Stephen Sitton Illustration

Big Eyed Girl

2012-01-25T18:38:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty busy with doing freelance stuff (that I can't post)and I haven't painted anything just for fun in a while. This started out as a sketch that I thought had some potential and I ended up taking it all the way to finish. It was fun! Enjoy

Steampunk Wizard poses

2011-12-13T20:17:00.000-08:00

These were extra, super rushed to get them in on time. They could use quite a bit of finessing but for the most part I'm happy with how they turned out. Enjoy!

Steampunk Wizard finished

2011-12-13T17:03:00.000-08:00

I've had a lot of fun with this character. I've also had a lot of frustration with this character, but mostly fun. Here is a render of my character in a basic pose. I am in the process of rendering out a couple of different versions of the character in different lighting/different poses. I'll post those soon. Enjoy!

Palettes Assignment

2011-11-28T11:14:00.000-08:00

Here are the finished versions of the palette's assignment. I didn't get a ton of work done this thanksgiving break so these were kinda rushed. But, I'm happy with how they turned out for the most part. Enjoy

Palettes Assignment (roughs)

2011-11-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

For my Color and Design II class we have an assignment to do an illustration three different ways based off of another artist's color palette. The artists whose palettes I decided to emulate are Sam Nielson and Brandon Dorman. These two artists are among my favorites because of their amazing sense of color. In the middle are color ratios to show the amount of each color as compared to the whole. And, on the left is my rough color comp based on those color ratios. I've also included the sketch just for kicks. Enjoy!

Glowbug Desert Spread

2011-11-19T14:44:00.000-08:00

Here's the Desert Spread from my Glowbug book. It's been nice to not have to paint the jungle this time around! More to come....

Steampunk Wizard Update

2011-11-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

This project has been on the backburner for a while. I dusted this off yesterday and have been having a ton of fun. I have been learning the program Zbrush which is a 3D sculpting tool. It's a beast to say the least but I feel like i'm making progress. I've only really started sculpting his face, beard, gloves, hat, and pants. I'm excited to get to all the other little details! This is a screenshot from within zbrush. Enjoy

More Glowbug Stuff

2011-11-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here are another couple spreads for my Glow Bug book. If I ever plan on getting this published I probably shouldn't post the entire book on here :) The first one is finished and the second one is a rough color comp. Enjoy!

More Color and Design 2 Stuff

2011-11-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

The first images are a warm light, cool shadow and a cool light, warmer shadow exercise. As part of the experience we were to take photo reference and use the colors and enhance the warm/cool aspects of them. I chose to take a photo of my beautiful wife Michelle. She's a great model and is always fun to paint. I've obviously exaggerated her proportions and stylized it a bit.

The second group is a study on different types of contrast: Value, Saturation, and Hue or color. We were to take the same drawing and paint it 3 different ways based off of the above criteria. The first is an image based on saturation. The second focuses value. The 3rd wasn't intended to look good. It was mostly to force us to keep everything the same value but create shapes with only color. Enjoy!

What in the....

2011-11-06T22:07:00.000-08:00

They told Jim to keep the bags in a cool, dry place for a reason.....

Hobbes and Calvin

2011-11-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here's the finished version of my Calvin and Hobbes redesign. I had a ton of fun with this image. I'm still going to tweak a few things but they are minor. Enjoy!

Hobbes and Calvin (round 2)

2011-10-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

So, based off of a very beneficial class critique, I decided to abandon the circus approach to my Hobbes and Calvin illustration. I was really in love with the idea of painting a circus scene, but in reality it didn't communicate the idea of Calvin and Hobbes very well. So, I started over...

I went through a lot of ideas in my head and on paper about how I wanted to communicate the idea best. I thought Calvin's red wagon was a very iconic element of his character. And I know that Calvin is always pretending to be in different situations. What I am attempting to do is to show that Hobbes is pretending to be an astronaut, but also show the relationship between him and his stuffed Calvin. It's still very much a work in progress. But, I'm liking this direction a lot more than the circus one.

I've also included two color comps that I am trying to decide between. What do you guys think? I'm open for any ideas you may have.. Enjoy!

Glow Bug Cover

2011-10-18T20:53:00.001-07:00

Here's the finished cover. It's pretty similar to the sketch, just more refined. Enjoy!

