The sketch on the left hand side is my initial drawing. (pencil/marker on photocopy paper). I then used detail paper to refine and tighten the drawing. (right)
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These sketches were done on Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper with PITT oil based black pencil and ink. Highlights were added with a white conte pencil.
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Here’s a colour sketch of 1970′s Aussie soap siren, Abigail. This is based on the photo below. As you can see I began quite realistically but then progressed to a more stylised caricature.
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A rough brush and ink sketch of Modesty Blaise. This wonderful Japanese poster for the film served as reference.
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These pages are from a new sketchbook. I want to keep practicing with brush and ink and chose to copy some classic Jack Kirby panels. I have always loved Kirby’s work and his dynamic drawing is ideal for letting loose with the brush.
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This week I got a mention on the Illustration Pages website. Check it out here.
If you are a creative why not submit your site or Faceboook fan page.
Find all the details on Illustration Pages.
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Here’s my final acrylic painting of Tiki Girl. I am quite happy how it turned out because I wanted to combine a stylised figure with some realism. The major changes I made were to the background and the wooden Tiki carving.
The yellow-orange sun burst (see my final colour rough below) overpowered the whole image so it was toned down to a more subtle sunset. I added some cool blues to further recede the background.
I also redesigned the Tiki carving to be less angular. That area was first painted with a dark tone (mix Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue) and then the form was highlighted with Burnt Sienna using a scrubbing technique with a dry brush.
Once the painting was complete it was sealed with acrylic binder medium and two coats of gloss varnish.
Tiki Girl: Acrylic on canvas. 30cm x 40cm (12″ x 16″).
My final colour rough. Here’s a more polished version of the same Tiki Girl sketch with the black line work cleaned up. Coloured and painted in Photoshop. (Above)
I am submitting a painting to a local art show next month. Have played around with various subjects but finally settled on this Tiki inspired pin-up girl. Here are some preliminary sketches and a colour rough. The final painting will be acrylics on canvas, 30cm x 40cm.
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Final pencil drawing – PITT oil based pencil on Bristol paper. Size: 28cm x 36cm.
Rough sketch on detail paper Size: A4.
Col-Erase blue pencil on detail paper.
Brush and ink sketches.
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Girls from my sketchbook (Above).
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Final pencil drawing on Bristol board. (Above)
Refining the sketch on detail paper. (Above)
Initial sketches on scrap paper. (Above)
Here’s an illustration I did back in March for Melbourne’s Child magazine. It appears in this month’s issue (May 2010). The article is entitled “Kids Birthday Parties – a survival guide for parents” and gives advice and tips on how to organise a kid’s birthday party.
The author states that the key to a successful party is planning and organisation but one sentence really stood out. “I’m a teacher and tend to run birthday parties with military precision…”
Words, such as enlist, survival, strategy also appear making the analogy that organising a kid’s party is not unlike running a military campaign.
This gave me the idea of showing a mum and a couple of adults serving at the party wearing army uniforms. This evolved into them wearing everyday clothes that looked a bit military. The WWII helmet became a stack hat, Mum wore a bandolier with crayon ammunition and a teenage son was armed and dangerous with a super soaker.
Here you can see my early sketches and a few thumbnails. I usually work out my composition on scrap paper at 13cm by 18cm. Once I am happy with the rough sketch I begin refining the drawing with overlays of detail paper. Sometimes it helps to do certain parts of the drawing separately. I did this with the kids hands..
After my final detail paper drawing I transfer it via light box to Bristol board using Col Erase blue pencil. I draw over that with HB lead and the darker PITT oil based pencil. The drawing is then scanned and cleaned up in Photoshop where colour is added.
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