Progress On Jaka's Commission and ARTPOSE!

 Progress On Jaka's Commission and ARTPOSE!

Here's a prime example of when to apply realistic anatomy into an illustration of this style... In the case of my current client's characters, and the way he depicts them in his drawings, it works perfectly. Here are the original references (species-wise, the man is a Mandrill whilst the woman a Flying Fox):


 


And here are some progress shots to share around:










You will notice that I got help on tightening details regarding the structure of the human anatomy (male and female) as well as the lighting for rendering the final image by using a really handy app called ARTPOSE.

The program is quick and easy to use, and it's super affordable. It allows you to custom-make poses with limited of options for body types and hairstyles - what's even cooler is that it features over 20 different types of pre-rendered poses that you can use and tweak from!


I tried to manipulate as closely as possible to my client's request for the pose he was looking for on his commission and it took me about a few minutes each to re-create the poses for both genders. Here is the male version:





I have to thank because he was the one who introduced this program to me when I was studying back at the AAU. I didn't get to using the program until now! Thanks bro as always!

Hope this will encourage others who own an I-Pad and are serious about improving on their illustration work to download the program and fully utilise it for your own benefit. All the best!

 Tonal Composition Studies ~ Try It Today!

I recently stumbled upon a really awesome article (by art instructor Chris Legaspi) covering an aspect in composition for illustration and paintings.

I STRONGLY recommend you to check it out because understanding composition and value are some of the keys to constructing a truly captivating and beautiful piece of art - and these principles can be carried through not just illustration but other areas of visual arts like photography and graphic design!







When I have time I'm going to post some studies of my own in future and hopefully inspire others to just take an hour or two of their week to grasp the basics, or if you're an intermediate level artist, capture the essence of an illustration using the elements of composition and value.


Right now I'm working on my second client's commission which involves two characters - depicted in a portraiture.  was very fortunate to provide me a direct reference (FYI the illustration is not my work) on how he'd like his final artwork to look like. I took the liberty of analyzing different compositions for before I begin my sketch. Here are some options) with quick tonal applications to establish value and mood.







My client has chosen the first option which is not a bad choice at all! The only thing that I feel would be breaking the rules a little is that the points of interest (i.e. the lines intersecting with one another the create a point) are not hitting areas like the face, hands or (in the lady's case) the breast.


Nevertheless it'll be interesting to see how it works out in the end! Art is about following certain principles to achieve perfection but sometimes breaking rules and making happy mistakes can also lead you to unbelievable results.


For those who have read up till here and are able to spare a couple of hours this week, I kid you not on the fact that if you do this study you will see improvement in the way you illustrate your next drawing. Hot tip: Just like the instructor says - LOOK AT OLD MASTERS PAINTERS or GOLDEN AGE ILLUSTRATORS - that would be one of the best places to start. Chris, in his video, mentions Anders Zorn, Edgar Payne and Dean Cornwell. I will also include my own for your additional studies: John Singer Sargent, Mead Schaeffer, Rembrandt, and Norman Rockwell.


Have fun and please by all means send me a link and I will post up and give feedback on your studies if you'd like!