Ain't No Fishin Here!

     In one of my independent studies this semester I am studying different artists' approaches to illustration. I take a week or so and study their technique and then I try to apply what i've learned on a personal illustration. For my first illustration I chose Cory Loftis as the artist whose technique I wanted to emulate. He has a really fun way of characterizing animals/figures and a very loose and fun style that I really enjoy. He doesn't have a website but you can look at his blog here.  This piece was a lot of fun! I will revise it a little in the future but for now it's finished. Comments welcome!

Baby Fur Characters

     Here are the rest of the characters from my Baby Fur story. This style is completely new to me still and I struggle with it a little bit. But, I'm satisfied with how these turned out. Comments Welcome!

Baby Fur Character Line Up

     Here's the revised version of my character line-up for my "Baby Fur" story. This is a style that is very different than what I'm used to. But, it's really fun in it's own way. Comments Welcome.

Refined Sketch/Color

  
     I spent some time this weekend gathering reference and doing some research for this painting. It was brought to my attention that pandas are only native to China. I learned something new! Most everything in my image was interchangeable, all except for the panda. Plus, the girl that I had model for my reference photos is Chinese. So, I decided to change it to a Chinese themed illustration. I had a lot of fun doing research on trees and architecture, etc.  I'm still playing around with color trying to get it to feel a little more natural. But, the basic palette isn't going to change. I still haven't thought up a title for this piece. But that's not all that important at this point. Please comment!

Sketch/Color Study

     This is a quick sketch/color study of a book cover i'm getting ready to work on. I haven't thought of a title yet but, I'll get there eventually. I wanted to do an illustration that was inspired by the old Japanese landscape paintings. And, I'm pushing mood and color so I decided to go with a vibrant pink/purple sunset. The end result will undoubtedly look quite different from this sketch. But, it gives you an idea of what I'm thinking. I'm going to shoot some reference for this piece (which is something I haven't done in a while). I have received some feedback on things that I'm going to change but, additional insight is always welcome.

"Baby Fur" Character Line Up (WIP)

     This is the character line up for my Baby Fur story. I have received quite a few beneficial critiques since I did this and the final will look quite a bit different. But, I wanted to let everyone see what i've been working on. I'm going to clean up the lines and the colors and add a sweet background. I'm still open to any suggestions in case someone sees something that others and myself might not have noticed.

Baby Fur (Alex Revised)

     I've been working alot on the redesign of my werewolf baby character for my narrative illustration class. I don't have alot of experience with a "cartoony", line driven style. So, I thought i'd push myself a little. In this class our character is supposed to resemble the medium in which he will be produced. My character, for example, is eventually going to be a 2D animation. So, I designed him to be functional in that environment. Enjoy!

Steampunk Rider (Dust Cover)

     I was curious to see what my book cover illustration would like like... well... on a book. Since i'm all hooked up with Maya (thanks to the new 3 year student license) I made a book in Maya :) Here's a virtual rendition of what my cover illustration would look like. It's a low quality render but I thought it was kinda fun. The text isn't anything special, it's mostly for placement. Maybe someday I'll actually design some real text for the book. In the mean time this will suffice.

Comet Chaser (Spot Illustrations)

     To accompany my steampunk themed illustration I am doing a few spot, interior illustrations as well. I'm trying to keep these loose and quick.

*** NEW WEBSITE! ***

     Well, after a couple months of work my website is finally up and running!! I cannot take all the credit, however, because I had a good friend of mine (Miles Leach) do all the web coding. I designed the visuals and he made them functional. It's still in it's infant stages and will most likely evolve over the years. But this is my first official website and I am very happy with how it turned out.

Without further adieu I present you with:

www.stephensitton.com
 

Comet Chaser (finished)

     After a long weekend I've finally finished my steampunk inspired illustration. I feel like every illustration I do teaches me something new. I've learned a lot painting this piece! Although I should have had this done almost a week ago, it was still a blast. The fan powered balloon contraption was inspired from an ingenious sketch drawn by my cousin, the great Max Gurel (Gobo). As with all my pieces, I will let it sit for a while and maybe in a week or so I'll see something that needs fixing. But for now, any comments/critiques will be most appreciated!