Murdock Ink! Sketch and Painting Blog!

"Monst-Her"

2012-01-29T06:56:00.000-08:00

I call this one "The Monst-Her". This is basically a combination of "the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Swamp Thing" but the female version. Not anything really dramatic to speak of, but just for fun.

The idea came to me while I was down in Central America. I definitely took a sketch book with me, and along with finishing up the other sketches for the tribute book, I also put down whatever came to mind. This was one of those ideas.

In addition, I was also reading "Color and Light" by James Gurney (you can get it at Amazon here if you are interested). It's a pretty great book, pretty simple to get through and has a lot of really informative tips on setting up color palettes, and color schemes.

I had definitely made my way up to working with creating color schemes, and up until now I was using color scheme designer. The thing that I was missing though was about color gamuts, and limited color palettes.

In short, using the color wheel, you essentially limit the colors that you use by drawing a polygon (a triangle, a rectangle, etc.) and then sticking to the colors within the polygon. What you will then get is a color scheme that is complimentary with each other (as long as you stick within the shape). Below is an example of a gamut mask pulled from the color wheel.

I found a site called livepaintinglessons.com that allows you to create your own gamut masks and you can use that as part of your piece/painting.
Now you can use this same technique when creating your own pieces.

In other news the art book is coming along nicely, and I will posting the Mighty Bomb Jack rework next!

'Til next time..

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Back from Central America (Art Book cover sketches and more..)

2012-01-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hey gang,

I'm back from Central America after a week of shaping and molding young minds. It was a really great week, and I feel so lucky to have been able to share time with those students.
You can see some of their wonderful photos on the Design 4 Kids Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Design4Kids

While I was there I had some time when I was not teaching class. I managed to start work on some cover designs as well as complete the final list of pieces that will be included in the book:

Here is the final list (in no particular order and not all necessarily Nintendo games:)
-Megaman (2)
-Clu Clu Land
-Pro Wrestling
-Mario
-Ducktales
-Elevator Action
-Legend of Kage
-Ring King
-Mighty Bomb Jack (gonna fix the cover)
-Sonic
-10 Yard Fight (if I have time)---I never really played 10 Yard Fight that much but it seems to ba a favorite. So if I can make it happen I will fit it in.
I managed to complete all of the composition sketches so now it's on to knocking these out one by one.
I plan on starting that this week, so I am pretty excited about that.
As a quick treat below are some logo and cover sketches (kinda early but this will give you just a quick idea of the cover layout).

Below are some sample logos ideas:

Below are some cover ideas:

I'll start posting as I work through the ideas.
See ya soon!

Design 4 Kids 7!

2012-01-20T08:56:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

I wanted make a quick note to let you know that I am on hiatus for a bit (read out of the country).
I am currently attending an overseas program called
"Design4Kids7", which is a great program that takes place in Guatemala Central America.

The program is designed to teach local students about the principles of graphic design, typography, photography as well as using tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator.

I was able to lead a drawing class this week as well, which gave the students the chance to get hands on drawing practice, doing gesture drawings, portrait drawings, memory drawings and blind contour drawings. It was all a lot of fun and gave the kids some hands on drawing practice and trying something new.

If you want to take a look at some of the photos the students have been posting, you can take a look at the Design for Kids Facebook page (make sure you like it):
http://www.facebook.com/Design4Kids

Also to learn more about the organization itself check out:
http://design4kids.org/

I will be back next week with more news and tid bits about the 80's video game art book coming out in April!

See you then!

X-men Rogue

2012-01-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

This week's post is coming a little bit early and I am headed out of town for the next week or so.
I didn't want to leave you guys without a post for the week. So this week I decided to take a bit of a break from the Nintendo book and try something different. I don't normally do superheroes (although I love them)..but since everyone else does it I like to be different. However, in the spirit of doing different things, I decided to try and paint over someone else's lines, which turned out to be pretty awesome.
I have been following this guy and Deviant art for a while (http://weaponx5203.deviantart.com/).
One day I asked him if I could pick something from his gallery and paint over the work.

He said "sure" and below is what I got:

Here are the steps to get to the end result:

1. Below: I picked the sketch of Rogue from the gallery it was the one with the cleanest lines and I was a fan of the sketch. I heard a lot that the key to a great painting is the sketch and the drawing underneath and it's really true. If you have a crappy drawing no amount of painting over it is going to fix it. See the sketch below:

2: Below: then I added a background gradient to set up the color tone of the painting:

3: Below: One tip that I picked up is before you start laying down any permanent lines, you should do some color tests. This means that you can try different color schemes and see which one works the best. Even different color backgrounds as well. In this case I kept the background green because it goes nicely with the yellow in Rogue's costume.

4: Below: I start to add color flats and the shadows and I make the decision that the light should be coming from the top right side of the image.

5. Below: One tip that I learned that also helps was to use a wireframe form lines to try and define the shape. This helps to keep the image from being flat, helps to define the form and helps when adding shadow and defining the form.

6. Below: Shadows added

7. Below I start to go over the lines and do the paintover. I will usually leave the light source indicator in place to serve as a reminder as I work.

8. Below is the final! Shout out to Weaponx for letting me paint over his work!
See you in a week guys!!!!!

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Nintendo Tribute: Double Dragon 2

2012-01-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

This weeks post is Double Dragon (the second part of the tribute--Jimmy Lee). I think that the first character is called Billy. For this one I decided to go against the dark background of the last post, and this time around decided to do a twilight/sunset scene. (I really like sunset scenes/shots.) I find that they are easier to create and develop than a night scene. I also tried out a new signature to make it more official in the 2K12. See below for some steps to see what I was thinking while I was painting this guy.

1) So after the last Double Dragon post, I decided that I needed some help. I wasn't sure where I was going wrong and looked into watching more tutorials, podcasts, etc. etc. I learned a few things such as how to create better backlighting, and also about the sketch process. Basically, the sketch is the key to doing a good piece of work. Lots of times I would scan a sketch from my sketchbook, and then go right into painting. However this time around, I decided to take the extra step and go over my lines, because I was finding that the painting process was getting difficult. What's funny is that I still really look the textured look of sketch lines. So I will have to work to see how to make this more interesting. Anyway below is the sketch phase.

2) and here is the line phase. I created the lines on a seperate multiple layer over the sketch layer (I also set the sketch layer to multiply). I don't know about you guys, but the layer order is the thing that always always always messes me up and gets confusing. (below)

3) Below you see that I start to block in the basic colors on a normal layer between the basic line art layer (above) and the sketch layer that I scanned in initially. At this point I start to determine where my light source is coming from as this will help me make my decisions on shadows later on.

