Tick Tock You Don't Stop

Before I go on I would like to acknowledge that I used lyrics from a cheesy early 90's song as inspiration for the title. I'm deeply sorry for the ear worm that now plagues you.

This is Clockwork Sparrow. Beautiful and deadly. 

In my last post on Kimmy Watson I showed how to build up different elements of an image using different programs. I am keeping up with the One Hit Kill theme but showing a little less of the step by step process. It's not because I put less time into the illustration...that most certainly was not the case. It's just that some pieces are more complex than others. This particular piece was what I like to call a "discover as you go" piece.

A lot of the small parts are derivatives of other small parts. In Kimmy all the badges, for example, were their own imagery. 

You'll notice in the process gif below that the piece went through many small changes. The original sketch of the bird changed position and posture. As I started to flesh out the bird I realized that she (definitely a she) looked disjointed. Smoother wings allowed for a more natural look.

I also played around with the color scheme a bit. Not too much but enough to change the mood from a bright fun day to a more overcast day. When I sent the client my progress shot he mentioned that he preferred a more "London sky over a Phoenix sky". This gave me a keen sense of the mood he was going for.

I allowed myself to play around with softer vs harder edged backgrounds, shifts in color, changes in saturation as well as adding and subtracting little glowy bits. I needed to keep a strong silhouette so clear separation of temperature and value was key. Warm bird cool background. It's easy for me to get caught up in the details so shrinking the image down really small and adding a saturation layer with 0 saturation allowed me to see the overall impact of the image. 

No matter what changes you make during the process always remember that the sketch and final achieve the same goal. As a teacher I often combat the practice of completely changing an idea without communication. If you get a sketch approved that's the image you need to complete. Don't change the approved image because you came up with something better. Bad idea. Make sure you stick to the plan. People don't like big surprises. 

Unless it's cake. Cake is a great surprise.

Kimmy Watson Process - Illustrator, Photoshop and Painter, oh my.

Recently I was called upon to create six images for a card game called "One Hit Kill" created by John August. There are some super fun cards and I had the pleasure of creating a handful of them. This particular card I'm featuring was one of my favorites to work on. Basically it's a badass scout ready to take on the world and kick some butt. Images of a sweet girl in uniform yielding a baseball bat, hunting knife and a black and blue eye immediately entered my head. 

Stop. Reign it in. This has to have a softer approach than that plus it needs to remain kid friendly. So let's think magical or smart and sassy tough girl. Let's give the client a choice.

FYI: I was netflixing Buffy the Vampire Slayer while working on this piece. Super girl power infused inspiration right there.

Original Graphite Sketches. She needed to be a sassy scout with attitude. I thought pink brass knuckles would be a fun addition. I also thought that a magical cookie box could hold a lot of power. After all they don't ever last very long in the cupboard...constantly calling out my name. Pretty powerful cookies if you ask my bathroom scale.

Value Comps done in Photoshop. Here I decided to add a bit more to the cookie box  by showing magical flying thin mints. The brass knuckles were chosen by the client and I was off and running. It was time to get started on the base. Below I have excerpts of the illustration. At the end of the post there is a gif that shows a step by step process from sketch to finish.

Adventure Scout Badges in Adobe Illustrator. Although they play a small part in the whole illustration  I'm a sucker for detail and it's important to keep them clear and obvious. This is where vector art helps me not to fall into the "I want to get super detailed on these little things that no one will see once it's reproduced into a tiny card". Illustrator becomes a great time management tool.

I then copy and paste them into Photoshop. I added stitching and textures in Corel Painter and then again in Photoshop. Because I originally had the icons figured out in Illustrator I could concentrate on just the detailing in the raster file. Because I worked this way I easily cut my time in half if not more. 

I wanted a round cookie motif in the background so I designed the initial base in Illustrator using the  polar grid and basic shape tools. Oh, and the almighty pen tool. Don't hate the pen tool. Love it.

After the copy and paste into Photoshop I then added additional lighting detail in Corel Painter. And then additional texture in Photoshop. It turns out that I really like the way the cookies look. I may decide to create a pattern of them somewhere down the line and upload them to my Spoonflower store. Cookie fabric. Yeah. That could work.
Sidenote: The texture is a scanned rice paper I bought in the wee days of college. I love the way it interacts with the paint.

The cookie pin lapel was originally created as a vector and then rendered in Painter to add volume. But hold up! I had to change the trefoil cookie for trademark reasons. Nobody needs to get a cease and desist letter from a bunch of angry girl scouts. That could be frightning. Instead the client and I decided on an AS logo indicating "Adventure Scout".

Some more badges. I knew most of these would be covered by her arm and pink brass knuckles but I still needed them drawn out. 

This is the final before the cookie correction. Below is a step by step process of the piece which includes the final cookie correction. It's about 10 seconds so it shouldn't bore you too fast.

Up Next...Clockwork Sparrow.

Thanks for visiting!

Spectrum Live III

Next Friday begins the creative inspiration fest that is Spectrum Live III. If you can make it to Kansas City MO you'll find a plethora of over 200 wonderful artists and their wares...not to mention world famous BBQ and mechanical bulls.  I mean seriously. You can't go wrong.  Here's the link to the convention.  It's only May 9-11!

"Distelfink Girl" 8"x8" oil and gold leaf on cradeled masonite

My booth number is 602 / 703 so stop on by and say hello!  In addition to numerous 11x14 prints priced lower than my normal $25 etsy prices, low cost drawings, studies and mini paintings I will also be selling six framed oil paintings, three of which are from my "Animals From History" book.  

