Bob's LOG

The Ambiguously Gay Duo

2007-11-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

Although I am unable to show any images at this point, I just wanted to let anyone out there who may like what I do that I recently did some work on Saturday Night Live's Ambiguously Gay Duo. I was contacted by the production company to work on the premiere episode of season 33. The ABG episode is episode 11. If I get a chance to post the images, I'll update this post.

Isabella meets Anne Geddes!

2007-10-27T21:26:00.000-04:00

Isabella met Anne Geddes today (Oct. 27th) at Barnes and Noble. In case you're not aware, Anne Geddes is a professional photographer famous for photographing babies in adorable (my wife's word :)) costumes. Hey, maybe Bella has a career in modeling ;o)!

My daughter meets Anne Geddes

visual development example

2007-05-16T11:33:00.000-04:00

A good and bad environment. I tried to get the best of both worlds in one image.... whatever!!!!!!

Baby update

2007-05-16T11:22:00.000-04:00

We're having a girl, and she is due around June 13th. Here's my baby shower invitation that I drew up, and a newer pic of my little girl.

Fist A Cuffs

2007-05-16T10:39:00.000-04:00

Go to Sam Hiti's battle royale blog FistACuffs and be part of the action by casting your vote. The FACA 3 rounds will commence on Monday the 28th, and yours truly has entered the fray!

By order of the arena coordinator fight managers been instructed to not reveal their fighters. So in the spirit of the game go and vote for your favorite and let a true champion emerge. My fighter will rise from the blood or need some serious consoling from Mommy, either way, the decision is up to you!

At tournaments end, my fighter will be unveiled! Will it be a gala ceremony or a rotten vegetable toss???

RETURN HERE TO FIND OUT!

1 year anniversary

2006-12-21T11:10:00.000-05:00

Actually I'm a bit off, the 6th marked the 1 year birthday for this blog, but I have a good reason for being forgetful....

I'm gonna be a Papa!!!!!!

My wife Deana and I don't know the sex yet, but whatever this little bundle's gonna be, it already knows how to take good pics.... look at it waving!!!! We're looking at a mid June date and I can't wait....

Tutorial finalized and now easier to read...

2006-11-21T10:58:00.000-05:00

I know, I know.... it's been awhile... Fortunately, it's because I've been pretty busy with work. However, I have finally found time to update my site. This update is for my tutorial. (the one that can be found here on my blog in pieces and all it's incredibly hard to read goodness) Now with the power of Dreamweaver, I think I made it much clearer than it was. (hopefully) so if you are interested, scurry your curious clicker fingers on over to

setup and painting techniques for digital painting tutorial

and let me know what you think. Is it helpful, is it clear enough to understand. And if you'd like... send me some examples of work you did using my lesson as a guide, etc.... I'd be happy to post a section for such work.... what the hell, it would be cool to see if my ramblings were able to help anyone out there..

thanks

Bob MacNeil

tutorial design Art Illustration illustrator Art inspiration Apple Macintosh Digital Computers photoshop painting lesson

let's make an illustrated book FINAL

2006-09-06T09:52:00.000-04:00

this is an animated GIF (not sure if it will work though...) so check my site because I uploaded it there also.....

Let's make an illustrated book PART 4

2006-09-06T09:47:00.000-04:00

DETAILING
STEP 6: Refining and Clarifying
This is the stage that most people consume themselves with. When in truth, this stage doesn't have to be as labor intensive as some may think. Sure it can be, depending on the proposed forum your art is intended for, but typically it doesn't have to be. If you logically approached your art in the previous stages and completed them with some bit of intelligent thinking, you may already almost have a finished painting. Details are, and should only really be the final touches to an already understandable piece of artwork. They are, to sound lame, the icing on the cake. They aren't the layers of dough that make up the brunt of the cake, but they are the sweet indulgence we all fall victim to. This is why, most amateurs dwell way too long on this stage. One thing to realize is, all the detailing in the world will not rescue a painting with bad foundations. With that said, details can also be added to an image with their own layers. (background detail = bgdetail, foreground detail = fgdetail and character detail layers) (see figs. 11, 12 and 13) By doing it this way and not painting directly on your blocked in color layers, you can try to maintain the spontaneity you have already established. A layer allows you infinite levels of refinement, the only thing that obstructs that fact is practicality and if your a professional... budget. Aside from that you could experiment all day, however, I don't recommend doing this. I suggest you handle your digital document as if it were a traditional canvas or illustration board, commit yourself to not falling into the bell and whistle trappings of digital creation.

For a final stage, I like to add a color adjustment layer to marry the whole layout together. This is not a necessary step, if you consider your paint choices at this stage should be pretty consistent, but it is there if needed. In this example I needed it, so there it is. (see fig. 14)

With that in mind, this point brings us to yet another theory. It's one that focuses on digital painting.

