Final image #3 (Step by Step)

Simple digital tester, using highly contrasting colours.

I took inspiration from my autumn tree reportage sketch. At first I did not take much inspiration from any of the digital artists that I researched, however, after my 'accident' with the fill tool, I have come to the conclusion that this final piece reminds me of some of the work that Ellie York Brooks has created, with her scratchy style. The branches in my illustration, resemble the 'scratchy' style, that can be seen in one of her images below).

http://www.digitalartistdaily.com/image/17857/discover < (image reference)

In this photo below, I zoomed into the sketchy mark making lines, to make the detail of the lines that she illustrated on this piece clearer.

http://www.digitalartistdaily.com/image/17857/discover < image reference at this link.

The branches of my digital image, mimic this style well I think.

I sketched the basic outline of the tree, using a thin brush.

Then filled it in a brown tone, using the bucket tool.

I added additional smaller branches for leaves to go on, and to make the structure more complex, and tree like.

I smoothened the tree out a bit, and cleaned the edges up slightly.

Added the photo of a leaf, that I took for use of this image. I would like to experiment with using phots in artwork..

The addition of some texture, for the bark.


Ditto.

Smoothing out the rough lines again, using the eraser.

The image after being smoothened out.

Then I selected a deeper shade of brown, to add a shadow in with. I decided to make the light source come in from the right.

Beginning to add the shading, on a new layer.

The basic shading complete.

In this slide, I am going into the image, and erasing the rough parts, that aren't supposed to be there.

Ditto, erasing the rough pieces.

I placed one of my prints in the background layer, to act as a 'ground'. I like this print, because I feel that it resembles a woodland floor texture.

I then added the addition of a darker brush stroke, to give the illusion of depth, and range, as well as shadow.

The darker brush stroke addition, as fully complete

I then added one of my leaf prints to the image. It gives the branch area, a bit of noise, making it seem more textured.

As it looks after placement.

Added another brush stroke, slightly lighter than the left strokes on the trunk, on the right of the tree trunk, to balance out the texture.

Then, through an accident, I filled the background in a light grey accidentally with the fill tool. I really liked how this looked, as it allowed the lines to look rougher, which is more tree-like, due to the small branches, and flaking bark texture to it. So I decided to keep it, and i'm really happy I came across this accident, as it has changed my piece, and it looks now like it's in a new light.

I placed a simple dark grey stroke under the branches, to give the illustion of a simple shadow, and to display the depth of the leaves. While I am doing this,  I am also placing more leaves, over the top of the layers. I think this piece looks like an image you would find on such items as curtains, and pillows. It now resembles a house style piece.

Because the new background colour, erased the previous print, I took the opportunity to add a better print, for use in this digital image. This image is of a leaf print, that I created using black printing ink. I will be mixing this print in with the photos of the leaves, to create difference between the two.

The image with a few white leaves in the mixture, and also some various leaves on the floor, to create the illusion of autumn.

I then placed a leaf, in a falling position, and used the blur, and smudge tool, to give the effect that it is falling to the ground, like how the other leaves have done.

The piece after more leaves have been added to the branches, and with the inclusion of a brush stroke at the foot of the tree, in a similar fashion to the brush stroke situated within the tree branches, to indicate depth, shadow, and tone.

I then added a few more leaves, as a finishing touch to the piece.

This final piece, has taken some research from earlier on in my testers, and also my blog. I have used a print in this image, as part of my final piece. I developed this image from my print room sessions, and also with testers 3 and 4. 

Thomas.

Jessica Strickland

http://nairasillustrations.wix.com/nairas-illustrations

http://nairasillustrations.wix.com/nairas-illustrations#!contact/c13vo < Image reference here.

http://nairasillustrations.wix.com/nairas-illustrations#!untitled/zoom/c2269/image1rc7 < screenshot taken from this link.

Jessica Strickland, also known as "Naira", was born in 1990, and lives in Melbourne, Australia.

She describes herself primarily as a digital artist, who uses Adobe Photoshop 5 and her graphics tablet, to produce her finely detailed, and colourful work.

According to her site she states that, (at the time of writing), she has been creating freelance commission work for the past 5 years, and that she caters mainly for fans of anthropomorphic, and fantasy animals. 

She does wish to enter the professional industry, as she is an emerging digital artist, with true potential. She also expresses interest in entering the book illustration market, under genres such as children's and fantasy, the first genre I noted is a very good industry for an emerging artist/illustrator to enter. (See this below link, to my blog about the children's book market for more information).

She also wishes to perhaps enter the video, and video game market someday as well.

 > http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3058873721480185674#editor/target=post;postID=7374733567598106760;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=13;src=postname)
http://nairasillustrations.wix.com/nairas-illustrations#!commissions/cvol < Link to her great digital gallery.



Thomas.

Final Piece #2 Image

Ruby, the west highland terrier, that I created in Photoshop to be my second, final digital image.
I really like the turn out of this image, it appears to be very detailed and textured, this is what I wanted in my second final image, for the piece to have a bit more detail than the last one. (Gecko sketch link below) >
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6973146728022153024#editor/target=post;postID=1522253695632072608;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=13;src=link

I again, like my first image, took inspiration from the artist griffsnuff (Bold lines, colour, and overall cartoon visual look). However, I also took elements from a few other research artists, such as Julia Kay with her usage of mark making using lines.

http://studiojuliakay.com/juliaKayPhoto250.html

In the image above, note the mark making lines on the right dog. The shade lines in the middle are very rough, however they allow for simple shading to be recognised. I tried to go for a similar approach, however tweaked slightly. I used this rough line style, coupled with a darker background in the area I wanted to appear shaded. This is prominent on the left side of my canine illustration, where the shadows are supposed to be. Also, like Julia Kay, I took influence with her contrasting look, as well as minimal approach, of a strong line colour, against a background that would display the image as clear as possible.

