Good Illustration Process

Although this is a Photoshop tutorial...Blech. It is a good example that can be adapted to Inkscape, The Gimp or Xara. Hope you enjoy it.

Open publication - Free publishing - More photoshop

Open Source Alternative to Poser.

I hadn't put this one on the blog earlier, as I had thought it was more a 3D animation tool. But as it can be linked to a renderer and the final images can be used in picture bashes. I thought it would make sense to tell you all about it.

This is MakeHuman.

It is a relatively easy program that allows you to build and render 3D models of humans of any age and build. Using it along with the recommended rendering software Aqsis, an artist can develop realistic looking Characters to add to picture bashes. The dragon rider girl and the old wizards face were made this way. I have been playing with MakeHuman for years and although its not as versatile as Poser, if you want a human model or human render quickly, I recommend it for the Freeware Illustrator.

A couple of new picture bashes.

These were created for magazine illustrations. The dragon rider is my favorite. All done using open source software on a free computer using The Gimp, Krita and MyPaint.

The results speak for themselves.

 

I am really liking this new loose style.

These two were roughed out while on the bus. I am trying to do things in a more spontaneous way these days. Form and colour are my key driving factors.

New Styles For Me

I have been playing with a looser style by using Inkscape and Mypaint. I am really roughly sketching up an image in Inkscape then exporting it into Mypaint as a layer. I then slosh some water colour around as a very loose offset fill. The finished result is saved without editing to keep a more spontaneous feel to it.

Animation and Poetry ( I love this idea )

I was just emailed a kickstarter update on gmail. I joined the kickstarter program because I wanted to trial it to fund some ideas I have. I believe in community funding art in this way. it encourages avant guard ways of creativity. The Animation and Poetry angle of this idea is exciting and realistic.
Short poetry pieces illustrated with incredible artworks.

The Bash So Far

So this is the almost finished Bash. I just need to add some small details and Elephoot is finished. After collecting a bunch of high res images and throwing them together using the Gimp, Paint.net and Paintshop. I have a finished critter. I am still going to create a scene for this little guy to live in. I also want to make a few diagrammatic representations showing internal organs etc...It should be fun.

Pic Bash Concept Refinement.

On the way to a finished image I will render black and white images and refine my ideas. In this case I have sketched on some extra details and considered creating a rear view of the creature. In the final image I may include some diagrams of how the creature moves, eats or defends itself.

Roughing Out a Pic Bash.

I like to draw. I also believe that all good designs start by fleshing things out in a drawing or two. The process allows for a clear path to a finished art work. If you can just get a few images that guide your ideas into something solid. You will save a lot of time in the finishing art stage.

I have been working on a couple of ideas for pic bashes and have started gathering images to suit.

Picture Bashing

When I was a boy I loved making Sci fi stuff. I wanted to become a special effects wizard, a prop maker for movies or a concept designer . I would collect books on modeling on costume making and special effects. I also created many models and costumes of my own. There were all sorts of ways to make props or models including a process called "Kit Bashing". In this process you bought up tones of old plastic kits and you selected different parts of each kit and assembled them into something new. A conglomerate design that often included other bits and pieces. Old plates or washing machine parts or the internals of some old toy. I use to have a big basket full of bits that I would reassemble into my own visions.

Around 1994 I got my wish and landed a job at Post Production Services in Sydney. It wasn't the SFX job I dreamed about but it was a start and it led me to opening my own animation studio where I would sometimes get to work on the cool special effects I dreamed of working on as a kid.
But because I seem to have creative attention deficit disorder. I am always frustrated and have to have lots of projects going at one time. A lot of these are just personal and are either about cartooning (another passion I have had since I was young) or concept designing Sci Fi creatures. These days I design on computer instead of using plastic bits and model kits. I have found that it has opened up a lot more possibilities and I tend to be more focused about the end result. I start by designing a character or machine and begin searching images in the creative commons etc anywhere I can get permission to use an image. Including royalty free image sites and artists texture reference sites. Then, over time I assemble my images into the final creature etc. It occured to me this was a form of Picture Bashing - Assembling new images from bits of others.

So I decided to share my new and fun design process with anyone who cares to read my blog. But to start this off I thought I would share with you some of my childhood creations. I'll get into the Picture bashing a little later on.

SOME OLD PIC's

This is an image of my brother and I as Star Wars characters. I made both costumes I am in the Tuscan Raiders Outfit. I was 14 at the time and was invited to the local library to entertain the staff and some readers in the kids section. I think I made them a week or two after Star Wars debued in Sydney Australia. These costumes got stolen from our garage, so they must have impressed some one.



This one was made after seeing Silent Running. I was pretty blown away by that movie and at the age of 10 I knocked this monster model up out of some plastic terrarium flower pots, broom sticks and talcum powder bottles.

The PA's Cat

Our PA at work has a cat she named Caviar. She has a picture on her desktop and I noticed it as I passed by her desk. So I asked her if she would like a "Katoon" done of Caviar. We agreed he would look good in a Jabba the Hutt style pose as he is a fatty and he looks a little like Jabba. So I am doing some roughs and I should clean these up pretty soon.

T Shirts and Mouse Pads

I really should design the cat characters to be simpler designs. A bit more like my T-Shirt and mouse pad designs. For those who are freaked out by the content of these Tees. Understand that these were originally parodies on the "Alien Autopsy" some years back.

Other Blogs I Will Post Here

I have a few other Blogs that I want to consolidate into one. I had an Idea to create the "illustrator" blog but decided I would stick them here instead.

Before today I have worked for Disney, Mad magazine, Warner's and a host of other independent animation studios. I have also been the ( producer and talent ) of two of my own animation/illustration studios both of which were successful. I am currently a Customer Engineer for Metservice New Zealand, where I work with a bunch of talented guys making weather graphics for TV. ( Someones gotta do it )

I have decided to start uploading some artwork, sketches and cartoons that I am working on for this that or the other reason. So to start I thought I would show you some sketches I do in my spare time. Either riding the bus or sitting at my desk during lunch. I suppose I will call these Daily Sketch.

TODAY'S DAILY SKETCH.

I have been following the antics of two clever guys in Wichita, KS. They are Paul Klusmanp and TJ. They have some funny youtube videos about cats and cat yodeling, aspect ratios and tuna.

So in honor of their exploits I have started doing some caricatures of them and their cats.

First the roughs:

















I have started cleaning these drawings up. They will soon be assembled into a theme I thought I would also start working with the cat images too. Its not that easy getting these cats personalities to shine through but here is the start.

Great Ways To Work

I am going to be featuring great illustration guides for those of you who would like to see how digital illustration can be done. Also when they are available I will link to illustrators guides on getting their artwork to make money for them. Here is the start. An excellent guide on how to use Adobe products to create great pieces. I think that you should be able to adapt this process to any of the free tools I have mentioned. For example inkscape or Xara.

Open publication - Free publishing - More ilustration

My Paint - Fabulous and Free

I was recently looking through tutorials for Blender 3d for my other Blog The Freeware Animation School. When I came across this fantastic software called Mypaint. I have to say I love it. I have been keen to find a paint package that I can touch up my scanned artwork with, that ran on multi platforms and was free. Well this is it folks, It would have to be one of the best resources I have found in a while. The video I have here may have chintzy sax muzak but it sure highlights the programs ease of use and control. If you were to set up a tablet PC with Ubuntu, Wine Fotosketcher and MyPaint you would have a studio on the go.


Get it here - Link