tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27183866971122002222024-02-22T13:08:39.046-08:00Artwork of Tobias WhiteNews and updates about my artwork,
tutorials, thoughts and other cool stuff. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-57970281481548116762015-04-02T08:45:00.000-07:002015-04-02T08:45:25.975-07:00Evil Teletubbies Photo Manipulation<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7ELXfqfjCDxaphyphenhyphensMwQijPGshumXsb4H0BZQ4olRet2KPDbUbe1picgQk7AatuUlIxrsIpSW7J-Mg2FIbKLz7a7OCI4SrYWrk2uv70tkNmzScNs2BsVYPLrlvW5syk0CaJm_iCT067MG/s1600/Evil-Tubbies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7ELXfqfjCDxaphyphenhyphensMwQijPGshumXsb4H0BZQ4olRet2KPDbUbe1picgQk7AatuUlIxrsIpSW7J-Mg2FIbKLz7a7OCI4SrYWrk2uv70tkNmzScNs2BsVYPLrlvW5syk0CaJm_iCT067MG/s1600/Evil-Tubbies.png" height="271" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a quick and fun little photo manipulation I did of a Teletubby parody!<br />So I thought I would show you the steps I took to make it!<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RdFwc5dBb3F-QoJtp_yfMt65GgG9JG0J5-Dwi0C1hwGQpOtY3VUJEbynGMbDJzYk6qgAZXeiOVD1Fq267D2kZU-9kRUDIxp-qj4y3eTdEPrhFSgBP8w5cdK-rNfmFwtP01LvReAe1XT-/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RdFwc5dBb3F-QoJtp_yfMt65GgG9JG0J5-Dwi0C1hwGQpOtY3VUJEbynGMbDJzYk6qgAZXeiOVD1Fq267D2kZU-9kRUDIxp-qj4y3eTdEPrhFSgBP8w5cdK-rNfmFwtP01LvReAe1XT-/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-1.png" height="217" width="320" /></a><br />
First I took the image and de-saturated the image and blackened out the eyes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpVRphilBon80Ixdo9QlkRUYBIcCTj1zgeyDKmv9V6TQODB_T4m6dKxrl7ov4twhj0lNNLtdrv7MJB5FQz4sTY4kWOT9NNrDQbFQYnnI8pEqhlBlSUka7XGM53_8eWWhOx5TbVxbcAp4H/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpVRphilBon80Ixdo9QlkRUYBIcCTj1zgeyDKmv9V6TQODB_T4m6dKxrl7ov4twhj0lNNLtdrv7MJB5FQz4sTY4kWOT9NNrDQbFQYnnI8pEqhlBlSUka7XGM53_8eWWhOx5TbVxbcAp4H/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-2.png" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
I then overlaid a cracked texture for the faces from my texture library and turned the layer to soft light.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvTtHMTRKXvgrhxnoLzAXH3s4g4qQUpBjh6vIUJL06mWi549Pv87Ly35ZnS_2benxK5_W5Fre8K5hPFC_QkFk03le__32ocwS685bADduFPgdjhqQzvVq6UUJ51nuPKbDr8KZWVkl2vo6/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvTtHMTRKXvgrhxnoLzAXH3s4g4qQUpBjh6vIUJL06mWi549Pv87Ly35ZnS_2benxK5_W5Fre8K5hPFC_QkFk03le__32ocwS685bADduFPgdjhqQzvVq6UUJ51nuPKbDr8KZWVkl2vo6/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-3.png" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
After that I blackened the background.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTmMOEnPlwqRXGMa7mJmNJ1cCA6glWQQGrVqbAnysraJxOwPeJZp1WPkk_Z8lzOKQjgK5_nHXoJKAgjf2lwVCmuO1T4aGjous3jgOmulrqCi-3B02j8BZRRkTjUa9chF-RciG5oqnBuIG/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTmMOEnPlwqRXGMa7mJmNJ1cCA6glWQQGrVqbAnysraJxOwPeJZp1WPkk_Z8lzOKQjgK5_nHXoJKAgjf2lwVCmuO1T4aGjous3jgOmulrqCi-3B02j8BZRRkTjUa9chF-RciG5oqnBuIG/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-5.png" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
Then I overlaid a messy art table photo I took in college for a texture. I copied this texture twice, turn one upside down, turned one layer to soft light and another to multiply. I then darkened the edges.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0c753iALdd6AssHzR5iJ7ZKNV0LKbTpinMhcXSukc8-FbQdhcadLTr7k-uLfHr949gwd4ltFNcm1F3yJDfzj_d4ST9MW-xq5Gxeviiu0pGGEXHYPhlPGpapiIxL17nHsF8lL4P85V8heb/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0c753iALdd6AssHzR5iJ7ZKNV0LKbTpinMhcXSukc8-FbQdhcadLTr7k-uLfHr949gwd4ltFNcm1F3yJDfzj_d4ST9MW-xq5Gxeviiu0pGGEXHYPhlPGpapiIxL17nHsF8lL4P85V8heb/s1600/Evil-Tubbies-6.png" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
Nearing the end I painted in mist with some textured brushes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7ELXfqfjCDxaphyphenhyphensMwQijPGshumXsb4H0BZQ4olRet2KPDbUbe1picgQk7AatuUlIxrsIpSW7J-Mg2FIbKLz7a7OCI4SrYWrk2uv70tkNmzScNs2BsVYPLrlvW5syk0CaJm_iCT067MG/s1600/Evil-Tubbies.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7ELXfqfjCDxaphyphenhyphensMwQijPGshumXsb4H0BZQ4olRet2KPDbUbe1picgQk7AatuUlIxrsIpSW7J-Mg2FIbKLz7a7OCI4SrYWrk2uv70tkNmzScNs2BsVYPLrlvW5syk0CaJm_iCT067MG/s1600/Evil-Tubbies.png" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
Lastly, I used a photo filter to cool down the image to make it a bit scarier and to make it look like they were in the dark.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-20751662807939380112015-03-16T20:58:00.002-07:002015-03-16T21:04:15.571-07:00Cthulhian Priests, A Group of Geeks and Kickstarters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">Cthulhian Priests, A Group of Geeks and Kickstarters</span></div>
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So it has been a busy week for me working on kickstarters, painting Cthulhian Priests to get away from kickstarters and forming a new facebook group because I couldn't find one like it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjNv_5Qq7brizxnKDV_ui0jqiTWAxXXHqcMQ_eI6J4Lj1Br39COqKQmWLkmEMcPtCECP3JwmVyC8b8uyOkeNkiTscWHfQOvyhmNMkcoFZmDZy2-Iy6KUVGG2_YTz6ud8lpBM_adp7d72L/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjNv_5Qq7brizxnKDV_ui0jqiTWAxXXHqcMQ_eI6J4Lj1Br39COqKQmWLkmEMcPtCECP3JwmVyC8b8uyOkeNkiTscWHfQOvyhmNMkcoFZmDZy2-Iy6KUVGG2_YTz6ud8lpBM_adp7d72L/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-001.jpg" height="320" width="198" /> </a></div>
So I thought I would start things off by taking you through the process I did for the Cthulhian priest. The piece actually started many years ago and was a sketch from the first page of my travel sketch book!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5lXuQjqGm8laMfraPWAnalfbHkaEOH9TCYxIdL4xEEadtVq-sotzxwseNgkWgOjIPZOdMA-s8Wi41niq13xkKuyyv65zfI_Ocjyx3mMUgIamPBuUjZ8WGYM0cT3WR5-vGIeS6_HMQfgI/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-002.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5lXuQjqGm8laMfraPWAnalfbHkaEOH9TCYxIdL4xEEadtVq-sotzxwseNgkWgOjIPZOdMA-s8Wi41niq13xkKuyyv65zfI_Ocjyx3mMUgIamPBuUjZ8WGYM0cT3WR5-vGIeS6_HMQfgI/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-002.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
So I took the face of that old sketch into photoshop and refined it as well as adding on a posed body. For some reason I was in a Nehru jacket mood so I designed his robe that way. I think it was because I was remembering a Weird Al Song.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrl-mCwVfv3HSegFvoNHAXeiDJkHTH6yv5C1K70L5JRq1bkoEgW3CFl-fExw7ebxd1GaNW23W3UTT0o7s6ifN8Bx03nqnGKZc4act7ATTMhPJABNGAhtC8feUhV208FXFvUU3Cff1Yymy/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-003.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrl-mCwVfv3HSegFvoNHAXeiDJkHTH6yv5C1K70L5JRq1bkoEgW3CFl-fExw7ebxd1GaNW23W3UTT0o7s6ifN8Bx03nqnGKZc4act7ATTMhPJABNGAhtC8feUhV208FXFvUU3Cff1Yymy/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-003.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Once the sketch was done I did a highly refined value painting of him. To get here I start of the values very softly and in general and then I slowly start tightening up the image into sharp details.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IDR2_hAfmTNxVDBjhN_a-33Qy7ZZe5RDp2AlZJFnf88Nmlhq32DR_OGJQddD8agXzLp16Fz7ZpWnCkfNe-IEswcEQDIJLbgrfOFknWXRAr8yj9QR5lLa2DrXBs0lGkf3axeTRrL3KZoX/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-004.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IDR2_hAfmTNxVDBjhN_a-33Qy7ZZe5RDp2AlZJFnf88Nmlhq32DR_OGJQddD8agXzLp16Fz7ZpWnCkfNe-IEswcEQDIJLbgrfOFknWXRAr8yj9QR5lLa2DrXBs0lGkf3axeTRrL3KZoX/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-004.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Then using an old photo as reference I took while down in la Jolla cove visiting some good friends I painted an alien world, because any good Lovecraftian will tell you that Cthulhu is just a powerful (godlike) alien and his race is called the Star Spawn. This guy is not Star Spawn but he is related!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuH304Qdjo-_88dsWDB-7gJeOo4d30vUtVmvk_Ef3BO-z972ISrDreePLmyDv3y-tNMnQQHaXU19nPlD4cbh50lxKKV7_xip9k6CR027LWanzpLpqg09NpdVuWnu8pG1P39BRUL_MxvtQ/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-005.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuH304Qdjo-_88dsWDB-7gJeOo4d30vUtVmvk_Ef3BO-z972ISrDreePLmyDv3y-tNMnQQHaXU19nPlD4cbh50lxKKV7_xip9k6CR027LWanzpLpqg09NpdVuWnu8pG1P39BRUL_MxvtQ/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-005.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
I then start washing over the value painting with local or base colors for atmosphere and color balance. When I choose my base colors I am often looking for simultaneous contrast which is a fancy artist term for colors making each other look more vivid by being next to each other.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDiKXL8b4DuHRmbptYO4AqJyLw7Pl_MxvIB0zJ5ZOG1qZmZWAsFvUd6QDJIDBnh8xP4wabnXOf7T7qTb_jDSjEXx0b3A01yjV5vRgmAt-3TVSes1mWxD4cCWQCm0Fz-jCtKPjW2hSCHyTf/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-006.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDiKXL8b4DuHRmbptYO4AqJyLw7Pl_MxvIB0zJ5ZOG1qZmZWAsFvUd6QDJIDBnh8xP4wabnXOf7T7qTb_jDSjEXx0b3A01yjV5vRgmAt-3TVSes1mWxD4cCWQCm0Fz-jCtKPjW2hSCHyTf/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-006.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
After laying out out the base colors I threw in a little pattern design to the robe to make it look richer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswE2HFD84UDGFqwaJgprBaQ7zC1AkfdiHvYmYRVDXy26hh-qTKkJIlpl8LvJ5ZYsNHQF8cVfZH-dGg_bn2gj9uzTAMLZwe0Buc1MNPizQ0H3UHLP7LvfHIo-ujXV0zvPYN2291VUYCcG3/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-007.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswE2HFD84UDGFqwaJgprBaQ7zC1AkfdiHvYmYRVDXy26hh-qTKkJIlpl8LvJ5ZYsNHQF8cVfZH-dGg_bn2gj9uzTAMLZwe0Buc1MNPizQ0H3UHLP7LvfHIo-ujXV0zvPYN2291VUYCcG3/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-007.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
After the robes I start adding more color by adding warm color to the light side of my image and cool colors for the shadow sides of my image. This is one of my favorite parts because it helps bring the image to life!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqAJEtssHgzOpuiJrd2oaWP84Ejlolu9UR7BaWoQIK0WUSjb_M9gDX30PHc36QVAgDuxib0uykhBgvgMLsYvrEtMwd3Gy6BSkVucitMpk6uplxdDIgCe9UbvCeesz6HrGFuLhM-AjSJIY/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-008.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqAJEtssHgzOpuiJrd2oaWP84Ejlolu9UR7BaWoQIK0WUSjb_M9gDX30PHc36QVAgDuxib0uykhBgvgMLsYvrEtMwd3Gy6BSkVucitMpk6uplxdDIgCe9UbvCeesz6HrGFuLhM-AjSJIY/s1600/Cthulhian-Priest-008.png" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Lastly comes the final touches, color adjustments, clean up, polishing and final little details! This painting took me all day and I needed that distraction from stress of Kickstarter work.<br />
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Toward the end of the week I was looking for Facebook groups to join and I wanted a group that was all about being a geek which I am proud to call myself through and through, but the sad panda cried because I could not find one. So what to do? Well create one of course!<br />
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I created <u>We Be Geek</u> to be a safe group in which geeks can share general geekiness with other fellow geeks. There are Facebook groups all over that are very specific in their geek interests, but I felt that a lot of geek interests overlap. By the 3rd day we have already gained 131 members! We talk about all kinds of things from video games, cult movie classics, roleplaying games, cool art, science and more! I have even set the rules for limited self-promotion as long as it is geeky in nature or can help geeks out!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlxZUbFHWmGUYd22hpHZ1qV-A3Pf8fuJO2HitimKf5DAuzhXjYAPxWoHDRpzNUhog2JGtFqrn7pQpMffPDoDBidCZssJVjnipSXI4-PRFwv4ygAlsEbakBR9uQo_gGxOhHdr5iqhD3JEx/s1600/Geek-Card-Sherry-Abshire-Bentley.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlxZUbFHWmGUYd22hpHZ1qV-A3Pf8fuJO2HitimKf5DAuzhXjYAPxWoHDRpzNUhog2JGtFqrn7pQpMffPDoDBidCZssJVjnipSXI4-PRFwv4ygAlsEbakBR9uQo_gGxOhHdr5iqhD3JEx/s1600/Geek-Card-Sherry-Abshire-Bentley.png" height="210" width="320" /></a><br />
If you become an active member you will also receive an official Geek card with your picture, name and Geek number! Everyone loves them! To get one all you have to do is be a member, be active and show you can get your Geek on! I will then make one for you!<br />
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So if you are on Facebook be sure to drop by the group, check out all the fun we are having and feel free to join! All are welcome! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/417929578388749/" target="_blank">We Be Geek!</a><br />
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Last but not least, as some of you know or don't know is that for the past 27 days Nathan Maher and I have been running a kickstarter for the first expansion to the game Spooks! Welcome to the Great Beyond! The Kickstarter for Mortal Intrusion is to pay for the time that I can do the artwork, but the writing I am doing for free as I am the coauthor of the book this time! Good art takes time and time requires money which is why we are holding the kickstarter, not only will it be paying for the artwork but also for the publishing costs and goodies we are offering. We want to produce a quality product and while we have met our KS goal, it is only the barebones funds we need to really produce a high quality product so we need more funds.<br />
