One of my absolute favourite illustrations of mine. The inspiration for this drawing came from my love of trolls and mythical creatures in Nordic folklore and famous illustrators inspired by the Tolkien books.

This character is one I have been working on for years. The details of his form have become more vivid & alive each time I have come back to this concept, and his character has grown more magnificently brutal and fearless.

I drew this in pencil. I took photographs of old haggard trees to use as reference in the drawing. Imagining he lives in the shadows of a dark, misty and murky forest.

A close up of the work in progress.

The same concept, this time in ink.

A close up of a much earlier version of the same concept.

This new concept is my folklore and fairy-tale art inspired watercolour of a troll dwelling in his underground forest hole.

By allowing the paint to work for itself I created this dark & damp feel to the painting. I added a little red to his surroundings to enhance the redness of his discerning eyes… Then I added the small details to the damp paper to create the effect of small roots and mycelium.