4) Below I start to fill in all of the basic colors as well as determine the background. Since I want the scene to appear in a twilight setting, I decided to go with a gradient background where the sun is the source of the light and everything is hilighted accordingly. I am finding that lighting is the hardest thing to get the hang of, but is another key to making a convincing piece.

5) At this stage I start to go over my lines and paint over the lines on a new layer.

6) Then at this point I have a sense of where I want to go with the piece, what I need to do color wise, and what bits need more details. Usually by this point I have a sense of what I am doing and all of my basic decisions have been made so now it's just a matter of finishing things up.

7) Below is the final piece. In the background I added some clouds to fill the space and then had the colors reflect off of the clouds accordingly. You won't be able to see it really since I made it a point to soften the background. I am sure that I will learn a better way to do this. I also am going to try and work on making the piece more textured and vibrant. It seems a little too smooth. All in all though I like this one and will put this in the book!

8) Next up Ducktales. Yeah....I know..it's a game that was super awesome....and I really loved it. See ya next time.

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Nintendo Tribute: Double Dragon

2011-12-27T16:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the next in the Nintendo tribute series is Double Dragon. You played as one of two brothers or friends (I think), who had to fight your way through hordes and hordes of street gangs to rescue your girlfriend. For this particular piece I decided to try to work on anatomy, but do it in a simplified manner to suggest the form, but not go overboard with the details. Hm. It took me a while to post this one, because I wasn't too hot on how it came out, however since I need to finish things I decided to post this one as a means to move onwards and learn from my mistakes. (Practice practice practice).

Steps are below:

In the end, it's not the worst, but in practicing I learned a few tricks a long the way to make the painting process easier. If I go over my original sketches and create a simple line drawing, that will eliminate having to work so hard when starting the color phase. Also, anatomy anatomy anatomy and values. Very hard to master, but I will be psyched when I get it. So that's it for this one, next up is Jimmy Lee (Double Dragon part II).

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Subway Guy

2011-12-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

Something quick that I did for practice.

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Manus in Wonderland Re-do

2011-12-22T21:28:00.000-08:00

As I learn how to paint things and improve, I am going to be tempted to go back and rework stuff that I have already done. A friend of mine is starting a blog/site and asked me to do a piece for him, so I said "of course". When I went back and looked at what I did however, I was not happy with it at all. So, of course I re-did it. I am super happy with it, but I am sure that I will learn more as time goes on.

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Sonic the Hedgehog!

2011-12-11T14:30:00.001-08:00

Ok so this week, I decided to do a rework of Sonic the Hedgehog, which was something that I had done a while back. but......I thought that it was lame (colors needed work, etc. etc.). So I went back and reworked this piece a big and finished it. Below is the final work:

Below are just a few notes about the work:

Started with a sketch. I did a couple of drawings in my sketchbook, but decided to just go with the basic front shot of Sonic running at you.

At this point last time I stopped and thought that it was done, but I decided to go one further and add another layer and paint on top of it, and to then add the color.

I found a sparkly brush and used that on the rings in the background. Here is Sonic folks enjoy!

Next Up: Double Dragon (again) ! Yee Haw!!!

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Nintendo Tribute: Mario

2011-12-05T16:43:00.001-08:00

A little surprise this week as I did an extra mini piece. You can't have a Nintendo tribute without Mario. Even though Mario has been done over a million times I haven't really done Mario before, and so I figured "why not". Here is the final!

(Final!!)

Here are the steps:

I started with a basic round brush, and then instead used different brushes that I created from an actual paintbrush. I noticed that the end result looks a lot mote textured and not as flat. In addition I used a color palette from an already existing Mario image, so that I can get the colors right (before they were looking really pastelle-y and too soft.

Next Up: Double Dragon! Yee Haw!!!

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Nintendo Tribute: Bubble Bobble!

2011-12-04T06:45:00.001-08:00

The Nintendo Tribute for this week is "Bubble Bobble". Another game I played endlessly, it was super fun and involved dragons, bubbles and fruit! How fun! Below is the final piece, and below that are the steps! This one is going in the book as well! Enjoy!

1. Sketch

2. Values and shadows

Final!

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Nintendo Pro Wrestling: Step by Step Process

2011-11-27T14:46:00.001-08:00

The next entry in my Nintendo tribute series is "Pro Wrestling". This is another game that I played for hours and hours on end. It was and is still one of my favorites to this day ("A winner is you!").
Below is the step by step to the final piece.

1. I wanted to do something that included all of the wrestlers naturally, so I did a couple of different sketches, of all the wrestlers in different poses, and finally settled on the one below. It basically has all of the wrestlers in the front, and Great Puma (the Champion of the VWL--Video Wrestling League) in the back overshadowing the rest of the wrestlers. (below)

2. Then I added a base black and white color and started to block in the shadows (below)

3. I added a background color to give the painting an overall sense of color (purple seemed to work well in the color scheme of the rest of the wrestlers in the group shot) (below)

4. Then I started to add the flat colors over all of the wrestlers (I used the original game instruction manual as a basis for the colors (below)

5. I next started to do the paintover layer, and went over all of the details and the edges. I had a little trouble with Starman's arms as they were folded over each other. So I had to spend a little time going over that some more. Also, now that I am looking at it Figher Hayabusa's shoulder (lower left next to The Amazon) looks a little humpy and weird. As always the biggest issue that I had was anatomy, although I felt that with this piece I am getting a little better. The key as always is practice (below)

6. Finally I added final shadows, and lighting, and used the text from the actual Pro-Wrestling box and voila! Done...it's going in the book.

Next up, Bubble Bobble!!!!!

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Nintendo Tribute "Clu Clu Land" (and Process)

2011-11-19T09:00:00.001-08:00

Here is a basic posting of the process for Clu Clu land from pretty much beginning to end.
A lot of the steps are the same, so I will only make notes where I think it is necessary:

1. I started with a bunch of composition sketches as always. (below)

2. I picked the one that I thought was most interesting. (below)

3. I added tones and shadows (below)

4. I then started to add the flat colors. In mid process I realized that I didn't like what was happening with the hand. I realized that it would be easier to paint in an actual hand over the image so I added that in (below)

5. I then painted over the basic colors. I decided that I didn't like what was happening with the textures in the Trojan piece, so I decided to not* get fancy and just used a basic round brush. I set the options so that the pen pressure controls would allow for a lot of sensitivity. (below)

6. The picture was very flat at this point and was missing some elements so, I added in a jewel (which is what you collect in the game) and then I also added in some poles (which in the original game your character uses to swing around and make turns to collect the jewels) (below)

7. I then tried to really push the lighting so that objects that are closer would stand out a lot more from objects that are further away (to try and give it a sense of depth) I also added in lighting and played with the shadows some more. (below)

8. Done and Done!

Obscure Nintendo Games "Trojan"--Process Post

2011-11-13T21:38:00.001-08:00

This is the second of a series of posts about how I came to a final piece. In this case the piece in question is "Trojan" which is based on an old school Nintendo game of the same name. It was one of the first games that I played (non stop I might add) and I wanted to do more of a tribute piece to it.
I wanted to try and really do a good job with this one, building on the mistakes that I picked up from the the last piece, with coloring and lighting and so on.