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Be awesome in what you do and become a backer, share this blog or post in FB or do both to help us reach those stretch goals! Those who become financial backers get great rewards, but you better hurry because we only have about 3 days left!<br />
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If you have any questions please feel free to ask them!<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" scrolling="no" src="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/984696056/the-mortal-intrusion/widget/video.html" width="480"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" height="420" scrolling="no" src="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/984696056/the-mortal-intrusion/widget/card.html?v=2" width="220"></iframe><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-47398272765114729562015-03-08T11:49:00.000-07:002015-03-08T11:49:00.787-07:00Evolution of Cthulhu & Concept Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5I_VWPwT2ogiLjQu1aEAAdPPMb7xDQnSDogC3NTc-YB-fT8WWLKrmF87JCcCqWbpSFnAyLtX8HYeBuzZTxIIsoa_hdFWQTIyRMS_3DPc8-DACSY6iUau6R4r5DIPtmeeYONBEuj0192d/s1600/Cthulhu-Evolution.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5I_VWPwT2ogiLjQu1aEAAdPPMb7xDQnSDogC3NTc-YB-fT8WWLKrmF87JCcCqWbpSFnAyLtX8HYeBuzZTxIIsoa_hdFWQTIyRMS_3DPc8-DACSY6iUau6R4r5DIPtmeeYONBEuj0192d/s1600/Cthulhu-Evolution.png" height="220" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Evolution of Cthulhu and Concept Art</u></b></span></div>
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I am going to take you on a little journey of the art and design of Cthulhu who has over the years been my most prominent painting subject. For those of you know don't know Cthulhu is H.P. Lovecraft's most famous creation despite the fact that Cthulhu only appeared Lovecraft novel <u>The Call of Cthulhu</u>. While self training and going to college to gain my artistic skills I had decided to sharpen my ability to perform as concept artist by working from his prose alone and to not to follow the crowd of previous depictions. Cthulhu has been and always will be my on going project. </div>
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<b><span style="color: lime; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u>The Old one were, the Old Ones are, </u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: lime; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u>and the Old Ones shall be.</u></span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Cthulhu Rising</span></td></tr>
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My first attempts at painting Cthulhu was primitive at best because painting skill aside I really didn't understand my subject nor did I understand the process of doing concept art or the finer aspects of composition. This was actually before I had even read Lovecraft's work and I only saw the works of others and thought he was cool.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Star Spawn</span></td></tr>
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My second attempt was after I actually started researching and reading Lovecraft's work and I started to understand a little more about Lovecraft's vision. This piece for example is a Starspawn part of Cthulhu's race once I learned that Cthulhu is actually an alien from another world, but his power was so great that he was elevated to godhood status by mankind. As you can see my skill was improving but I was also trying to break free from the depictions other artists have done in the past.<br />
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I did this piece when I finally started to understand the need of a visual narrative of an illustration and concept piece. I learned that I had to stimulate the imaginations of my viewers with my work in order to engage them. I kept things simple and straight forward and the feedback I got from this attempt was positive. It was then that I started to learn that I can't operate in a vacuum and needed feedback from my audience.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lzv3taHfJhIZbVxRxapdRiZ-vbdBxhNb1nDCLYjyPxk82R9RK-_8FzSn9PUDFhlb-Yl9FWYqHT7r5YeO88xIOGTcwfDf0uFlnV-F-Kk13Q8l0L_RJraVqHkV9MBmF5ZdFzsXKWjXMLEu/s1600/485px-Cthulhu_sketch_by_Lovecraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lzv3taHfJhIZbVxRxapdRiZ-vbdBxhNb1nDCLYjyPxk82R9RK-_8FzSn9PUDFhlb-Yl9FWYqHT7r5YeO88xIOGTcwfDf0uFlnV-F-Kk13Q8l0L_RJraVqHkV9MBmF5ZdFzsXKWjXMLEu/s1600/485px-Cthulhu_sketch_by_Lovecraft.jpg" height="200" width="161" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Lovecraft's Original Sketch</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: lime;"> Wishful Thinking </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhngulbLns4vGA7KKN3w5slaNFY7ubdJx8Ip8KQGsgSMzZj8rqHslpODWHEJMhArhyUkXnT_CzU0NUp76HdwkrmjsemUWIuOIW91x51KhX34Qua-ddCMPEJjMrQYCEeYcpJSkYnzInSn-v/s1600/Blind_Perspective_by_King_Rastel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhngulbLns4vGA7KKN3w5slaNFY7ubdJx8Ip8KQGsgSMzZj8rqHslpODWHEJMhArhyUkXnT_CzU0NUp76HdwkrmjsemUWIuOIW91x51KhX34Qua-ddCMPEJjMrQYCEeYcpJSkYnzInSn-v/s1600/Blind_Perspective_by_King_Rastel.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Blind Perspective</span></td></tr>
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About this time I was exploring Cthulhu's design even more, but this time I allowed to look at only one visual depiction and that was from Lovecraft's own sketch of how he saw Cthulhu looking. Also during this time I was really learning how to push my rendering skills and exploring in techniques of color and rendering.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihic15qq8p7YCPOQHgvvvwcpMV8GIzGU-OO9ZSGLTg90ufgzFYHemLMUU51P5L2zg4jY0cbjF_yuTVdABUrgnvpPc7rBtmakIzKqh3bGG3iWTVtn1weANLB7F6ena258fVnhIjx_z1nj_5/s1600/Cthulhu_Concept_4_by_King_Rastel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihic15qq8p7YCPOQHgvvvwcpMV8GIzGU-OO9ZSGLTg90ufgzFYHemLMUU51P5L2zg4jY0cbjF_yuTVdABUrgnvpPc7rBtmakIzKqh3bGG3iWTVtn1weANLB7F6ena258fVnhIjx_z1nj_5/s1600/Cthulhu_Concept_4_by_King_Rastel.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Cthulhu Concept</span></td></tr>
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In this design I was trying to break away from the conventional presentations of how Cthulhu was suppose to look like. At this point in time I ended up view other Cthulhu depictions. I think at the time I was also being influenced by other movies. For instance, I forget the name of the movie but it showed a dragon that had feather like wings that were actually scales.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLj3mylB_e7WxZB1eUb-SYabDiLCvhHNvt1on3obD7NN2gnIhIIHLUxut_2mzhgde8gnwkNdQlLW9uOj-uA3ZcaBsz1p81AtrZDA2FgimR9-kD5KgKDoMeC6t5dGv6zbCsE223uy1ca5ym/s1600/Ends_to__a_mean_by_King_Rastel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLj3mylB_e7WxZB1eUb-SYabDiLCvhHNvt1on3obD7NN2gnIhIIHLUxut_2mzhgde8gnwkNdQlLW9uOj-uA3ZcaBsz1p81AtrZDA2FgimR9-kD5KgKDoMeC6t5dGv6zbCsE223uy1ca5ym/s1600/Ends_to__a_mean_by_King_Rastel.jpg" height="320" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Ends to a Mean</span></td></tr>
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Once again I was exploring the narrative and to this day I found that being able to show a narrative is not only important for illustration but also for concept art and for the very same reasons. One of illustration and concept artwork most important aspects is the need to communicate to the viewer whether it be a general audience or an art director. This piece was also about having fun as it is bit of fan art when you notice the cube the little girl is holding is the puzzle box from the Movie Hell Raiser.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJR3dAiXat70bpBkZVtvQKUdjlZla2KL0zw2VcM3Lh0fO1ByRCnWgMMINo4J4W1je1OJNCPQNvh82LzyjRL0CFjcd-8irVscc5sjMaJsRbl7E8rDG2Q_3kBqLPAZr_wzqqfoYhNUB7n02/s1600/e716892a85c695ef1a7fb52a62161b45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJR3dAiXat70bpBkZVtvQKUdjlZla2KL0zw2VcM3Lh0fO1ByRCnWgMMINo4J4W1je1OJNCPQNvh82LzyjRL0CFjcd-8irVscc5sjMaJsRbl7E8rDG2Q_3kBqLPAZr_wzqqfoYhNUB7n02/s1600/e716892a85c695ef1a7fb52a62161b45.jpg" height="320" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Cthulhu Sketch</span></td></tr>
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This piece actually was a sketch I did during a lecture in one of my art classes, but I was paying attention, honest! This was an important design because I had started to to get tunnel vision in my design and I started to let go. When I mean by tunnel vision I mean it was the only solution I felt was worth exploring or I felt that would work. Letting go of such perceptions is probably one of the hardest things to do in order to become a good concept artist because you have to be able to present different variations of a single subject in order to get the desired result.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DNW6tYbJ6HNdOoZowBKw3f4EZguKQRggmnf0XheJqqIzXfI_baKJWs0XBz51nLYdxd48abbQunz0BDCSBsWoVEJIVLZCuFK0rw-OQ6n3wiztocv0cTzP1FiSk04homRO5cmcLoHK4Efd/s1600/cthulhu_s_uninvited_by_ito_saith_webb-d5zruh2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DNW6tYbJ6HNdOoZowBKw3f4EZguKQRggmnf0XheJqqIzXfI_baKJWs0XBz51nLYdxd48abbQunz0BDCSBsWoVEJIVLZCuFK0rw-OQ6n3wiztocv0cTzP1FiSk04homRO5cmcLoHK4Efd/s1600/cthulhu_s_uninvited_by_ito_saith_webb-d5zruh2.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Cthulhu's Uninvited </span></td></tr>
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Again in this piece I was exploring the narrative more and a bit of design as well. I was also returning to the literary description as it described Cthulhu having scales.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEHBWvxP7Ishlg17D9xUjyCrzupBimiUvt3l0RC7hYPNsDO9_PzoV2-MY94YKwTauiKpI7RimTF-WjvIVev4Nsly1fuiy1mCGs5NLIuvvTXkJKVgVzT5qz_2rQy9yEMdrtORmCNV3zXhO/s1600/wishful_thinking_v2_by_ito_saith_webb-d5o9zgz.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEHBWvxP7Ishlg17D9xUjyCrzupBimiUvt3l0RC7hYPNsDO9_PzoV2-MY94YKwTauiKpI7RimTF-WjvIVev4Nsly1fuiy1mCGs5NLIuvvTXkJKVgVzT5qz_2rQy9yEMdrtORmCNV3zXhO/s1600/wishful_thinking_v2_by_ito_saith_webb-d5o9zgz.png" height="320" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Wishful Thinking 2</span></td></tr>
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Here I returned to this piece knowing sometimes going back and doing it again is a good thing and that you don't want to throw away a good thing just for the sake of progress.<br />
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Lastly here is my latest concept design of Cthulhu. Again I was letting go of previous design, but I returned to some of the more literary descriptions of Cthulhu by Lovecraft, but also based on feedback and discussions with fellow Lovecraftians. Again here you see my skill has improved considerably and this is due to time of constantly doing art, but also the contracted speculation work I have been doing for MMOmagic as a concept artist which hopefully will pay off someday soon or at the very least has been giving me experience as a concept artist.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">Cthulhu Concept</span></td></tr>
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Today I still work as a freelance artist and I don't always know where the money is coming as commissions come in sporadically which makes it hard to pay the bills. In order to counter balance this I have to work with my clients which include helping them or working with them for kickstarter projects like the one below. Please help by becoming a risk free money backer, by sharing this blog on various social media such as Facebook, twitter and more, or be excellent by doing both! <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0California, USA36.778261 -119.4179323999999823.886873 -140.07222939999997 49.669649 -98.763635399999984tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-1269023667447518502015-03-05T14:50:00.002-08:002015-03-07T07:49:01.428-08:00From speed painting to full painting!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9UyI1KD1Hb69pJoiaUQ01-TxVLDUU2ROpLGdRAhjFHe5vBrSHFStKgNk9E2ZwSxnHUtZrxYQzoiFgcXmK_CSY5Y1wO4FFabXw-VgXIBRlMCtI9psDeu5_ncEwK0crN0MPSIhHM7Lwb24D/s1600/Spooks-Front-Cover-Poster_For-Web_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9UyI1KD1Hb69pJoiaUQ01-TxVLDUU2ROpLGdRAhjFHe5vBrSHFStKgNk9E2ZwSxnHUtZrxYQzoiFgcXmK_CSY5Y1wO4FFabXw-VgXIBRlMCtI9psDeu5_ncEwK0crN0MPSIhHM7Lwb24D/s1600/Spooks-Front-Cover-Poster_For-Web_2.png" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
Back when I was doing the art for <a href="http://spookswttgb.wix.com/home">Spooks! Welcome to the Great Beyond</a>, I had to do a lot of speed paintings to fill up the book because the budget was low and so it was decided to go economy with some of the art, so the book would not feel unbalanced in art. I am working artist so of course if you are good at something don't do it for free, but on the same token you want what you do look good and to be helpful. Some of those speed paintings, since by contract I still own full copyrights, I decided I would revisit and turn into something wonderful. The last two days I lived up to that promise to one of those pieces.<br />
