Here’s a quick example of my pencils inked using mainly a Windsor & Newton Series 7 brush. The straight lines are penned with a Staedtler pigment liner 0.1. I use the finest pen points usually because I like a very thin line applied to most of my line work. After I’ve gone over the organic objects with the sable brush, I sparingly use the Hunt 102 crowquill to hash some half-toned areas where needed. I don’t like the hashing to over power the brush strokes too much, plus it’s an extra step with another tool that can slow you down if it gets too involving.
More of the roster for this short story will be reveal next week!
At first thought, having video game characters exist outside their original format can be a challenging aesthetic. Few game-to-comic book conversions have had substantial success, and even fewer in the movie department. There is something about the engaging experience of a video game that differs itself from literature or film, and whether its Pac-Man simple or Mass Effect complex, the story isn’t really what you bought the game for. I think the keyword is “experience“, and that’s the functioning element that separates it from all other art forms. The ability to literally give the control of the main character in the hands of spectator. Based on that aesthetic, you get a very subjective opinion as to how a game’s narrative counter part (whether book, comic, or film version) should truly be realized.
Many of the iconic video game characters that are popular in gaming culture come from very minuscule story origins. In a sense, it’s because the experience of playing IS the story. If the currency in words is $1000 per picture, how much is it for a picture you can manipulate? Oddly still, fans everywhere desire the movie version of all their favorite sprites. Maybe because story-telling is the most dominate art form in our history, and we can’t help but want to see The Legend of Zelda hit the big screen or at the very least, a decent Resident Evil movie.
My next project is another experimental attempt to narrate the “experience”. Fan fiction can be one of the most challenging things to do in the free art world (other than doing it for free) but I’m hoping the fans will get a kick out of reading it. Stay tuned for more.
Avengers week is finally here! It’s a little hard to believe we’re finally going to see a Superhero flix where multiple heroes join forces. It’s also one of those things where I’m hoping the action is done well since the stakes are going to be raised higher, along with the anticipation. Does anyone remember that all CG action short they did a couple of years back? They wet our appetite with this one:
Again, I can’t stress how picky I’m going to be about the action. People still think that an action sequence is just icing on the cake, but I’m a firm believer that if you take the action sequence seriously, it can really give the audience a strong concept of space & functionality, along with illustrating the intelligence of the characters. Ultimately, better dynamics can improve your story on all fronts. We shall see…
After a lengthy haitus, I’m back to the old drawing board and there is an abundant of new art work that I’ll be posting regularly on my site. I took some time to exercise my writing skills as well, but it’s important to exercise regularly so I’ll have some supplementary posts that should be more thought driven. Do you really want to know what goes on in my head? I hope not… But for entertainment’s sake, the fantasies will be rendered and the drama will ensue!
By way of channeling my addiction, I’ve decided to plan some character Head-shot pinups for Marvel vs. Capcom 3. I’m taking inspiration from various elements, but the goal in mind is to convey the characters as bigger-than-life, battle torn, and more importantly, dramatic. At this stage they’re just thumb sketches, but it’s important to get an aesthetic and mood early in development– this makes executing each individual piece more efficiently.
Last month I had a brief but rigorous encounter with film production. Initially I was brought on a short film project as a storyboard artist, but as things evolved, I found myself sitting in the director’s seat. It was a warping experience. The translation of script and pre-production imagery to actually capturing it on film is a heavy process (to say the least). The beginning storyboards were based off an early draft of the script, but inevitably some elements changed and the end result turned out very different. But I compiled them anyways and uploaded the intro sequence via Youtube. Check it here:
There is an element in illustration that is taken for granted when it comes to professional art, and that is the ability to perceptually render characters in their allotted space, accurately. Whether it’s an isometric view of a room, or a tight-shot on a character from the chest-up, one must possess the ability to separate the background at an appropriate distance– all done by using your own eyes to perceive this depth on a two dimensional page.
These storyboard sketches are from frame grabs that I pulled in sequence from a specific scene. Each frame is approximately 3” X 2” (thumbnails) and I scroll through each one and spend about five minutes sketching out the main elements that make up the image. This exercise is an effective way to feel the depth and distancing from background to foreground using your eyes and not having to rely too heavily on perspective plotting and rulers. Let’s face it, not every shot (especially tight-shots or over-the-shoulders) are going to be measurable on the page with perspective points. But it’s important that drawing from the photo is approached three-dimensionally, so that you translate the spatial elements the same way if you had created the image straight from your head. For example, do not get caught up in measuring the distance from the top of a head to the top of the panel frame.
This exercise is also useful in learning better lighting techniques. I will quickly jot in general shadow areas and lighting directions to get a better feel for the cinematography. I also should have a better grasp on the cinematic language as deconstructing these scenes will give me better clues as to how they work.
Scene referencing from the 2007 film ‘Funny Games’, directed by Michael Haneke.
Finally got around to finishing up the color work on this cover idea. Things were progressing on a timely schedule until the background came into play–then I practically hit a wall. It wasn’t so much a technical problem, I just started to loose faith in my original composition, so I began to mess with different versions of how to end the piece. Ironically, I came back to my original concept, which I think worked out OK in the end.
I’m also happy with how close the final illustration is to the original pencil work. Although I had photo referenced models (thank you Steph & Matt!) I used the photos to basically superimpose the lighting scheme to my own faces and figures. I hope the piece has more of a traditional comic book look, rather than an ultra-realistic one.
Thanks again to my Philly cats for being such great models!
Here’s a quick example of my pencils inked using mainly a Windsor & Newton Series 7 brush. The straight lines are penned with a Staedtler pigment liner 0.1. I use the finest pen points usually because I like a very thin line applied to most of my line work. After I’ve gone over the organic objects with the sable brush, I sparingly use the Hunt 102 crowquill to hash some half-toned areas where needed. I don’t like the hashing to over power the brush strokes too much, plus it’s an extra step with another tool that can slow you down if it gets too involving.