So as always I worked a lot on composition and figuring out what worked best in terms of shapes and arrangements (below). I would take a day or so to work on this and tried different arrangements until I was happy with a potential sketch.

Next comes the scan into Photoshop. I would then get the piece ready for the draw-over and the toning and shading parts. (below). In general I was happy with the general composition and did a lot of research and used a lot of reference to come up with the final drawing.

I would then start to add tones and start to

Then I started to add the values. The last time around I would kind of glance over the drawing value stage with the assumption that I would be able to fix it in the paint over stage. However I realized that if you don't have good values and established lighting up front, then you will have to work harder later on to fix things and your painting won't look right. So I spent a lot more time on figuring out the lighting and the light source. (below)

I then started coloring (below). I generally first try and pick a color scheme using this site that I found on another blog called "color scheme designer". http://colorschemedesigner.com/.
Then I start from the center and then work outwards.

I kept working outward until everything had a general color that I felt would serve as a good base. I usually call this my color flat layer (below)

I then painted over everything on a new layer trying to cover all of the lines, while maintaining the color scheme and the lighting structure. (below)

Next I would work on hilighting the moon and the parts of the painting that are high reflection areas (below)

From there I then add general lighting and try and add atmosphere to the painting. you will also notice that I put in a glow for the moon, the armor the shield as well as the main villain "Achilles" which was the main villain in the game. (below) The final step is to also add a layer of purple to the entire drawing to give the whole thing a sense of atmosphere and color. I would do this by adding a new layer to the entire flattened drawing and then erasing away the color layer. It helps to brighten the drawing and to also add some flavor as well.

The last step is to add a signature and any final touches and voila! Done! See ya next time!

Obscure Nintendo Games Series: "Trojan"

2011-11-13T10:44:00.001-08:00

As part of the obscure Nintendo games series art book that I will be putting out for the next MOCCA fest, I present to you "Trojan". Trojan is a Capcom game which was adapted from the arcade (which I never played in the arcade but I sure as hell played the hell out of the home version). It was one of the early series of games that were released for the first 8-bit NES. I like the way that it came out, but def. there are things that I can improve on. I will post the process shortly.

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Mighty Bomb Jack (Process Post)

2011-11-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to think of a these for the MOCCA fest book that will be out for the April show. I think that for the first official book, I am going to do a collection of paintings/pieces from Nintendo games that I grew up playing (and there were a lot). One of the first games that I grew up playing was Mighty Bomb Jack (a game where you were super hero who had to collect bombs and avoid mummies and floating skulls. Very fun!)

One of the things that I have learned was that I need to focus more on shapes and composition. I did a number of sketches to try and figure out what the best composition would be (below)

Then I scanned the composition/sketch that I liked and then went over it again in Photoshop and Painter. I then started to add the shadow values an tried to keep the light source in mind. (below)

I then started to add in the flat colors on a new layer (I started with the center figure first). (below)

...then continuing onto the background layers after..(below)

Then finally I covered everything with a paintover layer, added the textures, lighting effects and final polish. (below)

Mighty Bomb Jack

2011-11-06T18:26:00.000-08:00

This is a piece that I completed recently from a game that I played on the N.E.S. called “Mighty Bomb Jack”. This is probably going to go into the art book of 80’s games that I am putting together for MOCCA fest in April. While I am not the best painter yet, I hope to get better over time. Enjoy!
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Manus in Wonderland WIP2

2011-11-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Manus in Wonderland WIP2

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Manus In Wonderland Almost Done

2011-10-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Manus in Wonderland WIP2

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Robots Hate Mondays Done!

2011-10-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Robots Hate Monday....done and done...
On to the next...

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Manus In Wonderland WIP

2011-10-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

WIP for "Manus in Wonderland"

Robots Still Hate Mondays (WIP)

2011-10-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

WIP

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Robots Hate Mondays too (WIP)

2011-10-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

WIP

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Sonic!

2011-10-15T20:56:00.001-07:00

Here is a piece that I just finished....Sonic the Hedgehog...done in digital paints (photoshop)

See ya…

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The Bronson

2011-10-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

Today I got my last print back from the printing place, and it's my favorite. This will also be one of the pieces that I will be showing as a part of the Digable Arts Fest this coming weekend. All in all there are about 6 pieces (this one being the last...and personally my favorite). The only issue that I discovered in the print was the fact that there was some colorizaton and some pixelation happening. That's because I forgot to convert to grayscale before I sent this off to the printer. Opps...
Now I know for next time though.

This print will also be on sale in my society 6 store.
http://society6.com/mauricemurdock

The last step is to get some foam backing done, which should happen this week, and then I should be ready to hang this coming Friday! Sweet!

Ninja Maiden

2011-10-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ninja Maiden done

See ya…
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Digable Arts Fest Prints (Oct.15th and 16th)

2011-10-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

Next weekend I will be showing my work in the Digable Arts Fest exhibition. This is a two day long art fest that will be showcasing a number of artists in a huge massive gallery, along with music, installations, sculpture and bands. In preparation, I printed up a number of large scale prints for the show. These are prints that I made from old posts, paintings and other work that I have been posting on this blog over the past one to two years.

I found a place that make large scale matte prints (nomrally made for photos, but in this case they work equally well for paintings and such done in photoshop. In addition they didn't cost me an arm and a leg to make. Before the show next week, I will have them foam mounted, so that they can be easily hung.
The work that I am showing as as follows:
-Oil refinery:
http://murdockink.blogspot.com/2010/12/litm-group-show-submission.html

-Metroid:
http://murdockink.blogspot.com/2010/03/samus-aran-metroid.html

-Marcus Garvey:
http://murdockink.blogspot.com/2010/02/black-history-month-bhm-marcus-garvey_17.html

-Robot (show) Fight:
http://murdockink.blogspot.com/2011/02/robot-snow-fight.html

-First Street
http://murdockink.blogspot.com/2011/09/first-street-ver-2.html

-Charles Bronson (which I forgot to print)
--oops..
I am still missing one print, but I will post all of the work once I get the last print in.