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As many as you know I am a Lovecraftian who often brings in Lovecraftian work into my art. One of the speed paintings I did for Spooks! was a NPC portrait of H.P.Lovecraft which I wrote into the book. This painting took my approximately 30 minutes to do, but it would just one among many that I painted for the book. The NPCs in the book are all historic people painted to look like a variety of different Spooks. According the game, a person rises as a certain type of spook depending on how they died or lived their lives. In the case of Lovecraft, he died of cancer and the book states that most who die from disease rise as zombies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkf-WEAv8yrMAW5PFWsqZZzNL592cKFgD-ZBpTl8s6SK_oDQwfW5FmUQPsiIohMTu4-moL2RAumN2caJgSiSTmm3LCiwsZOzJM4Z5uKg86FoQoWOo8i1u528xNaxv-nR9JUYBTtAofitVt/s1600/Zed-Lovecraft_web.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkf-WEAv8yrMAW5PFWsqZZzNL592cKFgD-ZBpTl8s6SK_oDQwfW5FmUQPsiIohMTu4-moL2RAumN2caJgSiSTmm3LCiwsZOzJM4Z5uKg86FoQoWOo8i1u528xNaxv-nR9JUYBTtAofitVt/s1600/Zed-Lovecraft_web.png" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
I loved the speed paint that I did of Lovecraft, not only because he is one of my favorite authors but because painting zombies is fun as hell! So I decided to return and make it something special. Now I mentioned that painting zombies is fun and I will tell you why! Zombies are like old people in that they have so much detail and texture to their faces to the point that it is beautiful. It is like exploring a map to some unknown land. For this composition at first I planned on adding a ton of references to Lovecraft's work like him holding the Necronomicon, as well as a syringe holding the reanimator reagent, and tentacles hugging him around the shoulders, but then I decided that it would make the piece to busy and that I wanted to keep it simple and straight forward. I did however keep the necronomicon in the painting but it is shelved. The syringe design I was going for a steampunk quality but it was really inspired by the memory syringes from the movie Dark City.<br />
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If you have any questions about my art please feel free to ask!<br />
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Also don't forget to check out the Kickstarter for the first expansion to <a href="http://spookswttgb.wix.com/home">Spooks!Welcome to the Great Beyond</a>. We need all the support we can get!<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" scrolling="no" src="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/984696056/the-mortal-intrusion/widget/video.html" width="480"> </iframe><iframe frameborder="0" height="420" scrolling="no" src="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/984696056/the-mortal-intrusion/widget/card.html?v=2" width="220"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-36971850775949771652015-03-02T12:43:00.000-08:002015-03-02T12:43:37.486-08:00The Art of Mortal Intrusion<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipedk49i_WYQYVXrkCASXvPCWH2eWWkNTojt_fCbIo78o-NT25EQQmC7cHdvpbY1UPT3RoDVsRrNHMlPruLnxFLY_UsFwZkZrgtJye7B26OxrZocI2O-jIGMoKmCIW_UqUCc1t6QAXXeHe/s1600/Spooks-Flyer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipedk49i_WYQYVXrkCASXvPCWH2eWWkNTojt_fCbIo78o-NT25EQQmC7cHdvpbY1UPT3RoDVsRrNHMlPruLnxFLY_UsFwZkZrgtJye7B26OxrZocI2O-jIGMoKmCIW_UqUCc1t6QAXXeHe/s1600/Spooks-Flyer.png" height="207" width="320" /></a>In my last blog entry I introduced our new <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/984696056/the-mortal-intrusion">kickstarter for Spooks! Mortal Intrusion.</a> To this date we are currently 57% funded of our minimum goal but if we don't meet our minimum goal by the deadline then we don't get funded. In order to inspire everyone to be backers or at least supporters who will spread the word around I have created new character art for the game it self.</div>
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Introducing Espers, who are Divergents who are the psychic archetype of the game. Espers come in many varieties such as telepaths, telekinetics, pyrokenetics and many more. They are powerful but they are often hunted because common folk fear them and often mistake them as witches! To sweeten the deal I have created to speed videos of my painting process! So please enjoy them and if you are so inclined become a backer or helps spread the word or do both! Every little bit helps and the more we pull in the better the book will be!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-47727447877663952102015-02-22T22:55:00.000-08:002015-02-22T22:55:46.172-08:00A return to blogging and news of Spooks! Mortal Intrusion<span style="background-color: black; color: #444b51; line-height: 24px;"> </span>Hi everyone, I was to apologize from my absence of doing blog posts. Sometimes life can get very hectic and there is only so much time or energy I can gather to get thing done that I want done. I do want to return to have blog articles done on a regular basis.<br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: x-large;">Spooks! WTTGB: Mortal Intrusion</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZoyD0YHtvzGKz3bCTuG-NBkrduWLK5eQY_TiFYX_G-xADN9Xs44op4Th0fS3X1fNw-l-6HTKLngX-NbZ28-PXJD9aCHCt0IrE-9HKKv-2tcQ146qiizSHCqHt4tGbVBBy17jbMqZ5e_-/s1600/More_money_better_quality.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZoyD0YHtvzGKz3bCTuG-NBkrduWLK5eQY_TiFYX_G-xADN9Xs44op4Th0fS3X1fNw-l-6HTKLngX-NbZ28-PXJD9aCHCt0IrE-9HKKv-2tcQ146qiizSHCqHt4tGbVBBy17jbMqZ5e_-/s1600/More_money_better_quality.png" height="245" title="Money equals more time I can work on art" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More money means more time I can work on art!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444b51; font-family: Museo Sans 300;"><span style="background-color: black; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span>I will start off by announcing a new Spooks! Welcome to the Great Beyond book called Mortal Intrusion is currently in the works, but not only am I the main artist again, but I am also the co-author. However, while the first book has been published it is a still a budding company, so we are turning to Kickstarter once again to help generate funds. We are doing this so that we have the time to work on the game because time is money and that is what needed to complete the book! So please check out the Kickstarter video below, visit our Kickstarter page to become a backer by donating or if you can't donate then by spreading the word of our game because word of mouth is a powerful thing.<br />
<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/984696056/the-mortal-intrusion/posts"><span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">Spooks! WTTGB Mortal Intrusion KickStarter</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: x-large;">Spooks! WTTGB & Mortal Intrusion</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #444b51; line-height: 24px;"> </span>If you don't already know, Spooks! Welcome to the Great Beyond is a game set in the afterlife and beyond where players take the roles of the deceased and have adventures because the afterlife wasn't what we expected at all! The game is a classless point buy skill game system allowing players to customize their characters anyway they see fit. While there are no traditional classes like you might find in games such as Dungeons and Dragons, but in a sense there are races like in D&D because in Spooks! you get to choose what type of dead spirit you rise as. Your character may be a skeleton, a ghost or even a vampire, but you are not just limited to those choices! Lastly the game is centered around being family friendly, educational because much of the content is based on actual Earth history and best of all your character can never die because you're already dead!<br />
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<a href="http://spookswttgb.wix.com/home"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxl-hXAFpTq0F3J-GM6bOYdx43xy3LA7XV4ffiEudCekN4E8lw7Te9_XrAcvZrTs8depx0nHvWbtxMZcFCkHbNOXTizZITZjOvlslYnWfpONJX-mFmapO0H3zKPmbuAxRLhEgPbKza5UY/s1600/Spooks-Flyer.png" height="412" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #444b51; line-height: 24px;"> </span>Now comes along Spooks! Mortal Intrusion which is all about the more lively side of Spooks Welcome to the Great Beyond. In the first book we barely mentioned the living because the focus on on the dead, but of course our fans wanted to haunt and also wanted to play mortals, however we felt that the mortal side deserved its own book! In mortal intrusion you take on the role of Common Folk or Divergents, Divergents are human mortals who have extraordinary ability through either magical bloodlines or evolution. For example, you can player Divergents such as ESPers who are psychics and telekinetics or the mighty Zoonthropes which include Werewolves, but you are not limited to choosing that form for you could easily become lions, tigers, and bears . . . Oh My! In Mortal Intrusion you adventure both in the living world where you can experience the supernatural, clandestine agencies, and more, but not only that there are ways to crossover into the Great Beyond and still be alive and adventure there as well! However, unlike the core game, in Mortal Intrusion your character can and will probably die, it is just a matter of when it will happen, but do not worry because if you die then you just rise as the undead and keep on adventuring!<br />
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We are also holding a contest which is free and easy to enter and the prize is that you get to have your very own NPC (non player character) in the book which will have its own portrait and you get to decide what their personality will be like, what they are and what they look like! Follow the link to enter<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/spooksrpg/posts/353021691548073" style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="color: lime;">Mortal Intrusion Contest!</span></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #444b51; line-height: 24px;"> </span>If you win then you get to have your own NPC (non-player character) that will be featured in the book who will play a role in the history of the book and have its own portrait. Plus you get to decide their personality, how they look and what kind of Spook or Divergent they are! Here is the catch though, there can be only one winner and the winner will either be on the Spooks side or the Mortal side. Entry is easy but winning can be hard.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;">**********Rules **********</span></div>
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1) To enter the contest you must have “liked” our official Spooks Welcome to the Great beyond Facebook page <span style="color: lime;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/spooksrpg">https://www.facebook.com/spooksrpg</a> </span>and “liked” either the “Vote Spooks” or the “Vote Mortals” photo. Voting for both sides or not voting for the page is grounds for disqualification.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOExAIoF7IHpLxjXB4-Zs6HD7pV9QjrVj7NEJG8hFgTP0bkM07HUBXlYsVHHQm8Ic1o-JjKWz4cPQqGed0oDtSWjhWBhXz9ZGez5Bod2pnRqLUQI9CKFm8vHYQfTILBf98xyKNXRarFIx/s1600/Spook+Side.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOExAIoF7IHpLxjXB4-Zs6HD7pV9QjrVj7NEJG8hFgTP0bkM07HUBXlYsVHHQm8Ic1o-JjKWz4cPQqGed0oDtSWjhWBhXz9ZGez5Bod2pnRqLUQI9CKFm8vHYQfTILBf98xyKNXRarFIx/s1600/Spook+Side.png" /></a>2) To win the contest whatever “Vote for” photo gets the most likes will be the winning side. From the list of names from the “likes” on that winning photo we will randomly draw all eligible one winner.<br />
3)The contest will starts today 2/12/2015 and ends on Saturday 3/21/2015.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;">**********Increasing your odds of winning:********* </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #444b51; line-height: 24px;"> </span>The best way to increase your odds of winning is by making sure the side you vote for has the most votes! So if you want your side to win and increase your chances of winning then share this post and get your friends to enter the contest as well!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-35691825088750055462014-06-21T13:52:00.000-07:002014-06-21T13:54:28.338-07:00Vote my designs into print!I have recently joined the Threadless.com Community. If you didn't know Threadless is a clothing and product online store in which artists can submit designs which get voted on. The designs that get the highest votes, most numerous votes, and good comments are then more likely to be printed and sold. If a design is chosen the artist receives royalties on what sells! However I have found this is easier said than done and it seem that it can take 100s of votes to get printed.<br />
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Come and check out my latest designs and vote, comment and if you would be so willing share them on your Facebook and other social media sites. Please help support my designs! You do have to sign in to vote, however that is easy as you can sign in with a Facebook account, it's totally hassle free.<br />
