here it is my "imaginary readership", the final picture. went through a few flower designs before committing to this look. it's a little different from the line drawing stage but hey, it's a personal piece so i can change my mind :)
overall, i'm happy with the image. it's simple but i hope has a sense of fun and glee. hope you enjoy it.
(you can click on the image for a larger view of this picture)
when last we visited this particular picture, it basically had one tone on it. in that time, i have gone ahead and added the sky element and painted in my little girl. she is pretty much as she is going to be color-wise. i will probably just go in and tighten up some detailed areas in brush and ink. the same goes for the field of flowers. in fact you can just make out the pencil drawing in the upper right corner. my plan is to just ink the flowers as well as to just draw in the background people in ink. the idea is to just concentrate color on my little girl, to make her the first, immediate read.
(click on the image to see a larger version of this stage)
last week i went over to the getty museum to view an exhibit called "zoopsia".
for those not familiar with the getty, it is a huge, white marble structure that sits perched on a hillside beside the famed, constantly congested 405 freeway here in l.a. admission to the getty is free. one only has to pay for parking which currently runs at $8. view the getty website here:
i had noticed some banners along several l.a. streets featuring what looked like an octopus' tentacle. it wasn't until a friend mentioned wanting to see the show "zoopsia" that i put 2 and 2 together. (there's probably a joke to be made here at my expense. either of how dense i can be or how i have the deductive skills of a sherlock holmes...i'll leave that up to others :)
though the exhibit is small in size, 4 to 5 items, each piece is fascinating to look at. on the surface, one has an impression of what they are looking at, be it a prehistoric dinosaur skeleton or a flying bat, but if you take a closer look, you'll notice that things aren't what they seem. i won't spill the beans here, except to say that radio shack bags have never been put to better use, but it's certainly a nice little exhibit to look upon.
and wait till you see what the suction cups on the octopus' tentacles are created from...
not much to look at, but these are the steps, folks :)
my plan is to draw in the flowers in ink, so i'm laying in a general foundation of color for the field. this is the tricky part for me- finding the right color, the proper tone for the piece. it means a lot to me. i've scrapped paintings and started over cause i didn't get the right tone. it's all about the feel and mood.
but i'm happy thus far and am proceeding onward.
next up- sky and people.
(you can click on the image to see a larger version of this stage)
here is a feature that i hope to start and maintain.
(of course, what is the old saying about "best laid plans...")
anyways, i have a picture that i'm getting started on, and i thought it would be a fun thing to display the image in it's various working stages.
as in, here is the "inspirational" thumbnail,
the character designs,
and the refined, final-"ish" drawing before it actually goes to board.
so my hope, in a future post, is to display the image in progress as i paint it.
that's if i remember to stop and do a scan. (:/
that's the tricky part. once i get into a piece i forget about other things.
but let's see how this goes...
(by the way, you can click on each individual picture above to view a larger image.)
well, i suppose since i am starting this blog/portfolio site, i should give a little background into who i am. you can read a little about myself on the "About" page, but, as i'm sure you will see, it's a bit tongue in cheek. in fact that's the first thing one will take note of yours truly, i try not to take myself too seriously. not that i can't be serious when serious needs being. or responsible. or diligent in my work. (by the way, that's a note to any art directors or editors who might be reading this. he does his work and gets it done in a timely fashion :)
but, yeah, i like to keep things light.
another thing one might not pick up from reading me- i'm a shy guy. if you meet me for the first time, don't expect a lot of jokes or funny noises. at least not until i'm a little more comfortable around you. that's the funny thing about blogs, one can escape one's own sense of being. we don't have to be exactly who we are. we can be a little freer in our personality. which is actually nice. it's a good outlet. especially for me.
"so why does he do all the kid's art?"
good question. as whitney houston (pre- bobby brown era) once sang, "the children are our future. teach them well and let them lead the way..." i'm not saying that song changed the course of my artistic life, but it sums it up pretty succinctly.
late in the 80's, i was working in a retail bookstore and had to clean up the children's section. i'm sure most of you will understand, this area falls apart pretty easily and quickly. as i went about straightening up the section, i came across a copy of william joyce's "george shrinks". wow, what a pretty book. the illustrations were vibrant, the story was charming and i thought the plot had a clever device. the story is a reading of a note from george's parent to take care of some chores and his brother while they were out. but the perspective from which it is illustrated gives it a whole new, and exciting meaning. i was hooked and found a medium that i wanted to play in. namely, to one day put out a children's book of my own. i figured, if this book brought me a little joy, i'd like to pass that experience down to another generation.
of course that was, oh, about 17 years ago.
well, a lot of this and that has happened, but i've probably spent the last 5 years working towards this goal.
so someday, someday i hope to tell you all about a book i'm going to publish.
it's a small world after all.
hello and welcome to my redesigned website.
as you may have guessed, it also serves as a blog as well. i went to this format mainly because i learned of how easy it was to upload and swap out images on this particular blog host. (it's all about convenience, baby!)
still, i figured, if i have a forum that is a blog, then occasionally i should have something to say...o.k. well, maybe not this minute...but i hope to have something to say...maybe later.
but it won't strictly be about words, cause that's not necessarily my forte. i do hope to put up sketches of projects that i'm working on. things that i wouldn't necessarily display on the ol' portfolio page. so what i may lack in verbiage, i hope to make up in pictures. as they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words".
thanks for visiting. i hope you come around again and often.
k
