Finished Sketches With A Flair

I finished an illustration for an English musician friend yesterday and took a walk down to Copley Square, Boston since it was such a beautiful day. I did some quick sketches on the number of samurais going through my mind. Returning to my studio where I finished the sketches and colorized in Photoshop.

More Museum Sketches

 It's been awhile since I have done any serious sketching from live models. I thought a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts Wednesday's life drawing session was worth a visit. The drawing sessions at the museum take place in a number of exhibit rooms and this adds to the overall sketching mood. I enjoy drawing from life because so much of my work is created on the computer and this take's away from the natural drawing process. The tactile feel with pencil to paper adds so much to my drawing experience. I usually take with me a pad of Utrecht acid free 50 lb. paper. I really enjoy the feel of prisma pencils and carry along 30 pencils of various colors. I bring along not just prisma pencils but charcoal, lead pencils and markers to explore how these mediums will affect my sketches. I can tell very quickly just how out of practice I am within the first fifteen minutes. It will take me about an hour to reach my ideal sketching mood. 

Drawing sessions start out with ten minute poses and gradually lengthen to thirty minutes. I find that in order to have a successful sketching session depends on  two factors. The first being how inspired I am. Second, is how ambitious are the models. Some models really challenge me while others are doing just enough to qualify for a pose. When these two factors are in sync the drawing sessions can be very inspirational. The sketches above are from several of my Wednesday evening sessions. 

Here are some reference sources from Walt Stanchfield's. He was an American animator, writer and teacher. Stanfield is known for work on a series of classic animated feature films at Walt Disney Studios and his mentoring of Disney animators. His two volume books can be purchased from Amazon.com , 
vol1: 
http://amzn.to/YmxRFA

vol2:
http://amzn.to/18puVai

Some Ideas For Illustrators

Here is a video based on a past blog article about what illustrators should think about to maintain and strengthen there illustration careers.

New Logo Image

One of my latest completed projects was to create a logo for a design professional. The logo's main emphasis was to appear as a ninja figure. I used Illustrator CS5 to create the gradations for this logo and decided to use the Mesh Tool. I will go more into how to use this tool with a separate blog article later. The mesh tool is one of several tools in Illustrator to create amazing gradations. I was quite pleased with the final result.

Let Some Of That Green Show

One of my favorite days for celebrating is St. Patricks Day. A chance to have some fine corned beef and cabbage with a large Guiness. Oh yes, and while enjoying the food with some down to earth Irish music. Plenty of places around Brookline such as Matt Murphy's or O'Learys. I plan to take part and be part of the festivities. Go out and enjoy yourself and meet some fine Irish friends. For more information check out: http://bit.ly/WkAMeF

This illustration was created with a pencil sketch and scanned into Photoshop. Once the image is in Photoshop I place the sketch on a separate layer and create another layer for coloring on top. Place the image in multiply mode so the sketch comes through. I create my colors and start painting. When I am finished I check out the finish version on my Epson Workforce 610.

Some Thoughts On Being An Illustrator

As Illustrators we all want to work on exciting projects that pay well. The reality of the situation is that there are less high paying illustration commissions. This means that in order to succeed and grow as illustrators we need to think about offering new services. You might want to consider offering design, animation or video services for example.

Just because you have an awesome style and some connections. This doesn't guarantee your illustration career will survive. Once your projects are completed do you know when your next one will arrive? What are you doing to continue your creative output and have your services continue to be in demand. Solutions are all around us. It's up to you whether you have the initiative and drive to start something challenging and rewarding. What is holding you back? You shouldn't let the fear of starting a new goal or project overwhelm you. To get started think about projects that are dear to your heart and ways to make them become reality. Why not think of some goals like writing a children's book. Are comic books dear to you. Try creating a comic book. Have you always thought about putting a graphic novel together. This may be the right time to start one. App's are very popular. What do you need to do to create one? That children's project in the back of your mind just might make a great eBook project.

These are just a few suggestions waiting for you to start your goal and keep your creative drive moving forward. Remember there is no progress made without some sacrifice. Lots of opportunities exist and you should give it a try and see what you come up with. Who knows you just might enjoy your new accomplishments. Take small steps at a time and don't let the thought of what you are up against overwhelm you. You are exploring sides of your personality that you never thought possible. This should be an exciting time for you. Challenging yourself with a new goal will make you a stronger and more confident professional.

After succeeding with your new goal maybe you could write a blog article about your experiences. I am sure your friends, colleagues and professionals would like to read about your experiences. Maybe they are tackling the same challenges and would appreciate reading about the same challenges from another person in their position.  You will come across much more as a professional with a human side.

There you have it. A few thoughts attempting to become a more successful illustrator. A new project or challenge may be just what you need to get yourself back into your creative mode and and continue to develop your business into a more successful venture.