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<a href="https://www.threadless.com/profile/3277753/tobiaswhite77">https://www.threadless.com/profile/3277753/tobiaswhite77</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-82740841218133286692013-10-07T12:52:00.002-07:002013-10-07T12:52:53.732-07:00A little update and a questionHey Everyone, I will have some new posts soon but at the moment I am swamped with work, especially now that I am busy getting a full tabletop RPG book illustrated. Most of the content that I place up on this blog is either about my art or my insights about art in the form of tutorials or opinions. What I would like to know is what kind of content you would like to see about art on this blog? Are there certain tutorials you would like to know or is there anything about my experience as a concept or freelance artist you would like to know? Please feel free to comment.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-86748560660552681922013-09-02T21:52:00.000-07:002013-09-29T18:25:11.716-07:00Ready to be a Spook?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFE5gyI0ebDSZm9h_KvJ_-iyvu6nvSjZmBHtUzjWkTBsINIwz3J7YX019KyNtNpAHH8YiXn2GQ-6W9iozSVlQ6BzjtdWb9UTK0prwxLbJ970IVyRE7D2rrB7Ih8GO4l_aZMDpMIlV3kDU/s1600/Spooks-Logo-Final.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFE5gyI0ebDSZm9h_KvJ_-iyvu6nvSjZmBHtUzjWkTBsINIwz3J7YX019KyNtNpAHH8YiXn2GQ-6W9iozSVlQ6BzjtdWb9UTK0prwxLbJ970IVyRE7D2rrB7Ih8GO4l_aZMDpMIlV3kDU/s640/Spooks-Logo-Final.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTyN2NdO51tQ5D39ltV4Otj6fiKE6xGAfKmhU2UZ8Fui6pZbUxjPoSpVp7BbPPlZjWe0bmQ6UdzFbH6qLIuGGBRalWmg2bjhA1rKJ9UgyhyphenhyphenW1QVnrtYar3c6_SbMIicWOlW3uW70TEqKE/s1600/Spooks-Front-Cover-Small-Webversion.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTyN2NdO51tQ5D39ltV4Otj6fiKE6xGAfKmhU2UZ8Fui6pZbUxjPoSpVp7BbPPlZjWe0bmQ6UdzFbH6qLIuGGBRalWmg2bjhA1rKJ9UgyhyphenhyphenW1QVnrtYar3c6_SbMIicWOlW3uW70TEqKE/s400/Spooks-Front-Cover-Small-Webversion.png" width="310" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2W1zSP3AyojEXWYIVwHjBT4Yo0OLSkuoNecf1oON_u334YISlAZ3Mu1N142kZQxLNThz9oBbdKewyggCX-qHcdCH7ALxVZzNxjJaylesMOS2ZEUqLuxj5Mk7TbXQBIp0KzhHv0Byfbze1/s1600/Nightingale-Logo_Final_Color_WO_BG_V1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2W1zSP3AyojEXWYIVwHjBT4Yo0OLSkuoNecf1oON_u334YISlAZ3Mu1N142kZQxLNThz9oBbdKewyggCX-qHcdCH7ALxVZzNxjJaylesMOS2ZEUqLuxj5Mk7TbXQBIp0KzhHv0Byfbze1/s200/Nightingale-Logo_Final_Color_WO_BG_V1.png" width="160" /></a>I am proud to announce that I am part of a new and upcoming tabletop roleplaying game called Spooks Welcome to the Great Beyond by Nathan Reese Maher. Spooks is a family friendly RPG that is easy to learn and is set in the afterlife, but the afterlife isn't what we expected at all! The game can be learned in a manner of minutes but offer hundreds upon hundreds of hours of game play. In Spooks you can play a variety of spirits and undead which include Bhoots, Dolls, Ghosts, Vampires and much much more. While playing these unearthly characters you can have them socialize in the great city of Necropolis, call out to the Spirit Realm for knowledge, or explore the Dream Realm for riches. My role in this game is that of the primary artist, but I have also help shaped the game. However, art is never free and Nathan needs your help in getting the funds to afford the art that he wants in the book for a quality gaming product. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RDZ5th3zHrRleLepNRM8w4PBHwDZHon_9z7ime8QRBs7pgq6C7EbU7YAKGNOqf8JY4VSm079Cvwjoi_tpYdVc2ECLv8fskUwthOn4Q2ju2ZOycYVbvxTeKTpqa7chHoB883dFK65O2M_/s1600/spooks__backcover_by_ito_saith_webb-d67onmy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RDZ5th3zHrRleLepNRM8w4PBHwDZHon_9z7ime8QRBs7pgq6C7EbU7YAKGNOqf8JY4VSm079Cvwjoi_tpYdVc2ECLv8fskUwthOn4Q2ju2ZOycYVbvxTeKTpqa7chHoB883dFK65O2M_/s320/spooks__backcover_by_ito_saith_webb-d67onmy.png" width="250" /></a><br />
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This is where you can help, Nathan has started a kickstarter campaign with a minimum goal of only $3,000 but with a high goal of $13,000. The more that is donated the more art he can afford. For those of you who don't know Kickstarter is a fundraising campaign in which the general public can help by donating through their credit cards. Whatever you donate is not taken off your credit card until the both the goal is achieved and fundraising campaign is finished so it makes it fair for both sides. Help us by becoming a spooky backer and also help spread the word on your networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and so on.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/984696056/spooks-welcome-to-the-great-beyond-tabletop-rpg/widget/video.html" width="480"> </iframe><iframe frameborder="0" height="380" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/984696056/spooks-welcome-to-the-great-beyond-tabletop-rpg/widget/card.html" width="220"></iframe><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ways to Pay!</span></span></b><br />
Normally payments are made to the Kickstarter Campaign through amazon which requires a creditcard, but did you know that a debit card with a sharecheck option on it will work just as well? Yes that is right you can use your debit card if it has one of those small Visa or Mastercard logos on it. Don't have a creditcard or a sharechek debit card? Then you can always pick up a prepaid credit card at Walmart or other fine stores which work just as well! So don't delay, help support our kickstarter today!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: orange;">Help Show Your Support! </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4F8OeFrVuFNg3kVnk_ChAvj6KefunNVdwgoC_AV76hMMlCR1nYdQ1UBrIzrP7XImld5yyID8vV4CL1o8kRev2262b90BSKg7-Cyd3EC4IZoiUyJKG_N0YY5bVCpKv9c_7GrdlTbNYfww/s1600/Spooks+Avatar+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4F8OeFrVuFNg3kVnk_ChAvj6KefunNVdwgoC_AV76hMMlCR1nYdQ1UBrIzrP7XImld5yyID8vV4CL1o8kRev2262b90BSKg7-Cyd3EC4IZoiUyJKG_N0YY5bVCpKv9c_7GrdlTbNYfww/s200/Spooks+Avatar+2.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLskNP2WYkH1HLcB2tus0DYc04Wlw3TyOGK3e78_sJSGhMSnMUdyWf-DVyP27DIVkWLCg03cl1R7AVyJEAwG0QQHyiYm8yr_gYxCyJB2j7GYdYuROooHhzu6tVGFi7L6O-7zKI9_Q-pn_/s1600/Spooks+Avatar+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLskNP2WYkH1HLcB2tus0DYc04Wlw3TyOGK3e78_sJSGhMSnMUdyWf-DVyP27DIVkWLCg03cl1R7AVyJEAwG0QQHyiYm8yr_gYxCyJB2j7GYdYuROooHhzu6tVGFi7L6O-7zKI9_Q-pn_/s200/Spooks+Avatar+3.JPG" width="200" /></a>Help show your support of our kickstarter campaign by proudly sporting one of these cool Spooks! Avatars on your FB and forum accounts. Currently we have Bhoots and a Ghost but we will have four different Doll Avatars coming soon! Remember when they ask where you got so Spooky, just send them a link of this blog!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmOc3cqNbAQ3oVT8Ko2ptZnRm56d9kHIoBnDfgLpJLtx0cxtIlF7JvnYOdxF87AXizF7ox_MYz9TO7HM9S9IDTkfhtFdvPdzDC1rcaBS6yLxHkI-ICSy_C241E8wSRzEBhVqimOjbdlZd/s1600/Spooks+Avatar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmOc3cqNbAQ3oVT8Ko2ptZnRm56d9kHIoBnDfgLpJLtx0cxtIlF7JvnYOdxF87AXizF7ox_MYz9TO7HM9S9IDTkfhtFdvPdzDC1rcaBS6yLxHkI-ICSy_C241E8wSRzEBhVqimOjbdlZd/s200/Spooks+Avatar.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Setting</span></u></span> </h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMDRHlLUqIbLiz1FelAn68wDjzDLOviB-W3YrqK5j7Z2INDkq9tmRAusjDHvBitKkiKbuE51VCbtkYp2yNhUPVicOxkGnPmSpbQlR9E883_QYxjbs3go43qkpbzron2YmKer_liBbrp-2/s1600/url.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMDRHlLUqIbLiz1FelAn68wDjzDLOviB-W3YrqK5j7Z2INDkq9tmRAusjDHvBitKkiKbuE51VCbtkYp2yNhUPVicOxkGnPmSpbQlR9E883_QYxjbs3go43qkpbzron2YmKer_liBbrp-2/s200/url.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTPUg3RM0nrQokIX4-6TgStFEcWGKp6mqXZd68amYK9dNIDeRcqqASMmT2-YLE8L-oZ18jzn3M5ScSCJNsZ3dU8zhpGMAMFofbD3jMeb7bn1Th3XrySPhZUesweg6GfC4npUTHfpDIlsm/s1600/frigthenersghosts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTPUg3RM0nrQokIX4-6TgStFEcWGKp6mqXZd68amYK9dNIDeRcqqASMmT2-YLE8L-oZ18jzn3M5ScSCJNsZ3dU8zhpGMAMFofbD3jMeb7bn1Th3XrySPhZUesweg6GfC4npUTHfpDIlsm/s200/frigthenersghosts.jpg" width="200" /></a>The Setting of Spooks is of course set in the afterlife and it is a amalgamation<span style="color: orange;"><b> </b></span>of many if not all different cultural beliefs but with it's own unique foundation of what its society is like and has a strong emphasis on Egyptian lore. However, when the book is finished there will be a chapter about storytelling and in this chapter you will find that there can be more than one great beyond, so the setting will be very flexible to play the game YOU want to play! This allows you to have different flavors of campaign approaches. Perhaps you want to play a game similar to the movie Beatlejuice or maybe you want something closer to how the afterlife is in the movie Frighteners and have haunt or hunt haunt fest? Or perhaps you want something a little more Lovecraftian? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2z9ePckQ3GhXnlTY12yOfSkNbqJquAToR1thSWy22bxcCP9zc15D-R6hJKmhubVOWA8JhjL-pjqCLi6d644oPoHXUie7_ePsdJjnCS9QZMapXe4_sovvsiG-2Jd8RRhGMACqi8gr3T77l/s1600/cthulhu_s_uninvited_by_ito_saith_webb-d5zruh2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2z9ePckQ3GhXnlTY12yOfSkNbqJquAToR1thSWy22bxcCP9zc15D-R6hJKmhubVOWA8JhjL-pjqCLi6d644oPoHXUie7_ePsdJjnCS9QZMapXe4_sovvsiG-2Jd8RRhGMACqi8gr3T77l/s320/cthulhu_s_uninvited_by_ito_saith_webb-d5zruh2.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: orange;">In fact, we have plans that will be . . . infecting . . . Lovecraftian lore into the world of Spooks and it is something that I will be having a personal hand in creating; the void holds many dark mysteries that even drive the dead mad! </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><u><b>The Races</b></u></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYTHo8bMJIclok-7RuVrbFLj7kNZ-jyOo4q2QKWPf-gVIx_R4-nfdUsout6QZqYXH0zlGKL9hyExWnt0jFFk9ZCxc2muaf-n2bm5H85lT3d9pewX758YXXyZwAa2uD5tJ_F4OicLF5x89/s1600/bhoot_aka_blue_skins_by_ito_saith_webb-d5v1ia8.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrYTHo8bMJIclok-7RuVrbFLj7kNZ-jyOo4q2QKWPf-gVIx_R4-nfdUsout6QZqYXH0zlGKL9hyExWnt0jFFk9ZCxc2muaf-n2bm5H85lT3d9pewX758YXXyZwAa2uD5tJ_F4OicLF5x89/s320/bhoot_aka_blue_skins_by_ito_saith_webb-d5v1ia8.png" width="247" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bhoots:</b></span> One of the undead races you can play in Spooks are the Bhoots. Bhoots are corporeal undead who died in a tragic death or who were murdered. They are hard to track because their foot prints are backwards, they can summon ghost fire which can provide light but can also set things quickly on fire and they can also handle incorporeal objects that normally can only be handled by spooks like ghosts and wraiths.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dolls: </b></span>Another race of undead that you can play are dolls. The innocent or very young that have died arrive in the afterlife as a spirit that inhabits various constructs. Such constructs include rag dolls, suits of armor, mannequins, toys and anything that your imagination allows. Dolls are powerful magic users, they can detach their limbs (which can then act independent of the body), and they can repair themselves if damaged with the appropriate skills.<br />
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The there are six additional undead you can play which include zombies, vampires, skeletons, ghouls, wraiths, and ghosts.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><u><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> The Magic!</span></b></u></span><br />
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Spooks uses a unique magic system based on magic points and two different decks of playing cards. One deck represents the powers of the Spider and the other the powers of the Bone. As you play through the game, your character may gain cards for their personal deck. Each card represents a different spell and with a different cost. In addition, you can also enhance your other action rolls with these spell cards in addition to the magic point cost to help grant success. Any normal deck of playing cards will work as long as the backs of the two decks are different, so that one represents Bones and the other Spider. However, official Spooks card decks will be available in the future.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: orange;"><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">More than one way to play!</span></u></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVZSMb2gucD6RjUHgkPYCZQ7fHC6sx62j9vnIwVQ2xiw0y41Dsn08aTOh_JmbrEkUNltlDoX341-BUjbSkjj4D5s82U6fP0y6toDW7_espOIAB3iYeDEl7WR6UiorY-EK923epmbY2l7i/s1600/larp___group_picture_by_kickfoot-d36vdy7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVZSMb2gucD6RjUHgkPYCZQ7fHC6sx62j9vnIwVQ2xiw0y41Dsn08aTOh_JmbrEkUNltlDoX341-BUjbSkjj4D5s82U6fP0y6toDW7_espOIAB3iYeDEl7WR6UiorY-EK923epmbY2l7i/s200/larp___group_picture_by_kickfoot-d36vdy7.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJw5xwmbfIQvit8QhGggGACMoTyvwie5J-_Y1qESaUaGQu0B3JQVrKjZg8wUd2SdLKpvEhPDmjXacoBtOTfgi175NgUAZKB_YXt-9T7jycQPlLbVJUcj3yslm-Zqkb5DHAiEXNO_WtEnZ4/s1600/215px-Agerboern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJw5xwmbfIQvit8QhGggGACMoTyvwie5J-_Y1qESaUaGQu0B3JQVrKjZg8wUd2SdLKpvEhPDmjXacoBtOTfgi175NgUAZKB_YXt-9T7jycQPlLbVJUcj3yslm-Zqkb5DHAiEXNO_WtEnZ4/s200/215px-Agerboern.jpg" width="126" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: orange;"> </span></b></span>There are three breed of roleplayers out in the world which include
tabletop, video, and live action roleplayers. We have tabletop covered
and maybe someday we will get a Spooks video game made, but until then
Nathan Maher is also including rules for live action play which will be
included in the core rule book. Like with most larping game, props are
used which is why it is so easy to include live action rules into
Spooks. One of the reasons that makes the conversion so easy is that the