Circus Tiger Sketch

2011-10-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a sketch for a new painting i'm going to start. This was kinda rushed so i'm hoping to get some good feedback from my fellow classmates tomorrow. There are a few things i'm still trying to figure out, but for the most part I think it's going to be a fun piece. I was trying to take a spin off of Calvin and Hobbes in reversed roles. I know that it's a little bit of a stretch but I still think it will make a fun illustration. I was trying to think of where a baby tiger could exist and have a stuffed toy to play with. The first thought that came was the zoo but, i've already done a series of zoo illustrations. So, I thought the circus would be fun. Anyway, we'll see how this turns out!

Glow Bug Cover Sketch

2011-10-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here's the sketch/rough color for the cover of my Glowbug book. I'm really excited to paint this one :) It should be done in the next few days so stay tuned!

Stilt Clown

2011-10-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Our second exercise in my Color and Design class was to do an analogous color schemed illustration. This was one of my sketches that I really liked the composition of. I still have a few days to sit on it and see if there are any changes I want to make. Enjoy!

Steampunk Wizard

2011-10-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm doing another independent study of 3D. I feel like this time around is incredibly less frustrating than before. There's obviously loads that I still don't know but i'm pretty happy with the progress i've made so far. Here is a character that I am working on. He's no where near finished but I thought i'd post a work in progress. Eventually i'm going to try to make his beard/eyebrows/hair out of real hair instead of just a shape. I'm also going to give him a few props and a cool environment. Enjoy!

Stilt Clown Sketch

2011-10-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

For my Color and Design class we are moving onto analogous color schemes. This is the sketch that i'm going to paint analogously :)

Glowbug Tongue Spread

2011-10-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

This is the flushed out version of the sketch I did for the spread of my Glowbug book. I'd still like to tighten it up some but it's mostly there. Enjoy!

Jane of the Apes (Finished)

2011-10-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

Here's the finished version of my take on Jane and Tarzan. I still have a few days to let it sit and see if there are any changes that I want to make. I was going to wait until Monday to post this but I figured there was no point in waiting. I might make a few changes, but it's mostly done. Enjoy!

EDIT: I've revised this based on some feedback. Thanks for all the help to those of you that gave me feedback in class :)

Warm up Sketch

2011-09-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd warm up a little bit today before I started into my big projects. Enjoy!

Jane and Tarzan

2011-09-25T02:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the sketch for the illustration of Jane and Tarzan in there reversed roles. I'm having all kinds of fun with this project! I'm still working out a few kinks but for the most part I'm happy with where it's at. Enjoy!

Glow Bug spread

2011-09-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

For my narrative illustration class I am illustrating a book about a chameleon named Lyle. The book describes the adventures that Lyle goes through while trying to catch and eat a very appetizing glow bug. I'm super excited about it! Here is a sketch from a spread within the book. The text is still undergoing revisions. Enjoy!

Jane of the Apes

2011-09-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

In one of my illustration classes I'm doing a project that involves redesigns of classic duos. The fun part is that I'm taking each duo and reversing their roles and their characters. In this instance I'm going to do Tarzan and Jane but, I'm going to have Jane be the one that was raised by apes. These are sketches of my designs for Jane and Tarzan. Eventually I'm going to do a full on illustration of the two of them. Enjoy!

Monochromatic Genie

2011-09-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here's the finished, colored version. It was hard for me to only use one color. But, it's definitely teaching me to do more with less. Enjoy!

Monochromatic Genie (work in progress)

2011-09-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a work in progress of my monochromatic illustration. For those of you that aren't familiar with the term, "monochromatic" means one color. I am still working out what color I want to use. But for now here is the black and white version. Comments welcome!

I dream of Genies....

2011-09-20T23:37:00.000-07:00

Well, not really. But, I thought that it would be fun to paint one for a class assignment.

In my color and design II class we are exploring monochromatic color schemes. Here are a few rough sketches of some genies that I was messing around with today. We are working with 8x11 format. I like them both for different reasons but I think I'm leaning more towards the first one. Either one will be fun to paint. More to come!

Little Racoon Friend

2011-08-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here's the finished version of the previous work in progress. I've had a lot of fun with this one. I hope you all enjoy!

My website's back!

2011-07-31T08:35:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. My website was offline for a month or so while I made some hosting changes and such. But it's back now! Enjoy:

www.stephensitton.com

Work in Progress

2011-07-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd give you guys a little peek. I just blocked in a rough background for lighting. I'm going to actually go back in there and paint up a sweet gypsy wagon and some more defined trees and leaves and stuff. Enjoy!