Treat digital paint like it's real paint. In real paint, changes or manipulations are difficult to facilitate. In digital, they're not. This means you have to be very cognitive of following rules and guidelines. The best way to do just that is simply treat digital as if it were traditional. For example, when painting use a texture brush (why not, they're readily available in Photoshop) however, apply a brushstroke and stick with it. Apply the brushstroke as if you were holding a paintbrush, even though you're using a mouse or tablet. Commit yourself to the illusion that your monitor is a canvas. If you make a mistake on a canvas you paint over it to correct it, you don't have an erase tool in real world conditions. Use a limited amount of paintbrushes. Stay away from filters, etc, etc, etc. Now, you may ask yourself, "Why should I paint digitally then?" And my answer is, digital allows you to experiment with ideas or outlets you may never have considered. It's relatively fast, and you have little (if any) cleanup. Do not eliminate what digital offers, that's not what I mean. However, do not abuse it either. It's a tool, and should be used for its advantages, but do not let the tool dictate your actions. By working with this mindset, you will find that your work (even though created digitally) will still evoke a traditional feel. Of course you will not have a tangible object, such as a painted canvas, as you would if you worked traditionally. Yet, your work will not look artificial and overworked (as it easily could when working digitally) Strive to keep the two, traditional and digital, indistinguishable. If you do this, you avenues for work will not be limited.

fig. 11

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fig. 12

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fig. 13

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fig. 14

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Line Grabbing

2006-09-06T09:36:00.000-04:00

STEP 7: Using the quality of the Final Clean Line drawing, in a channel selection, to tighten and clarify paint details and edges.

Below I attached a step by step image sequence to visually explain this process. I will also explain it here for those interested.

Step 1: Add a new channel to your painting document. (see fig. 15)
Step 2: With the newly added channel selected, access the pulldown menu from the "image" section at top of interface, and select the option "apply image". (see fig. 16)
Step 3: A second window appears, titled "apply image". Select the layer pulldown option (now select the layer you designated for your final line drawing, in this example I titled it "line-multiplied") (see fig. 17)
Step 4: Select the blending pulldown option (which by default is set to multiply) and change it to "normal". (see fig. 18)
Step 5: Select the channel pulldown option (which by default is currently set to the channel your working with, in this example it's titled line selection) and change it to "RGB".
(note: at this stage (if you have followed the steps correctly) your final line drawing should appear as it does in the example) (see fig. 19)
Step 6: Select "invert" to change your final line drawing to appear in negative. (see fig. 20)
Step 7: Access the pulldown menu from the "select" section at top of interface, and select the option "load selection". (see fig. 21)
Step 8: A second window appears, titled "load selection". Select the channel you just created from the channel pulldown. In this example I titled it " line selection", and click ok. (see fig. 22)
Step 9: If you have followed these steps correctly, you should have a loaded selection that is generated from your final clean line drawing. In a channel mask, white represents the areas that are selectable and black represents the areas of the channel that aren't. If you have a channel with grays in it, those areas are selectable based on the percentage of white they contain. (i.e. 50% gray will allow you to paint through that area of selection with a 50% amount of opacity strength) (see fig. 23)

By doing this you have made a channel that allows you to use your final line art as a mask when drawing or applying paint. So now you line drawing can be used to input clean and decisive lines into your drawing that allows your detailing stage an extra amount of confidence.

fig. 15

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fig. 16

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fig. 17

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fig. 18

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fig. 19

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fig. 20

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fig. 21

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fig. 22

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fig. 23

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IF: Run

2006-08-25T09:36:00.000-04:00

Art Illustration illustrator rhino run_art run african Marvel Comics Digital Computers illustration_friday friday friday_illustration photoshop

BIG, BIG site update

2006-08-14T12:19:00.000-04:00

After sitting on this imagery for quite some time, I finally got permission to post it. Visit my site via the logo link to see what I've been up to. The update includes images from Gnomads, Ultima X, and Meez. Plus more of my work aired on the newest episode of The Venture Brothers (Victor.Echo.November) so you can entertain your sockets with that as well. (example images seen below...)

Art Venture Brothers Cartoon Network animation background background_painter Adult Swim 20 Years to Midnight Apple Macintosh Digital Computers photoshop paint background_color Ultima_X Gnomads Contagious Concepts

Rose and Isabel

2006-08-09T15:50:00.000-04:00

This is a pin-up I did for Ted Mathot creator of the Rose and Isabel comic. Check out his R&I blog link! Thanks Ted, for a great book!

comic Rose and Isabel Rose Isabel civil_war art war e-villepress Ted Mathot Digital comic book pin-up

The Venture Brothers (20 Years to Midnight)

2006-08-08T13:11:00.000-04:00

digital background paintings for the second season, pt 2 of 3
for more examples check out my site (link to the right, taminglight.com)

Art Venture Brothers Cartoon Network animation background background_painter Adult Swim 20 Years to Midnight Apple Macintosh Digital Computers photoshop paint background_color

Lines and Colors

2006-08-03T15:06:00.000-04:00

Charley Parker of Lines and Colors, informed me today that he posted a write up of my site. He may be getting tired of hearing it from me, but thanks Charley for all your support!

