Author: jhancock

Artur Sadlos Master Studies

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As I mentioned in my previous post, part of the cool thing about doing Inktober this year was getting exposed to some amazing artist. Artur Sadlos‘ Inktober work blew me away for a number of reasons: 1) his sense of composition and design; 2) his creation of a sci-fi/fantasy world (which I’m always into); and 3) the simplicity of his quick sketches which had me believing I could actually try out his technique. His entire 2015 Inktober collection has been posted here on Artstation.

I’m definitely in the copying phase of learning right now. I’m trying to really build up my visual drawing vocabulary through live sketching and copying the work of others. Of course, I do venture away from these practices from time to time, but it’s scary:) I’m comfortable with it and I’m learning a lot. I think this is the quickest way for me to improve right now. So…I decided to try my hand at copying Sadlos’ Inktober work. Over the past few days I’ve done some sketches in my sketchbook and they’ve been hella fun–the kind of thing that keeps you going back to the sketchbook. I hope you enjoy checking them out as much as I enjoyed doing them and hopefully they can introduce you to this great artist.

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Inktober 2015

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Artistically speaking, this is kind of a big time for me right now–not because I got a big break–not because my art career is taking off (I’m not even sure if that is a goal). It’s a big time because it was around this time last year that my friend Jeremy Dale passed away unexpectedly at the age of 34. Jeremy was a comic book guy. Not only did he live and breathe the comic book world, but he also had built himself a nice career there. When he passed away, it made me want to do art. I wanted to honor him in some way…carry on his legacy a bit. My goal in trying to get better isn’t really to “make it” like Jeremy had. My goal is to carry on the legacy…to just draw.

So, last year I started drawing, and over the past year I’ve filled up three notebooks. And more recently I participated in the annual Inktober–a tradition started a few years ago where folks are challenged to do an ink sketch every day in the month of October. Not only did I find some amazing artists sharing their work like Karl Kopinski and Artur Sadlos, but it also got me into ink–pushing my brush pen, dip pen, and traditional brush inking in ways I probably wouldn’t have on my own. Even though a lot of my work ended up being quick sketches inspired by the work of others, I was able to fit in a couple original pieces that I’m proud of:

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As well as a couple pieces I liked that were inspired by movie stills:

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Well, I’ve got three more notebooks sitting around that need to be filled, so I guess I better get back to it:)

 

The Longest Journey

 

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They say it takes at least 10,000 hours to become a master at your craft. A lot of the time this feels really daunting, especially when you feel like you are towards the front end of that journey. Other times, it is an encouragement. Anyone can do this…it just takes time.

I’ve been doing a lot of quick sketches this past week just trying to work on my drawing chops. It’s been one of those weeks where I feel like I’m so far away from the goal, but I’m trying to focus on enjoying the process. I’ve been sketching mostly in pen and tonight I picked up a pencil for the first time in awhile and I did this quick 5 minutes sketch of Mindy while she was lying on the floor. It felt good, even though I still kept myself from using an eraser. I’ve been trying to work fast, much like what I see in the sketchbooks of George Pratt (even attempting to incorporate some of his scumbling).

My next goal, in the midst of drawing sketches from life and continuing to practice my Photoshop painting skills (I would recommend these videos by Matt Kohr as a great online resource for learning to digitally paint), is to draw everything in this book: Bridgman’s Complete Guide to Drawing from Life

Enjoy the journey:)

Colonist #87 Ponders the New Earth

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Colonist #87 Ponders the “New Earth”

My first day on the planet,

I want to dig my naked toes

down into its soil,

no longer Earth, but still

the skin of a new world.

 

I wonder what roots grow here,

what burrowers and tunnellers

create this friable surface.

I want to get it under my fingernails,

let its microbes schmooze with my cells,

introduce my body to whatever pathogens

it may have to overcome.

 

Let’s face it – it has always been my way

to get dirty,

to be one with whatever land I walk.

I am here, I will say.

Taste me.

 –Andrea Gerig

 

Huge shout out to my friend Andrea Gerig for providing another poem for our intrepid Colonist 87… we didn’t know we were collaborating until we realized that we were both creating the same thing.

Note: If you want the full effect of this piece while staring at it and reading Andrea’s poem you should consider playing some Glitch Mob in the background:)

My confidence in Photoshop is increasing as far as the coloring goes, and this piece required more digital painting than any other one yet as I decided to play with more painted textures than before. In the past I’ve provided a texture layer in the background, but all the texture in this one is entirely painted which gives it a crisper feel in my opinion. I feel that this is my first “real” digital media piece.

 

More Beginner Photoshop Fun

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Colonist #87

I have left the Earth behind.

Pale blue dot, fading into darkness:

Home, all that I know, my Native Shore…

You still mean everything to me,

But I turn my back

And face the stars

While the vision of your sphere

Still fills the window.

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You will remain large in my memory,

And I will not watch you fade

Into insignificance

With tears on my face.

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No, I go forth willingly,

Boldly taking these first steps

As a child of Earth,

Ready for a brave new world.

–Andrea Gerig

 

I’m really enjoying this Photoshop business. I did another quick sketch today. It was, again,  an attempt to mimic the style of Guillaume Singelin who does some amazing space illustrations (like this one):

http://blackyjunkgallery.tumblr.com/page/7

I’m learning more and more about this digital medium everyday. I even ordered the 12×9 Monoprice drawing tablet today so I can begin attempting to learn (on a cheaper tablet) how to do some digital painting (link to the tablet is below).

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10841&cs_id=1084101&p_id=6815&seq=1&format=2

 

My First “Kind of” Comic

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Photoshop has always been one of my glaring weaknesses as an artist. Sure, I took the “intro” class on the Adobe Suite in college, but for the most part I’ve focused on traditional media.

So, today, I decided to take a low resolution cell phone picture of a quick sketch I had done a couple months back while hanging out in a coffee shop. I threw it in Photoshop, and with the help of a lot of Youtube videos and online tutorials, I attempted to color my line drawing in the style of Guillaume Singelin. You can see his coloring work I was mimicking–as well as the line drawing I used, below. I put some mysterious text on it just so I could post it as “sequential art”:).

http://blackyjunkgallery.tumblr.com/post/51960716418

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Awake II

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“Awake II”

Acrylic on canvas

3ftx4.5ft

Since I just started this web-site, I wanted to throw in a few older pieces I had done. This piece titled “Awake II” was a part of a series of three paintings I did while we were still living in Kansas City. It still resides there and I wish I had a higher quality image of it:)