Dragon World ArtOrder Challenge Process

The Dragon World ArtOrder Challenge popped up last month and I thought it would be a fun one to try out.  I've sketched a few dragons before but had never painted one so this was a fun challenge.  Here are some of the steps in finishing it.

In the thumbnail stage, I sketched some ideas and little studies.

Once I picked a fave, I developed it further. During this time I played around with the color and also got some crit from my Painting Drama peeps so things changed a bit. I also took a reference photo for the pose of the man.

And the finished version:

"Another Like Me" Process

Yay, something fun to post!  This painting has evolved soooo much.  I definitely took my time, got a lot of feedback, made many changes, and learned a ton along the way.  I started this while I was in my Painting Drama class (still need to do a review of that class because it was so awesome!).  This painting started with an idea I had of a girl holding a bottle with a strange creature inside.  I didn't have any story behind it (bad idea).  So I quickly sketched some rough ideas and then took some ref photos - I love seeing people's embarrassing ref photos, so here's one of mine, lol.

Once I started to paint I came up with the idea that she is albino (and an outcast) and she finds another creature that is albino like herself.  (I went through a phase when I was a kid in which I really wished I was albino, that's probably where I got that from 0.0).  Anyways, after painting it for a while I kinda liked it but I knew something was off about it.  Her expression was weird and I didn't really have a story as to why the creature was in the bottle.  I didn't really know what my next step was. Then I went for coffee with Iain McCaig.

He was nice enough to have a look at a couple pieces I was working on and gave me some great feedback.  The first question was "What's the story?".  It really sunk home just how important having a story behind an illustration is.  If you don't have a story behind it, how are you going to know what you want the viewer to feel or what mood to set?  So much more goes into a great illustration other than just a cool pose or fancy lighting. Also, acting.  Acting is huge. That is something I need to work on. The blank stare is not a good look.

I decided to just redo it all, taking Iain's advice and all the great info I had continued to learn through the Painting Drama class. On to the next version:

 I finally finished it with the helpful crits of my "PD circle of trust crew" ( you guys rock!).  I'm pretty happy with it.  I learned a lot during this and I'm excited to create more pieces with all the great info I learned throughout the year.

Christmas Hibernation

I've been in hibernation mode for a while.  Learning and practicing a lot but not posting much finished work. This is going to change next year.  I have a few pieces on the go and I hope to have 1 or 2 done by the Spectrum submission deadline in January and more finished by June before IMC.  It's going to be a busy but great 2013!  Here's a quick sketch I added color to today:

Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  And DRAW!! :)

Signed up for IMC 2013

The Illustration Master Class 2013  is accepting registrations but it is filling up fast!  I registered a couple  weeks ago which will be my second time attending (check out a few posts down for coverage on IMC 2012).  This is a fantastic week in June, in Amherst, MA, full of inspiring lectures from some top sci-fi/fantasy Illustrators. Everyone is so pumped to be there and everyone is super friendly and helpful.  Where else do you get to live, eat meals, and just hangout with some of your Illustrator heroes and inspiring fellow students. It's magical I tell ya!

At IMC 2012, I went in knowing no one and didn't fully know what to expect; I also didn't have a clear focus for my art. This time around, I'm looking forward to hanging out with friends I made last time and to show that I've grown as an Artist since then.  I've learned so much in the past 6 months with the first IMC and also through Oatley Academy this Fall and I have a better idea of what kind of art I want to create.

It's going to be a very busy few months leading up to June because I really want to step my game up and replace a lot of work in my port with some new pieces!  A few pieces are on the go already :D I wish I could spend all-day everyday working on portfolio projects but alas, working full-time and not being completely anti-social has to fit in too :)

And just so this post isn't just text, here's a recent study I did using photo ref. :)

More Thumbnails!

Thumbnails galore!  In the "Painting Drama" course I'm in, we are each working on 2 scenes of a story/genre of our choosing.  After getting some critique and comments from the PD group, I think I'm going to further develop the starred thumbs. Btw, all the students in Painting Drama (through Oatley Academy) are awesome!!  Everyone is so helpful and passionate about art. I love being part of it!

More to come as I develop these two scenes :)

New Work in Progress and Thumbnails

This is a new piece I'm working on; Still in the sketch stage.  I'm taking my time with it while I also do homework assignments for my Oatley Academy class and some busy weeks at work.  

 

Below are some pretty abstract thumbnails that I did for an assignment in the Painting Drama class with acrylic and marker.  They were a lot of fun!  Creating thumbnails this way gives you plenty of ideas that you wouldn't have normally thought of because of happy accidents.  The next step is to pick some favorites and work those into a less abstract version by added some detail and values.

Thumbnails are soooo important for a good illustration!  Do many of them!  I used to not do them, but I certainly do now. :)

Blog Move

I've decided to set up my website differently which means I've had to re-start my blog here. I've copied just a few of my previous blog posts over to this new blog, it would take too long to copy them all over!