Guinness Poster

Here are some developments for the "smallest waist" poster. Different ways to incorporate the mayo. I liked the hand position on the third one, because you can see both sides of the may jar, where the waist shrinks behind. I liked the overall composition of the first one, because I like the mystery of not seeing the face (also, I feel less like I am bound to drawing the actual keeper of the title, who is a little frightening to look at. I aim to make the subject more pleasing to the eye, but with one very disturbing trait. The hybrid of the two is below.

This is the tight pencil comp. I was going for a good way to combine the mayo image with the figure, without making things complicated or unclear, and with enough space for a headline and a short paragraph for informational/promotional purposes. The tag line is: Hold the Mayo, I'm watching my figure. I think I'll keep that. However, I might stack "Hold the Mayo" to fill up space, but I like how it fills the space where a normal waist would be. I'll try it both ways.

Montage comparison

Here's my first gouache montage for comparison, below is the second.

For the most part, I think there is some improvement. I especially like the gold fish. I changed my method completely for him, going from a mostly additive to a mostly subtractive technique, especially with the scales. I also really prefer these fins to the previous ones, they have more contras and detail, more believable I think. The tree is more intense and colorful, which I think is a good thing, but it could be a little less flat. I like how the guy's face is lighter, but I think I should have added more of the facial hair present in the first one. His arms might also be a bit to light, but his hands are more readable. I tried some different water color-like textures in the water/sky, and I like them. I also think I could have added more teal accents to the fish and the guy.

World Record sketches

I couldn't decide on one record, so I sketched for 4: stretchiest skin, loudest burp, oldest married couple, and smallest waist. Personally, I prefer the flying squirrel guy for stretchiest skin out of everything. I also liked the cane/heart idea. But... I made the mistake of drawing everything on the same page and showing the client everything, and the client chose smallest waist. I also mentioned that her waist was said to be about the size of a jar of mayonnaise... which leads me to my next set of drawings. I will be using a jar of mayonnaise with the image of the small-waisted woman together. This might not make complete sense to the viewers at first, because they won't know the story behind it, but I will address it in the poster. If anything, any initial confusion would draw someone closer to the poster to find an explanation.

Conversation Color Comp

The color comp has been approved, except for the yellow shirt, which kind of blends into the background. I'm probably going to add some magenta to it to make it pop. I wanted to keep the color palette limited, so that it wouldn't get messy and more crazy-looking than it already looks, because there are so many patterns going on. My favorite parts are the lava lamp and the characters' faces. Next step: water color 10X10.

The Conversation

Here's my final conversation sketch before the color comp. I got several good comments about the characters and their expressions, so I'll keep them pretty close to what they are in the comp. Although, I think the happy one looks a bit too much like Ray Romano. Can't decide if I want to keep the little flowers in the peace sign... I'm thinking maybe I'll make it hollow and give it a shadow on the wall, so it's a little less flat. I think my favorite part is how the unhappy character is slumped over. Ray Romano though, his arm (the one around his sad friend) needs some work. But I'm "feeling the love", think I'm ready to move on to the color comp with a couple of minor adjustments.

Midterm Portfolio

This brings back fond memories of the beginnings of water color. This was the first of the landscapes, I believe, when I started to loosen up a little. This one probably took around 20 minutes (my goal was 10). As opposed to the previous water colors I had done, this had more confident strokes, and I let the paint have more freedom. I like this one because I was able to convey detail without going in with a tiny brush. I also like the pairing of the jagged tree contours and the soft background. I was in the middle of learning how to get saturated, dark tones with relatively thin paint.

If I were to go back and paint this one again, I would get even bolder with my colors and dark tones, eliminate the awkward, dark horizontal stroke at the bottom, and get just a bit more detailed with the grass.

Photo realism was fun, but it was a little rough going from the new found freedom with water color, back to such a tight method. It was pretty close to my comfort zone though, as I often like to try to be a copying machine more so than the interpretive artist. I learned how to successfully tighten up water color with this piece.

