Keeping afloat...

More creative troubles brewing on the horizon... striving to stay positive.
I suppose that I can't agonize over things I cannot directly control... just need to roll with it and try to turn it all into a learning experience.

Still... some good news for a change would certainly be welcome.

Some sketches from last weeks session at SVA... great model (and, as it turns out, a talented & prolific street artist to boot).  Some various drawings... 3 to 15 minutes.

Shitstorm

Some unforeseen delays and mishaps have my graphic novel publication in a potentially permanent stall... so I'm trying to keep distracted as to not fall into despair creatively.

Infuriating as all this is, perhaps it will galvanize me into artistic action...

Here's hoping...

In the meantime, here's some 10 and 15 minute sketches from a recent male model at SVA... along with a quick 3 minute sketch of gal from last week.

Reinvention...

A good day, all in all...

Spoke with a few talented young artists at The Art Students League this afternoon before the SVA Alumnus Drawing class...

I went for a few supplies and odds and ends... and got an earful of fresh insight. With all my recent isolation trying to finish my graphic novel project, I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to learn how others see you from the outside... very enlightening. I am truly grateful for their observations.

 I find my self energized and set to new purpose. Maybe the workshops I teach there are truly more than a simple foot in the door for the future. Self-aggrandizement aside... perhaps through this simple beginning I can build something worthwhile for those that share my simple passion for capturing human vitality on paper... or at least the struggle to do so;-)

Whatever it is I'm doing... it feels good to have it recognized on some level. For better or worse, even a sinking stone is grateful for the ripples that mark its passing...

A new beginning...

Some sketches from the first SVA drawing session in 2012...
A few 2 minutes, a 5, a couple 10s, and one 15 minute sketch...
I almost killed the 15 minute sketch by working on it after the session was finished... bleh.

It appears that I can still catch a likeness, regardless of how rusty I am... whew.
I'm always worried that as I get older, my facility and flexibility will began to wane as my eyesight slowly diminishes.

Not yet, I guess.
I'm crossing my fingers!

Resuming progress...

More progress on the Mythological series of paintings I had to put on the back-burner while finishing my recent graphic novel...

Trying to lay in Neptune now... MAN... am I out of practice!!!
After a few hours of frustration, he's beginning to come into focus now.

Wrestling with fine details in oil paint using weathered old brushes is turning out to be a real lesson in patience... but it is part of the process. If I can't be as "noodley" as usual with fine detail brushes, I find my strokes are more expressive and loose (as evident by the background sky). This is moving my hand away from my professional Illustrator's tight perspective and closer to the less restricted fine art hand of my younger days.

These shots are more contrasty than the actual piece, but they give a general impression... wish me luck on the finish!

Back in the saddle...

After a bit of a hiatus... I'm back to work.

These were a tough few months, but I've rededicated myself to my goals and am now working steadily forward. Here's hoping that the new year ahead holds more promise and unique opportunities for me!

Still waiting on news regarding my story from Heavy Metal... just stack another item on my already towering pile of stress... Hmmf... I can hardly feel it anymore;-)


More to come...

In the meantime, here are a few semi-recent 5 ,10, and 15 minute life drawings...

"Junk-a-saurus"

More poop from the SVA Alumnus drawing class... GADS, I'm out of practice.
Still... I'll only get my hand back if I keep after it and push through the rough patches.

Two 15 minute sketches I ended the class with. Not much else happened of any consequence;-)

Dropped off the book for my letterer to peruse this afternoon after many hours of preliminary bubble placement talks...
Scaaary.

Keeping my fingers crossed...

Sketchdump Redux

Another group of sketches from a life drawing class I visit once a week... not all are successful, but they each show something a little different. Just trying to keep the hand moving between Photoshop sessions;-)

Hideously rusty is what I am though... yoink.

First is a 1 minute... followed by a couple of 3 minutes... and the rest are 10 to 15 minute sketches.












The last two are the only ones I have any intention of keeping. Something halfway slavagable in the gestures... might reuse the poses for a painting. Although I must admit, I wish I'd had more time on that 1 minute pose pictured first... who knows what might have come of it...

Done.

Semi-final state for last story image... might add some sparks or effects to the background fire... not sure yet.

Still... it is finished.


I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

"BOOM!"

