raven (Spanish edition)
Happy to finally share the cover artwork for "The Broken Raven" Spanish edition, the second book of fantasy trilogy by Joseph Elliott!
I had a lot of fun trying to depict the new story keeping the same graphic structure of the first cover and I must say that I almost instantly visualized this black/purple/pink color palette as soon as I got the design brief. It had to be darker and with some more mistery in it, making you questioning about character's identity and intentions. If you want to see a little process reel of the making of, check my IG and follow for more art!
My artwork's in the city!
Mother, I need!
I could have said
How many times
And still today
I could tell and complaint
You seem distant, I’m here!
I denied
I ignored
I betrayed
I hated
I should have yelled
My breath was short
I need!
To grow
To learn the energy,
the blooming, the way.
Mother I miss
The tender glance,
That infinite space
Under a tree
eyes up to the sky.
I’m struggling,
Mother,
but I am free.
Look at my eyes
Love can you see?
Client: @scuolaitalianadicomix
"Mother, I need!"
So this is it! I've been working on this painting for months, I started in January and it's been with me during the lockdown. I need to say that there's a lot of personal stuff in here and I got from the client the freedom to tell exactly what I needed to. So grateful for that! It doesn't happen frequently when you do work for clients...
The starting point was how I miss a relationship with Nature, even more now in these hard times. I wanted to celebrate the Great Mother and speak loud a message to my real mother as well telling her what I often in everyday life I'm not able to communicate.
There's Darkness and Light, Death and Rebirth and so many things that I hope you'll see and feel traveling around the picture.
Thank you for being there for my art!
-B.
Enjoy my journey along the creation of this piece HERE on my YouTube channel.
"Mother, I need!"(2020) - Poster artwork for Scuola Italiana Di Comix
2020 Calendar Collector's Edition
You find only 50 Collectors edition signed calendar + painted sketch on paper A5 available HERE.
Mondadori Books - cover art
So excited to announce my first collaboration with Mondadori books!
This is my cover artwork for the beautiful Italian edition of "The Good Hawk" by Thomas Elliot. Now in stores...
Check my IG for more ;)
Some book pics from Mondadori account:
Quarantine mood and good intentions
Hi everybody,
In these hard times of quarantine I'm doing my best to keep my routines and to have some sort of personal schedules that help me not to obsess myself too much with circumstances and to stay balanced. So I'm taking the chance to reorganize all my work setup and I'm making plans for the future, in the firm belief that everything is gonna be okay and something could even change for the better.
Being pretty silent on social media recently, since it seemed that there was no need for me to add more noise on the general noise and I just chose to stay a bit with my silence taking the good part of it. Still making art though (something to be released very soon btw) and teaching online more than ever. Well, I'm enjoying that a lot plus thats's helping me a lot too and attending lessons with mid-term goals seems to have a positive impact on my students too!
I wanted to make some online Mentorships and Art Portfolio critique/reviews available for a long time and this total stop is helping me to create more space for that, so I will soon be able to open some spots for online live chats one-to-one, mentorships and workshops.
If you're interested, this is a recap of all my virtual houses to stay in touch and be updated about that opportunity. See you guys and keep making good art!
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: https://www.barbaraciardo.com/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/barbaraciardoart/
FB ART PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/barbaraciardoart/
FB PERSONAL: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.ciardo
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpSEBaMoMo4BSiEJ69M3fQg?view_as=subscriber
TUTORIALS: ART STATION Store and GUMROAD
SOLO EXHIBITION at MANN (National Archaeological Museum Naples)
So happy to finally announce my next Solo Exhibition at MANN-National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
Fourteen illustrations of mine depicting Feminine Myths and Archetypes will be in exposition from December 9, 2019 to January 13, 2020. The artworks have been chosen to represent the Museum along the new year to come on the Official MANN Calendar 2020.
So this is it! I still can't believe that but it's happening and I will be warmly welcoming everybody on the Inauguration Day, December 9 at 4 p.m.
If you're in Naples that day, having you there would be the best gift.
See you soon, may the Beauty be with us!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sono emozionatissima nell'annunciare finalmente la mia mostra personale al MANN Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli.
