Summertime, Savannah, and some Toile Tails

By Terryl Whitlatch

It’s Summer again, and for many of us in our industry, it’s also the season for going to, participating in, and networking in the many conferences and conventions taking place across the nation, from the San Diego Comic Con on the West Coast to DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia.



Speaking of Georgia, I’ve just returned from Savannah, where I gave a keynote presentation and all day workshop in Creature Design and Animal Anatomy at the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators’ Annual Conference. The GNSI is an organization of professional illustrators who specialize in scientific illustration, which is very broad—medical, veterinary, zoological, paleontological, botanical, geological, and even astronomical. They use a variety of techniques, both traditional and digital, and their clientele ranges from National Geographic and similar publications, to zoos and museums, NASA, the US government, textbooks, field guides, medical journals, and many universities across the country.



These artists are trained to really see and observe—their artwork must be precise—scientific papers and breakthroughs relay on their accurate interpretations, and in the case of medical illustration (including the portrayal of surgical techniques), lives may depend on this.



This level of accurate portrayal and artistic integrity has broad implications for a crossover into creature design and concept art, and part of my presentation was devoted to this subject.



But Summer is also a time to relax and to play, so, inspired by the antebellum beauty of the city of Savannah, with its historical architecture, beautiful parks and squares, live oaks draped with Spanish moss, fountains, and horse-drawn carriages, I thought I’d share a little sketch, for the sheer delight of drawing and whimsy.



Savannah was established in 1730, and is perhaps one of the utterly most romantic towns you could visit, and so, in the spirit of romance I drew two of my favorite animals, a quagga (a zebra subspecies) and a ring-tailed lemur (or lemurette?), complete with a 18th century costume, and with a nod to Edward Lear.



Marker washes were applied to the sketch drawn on paper, and then, to keep in the spirit of the graphic design of that time period, a toile textile pattern was digitally added to the background.



So, here we have it—a simple little sketch with anatomical fundamentals common to both scientific illustration and creature design, combined with the fantasy element of our genre, which adds up to why we all do this anyway—joy in drawing what transpires in our imaginations.

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I Think the Internet Broke My Brain

One of my favorite Concept Artists, Matt Rhodes, touches on some similar feelings I've been having lately in a recent post on his blog.  Read the article HERE.

Inspiration is good, but can too much be bad for you? Does being so plugged in to one another's art lead to incestuous solutions? 

What do you think?

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WIREZ PLZ

-Serge Birault

3D is a strange thing. I know have to use 3D softwares and rendering engines but I'm unable to do good 3D stuff... So I organized a small 3D contest on my Facebook page.



I did a 2D concept and the competitors had to do a 3D version based on it. I did this sketch in 5-10 minutes, it was quite simple. You can see :

- The concept HERE

- The WIPs folder here : HERE

- The final entries folder here : HERE

Here are the results:

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Winner

Kris Costa a.k.a Atropus

Original picture : HERE & HERE

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Honorable Mention

Yinxuan LI Dezarmenien

Original picture : HERE & HERE

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Honorable Mention

Dmitry Cheremisin

Original picture : HERE & HERE

The members of the jury were Andrew Hickinbottom, José Alves da Silva and Loïc Zimmermann are great 3D professionals.

It was a very interesting experience. I was quite surprised by the quality of the entries.

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Du-da-du-da-du-da-du-da: BATMAN!

Since The Dark Knight Rises opens on Friday—and since Irene Gallo has put up a fascinating post about how the giant ad for the film was painted on the side of a building in NYC—why not ask the question: who was your favorite screen (big or small) Batman?

1] Lewis Wilson

2] Adam West

3] Michael Keaton

4] Val Kilmer

5] George Clooney

6] Kevin Conroy

7] Christian Bale

8] Peter Weller

 Discuss.

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Physiognomy

-By Dan dos Santos

Physiognomy is the assessment of someone's character or personality from his/her outer appearance, especially the face.



At one time, Physiognomy was treated as a science. So much so, that French painter (and Art Theorist) Charles Le Brun, explored the concepts of Physiognomy to great extent.

Today we know that there is very little basis for these assumptions, and Physiognomy, like Phrenology, has been lumped into the category of Psuedo-Science. But Physiognomy still plays a very important role in art.



How do we first know who the bad guy is in a film? Rarely through his actions, but rather, through Physiognomy. For we often know who the villain is just by looking at them. The villain has the facial hair, the long face, the pointy fingers, the beaked nose, the small eyes, etc.

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Kalimpura

-By Dan dos Santos

A few months ago, you may remember me mentioning that I was working on a large painting, and really trying to loosen up. Well, I finally finished the painting, and though I didn't loosen up quite as much as I had hoped, it was still a really fun experience.



The job in question was 'Kalimpura', the third installment in Jay Lake's 'Green' series. In this volume, the antagonist packs up everything, including her two children, and ventures back to her home country.



The idea of a single mother, with all of this burden quite literally placed upon her, really struck a cord with me. Given that she is an assassin, I immediately had visions of Lone Wolf and Cub. I knew I had to show her as a Warrior Mother, protecting all that was precious to her.

