Infertility

    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...

     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

     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

     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

     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

     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

    
     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

    
     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

    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!

     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)

     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)

     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

     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)

     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)

         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.