Little Racoon Friend (sketch)

2011-07-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

A quick sketch just for fun. I kinda like where it's headed so maybe I'll finish it :)

Airline Travel

2011-06-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

This piece has been alot of fun. Actually most of the illustrations I do are fun. I think that's because being an illustrator is awesome. I love what I do. Honestly! I didn't have a whole lot of time to work on this one but I'm still happy with how it turned out. Enjoy!

Sneak Peak

2011-06-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peak at the illustration I'm working on. Enjoy!

It's Been a while...

2011-06-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a long time since my last post. With good excuse, however! I just barely finished the internship portion of my stay at Picture Plane Imaging and they have agreed to let me stay on for the summer as a Freelance artist! I work there 40+ hours a week and have had the privileged to have worked on quite a few unique projects. In the meantime, this is a rough sketch that I'm working on for an illustration for Perspectives magazine. It's supposedly a feature on travel or something like that. I'm still figuring things out. Comments welcome!

Atop the Lighthouse (finished)

2011-04-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

I finished up the background. I'm happy with how this piece turned out. It's been a lot of fun to work on. Comments Welcome!

This might be the last piece that I post on here for a while. I'm starting an internship with Picture Plane Imaging in Texas and most of the stuff I will be working on this summer will be under a Non-Disclosure-Agreement so I can't post it here. And I'm also working on a picture book that I won't be finishing until June. So, don't expect posts very often over the next few months. Sorry guys.

Atop the Lighthouse WIP

2011-04-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

I had this finished a few days ago but I pretty much decided that I hated the background. So, I'm sucking it up and I'm going to re do the background but, in the mean time I thought I'd post what i've got so far. Comments Welcome

Warmup Sketch

2011-04-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

I don't sketch in my sketchbook near as often as I should. It's usually that I'm working on other stuff and don't make time for it. Anyway, I thought I'd warm up a little with some of my new col-erase pencils.

Atop the Lighthouse (Re-drawn) EDIT 1

2011-04-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

***Edit 1: I've gone back and adjusted a few things as per the comments i've received. I made more overlapping in the armpit area of the horses wing so that it helped the wing curve back into the body better. I've adjusted the pose of the soldier dude to where he's gripping the boy from underneath the arm instead of from above the arm. I've also made the soldier dude starting to climb out of the trap door instead of just standing there. Thanks for the great comments so far!

Atop the Lighthouse (I need some good comments guys!!)

2011-03-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

     So, after not having looked at it for a long time, I've finally found time to start working on this image of the scene from the Lighthouse of Alexandria again. It's still extremely rough but, I've got a pretty good idea of where I want to take it from here but I would really like some input from some of my fellow artists. I don't request comments much but I am now. Please feel free to comment to your hearts content with regards to how I might be able to improve the image (without starting over) :)

There are a few areas that I will point out that I would like help with. But feel free to make any other comments:
   I know that there are a lot of you out there that have a better knowledge of horse anatomy than I do. So those of you horse lovers, please feel free to make any comments with regards to the anatomy, expression, and even the wings on the horse. I'm not 100% sold on them myself yet.
   I'm going to rework the gesture and pose of the characters. So don't focus on that as much at the moment.
   One thing that I would like some input on is the lighting in the image. There is obviously going to be a large amount of light coming from the various flames on the harbor. But I also want a nice balance between that and the moonlight. And I'm not quite sure how do achieve that yet.

Anyway, feel free to make any other comments. Also those of you who feel like you have enough free time to do any sort of paint-overs or anything like that.. feel free to slap some colors on there and email it to me at stephen@stephensitton.com

Thanks guys!

Into the Sunset

2011-03-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

I finished this painting about a week ago but I couldn't post it until today. It's a birthday present for my Dad and today is his birthday. My dad owns a small Piper Cub airplane and he's flown airplanes all his life so I thought this would be a fun gift for him. The background is my parents home in Arkansas. I've never painted planes before so I had a lot of fun painting this one. Comments welcome.

Jester

2011-02-28T12:09:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a new character for my 3D independent study in Maya. This character started off just as a doodle that I was messing around with. I've been having a blast learning how to model stuff in Maya. It's so different from anything I have done before but, I'm enjoying it nonetheless. I'm debating on whether I want to change the colors to something other than red/green because I think it feels to much like a Christmas elf instead of a jester. I'm currently working on learning how to rig a skeletal structure inside him so that I can pose and possibly animate him. Comments welcome!

