Summerbelle Crate Sketch

I'm working on a new project with John Ball at BDG. This one will be for a fruit crate. It's always fun to work with John. This one went pretty smoothly. I rented a costume and took pictures of a few options. I created once version with a hat and one with the umbrella, which we eventually went with.

I think either would have worked, which is a testament to how well the photo shoot went. It also goes to show how much easier things progress when you have great reference material.

In the past, I have shortchanged the reference gathering process and almost without fail, there is some aspect of the final rendering that does not go as well as planned. Some of these obstacles can be overcome easily by drawing upon years of experience or other creative means. Other times I am forced to go back to the drawing board and either find better reference or shoot new reference to solve the problem. This one is going well so far. I will post the final art as soon as I finish.

Running With Geronimo - Final Drawing

As promised this is the drawing for the opening spread for the Boys' Life historical fiction story I am illustrating. It accompanies the piece in my previous post. I am still finishing it up, so rather than show it in progress, I will just let this one tease you a little bit. In the story, the cavalry posse searching for Geronimo and his small band of rebels comes to the farm of the young main character and asks him if he has seen anything. The young man plays dumb even though he is harboring his Native American friend, one of Geronimo's braves, in the barn. It is both fun and challenging to create these sorts of historically based pieces. The research involved is sometimes the hardest part. I will post the final piece when I finish it up  in the next day or two.

Sticking To The Thumbnail Sketch

 

Thumbnail sketch

One of the things that frustrates my students and consequently me as a teacher is how often a successful thumbnail drawing is abandoned in the sketching process. I will often look at a good thumbnail and then, when I see revised drawings, wonder what happened to the flow, design, rhythm, etc. that I remember from the first sketch  Granted, some changes may be intentional and for the better, but if you lose the essence of the thumbnail- that thing that attracted you to the design and got you excited in the first place- then you are essentially starting over.

 

I always thumbnail out my idea first, before taking any photos. This allows me to solidify in my mind things like angles,  pose, lighting and basic composition. I then use my sketch to dictate how the photo shoot goes.

 

I match my models as closely as I can to the thumbnail idea. Sometimes the photo shoot suggests other options, and it's a good idea to take those photos as well, but I rarely go into a photo shoot without solid sketches.

 

If that happens, then I am letting the camera dictate the design of my piece and not my imagination. I think my imagination is usually superior to the mindlessness of a camera, so I try to not let the camera decide things for me.

 

I also take lots of detail shots as sometimes the angles and poses in my thumbnail are not comfortable or realistic for my models to capture in real life. I use the detail shots to get the info I need. I then take my thumbnail, lay tracing paper over the top and make my final drawing using details from multiple photos. Failure to use tracing paper in this stage of the process is the downfall of many a good student thumbnail.

 

I enlarge my thumbnail and use it as the "bones" of my design. I add the details or the "muscles and skin" over the top on the tracing paper. I can still see the original design and thus I can follow it, preserving the space relationships, rhythm and compositions that I carefully created in the thumbnail sketch.

 

If I had abandoned my thumbnail during the creation of this piece, I would likely not have been as happy with the result as I am. As you can see from the photos, none of them match my drawing exactly. I had to rely on information from all the photos as well as my thumbnail to arrive at the final sketch. There were even modifications in the final painting stage that were made to reflect more accurately the vision I had in the thumbnail stage. Trust your thumbnail. It usually does not lie because, if done well, it contains the bare essence of what you hope to express.

There is a great book by Ron Schick about how Norman Rockwell used reference photos called Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera. It shows how Rockwell's process very closely mirrors what I and countless other artists use to get the information for their paintings.

Seagulls and Crickets

I'm just starting a fun little piece for a poem that will run in the Friend magazine. Folks from here in Utah will probably be familiar with the story of how seagulls save the crops of early Mormon pioneers from a massive cricket infestation shortly after their arrival in the Great Salt Lake valley. The account has it that the pioneers battled the crickets in vain until hoards of seagulls arrived from the nearby Great Salt Lake to devour the crickets. Not only did they eat their fill, but they then flew back to the lake to disgorge them, returning to eat more.Certainly this was a miraculous deliverance that preserved the crops of the desperate settlers. Here's the final design sketch. I'll be using Photoshop to render the final artwork.

Evolution Of A Picture- Part 3

Once I have my composition well in hand I carefully evaluate what additional reference material I may need to complete the painting. Usually this involves finding a model and appropriate costume. I am always on the lookout for the right model and scope out people at church, school, neighbors and friends to enlist in the cause. Most people when approached are willing to work with you and I always compensate them in some way. If I am in a bind, I know this guy that models for me quite a bit. He works for free and is always available right when I need him. The only problem is getting my spouse to shoot the photos. (Thanks Hon!) I usually take loads of photos and then filter from them the information that I need to flesh out my drawings. I pay particular attention to faces and hands as well as drapery and shadows. These seem to be the hardest areas to get right if you don't have good reference material, and look the worst if you try to "fake" them. I always shoot detail shots and sometimes finesse the drapery  with a tug here or there to get the folds and shadows right. You will never be sorry you took a little extra time and attention at the photo shoot stage. It can make the difference between an average work and a really good one. The drawing at bottom is the one I used for the final painting. Note that the basic value patterns are already established. Early in my career, I often neglected to do a full value study which sometimes hurt my work.  Since I did this painting, I have put more effort into making sure the value study is clear.Photoshop is a great tool for laying in values quickly and getting the pattern working. I simply scan my sketch and lay in grey tones in a multiply layer.

Evolution of a Picture part 1
Evolution of a Picture part 2
Evolution of a Picture part 3
Evolution of a Picture Part 4