Emmett and Faery Children Sketches

Finished up this sketch I did of non-movie version of Emmett Cullen in graphite on vellum.

Just some sketchbook doodles scanned in and then toned and highlighted in Photoshop. Playing around with slightly exaggerated anatomy of children to adapt into faeries.

The Holidays Cometh

Countdown to Halloween. Beware The Flash and other super heroes.

Note to stores: How about giving Halloween and Thanksgiving their dues BEFORE blasting us with Christmas?

Back Home

We've been in Michigan for over a week visiting our daughter and family. The weather didn't exactly cooperate with our plans to see the sites but when there was a break in the rain, we bundled up and went outside and took in the fall leaves. My photos fail to capture nature's vibrant colors. It didn't help that the sun was rarely shining but this park near the Grand river was magical. We saw deer and chipmunks and heard alot of bird calls. My daughter says there are usually wild turkeys lurking in the forest. (O and I did have to run to escape from a big, bad troll who looked alot like Grandpa when we crossed over the bridge). It's good to be back but why is it, wherever you live, you are missing someone?

Website Finally Updated

I don't know why updating my website is such a time-consuming process. Perhaps it's having too many options. All that decision making. This was one of my IMC goals made back in June. My hope now is to finish several personal pieces that are so close to completion before Christmas and update my website each month.

I heard a quote on the radio the other day: "There is nothing more restrictive than unmet potential". I feel a sense of freedom when I accomplish one of my artistic goals, especially when it's something I've struggled with. Whew! One down....100 more to go.

One More Try

I'm sure this image is getting a tad tiresome, but I wanted to try one more technique I learned this summer. It's from Greg Swearingen. He and his wife, Hala Wittwer spent some time teaching me their methods before they headed to Cal State Fullerton, where Hala has been hired as an instructor after completing her MFA. Basically, both shorten their process by painting on top of a colored print of the image. The print isn't too detailed. Just the basic colors. After wet stretching the paper and stapling it down on a board, Greg then uses thin washes of acrylic in combination with colored pencils to create his highly detailed pieces. He slowly builds up the form this way. Often he reserves the colored pencil for just the highlights. He uses the Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper. I've had better luck with the lighter weight Lanaquarelle. This method really cuts down on the colored pencil layers. A big time saver.

Experiment Concluded

Well, the more I looked at those hard edges, the more I didn't like them. I also discovered that the three layers of fixative prevented my colored pencils from fully grabbing the vellum. SO, I decided to stop and repeat the last two steps. This time I printed a sepia toned copy of my original scanned sketch on to the vellum. Very pleased with the results. Also, after looking at some firefly reference photos, I realized that they give off a yellowish-green glow; not an orange-yellow one. Duh! I've never seen one in person. Also, I didn't fix the printed side since my printer uses water-resistant archival inks. Made all the difference. The vellum received the colored pencils beautifully. After playing around with some colors, I realized that my original concept was way too day-lightish. I went with a much more moonlit look and prefer it, although it's not as vibrant.

So, with this experiment concluded....would I use it again? Not sure. While I do love the luminosity, that's achievable with other mediums. The one thing Sergio doesn't reveal in his article is what he uses on the final to back it. I imagine any solid white paper would work. The vellum alone is way too fragile. Of course, under Sergio's masterful hands, this technique produces distinctively glowing illustrations. I can't possibly expect to achieve the same results without his skills and experience.

I am most grateful to artists who are willing to share their process. People like James Gurney, Dan Dos Santos, Donato Giancola, and many others who open the door to their studios and their techniques probably underestimate their value to artist-wanna-be's like myself. It is so helpful. I think with one exception, every artist I've emailed has replied and generously imparted information to me. There are other lesser known artists I follow who post their works in progress and I always gain new knowledge watching them work. My hope is that this meager experiment has been helpful to someone out there. I know I've learned alot. Thanks Sergio!

Blending Colors

Okay...this was tricky. You have to use just the right amount of Turpenoid on your paper towel or you completely wipe off your pigment. Sergio says to use 5 drops. Lacking an eyedropper, I had to experiment and ended up using my fingers to blend more than the cloth. Another thing. I got interrupted and had to come back to lift out the color on the lightest areas and discovered the pigment had "set" into the paper. I'm hoping I can lighten things up on the other side using the colored pencils he recommends. I am pleased with the vibrancy of the pigments, though, be warned, they do dull after they dry. Now...to carefully remove the tape and turn it to the right side. Fingers crossed.

The above image is the picture, right-side up. Not sure what I think of the hard charcoal edges. I think I should have used the lighter ochre pencil through out. Um. Yeah...those lines are way too harsh. Well, this is an experiment, right?? Let's see now....next, we use colored pencils on this side to emphasize the highlights and darken the shadows. Until tomorrow...