ART isn’t about teaching, you idiot!

I find it quite humorous when I correspond with another artist (whether popular or not) and get absolutely no response back. I certainly don`t mean that I would email ,or comment on, another artists work with stupid accolades because I am a geeky fanboy! Typically, I like to ask questions regarding their work, their inspirations, their medium of choice, and why they chose it, etc etc. I ask questions because that’s how you learn. And anyone who is an artist should know, that you never stop learning.

However, I find that more than not, many artists (usually men) don`t care to give any feedback nor do they want to share their insight. As though we [asking the questions] are trying to gain an upper hand and steal their work right from under their nose. Suddenly, the artist becomes a raging lioness, protecting their offspring from prying eyes.

However, I guess I am of the school of thought that an artistic gift should be shared with the world, especially those who take a true interest in the field. Now I am definitely no teacher, per se, but who says you have to have a license & degree to be one? Why leave “artistic lessons/insights” up to a certified teacher? I believe anyone can impart some words of wisdom for those who seek it…artist or not.

So, I suppose the reality is that you can admire the artwork all you want (because artists love the attention in that respect), but just don’t EXPECT an artist to start a long discussion about the aspects of their discipline, blah blah blah.

It’s only human nature to be selfish…right?

The price of SELF

The following is a recent work that I’ve had rummaging around in my head for quite a while, and only got around to working on it over the past few days. It more or less came from my own experiences of tending to put myself before God. It’s a subject that everyone falls under, but no one ever wants to speak of. It’s the very thing that brings down even the most dignified and just, only to leave that great wall of righteousness as a pile of rubble. It comes in more forms than any of us could ever count in a lifetime. It waits at our doorstep hoping that we will open and let it in. It  hides in the shadows waiting to devour it’s prey. It causes tension between nations, social groups, different races, sexes, families, and friends. Worst of all,  it creates an immense barrier between us and God. Jesus paid the price so we could be closer to God, but is the price of selfishness truly worth all that goes along with? I created the illustration based on the fact that “selfishness” is the greatest bondage of all. I chose Galatians 4:9 since it seemed to really help to convey what I was trying to get across, as we (sinful man) tend to continue going back to our selfish ways only to find that we end up exactly where we started.

Astonishment

Here is a piece I worked on over the weekend for a friend of mine who is, for lack of a better term, an apprentice of “close-up magic”. We had been throwing ideas back and forth for a promo art piece. Unfortunately, it isn`t anything he will be using in the long run, but it was a fun project nonetheless. The initial sketchwork was done in Alias Sketchbook Pro (using the Wacom tablet, of course!) but then sent over to photoshop for a bit of tweaking, then coloring, and finally shadow. I am not all that convinced with regard to the shadows, but, it certainly brings out a dramatic aspect to the image regardless. If you haven’t already figured it out, click on thumbnail for full image.

digi vs traditional?

Sometimes, it’s a struggle…

Let the music do the talking…

So yeah…I worked on another rendition of the “minstrel” character over this past weekend and am much happier with it than my previous attempt. Her look is quite different than the initial description, but that’s typically the evolutionary process of a character concept. I decided against any color right now since I knew if I tried to color over the weekend then I was just going to rush through the process (like my last) for the sake of posting. What good is that?  Character art should be a journey, experimenting with style, structure, clothing, gear, etc. I frequently utilize a european HAIR magazine for hair references since it is full of some really funky styles. Clothing comes as a challenge at times and I find myself searching for really great references when it comes to garments & layering. I suppose I should pay more attention in the future when I find myself watching “Project Runway” with my wife! =)

The Matrix: Revisited

As this isn`t anything NEW, per se, but still thought it was interesting since I am a fan of The Matrix movies/games. The below link (actually, the image belongs to the video game of the same name) goes to the official “comics” based on the world of The Matrix, which has tons of stories and some artwork.

Neil Gaiman wrote one of the first Matrix comics, and the Wachowski brothers (creators of The Matrix) contributed to a story…although you would think they would have written more than one. Most of the others are from writers I am not familiar with but that doesn`t mean much. The artwork is sparse, but it is still there nonetheless, although I am not so sure that it lends itself to the storyline all that heavily.

But, take it as you see it…entertainment. I, for one, think that there is so much more that could be done with The Matrix world in comic form (whether online or printed), but that remains to be seen.

Minstrel

Trying to steer away from the “Inquisitor” character (at least for now…), I went ahead and sketched/shaded a rendition of another character I had in the Dragon Tavern universe: Dread Minstrel.  This one was quite fun when it came to the shading process since I essentially used gray scale for value changes. I am rather pleased with the outcome of the face/hair, even though the hair is anime-ish. But…I suppose thats one of the better aspects that emerged from the anime world =)

(click on image for full size)

Created/shaded in Alias Sketchbook Pro using Wacom Intuos3 tablet.

Beyond the Gates

Here is the colorized version of the “Witch Hunter” sketch from a few weeks back. I am rather happy with the outcome, considering  digital color application is rather new to me (for a long time I was opposed to doing anything in color). The background was just a rather simple stroke of the “marker” tool to give impressions of the towering constructs of the Steel Empire. The orange “fire light” was the last thing I applied in hopes the effect would come out better than my last attempt. (Click image for larger size)

Completed using Wacom Intuos 3 and Alias Sketchbook Pro.

Saytr

My bud Phillip over at http://prdl.wordpress.com had been working on several renditions of his character “Goat Boy”, which inspired me to do a quick pen sketch of “goat girl”. Actually, she’s probably more of a Saytr-type character you’d see in D&D, but it’s all the same to me really. (Click for original size):

funky colors and odd monsters

Well, I finally got around to putting some color to my sketch of the “assault” piece. One thing is evident though, color application is a tricky aspect of artwork. Lighting, shadows, ambient light affecting skin & clothing color, and blah blah blah…a necessary evil indeed. I’ve looked at this image several times, and everytime I do, I think it gets worse. My guess is I may have sped through the final color process and didn`t bother to stop and really experiment. My biggest issue was when I applied the light source (“torch light” for argument sake), which is coming from out of the frame on the right side. It gave the overall the scene a rather jaundice-ish look that could make you suddenly feel ill and not even know why, lol. Typically, there will be a yellowish overlay/glow on anything that the light hits, and then begins to diminish further away. I suppose adding orange would have improved it as well, but thats just something I will have to find out later on. I’ve always been a fan of artists who can execute a scene with really dramatic lighting and shadow, so I do hope to better myself in that respect as to not sacrifice a good piece overall. Sometimes the smallest thing can make a huge difference.

Sketched & colored in Alias Sketchbook using Wacom tablet