Art Philosophy - The Power of Black and White Shapes

Shape is one of the basic Elements of Art. Line is little more than an elongated shape. It's amazing how one can place a few shapes together and create a powerful and emotionally stirring image, especially when one is limited to only two colors -- black and white.

The illustration above is from an upcoming page in the ongoing Wandering Koala eSerial. When I finished drawing this with a Japanese brush pen and a Sharpie marker, I was amazed at how well the emotion was conveyed without color. Color is a very powerful element and by far the most effective to convey emotion. I wasn't sure the black & white shapes would be sufficient, but they were. The zoomed in composition helped to turn the hair and facial features into shapes so the design dominated which also helped greatly.

What do you think?

Putting It All Together

 

I've been working on a new style for my characters and a new style for backgrounds. I finally put the two together and came up with this. It was inspired by a trip to the grocery store this week. It was about 40 degrees. I noticed a little old lady all bundled up walking out of the store and a young guy in a t-shirt and shorts behind her. The contrast made me laugh. Temperature is definitely relative.

Let me know what you think.

Art Philosophy: The Next Morning

 

I'm always amazed at what a fresh perspective can do.  Often I'll finish a work of art and think it either looks great or terrible, and the next morning I'll wake up and look at the same work and think just the opposite. I'm sure the art didn't change (although art gremlins sneaking into my computer and altering my illustrations would explain a lot). The illustration above is just such a case.

I'm finishing up the latest issue of Wandering Koala Digest and have everything ready except the cover, and the cover is probably the most important part, because it is what will catch the readers' attention or wave them off and away. The image above is my first attempt. I thought it looked pretty good last night when I went to bed, but this morning it's disappointing. The drawing is nice. The composition works. The colors are unique. But it doesn't seem catchy and inciting enough. Which means I need to come up with a second version. And it also makes me glad I didn't rush out and publish the work without taking a second look at the cover.

I remember in art school how one of my instructors told me he would set up a painting at the end of the room so he'd see it first thing every morning for several days. This allowed him to see the work with fresh eyes and catch things he missed initially but those looking at it later would catch. It's a good technique and practice, although a bit of a luxury in the commercial art world were work is literally being pumped out with tight deadlines.

Raw Umber: World War I and Veterans Day

It's funny. In grade school whenever a holiday came around we would spend time discussing it, its origins, how to celebrate it, and many times read a book or listen to a story.

But we never did for Veterans Day.

Never.

In fact, I don't think I really even had heard of Veterans Day or knew what it was until I worked at an evil bank in Arizona. It was one of those "banking holidays" we got off for but no one else did.

I was curious; why is there a Veterans Day and a Memorial Day? What was the difference? Why do we have both? I love Memorial Day, so why didn't I celebrate Veterans Day?

I learned Veterans Day was established for World War I, once called the Great War but now is largely a forgotten war because of the second World War. Being a fan of Silent Films and Pulp Fiction, I've recently been learning a lot about World War I, because that was the Great War constantly referred to in both. I've also recently realized who the Red Baron Snoopy is always chasing in Peanuts is. The movie Flyboys is one of the few modern movies about that era. It's a great flick to catch if you get the chance.

So I've decided to celebrate Veterans Day, and I'm starting with this illustration in my new Raw Umber style (previously called Burnt Umber) named after a beautiful color I use for yellow in my watercolors. I drew it with a 2B Staedlter pencil, then inked it with a Pigma Brush Pen and Zip Writer felt-tipped marker. I scanned it with a Canoscan Lide and digitally toned it in Adobe Photoshop CS. Then a layer of tinting and wallah! The masterpiece is finished and online for all to enjoy. It is the second illustration in this style, and I am very pleased with it.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Character Sketches: A Boxer Contemplating

So I've been sketching again, and this time I did something I hadn't done before. It's funny, I hate boxing, and I hate watching it, but I do enjoy movies about it and art about it. I'm not sure why.

This was drawn with a Staedtler 2B pencil, inked with a Zig calligraphy pen, and colored in Corel Painter X. I was really pleased with how it turned out. The words are because I'm testing out a font and a style for my next graphic novel which should be out in a month or so.

Let me know what you think!

Illustrated Stories

When I was young, I loved illustrated storybooks. I think most people did. You could just read it without the pictures, or just follow the pictures to get the story. Or you could read it with both and have the story fuller, because they compliment each other.

As I got older, I noticed books had fewer and fewer pictures. I always wondered why no one created illustrated novels for adults. Graphic novels are close, but I think we can do better. I love great stories and great art--why not combine them? We do in movies. I have found one example, the three part mini-series Elektra/Wolverine: The Redeemer by Greg Rucka, and it was excellent. Unfortunately, it never caught on.

I also planned on creating an illustrated novel/story someday. Well, that day has arrive. I've written the story, and now I am preparing the illustrations. Here is the first one as a sneak peek for you all. Let me know what you think. I'm planning on black & white interiors, because 1) I love black & white art and 2) they reproduce well on paper and as an ebook.

I'm planning on publishing this story as an ebook at first. Once I have several illustrated short stories (I'm trying to come up with a good name for it--let me know if you have any ideas) I'll publish them as a paperback like I have my novel, The Scientific Method (a Wandering Koala tale). This short story is part of that series.