Illustration - Emotions and Telling a Story

What Mischief Can I Get Into Tonight?

One aspect I've noticed in really great illustration is the effective use of emotion and the skillful communication of it. So often I see illustrations where the figures in it have a blank stare or a generic look. Other times I see where there is emotion, but it doesn't really fit or make sense with the rest of the composition. And there are illustrations where I've seen the artist try for something with limited success.

Nothing is more impressive than an illustration that seems to come to life and jump off the page and make the viewer feel something, but to do this successfully, one must be conscious of two major considerations.

First, the artist needs to figure out what emotion should be conveyed. It doesn't matter how skillful his execution if the thing he's going for doesn't fit. Well rendered mistakes, no matter how skillfully done, are still mistakes. Decide the overall message of the work. What are you trying to say? Then consider the viewer, because communication is a two-way street that requires effort from both the communicator and the communicatee. Who is going to view it? Why are they viewing it? Where will they view it? What will they be thinking and feeling when they encounter the work? What do you want the viewer to think and feel when they see it?

Second, decide how you will communicate that emotion. It has been said that the eyes are the doorways into the soul, and that is true. You can see so much in someone's eyes. The face is also a powerful communicator. There's a reason why in person communication is so much more effective than merely talking over a phone or through words. The facial expressions say so much. Many artists are very good at creating great facial expressions, but they forget people also use the rest of the body to communicate. Consider the gesture of the body. A happy person stands/sits/walks differently than a depressed person. Have you ever seen a person from a distance and could identify how they were feeling even though you were too far away to see his face? Or how about knowing without doubt how a person is feeling from just his silhouette? Body language is a subtle but powerful form of communication, and one that elevates a work once mastered. But don't rely on figure alone. The rest of the work can also contribute to the message with color and form. You may want to continue the emotion to the edges of the canvas, or you may choose to show a completely different emotion as a foil to create contrast with the main figure or figures. Again, consider the message and audience and ask yourself what will relay your message most effectively.

Of course, all this assumes you have a message to communicate. Some people just like to draw pretty pictures, and there's nothing wrong with that.

In the illustration above, I've decided to show a witch at the beginning of her mischievious night. The figure is in a ponderous mood reflected by the body position, facial expression, and eyes. The environment is also in a someone static and indecisive pose. I drew this with my new Copic pencil (an AMAZING new tool!), inked it with a Chinese bamboo brush dipped in sumi ink, and colored it in Corel Painter 12.

Let me know what you think!

To Color, or Not to Color -- THAT is the Real Question

In the late 19th Century thru the early 20th Century, printing technology was developing rapidly. In England, printing advanced more quickly than in the US which led to the rise of the Illustrated Children's Book with charming stories and magnificent illustrations. Color soon followed making the children's books even more wondrous. Maybe you've heard of Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit, the Wind in the Willows, or the Wizard of Oz? All of these "classics" were made possible by printing technology and brilliant craftsman on the illustrator's part of make the most of the day's technology. The usual method was to draw the illustration with a black line, then carve that into a plate and add color shapes on a separate pass. Eventually the technology reached the point where the illustrator could create the entire image in color and then reproduce it.

Of course, this wasn't the beginning of creating an image with a black line and then coloring it in. Early Christian and Muslim illuminated texts from the first few centuries AD used this method. And before that, artists used this method to record their hunts on cave walls. Today the method is popular with cartoons, comics, graphic novels, and digital illustration. The term 'cartoon' actually referred to the outline created by Renaissance artists creating frescos who first sketched the image with a pencil before applying watercolors over it covering up the sketch. But they didn't invent the method, just coined a cool word from it.

I've always enjoyed black line work colored in. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because that's what I've grown up with. Maybe it's because a black line clearly defines an object. Maybe I just like abstraction. Who knows? But it's something I've never been able to get away from, even during my watering color days when I tried for a more photorealistic approach. There were times I'd take a 'finished' watercolor (as if any work of art is ever finished), and add black lines around the figures with a paintbrush.