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How to Submit Your Work for Art Shows and Get Your Work Seen

2011-10-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

I have shown work in a few shows (not many) and hope to show in more as time goes on. Up until now I had no idea how to get even get in a show and once I did, how to prepare for one. As a quick reference guide I want to share some ideas with you about how to get your work seen and once you do, how to follow up.
The first step is to think about what kind of work you want to show. Typically the art that you want to show should match the theme of the show. (this is pretty basic logical stuff). For example, you don't want to submit a landscape piece into a show that has to do with abstract art. Chances are that it will be rejected. Try to make sure that the art that you want to show fits the theme. The best thing to do is to do your research, go to different shows that have art similar to yours. Then when there find out who the curator is and get their contact information (also make sure that you bring business cards or other samples of your work).
After that make sure to follow up with an e-mail or contact note. You can ask to be added to any mailing lists or announcements for upcoming submissions. After a while you will find out about any show submissions that you might be interested in showing in.
Next, prepare your work for submission. The best way to do that is to get as much information about the show as you can. Try and find out about any necessary guidelines for submissions. Do you submit online? Do you need to bring a book to show your work? Find out what the best way to submit work is, and make sure you follow the guidelines. (Note: That most people now a days ask for links to your portfolio and.jpgs to be e-mailed).
Also, try to find a lot of local shows, network with other artists at smaller galleries, and then work your way up from there.
Once you are accepted into a show (which will happen a lot faster than you realize). Then you can next turn to preparing your work for the show. If you can, take a look at the space where you will be showing your work. See if there is enough room to hang work and how much wall space you have to play with. You don't want to print and frame up a piece that is too big that you can't use. If this is not possible then contact the curator and ask for details about the space if you can't do a walk through.
Most places have deadlines for when the art work needs to be hung up. Try and make sure that you find out what that date is and stick to it.
Then on the night of the event, hang your work and enjoy. Make sure to bring plenty of business cards to display and also make sure to get other people's contact information as well. That way you can be kept in the loop for when the next show is going to happen.

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First Street ver. 2

2011-09-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

New post with a few tweaks

First Street

2011-09-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

A painting that I did of the street in front of my apt.

Oh Eff!

2011-09-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

Alright! This guy is done!

"Oh F_CK!" by yours truly...

done in Photoshop!

Now on to the submission for the Digable Arts Fest!

How To Get Past A Creative Block

2011-09-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

Most of the time, I spend my day job hours unable to wait until I can get home, sit in front of my computer or grab my sketchbook and draw or paint my life away. Sometimes though, I will sit down to do work, and find that all of those ideas that I had in my head have just leaked out of my ear. What even happened? Where did those juicy concepts go, they were there a minute ago? Crap!
Well it seems that the problem isn't a lack interest or desire, but that quite simply the creative tank is empty. Just like a musician who is stuck on writing a song verse, drawing and painting is very similar. It's easy to get stuck in a rut. So how do you get "un-stuck" you might ask? Try the following ideas the next time this happens:
1. Take a Break: Again, for me I can't stress how important it is to take breaks. If you spend all of your time putting pressure on yourself to come up with a great drawing or painting, it won't happen. To use the musician reference, musicians and producers need to give their ears a break and the same needs to happen to visual artists' (eyes). Stop what you are doing and come back to it a bit later with fresh eyes. You never know, between the time that you leave your drafting table/computer desk and the time that you return you might already get unstuck.

2. Find Something to Inspire You: For me, I get a lot of inspiration from character designs, cartoons, movies, video games, art books, tumblr, deviantart, illustration books, anime, my favorite movies, magazines anything. The great thing about being an artist is that inspiration can come from anywhere and at any time. The key is to find out what inspires you most and use that.

3. Go to a Museum/Study Art History: Up until now I didn't value the importance of art history and studying past artists as much as I should have. A good idea to fill up your creative tank is to go back to the basics and take in some exhibits. Find the type of artists that you like most and use them as inspiration. You can even try exhibits that you would not normally go to on your own (just to try something new).

4. Listen to Pod Casts: One of the key benefits to listening to podcasts is hearing what other artists have to say about their own issues with creativity. I know that for me it always helps to know that other people sometimes have the same problems with coming up with ideas. There are a ton of podcasts to choose from.
Look online and try and few different podcasts and before you know it you will be hooked.

5. Network With Other Artists: You hear a lot about how networking is so key in any business or industry, and it's true. Sharing your ideas can be one of the easiest ways to work through a problem. Linking up with other artists can help you look at your own work from a different perspective and open up new ideas. Once this happens you might be headed back to the drawing table or computer with an entirely new direction. Voila Creative Block Unblocked!

Want read more tips and tools or see some awesome work? Follow me below:
http://murdockink.tumblr.com/

Oh Crap....

2011-09-21T22:46:00.001-07:00

As part of the final for the painting in Photoshop class that I am taking, we have to paint a final scene from scratch. So I did a could of rough thumbnails to try and come up with an idea that works. Voila! I like where this is going, because (hopefully) just by looking at it, you can get a story in one quick read. This is a WIP„ and I will post the final when it’s done or as I make progress

Altered Beast

2011-09-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts..I have been working on ideas for the MOCCA fest book. At first I was gonna rework a bunch of sketches that I found and do them over. However sketches are just that. Ideas captured on paper at that moment. Instead I have a new idea..(this one being the first of them).

Digital Forest

2011-09-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic that I did as one of my homework assignments from class. We had to basically create a number of brushes and then use all of the brushes to create a scene.
So I decided to use the layered approach, using overlays and such and a bunch of brushes to put it all together.
http://murdockink.tumblr.com/
http://murdockink.blogspot.com/
http://moebocop.deviantart.com/

Sunset

2011-09-05T08:34:00.001-07:00

A view of the sunset from my street done in pen and ink and photoshop

http://murdockink.tumblr.com/
http://murdockink.blogspot.com/
http://moebocop.deviantart.com/
http://twitter.com/mauricemurdock

2011-09-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the movie “Hobo with a Shotgun”? No? you need to, it’s awesome! (not for the squeamish though)…
Here is my tribute!

http://murdockink.tumblr.com/
http://murdockink.blogspot.com/
http://moebocop.deviantart.com/
http://twitter.com/mauricemurdock

Stuff That I Draw That is Awesome?

2011-08-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had mentioned that I am cooking up an idea for a book for the next MOCCA fest (which is the small press comic show in April). Last time around (last year) I did a mini comic, and although it came out pretty well (printing-wise) I think that this time around I am going to put together a collection of sketches that I have done over the past few years. Maybe a Vol. 1 to start and then put out more books as time goes on [unless I get another idea of course].