magic system of using cards already starts the player off with a way to
display when they are casting a spell. Dressing the part will be easy
for the most part since all undead type have human form and normal
Halloween masks and costume makeup will do. This is just another reason
to support this game.<br />
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<b><u><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> See the Art Come to Life!</span></span></u></b><br />
Check out the first video of the making of the artwork! Another video to come soon!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: lime;">More updates to come on this post the sooner we get closer to our goals! So come back often, help support us by backing us on kickstarter and or sharing us on FB and Twitter . . . oh and now don't forget, enter the contest below to win free promotional posters.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><u><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Poster Giveaway Contest!</span></b></u></span><br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: large;"> We have a winner, Bjorn Bonten has just won all three posters and it will be mailed to him shortly. We will give notice if we hold another raffle!</span></span><br />
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We are holding a Rafflecopter Poster Giveaway. You can enter at this <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nathan-Reese-Maher/108959945842190?id=108959945842190&sk=app_228910107186452" target="_blank">Link</a>, like the page and then follow the directions. No purchase is needed, just need to do some actions such as comments, each day you can do more actions which earns points that improves your chances at winning!<br />
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These are the posters which you can win! Each are 18X24 quality print.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0ArgCjphx8d6OSMab-cSI8xe2_XcetU5upusdKKhmOprSRjF7NqiE2hpmEFWsv6x_4PN0mmzl9Qfawv50WJAAYO5wb9ViVCtl5QuSc8fQjDOpf881qGBaidf_3iSLkp4n4us5uQEC4zD/s1600/Bhoot-PR_Poster_web.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7R61lRONYeVUrgsuPoPnNoNEWM_4zlwPQ2ti66PnSJeXwUaYtIRbzZ8Guw9SxuNUTRa0jsFKj3o7qI-nxM9tstIromDXj4M4BFR5sCj_dhSMKITEeX4IaIVV6jEJYyPLxNn_BgPijAqe/s1600/Spooks-Back-Cover-Poster_Web.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7R61lRONYeVUrgsuPoPnNoNEWM_4zlwPQ2ti66PnSJeXwUaYtIRbzZ8Guw9SxuNUTRa0jsFKj3o7qI-nxM9tstIromDXj4M4BFR5sCj_dhSMKITEeX4IaIVV6jEJYyPLxNn_BgPijAqe/s320/Spooks-Back-Cover-Poster_Web.png" width="244" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dM1udd79jGMNs6CTXOaZ0I8PNDReUFQzYUE21fvxh9ZR84zg26viKK2JQlI1y4zmxhIvRmMcEJdh91t11pqHOILYOVxsq6Iobl7Pfjx_V1iEEIMEu2TgL8FXA6AeW9PrGLUOw8wubpEP/s1600/Spooks-Front-Cover-Poster_For-Web_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1dM1udd79jGMNs6CTXOaZ0I8PNDReUFQzYUE21fvxh9ZR84zg26viKK2JQlI1y4zmxhIvRmMcEJdh91t11pqHOILYOVxsq6Iobl7Pfjx_V1iEEIMEu2TgL8FXA6AeW9PrGLUOw8wubpEP/s320/Spooks-Front-Cover-Poster_For-Web_2.png" width="240" /></a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-61323846230059865012013-05-14T13:51:00.000-07:002013-05-14T13:51:04.400-07:00Suggested Reading: Act 1While I keep up with most technology, if only a step behind sometimes, I don't turn my back on older technology. Some say that print is dying these days and they might be correct, but books will always be around if not in a different form. Some say that you can find anything on the internet and while there is a lot of information on the web that can help you improve you artwork it won't always have all the answers. So it is always good to keep a good library of helpful books about technique and subject matter for you to refer to. With that in mind, here are some of my suggested readings and why to get them.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/framed-ink-marcos-mateu-mestre/1112198276?ean=9781933492957" target="_blank">Framed Ink</a></b></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/framed-ink-marcos-mateu-mestre/1112198276?ean=9781933492957" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWYjygKF9ZzGrh04wuQWDxXrBbmMdUsWbjvAfiVunFzIGpRAq4VpdoZ1vp20JSR2_sQJFY3N9AxoEuOwLkDFdmHcD_n4r-Gtk9oaSluRFhV4caEX-GfI94sIYaErj5buqw3vPgkzwE3i10/s320/9781933492957_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG" width="247" /></a></div>
Framed Ink is one of my go to books to understanding the tips and a tricks of creating a good composition and visual storytelling. The book is fully illustrated with good compositions which are then broken down into easy to understand visual shapes of those compositions. This is a must have book if you want to start learning to master composition.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/glossary-of-the-construction-decoration-and-use-of-arms-and-armor-in-all-countries-and-in-all-times-george-cameron-stone/1003608792?ean=9780486407265" target="_blank">A Glossary of Construction, Decoration & Use of Arms & Armor</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHu9uPMQgbkmTzw4c4q_27rCLja3Qbg6Uy0eZZt3Phgh2DI2t416m-vUo5aNdpfy4zJzgqiYRLTJA_uwO1qpsecn1vJytZ6LGSxC0jkS1cdLaFw365Mt_Xlace0aPjY1dECBJEWEdshgD/s1600/9780486407265_p0_v1_s260x420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHu9uPMQgbkmTzw4c4q_27rCLja3Qbg6Uy0eZZt3Phgh2DI2t416m-vUo5aNdpfy4zJzgqiYRLTJA_uwO1qpsecn1vJytZ6LGSxC0jkS1cdLaFw365Mt_Xlace0aPjY1dECBJEWEdshgD/s320/9780486407265_p0_v1_s260x420.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
It is always good to keep good reference material around and as an illustrator I need to be able to cover a lot of subjects. This book by George Cameron Stone is a great book for seeing a large variety of different weapons from throughout history and around the world. It has a ton of photo references from you to draw upon and it is an interesting read. If you do a lot of fantasy work then this is a great addition to your library.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/animal-anatomy-for-artists-eliot-goldfinger/1111420075?ean=9780195142143" target="_blank">Animal Anatomy for Artist: the Elements of Form</a></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIRUSBf4LPunjCzB7XFOfdRijTnmMfrch27wQfJ3PjpgjBaPq3nygij8P36KfO3atSNV0TkK_8XxsFO_HX8yeN7CMWps4ZM3teJzZBsh7dyye2xfmGnY0JPNDbyBiMqJcSr6sDZ_lIAPR/s1600/9780195142143_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIRUSBf4LPunjCzB7XFOfdRijTnmMfrch27wQfJ3PjpgjBaPq3nygij8P36KfO3atSNV0TkK_8XxsFO_HX8yeN7CMWps4ZM3teJzZBsh7dyye2xfmGnY0JPNDbyBiMqJcSr6sDZ_lIAPR/s320/9780195142143_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
One of the hardest things an artist can master is to correctly draw the human form, but that is only because as humans we will pick at it more. Drawing the anatomy of animals is just as challenging. The book is fully illustrated with a wide variety of different animals, the structure of the bones, their muscle structure and different views to help an artist draw animals more realistically. The only draw back is that it doesn't cover reptile muscle structure, but it does cover birds and a wide variety of mammals. This is a must have and is well worth the cost. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So what is in your library? If anyone knows a good anatomy book that covers reptiles and shows their muscle structure I would love to know about it.</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-14359205573112928092013-04-25T13:21:00.000-07:002015-03-11T23:01:38.834-07:00Imagination, Inspiration, and Creative Blocks Part 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniIwX_-lcQoE6kUj1_BJftQu8ka-Ee2GlpMaT5ruVu4SF-oQXfh-aNRYoFu0kvvY_lqUM1kE_K6Qq3g4eoJKIDvZTRc1n4VCFHm_VrH8XNndYKliVZX7ELS7H5dUTEQ5ujRGZOzuQlOIr/s1600/21816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniIwX_-lcQoE6kUj1_BJftQu8ka-Ee2GlpMaT5ruVu4SF-oQXfh-aNRYoFu0kvvY_lqUM1kE_K6Qq3g4eoJKIDvZTRc1n4VCFHm_VrH8XNndYKliVZX7ELS7H5dUTEQ5ujRGZOzuQlOIr/s320/21816.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a><span style="color: lime;"><i>“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightening to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.” </i></span><br />
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Now while I do really appreciate the work that Chuck Close does, but I have to partially disagree with his quote. He is correct that you shouldn’t wait around for inspiration to spontaneously happen, but inspiration is a part of most art forms whether it be visual, musical, literary or even culinary because it is a part of the process. Inspiration is a process within the process of creating art and it is achieved through different methods of exploration. <br />
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Like in my last art blog article I am going to talk about various methods of how to gain inspiration, to flex you imagination or to unclog a creative blog. If you are interested in the prior methods I talked about you can find them here <a href="http://tobiasartwork.blogspot.com/2013/04/imagination-inspiration-and-creative.html" target="_blank">imagination-inspiration-and-creative part 1</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Stop Thinking!</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OZjm49_PiWzMMF84BguHg_U26CIf8m5m1_ygc4ArG-LJIQECXEmb7nOhpJXepGednun5T0-DzTqfl1e7gnNib7P-yRPGL00ppH816odtkLoaQMnTerofpm5pGLJkokVxPTnZsIiruOuz/s1600/thinking1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OZjm49_PiWzMMF84BguHg_U26CIf8m5m1_ygc4ArG-LJIQECXEmb7nOhpJXepGednun5T0-DzTqfl1e7gnNib7P-yRPGL00ppH816odtkLoaQMnTerofpm5pGLJkokVxPTnZsIiruOuz/s320/thinking1.jpg" height="320" width="273" /></a><br />
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<span id="goog_143619824"></span><span id="goog_143619825"></span>Thinking is overrated when you are trying to achieve something creative. Cognitive thought is only required for helping to solve problems you have not encountered in the past and it takes a lot of <span id="goog_143619831"></span><span id="goog_143619832"></span>energy out of your system in the form of lowered glucose levels. By the time you are done “thinking” about what to do, your energy levels become lowered to the point where you loose the drive and ambition you had when you started the process. If you started the creative process by trying to solve too big of a problem you will find yourself trying to solve and almost impossible problem. Let go, start small, and draw upon what you already know and if that is not enough then go out and experience something new!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Visualize It!</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6srOVfjtFtA3C2axcWN6sReGRQy5Vrqng_D0bZShxXbxbRMn0bzmZFS8J_0nEtCsKwwwOhjjbCWFc6moDkwVANjZWyQExdTKcM3GyFu6QKpXU-JgX_gtyk_pJkq00L7k2n4OTG21fyEu/s1600/michelangelo-biography-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6srOVfjtFtA3C2axcWN6sReGRQy5Vrqng_D0bZShxXbxbRMn0bzmZFS8J_0nEtCsKwwwOhjjbCWFc6moDkwVANjZWyQExdTKcM3GyFu6QKpXU-JgX_gtyk_pJkq00L7k2n4OTG21fyEu/s200/michelangelo-biography-8.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></div>
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This technique is similar to daydreaming but is more controlled. Michelangelo said, <span style="color: lime;"><i>“ every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it”</i></span> and all that we have to do is remove the excess stone. Michelangelo could see the statue in the stone before he sculpted his famous David statue. When you visualize what you want to achieve you are creating an actual long term memory. For years I have often did this naturally and when it occurred it was like I predicted the future. Then when you apply this visualization to other standard processes it is easier to achieve, with less work and greater success. However, visualization is not a short cut for prep work and when creating David, Michelangelo created many mock statues on a smaller scale after visualizing it to help with his process. By visualizing what you want to achieve and to put it into your long term memory you use less of your upper cognitive resources, so start picturing what you want to achieve before you begin work. <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Play, Don’t Work!</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBlxKvVmZ-N7Xvtkhs7GrVLwrwrPZsT0lTL3jbTUPPg0uRpKdKXxa93ij42Qy0rxTTxQjup4W1e0AeoUwlGKgNl0eG3dGvN1F6PxfLgEdGQOET36jMh1NYZTQKbWWNy2SY_eREzZs1cGB/s1600/girl_sand_castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBlxKvVmZ-N7Xvtkhs7GrVLwrwrPZsT0lTL3jbTUPPg0uRpKdKXxa93ij42Qy0rxTTxQjup4W1e0AeoUwlGKgNl0eG3dGvN1F6PxfLgEdGQOET36jMh1NYZTQKbWWNy2SY_eREzZs1cGB/s320/girl_sand_castle.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a> There is a big difference between work and play but both can be a productive or unproductive activity. Imagine back when you were a kid on the beach or in a sandbox and you started to build a sand castle or something similar. In its construction, you were in all probability very industrious in its creation but was it labor or play? I would argue, at the time of creation, that sand castle just felt like playing around despite the fact you put so much effort into it. When we play, while we might expend a lot of energy, we often don’t feel to tired even after play, but when we “work”, at a job that you may not like, you use up to many of your resources and become exhausted. When we play or minds are open and pliable but when we “work” our minds become closed and we rely to much on our cognitive minds if we are not use to that work. So, if you find that your current process has become to much of a chore it is a good idea to try and find a way to make it feel fun and a good way to do this is to make it like or similar to a game. If you are not having fun or you don’t even get satisfaction from what you are doing then that task is not really worth doing over and over again, there is no point.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Now of course, I don’t claim to know all there is to know about being creative, but I do try to communicate what I do know on to others. I am also very interested in knowing what you all thinking about being creative and would love to hear from you all.</span></b></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-85768106497816790312013-04-17T14:11:00.001-07:002013-04-17T17:12:36.966-07:00Imagination, Inspiration, and Creative Blocks Part 1An artist’s greatest tool is having a strong imagination, but it is like a muscle and if it does not get regular exercise then it can atrophy. However, not everyone know’s how to get inspired and even the best creative minds get creative blocks. So I am going to share some of my tips of when I need inspiration or when I get a block that needs unclogging. <br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Get Distracted and Letting Go</b></span></span><br />
