Head Study

Here is a digital head study using a photo from the fantastic Drawing Script.  The page will cycle photos from many categories at a timed frequency of your choice.  It is great for gestures or longer poses.

I found a great set of pencil brushes that I used here, but you get a grid pattern when filling large areas.  If anyone has any suggestions for Photoshop brush sets they like let me know in the comments.

Yarrrrr!

I have been in a piratey sort of mood lately and thought I might do a drawing to go with my lust for rum and pieces of eight. I found some superb photo reference by Marcus Ranum over at his DeviantArt page which is a great resource for figures of all types in great costumes and poses.

Drawn in Photoshop on a Wacom Cintiq.

Iron Man Mark I

Photo/Copy

Here is another bit of practice to get the hang of painting in Photoshop. Since I have struggled with this in the past I decided to start removing variables to make the process easier to get a handle on.

I started with a blank screen rather than an analog pencil sketch, and chose to do a side-by-side copy from photo reference so I would have fewer variables to worry about.  To simplify further, I also chose a vintage black and white still so color issues would also not be a factor. Reducing choices and variables was a great way to get to know the tool, and make it much less daunting of an experience.

Using this brush set courtesy of Min Hyuk Yum was very helpful.  The first brush in the set worked tremendously well as a pencil, and for the first time I felt comfortable sketching in Photoshop.

All in all I think it was a very positive step in the right direction.

The reference I used was this beautiful photo by Gordon H. Coster from the 1930's.

SCREAMIN' SKULL

Having some fun and trying out some new brushes in Photoshop.  Sketching with a tablet is a little strange but it's getting easier.

The Circus is in Town

I designed this ad for the circus that will be appearing at our ballpark this week.  I wanted to create something with a classic feel, but didn't really want to glamorize the whole thing.

This morning, when pulling into work, I saw an elephant eating some hay under a canopy next to its trailer.  It was a cool thing to surprise you on a Monday morning.  These are really awesome creatures and so impressive to see in real life. It does make me sad though that I saw it that way and not in the wild.

I based this piece on the vintage poster below. I digitally painted my elephant in Photoshop and the layout was completed in InDesign. 

When Pigs Fly: Coachella 2008

I have just returned from the the 2008 Coachella Music Festival and I could not be happier. It was one of the single most amazing weekends of my life, and I am thankful that I was there to experience it. I was able to see some truly amazing acts including Prince, Fatboy Slim, Kraftwerk, Gogol Bordello, and dozens of others. But the show that is burned into my consciousness is Rogers Waters. Mr. Waters and his crew created an experience unlike anything I have ever witnessed, and it affected me immensely. If you have the opportunity to see the Dark Side of the Moon Live Tour, do so by whatever means necessary. You will not be disappointed.

The image above is a quick digital painting of the song "Sheep", in the middle of the show. A truly awe inspiring moment.

Crouching Tiger

Watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (buy it here) over the last couple of days, and I had forgotten how beautifully shot this film is. Though this film inspired America's lust for wire-fu, those that sought to duplicate the action failed to notice Ang Lee's subtle yet powerful direction. The camera work and shot selections are superb, and are a lesson in composition and form.

This was a quick and loose piece to get some practice with the ol' digital paint.

(click on the image for a larger version)

Deuce's Family Album

Deuce's Family Album was created for the Frisco RoughRiders as a renewal piece for season ticket holders. It was designed as a unique way to remind people of all they fun they had at the ballpark with their friends, family, and most importantly, the mascot Deuce (who is, by the way a prairie dog). It was sent with a letter encouraging the individual to renew their ticket package for the following season.

The cover illustrations were sketched with pencil, then scanned and painted in Photoshop.






For the inside front and back covers, I created a pattern in Illustrator, and aged it in Photoshop.


A close-up of the pattern.


The inside of the book was composed of photo-illustrations with brief explanations (written mostly by Justin McCord, with a few additions by me). Also accompanying each image was an icon that represented the era of "family photo", and an image of Deuce with his own visual commentary. The layout was created in Adobe InDesign.



A close-up of Deuce's break dancing cousin.


You can download Deuce's Family Album in its entirety here as a pdf. Please note that images linked from the RoughRiders site as MORE Deuce's Family Album were not created by me.

My Neighbor...

Another attempt at the digital paint with good ol' Totoro. I think when I plan on painting these in the future, I will try to keep my sketch as clean as possible. My quick pencil shading on this sketch made it a lot more difficult during the painting process. Baby steps...

First Crack at Painter (with Totoro)

I have finally gotten around to giving Painter a shot. After some brief tips from an experienced friend, I did a quick sketch and starting slapping some pixel-paint on the digital canvas. I definitely will be spending some more time on this guy, and I think it's going to be a while before I am really comfortable with this new tool. But hey, it's a start.

The Pajama Jam

This was a invite for a Halloween party I helped put on. I wasn't 100% happy with the jumping characters, but it wasn't bad for a quickie. It was also one of the first times I have taken a crack at painting in Photoshop.

I think the final layout came together well, and I avoided using the standard black and red or black and orange color schemes you usually see on Halloween invites. I wanted to go less scary, more fun!

The 4th Floor is me and my DJ partner, but the other names and details have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent.