Sara

This was another Art Deviant reference image....Sara   I liked the framing and the eyes.  I used my new version of Photoshop CS5.  Same brushes as the past CS2...used a hard flat pallet knife airbrush...for most of the work...this is an elaborate pencil sketch....still need to work on color and blending gave me fits...skin tones suck but the focus was on the forms and proportions at this point...Where to stay sketchy and where to add detail...still like "girl on train best"   see if this passes the 3 day test....time for bed its 1:37 in the am and the music has looped to many times to count.

little face

just a quick couple ....got to get to bed....:(

Girl on Train

I was on the "Art Deviant" site and saw this photograph...Photo and thought it was a great little study.

Natalie is up with a fever and sore throat so I couldn't sleep.  Came back down to finish this and I really like it so far.  I hope I like it in 3 days, that seems to be the test.  If it still looks ok in 3 days, I did some things right...(I look back at previous posts and they don't meet this low standard...the posts stay up anyway...not like anyone reads this...)   I used some cross hatching for transitions with texture, even added a few freckles...kept the hair very loose and focused on the lighting....I think it is showing some progress.....time for a nap before morning...

Tiger stripes

Quick, very quick interior study...time for bed

 

Hiking

Here one of 6 postcards for kids to send home to parents.  A fun project for Ethan's school...Check out the rest on the Wonderkids Postcard Page

School postcards

Here are a few postcards created for Ethan's last week of classes.  They have a camping theme week. Talking about hiking and animals and fun stuff. Each day the kids write a postcard home for the parents.  These may be a little to stylized but I had fun with them anyway... not cartoon like..I hope the kids like them....we shall see.

Cowboy

This is a post card I made for Ethan's class...they are doing a weeks worth of camp activities.  One day is "Cowboy" day and this is intended to be the postcard they write home on.  I used a standard fill bush in grays first. Then an overlay layer for color tone and multiply for darks...I posterized the image in photoshop and it gave me a watercolor effect I really like....

I have 5 more to follow ....I hope the kids like them...I will set up a page under school projects...

I learned a lot on these from a painting stand point ....hope you like

Thor Again

Tried to get a little more refined with my brush work...threw in a FX lightning custom brush for effect...
The movie comes out next week and I am looking forward to a fun, good guy, action film. I think this may call for a studio offsite meeting!

Thor

I was telling the kids about Thor and Norse mythology...my take on the God of Thunder...spent an hour on a color detail that failed completely and in frustration started this 10 min visual rant...It turned out much more successful than the previous hour, threw everything and the kitchen sink at this...I like the lower beard and the eyebrow..still lost in the storm of brushstroke with little control...but not boring...

 the original sketch  ...still trying to keep figure this out...

My Favorite

Still working on the script, but the illustration tells the whole story!!!!

The queen

Here is a quick doodle in photoshop.  I used some textured brushes and some standard fills...I like the belt and skirt, and the right side dark background...

Space Race

Ethan had an idea for the wheelless car in a race....so we are working a new painting to come soon....I've got one guy on top and one on bottom working...one on a ladder on the side and a motion blurred couple of racers on top....stands are in the background for the spectators...I really liked the little robot on the right ....really, time for bed now!!!!

The Wrestler

I need to work on characters for the next few days.  Here is a bruiser with a serious look on his face.  I started with a doodle and it led to this.  Mixing charcoal fill brush with the thin sketch brush.  I really like his right arm, and some of his hair and beard and the right foot.....time for bed again....more later.

 Started as a doodle.....

Just another pretty face

Looking at tutorials on painting and I am still struggling.  I started with the sketch below that I like.  It was quick and gestural, the line quality and dynamic makes it interesting...I think ...but ...

 The color versions lost a lot in translation!  Still plastic looking and a much more "Vacant" look in her eyes...elements are getting out of proportion  , I need to finish the eyes lips and hair details ( not much left if you leave that out eh?) ...getting very late time for bed ...better luck tomorrow ....

When meetings get boring ....

Here are a few doodles in pencil while waiting for a model to transfer or render or just for a break in the day.

I should, (all of us), should be doing these more often.  ...but it is a good chance to mentally check out for a bit during the day and take a creative break. 

Jack and the English Navy

Another bed time improv... Jack was lost at sea during a frightful storm only to find himself rescued, and later taken prisoner, by an English Navy captain from the past.  Here the Captain and his first mate examine items found on Jack and ask questions about their use and function.   To find out how Jack and the Captain are connected and the secret of the map,  you will have to ask Ethan or Natalie...

The sketch was done in marker and colored in Photoshop...still out of control but it was a quickie...gray scales with a overlay and multiply layer for color....fill brushes for block color and a blender to soften some edges....

 Below is page one ...Jack is on sea recovering from a terrible storm sailing for weeks without sight of land or communication with any other ship ....until he spots a ship,

 Page 2, the captain is obviously at a loss to explain such a strange vessel as Jack's...taken aboard as a spy the captain and crew start asking questions that Jack has no answer to....

Fairy for Natalie

This started as another marker sketch, I thought I would try to come up with a good bedtime story for Natalie.  The fairy has long feathered wings coming from her back.  Flowers on her wrists, neck and waist.  She is holding a little wand, casting some magic to help the flower bloom. The Fairy looks a little uninterested in her duties at the moment but she let me play with shape light and darks in photoshop. I liked the vignette at the bottom ....
Also, I picked up a really great book at the library today from Carl Purcell...anyway...again time for bed.

 Here is the original marker sketch...

One Room School house

Mom was educated in a one room school house.  All the grades together and a stove that needed coal and lighting every morning. Life on the farm...I am using a charcoal brush with blending tool and a little color and fill
an overlay layer to mute and color correct...

Exodus

I have no idea what this is obviously a little dark for this site but still an experiment...I was playing with shape layers and vector graphics and it led to this, just goofing around...I like some of the textures though....It is very late at night and I am only half awake anyway...oh well time for bed.

Ethan and Natalie Practice

I made them practice together one morning.  They did a lot of it on their own.  Natalie on the keys and E with his violin.  Just a quick sketch to remember the moment.