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Creative blocks are often due to the trap of holding onto an idea like an mistreated pit bull. You have convinced yourself that your initial idea is the only possible avenue and thus you have created a sort of tunnel vision keeping you from seeing other possibilities. When this happens, the best suggestion I can make is to walk away from what you are doing and get your mind off the subject. Until you can let go of your initial idea you won’t be able to come up with new ones. A good way to get distracted is to go take a walk or go ride a bicycle. Albert Einstein, a champion of imagination, often stated to go on a bicycle ride to remove blocks. However, getting chores or errands out of the way also helps remove the tunnel vision. Lastly anything that lets you relax and take your mind off things allow you to approach a problem with fresh eyes.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: lime;"><b>Daydreaming</b></span></span><br />
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<i>“Bobby, stop daydreaming and pay attention!” </i><br />
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<a href="http://www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/blog/2012/the-scientifically-proven-benefits-of-daydreaming/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Scientifically Proven Benefits of Daydreaming" border="0" height="150" src="http://www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/The-Scientifically-Proven-Benefits-of-Daydreaming.png" width="200" /></a></div>
Sadly our society today has often frowned on the daydreamers, because it doesn’t seem to be evidently productive. However, I disagree and I willing to bet that most creative minds out in the world today will agree with me that it can be one of the more productive initial methods in creative work. Daydreaming is an excellent method in exploring new ideas, because when we daydream it is our own private world where we can shed our hangups, where we are not judged for looking foolish and we can mentally play in any shape or form. Daydreaming, is the ultimate form of brainstorming because it is like writing a movie script that we can quickly rewind, fast forward and edit as we go along. Lastly daydreaming starts off small with a simple idea and it lets you evolve it into a more complex idea that seems more natural and intuitive. <br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Take the Risk!</b></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRljM3PdxxTKBTS1wQh-J8s0ZheuT_sY7kMcWVvSo9zMpbx3MAiiggCkrhNz3AL2utbU_4pxgxC9MwYJM01TvVEYPnSen-l_62xWBARxA1Gq6J7DdypOTr-SABNSLNOwi0bVkqY969knF/s1600/desiarnaz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRljM3PdxxTKBTS1wQh-J8s0ZheuT_sY7kMcWVvSo9zMpbx3MAiiggCkrhNz3AL2utbU_4pxgxC9MwYJM01TvVEYPnSen-l_62xWBARxA1Gq6J7DdypOTr-SABNSLNOwi0bVkqY969knF/s200/desiarnaz.jpg" width="170" /></a>The whole attitude that “it will never work” is a bad block to brainstorming. When brainstorming ideas it is generally a good idea not to automatically discount what you may deem to be an bad or unpopular idea. It is better to lay that idea out there whether it be a fast sketch or a short little line. Even if the idea might not be sound, the idea still may provide a path to a new idea. Also, never be afraid to do something because it has or has not been done before. If it hasn’t been done before then odds are you will grab some kind of audience and if it has been done before then you might be able to put a new spin on it. Desi Arnaz, also known as Ricky Ricardo from the “I Love Lucy Show” was famous for taking risks that no one was willing to try merely because it had never been done before and made it a success.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Make a List of Nouns!</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpV-ucX6OwezZ9kdfeeOJ50omvfxoG8XqM1QFShFMNWojGoDyBa_mFd3r0FUdTr-t8XxfGCljzl7OyTIYsu1P2OsjigboH1-o8xjtxwxNUhpJf4aja63LcoC9yxUt11E9P3JpGLlpjI25A/s1600/ray-bradbury-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpV-ucX6OwezZ9kdfeeOJ50omvfxoG8XqM1QFShFMNWojGoDyBa_mFd3r0FUdTr-t8XxfGCljzl7OyTIYsu1P2OsjigboH1-o8xjtxwxNUhpJf4aja63LcoC9yxUt11E9P3JpGLlpjI25A/s200/ray-bradbury-300.jpg" width="150" /></a>One of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury, once said that he likes to make a list of nouns for inspiration of what he wanted to write about; the same could be applied to visual artists as well. The idea behind this strategy is to start small or simple so that you have something to build around. Any idea needs a strong foundation before you can build it into something grand. If one tries to create a complex idea right off the start then odds are the idea will not communicate well. For example, I start with the idea I want to do a painting about friendship, this is the core idea, how can I show that, what are some of the actions that friends do, what kind of moods do I want for this act of friendship, and so on and so on.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tune in!</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdYYFTYFWLBetqMc2tTKYKEk9Bt24kyLT3SP27vyOlIIIC_zjoruZAHnbJ5WbRA_4hySeVfJGZFt5r9dA8b27xfcVT3ad9bxnLbl_G6PCzPUnGN1crAdrDy-A24ydlq6haDcqTj5m2Th0/s1600/buying-a-tv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdYYFTYFWLBetqMc2tTKYKEk9Bt24kyLT3SP27vyOlIIIC_zjoruZAHnbJ5WbRA_4hySeVfJGZFt5r9dA8b27xfcVT3ad9bxnLbl_G6PCzPUnGN1crAdrDy-A24ydlq6haDcqTj5m2Th0/s200/buying-a-tv.jpg" width="168" /></a>A great way to get inspired to do something creative is to be inspired by the works of other creative people. These days we are inundated with a barrage of different forms of mediums that convey the collective of our creative minds. Often, I was inspired by a book, a painting, a song, a TV program, a movie, or even a video game to create something creative or interesting. Now a common reaction to this notion is that, “well you are just copying something you saw”, but this is not necessarily the case. When exposed to these mediums it is easy for one to be inspired by the smallest fragment of what you saw, read or heard. This small fragment may have just been a small interesting detail in the original medium, but was not the original idea. Another possibility is that you were inspired by the original idea, but you start to daydream and play the what if game allowing you to put a new spin on the original idea. Remember, as long as you change an idea enough and make it your own taking ideas from others is not stealing.<span style="color: orange;"> Imagination is not an internal force, but rather it is a reflection and multi-faceted projection of our experiences and knowledge. We take in information from the world around us and intuitively re-order it into something new. Something is not created from nothing but simply transformed from what was before. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKD7k2-Hu5DvcFNxfK7FcJcBmzBXP0iJYsMH4Ik5LUbiTwLnsuGaqqb6AeqM76AbOpjlO-xGP5M4yOLxBWscr55kOWkJoggz5AjCACUk-F6vBwmDjmPoVBfJ0hxp8ZgbWjQ90OQXK-5pC3/s1600/hush__hush__hush_here_comes_the_boogieman_by_ito_saith_webb-d61e6dg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKD7k2-Hu5DvcFNxfK7FcJcBmzBXP0iJYsMH4Ik5LUbiTwLnsuGaqqb6AeqM76AbOpjlO-xGP5M4yOLxBWscr55kOWkJoggz5AjCACUk-F6vBwmDjmPoVBfJ0hxp8ZgbWjQ90OQXK-5pC3/s320/hush__hush__hush_here_comes_the_boogieman_by_ito_saith_webb-d61e6dg.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imagination can even defeat the Boogieman</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Now I don’t ever claim to know all there is to being creative or how to unclog a creative block. I am sure many of you out there have tips <span style="font-size: large;">&</span> tricks of how to be inspired or to stop creative blocks and I invite you all to contribute. Also please feels free to ask any questions you have and I will do my best to answer them.</b></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-43286109534507757212013-03-26T22:55:00.000-07:002013-03-27T14:51:09.379-07:00The Art of Critiquing<br />
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There is an art to the critique, but over the years I have learned that most people have many misconceptions of how a critique should be given or received. It took me a while to learn the art of a good critique, but over many years of school and critiquing sessions, I felt it would be a good idea to share what I have learned. Lastly, it is my intent for this article to be able to work for any medium whether it be the visual arts, music, writing, culinary, performing arts or even a worker's performance in day to day life.<br />
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So, what should a critique be? This might seem like a silly question, but I have found that many people confuse a critique with a criticism. This leads many critiques to often tear down the person receiving the critique, when in fact they wanted some constructive feedback so that they can improve. When someone asks for a critique, they are either asking for a pat on the back, how they can improve or a bit of both. Over the decades it has long been debated in our school system whether it is better to use negative or positive reinforcement. The truth of the matter is that both methods have their merits, but alone they can cause damage. Keeping this in mind, when giving a critique, it is best to give both the pros and the cons. Focusing just on the positive can make the recipient misunderstand the intent of the critique such as: the artist thinks he/she is a professional level artist or that the critic is being insincere. Equally if the critique focuses just on the negative then that artist might end up changing something that was good, especially if there were a lot of negative points, or that artist might even give up all together because of feeling a loss of worth.<br />
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A better approach to a critique, is to apply both positive and negative reinforcement. With this approach, the person receiving the critique will be more receptive to the areas that need improvement and in a addition they are more likely to keep the aspects of their work that were successful. Some might argue that this is to avoid hurt feelings, but this is not the case, it is about good communication between the critic and the receiver which in turn will lead to a positive outcome.<br />
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There are somethings that a critic should and should not do. A critic should not try to point out a problem if they have no knowledge or experience in that given area, because this will provide bad feedback for the person on the receiving end of the critique. If the critic does detect a problem through intuition, but it is beyond their experience then stating the problem area is acceptable, but it must be pointed out that he/she doesn't have the exact knowledge of what is wrong. If the critic is not only an expert, but is skilled as well, then the critic should explain how to correct what is pointed out. Such an explanation is a courtesy, but is more constructive than without. The critic, however should not be obligated as to the length of such an explanation, if the critic feels any explanation is needed. It is good form to provide additional explanation or help if the receiver requests such information, but again this is not an obligation.<br />
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While I have stated that a balanced critique is one that provides both positive and negative feedback, sometimes this is harder said than done. If as the critic, you can't find any positive thing to say about the receiver's technique and skill, then pointing out the concept of what they were trying to achieve in a positive light can help. If the receiver shows they made a lot of effort in the work they did, then acknowledging that effort can help. If as the critic you can't find any negative feedback then try following up with alternative ideas that fit within the intent of the receiver's work because this might inspire them to reach higher than their current ability.<br />