Lines and Colors design Art Illustration illustrator Art inspiration Apple Macintosh Digital Computers photoshop review

Design Inspiration

2006-07-28T09:59:00.000-04:00

I recently did an interview for Jeff Andrews over at Design Inspiration. It's a blog designed to help introduce illustrators and designers to other creative professionals. Drop by to check out a pic of me and my dog! Thanks Jeff for the interview!

Design Inspiration design Art Illustration illustrator Art inspiration Apple Macintosh Digital Computers photoshop

I'm on Drawn!

2006-07-26T14:38:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Charley Parker of Lines and Colors, my site has been posted on Drawn!. I sincerely appreciate the link from John Martz and company, and I am very grateful to Charley for mentioning my work. Head over to both Lines and Colors, and Drawn! for a whole lot of inspirational art..... and me!!!! Thanks a bunch guys!

Drawn! drawn Art Illustration illustrator Art tiki flight_comics airplanes Apple Macintosh Digital Computers photoshop flight retro_art

Sugar Frosted Goodness

2006-07-19T17:14:00.000-04:00

I have just accepted an invitation to join the collective of artists that is Sugar Frosted Goodness. Visit the link on the right, to see the other participating artists.

The Venture Brothers (Assassinanny 911)

2006-07-11T14:32:00.000-04:00

digital background paintings for the second season, pt 1 of 3
for more examples check out my site (link to the right, taminglight.com)

for some storyboards from this episode make sure you check Rick Lacy's blog

Art Venture Brothers Cartoon Network animation background background_painter Adult Swim Assassinanny 911 Apple Macintosh Digital Computers photoshop paint background_color

Flight 3

2006-06-22T09:50:00.000-04:00

I have been fortunate enough to be included in the newest installment of the Flight anthologies. My painting (seen here) has been included in Flight 3 (soon to hit shelves) as fan art. Look for my painting, along with some nice words about it from Flight's editor Kazu Kibuishi, and all the other great stories by the talented contributors of Flight 3.

Thanks Kazu and everyone else who expressed interest in this painting. Your kind words have been an inspiration to me!

relevant links:

Flight comics
my post of this art on Flight's forum
Flight 3 pre-orders

Art Illustration illustrator 1950's period_art flight_comics airplanes Apple Macintosh Digital Computers photoshop flight retro_art

IF: Dance

2006-06-19T09:24:00.000-04:00

Art Illustration illustrator dio de la muerto dance_art skeleton Apple Macintosh Digital Computers illustration_friday friday friday_illustration photoshop day of the dead dance of the dead

IF: Jungle

2006-06-13T17:34:00.000-04:00

Art Illustration illustrator jungle_art Art Technique Drawing Apple Macintosh Digital Computers illustration_friday friday friday_illustration

Cereal Killers

2006-06-05T09:48:00.000-04:00

an illustration done for a book titled Cereal Killers.... (all digital)

art illustration parody drawing painting post cereal Apple Macintosh monster-shindig horror digital spoof creepy

Let's make an illustrated book PART 3

2006-05-09T14:24:00.000-04:00

Points to think about when working digitally, if you want your work to appear as if it's not digital.
I will reference my experiences with watercolor.

traditional (watercolor)
- textured paper is ideal for creating changes and mistakes in your color application that you can't get intentionally
- a wash (or blatant spread of color over a designated area saturated with water, or a heavily saturated brush) can provide you with a quick lay down of color, this wash helps eliminate the raw paper surface
- a wash can also give you variation and overlap in color application causing some areas to have more paint applied
- edges can have more paint applied in their areas, simply because you are conscience of defining their shape so you inadvertently and repeatedly go over these areas more concisely with your brushstrokes

digital
- its hard to be loose... you have ability to enlarge a document so much that a single pixel could appear as large as a building
- brushes are repetitive and can easily be recognized by other digital artists
- smoothness is easy to come by, and texture is easy to lose
- a wealth of resources available to you in a program can cause you to be overwhelmed with options
- Use smaller brushes to define edges, use larger brushes to lay down general color
- do not worry about working with brush opacities set lower than 100%
- use the smudge tool with spacing turned off to simulate a choppy unpredictability
- paint your strokes in a way that follow your pictures layout
- avoid using too many layers
- avoid filters and digital trickery
- try to not zoom in too far, pretend you're working at an easel

This is why I recommend at least experiencing traditional paint. There are many factors (ones that I didn't even mention) that contribute to understanding the medium. In digital you have to remember it's a tool, and ultimately you want to avoid having your work seem as if an amateur created it, even if you are.

PAINT BLOCK-IN
STEP 5: Applying Color and Texture
Different, yet the same as shape blocking. This step brings life to your drawing. In shape blocking, you learned how to lead the eye by establishing a shape path it could follow through the drawing. In paint blocking, you do the same, but you take a somewhat different approach, in that you now use color to lead the eye. In this step, you will also learn how to work from big to small, back to front, dark to light. And hopefully, you learn why these approaches are important.

First off, for arguments sake... Let's say the canvas or document you have to start with is white. Nothing interesting or visually stimulating, just plain old default blah. As a painter, you want to cover that document with color as quickly as you can. Color adds interest, direction, mood and painting with white would probably not show up in printing. Keep this stage loose and just concern yourself with eliminating the raw page.