As the penultimate page is now in the can (barring possible last minute adjustments), I find myself reflecting back upon this seemingly endless project...

Will it all be worth it once I'm finished... or am I just putting it behind me before simply moving to another foolish obsession?

I think that once all has been said and done, the doing is the real reason behind the endeavor. I could have (and very nearly did on several occasions) quit this project when things got rough or difficult... put it all behind me and chalk it up to a "learning experience". But I'm hoping that the effort itself will be somehow gratifying once I've seen it to it's finish.

Or at least I'm HOPING so;-)

Hey... there's always the chance that Heavy Metal will actually print the accursed thing and pay me some cash for it!

Last Gasp...

Had some slowdown recently, work-wise... Lifeguard duty and the random shift changes really wrought havoc with my sleeping schedule (not that it's a really good excuse).
Still, some forward progress is always welcome.

I'm going to try to use the rest of this month to make some serious headway into the last two pages. They are complex, but I feel more confident with the tools with each passing panel. I hope that there will be minimal "touch up" on the older work once the main story proper is finished and I try to render the all pages into a general level of consistency.

This was a tough page for me, especially trying to match up the color schema from the earlier story sequence.
This is the point in the tale where the intro sequence and the story progression link up. We'll see how successful it all is once the next page is finished.

So.. without further delay, I'm off to work on the next page;-)

CONSUMMATION II

And so does the slow grind to the finish continue... ever painfully forward with a seemingly glacial pace;-)
Still... any progress is a good thing.

This was a difficult page for me... and probably still subject to a few last-minute changes before I finish this thing.
We shall see.
The consummation panel is finally finished.. let's hope it carries the visual weight it must in order for the story's finale to have proper resonance.

3 more pages to go in the story proper... and then a fronts-piece... wish me luck!

"Reversal of Fortune"

The endless crawl continues...

Still, with about 4 more pages to go, the end is certainly within reach now.

I'm trying my best to keep moving forward and resist the urge to "update" older pages. It isn't easy. I've learned so much from this journey, it's sometimes hard to look back at the early pages and not feel that they are almost substandard at this point. I suppose that if I have the time at the end of the project, I might allow myself a bit of revisionary time on the initial pages.

For now though... we push ahead...

"TOWER"

Another bit of progress...
Still struggling a bit with this one as I am trying to transition into more of a flat color schema as opposed to the heavily gradated style I used previously for the interior scenes. Hopefully, this will better fit with the prior and finishing exterior shots without making this sequence seem too out of synch with the rest of the story proper.
We shall see...

Also, here is a promotional design for the new sculpting class I hope to teach at the Art Students League this summer... wish me luck;-)

Backside Backside Squat

Ok... some sketch work from the SVA Drawing Class I periodically attend...
Nothing too fancy, but it keeps the hand moving, the technique sound, and the wrist somewhat supple.

Can't let the old man get too rusty, now can we?

I'm curious if someone looking at these or prior drawings would wonder why I usually eschew drawing the facial details of the model and instead focus on the limbs, torso, and abdomen...
Truth is, I'm not all that interested in capturing a portrait of the sitter... I'm more drawn the the mass... the volume and weight that the figure occupies in deep space. Sure, a little extra observation results in a pleasant immediate result with a recognizable likeness... but in the meager time allowed by these short poses, I'm much more compelled to get at the core of the figure than represent the face of the model specifically.

Still... every so often it is good to flex the old foundation muscles and bang out a very quick likeness.

These are all 3 to 15 minute poses... it's fairly easy to see which one is what.

"STOMPYPUSS!"

Another tough page bites the dust...

I'm just trying to keep chipping away at this project with a even level of enthusiasm now...
Trying to keep the pages consistent.

The earlier pages were quite simple... flat color and subtle gradations.
Once the titular character hit the final interior, I kinda went crazy with the techniques I'd learned recently and it's become a bit over-wrought compared to the clarity of the earlier work.
I'm hoping to switch back to the simple color schema once the story moves back into the exterior setting at the end.
We'll see...

Working on notes for the next session of my class at the League on the 16th... the first Comic Book Anatomy Class there seemed to be somewhat successful and I'm hoping to keep the momentum going for the following installations.

Wish me luck... "Go Sugar Rooster!!!"