A whole lotta llustration, a little graphic design...

Here's a book cover I made for Graphic Design for the Illustrator, for a collection of storied by Isaac Asimov.

The title is not that of the original collection, but one of the stories from it which the illustration is based on. I went for a bit of a retro feel with the illustration and the text. Medium is pen and ink with digital color and values, with torn, crumpled, and scanned paper for the title box, text box on the back cover, and texture on the back cover.
It seems like most of the work in this project was the illustration, the graphic design part was actually pretty simple.

Busier than a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest...

...But here's my faithful Friday blog post, as usual.
First off, an update on the main source of my busy-ness, the robot PI painting. This thing seems like it has been taking forever... I think it's the technique I chose. But latelty I've been employing what I call the "grisaille-a-prima" technique, and that seems to be helping thing come along nicely.

 On another robot-related note, I've been working on some book jacket illustrations for a collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov in Graphic Design for the Illustrator. Here's the front cover so far, needs solid blacks and some digital spot color:

 

 And the back cover. text goes in the blank spot, we're using lorem ipsum (filler text).

 These are based on the (very) short story Insert Knob A Into Slot B from the collection. Both drawn in pen and ink.

 

And here's a logo I designed, that appears on the crate on the front cover, stretched and squished in photoshop to fit the perspective, and will also appear on the "book"'s spine.

See y'all later!

 

Robot P.I. progress

 I don't have much to say today, but here's an update on the robot P.I. painting:

Thanks to my friend, Holly, for letting me use her phone to take a picture of this at last night's impromptu painting party on the 7th floor (illustration floor, top floor 'cuz we're the best). Coulda used my phone, but the photo would've been the size of a postage stamp and terrible quality.
I'm using the grisaille technique in this painting. Click the link and educate thyself because I can't be arsed to explain it at the moment.
I don't have much time to finish this and I've got a lot of work to do, so I'll be back later with more goodies!

"Hey, you got Noir in my Sci-fi!" "Well, you got Sci-fi in my Noir!" Also, postcards.

Inspiration goes around, and comes around. A little while ago, my dad, a writer and science fiction enthusiast, told me that he saw my drawing of the running robot

this one

and it inspired him to start writing a story about a robot private eye in the future. I haven't read it yet, but a month or two later, I was brainstorming up some ideas for my Illustration Portfolio 1 class, and was inspired to do a sci-fi/noir/pulp fiction painting featuring, you guessed it, a robot P.I.
The painting is still a work in progress, here's what I have so far, pencil drawing on gessoed hardboard (masonite). Gonna paint it with oils.

If you're wondering, that's an "E-cigarette" hahaha.
I took some reference photos for this piece with the help of my friend Ian Anderson, who is in the same class. No relation to the lead singer of Jethro Tull.

A mock-up of the composition, refined with help from my professor, Lisa. That's my hand there in the leather glove.

I also just got done with my six postcards based on random words. The rules for the assignment were to pick 10 words at random from Molly's envelope o' words, then pick any 2 to be the theme of your first card, then pick another to add to one of the previous words, rinse, and repeat until you've got 6 combination  of 2 words. Then you illustrate 'em all as 4x6 postcards for self-promotion, or to enter in the Muskegon Museum's postcard salon. I got the words bird, diving board, tractor, teacup, bathing suit, doorknob, rain, debate, brother, and vacuum cleaner. Pretty weird bunch of words, but the assignment is meant to be challenging. I didn't end up using every word because you're allowed to re-use previous words. Here's what I ended up with:

Rain + Bird, or "Rain Bird"

Bird Debate

Bathing suit + rain

Bird + Doorknob (Rapping at my chamber door)

Bathing suit + teacup

 

 

Diving board + teacup

 These are all pen and ink with watercolor on hot press (smooth surface) watercolor paper. For the most part, they're drawn from imagination, but I used some reference for the birds and their markings.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get these done in time to send to Muskegon, but I did send the postcards I did last semester. Refer to my last post if you wanna see a couple of those.

That's all for now, stay tuned for updates on that robot painting. See ya!

Busy busy busy!

No time for my usual overly verbose mind-vomit today, I must have about a million projects all coming due at the beginning of next week.
But even so, here's a couple of my postcards, which are on their way to the Muskegon Museum of Art for the annual postcard salon!

Dead Robot and Deermother, definitely not your mama's postcards! Pen and ink plus watercolor on 4"x6" watercolor paper.
I'm also currently working feverishly on 6 more postcards based on randomly selected words for illustration 4. I'll be sure to show y'all when I'm done.