I mean, I sketch and draw, and I sketch and draw A LOT! I have keep sketch books since college (when I was super into comics) and have held onto these books all this time.
So why not, dust them off, put them together and compile stuff for show? It will be interesting too to see how my style has changed a lot since then (for the worse haahah?) I don't have a title (yet) , but will post progress as I turn stuff around.

The painting class is going great..but as always, more practice is needed....I just finished up a painting recently and will probably be posting that for tomorrow...my first full fledged painting, but not my last of course. See ya!

The Red Hulk

2011-08-29T21:04:00.001-07:00

African Gods

2011-08-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is a piece that I just finished..trying to keep on practicing etc. etc.

Macho Man!

2011-08-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Dig It!!!!!

Kimbo....

2011-08-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

I might be OCD because I like to do stuff over and over and over

Doc Ock in color

2011-08-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

Been working on color painting stuff..I realized that I didn't do this correctly the first time, so I went back and did it again.

Art and stuff...(random thoughts)

2011-08-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

I always say that I am going to do more writing, but then when I get the time I decide to do other stuff like work on homework or....procrastinate.

Last week was a pain..not really more of a pain than any other week so much. I think that at work it's getting to the point where it might be time to move on from the current gig. I don't think that I can do the same project for another* year. I am thinking again of taking more time off to paint and work on stuff.
Now that MOCCA fest is coming up, I can start to think about what I want to do for the book.
More ideas forming, but I got a little bit of time before I have to start to put stuff down and begin work. Maybe in a month of so.

In the meantime I have been working on homework for the photoshop class that I am taking. It seems that I am always* taking a class. At this rate I am probably going to be taking class for the next few years, which is fine sine I never really went to school formally. I guess that you could say that this is my schooling. Between taking classes, independent study and practice, practice, practice hopefully I will wind up in a different place than where I am now. I would say that I am already in a different place creatively than where I was a year ago. So it's just a matter of recognizing and capitalizing on that.
Not sure where I will wind up, but I need to follow, right?

This week, more work (meh), more practice (yay) and on to the next class, more sketching and more posting (it's pretty much a full 2nd time job)(should also be able to sneak a game in there or two).
I should also make it a point to get out of my apartment and see people too. After a while spending too much time in your own mental space can close you off to others and that's not good either. It's all about balance. Now time for more Netflix, and finishing up practice work for posting, and then maybe some ps3 before bedtime.

Unicron's Hungry in Color

2011-08-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

Worked this up in color tonight...I think I might put it away for the night and take a look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow. I like the colors but I think that the layers or the brushes might be a bit murky..not too sure. Also, I wanted to try and change the background...but I think I messed up my layers. I will have to play with it a bit....

Unicron's Hungry

2011-08-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

MOCCA fest round 2

2011-08-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

I just got an e-mail the other day that has announced that MOCCA fest is not open for registration.
Tables are first come first serve, so my plan is to mail in my payment from my next paycheck.
I'm psyched. I did MOCCA fest last year which was the first year that I did it and it was so good.
I met so many awesome indie comic creators and just had a great time in general!

So I have been thinking of what to do for the next show. I wasn't too great at doing a narrative story last time, so I think that this time I am going to do an interesting free form sketch book.
So it will be a book of sketches, but maybe with funny quotes and other word balloons to keep it interesting. It will probably be less time to put together since I already have the sketches, so really it's just a matter of putting it together and packaging it up nicely. Again the goal isn't to sell and make tons of money, it's really just to get out there and connect and network.

I will most likely be posting my progress as I go on this blog, tumblr, etc. etc. so that I can chart my progress as I go. Oh...and...I have a title for the book, but I won't reveal that just yet....

More to come...

Thanos Reigns!

2011-08-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

I have been working on learning photoshop painting and coloring. I think that this came out pretty well! I am pretty psyched to do more!

Sketchbook from this week 4

2011-08-14T10:12:00.002-07:00

Sketchbook from this week 3

2011-08-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook from this week 2

2011-08-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook from this week 1

2011-08-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Pikachu!

2011-08-11T04:52:00.001-07:00

More Shapes...more practice...

2011-08-08T21:39:00.001-07:00

Practicing Shapes

2011-08-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

painting practice.....

The Machine Girl Gangboss

2011-07-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

If you have seen "The Machine girl" you will know why it's awesome. It's basically the story of a high school girl who's brother is the victim of bullying by a Yakuza boss's son. In seeking revenge for her brother the heroine loses her arm, which is later replaced by a mini-gatling gun weapon.
I am currently trying to learn how to paint (digitally) and so I figured that I would dedicate several posts to characters and stuff that I find awesome and painted in Photoshop of course. Since I need the practice I might as well have fun doing it. This is a sketch painting of the Kimura gang boss and his son from "The Machine girl".

Stu From Design for Kids

2011-07-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here is Stu.

Eric from Design 4 Kids

2011-07-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a painting of Eric, one of our mentors from our Design for Kids group..

Mount Pacaya Painting (Guatemala)

2011-07-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

Now that I am back and sorta into the swing of things from my Central America trip, I thought that I would post a piece that I just did, which is a photo painting of Mount Pacaya (semi active volcano in Guatemala). On my last day there I hiked up a parallel trail that gave stunning views of the mountain. We were able to get pretty close to the peak, and see thermal activity bubbling from the top of the mountain. Wonderful wonder view (tough hike). Although this painting is not the same thing as actually being there, I hope that this is at least interesting to look at.

So much happening......

2011-07-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Man...it's been an age since I have done any posting. I just came back from a two week trip in Guatemala, and it was one of the best trips that I have taken in a long time.
Now, along with trying to learn how to draw, and paint, I have also decided to take on learning Spanish as well. I actually had made my way along in Spanish for a while, and then got lazy and side tracked.
Now however I think that I am actually going to stick with it. So that's one more thins to add to the "to do" list. Anyway here is a quick break down of the haps..

-Went to Guatemala and had such a good time. The kids work shop was so amazing, and I def. got teary eyed and sad once it was over. However I had such a good time. Then I stayed on a week after to take a Spanish class...

-I came back and have been splitting my time between Spanish and drawing and painting...it's a lot, but I feel like if I stay focused I can make it happen

-Speaking of digital painting, my class (painting in Photoshop starts tomorrow)...but it's online so I can watch over the weekend and make sure to keep up with the assignments (that's when studying Spanish will get hard) will need lots of discipline

-My photoshop trial is done...and as much as I want to click "buy now" and enter in my credit card number, I def. feel like I have a few expenses that I need to cover first (esp. my car if I need to pay for that.) Since the class uses Photoshop though I might need to just use my lap top for classes until I can figure it out.

