Tag Archives: art style

Friends with Adversaries

    Sometimes I can slip in a picture at work and this is one of those times. Think of it as an art study, the kind teachers usually put on a person the middle of the room.

     The drawing itself wasn’t the hard part. I knew the translucent quality of the bottle was what would try to kick my ass, so I begin by gameplaninng it first.

     Of course I couldn’t ignore the headphones! Getting the textures right proved to be technically easy. Harder edges with more separation in values gave things that hard plastic sheen.

    Now came the bottle itself. I began by laying out my mids and leaving highs as page white for now…

    …after which I begin to add reflections by using a darker red. It gave the illusion of a highly reflective surface, which made for a good starting point.

     From there I chose the original color I used to create my mids to add gradation to the bottle. It helped create the outline of the other speaker, as well as the twist grooves for the cap.

   Finally I used Deco Peach to go over the entire thing and add a bit of glossiness to the bottle. A white gel pen created the lettering and logo and it was done!

    I hope you guys like the end result.😊

Telekinetic Tykes Taste Terrible

    I have to get more organized! I have the script for multiple pages and the time to knock out a few every week. Good right? Well…

      The problem is that I still have a full time job. A great one, but it kinda consumes a lot of my time. I try not to let it get out of hand. With all the video production planned this month, it’s been a bit of a tightrope. 

     So I’ve decided to eliminate any and all social interaction for now. Except I’m doing photography and video at a pro bodybuilding show this weekend and that’s VERY time consuming! What have I done?! How am I going to meet my obligations? WHAT IF I FAIL?!!!!

                        *deep breaths*

     Okay. I have six pages. It’s no Illiad, but a short story should still be worth telling. I’ll give it my best, as always.

     At least you guys are in it with me. Thanks for that. 😊

Give a Lot, Get a Little

     Everyone wants to be appreciated, even if only on occasion. So being asked to do this picture for money  was an added bonus!

      I love doing anything that requires me  drawing the human (or inhuman) body. The way light catches all of its surfaces and how it all combines to show motion and emotion fascinates me.

      I spent a lot of time creating superheroes as a kid, learning anatomy the Marvel way, lol. When bodybuilding and wrestling came into my world, I studied the human frame, male and female and committed it to memory.

     Honestly, I rarely saw He-Man growing up. So this was really fun to tackle; putting my own spin on Skeletor.

So if you can find a way to do exactly what you want and still be paid, that’s Nirvana, right?..

Entertain US

       All phases of my life are at full throttle right now. Art, work, home, gym. I’m not burning the candle at both ends; I tossed it into a furnace!

     This has lead me to believe that I’m pretty lazy at heart. I don’t necessarily WANT to be doing this. But for now art is my version of being lazy.

        I know it probably doesn’t seem that way. For every picture i post here every week, there are dozens that I don’t. But honestly it doesn’t feel like work(sometimes). I get lost in it.

      The best ones almost feel like puzzles, where I’m figuring out the best way to bring out what I’m seeing. It’s not always easy and can be frustrating, but I have a knack for it.

        Like most artists, I want to make a living from what I love to do. And unfortunately, like a lot of artists, I suck at salesmanship. But I’m doing something about it.

     I started this blog because after trying to kill myself, it seemed therapeutic to write about my drawing. It made me try to understand why and what I was doing. Prior to that it was all instinct.

  Now it help clears my head and I genuinely enjoy sharing it. I like writing more than i thought I would. And I’m seeing my art as more than just a hobby or therapy. 

Twiddle

     Believe it or not, I don’t always spontaneously draw things. I do prep work from time to time, like Batman, except I’m not just making shit up and claiming I knew the whole time.

      Screw you, Batman.

       The color pallet for this image had to be pretty exact; I couldn’t just use brown and say presto!

    The base is everything. Whatever the foundation color for a person or thing always try to lay that first. It matters because sometimes your whole image will fight you if you don’t.

       Some people do color shifts or values during this. With markers on sketchpad paper, all you end up with is mud, at least that’s been my result.

       I always break my subject down to my pallet range. Some parts may not need the whole setup, but everything gets its own thing.

         It’s fine to kind of step back along the process and see how far you’ve come and whether it makes a cohesive image. Practice will help with this aspect. In fact, DRAW ALL THE TIME. 

       There’s a lot of time to finish an image unless you’re under deadline. Don’t be afraid to slow down if you’re Java problem with a particular section; you can even practice it on a piece of the same type of paper you’re drawing on. I’m not done here, but it’s details now. All because I had a plan. 

