Story Warren - Guest Illustration

Hi there gang! Here's a quick blog post to tell you about a thing I did a few weeks ago - an illustration for Story Warren, a website devoted to fostering children's imagination through storytelling. You may have already seen the story that ran on June 27th, but if you'd like to check out the full post you can find it here.

It was a super fun piece to work on, and I really have to thank Zach Franzen for not only asking me to do the piece, but also providing some excellent art direction! Looking forward to possibly doing more for Story Warren in the future.

In the meantime, I have got lots of things going on, like potential new projects in the works! I'll try my best to keep you updated with new work - I know the blog has been dormant for a while. I just returned from a 10-day tour of Scotland as well, which was magnificent and life-changing! I'm hoping to post some photos from that just as soon as I can, but for now, check out this blog for a general idea of what we did: http://www.douglasbondbooks.blogspot.com/

Daily Sketch

At the risk of posting too much, and exposing myself to ridicule, here is a recent sketch I did.

I really want to start doing a drawing every day. To improve my overall drawing ability, especially in the area of figures, faces & hands. Of course, my lazy human self would rather gaze into an unending Twitter feed, or go eat junk food. But if I can manage to pull myself away from all the dreadful distractions of this modern era we live in, I sometimes manage to do something half decent in my sketchbook.

It had been far too long (shamefully) since I drew a portrait from photo reference. So I felt pretty rusty and (full disclosure) I stretched this one out over a couple of days. I would come back and adjust things here and there. Overall I liked it. Still not sure about that left eye though...

And if you're wondering why this thing isn't COMPLETELY RENDERED, then I'll refer you to my friend and colleague the great Mr. Gregory Manchess: "On Knowing When to Stop"

Hope to post more Daily Drawings in the future!

Carolers Process Part I: Thumbnails & Drawing

 

Here's a new personal piece I'm working on. I'm going to be chronicling the new methods that I'm trying out lately here on the blog, so I hope you'll enjoy following along as I get this one put together!

For this first stage, I started with a very quick thumbnail. I had one idea in my head, and it worked pretty good in the first sketch, so I went with it. I scanned this sketch into Photoshop, where I hastily added some values on top of it. This is what I'm referencing mainly as I work on the image.

On this piece, I'm going to be creating the image with separate "parts". So instead of just putting all the line work down in one drawing, then painting it, I'm painting and drawing elements of the whole image separately so I can rearrange and edit the final piece in Photoshop.

I did each of these main character drawings in about 40 minutes.

For the next stage I'll be scanning these into Photoshop, 

adjusting levels, and separating the line work!

Next Time:  Painting, Compiling and Adjusting!

New Directions: Part I

Here's a quick painting I did this afternoon. It took me around 2 hours. 

Lately, I've been very inspired by illustrators like Chuck Groenink, Meg Hunt, and Jon Klassen who create very texture-driven, more simplistic illustrations. This method of creating an image is really interesting to me, and I am really eager to explore the relationship between simple drawings and hand-painted textures and the final Photoshop image.

Overall, I'm pleased with the direction this image took. It's got a little more playfulness, color and texture, and that's what I'm aiming for. I think it's good to try to stretch yourself in new directions in your own work, and that's what I hope to do with the next several pieces. I hope to post more of these in the next week or so as I continue to explore new methods of working.

Some News! And Scottish Stereotypes!

Just taking a short break to post this silly little sketch that I did a while back in my sketchbook. I am very obsessed with all things Scotland these days, since it is only 9 months until I get to travel there IN PERSON to spend 10 wonderful days there exploring the country of my forefathers. I am sure the above picture is a crude stereotype of Elderly Scottish Gentlemen, but honestly crude stereotypes make for some really good sketches.

Also, some quick news. I am hard at work completing 5 new drawings that will hopefully be a part of my first ever PRINTED SKETCHBOOK! This will be a very small booklet that will contain 5 brand-new never seen drawings as well as various drawings and sketches from the past year or so. I don't have a hard release date set yet, but I will most certainly post it here so you all will be informed. I am aiming for having them ready to go to print at the end of this month, and hope to have them available for purchase around the first of October!

I have lots more interesting things planned for the coming months, so stay tuned for more information!

-Will

Craft of Illustration: Character Studies

I haven't been posting much of my work from The Lamp Post Guild class I've been working through, "Craft of Illustration" taught by Justin Gerard, primarily because it's mostly been rough sketches and thumbnails up to now. But these are some character studies I just finished up to share with the class that I thought I would post here. The scene I'm illustrating is from C. S. Lewis' The Silver Chair in which Jill Pole leaves the castle of Cair Paravel sailing through the night sky on the back of an Owl. I'll be sure to post more as I start to finish up the illustration.

