You can’t just fix a bad design with good color

If it don’t work in Black and White, it ain’t gonna work in color. 

A good painting will also look good in Black and White. That is to say, if you can’t work out your value patterns in black and white, you won’t be able to just fix it with color. Have you ever heard of a grisaille, (that was a tough one to sound out, let alone spell) It’s a black and white under painting. I think the word gray, or grey, as I like to spell it, comes from the same root.

What is a Grisaille and how do you pronounce that?

Grisaille (/ɡrɨˈz/ or /ɡrɨˈzl/French: gris [ɡʁizaj] ‘grey’) (Giz-eye is how I pronounce it) is a term for painting executed entirely in monochrome or near-monochrome, usually in shades of grey. ~Wikipedia 

Work out your lights and darks before you add color

So, where was I? Ho yeah, it is often wise, especially for beginners, to work out you lights and darks before you move to color. I like to give it the squint test. Squint at your work and see if it reads well. Do the wrong things disappear? Do the right things stand out?
The under painting can be in a sepia or other tone too, for a nice effect, it doesn’t have to be BLACK and White.

Light and Shadow

Where is your light source? Is it in the picture? If so, you shouldn’t have anything in the painting that is brighter than the light source.

Are the shadows, cast, core etc, in the right places? I am thinking that the cast shadow in this piece is not dark enough.

Do you have reflected light in the right places?

Just add Color, or Colour as my UK friends like to spell it.

If you are painting digitally, like in Photoshop or on the iPad, you will enjoy the ability to undo. If you are using water colors then you can just glaze transperant colors over you black and white under-painting. AKA Grisaille.

If you are using oil paints, you may want to try a water color, acrylic, or gwash, (i better look that up) Gouache. The oil paint goes right over the aqueous paints without disturbing them and it works really well. You should see how Robert Barrett uses gouache, for under-paintings to create a beautiful effect. He calls it a “Rub-out” technique.

 

 

Working with Color

The Pose-able Wooden Artist Doll Has Come a Long Way, Baby.

The Pose-able Wooden Artist Doll Has Come a Long Way, Baby.

Meet the new!

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Meet the old. 

Every artist has contorted their hand and looked in the mirror trying to figure out how to draw different poses. The wooden doll was a great invention for capturing gestures of the basic human figure.

Now for around $300 plus shipping you can get the S.F.B.T-3. WOW! This doll has few limitations.

Manufactured in Japan by Dolk Station, the S.F.B.T-3 is made from ABS resin, which is stronger than the colour range used in the first version. Priced at US$300, orders can be shipped internationally.

Ten years in the making, this girl has 80 moveable parts in her body, allowing for an unprecedented number of poses and anatomical designs. We take a look at the doll’s amazing details and see how it performs in some popular anime poses for the illustrator’s eye.

▼ The lines and shadows in the hands give you incredible detail when it comes to gun-holding scenes. All that’s left to do is load her up with the weaponry of choice.

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▼ The flexible torso allows for increased movement and more precision when it comes to the natural angle of a back arch.

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▼ The eyes can even be manipulated to face left, right, up or down.

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▼ The forearm twists with the hand to provide an accurate silhouette.

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▼ The toes can be adjusted for accurate running and leaping movements.

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▼ Although able to support herself in a number of poses, a stand is included in delivery.

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▼ The attention to detail is enhanced thanks to over 200 parts used in her construction.

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For more design details check out the video below or visit CrabFu Blog for a full review.

 

Liberty, the world’s longest tie-dye is back

Orriginal Record Holder Demands a Recount. (re-Measure)

Liberty: World Record, Largest Tie-Die

Worlds Largest Tie-Die

The current, or previous world record tie-dye held by Artist Masami Shaingai of Tokushima Japan is considered a part of Japanese national heritage, so Guinness requested a re-verification of the new world record held by American artist Inez Harwood.

Liberty took four months to tie-dye.

Using over nine-thousand zip ties to hold the 950 pounds of fabric and one-hundred-twenty pounds of dye. (Dry weight) Dye that was generously donated by California based company Dharma Trading Company, who helped get the word out about the project on their blog. On rinse day, fire rescue volunteers pumped approximately 300, 000 gallons of water to rinse of “Liberty”. Official measure of Liberty is 2945 feet and 7 inches, 200+ feet longer than the record held by Artist Masami Shaingai ofTokushima Japan. Shibori, the Japanese version of tie-dye is a traditional art in Japan and the current Japanese world record is considered a part of Japanese national heritage, so Guinness requested a re-verification of the new world record held by American artist Inez Harwood. The official remeasure will be calculated by Greg Loweden of Hunt Land Surveying Inc. of Weaverville California. Since the first measure was completed while the fabric encircled two holding pond and was still wet from the rinse, Lowden feels the remeasure could be significantly longer. He has started a local betting pool to benefit the local high school, that offers a prize to the person who can guess the exact measurement of Liberty. (email glowden@velotech.net for more information)

Contact: Inez Harwood (646)397-5385 or (801)874-6184 inez@greyforeststudio.com vibrantprotest.com

