Random Fish Doodles

Just a few goofy little fishes to start off the week right.And yes, the Bee-Fish really is a fish, not  a swimming bee. You just can't see the gills behind all the bee fuzz. My favorite is the poor Dog-Fish with the neck cone.

Sketches from a Maui Christmas

As I look forward to a chilly Christmas again this year, I remember with fondness the two Christmases our clan spent on the Hawaiian paradise island of Maui. See more great photos of our trip here. Memories have a way of being distorted in our minds sometimes and as I looked back at my sketchbook from that trip, I decided to see how closely, my sketched impressions matched the photos that I shot.

We trekked the infamous Hana Highway, a winding sometimes one lane road that is not for the faint of heart  (or stomach for that matter). I was driving, and you could not stop at many places along the road so the sketches were done after we reached our destination at the state park. My photos somehow did not include the above scene, so I found this one online.

There were little villages scattered along the coast that could be seen from the highway above. It is interesting to note how my eye edited the scene to include much more than the camera lens captured, including adjacent fields and the curve of the shoreline. I think my sketch more effectively captures what I felt in that moment.

The most interesting contrast came from comparison of my sketch from the Black Sand Beach at Wainapanapa State Park. I got up before sunrise and tried to capture the essence of the place in photos and with a sketch. I noted my thoughts in the sketchbook as well:

The Drive to Hana was amazing, nothing short of spectacular. To think of the variety of terrain and plants on this one island is mind boggling. The Lord certainly created a masterpiece here. The Black sand beach was very cool. When the waves rushed out, the tiny black rocks in one section would clatter along the shore toward the water only to be pushed back in with the next rush of sea. When a big wave hit,the force could be felt through the sand like thunder.

Black Sand Sunrise- Wainapanapa State Park, Maui

I think as an artist it is essential to not only observe and photograph what we see but that making location sketches and studies cement our reactions to a scene more effectively and accurately in our minds.

See a more in depth account of Christmas on Maui at Artwife Needs a Life

Angler Fish Goes Green- Color

Angler Fish Goes Green- 7" x 6" digital

A while ago I posted a drawing from my sketchbook of this eco-conscious angler fish. My initial intention was to paint it traditionally like my Cat-Fish and Dog-Fish pieces, but I decided to paint it in Photoshop instead. I give myself projects to create digitally in order for me to continue to improve and increase my digital skills. I learned something very helpful from my friend and fellow illustrator Will Terry about how to mimic my painting textures digitally. He coached me through creating a texture using the Define Pattern tool  under the Edit tab in Photoshop.

I know there are probably a few people out there saying "how in the world did you not know that?", but it was an important revelation for me and I think it will change the look of my digital work for the better. It allows me to use digital versions of my own painting textures to give my illustrations a more random and organic look. I'm pretty excited about it. If enough people are interested, I'll do a little step by step sometime to show you what I have learned. I'll be using this as a self promotional piece.

Steampunk Spaceship 2

As I mentioned last post, I am working up a little piece that I can paint at a charity quick draw auction tomorrow night. I have never been particularly fast as a painter, so in order to ensure that I can finish, I know I need to get a good start beforehand. I pulled one ship from the sketch in the previous post and redrew it. I changed some of the proportions and details, like adding a smokestack. Smokestacks are totally incongruous with space travel, I know, but fun nonetheless. I then took the sketch into Photoshop and did some basic coloring. The second image is what I call my "digital under painting".

I intentionally keep the contrasts low and the values darker than normal so that I can bring up the highlights with paint. I then print this out on my 13" x 19" Epson printer, mount it on a board and paint over the top.  I do this often to save painting time as I can get certain effects like the smooth gradient in the background much faster and easier than I can physically paint it.. Some ask why I bother, why not just finish it digitally? Well, first off, I love paint. I love the tactile interaction I get while painting. I love the organic quality, I love the incidentals and "accidents",  I love the fact that there is a physical artifact left over after the process. Don't mistake my comments as a knock against digital work. I am still diligently trying to learn to paint with pixels as I believe it is a valuable skill, but there is something in keeping up with actual painting that I know will make me a better digital painter- eventually. I'll post more as this project moves along.