Quattordici delle mie illustrazioni raffiguranti Miti e Archetipi Femminili saranno in mostra presso il Museo dal 9 Dicembre al 13 Gennaio. Le opere sono state scelte per rappresentare il Museo nel corso del nuovo anno sul Calendario Ufficiale del MANN 2020.
Per ora è tutto, dopo mesi di intenso lavoro sta succedendo davvero! Vi aspetto tutti al Museo nel giorno dell' inaugurazione il 9 dicembre alle 16:00.
Se in quella giornata siete a Napoli, avervi lì sarebbe un bellissimo regalo.
A presto e che la Bellezza ci accompagni!
LIMITED EDITION PRINT release!
My limited edition prints are now available!
So excited to finally be able to see my artwork beautifully printed in poster size, simply because this is really a work of love and I'm putting time and dedication to finally tell my stories with a voice that is completely mine.
I am grateful for all the experience that I built in years collaborating with so many extraordinary artists and I like that in every brushstroke of mine I find something I learnt during my journey as a comics colorist and background painter. Well, this "illustration journey" was always calling and I felt it was the right moment for me to give it a chance to flourish and have a proper place among my professional activities; now that all that is flowing out so naturally, I just want to go on exploring Myths, the Feminine, Psychology, Aesthetics, Color and all those ancient stories that resonate with all of us at archetypical levels.
With your support and sharing I'll be able to create more time and space for my visions.
Keep an eye HERE and HERE to know more about each artwork's story and if you desire to put a colorful window open to fantastical worlds on your walls,
With your support and sharing I'll be able to create more time and space for my visions.
Subscribe HERE to get news one week before they go official here and on socials, so you can be the first to know and place a specific order of original artworks or prints before anyone else. Plus you can reserve your spot first when I open a commission list!
Keep an eye HERE and HERE to know more about each artwork's story and if you desire to put a colorful window open to fantastical worlds on your walls,
MEET ME at FantaExpo Salerno!
I’m proud and happy to let you know that I’ll be a guest at FantaExpo Convention in Salerno Italy from the 5th to the 8th of September!
I’ll be there drawing, painting and selling my limited edition prints.
Don’t forget to bring your collection of comics colored by yours truly with you, I’ll be happy to sign and dedicate them for you!!!
SUBSCRIBE with your e-mail address at the bottom of my HOME page to know when a commission list is open and original art is available!
"Dragonero" Special is out in stores!
This is the cover I colored for "Dragonero" Special on beautiful lineart by Nicola Mari. This special issue is out in stores today July the 10th. If you like, go get your copy!
I totally enjoy painting covers and telling a whole story with color in one picture; in the years I've colored many of them for different publishers, always in couple with amazing and amazingly different artists and that gave me the chance to do a LOT of experience with various styles. The hardest work is finding the "right measure" each time: not too many brushstrokes, hues, saturation, contrast in values and not too few of everything. If you give a quick look at my covers gallery you can suddenly feel these differences from pece to piece.
If you want to learn more about how to color a comics cover art and paint a cover step by step with my support, I created a cover painting tutorial available that includes a professional lineart by top artist Raul Cestaro to do your trials and errors and complete your own version of the cover. Or multiple versions! Why not? :) You can include your finished painted cover in your portfolio of course!
Or... just have fun with it!
Interview for "The Heroine's Journey"
I had the pleasure to answer some questions by Peter de Kuster who is the mind and the heart behind the project "The Heroine's Journey". It's a website collecting stories by women who live and work following their passions and the questions proposed by Peter are aiming to explore what deeply moves them to do what they do and why. He gave me the chance to talk a bit more about my art, influences, inspirations and desires plus I had a moment to pause and have a look at where I am today and what I expect from future.
So, if you want to have a glance at what lays behind my work, you can read all this HERE.
Beneath the Waves Project - VOTE!
Navigating the internet I found this great project by ArtOrder llc and I thought to apply with my recent work "Parthenope" since it seemed a perfect fit. I love the work of Donato Giancola and Rob Rey, plus I adore the themes and it'd be great to see my work published in this amazing book...yes, because the winners will be part of a kickstarter publication for fans of fantasy and literature and it will feature paintings, drawings, sculptures, poetry, mini comics and short proses.