The Birdstaff Monk

Here's a quick sketch that I did last night. Sunday evenings are great for sketching. Anyway, the strange thing about this is how uncharacteristically well it came out. I wasn't really planning it, it just sort of flowed from my brain onto my sketchbook. I started drawing the girl. She turned out okay, but then it sort of felt like she needed a companion of some kind. So, I figured the Monk of the Birdstaff Order could keep her company. Now she can wander through goblin caves all she wants without having to worry about being eaten anymore. Because nobody messes with the Birdstaff and his hipster haircut. Nobody.
 
I guess that I'm improving somewhat, because I was able to draw the figures and faces directly from my head, without guessing too much. Hands, however, are another story. I need a lot more work to perfect my drawing of hands and faces. And this sketch signals a bit of a different direction for me. I think that I need to start developing more character sketches. I'll be doing a lot of that in the coming week - I have character studies to do for my Lamp Post Guild class. I'll post more about that soon.
 
Keep drawing!
 

Morning Warmup: Crusader

Here's today's morning warmup sketch of a Crusader from the ol' Moleskine in all its sketchy, unedited glory! (Well, I did adjust the levels a bit. But that's only for the scan, mind you!). Sketching has really been good for me lately. It's just like exercise - when you do it every day, it strengthens your skills, and makes you feel invigorated and ready to tackle the day.

Also, I should note that the recent warmup sketches I've been doing are from photo reference. Just didn't want you to get the idea I'm coming up with this stuff out of my head!

A bit of other news: I'm still trying to finish up my Winter Dragon piece, and it's going good, but still needs a lot of work to pull it to the finish line. Also, today I am doing rough sketches on my Lamp Post Guild piece. I'm doing a scene from Narnia! Looking forward to sharing some preliminaries from that here soon.

And for future reference, I'm going to be shooting for a Mon/Wed/Fri blog post schedule. Not saying I won't miss a post, but that's just to keep me on track!

More art soon!
-Will

Border Patrol (or, What to Do in the Event of a Wooly Mammoth Stampede)

This morning I did a lot of warmup sketches. But suddenly I began to think of Wooly Mammoths. Yes, that's right, Mammuthus primigenius, those terrific beasts from the Ice Age. I worked on other things. I tried to shake the thought of them, but there they were, stampeding through my brain, with savage Nordic warriors riding on top of them! So it was draw or be trampled. My pencil began to fly, and a quick sketch was made (bottom). I liked it, and so did the Mammoth (who thought he looked quite handsome), so I tore out a piece of tracing paper, transferred it to the Bristol, and the finished product was born. Now these rowdy fellows are immortalized on paper, along with their wall which is, of course, modeled after Hadrian's wall which I hope to visit next Summer. Let's hope this wall is better at keeping out smilodon and herds of Megaloceros giganteus than Hadrian's was at keeping out the Celts.

Morning Warmup

A little warmup sketch I did this morning to start the day. I did it from a reference photo I had in my files. It's great for me to do these to get the creative juices flowing before I dive into my bigger projects. I may try to post more of these as I do them in the future.
Also, I'm in the thick of the watercolor process for my Winter Dragon piece, so expect another progress update tomorrow!

Winter Dragon: Drawing & Color Comp

Yesterday I put the finishing touches on a drawing that I started back in January. It was in response to an ArtOrder Challenge entitled "Winter Dragon". The challenge was to come up with a Dragon and give it characteristics that displayed how he interacted with the world around him. Or something like that. Anyway. It was January. I got started on a much more serious, depressing, savage, dragon-killed-my-family-and-destroyed-my-homestead type piece, and had some great sketches (which I might finish at some point). But instead I opted for a much more light-hearted scene. Two dwarves and their dragon pal having a cookout. I was pretty pleased with how the drawing came out, but still trying to find that balance between being too sketchy and being a tight, finished drawing that isn't too detailed or over-cooked. So, there you have it! Tomorrow I'll be working on starting the watercolor stage (which I'm pretty nervous about). Hopefully we'll end up with a final image that will look something like the color comp above, but with much more detail.

See you then!

Morning Warmup

Here's a quick morning warmup sketch from the other day. I've been trying to warm up with my sketchbook every day. Not easy, trust me, but it makes a big difference, because you don't really have to worry too much about the finished product. The point is to have fun and get the creativity flowing.

I've been pretty busy with a few things: I'm working on a book cover for a friend, trying to plan some new personal illustrations (slowly), and also preparing an application for a mentorship with a program called Motivarti. You can check out the program here if you like: motivarti.org

That's all for now, hope to have some more art to share with you all soon!