In paint, you do not want to rely on lines to define your edge. In reality there aren't outlines on things. Shapes are clarified, visually, by edge contrasts, so having a good clean edge on an object and a color or shape behind it that pronounces that edge is how you define forms that a viewer sees within a painting. In any given painting, the farther most objects should be painted first. This level of paint could simply be called the (background color level) (see fig. 7). The next step after painting the farthest objects (or background level) in your scene, is to paint the next level (or foreground color level) (see fig. 8) above the background level you've already established. You can actually have as many levels as you need, but I suggest keeping it simple to eliminate any unnecessary confusion. I limit myself (as often as I can) to a background, middle ground, and foreground level. Is this tutorial, for simplification reasons, I did not use a middle ground. Nonetheless, no matter how many levels you need, simply keep them separated by layers(A function of digital media that has a huge advantage over traditional painting) By doing this you will not have to worry about an accidental overlap of previously applied paint which would compromise an established shape edge. Characters are put onto their own layer to allow the opportunity for any specialized rendering they may need. (see fig. 9) This way, I could also add any extra detail a character needs to make its presence even more effective in an image. As is with shape blocking, color should be handled similarly. Certain colors will lead a viewer to feeling one way or another about a painting. There are tons of resources available that explain this philosophy (so I will not get into that here) but my approach to this is to use color where I feel it works. I logically think about what would work in a given situation, i.e. light source, time of day, mood I want to portray, place, etc. and I block in loose color. This step has similarities to shape blocking when you start using color to attract the viewer. By combining this method with a good sense of shape blocking, you create an additive sense of clarity and solidity to your painting that will help it appear "right" to a viewer. In an image that's predominantly green a red element will stand out. Red in this example is used to attract or lead a viewer. So when applying color keep in mind the "leading eye philosophy", as exampled by the blocking in stage.

A general guideline to work with is:
• Keep your workspace clean and easy to understand. It's very easy to go wild with the amount of layers you use, so a good rule to adhere to, is KEEP IT SIMPLE.
• Viewers are attracted to lighter colors when surrounded by a darker color field.
• Complements on the color wheel (the colors directly across from one another) make good contrast, and in rendering add value (the shadows on a shape) to a color.
• Darker colors recede, when lighter colors amplify

There are plenty of theories out there to explain and support this stage. For instance, I suggest you search "color wheel theory" for some extra curricular work.

Keep in mind what I've told you so far (in previous lessons) and in a short time, even without any attempts at detailing, you will find a certain clarity develop in your work. (see fig. 10) Stay loose, keep in mind a light source, time of day, and mood you want to project and allow this process to be easy and somewhat fun. You may even uncover a direction for your paint block-in originally not envisioned by being loose. I completed this stage in about an hour. It took that long because I had to really think about what I was doing to properly write this tutorial.

COMING NEXT - DETAILING

Art Illustration Art Technique Drawing Painting Tutorial Art Instruction Storybook Apple Macintosh Cancer Ovarian Digital Computers

fig. 7

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fig. 8

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fig. 9

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fig. 10

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IF: Under the Sea

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My first time contributing... (more on illustrating a storybook coming, just got sidetracked doing some extra work....)

Let's make an illustrated book PART 2

2006-03-23T11:58:00.000-05:00

FINAL LINE
STEP 4: Clean Line Drawing
For the purposes of this walk through, I needed to make a clean version of my finalized rough layout. (see fig. 5) This clean line will be used later in this process to incorporate some traditional elements into my digital painting (more on that later). When creating a painting, this clean line step is not always necessary. However, it does serve as good drawing practice... so don't be afraid of it!

Open your drawing in Photoshop (see fig. 5a) duplicate your line drawing layer, and set this duplicated layer to Multiply (see fig. 5b) By doing this you make anything in your drawing that's white (see through or invisible) this allows you to use your black line as a guide when painting. And if you prepared a clean line drawing which is made up of continuous connected edges (see fig. 6) (edges that create closed shapes in your drawing) you can use your magic wand tool to select these shapes. This gives you the ability to isolate shapes within your drawing as you render. And in addition, since this multiplied layer exists as only one layer, you don't have to worry about too large a file size ( a problem that occurs if you save a channel for each shape you like to work with)

As in real paint, having the ability to work with individually selected shapes is similar to masking out an area of your painting with something like frisket (a material that allows you to isolate a specific area of a painting)

Do not abuse this technique of isolating shapes. It will cause you painting to seem disconnected. The shapes run the risk of having different rendering qualities, or color that does not relate to adjoining shapes, etc. Use this technique only when necessary, for areas that may require special attention. Remember, even though we're working digitally, we don't want that fact to be easily recognizable.