Steampunk Space Race

I am doing a quick draw fundraiser this Friday at the Reagan Academy Art and Basket Auction in Springville, Utah. I will have approximately two and a half hours to paint something that will then be auctioned off.Last year I did a version of a catfish, but this year I thought I'd do something with a Steampunk aesthetic. If you aren't familiar with Steampunk, it is an alternative reality interpretation of science fiction where technology never advances beyond steam power. Of course there are still all the versions of things we have now, such as vehicles and devices but just steam powered. It is a really fun look to play around with because of all the brass fittings, leather, rivets and other textures. I pulled out this drawing I had tucked away from an earlier project that was never used and figured it was time to dust it off and finish it. I'll probably do just one of the ships on Friday and complete the full paining later. I will be selling other cards and signed children's books as well, if you are in the area, drop by The event runs from 6-9 pm on Friday November 19th. The address is 1143 West Center Street in Springville.

Chameleon

Just a fun little doodle. Messing around with colorizing ink drawings in Photoshop, adding textures and trying to get more comfortable with the brush tools. Nothing fancy, I mainly focused on color and pattern rather than modeling. This critter came out of my sketchbook.

Alabama Hills

One of the most interesting places we visited on our recent painting trip to Owens Valley, California, was the Alabama Hills, near Lone Pine.Unfortunately the weather was a little sketchy and we opted to draw rather than paint in case the heavens decided to open up rain on us.

The unfortunate side affect was that the skied were overcast and the light relatively flat. I would have loved to have seen these rock formations on a clear day along with what I am sure would have been fantastic shadow patterns. As it was, the rocks were unbelievable. The outcroppings jutted out of the ground everywhere at every angle, some as large as 30-40 feet high. Eons of wind and rain have weathered them into rounded mounds fractured with fissures and cavities.

It is no wonder that Hollywood has filmed more than 300 feature films, TV episodes and commercials among these incredible rocks formations (including Iron Man, Gladiator and the classic monster spoof Tremors). I was mesmerized. Here are a couple of the photos I took along with the sketch I made. I'd love to go back someday and really paint them. Until then I will have to be satisfied with my photos and painting from memory.

Sometimes You Don't Get The Job

thumbnail sketches for proposed Christmas book.

1.5" x 3" graphite and digital

Here are a couple of comp sketches I did recently for Scholastic Books. The only direction I got was two kids in bed asleep with Santa on the roof. One kid is reacting to the noise. Pretty cryptic, but I assumed it was  going to be a version of Clement Moore's "Twas the Night Before Christmas", so I went that direction. In the end, I was informed that they "went in another direction" but that they liked what I did a lot and would keep me in mind for future projects. That's how it goes sometimes.

Who Moved My Cheese?

Angry Mouse - 3 1/2" x 2"

This little drawing from my sketchbook reminded me of the classic book "Who Moved My Cheese?"  A lot of us are wondering where our cheese went. The book is a good reminder for us all considering the volatile nature of the economy right now. I'm chasing my cheese down, hope everyone else is also.

Banjo Pig 3

Sunset Serenade - 6" x 7" -  pencil with digital elements

I felt a little bad about the demise of my last Banjo Pig, so here is one seen in happier times. I scanned a crackle texture that  I was experimenting with and composited it over my pencil drawing with digital color. See the ongoing Banjo Pig battle at Guy Francis' blog.

Hambanjo

Hambanjo - 5"x6" - felt pen and digital color

So I figured what's the point of pigs and banjos if you can't combine the two. What you get is a deluxe Hambanjo. As for the rest of the pig, go ahead and speculate, but I see that Mr. Wolf can pluck and snack at the same time. Follow the further adventures of the dueling banjo war on Guy Francis's blog  "So, Cat Tacos?"

Banjo Pig Blues

Banjo Pig - 5" x 6" - felt pen, digital color

My buddy and fellow illustrator Guy Francis has thrown down the gauntlet in the Dueling Banjo Pig war, so I thought I might as well pick it up. I have no illusions of winning the war since I am so far behind, but here you go. See the other contenders on Guy's blog.

Angler Fish Goes Green

Angler Fish Goes Green

7" x 6" - Prismacolor with Photoshop highlights

See the finished color version here

I Just delivered my first European project yesterday to a London based design firm for Toyota UK. I uploaded a high res file of my painting directly to their server, something I never could have done a few years back. the digital age has certainly opened up whole new markets to illustrators and I am doing my best to stay only slightly behind the curve as far as reaching them goes. I had a little time between projects so I worked up a new fish to paint. Deep sea fish are just so weird, I love them. Someday I'll have enough of these critters to do a calendar or maybe a book.