Here are two alternate sketches that weren't chosen. One has a little more action. The other, more mystery. Ultimately, the Art Director chose a sketch that I felt was a good balance of both these themes, and accentuated the importance of the 'journey'.



The themes, and local, of this novel had a notably 'Orientalist' feel to them. Thinking along these lines, I wanted to paint something full figure, outdoors, with a strong sense of spacial atmosphere.

The trouble with painting loose, is that it means I have to paint a lot larger than normal, or I just can't get the necessary amount of detail in the face that my clients expect of me.

Logistically speaking, painting big usually isn't great for deadlines. It simply takes more time to cover that much surface. Plus, there's a lot more STUFF to paint. In this case, it took me about a week and a half longer than I normally would spend on an illustration.



I started with an abnormally loose underdrawing, in the hopes that it would force me to loosen up some. And it did... a little. But ultimately my OCD got the better of my intentions, and I ended up rendering everything way more than I should have.



In the end (and I say that reluctantly, as I feel like I can keep working on it forever), I'm fairly happy with the result. I tried a lot of new things that were out of my comfort zone, and discovered a LOT of weaknesses that I now know I need to work on.



Below is the final product, and how it looks with type treatment alongside the others in the series.

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The Secret

-By Arnie Fenner

A common question students ask is, "How do I become a better artist?"



The answer is easy, even if it sounds flip: "Work. Study. Experiment. Think. Try to connect with an audience. Work harder."



The other most common question, whether asked directly or in a round-about way, is "What is the secret to being a successful artist?" Success meaning, for the sake of this post, being able to make a living creating art.



And that answer, too, is easy:



There isn't one.



Muddy Colors has run some absolutely stellar posts in the past about portfolio construction or social media promotion or expanded educational opportunities. Read this, experience that, try this approach, discard that one: all of the advice is solid and worthwhile.



But there is no single formula for success: there's no list that, once checked off, ensures...anything.



The hard truth is that it's an extremely competitive market for painters, designers, illustrators, and sculptors, with lots of people with similar skill sets vying for the same jobs or gallery space. Technology has had both a positive and negative impact on the arts, on the one hand broadening exposure opportunities for creators and on the other devaluing art by making it seem both common and "free" (at least when it comes to the Internet). Societal shifts have impacted the retail environment which often can (and does, as we're seeing now) translate into less work for artists: many traditional avenues for creatives have either constricted or disappeared entirely while those that do remain have increasingly used price as a deciding factor in who and what they use for their goods, not quality. Political strife and economic uncertainty cause corporations to sit on their wallets rather than open them for new employees or for more experimental work or for sponsorship of the arts in general. Andy Warhol once said, “An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have.” I don't agree: I believe that art (and thus the artists), regardless of the myriad forms it takes, is important to a more rounded, more fulfilled life. (That's a conversation for another day.) But even as I don't agree with Warhol (who made significantly more money in his lifetime than I ever will, which means he must've known something), I know from having worked in the corporate world for over 35 years that when times are tough, the artists (and the work they produce) are among the first the bean-counters deem expendable. (Partly because the business execs don't understand how we artsy fartsy folk think, partly because they're too dim to value what they themselves can't do. If you see a corporation struggling or failing outright, much of their problem has to do with an inability to appreciate creativity and the creative thinkers who work for them. The more polite term for them is "Philistines." The impolite, but more apt term is "Dumbshits.")



It's a tough world. And there's no such thing as "fair." I know artists that struggle to pay their bills and secure work who ideally should be courted and revered by clients and the public; I know other artists that have so much work they're booked years in advance. Why is this guy hot and the other guy with similar abilities not? Oh, I'm sure with some thinking and sussing, some things might be pointed out or some opinions offered, but really...there's no predicting who gets invited to the feast and who is left on the outside looking in. And for those who do achieve a measure of success...it's not always easy to maintain. Styles and trends and tastes change without notice and the artist (while remaining true to themselves) has to change with them.



Because there's no single secret to becoming a successful artist—or staying one.



Truthfully, when it comes right down to it, it should be obvious. Success hinges on the answer to the question opening this post: Work. Study. Experiment. Think. Try to connect with an audience. Work harder.



Plus one other important thing to mix in: Network. Talk to people. Don't hole up in your studio and not interact with your fellow artists. Art can not created in a vacuum. Reading and maybe posting on a blog or website or on Facebook or Twitter are not substitutes for sitting across from your peers, looking in their eyes, and sharing experiences over drinks. Get the hell out of the house every so often and meet the people you respect and admire and who are doing the same things that you want to be doing. Don't avoid conventions or classes or workshops because they're "too far away" or "cost too much" or "I don't fit in." Any expense may result in some temporary belt-tightening, but it almost inevitably pays off in the long term. Don't be a wallflower when social opportunities arise. Don't wait for others (and this includes art directors, publishers, patrons, and gallery owners) to come to you: reach out to them. Grow your circle—in person—just as you grow your skill set. The more people you know, the more people will know what you do and what you're able to bring to the table. And the more experiences you have, the more you interact with others, the more your artistic sensibility will grow and, in a perfect world, the more unique and, possibly, in demand your work will be.



Hmmm. Maybe that is a secret. If so...consider that cat has been let out of the bag.

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