Largest Nosering Ever Version 2

Hey folks!

Here, have a new version of one of my older, all-vector works:



I've been on a bit of a Photoshop kick lately. I think it has been good for me to give the vectors a bit of a rest, letting my hand do all the work again instead of the mouse. Mind, I sketch in Photoshop, but I often produce the finished image in Illustrator, which is a great program but so technical that sometimes it can be creatively stifling.

One thing I have a really hard time with where digital painting is concerned is line art. I dunno what it is, perhaps I have a shaky, unsteady hand, but I just cannot seem to get the nice, crisp results some people can inking in programs like Photoshop (which, frankly, isn't the best program for inking anyway). So I exported the inks of one of my previous images as a Photoshop doc and decided to paint it. You can see the all-vector version here.

You know, I take pride in my ability to make Illustrator do some pretty neat things, and I really like the original version of this image, but...I think I like this one better! I think it has a little more life to it, some of the color choices are better (I always hated my decision to go with that macaroni yellow background, but nothing else seemed to work).

I would love your feedback!

Enjoy!

~Drew

Inks: Adobe Illustrator CS. Colors: Photoshop CS.

Caricatures yay!

Hey folks!

So, the other night, I got a little bored and yet somehow simultaneously inspired, so I decided to fill my free time (and then some) with some art. This was the result:



These are caricatures of people I am friends with on facebook! Some of them I know in real life, some of them I do not, but all of them were a lot of fun to draw. Here, have some blurby hotness about each one.

-Will: I have drawn this fellow before, but I didn't feel like the likeness was quite...there. I know it's hard for you guys to know without a comparison, but I think this one looks more like him, I think. He is in fancy opera-singing attire. Or at least that's what I assume, considering the reference photo I used.

-Tim: I don't know Tim that well, but he seems like a cool guy. And frankly, with those awesome tattoos and the epic sunglasses and mustache, how could I possibly resist? His tattoos are not entirely accurate, but it's the essence that counts the most when drawing in a cartoony style, and don't you forget it, kids!

-Matt: The most interesting thing about this particular caricature is that it wouldn't (and didn't) look a thing like Matt without his lightly-colored eyes. It's amazing how something so small can make such an enormous difference! Oh, and a word to Matt: cheer up, cheeseburger, it's not all so bad.

-Katie: She's a long-time friend of mine, I had no choice! Actually, that's not why I drew her. I did so because I've never drawn a picture of her that looked anything like her, and it was about time I did. I think it's successful, though I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that she looks like a Scott Pilgrim character here. ;D

-Wes: My father's best friend, he has known me since I was very very young. This ones stands out in that I think it looks the most like the person it's supposed to be (hard for you to know, I know, no point of reference). I don't know how it happened, but when drawing Wes, he just poured out of hands and onto the digital canvas, it was amazing! I hope he agrees...

-Jen: Wes's wife and all-around cool gal, why would I not want to draw her? I fear her hair is a little big here, and maybe not long enough...but I tried. Your facebook photos are dark, Jen! By the way, if you had photos of yourself with your new vintage-styled hair, I would have included that. For shame, Jen, for shame.

-Tara: Tara's pretty awesome. From my admittedly limited time knowing her so far, I can already tell that Tara is an adventurous, smart lady with a "glass-half-full" attitude and a lot of interesting things to say. You can read those interesting things at her blog, Sylace Says Yes (hence the "YES!" word balloon). I highly recommend you give her a read!

GUYS! I could totally write an animated/comic book sitcom and use you as the cast of that sitcom! I love how these came out!

Frankly, my favorite part about this little project was just how challenging it was to capture the likenesses and essences of these people, and how rewarding it was when I finally felt like I did. I'm so used to drawing things from my head, and in many ways that can be easier because I'm in control. But when you draw real people, you have to be faithful to whom they really are or you run the risk of disrespecting their being. I hope you guys feel like I did you justice!

And if you don't, well...these were unsolicited, free commissions, so stop bitching.

Take care!

~Drew

PS: Don't feel bad if you were not included this time around. I enjoyed doing this so much that I wouldn't be surprised to find myself doing it again in the near future, and naturally I'll need a whole host of new subjects. ;D

Art Thoughts - Urban and Vector Art

Hey folks!

Sometimes, I have random thoughts and ideas about art itself. And since this is an art blog, and not simply a "sketch blog," I think it's okay if I share them here (I wouldn't be surprised if I post this on my DA gallery as a journal, too, as I know I will get some feedback there). I would like to share my thoughts a little more often, instead of just rehashing images I post elsewhere, to you.

Anyway...

I was perusing DeviantART, looking for various groups that cater to the kind of art I do so that I might more-efficiently whore myself out to the masses. And I came across a group focused on vector art. Okay, fair enough, nothing strange going on here. But it's what they requested members submit to the galleries that struck me as a little surprising.

Things the owner of the group did not want to see submitted for review were realistic vector portraits and vector traces of photographs. Things the owner did want to see included actual illustrations, but I remember the guidelines mentioned a particular proclivity toward "urban" art.

For those not in the know, the "urban" style often features spatters of paint (usually meant to emulate spray paint), graffiti, cute and funny monsters, and hip-hop or pop culture references. This isn't always what urban art is, but a lot of it does fall pray to these trappings.

I mention this because what fascinates me is that it wasn't until this moment that I realized, a large portion of what's being done in the vector scene right now is "urban." And it got me wondering why. My guess is perhaps that a lot of people who are formally trained in vector art programs have an academic background in graphic design, and many elements of urban art are very similar to those found in graphic design. Look at some urban art, and you'll see there's a lot of focus on unique typography, placement, color choices, patterns, etc. I mean, of course other forms of art incorporate those things (lord knows I do with my cartoony style), but it's all law in graphic design, and almost by association, urban art. I also find a lot of the graphic design crowd tends to have a somewhat "trendy" set of tastes, which also really caters to the sensibilities of urban art.

But then, that doesn't really make a case for the enormous amount of (often gorgeous, though creatively lacking) realistic portraits done in vector mediums. What about that form of art attracts so many vector artists? I have only ever started two realistic vector portraits, and gave up because the process just wasn't something that kept me interested enough to want to continue. The payoff was slow, and ultimately not something that came from me but rather, a photographer. What's the point? Why vector it when it's already there, represented beautifully in pixels, ready to be enjoyed?

I think it has a lot to do with the challenge, honestly. I know many people that do these realistic vector portraits, for instance, really like to eyeball the colors instead of use the color picker, and perhaps they learn more about how to use tools like the Pen Tool and gradients. I like to hope realistic vector portrait artists are doing it mostly because they hope to learn and apply the experience to other, more user-created styles of art.

Or maybe I'm just a snob. Who knows.

Anyway, that's enough from me for tonight. I hope I didn't bore you to sleep, tears, or suicide.

Take care!

~Drew

Sexytime Volleyball YAY!

Hey folks!

Just a quick doodle, inspired by summertime and serious boredom:



Speaking of summer, Christ on crackers, it's hot here in Georgia! Ugh!

Anyway, take care.

~Drew

Captain America GO!

Hey folks!

I've been in a Project: Rooftop mood lately, I guess. Before, it was my redesign of Fantastic Four's Susan Storm, and now it's my entry into P:R's call to redesign Captain America!



About my design:

I wanted to do something classy and a little retro...30s, perhaps. I have a thing for capes, but I knew in my heart that a full-length one would do nothing for the design, so I added a short draping thing instead that allowed me to pull in the red-white-blue elements from the rest of the outfit. I chose more subtle, muted tones and even went with an olive green for the majority of the suit to give him a military feel. I didn't mess with his iconic shield too much. Didn't seem right.

Anyway, enjoy, and wish me luck!

~Drew

Affiliate Banner

Hey folks!

I just created a 200x40px affiliate banner for my blog, so if you want to link to or affiliate your blog or site with my blog, feel free to use this.



I'm sure it will change in the future. If it does, I'll let you know.

Thanks and take care!

~Drew

Susan Storm and Such

Hey folks!

So, if you've never heard of it, there's a wonderful little site on the interwebs called Project Rooftop. The site tasks artists from all over to redesign the costumes of popular superheroes, often for fun, sometimes for contests. Good times are always had, regardless!

Recently, they asked readers to come up with new looks for several heroes desperately in need of a makeover, and one of those heroes was Susan Storm, A.K.A. The Invisible Woman of Fantastic Four fame. The problem? Whereas the other three members of The FF have very distinct looks, Sue's is just a clone of Reed Richard's iconic blue jumpsuit adorned with the famous "4."

So I tried something a little different - not drastic, but cool no less, I think.



For a woman who spends all of her time being invisible, I thought she might like to be noticed when her powers are not in use. So I went all crazy and silvery with her outfit. I thought it was more interesting to have the gloves and stockings/boots supported by buttons and straps, but I didn't want to get too complicated with it. It felt more unique to me, something she has that the other members certainly don't.

I hope you dig it! And I hope the folks at P:R dig it enough to post it on their site.

---------

In other news, I vectored the (very clean) sketch of my friend seen a couple posts ago.



And I remembered his tattoo this time. Yay!

Even more yays, you say? Well, Blogger seems to have finally made it easy for people to share stuff on sites like facebook and twitter, so that's pretty rad.

Alright, enough rambling. Bed time! Take care!

~Drew

Jackal and Lobonz

Hey folks!

Today (well, Saturday) I wasn't feeling so well, so I made it a bit of a lazy Saturday. Most of the day was spent playing Bayonetta (who I'd still very much like to draw), but I decided to sketch two of my older characters, Jackal and Lobonz, for fun!



I tried to think of other things to draw, but my brain just wasn't having it. So I vectored the image.



Hooray for feeling like crap, I suppose.

I'll post this to DA tomorrow morning (or rather, later this morning as it's 3 AM). For now, it will be on my blog first! So further hoorays for all of you late-night readers. Hooray!

Anyway, I'm tired. Take care.

~Drew

Flickr

Hey folks!

I have to be honest. I'm really digging the new changes to Flickr, and I'm less irritated to use them as the host for my blog's images now that everything is streamlined and zooming, for instance, is easier on those looking to view images.

Just had to say that. Usually change upsets me at first, but all I wanna do is ask Flickr who does her hair.

Also, I intend to do more dry erase board doodles soon (I have one ready to post but it's sitting in my email). I promise that wasn't just a flimsy idea for throwing away and stuff.

In the words of the immortal Mika: Relax, take it easy.

~Drew

The Duncan Family Portrait

Hey folks!

I hope you had a good 4th of July weekend (hopefully your hangovers are gone by the time this is posted). Mine was spent making art! On Saturday, after finishing this image of Charlie Dubai...



...I sketched this family portrait of the gaming Duncan family (a project which finally has a working title: The Duncan Button)...



And all day Sunday was devoted to finishing the image (well, I finished it Monday morning)...



And then the rest of Monday was all about relaxing and letting my brain heal, basically.

Also, sketched this for a friend on Wednesday...



A little part of relaxing on Monday was me playing "Bayonetta" on the Xbox 360. It was kind of awesome, and now I really want to do a stylish, cartoon picture of Bayonetta. It's just too irresistible. So if I get the time, expect that! ;D

Also, I need to finish thumbnailing Charlie Dubai. I'll be more likely to start the final book once that's done.

Anyway, take care,

~Drew