😉

It’s Raining Bricks

      So…I bore easily. Really, REALLY easily and art has always been the way I daydream. It allowed me to create whole worlds and explore trains of thought otherwise denied to me. I couldn’t imagine NOT having the ability; it is my mutant power after all.

      But I did lose it. Which should have been a sign that I’d lost myself as well, but I didn’t notice in the mess that my sanity was becoming. In the end I lost everything I cared about and did some inpatient time in a mental care facility.

    Yeah, not my best moment. But it doesn’t even make the top ten list, so no worries.

     One of the things that they offered me, besides a lot of pills, was a chance to draw. They were stunned at what I could do; so was I, having almost completely forgotten. By degrees, I rebuilt me. By hand.

    You could say art saved me. I regained my sense of self. Accepted a new role with my family. Got a new job. I turned it around. 

     Art was there when I was down and out. Now I draw everyday. I have customers, which I still find weird, hahaha. I’m content.

    No happy ending. But my happy place is only a thought away.

Crushing Hope

      So… I’ve acknowledged the fact that there’s one person who can totally knock me off my game. It’s a little sad, but it kept me from being as content as I try to be. So I drew this spontaneously while watching a Star Trek commercial…

       I was actually surprised at how well it turned out. The values were added first, followed by coloring. A lot of the time my mind wasn’t fully on it and I really had to concentrate to stay on task.

     The good news is that I got through it. The better newsis that I got through it. I hate being at the mercy of something like this. But if you’re trying to control life, it will hurt you. So I ride my lows, stay calm in highs and try to find comfort in the middle. Contentment.

Wubadubbawubwub

In case you don’t understand the current reaction…

End of rant. On to art.

    So after a particularly vivid nightmare, started working on this script this week. It took five hours; this surprised me.

      You see, when I was a kid(hell, even now lol) I loved comics. Especially Marvel. Being artistic and all, I figured it was a cinch that I’d work there one day. I looked forward to it and one day I took a bold step. 

    I sent in a bunch of panels. 

     After what felt like I a century I got a letter. A rejection letter. I was crushed and decided maybe I wasn’t meant to be an artist after all. That I’d have to settle for my back up career as test pilot or astronaut. My drawing was covered in red ink corrections, a sure sign of authority. Damn.

     Years later I met the guy who sent me that letter, Jim Shooter. I told him about it and he asked how old I was when I did it. Six, I replied.

      The man was inconsolable. He actually teared up and told me he was sorry about it. He asked if I’d put my age on it. Hadn’t considered that. “No.” If I still drew. At that time, the answer was no. 

    I’m fine. My life has been a comic of sorts, full of adventure travel and tragedy, hahaha. No I didn’t become an astronaut, but I worked for NASA and met several. I even have a piece of Hubble’s old thermal shield, brought back after the lens repair mission.

   And I draw again. I don’t have any dreams attached to my art anymore. It’s for me mostly, with an occasional commission thrown in, mostly for ego sake. 

      Because I love art😉.

Extraneous Persons

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     I’m not sure how anyone will feel about my next picture. So I won’t ask, lol. Today someone ran into my car, so that’s how I get to start the week. So if I seem a little bummed, please be kind.

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     I always knew that line work or pencil drawing was important, but this picture helped me understand HOW important. It’s everything! I found myself having to clean it up several times.

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     Although a lot of the time coloring and bringing out detail is where my heart lies, making a good foundation can simplify the whole process .

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      Since this was colored with markers and I’m self taught, it took awhile, experimenting to find the best technique for getting a more realistic look. I finally fell back on my watercoloring experience to recreate the look I wanted. Although I don’t have a huge pallet, it seems to work well.

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     Of course there are places where I need textures and the art markers aren’t always the best for that. Luckily, I remembered that I could still use watercolor on some papers the results have been pretty helpful.

Can

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   This has been a slow week, but a pleasant one. I want to complain, but that’s just a reflection of my mood.

     The thumbnails are a big hit! People are really happy to receive them and so far have been willing to pay up to $10 so far! Pretty cool…

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     My bigger images are starting to get a bit of love, which makes me feel as though they’re worthwhile. My style is definitely coming through and people seem to want to buy whatever I make.

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    The stages it takes to draw can start feeling stale to a certain degree, so I try to switch it up for my own sanity, lol.

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  With this image I decided to forego the usual realistic approach and just try to convey a more cartoon style image. Not too cartoony ; just enough to get the point across.

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     That’s it for now. I have an immense amount of yard work to do! Hope you guys enjoy the images.