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   

#128 Captain Brown

If you're like me, you like period drama. So last night I watched Cranford a BBC show about this small English town. It's quite fascinating and compelling, and the characters are splendid.
I have unofficially declared November to be Drawing From Life Month for myself, so I began by working from stills of this show, which afforded me some very interesting faces to draw, and superb light and shadow (which is hard to find in photo reference).

The beauty of it is, however, that I don't have to show you the photo, because then you would see how off I really am. I felt a bit rusty on my drawing skills, but to tell you the truth it felt so good to get back into that mode of separating light and shadow and getting it onto paper.

#082 Silver Chair Book Cover (Value Comp)

This is the value comp for the book cover assignment we are in the middle of in class right now. I chose to do the Silver Chair from the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. Silver Chair is one of my favorite books in the series, and I felt like doing a scene from this one instead of the ones already adapted to film would keep me from being influenced too much in my depiction of the scene.
I chose to depict the trio of Puddleglum, Eustace Scrubb, and Jill Pole as they approach Harfang Castle, the dwelling of the Giants. I thought that this would better reinforce the idea that they were on a quest, instead of focusing on some of the more pivotal scenes from the book, such as the part where Rilian destroys the Chair.

Hope you like! Color next week...

#073 Dragon Battle Concept (Preliminary Sketches)

Here are some glimpses into my sketchbook from this past week. I'm in the process of creating a piece of concept art for a film of my own conception as another school project. All I can tell you right now is that it involves: space, dragons, nomads, princes, fighting, swords, deserts, volcanoes, lava, and some weird space vehicles.

Sounds interesting, but I think I have bitten off more than I can chew.

#069 Atom Boy

A project that was finished this week in Photoshop. I chose to design a movie poster using only old photos scanned from 1960's era books. It was fun and a challenge, and FYI "Atom Boy" was originally going to be a hippie, but I couldn't find one.

Also, you will notice that Atom Boy is played by a very young Harrison Ford, with special effects by Ray Harryhausen, and an original soundtrack by the Moody Blues.

Unfortunately the film was scrapped at the last minute due to budget concerns, but in later years the unedited version became a cult classic. In Japan.

#051 "Who's Scruffy Lookin'?"

My favorite Star Wars by far.

I'm really wanting to get these sweet 1980 Marvel comic book adaptations. Dark Horse has just published a reissue, but I would love to have an original edition.

#044 Guardians of the Desk

For about a week now these stalwart guardians have been holding down security here at the Illustration Desk.

Call me weird, but I still have a great love of Legos. I built with them all the time when I was a kid, and would spend a whole day working on massive projects of imaginative grandeur. It was the way I built my own sci-fi and fantasy worlds, and to an extent, I still occasionally try those ideas out in Lego bricks now.

These Rebel soldiers are ready for anything the Empire throws at them. I love the details the figures have... just like they were in ESB. My goal someday: have a little converted closet in my house with all the Lego Star Wars models I can get my hands on - all in a diorama setting. How's that for a geeky kid's dream?

Get your own at lego.com.

#043 Eyjafjallajökull

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

The infamous volcano in all its terrible glory. How beautiful is such a powerful thing. How great the One who performs such miracles.

I have always wanted to go to Iceland, and this 2 minute time-lapse film just makes me want to go more. Also enjoyed the seemingly Sigur Rós-ish soundtrack which was gorgeous.

Video by Sean Stiegemier, who you can visit here.

If you wish to purchase me a ticket to Iceland (and maybe one for a friend or two), just leave a comment in the comments section. Thanks!

#040 In Technicolor

A study this week in Photoshop's Hue/Saturation layers settings and black & white image colorization. I don't know what movie this is from, but the actress is Kathleen Burke, and if I'm not mistaken (and I probably am) that's Gary Cooper with her.

Here's the original black & white movie still:

#038 Something Wicked This Way Comes

It's coming.
Get ready.
This week in ILL 133 we are using Photoshop to create a steampunk-ish composite image using this fantastic lithographic clip art. Only time will tell what evil shall ensue...

Stay Tuned.

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* Side Note: This post has nothing to do with the 1983 film "Something Wicked This Way Comes" which is based on the book by Ray Bradbury. But in a way it does, because that title has been running through my head for weeks. Thank you. You're dismissed.

#037 These People Create: Cédric Delsaux

It seems that the universe is getting smaller all the time... and here's proof.
I recently stumbled onto the amazing work of Cédric Delsaux via ISO50's blog (read a previous post about them here), and needless to say this stellar project is beautiful, mysterious, humorous and terrifying all at once. The seamless way Delsaux blends the vehicles and characters of Star Wars with real world photography from photo shoots in France, Dubai, and elsewhere is no less than stunning. Although I don't know much about his process, I am %99.99 sure that Photoshop is involved, with maybe a little Maya, Lightwave, or Modo 3D modeling software thrown in. But what really sells these photos is the sense of realism, and a phenomenally original and creative idea, which seems to have served Delsaux well.

Posted above are a few of my favorites. Lord Vader looks particularly stunning and Gothic beneath those imposing European windows. The good old Millennium Falcon is more spry than ever. Jango Fett is about to make an arrest in the headlights of a Citroen.
And the last photo just really sends shivers down my spine. Let's just say if you ever see this in real life, you're in big, big, big trouble.

Visit Cédric Delsaux at his website here.