-Since my photoshop is done, I have not been able to scan or really do any work but I will need to figure it out by Saturday. Anyway, more work to come soon...

That's all I got now...time to eat and then maybe I will do some quick sketching before I go to bed....

L8trs!

Skate Deck Idea

2011-06-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

Skate deck idea..

Thulsa Doom Part 2

2011-06-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

So I just posted a quick toned sketch of Thulsa Doom and I was all proud of myself and then I looked and the image and it was boring as shit! I don’t know what I always forget the basics like, composition, and I always. always. always forget to fill the space. Why is that so hard to remember….I think I get so excited to post that I get ahead of myself and I don’t always think things out. Even though it’s just a sketch, there should still be some thought behind it. Anyway…I like this better..

Thulsa Doom

2011-06-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

I know that the new trailer for Conan came out recently, but I am still an uber fan of the original. Not because it’s a great movie as much as the nostalgia. So here is a quick work up of Thulsa Doom…i’m trying to get used to the new Photoshop and have been playing with the new painting tools. Looks seriously awesome…I just like the way that it renders a lot..

Latest Posts and happenings..

2011-06-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

-This week has been pretty busy, I entered a design contest over on this site called “Infectious.com” it’s a pretty sweet competition site where you can upload your own design and have the chance to be featured on their site plus a gift certificate to some of their products.You can check it out here: (and vote if you like) http://www.infectious.com/critique/moebocop/robots-like-the-beach/8551

-Tonight when I am back home from hanging with family business then i’ll post a few more pics that I have been working on from last week. I have been working on toning some of my drawings using Photoshop. There really is something about the way that Photoshop renders images that make the drawings look different than in painter and kind of awesome. I wish that there was a way to consolidate both programs into one. I will post those later today.

-This week I am off on my trip to Guatelmala and then by the time I get back it will be time to start my digitial online painting class. Which I am pretty psyched about. I will be posting the stuff that I do for class as I complete my assignments week to week. Until then it’ll be more practice and experimenting…
More to come..have a good week everyone

Robots Like the Beach!

2011-06-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

Who knew that robots like the beach? Done by yours truly...

Jersey City Concept Painting 2 WIP

2011-06-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

Working on this now..

Jersey City Concept Painting 1 Done

2011-06-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, this is the first of my ideas for the JCindependent cover contest. It's finally done. My idea here is to take places in JC and to then put a different sci-fi spin on them. This image is from a picture that I took over on Warren and 1st street (about a block away from my place.) Instead of a hi-rise and the power substation, instead we have robots and flying bots. I think the way that this came out, only next time I will use elements that are totally from pictures that I took. This image has some stock art, so I will have to challenge myself next time and build elements from scratch. (done in Painter 11)

Messing around with PS5

2011-06-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

I grabbed the demo for photoshop 5 tonight...and just started playing around with the new blender brush tools...so good..

Jersey City Concept Painting WIP

2011-06-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

What i'm working on tonight...

Afro Samurai!

2011-06-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here is Afro...done in Painter 11, i'm pretty happy with this one (focusing on the values again..) however I keep forgetting to focus on filling the space....sometimes these things just happen spontaneously, and I forget to do that as I am working...i'll keep that in mind down the road though...
Time to setup the new computer now...

Afro Samurai WIP

2011-06-02T20:56:00.001-07:00

Afro Samurai Piece WIP

Demon Hunter Done (Part 2)

2011-06-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

This is another version of the Demon Hunter image that I was working on for the bi weekly challenge over at the CG-Hub site. I thought that I was done but then I decided that I needed to work even harder on values before adding color instead of jumping ahead (I just get super excited about adding the color bit). So, I went back and reworked this piece (again) and added more contrast with the oil's brush.

This home however, I def. liked the way that it came out. So, I can safely say that I am done and done.
Now on to the next forreals..Up Next: Afro Samurai!!!

Demon Ass Kicker Final Image!

2011-05-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

Final image of Demon Ass Kicker Character contest over on the CG-Hub site.

Demon Ass Kicker Process..

2011-05-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

So to keep things going until I start my painting my class in July, I have been participating in a number of different sketch challenges over on the CG-Hub site. The challenge this week was to do a character of a Demon Hunter. I decided to go full Painter on this one as a means to continue to compare the two programs (Painter vs. Photoshop). Below is the process post to the final image.

1. Start with a sketch as usual. I came up with a back story for this character to help to define the character more. (See below)

2. Drawing clean up (I did this in Photoshop) (See below):

3. Added tones (I found a new basic ink brush in Painter that gave clean basic tones):

4. Added basic colors to the image (See below):

5. Final Color adjustments and lighting effects:

LochNess Monster Tutorial

2011-05-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

I have been working on learning both Photoshop and Painter, bit by bit.
A while back I got a Painter tuorial book that I have been making my way through. I put it down when the Photoshop classes started, but now that the Photoshop class is over with, I have picked the tutorial book back up again. This chapter focused on a Loch Ness Monster image (the image was not something that I drew). I just followed the steps and did the walk through as the book instructed. I liked this image a lot, so I thought that I would post it. Enjoy!

CG Hub Mermaid Challenge Process

2011-05-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have been a little bit busy as of late. I have been taking a digital coloring class, for coloring line art using Photoshop, which was fun, and I definitely learned a lot. Since I couldn't color line art before, I have a little bit more in the skills department now that the class is over with. My next goal is to focus on learning how to digitally paint. Some of the principles on how to paint digitally and color line art are the same. So I decided to just try and go for broke and see if I could digitally paint an image based on the basic principles of value and color. So I decided to enter the CGHub Drawing Jam (which is a bi-weekl y contest where you have to submit an image based on a theme). The theme this time around was "Mermaids"...and below is my entry.

1. I first did a number of sketches, to try to come up with something that was both an interesting image and that told a litle bit of a story. I decided on the image below that tells a "mermaid in a jar" type story.

2. Then I added values to the image and tried to settle on the lighting and direction. (below)

3. When done I duplicated the "value layer" and prepared to start painting "between the two layers. (below)

4. I then start to add basic flat color, using the established values as a guide (see below)

5. I then flatten the image and begin to work on adding color and texture "on top" of the flattened image focusing on lighting and setting the mood for the piece. (see below)

6. Once I like where the drawing is going I work to finish up the drawing and to then also focus on the little details like rear lighting, and bubbles (see below)

7. I then add rear lighting behind the professor, and work to complete all of the details in the image by using a really small brush. (see below)

8. As an uber last step, I add in a reflection in the image finish up the image and use the hue/saturation settings to finish up the image and voila my entry is done. (see below)

More Black Swan W.I.P.

