Another one for the website project.
Seriously, I don’t remember the last time I played with Barbie. I probably made her muck out stalls for my Breyer riding dolls. But I spent some time today in Barbie land. I found a job posting for someone looking for a doll illustrator and thought, what the heck? Why not? So I went for it.
The most fun part was adding the sparkly effect to the dress. It allowed me to use a brush setting that I usually find ultra annoying, called “dissolve.”
Definitely layers were the way to go. (It is, of course, all about clothes and hair.) That way I can do things like add different accessories – like the jewelly stuff below. I could even make her a brunette if I wanted to.
Which reminds me of a Barbie-style doll I picked up at a thrift store once. She came with a gold tooth and tattoos. I called her “Biker Chick Barbie.” The kids thought she was hideous.
Hmmm...how about adding a giant snake to the background layer?
I
‘ve been doing some illustration work for the Partnership With Earth Foundation (PWEF), a nonprofit focused on raising sustainability consciousness.
They’ve begun an ambitious website project which will introduce a unique approach to understanding sustainable living. I’m very excited about it and I’m sure I’ll be sharing more about it as the project unfolds.
Anyway, the website will be interactive and highly illustrated with a multitude of little figures who represent different aspects of a sustainable lifestyle.
According to PWEF founder Lance DuRand, taking a more “right-brained” approach to life helps to foster a more long-term-sustainable worldview. So the figures I’m doing represent (for the most part) activities which use primarily that part of the brain.
Of course the arts are about as right brained as you get, and I was very pleased to be asked to create a painter and a potter. Here they are!
OK, it’s my 43rd birthday and since I didn’t bother making a New Year’s resolution I’m going to make one today – to start posting stuff on my blog as I do it.
Which means I have a lot of catching up to do. I’ll be posting recent work over the next few days or so.
Most of what I’ve been doing is digital illustration, although I’ve got a few watercolors in the works. Here’s a quick piece I did in Photoshop as a study for a watercolor:
Yes, that’s a wasp she has on her finger. (It’s a little rough since as I mentioned this was a quick study.)
Did you know that if you stay calm, and if the wasp is not defending its nest, you can actually remove the critters from unwanted areas (like porches) barehanded? No need for smashing or slapping lids on containers. They’ll step right on to your finger with some encouragement. Then all you have to do is stay calm and radiate love – and move very slowly towards the door. The hardest part can actually be getting them to leave your finger.
Wear gloves if you want.
Have a great day!!
"Silent Night, Holy Night," watercolor, 5"x7", 2011
This is my second attempt at this piece. Many more layers to go. The falcon at the top is still just sketched in.
I’ve had several dreams of falcons and sightings of real ones during the past year. And for some reason angels have been coming into my work and consciousness.
My kids were kind enough to pose for a photo shoot a few weeks back. Mostly I was after their hands but I had my son do this pose and this piece just kind of flowed naturally out of it.
The falcon, amongst other things, is significant as a symbol for life’s purpose. My dream falcon was very large and white – I’ll try to make this one look like him once I start filling him in.
One thing I really like about Photoshop is that if you just don’t like where you’re heading, you can save the file under another name, delete whatever layers aren’t working out, and keep going with the original drawing or whatever you had that was working – like going back in time and taking a different route. (Physicists now tell us the concept of progressive time is an illusion, and being able to work this way makes that seem plausible!) 
My first attempt was started before my daughter opened my eyes to some of the possibilities of the medium. I was liking it until I realized how I could have approached it – then did the time warp trick and came up with something I am liking even better! I’ll post again when it’s done.
My first (primitive) attempt at the angel.
This fairy painting (Photoshop illustration) started as a doodle while on a phone call. I didn’t really finish it but learned a lot so I got what I wanted out of the piece.
Haven’t shown it to my daughter yet. She’s something of a fairy fan. She will probably tell me all the ways in which I deviated from true fairy anatomy.
That’s ok. Nobody else will know. That’s one of the nice things about the fairy realm. If you get it wrong nobody knows.
Unless they happen to be twelve and a half.
Wolf howl - digital illustration
Photoshop is getting a little easier. It helped to sit my 12-year-old daughter Clara down in front of it.
“What does this tool do?”
“Uh, I don’t know.”
“Why not? Oh, that’s cool. How about this tool? What does that do?”
“Um, never tried that either.”
“How come? Oh, awesome, check this out…”
It was kind of embarrassing. I had really intended to show her some cool stuff but she ended up instructing me! Just through sheer curiosity, Clara managed to introduce me to the burn tool, sponge tool and several other cool Photoshop toys.
I had already nearly finished this digital wolf illustration based on a watercolor painting from a couple years ago, so the new tools only got a mini workout here, but I’m definitely looking forward to trying them out more thoroughly next time!
Learning to manipulate the digital pen and work in layers in Photoshop...
I’ve painted this wolf in watercolor (based on a pencil sketch from a couple of years ago), so thought I’d give it a try in Photoshop.
It came out kind of looking like a piece done in oil pastels. I do really enjoy the fact that overworking an area doesn’t mean I’m stuck with it! In this piece I learned how to use layers to build up an image… very different than layering with physical paint because here one has the luxury of adding to or removing any layer at any time! And of course adding another layer won’t muss up the ones beneath it.
Didn't know what the heck I was doing, but it was a blast...
Don’t you love having the excuse to buy something you’ve been lusting after?
I’ve been wanting a graphics tablet and digital pen ever since I realized there was such a thing. (About 2 years I think. Yes, I’m from Mars.)
As I mentioned in my last couple posts I’ve been working on an illustration project for an animated video. And scanning just isn’t going to cut it. So, oh well (hee, hee, hee!) I’ve been forced to spend the bucks for my most coveted wish-list item. (Talk about manifesting one’s own reality!)
I asked around and the consensus was pretty much that the only brand worth considering is a Wacom. I heard good things about their Bamboo model, but after reading a ton of reviews I decided that I probably wouldn’t be happy with anything less than a professional model. A few more reviews convinced me that a small Intuos3, while not the latest and greatest, would suit my needs to a T.
I actually ended up spending less than I thought I would have to. I found a new one on Ebay for a reasonable price and after a few hours’ anxious hovering over the monitor, won the bid with no competition. A few LONG days later my tablet arrived!
It didn’t take me long to realize that the software I had been using for graphic design, Adobe Illustrator, just didn’t seem to give me the results I wanted. Then my friend Lance suggested I try Photoshop. Fortunately I already owned it since I have the Adobe Suite. Of course there are plenty of challenges since I’d never really used Photoshop before. But it wasn’t long before I realized that this tablet + Photoshop offered something beyond my wildest dreams…
…total fluidity of expression. The possibilities are truly endless! Right now I’m really enjoying the painterly qualities I can get with the smudge tool. But I expect this will be a visual love affair to last the rest of my life. (Even my traditional paintings will, I’m sure, benefit from Photoshop as a compositional planning tool…)
The image here is one of my earliest attempts. It’s no-one in particular, just a portrait that flowed out of my head through the pen onto the screen. Perhaps she’s the muse of digital imagery?
The longer I stay on this beautiful planet the more I realize that nothing is coincidence. All things are connected, and we truly do create our own reality. I believe that true prosperity and happiness are not only possible, they are well within our reach, as individuals and as a society.
My life's work is to put this principle into motion for the highest good through the creative abilities I am blessed with. I am an artist and writer and am open to professional relationships that contribute to the greater good of humanity and this beautiful Planet Earth.
For more information on my business writing services please visit GreenInkCopywriting.com. My artist's website is BrightSpiritArt.com.