PAINTING
The act of painting or laying down brushstrokes
1. When laying down general brushstrokes, do your best to not be neat. Work with a brush that has its opacity setting set less than 100%. By working this way at the start of a painting, (when you're goal is to be as loose as possible) you will create a noticeable overlap of color that gives you variations in paint density (OVERLAP-when a brush stroke passes over a previously recorded brushstroke on your image, this area has essentially been hit with an additive amount of paint that would turn an 50% wash of paint to a 100% wash of paint) (see tech. 1) This overlap will give you a nice representation of true paint effects. In the final rendering, these mistakes you make early on push the illusion that you painted this with real paint. The key is to not lose these overlaps or mistakes. Don't use the tricks that come with Photoshop, try to paint with a minimal amount of layers, and try to use a small amount of brushes, both styles and sizes. Don't use the lasso or path tools to make a perfectly selected area, allow the brush edge to define a shape. The unsteadiness of your hand and a given texture of a brush will give you the feel that you're working on a real textured surface. YOUR BIGGEST ENEMY IN DIGITAL WORK IS PERFECTION. It's easy to noodle a painting when you can zoom to 1/32 of an inch with resolution clarity, or when you have an unlimited amount of brush tips to work with. In reality, paint brushes are expensive, so you typically do not need every one that's in stock at your local art store, so treat Photoshop like reality and keep a limit on the amount of brushes you use. It will help keep a fresh feel to your work and eliminate any potential headaches caused by the overwhelming amount of resources Photoshop offers.

2. When you make the physical brushstroke, try your best to paint in a direction that the shape your painting dictates.

In the red example (see tech. 2) this shape was colored in as if it were a child's coloring book. I did my best to try and stay in the lines and create a nice clean edged shape. By doing this, I had to use brushstrokes that lacked reason, because my only intention in this example was to fill the shape with color. This lack of reasoning may cause a bothersome feeling about your image which if carried through an entire painting can cause a viewer to feel an uncomfortable disturbance they can't put their finger on. A viewer will feel like there's something artificial or incorrect in your image (as evidenced by the messy shapes created by the darker red areas). This negativity then can potentially emphasize or reinforce any other negative feelings a viewer may have, but may not actually be aware of and cause your image to be unexplainably disliked.

I suggest approaching your physical brushstroke as I did in the blue example (see fig. tech 2) Notice the stroke follows the flow of the shape it's defining. This flow will give off the impression that there is a nice fluidity to your paint application. It will cause the viewer to feel comfortable with what they are viewing. Your paint application will appear as if there were an intention to your whole approach, and it may even cause additional positive reactions for a viewers experience. As in real paint, this technique can be equated to the "paint through an object" theory. If you have ever had any experience with traditional paint (see what I mean) you will more than likely have heard this expression at one time or another. Paint through literally means that. Paint through a shape, do not concern yourself with maintaining edges. (see tech. 3) (this should only concern you when you reach the final stages of detailing) It will also emphasize the theory of leading the eye as explained in the blocking stage. Paint direction can cause a viewer to look where you want them to. (I will further explain this in a later lesson... stay tuned)

COMING NEXT WEEK - PAINT BLOCK-IN

Art Illustration Art Technique Drawing Painting Tutorial Art Instruction Storybook Apple Macintosh Cancer Ovarian Digital Computers

fig. 5

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fig. 5a

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fig. 5b

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fig. 6

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tech. 1

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tech. 2

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tech. 3

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Let's make an illustrated book PART 1

2006-03-16T16:27:00.000-05:00

I WILL ATTEMPT TO ADD TO THIS TUTORIAL ONCE A WEEK SO PLEASE CHECK BACK AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN. accompanying images for text, can be found below in their own posts ( I haven't figured out how to label images in blogger yet :( )

The two main ingredients necessary for an illustrated book, are a story and some illustrations. I have a story in place. I've written dialog and prepared a basic layout of how I want this book to appear. However, I'm nowhere near finished, or ready to reveal my story idea as of yet. Since this is a production blog of the development of an illustrated story, and I have the first page (or at least, I think I do) of the story completed. I figure, why not show you how I create a painting. Of course, this example is my take on how to approach a painting. Take from it what you will and apply it to your own working methods. I've been an illustrator for over 14 years (and I'm still learning myself) so nothing I say here is a "set way" of creating a painting/ illustration. It's merely my way of working that I have developed over the years. I'm comfortable with it, it works for me, and maybe it can help those of you out there with any questions you may have.

To begin an illustration you need an idea, and eventually you'll need something more tangible like a sketch to serve as a guide for your painting. This sketch can be extremely rough or extremely detailed. Based on your working needs, you decide which is more suitable.
To easily guide you through this tutorial, I have decided to give each part of this process it's own category or step. I typically don't work this specific or detailed (because of time and budget restraints) but in a perfect world, I would, because organization is the key to stress-less work. The less stress you have, the more creative you can be. So, pay attention class, here goes nothing!!!!!