To improve this one, I would probably make the water droplets a tad more contrasty, and I might make the bottom of the bottle more blue than green, but I am pleased with it over all.

This is a memory portrait of my dad, developed from two sets of sketches. I chose to use green accents because of the depth and intrigue they create, and because I could take as much artistic license as I wanted with this piece. I also tried out scribbly line as value, which I haven't done much at all in the past. I still tried to be directional with the line work. I think it turned out pretty well, and it works to create more of a wrinkled face texture. First, I did a gesso/matte/water layer, then the line drawing, then water color. Though I chose one particular sketch to follow through on with style, I referenced all of my sketches to choose the features that would best represent my dad.

To improve this painting, I would eliminate a lot of the outer contour lines, it looks a bit cartoony for what I was going for. Also, I would have liked to have pushed the colors a little further, making it more dramatic and stylized. I also would have been more intentional about what happened in the outer edges, where I laid down less primer and the paint stuck better.

Here is my final DMV comic, scanned in and colored with Photoshop. I learned to complete my drawing lines before scanning, because selecting an area becomes difficult when shapes are incomplete. I enjoyed figuring out how to color it, and I got inventive in coloring the highlights in their hair. I generally just did 2 colors (a medium tone and a shadow) for each area, but I used a third for hair highlights. I used gradients to create depth. The characters are fun, I think, but I would make them more exaggerated if I did this project again. Also, my favorite character would not be the second character in line... I might also make the characters in the background a darker gray.

This is the gouache 3-image montage. With this painting I used my feather brush for the first time, on the tree. I think it turned out well. I also enjoyed making water drop marks in the sky/water areas. I thought the goldfish turned out pretty well, but I think he could be more vibrant, he should have some turquoise accents, and his eye could be better. I am fairly happy with the person, but the arms should have more detail and darker tones, and the neck is so dark that there is hardly any information in the shadows. I also want more turquoise in the arms. The painting is actually very close to the marker comp. In printing the final, I learned more about how printers don't print what you have on the screen. I had Photoshopped the scan to where it looked almost identical on screen, but the print was too dark, contrasty and magenta. It should be better next time, but overall, I'm happy with it.

3 image gouache montage final

Here it is, the final. Finally. Except now we have to do another final... But anyhow, with this painting I finally used my feather brush for the first time, on the tree. I think it turned out well. I also enjoyed making water drop marks in the sky/water areas. I thought the goldfish turned out pretty well, but I suppose he could be significantly better, maybe more detail, his eye isn't the greatest. He should also have a few turquoise accents. I am happy with the majority of the screaming person, but the arms should have more detail and darker tones, and the neck is so dark that there is hardly any information in the shadows. I also want more turquoise in the arms. The painting is actually very close to the marker comp. In printing the final, I learned more about how printers don't like to print what you have on the screen. I had Photoshopped the scan to where it looked almost identical on screen (this particular image does), but the print was too dark, contrasty and magenta. I guess it'll be better next time, but overall, I'm happy with the illustration itself.

yay research!

So I've decided to go with a cartoon style for my conversation illustration. I'm doing some research on facial expressions, because I want this one to be more stylized and expressive than my last cartoon.

I love the Ren & Stimpy sketches, because Ren is so expressive, his face just twists all over the place, and Stimpy can say several different things with just slight adjustments. Also, this joyful/sad pairing is kind of what I'm going for in my cartoon.

Very confident drawings, I think I will refer to the "shocked" and gleeful expressions for my drawing.

Good line work and fun exaggerated features.

I like the last face on this one for my horrified character, it's a pretty cool study I think.

This guy has the general look I want to go for in drawing my college age guy characters. I like the big nose.

Another good study of how you can say different things with slight variations. I like "Twitterpated" personally.

Conversation sketches continued...

Alright, these are the final sketches before the marker comp. For most of them, I continued with the focus on the two roommates, one proud of his work, the other horrified at the new decor. I wanted to incorporate tie-dye, psychedelic patterns, flowers, a peace sign, beads and/or a lava lamp. My favorites are the ones that incorporate almost all of those things, because it gets across how gaudy the room is, but Rusty liked the one that focused in on the faces, with a hint of what's wrong with the room (the one outlined in blue). I'll try to add a little more to it, like a lava lamp.