WUNDERLICH! Git off yer ass and back to work!

Well, folks, gotta obey the boss, see ya!

Drawings from winter break, and lotsa words.

Done with my second-to-last first week of school, ever! This looks like it's gonna be another interesting semester, I'm taking graphic design for the illustrator, illustration 4, illustration portfolio 1, and "visual rhetoric". I'll probably be posting some of my initial sketches for projects soon.

I've also decided to update my blog at least once a week, every Friday (or something. as you can see I'm not doing too good so far.)

Over break I went on vacation to Key West with mom and dad, and we drove there... let's just say I had plenty of time to draw.

 

this is my dad, driving. He hasn't seen this yet, tee hee.

We stopped in Florence, Alabama along the way to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins, AKA the Crenshaws, for a few days, and we had a good time together, as usual.
The first thing I did in Key West was rent a bike and ride halfway across the island to the only art supply store: a little craft store called "Ben Franklin Island Crafts" to get a new small sketchbook, as my old ones were damn near full up. For some reason I find this quite amusing.
maybe sometime I'll put up some of the many photos I took. Spent the rest of break in Ann Arbor (my hometown) All in all a good time.

 this one started when I asked my friend Sarah what to draw. After a pensive moment she replied: "A bunny dragon!"

And lo, Will created a bunny-dragon, and it was good. Thanks for the Idea!

Started this on the Friday before break, when we were hanging out and drawing in a coffee shop, then continued work on it in the car the very next day. Drawn with various sepia and colored microns, including a brush-tipped one. I don't know if I like how I handled the shadows. also, one ear is all funky.

  A couple drawings from my Key West sketchbook, a tiny little thing that I had filled up entirely by the end of break. This guy is an eccentric rogue tank driver in the post-apocalyptic future. He drives a one-man tank that's battle-scarred and beat-to-shit on the outside, but has a ridiculously plush interior like something from Pimp my Ride, complete with chilled champagne, white leather seats, built-in humidor, and fuzzy dice. Just a little idea I had kicking around in my head on the car ride, possibly influenced by the character "Oddball" from Kelly's Heroes, especially in the facial hair department.
I drew him a few more times, too, playing around with different helmet and uniform designs. Even drew some tanks, which I need more practice at. I think the helmet in the first drawing looks too much like a fighter pilot's.
The gun he's carrying is based on the FN p90, a compact personal defense weapon designed for use by vehicle crews, etc, and is used by the military on the show Stargate. I like to add a bit of realism to otherwise futuristic pieces, I think it makes them more believable.

Also, kids, don't follow this guy's bad example of gun safety! Keep your booger hook off the bang switch (finger off the trigger) until you're ready to fire. The people around you will thank you for not having holes in them and their stuff where there previously weren't.

I've been experimenting a bit with ink, trying to find a style that preserves some of the energy, dynamism, and a little of the "sketchy" nature of the initial pencil drawing, which is easy to lose. Not that super-clean and precise ink work is terrible, I'm just looking to add another "tool" to my proverbial artistic "toolbox". I like the way it looks so far.

I even went over some of the loose "finding lines" with ink.

A zombie walker and a fellow bad guy. They're your typical post-apocalyptic raiders, but they use semi-trained zombies like bloodhounds. I had a lot of fun drawing the guy's jury-rigged anti-zombie suit.

And yes, that is a zomb-ass in the lower right hand corner there. I don't know why I draw zombies naked so often, I guess since they're (un)dead they don't care too much for decency anymore. It also provides contrast to the clothed living humans, and gives me plenty of room to go to town with all kinds of nasty gore and decomposition.

 

The latest in post-apocalyptic fashion. I'm thinking about starting a series of works that both celebrates and lampoons the various tropes and cliches of post-apocalyptic fiction. This guy would probably exist in the same world as the zombie walker and the tank driver.

Now, I've actually strapped a couple animal skulls to my face (for reference photos) and let me tell you, it's no party. I used a deer skull with huge, heavy antlers that were cumbersome as hell and the thing smushed my nose flat. I suspect that cultures that use skulls as masks cut away some of the bone in back to make room for the wearer's facebits.

That's it for now, stay tuned, 'cuz there's more where that came from, and elsewhere. I've got some "postcards" from last semester's final illustration 3 project that I'm currently working on cutting to size, etc to get them ready for a show at the Muskegon Museum of Art.

Keep on creepin'!

