A Skewed Perspective
Posted by trev | Filed under Preliminary DrawingsHere’s a sneak peak at the background for the other illustration I have due this week. I always have trouble with cityscapes like these because I want it to be cartoony, which means you have to distort the perspective. It sounds easy, just make the perspective “wrong”. Heck, I do it when I am not trying to all the time. But, you have to do it just right to get the right effect. I think it works here, especially since most of this skyline will be covered anyways. But its something I need to work on if the city would make a more prominent role in the illustration.
Rough Holiday
Posted by trev | Filed under Preliminary DrawingsThis week has been more busy than I anticipated. I have two large illustrations due for a local newspaper and work has been a bit hectic. Its good to be busy, but unfortunately it forced me to skip this week’s life drawing session.
Below is a sneak peak at part of one of the illustrations I am working on this week. On the left is the rough pencil sketch (inked quickly with marker to strengthen the linework), and on the right is the first pass in Illustrator. The colors may change slightly (including changing the mistletoe to white) when I integrate this guy with the rest of the illustration.
First Pass Santa
Posted by trev | Filed under Preliminary DrawingsGearing up to do my Christmas card so I’ve spent the last couple of days banging out different versions of Santa Claus. He’s a fun character to draw, but this year, I want to draw him a bit differently than I have in the past. The image below is one of the better Santas from my first pass. Its not quite what I am looking for, but its a step in the right direction.
Warmup Exercises
Posted by trev | Filed under Preliminary DrawingsStill more warmups…
On the Phone
Posted by trev | Filed under Preliminary DrawingsHere is a pencil rough for a guy that will be part of an illustration I am working on. Sometimes when the final piece will be done in Illustrator I attack each element separately. I think my underlying sketches turn out better that way, especially when for a complicated composition. Plus, resizing and rearranging the final elements is a snap in Illustrator.
You will also notice that my roughs tend to be quite rough. I usually fill page after page with doodles until I find one that appeals to me, and then I clean that up.
Music Thief
Posted by trev | Filed under Illustration, Preliminary DrawingsHere is the final illustration (along with pencil rough) that appeared in yesterday’s Foster Daily Democrat. I showed a really rough work in progress for this piece in my August 23 entry. As you can see, I decided to keep the little burglar character (with minor changes). I usually find that my first instincts are often the ones that work best.
