Star Trek/Doctor Who. The Ood take Starfleet

"Captain, The conditions on the asteroid below will not sustain a human away team." 

"Spock! you're...not...suggesting...?" 

"No Captain, The conditions below are as equally inhospitable to Vulcans. I suggest we beam down Ensign Ood to accomplish the mission on the asteroid while we deal with the immediate threat here. Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the Ood" 

As always it starts with a sketch on cheap printer paper. Its low detail and there just to establish 

the proportions and composition. It has way too many guidelines and stray pencil marks to use for the painting. It needs to be cleaned up and  enlarged on higher quality paper.

I use an opaque projector

to project the rough sketch on to watercolour paper.

I use  Arches 140lb Watercolor Paper Block, Cold Press. Its over $60 for 20 sheets. 

there's cheaper paper to be sure, but this paper holds paint and water without warping better than anything I've ever used.

 When that's done I'm left with much cleaner pencil lines on  paper suitable for ink and gouache.

It's important to lighten the pencil lines as some of the colour will be semi-transparent when used with water and the lines can show through.

I use PrismaColor Kneaded Rubber

I snap off a piece and roll it into a cylinder. It molds just like silly puddy--its fun!

Then I roll the cylinder lightly over the pencils with the palm of my hand. This lightens without erasing all together.

Now I mask with this.

Just scotch masking tape. 

The cheap stuff works just fine and it never tears the Arches paper. (it has been know to tear some of the cheaper bristol board I've used.

Now the piece is ready for ink and paint.

I paint with gouache, generally and though I use many brands, I usually prefer either Winsor & Newton or the Royal Talens Art Creation line.

I begin with the nebula and star burst background

 I develop the random cloud look by painting in solid black with heavy water. Then I dip a large glob of colour paint into the wet black and gently swirl it around. the water from the black will distributre the colour around randomly and works well to great a nebula-esque look.

Next, the landscape is created using burnt umber, chinese orange, lamp black and zinc white.

 blacks are added for the Enterprise.

 

Then midtones are added with lamp blanc, zinc white and azure blue

highlights that are not obtained by the absence of colour, are obtained by the addition of zinc white over the dry midtones.

 all the blacks are applied to the Ood.

 then skin tones using lamp black, yellow ochre and zinc white.

 Shirt midtones are filled in using crimson, cadmium and zinc white.

 the masking is removed...

 ...and the piece is scanned