Stefan Koidl is a full-time Krampus mask carver and self-taught illustrator and concept artist living in Salzburg, Austria. A fascination of fictional characters and scenes led him to start drawing at a young age. Now, art has become a big part of his life providing extra motivation to improve every day. 

He's currently specializing in digital paintings and loves drawing images that tell a story. He believes the painting should trigger a certain feeling in the observer and make them think. Stefan especially enjoys painting creepy and dark subjects. He says, "It’s just thrilling to “play” with the fear of the viewer."

Here is a breakdown of his 2D Art War 4 entry- Ember White.

For this piece I had already a clear vision in my mind. That’s why I started with the color block in. Normally in the “exploration phase” I only sketch in black and grey for a better overview of the image.

In that case the color palette is also pretty muted, so it’s easier to work with.

At this stage I'm already satisfied with  the overall “mood” of the image.

Everything is set and I just jump between the character and background.

At a later stage I always work with an overlay layer to get a few more colors back and to push the focal point more to the character.

I also started to add a few dust particles to give the illustration more dynamic and action.

I wasn’t happy with the final clothing design, that’s why I tried to change/adjust some parts.

Here are some quick exploration shots:

Final Illustration

See more from Stefan here:

Instagram

Facebook