Winter Explorers

Winter Explorers

pencil & digital

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you're all finding lots of time to make some great art in 2013. I've been off to a bit of a slow start, but I'm resolved to make 2013 the most productive art year I've ever had. I finished this little painting this afternoon - it was the last drawing I did in 2012 (finished in the final thirty minutes of the year!), and the first painting of 2013. I'm really trying to find my way

in the color world. Drawing is all well and good, but I'm working towards becoming a more 

solid painter as well this year. 

Well, I hope you're all ready to grab your walking stick and head out into the Great Unknown to see what adventures and art we can find. I know I'm ready!

Onward!

P. S. Also, very briefly, I notified the winners of the Hobbit Giveaway around Christmas - Aedan Peterson won first prize - "The Forest Goblin" drawing, and @bigjohnjeep on Twitter won "Riddles in the Dark". Congratulations to the winners, and thanks everyone for entering! I'd love to do a giveaway again soon. I mailed the drawings early this week, so they should arrive soon!

-Will

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all you wonderful blog readers out there a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This is an illustration of a changed Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge and a grateful Tiny Tim that I did for a Christmas card this year. I was pushing it for time, and barely got it sent to the printers in time. But I managed to send several out to friends and family.

Here's a bit of the process I used to create it - I used this project as a chance to

apply what I'd learned from Cory Godbey's "Fox" demo (which I really can't recommend to you enough). I look forward to continuing to explore more digital/traditional techniques in the coming year. Here's a bit of how the project progressed:

 Final drawing, scanned, cleaned up, and levels adjusted.

 Linework adjusted to a warm color, sepia underpainting on the characters.

 Flat color added.

 Adding in some lighter colors.

 Pushing the light and dark colors.

 

Painted texture applied over the characters with a layer mask.

Texture applied over background.

Color balance layer applied over the background, with local color added to the background elements.

And Finished!

___________________

Merry Christmas everybody! Looking forward to sharing some new projects 

with you in the coming year!

Hobbit Giveaway!

Announcing: The one and only Hobbit Giveaway!

 I am giving away two, (yes two!) brand new Hobbit drawings.

How can you win them you say? Well, all you have to do is enter my drawing! Here are the prizes:

Prize number one:

1 (one) "Riddles in the Dark" original drawing - pencil on bristol

8.5x11"

 

 

_______________________

 

 

 

Prize number two:

1 (one) "Forest Goblin" original drawing - pencil on bristol

8x10"

 

 

How to Enter:

 

There are 2 ways to enter. Here they are:

 

1. Leave a comment on this post saying something like "I have got to have one of these drawings" or "I hate these drawings but I just like to win stuff - count me in".

Or to make it easy, you could just tell me your favorite character from The Hobbit.

Make sure your comment profile has an email address, so I can contact you!

 

2. Send me an @mention on Twitter using the hashtag #hobbitgiveaway This way I can see that you want to win something, and all your Twitter friends will know that you are an official member of the Drawing the Sword Fan Club.

 

The drawing will end on Friday, December 21st 2012 at 11:59PM!

 

When I finally drag myself out of bed on Saturday, I'll select 2 winners. The first winner will be contacted via email, and they will get to choose their drawing. Then I'll contact the next winner, and they will get the last one. If the first winner does not respond within 12 hours, I'll move on to the next winner.

 

Good luck! And I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Riddles in the Dark

 

Riddles in the Dark

pencil on bristol 8.5 x 11"

"Now he drew it out. It shone pale and dim before his eyes.

'So it is an elvish blade too,' he thought; 'and goblins are not very near,

and yet not far enough.' ...

 Now Bilbo was in what is called a tight place." 

Drawing number two in my Hobbit series. Hope you like it. I think I'm getting a little better at this drawing business. I still think I fuss over a great deal too many things that don't need to be fussed over, and ignore quite a few things that need desperate attention. Ah, well. I shall keep pressing on. Until next time, here is an excellent video of J.R.R. Tolkien himself, talking about his Lord of the Rings trilogy (and Hobbits too if I remember correctly. Watch for the 1960's college kids talking about what a Hobbit is, and the red-headed girl who rambles on about the story. You'll know what I mean, you can't miss it. Enjoy! And stay tuned - next week, I'll announce the BIG GIVEAWAY. Don't miss it!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Hobbit Month!

"Forest Goblin"

8.5 x 11" pencil on bristol. 2012

In approximately 26 days, Peter Jackson will release to the world his vision of Tolkien's first tale, The Hobbit. I am very excited to see this interpretation (as well as its two proposed sequels), but like many other artists, I have found myself wanting to get down on paper my own unique perspective on the story. For me, the book has a fairy-tale quality that is not seen in the Rings trilogy, and somewhat unfortunately, a quality that I fear will be missing from the film. It is a bit more rosy, full of rich imagery of smoke, firelight, laughter, hearty meals, wine, ale, coffee, seed cakes, maps, keys, gold, dragons, treasure, caves, secrets, and mountains. When I read "the pines were roaring on the heights" in Thorin's song in the opening of the book, I can directly relate that to my own experience with pines in a fierce wind, and it gives me chills. Tolkien & I have experienced the same thing, only in different places and times. So his tale instantly makes an impression on me.