Portrait for the Abegglens

2011-02-28T12:04:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a portrait for a friend of mine, Josh Abegglen, and his wife Karen. It was part of an art exchange that I did with Karen for some laptop cases that she crocheted for my wife and I. Karen is an amazing crochet artist and you can see some of her fabulous designs at her website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ballofyarn

New Sketch/Color Comps

2011-02-18T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have a number of projects that i'm working on at the moment. But, I can only post work in progress on one of them. This is a sketch and some color comps for a new illustration that i'm working on for "The Lighthouse of Alexandria". This is a pretty epic scene in the book and I'm really excited to start painting away. The author chose the far left of the color comps but I thought I'd post the rest anyway. They are all kinda similar just playing around with warm/cool. Comments welcome.

3D stuffs

2011-02-18T18:35:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a month since my last post. I have to apologize for those of you who keep up on my blog. I'm doing an independent study this semester trying to learn Maya. Here are a few things that i've modeled in 3D. The first is a gamecube and the second is a robot crab that I came up with.

The most recent out of the 3D stuff that i've been working on is modeling and rigging/animating a character's head. I decided to do the character Alex from my "baby fur" story. Eventually I will upload a video of him making some faces.

Death of Captain Smith

2011-01-20T23:07:00.000-08:00

I finally found a pocket of time that I used to finish up this image of the death of captain Smith. This is a scene from the book, "The Lighthouse of Alexandria" that I did the cover for. This has been a challenging piece for sure! But, I'm happy with how it's turned out. I'm still going to work on it a little so if anyone has any thoughts on how I could improve the image, feel free to comment.

Kaylee as Jasmine

2011-01-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

My wife's family has a christmas tradition of drawing names to see who buys presents for whom and this year I drew my sister-in-law Kaylee's name. She's always said that she wanted me to paint her a picture of a Disney Princess so I decided to paint her as a Disney Princess. I haven't posted it until now because I haven't been able to give it to her until today. Comments Welcome!

Death of Captain Smith (Drawing)

2010-12-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

I'm working on some pitch art for the book I did the cover for ( "The Lighthouse of Alexandria" ). This is the drawing for one of the scenes from the book. If you are wondering what the story is behind this scene, I'll give you one clue. It's about pirates....

Baby Fur Animatic - Grocery Store

2010-12-15T20:49:00.000-08:00

Baby Fur Animatic - Grocery Store (Edit 1) from Stephen Sitton on Vimeo.

This is an animatic sequence for my Baby Fur story. This is the first time i've ever done anything like this so it was a really different experience. I've learned a ton and have enjoyed the process. I'm still tinkering around with timing and sound effects and such.. but it's done for now. Enjoy!

Christmas Card Finished

2010-12-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

The semester is finally winding down and I just finished this year's Christmas Card. This was a lot of fun to paint! Merry Christmas everyone...

Christmas Card Sketch

2010-12-06T23:10:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to do my own Christmas card. This year I decided to buckle down and start one! This is the sketch that i've been working on. I'd like to think that this is where Santa hangs out while he's not at the workshop. It's really rough at this point and I'm probably going to change things here and there. But, you get the idear. Comments welcome!

Frost Queen

2010-12-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

For the next of my artist studies I decided to try to emulate the style of the amazing Sean Galloway (otherwise known as "cheeks"). He has a very unique style that is crazy fun. His style of characterizing figures is beautiful. His blog can be viewed here. I don't know if my illustration holds up to his stuff at all but I had a lot of fun doing it. Comments Welcome!

The Lighthouse of Alexandria Cover

2010-11-28T02:45:00.000-08:00

It was hard to find time to work as much as I wanted to over Thanksgiving break but I did manage to get the cover for "The Lighthouse of Alexandria" finished. It is a dust jacket cover. So, the image encompasses the front, back, and both interior flaps. I am still going to refine a few things but I figured I could post it to show everyone what i've been working on. This was a blast to paint and I look forward to the next one! Comments Welcome!

Baby Fur Story Boards

2010-11-23T19:37:00.000-08:00

Here are some story boards i've been working on for my Baby Fur project. It's my first time doing story boards so i've learned a lot in the process!

