Thank you all for wishing me a Happy Birthday Anniversary we're only born once, the rest are anniversaries of that day:- )
February 8, 2018 6:15am...
I woke up this morning to the smell of my wife LaVonne putting the finishing touches on a Red Velvet cake, read the book of Ephesians, bicycled the streets for 40 minutes, took the dog for a walk, 120 push-ups, listened to my daughter Melissa her husband Johann and the grands sing Happy Birthday Dad from Pearl City, Hawaii over the phone, daughter in law Kay and granddaughter Asher checked in from D.C. and son Jai called from chilly Kentucky to say Happy Birthday, enjoyed a 80 minute massage at the spa, again, care of LaVonne and now reading all the well wishes from friends and family from facebook and messenger.
My next step on my Birthday Anniversary is to start inking an illustration I started back in August.
A word about how I start an illustration.
I refer to my animation background when illustrating. In animation you tell a story with a series of pictures. In an illustration you tell a story with one picture. What and how much can you say in one picture? A whole lot.
I remember Eric Larson, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and all the older animators giving us younger guys the advice to spend half your time thinking about your scene and the other half animating it.
Time spent thinking about all the possible ways of doing something, then do it in the most entertaining way.
Photos serve as my starting point.
Most photo reference I've had for years. Just sitting in a folder waiting for the right moment. Then the right scenario starts to come into focus and I'm inspired to bring it to fruition.
There is nothing new under the sun, just what you do with it. Take for instance Romeo and Juliet is West Side Story set in modern times. Frankenstein subtitled The Modern Prometheus or Star Wars, a cowboy picture set in outer space. Not to belittle these movies but they serve as as examples of taking something that already exists and presenting it in an entertaining way.
This is the vintage photo that jump started me on the illustration "Wedding Photo 1930" 23" x 29" pen and ink.
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| (Completed illustration- "Wedding Photo 1930", 23"x29" pen and ink), |
People in interesting, storytelling poses.
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| (Wedding Photo 1930 early stages of ink) |
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| (Wedding Photo 1930 early stages of ink) |
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| (Wedding Photo 1930 early stages of ink) |
In animation or illustrations I try to make the scene 'eye candy' something interesting to look at.
On this occasion I'll start inking my latest project 23" x 29" pen and ink- 'Circus 1930'...
The vintage photo that I saw years ago served as the foundation of an interesting illustration.
It has taken me since August 2017 to pencil this piece.
Early pencil drawings...
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My formula just add people...
in interesting...
storytelling poses.
Solid drawing makes makes the illustration believable.
These pieces take about a year to complete.
I'm not working on them continually, just a couple hours here and there. Sometimes more or less time and there may be days that go by without a line drawn.
When I was in animation a great deal of time was spent researching our subjects. These illustrations are no different. Clothing, hairstyles, as well as body types, body language, emotions, solid drawing and more all play a part in storytelling and the entertainment value of the piece.
I'll share how this piece progresses.
9:45 pm February 8th, 2018 my Birthday is almost gone, it's time to ink.
until next time...
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