The Illustrative Process...not entirely annoying!

      So I thought i might try something different with today's post. Instead of just showing you the finished product, i thought i might show you the process I go through. Just in case, like myself when I first started, you were clueless on how illustrators approach a piece. They really problem-solve!
     My usual practice when approaching a piece is just go at it with a medium of my choice and not really brainstorm/sketch too much...with mixed results. Ever since I've switched to the illustration major, I've had to slow down my process and re-do sketches like, a million times before it's "done", and i admit, with better, more cohesive results. It was frustrating at first because i'm naturally impulsive and a tad impatient, but now I can see how it can be really useful.
     So here's how it goes, our professors act as Art Directors and give us an assignment/job and we bam out thumbnails. This assignment was for an in-book illustration in graphite: I chose Game of Thrones because I'm a huge fan. We sketched 12 thumbs (about 4"x5.5") in all but here are some ideas that actually made the cut:

Ghost with a zombie arm.

Melissindre giving birth to a shade. I think the faces are so funny in this one.

Arya plucking a grave worm from a skull in the house of black and white.

We are given feedback (proportion, contrast, crop, composition, references, etc.) and we do final sketches of the 3 and from there the instructor (or in real life, the art director) chooses one image, makes further suggestions for changes and gives us he green light to do the final artwork. These are the 3 final sketches(about 5.5"x8") I provided to pick from....

This is the one my profe green-lighted with still more corrections to do...

      So after all that push and pull, drawing and re-drawing I did the final piece....

So yeah, this is how i'm working now a days. It's better to have a plan and revisit ideas than to risk doing one of these....

Stay classy my friends. <3

Abby does a Mini comic about herself...Gah. Sooo Self Absorbed!!

But in my defense it was a class assignment for my Comic Book Seminar Class. I seriously LOOVE this class. We talk about comics, read comics and draw comics. It's perfect. It's taught by Eisner nominee Matt Silady who did The Homeless Channel, and he KNOWS comics. He's a really insightful and observant about the medium. Anyway enough gushing about him, lets turn the focus back to me, the self absorbed artist. Kidding....or am i? Please read, comment if you'd like, and I hope you get a chuckle.
Oh and sorry about the so-so quality, it was done quickly and it's been riding around my backpack for a little bit. :O

Illustration 1: Self Portrait Project

Quick post up of a few self portraits for an ongoing weekly assignment for Illustration 1. This is week 6 so i have a few more to make before the semester is done. This is actually a really fun assignment done fast and dirty ( since most times i do it the night or morning before class, but don't tell my professor that). We pick an artist/Illustrator we admire and do a S.P. in their style. So far, I've picked:

 Marice Sendak (Where the wild things are)

 

Hiroaki Samura (Blade Of the Immortal)

  

Bill Waterson (Calvin and Hobbes, yes i'm Hobbes ;P)

 Russ Mills (Album Cover Illustrator)

R. Crumb (Professional Bad Ass Cartoonist! Fritz The Cat and other marvelous things)

Stay tuned for more later, kids!

Not always cutesy all the time.

So this as for illustration 2 and it was an Op Ed piece for a story about Guantanamo bay and indefinite detention. For those of you who know me, you might not be surprised that i have strong opinions on this abhorrent excuse of  American justice. Anyways, a little dark, hmmm..? Ink and nothing else. 12"x18" on Bristol.

Quezti is awesome.

Just a quick toss in here to show what i've been doing. Illustration for kids cultural myth and legends assignment for Illustration 2 class. I did the Aztec legend of corn with Quetzalcoatl in Sepia ink wash with brush. Woo!