2011-04-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

I have decided that drawing digitally seems like an easy fix to get things into the computer. The problem is that it looks like shit. There is something about the natural feel of drawing that you lose when you try to do it digitally. I have tried over and over and am not ever happy with the results. Other people seem to be able to pull it off, but I can't somehow. So I have decided to just work in pen and pencil/paper and scan everything. So I posted the Black Swan piece, and I def. hated it. I went back and tried to redo it in pen and pencil now.

I then went in and added some colors to the piece (I had only intended to do a basic color of a pen and ink drawing. However during the process a happy accident happened and I realized that if I moved the color layer above* the line layers and then added values I would somewhat get the same effects of a painting (not as refined of course)

The final step..was that I added a textured background to give the picture some atmosphere.
I have to say that even though the painting is not necessarily masterful...I def. like the way that this came out. This was a total accident, but I am excited about the day that I can get this result on command. Oh and Happy Easter!

Metroid Painted Final

2011-04-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

Done with this guy..

The Black Swan Ver 2

2011-04-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

I didn't like the first version that I did of this, and so instead I redid the drawing, added different colors added texture and added a feathered background, which I like a lot better.

The Black Swan WIP

2011-04-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

I saw this movie recently..and thought that it was great. I especially like the design of the movie posters, how they made Natalie Portman look like an actual swan...so I thought that I would do a work up of that. (Update...I looked this over again and realized that it looks like shite...) so I am doing another version....

MOCCA Fest Post Game

2011-04-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

MOCCA Fest has come and gone...what a great great great show. I had such a good time..SUCH a good time and met a lot of folks and even sold some books..who knew that would happen? The best part is that I got a bunch of comics to read. and....I haven't really been reading books for a while..but the fact that I met the actual creators makes the books that I got that much more compelling to read.

Day 1:
I arrived and got my badge and my seat assignment.,and found that I was seated right by the entrance. I sat next to a bunch of gals from Ireland who were selling a bunch of indie comics, kids books, cards and other things. At the end of our row were two guys from Accent UK comics (you can click on the link to check out their selection of comics and their site), and right off the bat I realized that people actually came across the Atlantic to make the show. So I guess i'm pretty lucky to have access to the festival right here in NYC.

Before I sat at my table I took a lap and saw what the other tables were that were being to being set up
I saw so many cool tables and pieces of art from indie folks and publishers that just blew my stuff out the water. Right away I was thinking about ways to make my stuff better for the next show.

By mid afternoon a couple of friends came though which I really appreciated. I had a really great first day..and I even sold a book or two...I was tired by the end of day one, but was so excited to be a part of the show and was psyched that I was in for more on day 2.

Day 2:
Day 2 started off even better than day one. I got there early to make sure that I got a bagel and a poptart to eat before the show started. So I was sitting at my table and along comes Bill Plympton who is an animator/cartoonist and pretty well known in the biz. He just released a DVD and was there at the show to promote his latest work. He actually came up to my table and said really nice things about my banner and my art work, Wow. that was super cool. He even autographed my sketch book and signed it too, Again.....wow!

I spent the rest of the day selling some more books, giving advice to some folks that were curious about getting into the show and putting their own stuff out and.....I even did a sketch. Which I don't think I did such a good job on. However I was flattered that I was asked. I closed the day out with two envelopes of free books, hoardes of biz cards and a ton of new connections..which was what I was hoping for. After spending so much time in isolation working on this book, not knowing what to expect, I came home patting myself on the back with the ability to say that I was in an indie comics show. I can't wait for the next one (I already have an idea)...and to read all the free comics I got..

Manny the Bot Comics Are In!

2011-04-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

I got my comics today from the printer and they look super awesome!
I reaized that there was a mistake on one of the pages, and the size of the pages are not standard comic sizes. However considering the fact that I dropped them off on Monday, they turned them around super fast and did such a great job! I am psyched...now for Mocca fest!
I also put together my banner stand (below are the pics).

See you Saturday if you are in the area!

Details below:

MOCCA FEST 2011:

MoCCA Fest 2011!
A Fundraiser for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art-MoCCA
Saturday April 9th and Sunday April 10th 11am-6pm

At the Lexington Avenue Armory
68 Lexington Ave (Between 25th &26th Streets)
New York City

http://www.moccany.org/content/mocca-festival

Mega Man Tribute

2011-04-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

A while ago I did a piece for the Megaman tribute, and I didn't make it. The reason was because my colors were off...like waaay off. So after a few lessons, I decided to go back and start over. I am psyched because this was a huge piece, but I finally got it done. I am pretty happy with it, but the lines still look hatchy and that is because I used a tablet and Sketchbook Pro. Next time I might either draw it in Painter, or hand draw it and then scan it in. A lot less cleanup that way. Anyway enjoy

Manny the Bot! MOCCA Fest 1 Week away!

2011-04-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

That's right..MOCCA Fest is one week away. So far:
-I've got my banner and stand ready
-I go my postcards in the mail
-I finished the comic, and got my business cards
The only thing that is left? Printing!
One week to go, and I realized that the printer that I was going to go to around the block, is not* the most tech savvy. I figured that I could go there and have them work it up really quickly, but they are just a mom and pop shop, and so I am going to need to find a place to go and get it done.

There is one place in Brooklyn that specifies in black and white comic printing (but it's in Brooklyn and that's not the closest). So I am gonna start with STAPLES and hope that the easy button works for me.
I finished it early enough that I should have enough time to get it done, but if for some reason that doesn't work, then I am gonna need to go to the Bk. place and hope that they can get it to me this week (preferably before Friday?)

I will also need to pick up a few other things and figure out how to get it all there (I think I can just take the train). Here is the post card that I did for promotion.

It's based off of an old Charles Bronson film called 10 to Midnight. (Here is the original):

I will def. take pictures and do a post after the event.

Capleton

2011-03-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

A quick painting of the Reggae Artist Capleton.

Here is a quick Bio for those of you who don't know who he is...

http://www.last.fm/music/Capleton?ac=capleton

John Carpenter's The Thing

2011-03-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

Another addition to the John Carpenter theme...
The Thing is one of my all time faves...so I thought that I would do a quick paint for practice.

****update...I realized that the values were really bad and it make the picture look like s*it. So I went back and reworked them a bit.