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The receiver of a critique also needs to understand how to receive a critique with grace. First the receiver should keep quite until the critique is finished and to not be quick to defend. In fact, the receiver should not try to defend their work at all, because most of the time they asked for the critique. After the critique is given the receiver may and probably should explain what their intent was in the work that is up for critique. Sometimes this may be given before a critique and it really depends on the protocol that has been established in a session. When the intent is communicated then the critic will understand better and will offer better feedback. This is often needed because the intent is not always apparent. It is good to get critiques from different sources for the same work, because if there are overlapping comments then odds are good that they know what they are talking about. If the receiver feels that the critic is in error then that is fine, but it is bad form to call them out. If the critique is given online then it is fine to check out their work if the receiver needs that validation if the all or part of the critique was thought to be in error due to non-experience; don't accept the talk if they can't walk the walk. <br />
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Remember, a critique is not about criticizing, but it is about communication and constructive feedback to help the receiver of the critique improve their skills and knowledge. Hopefully I have covered what makes a good and balanced critique, but life can always throw you a surprise, so please feel free to ask any questions you may have and I will answer it to the best of my ability.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-68807901540405157472013-03-22T12:31:00.002-07:002013-03-22T12:31:37.357-07:00Arkham: A nice place to Visit: My process<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0OT2Mcx2HBigthJ3GSvtUl0PwPJOBfFwS6IkLTWZyMGfYfmQ4eVzY6EjCwBWD_TbvhrKfDTym8xOLpoBuB9D1MKtYQaD93lPyqDdrfgQTbATSqA0o2BoFDPOl7kmB_B4W1Xyd9W-YScy/s1600/war_of_the_worlds_vs__cthulhu_by_ito_saith_webb.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0OT2Mcx2HBigthJ3GSvtUl0PwPJOBfFwS6IkLTWZyMGfYfmQ4eVzY6EjCwBWD_TbvhrKfDTym8xOLpoBuB9D1MKtYQaD93lPyqDdrfgQTbATSqA0o2BoFDPOl7kmB_B4W1Xyd9W-YScy/s320/war_of_the_worlds_vs__cthulhu_by_ito_saith_webb.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Ever since Mike Davis was kind enough to show my War of the Worlds Vs Cthulhu composition on his website <a href="http://lovecraftzine.com/" target="_blank">Lovecraft Ezine</a> and on his corresponding <a href="http://www.facebook.com/LovecraftZine" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a> it has been getting more coverage than I have ever had before. So I thought it would be a good idea to share a little bit about the process I took in creating it as well as my other art.<br />
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<i><span style="color: orange;">However, before I get to my process I will share a detail that doesn't show up well on the versions that I have up on the internet for viewing. First there is a lot more detail to Cthulhu and second is the billboard advertisement for the fictional Arkham City. While this doesn't show up in most of the web versions, it does show up well on a full size print which can be bought through Zazzle or Deviant Art which you can get to via the page tabs above.</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tONInBlTuRL87OeMZQYlgm_4ALljDag7vSnvC7IiC664BSXOcFgIzosmS4GszkZKxw_QbPqxi-fXfSUEEQoae1BgQnYQsOxSA183a3Pohns_08ysUGjp-B5FQQVJ6xaj_ByWDLCt5e5_/s1600/Nice+Place.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="495" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tONInBlTuRL87OeMZQYlgm_4ALljDag7vSnvC7IiC664BSXOcFgIzosmS4GszkZKxw_QbPqxi-fXfSUEEQoae1BgQnYQsOxSA183a3Pohns_08ysUGjp-B5FQQVJ6xaj_ByWDLCt5e5_/s640/Nice+Place.JPG" width="640" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-Q1BcavIa7lZxz_6N-d04L_ca15cUC81xWb7gekQah8NYIhu32fc-omBZHSRATeE9zM-chCrVw7ypq-re3Z5PKzJ0vG9fXCgqR9bo76mPXylptzhYK-ExAK2WAIAZc_WpY-rApU0ofud/s1600/WWvsCthulhu-Thumbs-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-Q1BcavIa7lZxz_6N-d04L_ca15cUC81xWb7gekQah8NYIhu32fc-omBZHSRATeE9zM-chCrVw7ypq-re3Z5PKzJ0vG9fXCgqR9bo76mPXylptzhYK-ExAK2WAIAZc_WpY-rApU0ofud/s200/WWvsCthulhu-Thumbs-2.png" width="85" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpcfRi8_JllM-Orb-IlkNoZi3A8fUh4XqSM4FjTTxal7Tlwd913lfWe9UxSXh0y1sOj0fW1hPfGBh0rty3pk4Wt4FCIXF7Y2UqGrEICdMb-vDOj8R8Ms0fXbFK965b3R4YNpbIzST0p0e/s1600/WWvsCthulhu-Thumbs.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpcfRi8_JllM-Orb-IlkNoZi3A8fUh4XqSM4FjTTxal7Tlwd913lfWe9UxSXh0y1sOj0fW1hPfGBh0rty3pk4Wt4FCIXF7Y2UqGrEICdMb-vDOj8R8Ms0fXbFK965b3R4YNpbIzST0p0e/s320/WWvsCthulhu-Thumbs.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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The first step I took when planning this composition is working up some quick thumbnail sketches in Photoshop. The ratio size of these thumbnail sketches are in direct proportion to the size of the canvas that I desired for the final piece. I already had a good idea of what I wanted, because I had visualized it in a dream, so the changes are minor in the variations for these thumbs, but often this process is a brain storming session, because while at times I might have started off with a small seed of an idea, thumbing may allow it to grow into anything. Mostly what I was looking for was positioning and poses for the primary and secondary foci of this composition. To help me with placement I used my golden ratio overlay tools. You can find out more about that on my <a href="http://tobiasartwork.blogspot.com/2013/03/golden-compositions.html" target="_blank">Golden-Compositions post.</a> After finding the general positioning and poses that I like, I then add in more content with a few more thumbnails for a more complete composition. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MfKOM50UV7nBCqzf8Pa9DXnlqMpdn2QiVighVIVl_MQAaHaw9o4P5JihmYMFCAWvARX2QC5urJbpBoPHwzlFCG8PJMCDe2dQ5JbOtKnRB3ORN7TZP9jsiSJ_hS5eEhgwo31hoAx7Sem4/s1600/WotW_VS_CTHULHU-Sketch.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MfKOM50UV7nBCqzf8Pa9DXnlqMpdn2QiVighVIVl_MQAaHaw9o4P5JihmYMFCAWvARX2QC5urJbpBoPHwzlFCG8PJMCDe2dQ5JbOtKnRB3ORN7TZP9jsiSJ_hS5eEhgwo31hoAx7Sem4/s320/WotW_VS_CTHULHU-Sketch.png" width="320" /></a> After I choose the final thumbnail sketch I scale this rough sketch up to a large size canvas and refine the sketch more. During this sketch I am looking for a tighter drawing so my concerns are about proper perspective and form since I don't have to worry about the compositional placement anymore. I also add in more details, but I keep these details loose because I don't want to obsess about it; this is a easy trap to fall into and I try to avoid it at all costs. I sketch right into Photoshop via my Wacom tablet and I do so on a transparent layer because this allows me to paint underneath my sketch so that I can keep my drawing separate from my painting, because the last thing you want to do is be destructive to the work you have already done.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAIOKEKfVqtssekpjrizj6KFeX46zhs6qYbGujCIvj9VfmtjF_lfS6Ocit1e97HLFpu4icWL99faRri2V5P-QN9vgiSEdXeLIOSWlSgxzN8QPj2zZrEwRIBWFW4GK2j5aBt9At8I9B6lUI/s1600/WotW_VS_CTHULHU-Prog-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAIOKEKfVqtssekpjrizj6KFeX46zhs6qYbGujCIvj9VfmtjF_lfS6Ocit1e97HLFpu4icWL99faRri2V5P-QN9vgiSEdXeLIOSWlSgxzN8QPj2zZrEwRIBWFW4GK2j5aBt9At8I9B6lUI/s320/WotW_VS_CTHULHU-Prog-1.png" width="320" /></a><br />
Painting now begins and I start off lowering the opacity of my sketch to around 30% and then lock the layer. I then create a new layer under this and begin painting the local colors I want for all my objects. Sometimes, I will go back and change this as needed. Your local colors are the true color of your objects but they will be effected by the temperature of light and shadow later and so will look very different later on. The only exception I made here was the sky. When I paint skies I just let my intuition take over and taking logic out of the process because doing skies I find to be an abstract experience. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOndgyfk4E0haxd8pmJk1QEL5es6nC7uOF07FUKGkSSmdZKNPJpQ5H79Aoh2U7o5ZO6JEv-49GB_tgNkI3LvadLdAGb8i5hT4JxkDpUoO9ZycmtiKEFvhgxGfZeL-ekhnzKKQpgwxmELrF/s1600/WotW_VS_CTHULHU-Prog-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOndgyfk4E0haxd8pmJk1QEL5es6nC7uOF07FUKGkSSmdZKNPJpQ5H79Aoh2U7o5ZO6JEv-49GB_tgNkI3LvadLdAGb8i5hT4JxkDpUoO9ZycmtiKEFvhgxGfZeL-ekhnzKKQpgwxmELrF/s320/WotW_VS_CTHULHU-Prog-2.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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When finished with that I lock my local color layer and then create two new layers over this to start working in light and shadow. One layer is set to multiply at a lower opacity and soft light on the other. To know more about this process you can check out this other article I wrote called <a href="http://tobiasartwork.blogspot.com/2013/01/color-blending-fx-brushing-and-photos.html" target="_blank">color-blending-fx-brushing-and-photos</a> which not only explains the process but also includes video tutorials I have created. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP01K62mSUl1DqGARqacbW1fku9X5lUpjJK1WeI9SjZubacDRJUU9q4pquVqAVLpYwm2LH31Bp20SFVTHVZUNewr3t5ZImmg9L1Jobh3CCtYTfK3no1Q8sfb8ldA86pz6LEgSYqZy_Koat/s1600/WotW_VS_CTHULHU-Prog-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP01K62mSUl1DqGARqacbW1fku9X5lUpjJK1WeI9SjZubacDRJUU9q4pquVqAVLpYwm2LH31Bp20SFVTHVZUNewr3t5ZImmg9L1Jobh3CCtYTfK3no1Q8sfb8ldA86pz6LEgSYqZy_Koat/s320/WotW_VS_CTHULHU-Prog-3.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Now that I have color and value down close to what I want, I create merged copy layer of what I have created so far and paint directly on that; this way my canvas becomes my pallet and I don't have to worry about using color swatches. I then clean up and make alteration to color as I think it needs it. I also starting laying in some base texture as a starting point for texture and details. I use these textures merely as a starting point and guide and I paint over this to fit the painting. If you would like to know more about textures then you might check out my <a href="http://tobiasartwork.blogspot.com/2012/06/texture-hunter.html" target="_blank">texture-hunter part 1</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qKZRBZHcAVQUG-GXh0hBQYseOUk7Sm9CfbCQXChdbPm0FBwOtH-kxFCBs-ubUphbcED267yx19n15WuWS2wg7w0gaCjV-0APaUBdvfNTj0o0TPkXcEZN9pcIoZRFvxQm7xbRkjU844zw/s1600/war_of_the_worlds_vs__cthulhu_by_ito_saith_webb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qKZRBZHcAVQUG-GXh0hBQYseOUk7Sm9CfbCQXChdbPm0FBwOtH-kxFCBs-ubUphbcED267yx19n15WuWS2wg7w0gaCjV-0APaUBdvfNTj0o0TPkXcEZN9pcIoZRFvxQm7xbRkjU844zw/s640/war_of_the_worlds_vs__cthulhu_by_ito_saith_webb.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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My last step is to bring the painting home, which generally means that I continue painting in refinements, textures and details. The very last effort I made on this painting was to make one more merged copy of the work I had so far and rotated the image a few degrees for a dutch angle to create some mood but the reason I only did this a little bit because I didn't want to throw my compositional placement off. If I find that I cannot figure out what more to do or if I am getting fussy over the painting I walk away from the painting for several hours and then come back to it with fresh eyes.<br />
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So I hope you found this interesting and helpful and would be glad to answer any questions so feel free to ask them in the comment box.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-40701266768741628782013-03-03T15:46:00.000-08:002013-04-18T14:28:14.156-07:00Golden Compositions<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Golden Compositions</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGz7vuISKumZTx_v1crv37z4RDsZPGEBZNyMmXkg7Wqowl5PBYSO5DBBlIQZ95GxG85D59e9LGtB8E2mYFy2PBlyl24vNzo6imjb1oQxNMyX7Q_i0Q7k01XN7Hw6JSmS-FUXTjA0Xq7Xh/s1600/Comp-Ratio-Combo-Master-Pattern-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGz7vuISKumZTx_v1crv37z4RDsZPGEBZNyMmXkg7Wqowl5PBYSO5DBBlIQZ95GxG85D59e9LGtB8E2mYFy2PBlyl24vNzo6imjb1oQxNMyX7Q_i0Q7k01XN7Hw6JSmS-FUXTjA0Xq7Xh/s320/Comp-Ratio-Combo-Master-Pattern-2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Most artists have heard of the golden ratio or rule of two-thirds, but not every artist know all the different variations let alone how to use such mathematical tools. In this article I will go over these various tools of Phi and my interpretation on how to and when to use them. Also for the digital artists I have included these files to be transparent PNGs that can easily be adjusted to the area of what ever size canvas you may be working on because when stretch or squashed it will keep the ratio in relation to your canvas, allowing for a quick compositional grid overlay.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">The Golden Ratio</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6RuKc90xHHfKy5zBWJVY9pyUf7exgqG1nwFvYm0vCKwtyXCI0xVswKN5kOmF7G1-NlNsRkkkGySz_TK6NFudPMmuYptGbF6ZNQFKKFYPFG93krhNuXprdc_dHexT-6wuxFYdeo6TAwrZ/s1600/Comp-Ratio-Golden-Ratio.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6RuKc90xHHfKy5zBWJVY9pyUf7exgqG1nwFvYm0vCKwtyXCI0xVswKN5kOmF7G1-NlNsRkkkGySz_TK6NFudPMmuYptGbF6ZNQFKKFYPFG93krhNuXprdc_dHexT-6wuxFYdeo6TAwrZ/s320/Comp-Ratio-Golden-Ratio.