The Lighthouse of Alexandria (Color Comps)

2010-11-22T10:29:00.000-08:00

I have been working on some color comps for the book jacket cover. I have been playing around with a daytime and a nighttime version. The third comp plays off of trying to mix the daytime and the nighttime into the same image. They are still pretty rough at this point but i'm starting to like where the image is going. Comments Welcome.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria (Cover Sketch)

2010-11-18T23:35:00.000-08:00

I'm currently working on illustrating a cover for the book "The Lighthouse of Alexandria". It's an amazing book about Barbary pirates, Romans, and a touch of Greek mythology. Here is the sketch that I submitted for approval. There is more to come. Comments welcome!

Digital Figure Drawings

2010-11-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

I'm in a figure drawing class this semester and on a couple occasions I brought my wacom tablet with me to class to draw with. It's a really different experience drawing from life digitally but I think it's a lot of fun.

"The Journey" Interior Illustrations

2010-11-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

Part of my project for my Chinese themed illustration was to do a couple black and white interiors. These are a lot more simple but I had fun with them nonetheless. ( Note: I have received a lot of critiques from people saying that Mushu in Mulan does the same thing as my dragon. I have watched Mulan all the way through, on fast forward, to make sure I wasn't ripping Disney off. And, I didn't find anything. So, as far as I know, I'm safe, unless you can prove otherwise.)

Baby Fur Character Maquette

2010-11-08T16:42:00.000-08:00

For this part of our projects we were to sculpt a maquette of the main character of our story. I decided to sculpt Alex in his werewolf form. This is the first time i've ever done anything like this so it was definitely a learning experience. I would like to think that the next time I try one of these i'll be alot better at it! It was a really fun experience though. I'm no professional photographer so the pictures aren't that great.

Pure Hotness

2010-11-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

For my second Artist study I decided to try to emulate the style of a fabulous artist named Joe Olson. His blog can be viewed here. This was a lot of fun to draw. I'm still not very confident with the cartoony style but i'm learning alot. The character was inspired by a head drawing done for me by the legendary KidOho. More to come!

The Journey

2010-11-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

I've finally had the time to sit down and finish my Chinese themed illustration. It was a ton of fun to do! As with most of my illustrations, I will probably tweak a few things in the future. But for not it's finished! Comments Welcome.

Ain't No Fishin Here!

2010-10-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-10-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-10-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-10-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-10-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

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! *

2010-10-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-10-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

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!

Comet Chaser (Color Test)

2010-09-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

This is my initial color test to get a feel for the colors/values. I'm still tinkering around with things, but for the most part these are the colors i'm going to use. Initially I was going to make the seagulls part machine, but it ended up looking dumb, so I let them be real birds. Any comments/critiques are more than welcome!

Baby Fur (Alex)

2010-09-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

This is my initial character design for a story called "Baby Fur" that I am working on for a narrative illustration class. My story is about Alex, a 2 year old boy who turns into a werewolf. I know because of the "twilight" series everyone is sick of hearing about werewolves/vampires but, I thought making him a baby would put an interesting twist on the story. Plus, I've never seen a story about a baby werewolf before. This illustration shows both sides of him. Most likely the character will change throughout the course of the semester but, this is my first shot. Comments welcome!

Comet Chaser (sketch)

2010-09-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

This is a sketch for an illustration I'm working on to look as if it could be a real book cover. I've included a version that has type on it to show what I'm talking about. As far as I know there isn't any book with that title/theme. I've wanted to do something steampunk for a long time. I'm way excited about the idea! I also get to do some interior spot illustrations along with it. Comments welcome!

Sasquatch

2010-09-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

This illustration requires a bit of explanation. This illustration was based off of a random sentence derived from the word game titled, "exquisite corpse" (look it up). Basically it's a game where you write a word on a piece of paper and then fold the paper and pass it down the line. The next person doesn't know what you wrote and they have to write another word, and so on. Here are the official steps: http://www.suite101.com/content/exquisite-corpse-a58007

My sentence came out "A humorous Sasquatch graceflly remembered the crusty darts". I had to take a liberty or two on my illustration but I had fun nonetheless.

Comments Welcome!

Another Sketch

2010-09-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here's another sketch I did over the break. More updates to come.

Spot Illustration "The Swing"

2010-08-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

I must sincerely apologize for all of you who actually follow my blog posts. It's been almost a month since my last post and I thought it was about time I posted something. I haven't been idle, however, I have been spending time designing my website. It should be done by the end of the month (hopefully).