WARNING
If you have never painted traditionally with a tangible canvas, paintbrush, or the smell of linseed oil wafting through the air, stop now and give that a shot! Digital media is a tool which should not be used as an enabler if you're not somewhat already familiar with the basics of painting. There is a knowledge you gain when working traditionally, that will help you excel in digital work. You need to experience what paint does, when it drips or becomes thick after too many paint-over applications. You need to know what's involved in transferring a drawing to a canvas or board to appreciate what digital offers. You need to know that rubbing your hand over an area that's been painted can cause adverse affects in your work, such as smudging, or oily build up from your hand that makes paint application difficult. You need to accidentally wipe off the guidelines you established for where you will paint. These pitfalls in painting, mold your way of working to a specific regiment. You are forced to be considerate of your method and in some cases, be neat to avoid obstacles. In digital, you need to establish a similar regiment so you don't end up working on a never ending bout with refinements. The drawback of digital is, because it seems to be somewhat easy with all its clever functions, artists forget about the foundations of painting developed many, many years before the computer. The best digital artists (in my opinion) are the ones who got there with experience before touching a computer. If digital is your only painting tool, you are limiting your capabilities and knowledge of this creative expression.

SKETCH
STEP 1: Plan
The story I want to create is centered around the terrible subject of cancer. I don't want to be morbid in my tale, but I definitely want to portray the seriousness this disease represents (hopefully in a non-intimidating manner). This way children and parents could read this together and potentially gain some insight from my experiences. I do not want to teach a lesson, or preach to anyone. I want to make a heartfelt story that reflects some of the love my mom and I shared, as well as, shed light on the ups and downs of cancer. I know I definitely have a history with this disease so if any information I share helps anyone out there, in anyway, I know my mom would be proud of me. With that said, "How do I translate these intentions, into a character?" I decided to just write any words I thought may relate to this subject onto a piece of paper and let my stream of consciousness guide me. Sadness, inspiration, curiosity, innocence and vastness are a few of the words I came up with. I figured an innocent young girl with a curiosity towards the vastness of life, is inspired by an overwhelming sadness she senses from a secondary character. I wanted this additional character to represent security as well, so I went with the obvious choice of including this young girls' father. It's this generalized plan that has provided me with a sort of back-story, which in turn will help me create the actual story. I use this word association process to pretty much plan what the entire world I am creating for this book will look like.

STEP 2: Thumbnails
A drawing can begin with an infinite amount of approaches. I like to work out my ideas on a Post-It note. The small size allows you to explore a large amount of ideas quickly and efficiently. When you see that you have a hint of direction in your thought processes you can take these accumulated scribbles, adhere them to a bigger page (or wall for that matter) and review your visual thinking with a fresh eye. This way you allow yourself a chance to step away (so to speak) and decipher all the gibberish you have committed to paper. It gives you the opportunity to weed out potential directions that may have completely missed the mark, and expand on the ones that hit it. This process should be very loose. Explore ideas you may not typically lean towards. Have fun with it! UNFORTUNATELY, I did not keep any of my thumbnails or take a picture of my workspace for this project. So, to give you an idea of what you're missing... take some sticky notes, (about 50 or so) a pencil sharpener, a couple of pencils and a big mess of a desk and you'll feel like you're sitting on my lap. For book creation, the entire book should be nailed out to ensure good story flow and progression and to see if what you intend to produce can be achieved.

STEP 3: Rough
Working from the idea board you created for yourself, extract elements from let's say, thumbnails 1, 2 and maybe even 3 (you decide) and work up a rough sketch. The size of this rough sketch should be drawn proportionate to the size you intend on making the final image.

This is what I came up with after countless attempts that were scratched because they did not evoke the feeling I was after. This is where having a plan or goal was handy. I could have simply produced an illustration, but when considering the overall intention of this book, the context of each image created has to have relevance.
(see fig. 1)

After working my thumbnail to this proportionate size, I still felt the characters were not expressing the emotions I was looking for. On another sheet of paper I drew the characters by themselves. I felt this may be the best way to find what I was after, because I felt it necessary to temporarily eliminate the distraction of the presently busy background.
(see fig. 2)

SHAPE BLOCKING
STEP 3: Leading the Eye
I decided to show this stage early on, to visualize a key theory in painting.

The block shapes, represented by the dark areas, are used as guides to visually direct a viewer through a given image. The goal of an artist is to inspire a viewer with enough visual interest to explore the entire span of your created work. Sometimes this is done in very abstract ways, but it is done. Whether it be physical or psychological, the viewer should be led through your image. Anything a viewer takes away after that, is subjective appreciation.
(see fig. 3)

In this image, as illustrated by the arrows superimposed onto it, you see the path I want the viewer to travel when admiring my work.
(see fig. 4)

For arguments sake, I do not claim that this is the only way to approach an image. However, it is a good idea to start conditioning yourself to understand that thinking through a picture (especially in the beginning) will be more effective than just jumping right in. A good plan will go a long way when creating artwork.

This theory should not be limited to drawing. You should also utilize it when dealing with color, in both hue, value and rendering (the act of marrying all these elements together).

Be spontaneous here, as in your thumbnails. Allow yourself some further chances at freedom when establishing your blocking rules. Simply concern yourself with what and how you want the viewer to experience your work.

Art Illustration Art Technique Drawing Painting Tutorial Art Instruction Storybook Apple Macintosh Cancer Ovarian Digital Computers

fig. 1

2006-03-16T16:26:00.000-05:00

fig. 2

2006-03-16T16:25:00.000-05:00

fig. 3

2006-03-16T16:24:00.000-05:00

fig. 4

2006-03-16T11:38:00.000-05:00

Non-Development 5 (Godzilla)

2006-02-15T10:16:00.000-05:00

One more before the story art.