I created a tester, of a dog in the style of Julia Kay.

A digital tester, using a similar colour scheme, against a contrasting background, like in Julia's style.

Ani Roschier (ani-r)

Ani Roschier, is a professional digital concept artist/illustrator from Finland, who I have selected to do some research on.

http://colorrred.com/art/environments/very-high-up/ < image reference at this link.

You can find him, and his work on his site, at deviant art > http://ani-r.deviantart.com
He can also be found here, at coloured.com > http://colorrred.com

I asked him a few questions through email, that I thought would be relevant to my research. I am so happy to say, that he has replied to my questions. I will place the questions and answers below this text.

I will also highlight key points in his answers, to label them as noteworthy info.

-----------------


1. Have you graduated from a university?
Yes. I graduated from a university of applies sciences with a degree in 3D visualization and animation (4,5 years of studies). It should be taken into account though, that this did not in any way teach me what I know, quite the opposite. Whatever merit and skill I have in drawing and painting is self-taught. 

How did you start out your career as an illustrator?

I started doing requests for people when I got into the online art communities like Elfwood and dA when I was 13-14, and then progressed into doing commissions for people around 16-17 and around that same time also did my first commercial illustrations for a few magazines and newspapers. Since then I've always been doing freelance on the side and it just sort of evolved into bigger and bigger things.

What is your favourite software to produce digital work with?

3. Photoshop! It's mostly because of habit. I taught myself photoshop as it has always been said to be an industry standard (and it is true) so I've been using it since I was 13-14 and it has become the easiest tool for me.

How hard is it in the industry for an illustrator today, in your opinion?
Define the terms industry, illustrator? The terms can mean almost anything because there are so many types of illustration and art related jobs. You can illustrate storybooks, posters, business mascots or you can work in games as a concept artist or in the movies or advertising and still call your work 'illustration' so its really hard to define. I can only speak for myself though; although illustrating (concept art and production art) for video games is a hugely sought after job at the moment (it seems like something a lot more people want to do than the industry can accommodate) the games industry (especially mobile platform) keeps expanding so there seems to be a demand for new artists... so I'd say it could be fairly easy as long as you set your goals on a realistic level (I cant stress this enough) - you cant expect to get hired for AAA games with zero experience or with little skill when youre really young, you have to start smaller and work your way up to get experience on studio and illustration workflows and so on! Maybe start at a small studio or work as a freelancer for indie developers and move up from there, that is completely doable! As you gain experience with different types of illustration and art production, you can aim higher and yes, maybe work for an AAA studio if you still want it.

Any last tips for being a professional illustrator?
Some of the stuff from the previous question applies. Set realistic goals for your career or dream job. You will fail if your only aim is to work on the next Final Fantasy or something similar. Keep practising and update your skills. Attitude: don't have an attitude; I swear, even if you're really skilled at something but have a bad attitude (uppity, don't listen to criticism, refuse to question your approach) no team will want to work with you. Variety; draw everything and everything. It is unlikely you will only get to draw your favorite thing - therefore, the wider variety of things and styles you can draw, the more guaranteed your livelihood is. That said, specialise on one or two things you really like! Being able to draw a wide range of subject matters makes you a credible artist and is very important, but also on top of that specializing in something makes you stand out and may improve your chances to get to draw your favorite thing. 

I have added him on my deviant art account page, and I will be communicating more with this experienced artist, in the future I hope.




Thomas.

Kozyndan

Kozyndan are a husband and wife artistic duo, who work together collaboratively. They create very finely, and highly detailed illustrations and fine art pieces.
They are very interested in marine elements, such as the seas and oceans. One day they say, they hope to be at rest, at the bottom of the sea, in a way of giving back to nature, and becoming the food for the many deep sea creatures that linger in these depths. This is something that I find interesting, as I'm lead to wonder about the reason why this appeals to them both.

http://www.kozyndan.com/art/bunny-ribbons < image reference at this link.

Here is a link to their own blog > http://www.kozyndan.com/blog

Here is also a link to their online art gallery, that I recommend taking a loo at, some of their work is really eye-catching, and abstract > http://www.kozyndan.com/art

They have participated in a lot of art gallery exhibitions, some of the ones that are notable, I will list below.

Notable Galleries:
Broken Circles, Breaking Light: Toronto
Their Bones are Coral Made: NYC
Washed Away: Melbourne-Perth-Sydney
And Then There Were None: London

Thomas Pringle

Thomas Pringle is a Danish artist, with an MA in illustration that he received from the School of Design in kolding, Denmark.

As of now, he is currently living in Canada, where he works freelance in the movie and games industry.

Some of his well known clients include:

-BBC Focus
-Avalanche Studios
-Disney
-THQ
-Edios


He has his own blog, that is featured on his site, here > http://pringleart.com/blog/

http://pringleart.com/personal-work/ <image can be referenced here. It is also a link, to his extensive online gallery, containing many works.

As a side note, on a particular topic that personally interests me, he has in the past, developed digital concept art for the video game, Bioshock 2, which is an interest of mine when it comes to games. Here is an example of some of the amazing work that he produced for the well received, and critically acclaimed game.

http://pringleart.com/projects/bioshock-2/

Overall, he is a very well taught illustrator, who produces a large amount of digital work. And he is one who I also admire, his ultra realistic images, are sought after by some of the world's top companies, and I can see why.

Interesting video about digital art

Thought I'd share this great link, to a video on the internet that goes in depth about digital artwork.

http://youtu.be/lg4M2H2_Zso

It's about 8 minutes long, and it is definitely worth a watch. It's an interview aimed toward a talented digital artist who uses such computer packages as Photoshop.

Thomas.