Regular Version
This piece was based on a digital composite I made from several photographs and a drawing. The Creature in the drawing is called a Cabal, which I first created in 1999. The girl in the photo was loosely based on a photo I found online. I chose the photo because it was in a workable position and more importantly it resembled a friend of mine. The landscape itself is based on a photo I took of the Rio Grande.
Composite/Drawing Comparison
One on the most difficult tasks in creating this drawing was changing the light source. The river photo has a light source coming from the back-right side, casting shadows to the front-left. The photo of the rider has a light source coming from the front-right side, casting shadows to the back-left (if that makes sense). I wanted the final drawing to have a light source from the front-left, casting shadows to the back-right. So, while I could use the photos as a reference, I also had to imaging what they might look like with a different light source. I'm not sure how successfull it was in the landscape, but I think the rider and the creature match up fairly well enough.