Non-Development 4 (matrocity)

2006-02-13T12:04:00.000-05:00

more unrelated work, and yes, I will be posting some story stuff soon...

prevention... maybe, and a comment

2006-02-03T10:06:00.000-05:00

For years cancer has been a major lowpoint in my families history. I lost my Grandmother to it when I was about 12 (I'm 34 now) and in the last three years I of course lost my Mom, Cousin and Aunt. After all this time, a cure has yet to be discovered. Sure approaches have changed and treatments have become substantially better, however, people are still dying from this disease.

Present day... both myself and my sister are at a high risk of contracting this disease, fact. What can we do about it? Yesterday, I may have found that answer. My wife and I visited with a genetics doctor, and we're explained some options we may have in at least, ensuring some early detection.

To begin... we were first explained genetics and what it all means, in a basic, rudimentary, simplistic, crash course kind of way. So to any extent of the word, we will not be getting a degree in this science any time soon (and neither will you, if you continue reading), but I do feel my wife and I at least, have a layman's understanding of it all, and I would like to pass that knowledge onto those of you who may be interested.

We start as 1 cell, which is made up of 46 individual chromosomes. You get 23 of those from your father, and 23 of those from your mother. Packaged inside chromosomes are genes, and genes are basically a recipe for your body that controls cell growth and function. If you have a parent, who had an abnormal gene when they conceived you, you then have a 50/50 chance of genetically receiving that gene from them.

In our bodies, cells grow and die all the time. (it's their job to do just that) but when you have an abnormal cell caused by an abnormal gene, (or mutation) you lose the ability to supress the natural cell growth. A function, which we were told, is referred to as:

"TUMOR SUPRESSION"- a function inherent to a cell, that detects or realizes a cell may be going bad or has lived its expectancy, and suppresses it or kills it off, to allow a new healthy cell to grow.

Now if you do have a mutation in your cell ( an aspect of your cell, that isn't working properly) you only have a 50% chance of TUMOR SUPRESSION taking place, which in most cases can be a reality... however, in these cases (where you do have a 50% capable cell) cancer can manage to be suppressed. It's those who develop a condition that takes away the remaining 50% chance that are at a very high risk of cancer. SO DON"T CONFUSE MY FIRST GRADER DESCRIPTION OF A MUTATED CELL... IF YOU DO FIND YOU HAVE A MUTATION, IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU WILL GET CANCER, IT DOES MEAN YOU ARE AT RISK AND SHOULD TAKE STEPS TOWARD TREATMENT, BUT THIS KNOWLEDGE DOES SERVE AS A MEANS OF EARLY DETECTION (which, I think, is the best method of beating this disease)

The genes that prevent cancer, in their normal, non-mutated form are named BRCA 1 and BRCA 2. Now if these genes are unable to supress cell growth, because either contains a mutation, the constant growing of these cells will eventually be detrimental to you, in that they will invade healthy tissue, thus causing problems such as cancer. And this is where having the knowledge of a mutation can be very helpful, because you can take steps to eliminating the potential problem.

Ways to do that should definitely be discussed with your doctors... not with me a stupid artist!

and take note, the genes' names are BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, which unfortunately mean scientists don't believe that they are the only cancer causing genes we will be susceptible to in our lives. The reality is, there may be other numbers out there, like BRCA 3 or 4 or 5... it's just they've not found them yet.

So at this stage, I will begin to take steps to learning about my genetics. If I can come anywhere close to stopping this disease, I will have to do whatever it takes... I suggest you consider it as well. So sure, it may not prevent any problems from occurring, but it may help....

for more about this please do the research, (it can't hurt)

here are some links to help....

genetics and breast cancer
genetics and cancer

Non-Development 3 (off to work)

2006-01-26T10:50:00.000-05:00

Non-Development 2 (Defenders of the Earth)

2006-01-26T10:48:00.000-05:00

Non-Development 1 (cyclops)

2006-01-26T10:14:00.000-05:00

From time to time, I will post work that isn't related to the main goal of this blog. Even though I continually strive to forward the development of my Mom's story, I sometimes get sidetracked with unrelated projects. Here are some examples of those sidetracks.

plans for the future

2005-12-19T11:37:00.000-05:00

My intent for this blog (as stated in previous posts) is to catalog the development of an illustrated story. I'm a sucker for any behind the scenes info I come across, so I'm hoping there are more of you out there like me. It's always interesting to me, to see the un-polished work. It gives you a chance to see the raw thought processes, and that intrigues me. My other intent is to build a time capsule for the children, my wife and I plan to have one day. I figure this would be a good way to show them who their Grandma was. There may be things I forget about her or fail to tell them if I sat them down one day and just recited my Mom's life to them. (I say them, because even though no children exist yet, it would be cool to have twenty or so kids.... just kidding honey!!!! Them at this point could mean one, and I'll be happy regardless) And, yet another intent is to deal with the loss myself. Death never comes welcomed, but when it comes quickly as it did in my Mom's case, there are always the thoughts of, "I wish I could have.." Said one last thing, done one last thing, etc.... And, perhaps, by some stretch of the imagination (through this blog) I can communicate that need.