Mega Man Tribute

2011-03-28T19:43:00.001-07:00

Well, the deadline for the Mega Man tribute book submission has come and gone, and I am pretty sure that I didn't win. No worries,, I was just glad to be able to contribute. This is not the final entry, I actually colored the final submission, but that was before I got any tips on adding color to the things that I drew...(it was pretty bad). Anyway, I just wanted to share the submission..now that I have a little bit more knowledge about the color process, I might go back and color this one when I have some time. We'll see...

Darkseid Likes Flowers

2011-03-28T19:42:00.001-07:00

More color practice...

Snake Plissken

2011-03-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

For color practice..

John Carpenter's They Live

2011-03-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

John Carpenter is one of my favorite directors. I did a series of paintings where I painted all of his movie posters. Halloween, Escape from New york, etc. etc. This was the only one that I did not do. Now I can say that I did all my faves! Not 100% as accurate as the original, but as close as I could get..

Here is the original:

RoboCop!

2011-03-19T16:32:00.000-07:00

Using the same process as the skater, I also worked up a more detailed drawing of Robocop (I LOVE Robo!)...so to honor the new Robocop statue that they are proposing to build in Detroit..here is that work up as well. The process here is basically the same, you just have to take more time when selecting the areas of shadow. Because of this..it takes even longer..but I think that the result looks better here...

I started with a drawing...scanned it, and followed the same process as the skater. The result is a clean drawing ready for coloring. (above)

Then add flat colors (above)

Then use Hue/Saturation to adjust the values (above)

Then add hilights..(above)

...and Voila..there is a new sherrif in town!

Skater Color Rework..

2011-03-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

Normally I like to do a post a week...and I have fallen off of this schedule. I mainly realized that I was starting to post a lot of crap for the sake of posting. I have also begun a Photoshop class in coloring and digital painting, which has so dramatically improved my working knowledge of Photoshop and how to use it to color. Although the tools are not exactly as user friendly as Painter..it renders pretty beautifully if you know how to use it.
I redid a drawing and decided to color it using Photoshop...

Basically the process starts with a sketch or drawing. What I was missing before was to sharpen the drawing using the unsharp mask tool, and to then also adjust the blacks and the whites in the layers adjustment settings. This removes the paper grain that is usually picked up in scanning. (above)

The next step is to begin to block in the colors. This part takes soooo long....you are basically using the magic wand tool to select areas in the drawing. I learned here that the magic wand is an unforgiving tool. With the combination of the magic want tool and the paintbucket, you have a basic layer of color laid down. (above)

Then using the Hue/Saturation menu options and the magic wand tool (again), you then move on to adjusting the color values so that they compliment each other. Looks much better here... (above)

Then you copy the layer once you have the colors the way you want them, and start to apply the brush values to make it look like a painting. Using the flat layer as a basis, you use lighter and darker color of the same value and add shadows and hilights. (above)

Just about done here...I then added ambient sunlight in the background so that it has the effect of the sun going down. Looks more convincing here.. (above)

There are a couple of other things that I could to with some trick brushes in Painter...but for the most part this is good to go! Woo Hoo!

The Afro American

2011-03-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

The "Afro American" not my character...quick post for color practice..figured that I should post some art on my art blog...

Manny the Bot!

2011-03-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

So after going with "Manny the Robot" for a while...I was talking to someone and they said "hey...I saw your Manny the Bot" pages...which immediately sounded better than Manny the Robot...
It has a ring to it...and with that I proceeded to slap a cover on this bad boy!

I think that this is the final cover, I still have some time to make any changes, but since it's my first comic, I figured that I didn't want to try and get too crazy with it.
So here it is! Now on to promotion!

Robot Manny (1 st. completed page)

2011-02-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

I am proud to announce that I have officially completed the first page of the Robot Manny comic.
The rest of the pages will need to be completed in time for MOCCA fest in April, which is technically about a month or so away. I am sure that it will be here be before you even know it. I have been working at the book steadily and I still don't feel like I am even close to being done with this.

I am not 100% sure that the dialogue is final. There are also a few other things that I might change about the page. However here is this page for now. I sill need to do a cover, which hopefully I should get to soon. When the entire book is done, I will post a step by step of how I completed the pages start to finish.

The Last Exorcism

2011-02-22T20:18:00.000-08:00

After the movie...pretty creepy..

The 15 Minute Working Method

2011-02-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

So now it's February, and before you know it will be April. In addition I have also started a color/digital painting class at SVA. So between all of that and working that hasn't left me with a lot of time to do posts and sketches as much as I used to. My hope though is that when the class does end, and when I do start posting again that the stuff that I am posting will be even better than before.

When I do have extended amounts of time, I do homework from class or work on the comic.
How does one find time for anything else and balance time?
Well I can no longer sit for hours on end and paint and draw without taking breaks.
My ass starts to hurt and my arm and shoulders cramp up (ergonomics).

So what I do is set a timer for 15 minutes (or 25 minutes). When the timer goes off, I then get up and do something active for about the next 5 to 10 minutes that I would otherwise put off. (dishes, put my laundry away, circle the block, run to the store etc. etc.). When done I then go back and work for another 15 minutes.

The point is that it's healthy to take breaks, but your breaks can be productive as well. You can also take a real break and do nothing, it's all about how you want to spend your time.

I will start to post the promotion work and comic pages as they are done. I need to crank it up a bit.

More to come....

Saturday Coloring Class

2011-02-14T06:32:00.000-08:00

This past week I started a coloring class to help get an understanding of how to apply color to drawings (one of the things that I still don't know how to do properly. I mostly apply color using techniques that I am copying..or I just make up the process as I go. The results for each of those tactics have been spotty at best. So Instead I have decided to take a class and get these aspects down, so that I can get better at applying color. I am super excited for the class and will post work as I go.

One of the things that we did in class was take a look at a few other artists to see how they work and use color. So I thought that I would post a few and share:

James Jean, Josh Cochran, Jeffrey Decoster, Sam Bosma

Check them out..their work is pretty inspiring and will hopefully serve to give ideas down the road..

Robot Snow Fight

2011-02-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

This is a piece that I just completed called robot snow battle. Done in Painter.

Robot Manny Vol. 1 Page Preview Part 2

2011-02-06T18:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a suuuuuper busy week with work, and in my spare time I have been working on the comic, watching tutorials and setting up the new MacBook Pro. So not a lot of time to do process work.
But..here is the latest page from the Robot Manny vol. 1 comic for Mocca fest.

This is just a post of a preview page from the first story. It's a work in progress of course, and there is still more work to do, but I have been working away steadily towards getting this done in time.
I still have to print and assemble.

Hope you guys enjoy! More to come..