I’m constantly trying to make that program work for me in a digital inking mode. Maybe if I had a Cintiq or ModPod instead of my little 6×4 graphire the lines wouldn’t wiggle so much.
It’s kind of a Catch-22: If you want line fidelity you suffer the possibility of wiggly lines, but if you lower the fidelity Illustrator decides how your lines should look.
Anyway, my son looked at this and said he liked the reference photo better. I started playing with color and violá—daughter of Lou Ferrigno.
This began as an idea for a vector illustration, but I began messing about in Photoshop and had a good time working the initial pencil sketch into a digital painting.
I included some manipulated scans to create texture, but mostly it’s brush strokes and the dodge and burn tool.
I like the arrangement of the hen’s eyes as they imagine what will happen next. I also like the last minute lighting effects that focus the image onto the fox, as well as the red-ish reflection of the fox fur on the floor and woodwork. It may not be completely realistic, but I liked that it implied his complete invasion of the cozy henhouse
I started a little pen sketch of a bird based on a bird encyclopedia. After I finished it I decided to add some silhouetted foliage with a Sharpie. Then it was into Photoshop to mess around and see what I could add to the piece digitally.
Here’s another of those empty-word balloon sequentials. I found this partially inked in one of my sketchbooks and hastily finished it, adding the last panel for closure. The maroon, cream and white color scheme was a little more interesting than the black and white art, especially since the inking was less than stellar (I probably can’t blame that solely on the rush work).
Rather than focus on what I think is not working technique and construction-wise, I will say that I like the study in contrast of the two characters: dark and light, serious and comic, wine and whiskey, deliberating and impulsive.
One thing I admire about animators is their skill at conveying emotional nuance in the face and posture of their characters. I think the blond guy has some of that “inner world” going on in his expression and bearing. Baby Steps.
I was playing around in Illustrator following along on one of Von Glitschka’s excellent tutorials. I began with the eye and let it evolve from there.
This began as a rough/unfinished pencil sketch. I decided it was a perfect opportunity to practice digital inking in Illustrator. I used the brush tool (using some custom brushes I made) and the pencil tool to fill in the black areas.
The benefits of digital media lay in flexibility and the options. The downside for me is the time and lack of tactile component in the creation of the art. Even with my Wacom tablet the lines don’t always translate. Slight changes in direction can be exaggerated with the vector brush strokes since I have the smoothness and fidelity sliders all the way to the left.
Overall though, I’m happy with this foray. Although I’m not controlling the artificial tapers of the brush strokes perfectly, this is mostly due to my limited technique with brushes in the analog world. I can only improve. . .
I had this idea while at work. Sometimes I have difficulty placing my “mental camera” to construct a scene. I thought of my house and envisioned a view of my hallway. I sketched a rough composition and I really liked the simplicity of shape. What’s really interesting is how our perceptions cause us to see space and object proximity even with a minimum of input. Shapes suggesting a common vanishing point create a hallway.
I took this idea into Illustrator, added some texture, dropped it into Photoshop and added some more texture and lighting effects. It’s more rendered than I was thinking, but I wanted to do it quickly and manually painting the shapes would have taken too long. I have a copy of the Art of the Incredibles and I really like Lou Romano’s color studies for the scenes. The texture and energy are not in my “scene” but it’s something to shoot for.
Pastels next time?