So if you are passionate about mermaids and mermen, give a look to the whole project HERE....and please take a moment to enjoy my artwork. If you like it, you can vote for it. The work will be juried by professionals for inclusion in the book and of course the quality of work will make the difference. Anyway your positive feedback is key to support my work for consideration. Thank you!!! -B.
Please vote HERE
Please vote HERE
Storytelling Contest!-The winner is...and other beautiful stories
Well, here they are for you to enjoy!
THE WINNER STORY:
"The Last Truth: the island of answers"
It was a sense of profound and sudden agitation to awaken me from the state of torpor in which I had not realized I was finished.The small boat on which I was standing was now a few meters from the shore and I could no longer bring to mind the need for safety that had made me desire to reach that place.Everything there gave the idea of a place out of time, immobile and at the same time, as if about to be hit by a terrible storm.The Messenger who had guided me up to that point of my journey, without addressing me a word or a glance beckoned me to come down to the island, pointing to an indefinite point at the base of the enormous plateau.The reason he brought me there was simple: answers. But as I walked, feeling more and more insignificant and subdued in front of the majesty of that spectacle, I was seized with an anguished thought; the decision that had pushed me so far did not belong to me at all.The torment changed to resignation when the Messenger joined me. Despite having uttered no words, I understood what he was asking me."Why...?"The Messenger nodded slowly and, turning his gaze to the plateau, reported my question without making any sound.An eternal moment filled the space, before three eyes, as deep as the night, fixed on me. And so I knew the Truth. -smelos55
OTHER BEAUTIFUL STORIES AND INTERPRETATIONS:
"Twilight Oracle"
"The Core"
The shielded, unique, tranquil island within the heart of every woman from which infinite wisdom, strength and nurturing spirit is fashioned. -aquafanforeverx
"The Fates"
Once the Fates were so many sisters, they all lived together on an island weaving splendid tapestries that they exchanged with the inhabitants of the island. One day a foreigner, a handsome and rich man, landed on the island and immediately one of the sisters, the youngest one, fell in love with him.
To attract his attention, she began to weave a very precious tapestry and in the complicated embroidery, she put a fairy thread in the hope that it would make him fall in love with her. But the young man took advantage of his heart and once their passion was consumed, he left bringing with him the magic tapestry. As the young woman realized she had been abandoned, she threw herself from the highest cliff and died. The three sisters decided to take revenge, they gathered what remained of the fairy thread and took it to the Island's Witch. They asked her to take the young man's life and the Witch demanded a sacrifice in return: the soul of the deceased sister for the life of the stranger. To save her, the sisters proposed a counter-offer; they would weave the magic threads of the Witch in exchange for the life of the young man, until the end of times. Their desire was satisfied, the soul of the young sister was saved, but the three sisters would have become the three Fates well known in mythology. Still today, they weave our lifes' threads foreseeing past, present and future of all human beings. -paolamay84
Once the Fates were so many sisters, they all lived together on an island weaving splendid tapestries that they exchanged with the inhabitants of the island. One day a foreigner, a handsome and rich man, landed on the island and immediately one of the sisters, the youngest one, fell in love with him.
To attract his attention, she began to weave a very precious tapestry and in the complicated embroidery, she put a fairy thread in the hope that it would make him fall in love with her. But the young man took advantage of his heart and once their passion was consumed, he left bringing with him the magic tapestry. As the young woman realized she had been abandoned, she threw herself from the highest cliff and died. The three sisters decided to take revenge, they gathered what remained of the fairy thread and took it to the Island's Witch. They asked her to take the young man's life and the Witch demanded a sacrifice in return: the soul of the deceased sister for the life of the stranger. To save her, the sisters proposed a counter-offer; they would weave the magic threads of the Witch in exchange for the life of the young man, until the end of times. Their desire was satisfied, the soul of the young sister was saved, but the three sisters would have become the three Fates well known in mythology. Still today, they weave our lifes' threads foreseeing past, present and future of all human beings. -paolamay84
"The Alchemists"
The title would be "The Alchemists". This is the moment when these three female alchemists managed to turn any matter into pure gold. Before any man could do that. -ilaria.melvi.art
"Norns"
The three female figures made me immediately think of the mythological figures of the Fates or even of the Norns of Norse mythology, three female figures who weave the destiny of men and in the mirror of water scrutinize the fulfillment of the destiny of mortals. Distant, implacable but not without compassion. -rosydiasgard
“The vigil”
Lovely, as I wrote on FB ;) my version of the story is “The vigil”: a silent vigil on a water surface, hellish lake or pond. -hoshimemdraws
"Volcano Gods"
Below the surface of the blue planet, they hid from our eyes and those of their enemy and, in the bowels of the earth adjacent to the sea of magma, still today they dream of regaining their lost home and the freedom for their oppressed people.
