Pieces

 

Something a bit different.  A few pieces of larger images that I can't quite show all of.  Soon though. Soon.  More MTG sample work in the next post.

Coast 2 Coast

A drama in four parts...

Although I was born well after Space Ghost's debut, I always remember watching the reruns on Cartoon Network as a kid, before it got rehashed into Coast 2 Coast.  Good times.  And these are actually oldies from last spring.  I was bored and wanted to fiddle with watercolors, and Space Ghost and Zorak in a throwdown just felt like the thing to do.  

All are fairly small, nothing over the 9 x 12 range.  Quick pencil sketch, soak the whole page, drop in lots of pigment and then throw some ink down with fat nibs and a brush.  I certainly don't consider myself a watercolorist in any sense, but these were a lot of fun.

Seems Appropriate...

Shhhhhhh-kuuuuuh...

A little more labored than Kenobi, and at times I feel like it may have bordered on clumsy...probably because I forgot that this is just an EXERCISE.  Something one does to get better, or stay fit, not something one does to create a masterpiece.  Though I think I like it now a little more than I initially did...

I suppose one should never underestimate the power of the Dark Side...

Alright, enough Geekery, the shiny black was interesting to paint, especially since I don't use black paint, and it was fun to splash a bunch of hot red around as well.

Another couple of hours in oils.  Any feedback is always welcome.

"This is not the painting you're looking for..."

Because even after 33 years, Alec Guinness is still Bad A.

Greg Manchess, who is the man, created a painting of C3PO for Spectrum 16 that is absolutely amazing and got me jazzed to splash some paint around in a distinctly Star Wars manner.  Donato Giancola, who is also the man, had a great bit of advice about painting from a photo:  approach it as though you are painting from life and you have a model who is really good at holding long poses.  That proved useful here, picking and choosing what to include, determining what was important and how to show it, and in general not being a slave to the photo but working "with" it.

Also, I'll be damned if he didn't just post a painting he did of Old Ben Kenobi as well.  Awesome, just awesome.  And I've got a long ways to go.  Goes without saying, though I'll say it anyway, that I'm incredibly excited about being able to study under these two masters this summer.

Oils and around two hours or so of sloshing some fat juicy paint around.

Edit:  New photo, slightly better light.  At least there's much better contrast in the top half of the image.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

My Art I students had to create a drawing that used symmetry and pattern for their final this marking term.  I figured I would play along as well via a way too elaborate doodle.

Swampthing, with antlers...and stars.

So...Swampthing...kinda.

Color Pencil and more time than I probably should have spent on it.  But it was good fun and a nice break from more structured things.

Fiddlin' with FX

The finish.

The reference.

Wanted to try my hand at painting a tricky lighting effect without resorting to tricky painting effects.  Was hoping to bang this little exercise out in about an hour, but it ended up taking two.  Just laying down strokes of color and value, I'm of a strong belief that most things can be shown in that manner.  Could've played up the pinks around the central bolt a bit more for the true "glow" effect.  The hues trended a bit more towards the yellows and oranges, particularly in the tree.  Probably a subconscious move towards complements.  Oils.