As far as style, I'm thinking cartoon would be a fun approach. I could get really animated with the facial expressions. I don't think I would want to do the coloring in photoshop, I'd rather address things like tie-dye in water color or something like that.

conversation stalker sketches: part deux

These are variations of my favorite from the last group. I think the idea is funny, I just need to present it from the best angle. I'm liking the second one, it shows the postures and interaction well, and you get to see the facial expressions, along with enough of the detail in the room to get why he's so horrified. Number 1 is also pretty good in that way, but the composition just isn't as good. Number 3 is a little too centered. Number 4 is harder to understand. So... I guess I'll develop number 2.

Conversation Stalker sketch

Alright, so the conversation tidbit is:

"Anyways, I turned your room into a tribute to the 60s hippie movement. It's got a shag carpet and a horribly distasteful bed throw."

And these are my initial sketches. I really like the last one, depicting the speaker proudly displaying the new room to its horrified inhabitant. The rest are just of the decorator working or admiring his work, not as interesting. More sketches to come.

Color comp for gouache montage

It's twice as big as everyone else's... oops. However, I don't know if the detail would have been as nice on the goldfish if it were smaller. For this one, I tried to incorporate the same turquoise accents in each of the figures, the same color in the fish's background. I thought this would help tie everything together. I'm still liking how the fish interacts with the branches, and I'm glad I decided not to fade the guy's arm out. It parallels the smaller tree well. I'm questioning the orientation of the picture a little bit, because during the walk-around, people would turn it upside down and leave it that way... I guess people assume that if a person is in a composition, he should be upright. But that would make the fish dead. So I think I'll keep it the way it is.

I just made an interesting connection... here's a collage I did for VisCom probably a couple of years ago. I hadn't even though about it until just now. Hm.

One more step to marker comping...

Here's my pencil drawing for the marker comp for the gouache painting. I am liking the composition, but I think I will choose not to fade the hands in favor of including the diagonal contour lines of the arms. I like all of the angles, and I think the detail on the fish will be nice. One of my favorite parts is the fish's mouth in conjunction with the splay of branches at the top of the tree. I think this collage could be more humorous than the UFO/redneck idea, everyone seems to perceive that it's about a man who is afraid of tree fish. I guess that works. :)

Collage Sketches

These are some of my preliminary sketches for the 10X14" gouache collage/montage. I was fond of the UFO idea for the humor aspect, but I couldn't really find a satisfactory photo. The second sketch had a theme, "Black Bottom Stomp", based on a dance inspired by a cow stuck in the mud and a dying tree.

These next sketches are the composition options for the final gouache painting. The first one will be developed further. Sorry about the wrinkles, they got lost in my bag...

Comic final!

Yay, it's done! I learned with this one to always complete my drawing lines before I scan the image, because selecting the area you want becomes difficult when the shape is incomplete. I really enjoyed coloring this in Photoshop, I generally just did 2 colors (a medium tone and a shadow) for each area, but for the hair, I also threw in a highlight color. I did a gradient on the desk, carpet and the wall to add depth. I still really enjoy the second character in line, gave him rosy cheeks. I do wonder if it would be better if the figures in the back weren't grey, but I didn't want to add any more detail to them (because that would take away from the foreground characters). I just noticed that the guy with paperwork looks like Conan O'Brien.

Comics

These next 3 are the second set of sketches for the DMV comic. They are studies of angle and character.

I ended up using the vendor guy from this sketch.

This is the angle I chose. I liked the guy with the straw in his mouth doing paperwork.

Actually, I chose the vendor guy from this sketch, mirrored.

Here's the final drawing. I thought about doing some line as value, but I wanted to try doing that on Photoshop, since that's not something I've done before. I am pretty happy with all of the characters, but I think my favorite is the second guy in line with the popcorn. He's just funny. Photoshop color will be the next entry.