Contact: Terry Nagle (530)739-9366 terry@unseen-arena.com unseen-arena.com

Last March Artist Inez Harwood set out to break the world record for longest tie-dye. Harwood wanted fabric sourced from cotton grown in the United States, however finding a piece of domestic fabric long enough to break the world record wasn’t easy.   The search for fabric made from domestically grown and milled cotton took many months as Harwood searched local textile suppliers, the internet and finally, took to calling textile mills; through this research Harwood found that a very high percentage of American cotton is outsourced to places like the middle east and China for the spinning and weaving process, then shipped back to the U.S. The search ended in the discovery of Inman Mills in South Carolina. “I care about the American’s who have lost their cotton textile jobs. So I named my world’s longest tie-dye, Liberty that’s how this became my vibrant protest. “Says Harwood.Expecting to pay a premium, Harwood was surprised that the price of the high quality domestic fabric undercut the foreign equivalent by a significant percentage.

Liberty took four months to tie-dye. Using over nine-thousand zip ties to hold the 950 pounds of fabric and one-hundred-twenty pounds of dye. (Dry weight) Dye that was generously donated by California based company Dharma Trading Company, who helped get the word out about the project on their blog. On rinse day, fire rescue volunteers pumped approximately 300, 000 gallons of water to rinse of “Liberty”. Official measure of Liberty is 2945 feet and 7 inches, 200+ feet longer than the record held by Artist Masami Shaingai ofTokushima Japan. Shibori, the Japanese version of tie-dye is a traditional art in Japan and the current Japanese world record is considered a part of Japanese national heritage, so Guinness requested a re-verification of the new world record held by American artist Inez Harwood. The official remeasure will be calculated by Greg Loweden of Hunt Land Surveying Inc. of Weaverville California. Since the first measure was completed while the fabric encircled two holding pond and was still wet from the rinse, Lowden feels the remeasure could be significantly longer. He has started a local betting pool to benefit the local high school, that offers a prize to the person who can guess the exact measurement of Liberty. (email glowden@velotech.net for more information)

Harwood visited the Trinity county area this month to attend several meetings with local civic leaders, businesses and artists aimed at blustering the local economy through e-commerce and tourism centered on the Saint Francis Festival and an official re-measuring of Liberty the worlds longest tie-dye. Harwood’s focus is on attracting attendees of the remeasure event to local businesses and events taking place during the Saint Francis Festival. In her interview with ABC (channel 7 news) Tracy Leong, Harwood said, “ I think we should start voting for the home team.” Harwood believes that if U.S. citizens choose to buy American products first, the current economic crisis will resolve itself. (to see a webcast of the interview visit http://vibrantprotest.com/2013/08/13/vibrant-protest-liberty-is-going-places/If you are interested in seeing “liberty” the worlds longest tie-dye it will be on display at the Unseen Arena in Hayfork California during the Saint Francis Festival September 25th– October 6, 2013. To find out more visit vibrantprotest.com or unseen-arena.com

HOW MANY SKETCHES SHOULD YOU SEND IN?

How Many Sketches Should You Send In?


Back in my editorial days I was always coached to send in multiple sketches and ideas for the art director to choose from. Now that I’m a children’s book illustrator I’ve come to realize that sending in multiple sketches for one page is not often the best policy. The reason: I always like one better than the other(s) and often the editor or art director will pick the one I like the least. Now it’s a let down having to paint an image I’m not as happy with.

I just created the image above for a new book I’m working on “There Once Was a Cowpoke who Swallowed an Ant” by Helen Ketteman (Albert Whitman). My working process is to send in rough sketches for the direction I’m thinking of. Then I get feedback from the art director and editor. My goal is to make myself happy and then see if the team likes it. If they do then I move to a final drawing refining details and making any alterations asked for by the team.

 


Sometimes they don’t like the direction at all and ask for a new idea -offering their suggestions. I love working this way. I’ve taken the time to explore many thumbnail sketches and ideas and I don’t want to share my rejected ideas just to offer more choice. Sometimes more choice just offers more confusion. Ever tried to order at restaurant with 100 menu items? You feel overwhelmed and start to think you’re going to miss something really good – so you spend more time reading the menu rather than visiting with the people you went to have a meal with.

I’m a big believer in working hard to develop a sketch you can’t wait to paint and then working with it until you and your team come to a consensus. I’ve taken the time to do a lot of editing in my development process and I choose NOT to share that with the creative team at the publisher.

 

Phases of this Textbook Cover Illustration

My Art Process for the Phases of this Cover Illustration

The Sketch

Element hired me to do the cover art for an English language text book.

– the idea is that by learning English you become more free to pursue whatever you want.
– that more doors are open to those who speak and understand English. And probable to those who know how to read and write English as well.
My client wanted me to illustrate some of the buildings in the shape of letters to further the language angle.

SEPARATE BACKGROUND Can be Used Multiple Times

I was asked to paint the background separate from the foreground so they can use it for other covers that we are currently working on.

Adding ELEMENTS

This is a challenge because as I’m painting it’s hard to control values and colors but here they are combined.

Final Cover Art

This is the final illustration, by me, Will Terry, with the cover graphics. Turned out pretty well.