Well, enough of me talking in intellectual circles. I hereby declare the next 26 days to be Hobbit Month here on Drawing the Sword. I'll be posting as many Hobbity sketches and drawings as I can in the next several weeks in anticipation of the film, and in celebration of J.R.R. Tolkien's wonderful little tale.

And as an added bonus, toward the end of this 26-ish days, I'll be hosting a Hobbit Giveaway. I'll be giving away one (or maybe more) original sketches to a random winner. More details on that later! Also, if you'd like to join me in doing your own Hobbit-related drawings or artworks, let me know because I'd love to see what you're up to. And if you wouldn't mind sending me a link, I'll feature you here on the blog in a post!

That's all for now! Happy drawing and check back soon for more!

-Will   

The Illustrator Grows Slowly as a Tree

Great Horned Owl

Prismacolor brown pencil on toned charcoal paper

Hello all. I am here to bring you an update from the frontier! The wild uncharted moors of Illustration Land! It is here that I, the intrepid illustrator, have fought many foes to create images that will inspire and uplift! However, in the recent weeks I have been in a slimy bog known as LIFE. Yes, my friends. It takes hold of you, and drags you away from your paper and pencils and paints and computers. It makes you work hard every day at a job that pays your bills but has nothing to do with making pretty pictures! It makes you sleep for a very long time. It makes you walk around in a groggy stupor saying: where am I? I am not an illustrator. I have never been one. 

And then, to your great astonishment, a large kneaded eraser hits you on the head, and something pops inside of you. You remember that you were made to make art, and you will stop at NOTHING to make more of it. The bog will not hold you! You reach! You Pull! You FIGHT! You shake off the mud, and start running across the moor - anywhere! You must find your work again! You must find some blue sky! You - run right into the phosphorescent Hound of the Baskervilles. GAME OVER.

Yes, friends this is me. The recent weeks have not been kind. Some of you have gone on to read more interesting art blogs. Some of you are ready to tie me to a stake and flail me for not finishing INKtober. Some of you do not care. That is fine. I will now continue to make art. And maybe even some great art. I want to make pictures for people to enjoy. And I will. So stay tuned. I HEREBY RESOLVE that I will make many more pictures, and put many more here. I want this week to be full of blog posts (hopfully not as dull as this). So prepare yourselves for what is to come!

NOW. Enough of this silliness, and on to some IMPORTANT things.

#1. The Lamp Post Guild

Please help fund The Lamp Post Guild! It's an exciting new learning platform that will teach professional art skills to ANYONE. That means you! And me! And it's a chance for someone who might not be able to afford art school to learn that they can make a living doing Illustration. And it's taught by my 3 favorite illustrators: Justin Gerard, Cory Godbey, and Chris Koelle! WIN.
The project is fully funded, but there are only 56 hours left in the Kickstarter as of this post, so you can still help out and fund some exciting stretch goals, like some new classes to be added to the list! I was the first one to back the project when it went live in October (pats self on back), so I've been taking it very seriously! Thanks in advance for helping out, and even if you can't back it, be sure and check out the courses. If you're even remotely interested in improving your illustration skills then these are most certainly the classes for you.

#2. Fox Demo by Cory Godbey!

     I wanted to quickly turn your attention to a video that I purchased this past weekend (and watched all last weekend). This is Fox, by Cory Godbey, a 1 hour video demo of Cory's digital coloring process that he recently made available on his new digital shop on his blog, lightnightrains. I am not being paid to say this, but let me say it's the best $30 I've spent in a long time. The video is extremely well done, and it's very easy to follow. I have seen Photoshop demos in the past that were insanely confusing (partly because they were so sped up, and partly because the commentary was terrible). NOT SO with Fox. Cory very kindly explains his process, things he finds useful, and encourages you to experiment with what works for you. I think that you will be highly rewarded, as I have for checking this video out. It just might change your approach to how you illustrate. 

And that's all for now. I'll be back very soon.

-Will   

Inktober Day 22

A daring rescue is made by the members of the Victorian Explorer Society!

(And with the help of some flying friends of course.)

The pirates scatter in confusion, trying to defend their ship.

Inktober Day 21

This poor young lady was a member of another expedition to find the Lost Relic. But when she was captured by the Sky Pirates to interpret their map to the location of the Relic, she refused to help them. Of course, they didn't appreciate this very much, so they decided they didn't really need her help after all. This means a very nasty fall for our poor heroine. I hope someone will come along quickly to rescue her.*

*Someone probably will, I imagine.