The Don't Like ABCs - ArtD 150 - Book

Above are two final pages of my book project (for my ArtD 150 final).

I had a lot of fun with this one.

Unfortunately I did not finish all the illustrations but will continue to work on this piece for publication. :)

***Update*** 4/16/13
I have decided (at the urging of friends/family) to add a watermark and my blog web address to the images. 
I am working on finishing this book and hope to have it refined & finished this summer!!! :)

ArtD 150 - Storybook Idea

I'm still working on my project idea... 

I'm  going to do an alphabet book with (hopefully) a comical spin on the animals that are depicted by the letters… I am still sketching out some roughs to see what will work best with the time I have.

I will post photos soon...

***Update! 11-29-12***
My book title is: The Don't Like ABCs
It will be an ebook so I have more time to work on it.
Here is a snapshot of one of the illustrations I drew out...

Alligators don't like Apples

I'm giving the apples a punch of color and doing the lettering in photoshop.
More later... Busy!!! ;)

Another Painting of Dad :)

I haven't posted any paintings for quite a while... I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at my current painting with a detail shot.

(Unfortunately I only have my phone right now for photo taking — These are just 2 'so far' shots that I had... I should be done in a couple weeks and will share the whole thing then with a nice camera.)

ArtD 150 - Exercise 4:1 "Favorite Childhood Book"

It was hard to choose just one favorite...

So many influenced me but I kept coming back to this one.

The Story of Ferdinand

By Munro Leaf

Illustrated by Robert Lawson

1936

I remember really relating to Ferdinand and it helped knowing that it is ok to not to participate in what everyone else was doing as long as what I did made me happy. 

I was always drawn to more peaceful characters and ones who where outcasts by choice.

I also LOVED the illustrations. Black and white illustrations where always appealing to me especially if they where done in a realistic way. 

So many children's books are simple but childlike in look... this one is simple but mature in the illustrations. It probably was one of the many that influenced me to draw too.

Below I've included the Disney cartoon... I like Disney's adaptation. 

Very close to the book... with some liberties. ;)

One of the other Illustrators that made a huge impact on me (but there are too many books to choose from) was Trina Schart Hyman . I thought I'd show you one of her drawings too.

Click on her name to see more... I love her illustrations of classic stories. 

Project 3 - Off to the printer...

Here is the final result for Project 3.

I could have worked on it a lot longer- but the deadline for the printer forced me to find an end point.

I'll post a pic of it hanging up printed on canvas once I receive it in the mail.

I am very curious how the color and brush technique will show up on a canvas print.

Overall pretty happy with it. 

Project 3 Update

Above is my choice...

Below is a photo composite start...

I had the suggestion to also alter the skin I'm standing on... going to have fun with that.

More later...... :)

Artist Presentation - Brittney Lee

Today I did a little presentation on artist/illustrator/animator Brittney Lee.

Click HERE for her blog - or the link on the right.

HERE you can find the interview I pulled some of my info from.

And HERE is the YouTube video if you want an encore of her old school project.. ;)

**I found the Interview on this BLOG - It's a fun one to cruise through and I highly recommend you check it out if you are interested in character design.**

Self Portrait So Far.... More later

My Choice for Project 3

Whistler’s Mother

My artist is James Whistler... But I haven't decided between the top image and the lower one.

I like that he uses textures in his paintings and I think that is something I can really play with in photoshop.

I was thinking I could have some fun with both. Whistler's Mother I was thinking of a modern design - updating to current times and setting.

The White Girl 

I may put myself in her place and make it a bit dark- Holding a bloody knife and the rug being freshly skinned... I think Halloween has been influencing me there. ;)

I'll draw out a few ideas and take a few photos to solidify the choice this weekend.

Symphony in White no 1 (The White Girl) 

ArtD 150 - Exercise 4 "Hungry Caterpillar Painting"

Here is a little exercise from class today... :)

(I just want to remind you that caterpillars are not known for their spelling...)

ArtD 150 - Project 2 - Victims

Forgot to post the end result...

Steel Pulse - Victims

"Steel Pulse" ArtD 150 - Sketches for Music Poster

My band is Steel Pulse. I drew out a few sketches and talked it over with a few people in class (Keith, Neil, etc). I was leaning toward the Victims image where I have graphic images of bodies layered and in various sizes. I was also interested in the Reggae Fever image since I thought it would be a fun colorful one... but I think the Victims design will be stronger. I'm going to have the main figure with a punch of color... and the word will have the Steel Pulse words positioned like a trademark symbol. I'm going to play around with the idea a bit more once I start moving it around in Illustrator. 

"Doh!" - ArtD 150 - 2:5

Homer Simpson

Illustrator Exercise 

ArtD 150 - Exercise 2:3 "Tool Box"

Here are the tools I use. :)

Made out of shapes with Illustrator. Rasterized for the web.

Drawn from scratch- no tracing.

ArtD 150 - Excercise 2:2

So, here are my project 2 images... again, my computer is not my friend right now. It's freezing and not saving things the way I want it to and has just made these last 2 exercises endless...

I realize I didn't get a chance to critique other projects or have mine critiqued in time. This is the fall out of having a sick day and missing class. 

I sketched out a few ideas first as I am more of a hands on type- but that meant I had to fuss with it a lot to get it to work in the computer. Below is a picture of a couple of the sketches...

My word is evolve: to develop gradually from a simple to a more complex form.

This feels a little too obvious a design for me. I was suffering from some major creative block this week and I wished I had picked a different word... but I ended up sticking with this one. I had already put so much time into thinking it out and my time and outside forces where constraining my options.

I think I could have really benefited from getting some critique... and the use of a more cooperative computer. I did learn a lot from all the re-do I experienced though...

ArtD 150 - Exercise 2:1

BOLD

CONGESTED

INCREASE

ORDER

PLAYFUL

TENSION

I was having some technical difficulties... my computer wouldn't recognize my previous work and I had to figure out away around this to post my work.

BIG headache. :P

ArtD 150 - 5 Photos From Slideshow & Synopsis

These are 5 photos from my slideshow "Swim Time!".

It's about Holly, her toy, and the fun time she has swimming. I sort of see it as a personality piece.

I originally was going to do a full day of Holly but discovered the narrative needed to be tighter.

I will add a You Tube link soon. :)

***Update!*** Here it is:

ArtD 150 Exercise 1:4 & Exercise 1:5

Original Scan

Digital Image

Version 1

Version 2

The scanning and photo montage exercises are above. I'm a bit late but I thought I would mess around with it anyway since it is good practice.

I scanned one of my drawings, adjusted it with levels, and used a photo I pulled of the Internet of balloons. Flipped the photo around and did some layering and coloring with fx added to the layers. I also replaced the lettering in the cake.

A bit simple but it's been a while since I've messed around with photoshop so it's good practice.

I like the blue one since it has more harmony. 

ArtD 150 EXERCISE 1:3

Photo Edit

Original Photo

I cropped the photo to make it long with the monkey. I changed the photo to black and white, then with another layer adjusted the color of the background and darkened the lower half of the photo to give a more ominous feel.

ArtD 150 - Excercise 1:1 & 1:2

Line

Shape

Color

(Analogous)

Texture

Value

Balance

Unity

Contrast

Emphasis

Rhythm

Above are a few subjects I have photographed that depict:

 Line, Shape, Color, Texture, Value, Balance, Unity, Contrast, Emphasis, and Rhythm.

The exercise was to show the elements and principles of design without editing the photos (strait from the camera).