I think the main thing to grasp with drawing on the iPad is – what does it actually do *better* than pen and paper? Not much actually. But a few things. Building up a web of tiny marks goes a lot faster for instance. Or having layers – that’s the key benefit of digital art. Had to remember to stop trying to find an app that simulates pens or brushes. That’s hopeless enough in desktop digital painting – on this thing, without even pressure sensitivity to help – you just have to adapt to what’s here. Not what you *wish* was here.

iPad sketch

Second poke at Sketchbook Pro on the ol’ pad.

iPad sketch

I’ve poked at this iPad every so often. Maybe tried drawing three or four times. But to be honest – there’s a major learning curve. I got the damn thing for drawing on the go – but I just seem to play games and surf the web on it. No More! Now I begin a campaign to learn how do do a drawing I actually like with it. Tricky – since I’m not in a good mood vis a vis digital drawing these days.

Tonight’s drawing – Sketchbook Pro, using a Jot stylus.

don’t draw a figure, draw shadow shapes.

I was doing some quick poses yesterday, thinking about drawing the shadow shapes with the brush. Each major chunk of shadow should have its own temperature gradient. Think like this: Sketch the contour>Draw the major shadow shapes >Spot in some contact (cast) shadows….and done! 15 and 20 min sketches.

And here’s the warmups from that session. You can see some of that ‘draw the shadow shapes’ in the faces I think.

The long lost art of figure drawing

Trying out the watercolors with a range of approaches. These were 10′s and 15′s I believe. Was a random lot of sizes and paper types. I taped a bunch of scraps I had lying around onto a big board to use them up. Lots of bad landscape painting on the backs of these :)

Resurrection Man – an illustrated Novel

I’m happy to announce the 1995 New York Times Notable Science Fiction Novel “Resurrection Man” by Sean Stewart, is now available as an illustrated ebook featuring 80 of my illustrations.

Sean is the award winning author of such projects as “Year Zero” (the Nine Inch Nails ARG), “I Love Bees”(the Halo ARG) and 12 well received novels, including the Cathy’s Book Series, (Cathy’s Book, Cathy’s Key, and Cathy’s Ring), “Perfect Circle” a 2004 Book Sense Notable Book, and Best of the Year from the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as the Nebula World Fantasy Award year 2000 winner “Galveston”.  He was a founding member of 42 Entertainment, and is now at Fourth Wall Studios where they are currently changing the nature of storytelling via integrated media.

This set of illustrations has to be the most challenging project I’ve tackled to date. I’ve certainly done hundreds of drawings for my video game projects – but this was my first experience weaving images directly into a work of fiction.  The novel has a eerie atmosphere. Dark and foreboding, but somehow not gruesome, even when it takes some grim turns.  It was a great experience, finding that strange tone and somehow injecting it into the drawing.

I spent approximately 3 months with the story, working on it nearly every day. Reading and re-reading, choosing symbols and incidents from the text, pacing out where to place drawings, and of course how to express the atmosphere of the story to the best of my ability.

I feel I’ve been given a tremendous opportunity, being given free rein to illuminate the text. I hope you’ll check it out, and enjoy the experience.

Here’s a few sample drawings from the book – but of course you can download the first few chapters from Amazon, or of course purchase the novel for only $2.99!

Stay tuned for future announcements! I hope to have the chance to do more illustrated fiction. I can’t wait to be able to talk about what comes next.

A few minutes with Rodin/Claudel

[after "The Implorer", Claudel]

Les Grands Ballets here in Montreal put on a small drawing contest in honor of their production Rodin/Claudel. (“A work about the torrid romance between Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel”). I’d heard about the open invitation to come and sketch two dancers in poses inspired by the sculptors – so I thought – That’s for me!

It was well attended I think, for this sort of local radio/facebook/PR kind of thing – looked like around 60 or 70 people turned out to draw or watch drawings happen. I was surprised it was a series of 5 minute poses – quite challenging for an ‘all-skill levels’ type of drawing competition. Especially on the two figure compositions. 5 minutes with two figures is not a lot of time if you try to get all the hands and feet and faces in:)  I chose to econcomize on these sketches. Just go for the feeling of the pose/sculpture. The dancers were of course, elegant emoters (if that’s a word) – and no doubt well aware of the original works. It think it’ll be fun to play spot-the-sculptures in the full performance.

Unfortunately I cannot show you my favorite drawing – as it was selected as one of the five competition winners, and hopefully now sits in a nice frame on the choreographers wall. But, they did give me a pair of tickets to the performance next weekend – so that’s not a bad use of five minutes time on a rainy Saturday.

I do wonder if they’ll get into the part where Camille goes mad, smashes up her sculptures with a hammer, and eventually ends her days imprisoned in the asylum. You have to wonder if living in Rodin’s shadow did her in.

["The Kiss", Rodin]

[The Thinker, Rodin]

Some snapshots of the event, courtesy John Hall of Motion Photography. I’m in there toward the middle of the pack :)

Photocollage video tutorial

Every wanted to know how to get a photographic look in your digital painting? Here’s a how -to video. Admittedly this is a little old now – I did it last year for Imagine FX magazine. They’ve just posted it on youtube for all to enjoy. I don’t actually do much work this way anymore – but it was handy back at Imagemovers when we were aiming for photorealistc realistic stuff.

Live Drawing Demo at Gallery Usine 106

I have a few drawings up this month at Gallery Usine106 on Roy and Rue de Bullion. They’re all from shibari drawing sessions I’ve been doing with my friend Mai. We decided to do a demo at the opening. She did three ties while I sketched.

I’m always concerned with live demos. It’s 50/50 if these kind of drawings turn out well. She’s constantly in motion, whipping the ropes around, and the patterns of knots and angles of the model’s limbs are always changing. But that’s what I enjoy about these – the unpredictability of what’s going to happen next. I have to freeze what I’ve seen in my mind, and finish it from whatever I can find in the motion.

It may be that I draw better under pressure. Or just that I enjoy the freedom of sketching without concern for ‘pretty’ results. You get what you get, and you have to live with it.

Here’s some shots from the event:

Oil Study

Here’s a second try with the live model at Atelier de Bresoles, working under Eric Manmella.  I’m trying to apply everything from his previous workshops on cast drawing and master copies. This was a four day pose. (Same model as the previous sketch).

The first day was just the the linear block-in. Done in Raw Umber with a touch of Ivory Black.  (A fast drying mix).

The progress pics below are all from the second day’s underpainting. Eric suggested I work over the (now dry) block-in with a 2″ hog bristle fan brush. It was pretty strange (never having tried a fan before). Sure gave me a lot of rapid coverage.

I spent the remaining sessions rendering with progressively smaller and softer brushes. Going down to a #2 round on the facial features. Now that I’ve been through it, I would have tried to be a bit less aggressive with the underpainting. I left myself with too many ridges in the paint surface. Next time I’ll try a synthetic fan and more medium.

It’s fairly crucial to give it a few days between sessions, so you can work over dry paint.  It’s a totally different experience going over a dry surface. Most of my previous alla prima attempts always ended in a mess of thick muddy paint. This method, while requiring patience, is very relaxing. The paint just obeys your every whim.

Another of Eric’s tips – first thing on each return session, I went over the entire panel with clear linseed oil (spreading a very thin glaze). This brings up the dried (matte) color to the correct rich values of the wet oil. You need to see the value as it will look after the final varnishing – so you’re not drifting into chalky colors over time.

This is of course a long way from the level of finish I hope to get. But it is the first time I felt I grasped the entirety of this system of ‘academic’ painting.