I believe there is something beyond our comprehension in this world (I don't know what that is, or even if there is factual evidence to back that claim up) but it's an innocent thought that comforts the negativity when needed. So I entertain it when necessary.

Just a couple weeks ago, on 12/6/05, the first year anniversary of her passing took place. My wife, sister and I went to dinner at a restaurant that my Mom liked to go. It's nothing special as far as selection goes, but she liked it, so I guess it will become a new tradition to celebrate her memory. As we were sat for dinner, a strange coincidence happened, and in order for me to explain why it was strange, let's travel back to 1998. Does anyone remember the movie "Antz"? Antz Well, there was a song in the movie, titled, "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash and Neil Finn, and when that song came on while watching the movie with my Mom in our living room... as I do with most songs I hear I butchered it beyond recognition .... even though my talent ends at art, I did have the words from the Antz song right, however for about three weeks my Mom argued with me that I was wrong. Well, after proving to her I was right by eventually playing the song to her in its entirety, it was funny bantering back and forth with her about it.

Now back to the restaurant. This place was one of those all you can eat rib joints, that had the western rural theme to it, and you would think an unlikely place to hear the song "I Can See Clearly Now", but at the very moment I sat at this restaurant's dinner table... in a very distinct Cajun sounding version, this song began playing on the overhead speakers. (play ominous music..... now) Probably a bizarre coincidence, but it made me feel like maybe my Mom was there with us. So perhaps she can see this blog also.... who knows... but it was a good feeling nonetheless.

Ok, without further babble, onto my next step for you, the viewers of this blog.

Surprisingly enough, I have been getting feedback on the particular style of character people think the girl should appear as. (I will not reveal what has been said, so as to not influence any thoughts) But as I get more and more feedback on design preferences, I will, as a benchmark to this stage, post a step by step process on rendering a final production model for her character. I may set a date as to when I will decide on her look, so stay tuned. So, please (it's very helpful... continue to give me your thoughts on the numbered character you prefer, I really appreciate it)

and sorry for any slow updates in the future, aside from doing this, I also hold down a full time job, as well as a pretty busy freelance career... so at times this blog will have to suffer from lack of updates.... so from time to time, I will come back to it, it may not be as frequent as I'd like, but it will happen...

thanks

let the healing and project... begin

2005-12-06T10:05:00.000-05:00

My Mom was always very reserved (except for the very few times she allowed herself to get pissed off) She spoke a big game, but always felt comfort in the simpler indulgences. She never strived for much, but never complained about being unhappy. She was a tomboy with a princess like mentality. She went through many difficult times, but still managed to come out laughing. She was always willing to lend her unconditional time, even when she could barely walk on account of her illness. She did her best to give us everything my sister and I needed, even though we never had much. We did, however, have an abundance of everything that mattered.....

These are concepts for the little girl who will be the main character in my story, not a likeness of my Mom... but more so a symbolic representation. I would love to hear your thoughts on which look you think is most appropriate....

Welcome

2005-12-06T09:48:00.000-05:00

I have been hesitant on going through with this. Where's the time? What does it matter? Nothing is gonna change... HOWEVER, it's something to help me deal, to help me remember, to help others know my Mom. What the hell, here goes nothing....

Today, December 6th 2005, marks the first year anniversary of my Mom's passing. I figured, today... if any, would be the appropriate time to begin this journey of mine, and see where it takes me.

In the coming weeks, I am going to walk (anyone who is interested), through the development of an illustrated storybook that I am creating. The book will be dedicated to my Mom, JoAnn who at the end of last year (12/6/2004) passed away from ovarian cancer. She fought the disease for nearly three years, while she, at the same time dealt with the loss of her sister Mary Babcock (my aunt) and her niece Arlene Gibson (my cousin, the daughter of the Mary) to cancer. Suffice to say, cancer has not been kind to the women in my family.
I decided the best way to vent any emotions or frustrations I was feeling toward my losses, would be to devote my time to something productive. So, out of the ashes, so to speak, comes a short story that is still a W.I.P., however, through this blog I will share it's development as the project unfolds. Along the way, (if something strikes me) I may even include some helpful resources that are devoted to conquering cancer. Perhaps I could pass on some of the education and knowledge I absorbed while dealing with this terrible disease, and all of the recent tragedies both I and my family suffered.
My Mom, also an artist, never got the chance to live her dreams of being a fashion designer. In 1971, she gave birth to me at a very young age. Unlike today's acceptance, in those days a single mother was more frowned upon, yet she held her ground and raised me regardless of any negativity she may have experienced. She selflessly gave up her life so I could have one, and I cannot thank her enough for her sacrifices. I hope to make her proud with this project and any others I have the opportunity to be a part of in the future. She was and will always be a great inspiration to me.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks also for any continued interest or support you may honor me with.