Whatsup ladies & gents, here we have the final stage of the ADRIFT concept piece...
As you may already be able to tell this is created using that weird substance known as "paint". It's been quite a little while since I broke open the acrylics and gave them some attention so I thought this would be an opportune time to do just that.
I love working in color and I love working with paint, despite believing they're two of the most difficult areas of art-making, but from start to finish I had nothing but fun on this. There's a curious quality to paint that allows it to just give a work life, especially if you've been on a black & white binge-fest.
So starting off I tried to keep the process as simple as possible - with laying the ground down, using simplified versions of the color scheme, and then as things progressed narrowing in on the details, the light laying on the various surfaces, the shadows that light casts, and any reflected light bouncing around. Mix that together and this is what I came up with.
Hope you've all enjoyed this sneak-peak at my creative process and I'll talk with you soon.
- D
In this stage (part deux) the goal is to clarify the original sketch. This is done in a few ways. One is by cleaning up the line work and identifying where the light lands on each particular subject, as well as where the shadows fall. Another area I bridge into is reference photos. Not knowing precisely what the walls of a canyon look like or what the design of a 1950's house boat is I span the all powerful google, or any other resource, for answers.
I've also decided to move the composition up an inch or two to allow for room for the text that's to be included later on - an extremely important part of illustration (one I've learned the hard way a couple of times)
As you can see too I've left out the shading from the previous sketch. The reason for this is that the "drawing" stage is meant to support the stage that follows. By leaving the shading absent I find it easier to reproduce this stage into the next. And it also allows for a sense of improvisation, which is incredibly important for keeping the image feeling fresh with vitality and life. Always a consistent goal.
Hope you enjoy and I'll back on Monday with the completed illustration,
- D
Hey whatsup eveybody,
Hope your holiday season is bustling along. Just thought I'd post this pic I stumbled upon of the first Cody & Eugene strip taken during a 2rw or EnergyVibe presentation. Pretty cool being a fly on the wall for this behind-the-scenes action.
Hope you enjoy and remember "Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!"
- D
Whatsup everyone,
Here we have a friendly, or perhaps not-too-friendly (I'll never tell which) alien designed for the potential graphic novel & film ADRIFT.
This is actually the second design I came up with for our extraterrestrial character here. The first was thinner, sporting a smaller head and was overall a bit more homo sapien in appearance.
After discussing it with Will & Joel it was decided we wanted to go with a more classic approach. Something more traditionally science fiction and could easily match the era of the 1950's - when the story takes place. And so, voilà! This is what we came up with.
Hope you dig it and I'll talk with you soon,
- D
Hey everybody,
First off, a happy Friday to you all. It's actually raining where I'm at right now but it's kind of nice. I enjoy working in doors when it's raining outside. Something about the sound of the rain on the windows can really help your thoughts move easily.
Anyways, here we have it. The final drawing of our good pal Nantan. You may notice I focused just a bit more on light and shadow, this way the forms and shapes would come across as clearly as possible. With a composition as symmetrical and straight on as this one it's important bring out those forms, as there aren't any other devices to help create depth and dimension.
More noticeably you'll see I've added more detail to his environment to try and capture some of the qualities I mentioned in the previous post regarding character - something that would aid in reflecting his personality. A few leafs here, some grass there, a slight breeze and this is what we have.
Hope you guys dig it and I'll talk with you soon. Have a great weekend!
- D
Hey everybody,
And here we have the 3rd installment of our sketch of Chief Nantan...
I've moved onto to describing the details and design of the clothing, as well as refining his left hand - which I wanted to be doing something other than just chilling on his knee.
Native Americans have a fine reputation for being in tune with nature and sensitive to their surroundings, far more than we are today. So as you can see I decided to have him sifting through his hand the earth beneath him. Something slightly more emblematic of his character.
Hope you enjoy it and I'll talk with you tomorrow, as we'll have the 4th and final installment of our good pal Nantan.
- D
What's up everybody,
As promised I wanted to post up part 2 of my sketch of Chief Nantan. At this stage you can see I've began describing the clothing, buffalo headdress, hands (well, the right hand anyway) and the overall body position.
Once the foundation of these areas are laid out I can then begin to add details to the clothing - such as where the wrinkles form, as well as it's design and texture.
Hope you enjoy it and I'll talk with you tomorrow.
- D