Back in the (oil painting) saddle again

Warning, post may contain NSFW images on account of naked boobies. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

After a long period of mucking about with ink and watercolor, I decided I ought to get back into oil painting, a decision possibly fueled by jealousy of my classmates' awesome paintings. So where better to jump back in than Life Drawing class? I've painted from life before, in my last life drawing class, and before that in alla prima.

So I go into class with my paintin' stuff, and wouldn't you know it, in walks the oldest, wrinkliest, and AWESOMEST model ever!

 Mind you, we didn't dress him up. HE CAME IN LIKE THIS. He asked, should I get naked, or something like that. Nancy, the professor, said: "we like you just the way you are". He laughed and replied, "Well, I think that's the first time anyone's ever said that to me!" And we all laughed...
Anyway, I think it turned out a lot better than I expected, for not having painted in many months. I had some trouble mixing the right colors for his skin tone and the shadows, It still kind of looks like he's wearing a "Lone Ranger" mask. Which he wasn't. Thanks for the help, Nancy, and thanks for putting up with my endless smart-assery and leg-pulling.

I think I actually made him look younger and less haggard. Which is too bad, really. This is funny because I have a habit of, when drawing in ink, putting too many lines on the models' faces and making them look old.

Next, we had a 2-session pose, 6 hours all together, give or take about half an hour or so for setup and re-setup of the pose, lighting, etc. Perfect for a little oil painting.

The first day's work, except for the drapery, which I painted in at the beginning of the second session, then took the picture with a classmate's phone (thanks, Justine!). This monochromatic underpainting is done with the grisaille technique, in other words, I put down a very thin, mid-tone wash over the whole thing, then paint into that with less-thin white paint for the highlights, then blend the whole mess together to create the illusion of depth. And add some shadows, too.

The finished piece, finished alla prima style. I'm pretty happy with it, but I may touch it up a bit on my own time. Some bits are muddy, and in other places the underpainting shows through. That arm looks a bit short, but my excuse is foreshortening, which I didn't do a great job of. Also, the model was pale and veiny, and I didn't get a chance to add some veins, but in some places my initial pencil drawing shows through and looks like veins. Great success! She also had a tattoo on her arm, which I penciled i but never had time to paint. You can kind of see the pencil lines there on her arm. You can also tell that the lighting changed a bit between the sessions. 'Tis the nature of the beast.

Oh, and that face. It looks ok now, but good God, you should have seen it when i first put in the eyes...

Here is some of my previous work from  Life 4:

 

Pen+ink. I edited this one in photoshop to make her look closer to the model's actual age. Still looks a bit mature, but oh well. The window, the stuff on the sill, and the tattoo are all invented, plus I made the book she was posing with into a comic book. I guess my ideal woman likes to sit around naked, reading comic books and drinking beer. Sounds good to me.

Pen+ink and watercolor on watercolor paper. I chose to leave everything but the figure uncolored, I didn't just run out of time. Come to think of it, this looks like a page from a sexy coloring book (these actually exist, BTW.)

 Watercolor. The class requested the strangely popular, among the class, anyway, "dead" pose. So this was the model's idea of a dead pose: looking like a goddamn Playgirl centerfold. It amused me greatly. I gave him a skull for a face, using a plaster skull as reference. Also added the cigarette. A friend of mine said he looked a bit "Gonzo", I agreed.

Pen and ink with watercolor on bristol. In this class, being illustration life drawing 4, we are encouraged to turn the model into some sort of character, or embellish them according to our style and favorite genres of illustration. This is the same model as in the oil painting, posed with a rake that became a spear in multiple students' interpretations.

Micron pens on bristol. Ah, this one. The Consummate Creep, I call it. Nancy chose me to set up this pose and choose the costume and accessories. She won't be making that mistake again. Yes, there really was an armless mannequin in the costume closet, but the hanging dolls are made up, and the pictures on the wall are based on artwork hanging in the room. It was really interesting seeing the different interpretations my classmates came up with, some were even classy and not in the least bit creepy. Good on 'em for being creative.

Pen+ink+ink wash on bristol. Probably my first attempt at ink drawing from life. I call him the Half-blind Bastard Bird-Man. Model was wearing everything you see here, minus the feathers, and the mask was originally just a fake bird beak. This is what happens when you let a bunch of art students dress up the model.
No, he wasn't really blind in one eye, I just made it that way for the creep factor.

I'll be sure to post more life drawing and other work later, but that's all for now!

Keep on creepin'!