Speaker Sketches: Washington SCBWI Conference

Just got back from the Western Washington SCBWI conference. Had a great time (as usual) and did my customary speaker sketches (they just really help me remember what the speaker said) Should anyone actually know the people in the drawings and feel (rightly so) that my sketches look NOTHING like them, I abjectly apologize and would like to point out that some of these sketches were done 50 or more feet away from a moving subject. I'm lucky they aren't just peanut shaped blobs with hair.

Travel Sketch: Las Vegas

Went on a trip to Vegas recently. Very interesting place. Odd too. They've created something unique there.

Portrait: Charlie Sheen

New medium! (Same ol' Charlie)
This is a version of Charlie Sheen done as a monoprint.
Could be my favorite version yet.

Doodles

I've been creating watercolor textures to use for various projects and as I look at some of them characters start to emerge. Here's a couple of little monsters that were hanging out on my desk yesterday.

Models: A different kind of sketching

These are in-progress sculpts of Patrick and Beth, the two main characters from "The Imagination Station" book series I've been working on. While I've already drawn these characters many times I've noticed that there are some angles that are, frankly, tricky. These models are meant to make it easy to draw our hero's from any point of view.

Portrait: Charlie Sheen

This is the same Charlie Sheen portrait as seen in my previous post  only this time it was created using a "Gouache Relief" technique. This involves painting the white areas with gouache, letting that dry completely, then painting over the entire image with black waterproof ink. (That last bit is fairly scary to do) And finally rinsing the entire image under running water and scrubbing (lightly) over the surface so the ink and gouache washes away revealing the image.

This technique gives a finished result that looks a lot like a wood cut print and creates some really distinctive marks.

Tutorial: Perfectly Selecting Blackline Artwork

This is a quick little tutorial I made for my illustration class. First time I've had a go with iMovie -- and it was a pretty pleasant experience. Always weird to hear your own voice though. This is a technique I've been using for years in my illustrations.

Characters: People Who Sat Still

A collection of sketches made while waiting. These people were kind enough to sit still long enough for me to grab a likeness. (Bless 'em!)

Portrait: Charlie Sheen

This is a new project for my illustration class.
The idea is to choose a celebrity and after researching him or her assign keywords that will determine how the viewer responds to the finished art. Not one to ask my students to do something I wouldn't, here is my interpretation of Charlie Sheen (circa spring 2011). My keywords were: "Manaical, Self Involved, Dangerous"

Here is the process I used to arrive at the finished piece:

I researched a bunch of photos of Charlie Sheen and chose one that had a single light source and strong cast shadows.
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Adjusted the photo so that it was more contrasty and the shapes that made up the features were clearer.
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The original photo did not have the feel/keywords I wanted so I modified his face to look more like the photos of Charlie Sheen when he was at his most volatile.
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Redrew the light and dark shapes so they could be transferred to watercolor paper
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Created and ink wash of painting of the photo, being conscious to use the brush to create quick angular strokes that would reinforce my keywords.
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I wanted to add a second element that would further reinforce my keywords and decided on the "catchphrases" Charlie would endlessly spout during this period. Again, actively using a mark making style that would suggest a person coming unhinged.
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The two pieces were composited digitally and this is the end result.
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What's really fun about this process is that you can easily substitute other equally compelling images to achieve a similar effect.

Ice Rink Sketches

Went to the local ice rink with a bunch of other illustrators this morning to do some sketchin'.
Very different from figure drawing in the studio -- mostly in that these little ones didn't sit still for more than a couple seconds. Gotta' grab that pose quickly!

Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle

I've been playing around with new ways to use my images (They're not just for books 'ya know!)
And spent the last couple weeks trying them out as wooden jigsaw puzzles. The cool kind, that were popular in the 1920's. This is one of the early efforts. Pretty happy with how it turned out. This is a 48 piece puzzle. Going to go for a 100 piece one next!!

Portraits: Visitors

With the holidays we had a number of house guests over. These are a couple of the younger ones who were good enough to sit still while I sketched 'em.

Ed Emberly Illustrator

In a effort to branch out a bit I'm going to deviate from my usual postings of a project or doodle that I've done and introduce some things (images, text, video etc) of other illustrators who I think are cool.I came across this Lynda.com video that they have made available featuring illustrator/author Ed Emberly. I've been aware of his work for years but never knew much about him.  Well that has now been rectified! Take a look. (Be sure to hang in for the Paul Bunyan "promotional" poster. Totally worth it!)

Getting to know Ed

Ed Emberley, Children's Book Illustrator | by Ed Emberley

View this entire course and more in the lynda.com Online Training Library®.

Portrait: Helen Acker

Portrait: John Lock

I titled this John Lock because I'm pretty sure that's who served as the reference for the original sketch (or rather Terry O'Quinn the actor who played him in Lost). Of course a day later as I did the watercolor I "lost" (see what I did there?) my reference so a lot of this is just plain 'ol made up.