This was intended to be a warm-up painting. But, I don't think it really counts as a warm-up considering I spent more than one sitting to do it. But, over-all time, it probably only took me 2-3 hours. I used some photo-reference I had laying around of my nephew playing t-ball. Comments welcome.

( Once school starts up again my posts will be a LOT more frequent, I promise!)

"Monkey Love" (finished)

2010-07-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

Similarly to the previous post, this illustration is pretty much done. I'll post it on here early to see if anyone has any last minute critiques. Chances are this is how it will look when I turn it in unless I see something that needs fixing.

(Alas, I was going to do a third illustration for my final but I have run out of time. It is almost 6 a.m. and I have worked through the night and I know for a fact that I can't pull out a 3rd illustration in less than 10 hours time. Do not mourn, however, for I will complete the third illustration during the break.)

"This is Bull" Finished

2010-07-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

I might change things over the next few days before it's due. But, this is pretty much how it will look when I turn it in. I took the windmill out because it just wasn't working for me. Comments Welcome!

"This is Bull!" (Work in Progress)

2010-07-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

This is another sketch for an illustration i'm working on right now. It's still really rough at this point. What i'm trying to decide is if I want to crop in or not. I feel like when I don't crop it's not as interesting. But, I'm afraid that it's kinda awkward cropping a cow right down the middle. What do you think? Crop? Don't crop? In the cropped version I thought maybe a curved fence in the front would help balance the image out. I forgot to add cowbells. But they are going to be in there. (Any cow/bull experts out there please critique the cow anatomy) I need feedback!

Monkey Love (Work in Progress) Updated

2010-07-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

This is a sketch for an illustration I'm working on. I happen to know that foliage, branches, leaves, etc. are not my strong suite so, I am purposefully doing an illustration full of all of the above to push myself. I think i'm going to put more leaves and stuff in the background. But this gives a general idea of what i'm working on. I would love any input I can get.

** I've updated it a bit since the first 3 comments**

PRINTS AVAILABLE!

2010-07-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

For any of you who are interested I have a site available where you can purchase prints of some of my work. The website regulates how much I can charge so they are very cheap! It's a website called DeviantArt. I'm using it until I find the time to get together an actual website with an online store.

Check it out:

http://stumpyfongo.deviantart.com/prints

Sketches

2010-07-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend my wife and I went to her parents house and I forgot to bring the charger for my laptop and so I couldn't do any of my homework that I was working on digitally. So, to keep myself occupied, I decided to do a few caricature type drawings of some of my in-laws and my wife and I. These were done on canson paper with Cole-erase pencils.

Infertility

2010-06-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

I was going to print this today and be done with it but the place where I get my prints done closes early on Saturdays. I wasn't planning on posting this until Monday after I turned it in but I figured I could use a day to let it sit and perhaps get a few critiques/comments. That way, if I decide to change anything I can get up early on Monday before I print and make the last minute corrections. So, that being said, Please comment!

Au revoir mon amour...

2010-06-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

I'm finally done with the first of my sadness themed illustrations. I've had a lot of fun with this one! It's not due until next Monday but I figure I'll post it and see what kind of feedback I can get before then. Comments welcome!

Sorrow/Sadness Sketches

2010-06-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

In my Illustration class we have the theme of sorrow or sadness. I've chosen to illustrate two separate ideas. The first is a conceptual piece and I'm not going to tell you what it's about because I want to see if you can guess it's theme or what concept I'm trying to illustrate. I'd like to see what you guys think it's about! My second idea is pretty straight-forward. Two fishes are separated at the store and the beautiful one has been bought and they must say their "adieus".

Keep in mind these are still in the rough stage. Comments are always welcome!

Canson Paper Drawing

2010-06-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would venture outside of my normal posts and show something non-digital. For one of my drawing classes we set up still lifes and drew them on canson paper with charcoal and white oil paint. My still life is deceptive though. I say still life because in reality I was drawing a mannequin head with a beanie and goggles on. But I guess it should be classified as a portrait instead. Oh well. I took this picture with my iPhone because I don't currently have a camera. So the quality is a little poor. Sorry!

Lions

2010-06-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is the concept that started the entire series in the first place. I had alot of fun with the series as a whole but this was probably one of my favorites.