Periodically they go out into the outside world through the mouths of the active volcanoes, disguising themselves among the common people for the purpose of exploring and observing the human race, whose technological future they predicted: enough technological growth to help them realize their dream.
Some people swear they have seen mysterious figures crossing lava rivers and flames through small reflective capsules and have given them the name "Volcano Gods" ””. -elmalikko
"Ramayana"
Your artwork is amazingly beautiful 💙 the art reminds me of the Hindu epic 'Ramayana' and the three characters looks like Rama with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana during exile in forest.The Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses (mostly set in the Shloka meter), divided into seven Kandas and about 500 sargas (chapters).The characters Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata, Hanuman, Shatrughna, and Ravana are all fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and south-east Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. -siyavideha
"The Emergence"
Once there was only fire, from the fire emerged the titans, who ruled ans built the world. -_that_artist_
COMICON!-April 25/28
One more time I’ll be attending this amazing event! For me it’s a great chance to meet fans and artists/colleagues that I love and admire and I’ve never missed one show in fifteen years. This is one of the top events in Italy for comics, games, art, entertainment and pop culture and I’m lucky to have it in my beautiful city. Naples really becomes an even more magical place in those few days…This year I’ll be there at the Scuola Italiana Di Comix booth where I’ll have some sketch sessions and I’ll be presenting my courses in the “Area Games”. If you’ll be there, step by and say hi! :)
Parthenope
Just few words to let you know that I’ve recently created a new section of my website dedicated to an ongoing illustration project of mine. I’ve lots of images to bring out and stories that I need to tell; hopefully you can enjoy my journey as well! I’ll keep posting new works mainly on my Instagram @barbaraciardoart. Follow to get some more cues about the stories behind the pictures and if my visions inspire you a story, please write it in the IG comments or send me an e-mail, I’ll be happy to share it!
My illustration "Parthenope" has been featured on the national newspaper "La Repubblica" with a great article by Alessandro Di Nocera.
Dylan Dog Color Fest n. 28 Cover Art -February 2019
It’s out today in stores!!! This is the second time I’ve got the pleasure to work with master artist Nicola Mari on a great character. The first time we had the chance to create together three covers for miniseries Orfani: Juric (you find the three covers here in the “covers&poster” section) and we finally met again to create this piece. It was fun and a challenge to not over-render these amazing lines and I hope you like the overall mood and the general outcome.
A B C
I did three versions and the one approved above (A) was the one I liked best. You know…don’t always goes like that but I was lucky enough to get the precious Emiliano Mammucari’s feedback to go straight and follow my taste.I post the alternative color proposals for you to enjoy and why not, write me what you think about!
Peace & brushstrokes!
Pencils: Nicola Mari
Colors: Barbara Ciardo
Sergio Bonelli Editore
Colors: Barbara Ciardo
Sergio Bonelli Editore
How To Paint a Comics Cover Art-TUTORIAL
I’m here again with my unmistakable mix of British/American/Italian/Neapolitan English to let you know that in my Gumroad shop you find now my new tutorial on How To Paint a Comics Cover Art appliable to any kind of illustration. There you find also my tutorial about Flats for Coloring and Digital Painting. I can affirm with no doubt that painting the amazing lineart of Raul Cestaro took me very little time and effort compared to writing and editing; moreover I was repeatedly asking myself…how hard is it creating something in a chaotic state of flow, putting the process in an ordered away and recording all while it’s happening, still being short and clear for people? Big challenge for me, I hope I’m giving something good:)
You’ll let me know;)
You’ll let me know;)
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