Cleo is 11x14 oil and leafing on masonite

I realize that I haven't posted in a good long while so the Animals From History journey might be new to you.  I'll build a little anticipation and save that story for a later post.  All I'm saying right now is I'm working with a literary agent and I'm thinking podcasts for the fall.  Chew on that for awhile!

The Fitzgeralds are 16x20 with a big silver leafed frame (not shown).  

Oils, acrylics, leafing and collage.

Oh, but that's not all!!

 Napoleon Boneaparte gracing the cover of my 

Animals From History teaser booklet

I'll also have this little number featuring 10 of my animals along with brief teaser stories. These are only $5.00 and I have a limited supply so be sure to get them while they are hot!  I will not be reprinting or selling them anywhere else so it's a Spectrum only thing.

A little Blue Suade Paws perhaps....

Or a saucy little feline queen?  

Ok. So you have read this far which is only one reason as to why you are fabulous.  Because you have dragged yourself through my rambling I'm going to offer you a deal. If you want to buy a print  from me at Spectrum I'll give you $5.00 off but it comes with a catch. When your ready to cash out with me say the phrase "Napoleon Boneaparte is a sassy mongrel."  If you want to switch out the last word to spice up the moment, knock yourself out. 

M.L. Jobs looking annoyed....and super shiny.  11x14 oils.

But remember.....his name is pronounced BONE-a-part.  

See you in Kansas City!!

Shame on Me

It's been over 2 months since my last post which is .... well ... silly.  I have been doing a lot and my blog has taken a backseat.  I have updated my website, started a newsletter (you can sign up for it in the panel on the right----->), been working on freelance, teaching college classes and working on my "Animals" book.  It's been a great year so far and I hope the greatness grows.  Here are some images I have been working on just so you realize I'm not a liar!

Drawing in Graphite

 Mixed Media on 16x20 Masonite

Digital Color Studies

Drawing in Graphite

Drawing in Graphite

Drawing in Graphite

The above images are for my "Animals From History" book which is being featured on my kickstarter page.  I have been posting my backers' sponsored animals and some stories that go along with them on my updates page.  I have made some incredible connections with this project and feel that my sponsors' participation keep growing.  The images from Top to Bottom are as follows:

-Mr. Phox as Shakespeare (backer's drawing)

-The San Diego Zoo Snow Leopards as F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (original will be on sale at -Spectrum Live in May)

-Fenris as Jizo (color studies for backer's painting)

-Mocha as Audrey Hepburn (original will be on sale at Spectrum Live in May)

-Teddy as Kublai Khan (backer's drawing)

-Trixie as Florence Nightengale (backer's drawing)

There are MANY more that are complete, in progress and still in preliminary stages.  I'll try and keep you updated!  As always, thank you everyone for your interest and support!

Spectrum Live! - Luna Moth Oil Painting

We are running late for leaving but I thought I'd squeeze another post before we hit the road.  We will be embarking on a 19 hour trip to Kansas City MO starting in 30 minutes.

This is a little moth study I did.  It started in watercolor as a class demo for my PCAD sophomores and I used it to demo my sophomores at Moore in oil underpainting.  I will take this into Corel Painter to push it farther in order for it to fit in my portfolio.  I will be selling this little guy at Spectrum Live!

Visit me at Spectrum Live! - Booth 220

Cat Queen WIP

Detail of commission for a cat in Queen Elizabeth dress. Working on it. Almost finished.

Now I Remember...

Pattern for WIP commission

Corel Painter and Photoshop

Copy. Paste. Rotate. Select. Group.

Copy. Paste. Rotate. Select. Group.

Copy. Paste. Rotate. Select. Group.

I am a big advocate of illustrating in oils but if I had to paint this traditionally I would have thrown myself out the window. Thank you computer.

Drop Caps Autumn

These are some drop caps I just finished for a job. They will be printed in black and white but I wanted to create them in color for my own amusement. The story starts out pleasant, moves into sadness and then ends on a happy flourishing note. I made sure to correspond the letters with the part of the story. I being the beginning, A the end and J & T in the middle.

IMC Progress

This is my progress at IMC. It's the end of the 4th day (2am) and I'm beat. Many things to do and lectures to hear. I changed quite a bit to benefit the piece thanks to the crits of Greg, Julie, Boris, Scott, Irene and Dan. I did not intentionally eliminate some of the elements from my sketch....I just didn't get to them yet. Ready to sleep!

Drop Caps - Final

This is a follow up to a previous post on drop caps. They will be printed in black and white at probably about 1 inch in height. Keeping the final print size in mind I tried to keep the value somewhat simple. I kept getting carried away with the detail so I had to make sure those little areas were keyed in properly. Below I have a close up of the "A". I particularly enjoyed painting the Queen Ann's Lace as well as the drippy background. Karen Appleton sites a quote from Alfred Sisley that I found appropriate for this little painting..."Every painting shows a spot with which the artist has fallen in love".

6"x6" Collaborative

Cover for Fig Magazine

Collaboratives are fun! A few months ago PCAD sent out a call for submission. They supplied a 6"x6" stretched canvas and gave us the theme "Personalities from Lancaster". PCAD will be hanging the submissions of over 30 artists in their permanent collection. In addition, Fig Magazine will be publishing a number of these paintings in their fall edition. The image above is the cover of the up coming issue.

I always find it exciting to see the different interpretations and methods in a collaborative effort.

IMC '09 - Final

Click to Buy

I know....two posts in one day....weird. Anyway I wanted to get the final Illustration Master Class project up. Lady of the Lake in all her glowy glory. Tomorrow, a plein air posting. Yeah, that's right. Oils on location.