Polar Bears

2010-06-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

Polar bears just seem happy to begin with. It wasn't much of a stretch for my imagination for me to give them smug expressions. Don't stand too close, you might get wet!

Flamingos

2010-06-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

While painting this image I learned that flamingos get their colorfullness from the food that they eat. Without it they are a pasty greyish-blue color. You learn all kinds of interesting things as an artist. I like the richness of the colors on this one.

Baboons

2010-06-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

This illustration probably changed the most throughout the entire process. I believe this is the fourth variation of the concept. As with all my projects I would have like to spend a few more hours on this but, who knows if it will ever happen. All-in-all I'm happy with where it ended up. Baboons (or Mandrills) have the most ridiculous butts of any animal I've ever seen. And the most colorful as well.

Zoo Animals Color Comps

2010-05-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm still working out the sketches but on the side I've also been doing some color comps to get a feel for what the colors will be. The baboon sketch still needs some work but I think it's a definite improvement from the previous version.

What Zoo Animals do for Fun!

2010-05-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

So our next project in my Illustration class is the theme "happines/joy". After 5-6 pages of thumb-nailing out ideas I chose to illustrate the concept of what certain zoo animals do to keep happy and have fun. These are still rough and will most likely look very different when i'm done. I've recieved alot of critiques since I sketched these out so i'll update them soon. I just wanted to let you guys see what i'm working on. I haven't committed to anything yet so if any of you have any ideas to help inprove the concept, or composition please let me know!

This first concept is a fat lazy lion eating his steak. In the wild Lions have to hunt for their food. At the zoo they get free food and can lounge around all day! I will probably add more lions and lionesses catering to the king.

The second concept is Polar Bears that pass the time swimming and splashing onlookers. I wanted to have one of them in mid-air about to do a cannonball. I'm going to adjust the angle of his aproach and make him a lot more plump. I will probably fix the railings some.

I like the concept of this third one but the composition needs alot of work. The idea is that Baboons or Mandrils like to pass the time scaring little children. I'm going to re-do this one completely though.

Lastly, I have flamingos that pass the time seeing who can stand on one leg the longest. This one also needs some work. I am going to add more flamingos balancing on one leg; some in different stages of falling etc.

Comments PLEASE!

Walk the Plank (Complete Set)

2010-05-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

I've made a lot of progress in the last couple of days. Here are all 4 of the illustrations that go in the "Walk the Plank" series. I still have till Wednesday to make any last minute revisions so I thought that I'd post them to see if anyone had any critiques that would help to improve these before they're due. This has definitely been a love/hate situation due to my lack of experience painting underwater stuff. But, I've had a lot of fun. Comments please!

Walk the Plank #2 (Battling with Bubbles)

2010-05-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the second in the "Walk the Plank" series. I was completely happy with it until I got to the part where I had to paint the bubbles. I decided that bubbles aren't something that one can just pick up and paint. At least I can't. Painting bubbles underwater does not come naturally to me AT ALL! Even with underwater reference at my side they just don't feel right. I can't put my finger on what it is though. I've been battling with bubbles for the last hour or so and decided it's time to take a break from this piece. Monday I will have a critique from my class and I'm hoping they will have some words of wisdom. I thought I'd go ahead and post it to see if any of you might have some tips?

Walk the Plank #1

2010-05-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

I am just about done with the first illustration for the "Walk the Plank" series I'm doing. I still have three left to do though. It's going to be a long weekend! Comments Welcome!

I Married a Pirate (Revised)

2010-05-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

I re-visited the pirate painting I did last week. I received a really helpful critique from one of the art teachers on campus here and I think it's definitely helped this to be a stronger illustration. Comments welcome!

Walk the Plank (continued)

2010-05-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

I have made some revisions to the first sketch based off of our in-class critiques. I've also included the second illustration in the series. These are still in the color comp stage. The refined versions will come soon.

Midnight Snack

2010-04-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

I've refined the sketch that I posted a few days ago. I still have a few weeks to receive critiques on it before it's due so, it will probably continue to evolve. Comments welcome!

Fear Assignment

2010-04-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

In my Advanced Illustration class we were given the assignment "fear". I have chosen two concepts to illustrate. My first concept is an obvious one; it's the classic cat/mouse illustration. My second concept is going to be a sequential illustration involving a maiden that is forced to walk the plank. These are just initial color comps. The final illustrations are due May 12th so I'll have them up by then if not sooner. More stuff to come!