Watching His Own Portrait

Ben Thompson is one of the senior artists at Blizzard Entertainment, the game publisher that created World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.


When I visited the company in southern California last week to give my composition lecture, Ben agreed to model for a twenty minute portrait demo.


He has posed several times before as an instructor at Cal State Long Beach, but he said it was the first time he got to watch a portrait of himself as it was being made.


Ben’s face has dynamic planes and a dramatic quality, like a stunt pilot, which makes him fun to draw. I was conscious of keeping the modeling of the values segregated into two groups: very light tones on the illuminated side of the face, and dark, rich tones in the jacket, hair, and background. I downplayed the random cast shadows from the glasses.


Blizzard Entertainment recently announced the new book of Diablo III: Book of Cain

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The book has newly commissioned artwork by Jean Baptiste Monge, Iain McCaig, Brom, Alan Lee, John Howe, Petar Meseldžija, and me. (Photos courtesy Blizzplanet)




(Video Link) Here's a cinematic trailer for Diablo III. I enjoyed immersing myself into the unique form vocabulary of the Blizzard universe. I did several pencil drawings for the book, though we'll have to wait until the volume is out in November until I can share them.

Previously on GurneyJourney: A Visit to Blizzard Entertainment (2010)
Ten Tips for Drawing Glasses