The above illustration is a black and white line drawing that I've colored in Corel Painter. The line work is below. I really like the black & white version, but I'm also digging the colored version. You'll notice I added a lot more texture and lighting effects than usual to give it a more painterly feel and modern finish.

Which do you like better? Leave a comment and let me know.

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Character Sketch: The Prince of Egypt

So I've gone back to traditional illustration techniques for this character sketch. I really like the brushwork and how the black & white version turned out. The color version seemed to lose some of the magic. I really like how the background was created with two colors and the base of the lion/sphinx is shapes and gradients. I like the pose and the colors, but there is still something missing.

As for the subject matter, I've always loved all things ancient Egypt. I'm not sure why. It just has a mystery that draws me to it. It's been a decade since I've done anything with it, so I thought it was about time. Let me know what you think.

exotica: A Spoiled Sultan

Years ago I had an idea for series of illustrations where I would design them using musical beats and rhythms, a limited color palette, and animals with their textures throughout. I named it exotica, a word I heard in school when describing unique imports from other countries in the old days when shipping was still done by wooden ships. I completed three illustrations. While the layouts and coloring were cool, the line work was terrible, the anatomy and positioning of the figures needed work, the materials I used resulted in an amateurish finish, and there were a few other problems. I still thought the concept was a great idea, and I always intended to pick it up again.

Recently I completed a series of pulp team ups with my character Wandering Koala and was a little disappointed with how they turned out. I thought they could be better. So I asked myself, "Self, what could you do to improve your illustrating?" I thought giving exotica another go would help.

I love the work of Edmund Dulac. He was a victorian children's book illustrator from the turn of the century (early 20th, not 21st) who painted a lot of oriental scenes (Arabian Nights, Chinese tales, and much, much more). I love his sense of color, design, and the way he designed his figures. I've also always loved the Arabian Nights and things like it,  so I decided to try a scene in that spirit. I laid it out with a Staedtler 2B pencil and inked it with a brush and sumi ink. I thought about coloring it, but it worked so well in black & white I decided to leave it. I love black & white artwork, but so often I get nervous and color it. I need to be braver and just leave the line work.

Let me know what you think. The drawing and design are much stronger than my recent illustrations, but I've still got more work to do. Check back often to see what I come up with next!

Teamwork in Fiction

After I finished my latest comic, Wandering Koala uncovers the Sixth Figure, an exciting murder mystery, I wanted to do something really different. the Sixth Figure was very stylized in a comic book format. It is visually exciting and a great deal of fun to do, but it's not what I enjoy doing most. My very favorite art work to do is a one-page, full color illustration that tells a story. I've also wanted to do a team up with Wandering Koala and another character for a while. But who to choose? Jak Phoenix, of course!

Jak Phoenix is an exciting space opera created by Matt D. Williams in his debut science fiction novel. The sequel, The Markazian Deception, is due this spring. I really enjoyed the first novel, and am looking forward to the second which made me wonder what would happen if the Wandering Koala somehow made it into space and met up with this indifferent adventurer. I usually keep my character in this world with situations that could and do happen in everyday life except for one fantastic element. But I also made sure to give Kyle several magical tools so his world was open to anything. So it is possible for the two to meet.

I laid out the illustration with a Staedtler 2B pencil, penciled it with a Sharpwriter mechanical pencil, inked it with a paint brush and sumi ink, then colored it in Adobe Photoshop CS. I was really pleased with the result.

Plan on seeing more one-page illustrations, both black & white and color. I'm currently writing a science fiction short story, but after than it's another illustrated novella like The Caveman Conspiracy!

Let me know what you think of this latest illustration.

An Old Seafood Joint

So it's been awhile since I last posted. What have I been up to? you are probably asking yourself. I've been commissioned to illustrate a children's book for a guy in Texas. He liked my "Robots" (it's one of my favorites too), and he wanted his book illustrated in that style which I was only too glad to do. I've passed the thirdway mark and am moving towards the halfway point.

This is a two-page spread from it. I used a Pigma Brush and Painter X (plus a Stanford Pencil and a Sakura eraser). I'm really pleased with how the book is turning out. It's definitely some of my best work. What do you think?