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The golden ratio is is a grid divided into thirds, with the middle rows being half the size of one of the out rows but when the outer rows are added to the middle then the total length and width are attained in a balanced mathematical proportion with a ratio of 1.68. To use this grid in art, one simply needs to place the focal point of their composition on and around one or more of the intersections of the grid. Another option is to the columns for placement. If one used the center then one can create a power focus but such focus needed only when the subject is overwhelm the audience. For instance the statue of liberty or the Monolith from 2001 space Odyssey.</div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Rule of Two-Thirds</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWS6jqK6XlUAXUVXelN8jMvNvYIDk7i8NtcmaFMIThqhvRnKVwRPQaKb5CSPZR9MKRdTkl8UiYQSqAMwxPxT0YIqsN4C-PMIA75Y1tm-RqNz2XV-Oda_-qbye9brGxKts_fZ2syz1H0n0/s1600/Comp-Ratio-Two-Thirds.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuWS6jqK6XlUAXUVXelN8jMvNvYIDk7i8NtcmaFMIThqhvRnKVwRPQaKb5CSPZR9MKRdTkl8UiYQSqAMwxPxT0YIqsN4C-PMIA75Y1tm-RqNz2XV-Oda_-qbye9brGxKts_fZ2syz1H0n0/s320/Comp-Ratio-Two-Thirds.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is the cousin of the Golden Ratio and it is used exactly the same way with just a little different placement as the area of the piece is divided equally into thirds. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">The Golden Triangle</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaE7K-NCcrbYmELBNF6MW18qHo-EyT7mK8dpRhg98-PHg1k8woYLtKy9Qp6-mbhkgsbNx2Fgjyj0xX9Kpy9b15PNltKx1Vp1kKBT7Zgu2MajS75VyN5iSk8WPnNlwvP0sESU0NKS7dB7Pu/s1600/Comp-Ratio-Golden-Triangle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaE7K-NCcrbYmELBNF6MW18qHo-EyT7mK8dpRhg98-PHg1k8woYLtKy9Qp6-mbhkgsbNx2Fgjyj0xX9Kpy9b15PNltKx1Vp1kKBT7Zgu2MajS75VyN5iSk8WPnNlwvP0sESU0NKS7dB7Pu/s320/Comp-Ratio-Golden-Triangle.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Golden Triangle is a little different than the ratios and the point of using this tool is for directional line or for placement that breaks up the piece into thirds. If used for directional line the focal points line up and the intersection and spread out but for placing the images into thirds then one to two of the triangles will contain your focal points but it is best to do this on separate planes.</div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Golden Spiral</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7xw2WKDnSqD0wcn1J1LX_-UUW6UX9ILjW08JptQX_V3gFGahtLlDQcIoMXUD9sUVdJC3WkVBcoT-Qr3Dxa_51Hr63h35Yht7uCTHokdvza72FzyDeTfKNKnZ1RjNinDD4YLQxS-r1fO8/s1600/Comp-Ratio-Golden_Spiral-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7xw2WKDnSqD0wcn1J1LX_-UUW6UX9ILjW08JptQX_V3gFGahtLlDQcIoMXUD9sUVdJC3WkVBcoT-Qr3Dxa_51Hr63h35Yht7uCTHokdvza72FzyDeTfKNKnZ1RjNinDD4YLQxS-r1fO8/s320/Comp-Ratio-Golden_Spiral-2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The bottom one is the one with the transparency </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OBk5ftCEq-pQFCUvNQQ6S_bj-5A6h95aCVv4Ec25VTVfa8oarywuiYTruhzvLZEC0uT4sITJa5yH3-UcA44ioV-d6ASwd-QoLsfa7GDyJaJ0a3A_GFDvMg4w268aEkL_6wxqOn9udD9f/s1600/Comp-Ratio-Golden_Spiral.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OBk5ftCEq-pQFCUvNQQ6S_bj-5A6h95aCVv4Ec25VTVfa8oarywuiYTruhzvLZEC0uT4sITJa5yH3-UcA44ioV-d6ASwd-QoLsfa7GDyJaJ0a3A_GFDvMg4w268aEkL_6wxqOn9udD9f/s320/Comp-Ratio-Golden_Spiral.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Golden Spiral is about placement and flow of the picture to help guide the eye of the viewer around the picture plane. This is a powerful grid and it is a form of fractal that can be found all through out nature. From studying various strong compositions and other articles about this tool I can tell you that it is the hardest one to follow, but I hope my understanding will make it clear you you all. The grid itself is based on the golden ratio but it can definitely spiral tighter and tighter and it keeps breaking down . Inside these sections you can place your main focal points of your composition as long as they remain for the most part of the inside track of the spiral that is formed from the cornered points. Secondary focal points can be created by placing them as an intersection along this spiral path which will create flow and guide the eye around your composition.</div>
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Down Below are examples of my artwork that show how these grids work for strong compositions.</div>
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Also it is important to note that you don't have to limit your self to just one of these tools or the multiple use of the same tool but with different orientation with the only proviso that you do not distort the ratios.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZd7p7wmTFNWcdIvCYThqXJnAyoLq7ZgcykpOOJko1EKaRHXvpdH3WnLxkqjT-RXL_R5S2NVZ0ynpQfWzGHWZOq_Bt0ChUeDK6EE7C0AvSeerKiAW-RPlKzNKTBmDZ2gX8dGXJGpLJzPA/s1600/ChaosAlice-ratio-comp1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZd7p7wmTFNWcdIvCYThqXJnAyoLq7ZgcykpOOJko1EKaRHXvpdH3WnLxkqjT-RXL_R5S2NVZ0ynpQfWzGHWZOq_Bt0ChUeDK6EE7C0AvSeerKiAW-RPlKzNKTBmDZ2gX8dGXJGpLJzPA/s320/ChaosAlice-ratio-comp1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabXACqxmSYxm-LsIrnPDNXNrsnUhHZSFKJCsXbklgQ5WlqfFXKAw1suQx3Q_NXY3m_LgDVBzcRMBR5Qd3YYgeuh5n1il8S5EPa34481ct3fe7hhPFOiWibvXYFqLeGWCkg7PnziAmGqNg/s1600/Wishful-Thinking2-ratio-comp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabXACqxmSYxm-LsIrnPDNXNrsnUhHZSFKJCsXbklgQ5WlqfFXKAw1suQx3Q_NXY3m_LgDVBzcRMBR5Qd3YYgeuh5n1il8S5EPa34481ct3fe7hhPFOiWibvXYFqLeGWCkg7PnziAmGqNg/s320/Wishful-Thinking2-ratio-comp.png" width="219" /></a></div>
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I have included one more transparent ratio grid and that is a master grid that gives all possible orientation, but I would advise starting off with these separately until you understand how they work before trying to use them all at once. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vuczuoyFQAkC0PhuB2-DvfUt2QM32q2bi1n4xsGv-bit-2Y7gpRbd8Swk_z2CONu4GQbo8cGwnNcil9_zPDtk73ZD-WPbisNyOlLNNvtEhyw3zAxlpfmfYu5auMsW2NV3Qh_R69oYhU9/s1600/Comp-Ratio-Combo-Master-Pattern.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vuczuoyFQAkC0PhuB2-DvfUt2QM32q2bi1n4xsGv-bit-2Y7gpRbd8Swk_z2CONu4GQbo8cGwnNcil9_zPDtk73ZD-WPbisNyOlLNNvtEhyw3zAxlpfmfYu5auMsW2NV3Qh_R69oYhU9/s320/Comp-Ratio-Combo-Master-Pattern.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lastly if you have any questions please feel to ask and I will answer them the best I can. Also I don't claim total knowledge in how the golden ratio can be used and I feel that there are many different methods in using it so if you know something I don't then please share with a comment. </span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-84311250661742410792013-02-21T21:20:00.002-08:002013-02-21T21:25:36.759-08:00Contrast in Context<div style="text-align: justify;">
Many of you might know that contrast is important for a good composition, but many do not realize, at least not consciously, is that contrast is a complex beast that comes in many different forms, so there are many ways to achieve contrast to help create a strong composition. The different forms include value contrast, simultaneous contrast (part of color theory), contrast in color saturation, in texture, in detail and in size. While it is not needed to include every form of contrasts, it is needed to have two or three of these forms to create a strong focus in a composition. <br />
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The reason contrast helps create focus is because our brains are hardwired to automatically look for differences, which is a human survival trait, so we can use this innate behavior to get our viewers to focus on what we wish. If you like adding lots of hidden detail, don’t worry because they will look at the rest of your image, because while the human eye locks on to differences it is constantly tracking for more information and they will, overtime, discover any little gems you have planted. So lets take some time and examine the different forms of contrast and how they work in creating focus.<br />
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<b>Contrast in Value</b><br />
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Of course, this is the most well known form of contrast and the most straight forward. To put value contrast simply; light against dark. If you have an image that has a range of dark values then you want your subject to be significantly lighter in its value range than the rest of your image. A good example would be a man standing in a dark room but he is illuminated by a spot light. If you image is range of mostly light values then you want your subject to be of significantly dark values. Either direction that you use this form of contrast will create more focus for your composition.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZv-K3UUaUjJibl-hvR87HRmapAFm8BAb4I3VP0nIoMQ66Y2I91MiZwwRQN3VQ8MwJuE60YV95Ga0C6rEjIIH8aVcL4qRPweX0Wm_zUIEqvLj75PuOdWrptiJBpZO0BDXPnyWWTVTrhSu/s1600/Sp-Industrial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZv-K3UUaUjJibl-hvR87HRmapAFm8BAb4I3VP0nIoMQ66Y2I91MiZwwRQN3VQ8MwJuE60YV95Ga0C6rEjIIH8aVcL4qRPweX0Wm_zUIEqvLj75PuOdWrptiJBpZO0BDXPnyWWTVTrhSu/s320/Sp-Industrial.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Notice how the value of the ship makes it stand out more than what is happening to the right hand side of the painting.</i></div>
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<b>Color Saturation Contrast</b><br />
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This is very similar to value contrast, not only does this help create focus but can also make things look either very drab or very intense depending on the mood you are trying to convey. It works mechanically the same as value contrast.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznfPa1ngJ0HrPJ5tp-_1aMnM6XBWx5u_sZ7ZDjhYmsuYycjJt9tdXqw5-l3MDwApvAEuSQAKyWXmUpqt_gxZcXbJ41tU2S0c2JJoCyo09ykkZPP0VhyBx0I2PkfijHk-Pa-auZHO2fZB9/s1600/Earthbound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznfPa1ngJ0HrPJ5tp-_1aMnM6XBWx5u_sZ7ZDjhYmsuYycjJt9tdXqw5-l3MDwApvAEuSQAKyWXmUpqt_gxZcXbJ41tU2S0c2JJoCyo09ykkZPP0VhyBx0I2PkfijHk-Pa-auZHO2fZB9/s320/Earthbound.jpg" width="168" /></a></div>
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<i>Notice how the saturation of her skin and umbrella stands out more than the background which is subdued in its saturation.</i></div>
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<b>Simultaneous Contrast</b><br />
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Simultaneous contrast is part of color theory and it occurs when you have one color adjacent, but not overlapping, to its color compliment or analogous compliment. When complimentary or analogous complimentary colors are side by side then those colors appear more vivid to our eyes. When one of these colors is used in combination with low saturation contrast then the color with stronger saturation becomes vivid, but the complimentary color at low saturation is not noticeable and doesn’t always register as the color it actually is, so you will have a color that is strong, creates focus and one that doesn’t show colors you don’t want to show, but are really there in order to enhance the colors you do want to show.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqCxB9gX5r-jSHPacgoLrftNJA6IHaSZqzy9_8ibf7qu7WD5nyq2X35sV7ATFgHELYEbKbjty5HdvjdKYgwKLBgGkPfBd6kAdhmD4StSKZJrBKm6GB6nRurgD9OVXS4WF2LILRauGSFIL/s1600/children_of_the_gods_final_frame_by_king_rastel-d4j2r8g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqCxB9gX5r-jSHPacgoLrftNJA6IHaSZqzy9_8ibf7qu7WD5nyq2X35sV7ATFgHELYEbKbjty5HdvjdKYgwKLBgGkPfBd6kAdhmD4StSKZJrBKm6GB6nRurgD9OVXS4WF2LILRauGSFIL/s320/children_of_the_gods_final_frame_by_king_rastel-d4j2r8g.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Notice how the orange and yellow colors stand out and look more vivid against the blue background and vice versa.</i></div>
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<b>Contrast in Texture</b><br />
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Contrast can also be created through the density and different types of texture. The first way to create contrast through texture, is to have your main focus to have significantly more or less texture than the rest of your composition. Another way to create contrast through texture is to have texture that totally differs from your main subject and the rest of your composition. A good example is to have something that is totally smooth like an apple set against a background of stucco wall. The rough texture of the wall will contrast against the smooth skin of the apple, but the difference in texture will also emphasize both textures, so the apple will seem very smooth and the wall very rough. Using texture that opposes each other in extremes like rough to smooth, soft to hard, shiny to dull and so on will produce the most noticeable results.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqx-_FUrAjbnuJVEyeLI5PpdAr_AOzSvqR7fYS3pX2Tss8J74pd1zv2hg90imtXZzrRlDquPUQPyzMPIbdY-piwTNy6Id6gNfIkIlucjuIWOyMWe1BjRkZ3kwsHaYTLjUZMukbCR50Y0e/s1600/el_dorado_turtles__sun_bath.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqx-_FUrAjbnuJVEyeLI5PpdAr_AOzSvqR7fYS3pX2Tss8J74pd1zv2hg90imtXZzrRlDquPUQPyzMPIbdY-piwTNy6Id6gNfIkIlucjuIWOyMWe1BjRkZ3kwsHaYTLjUZMukbCR50Y0e/s320/el_dorado_turtles__sun_bath.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Notice the smooth and soft texture of the water makes the rocks and shells of the turtles more rough in comparison.</i></div>
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<b>Contrast in Detail</b><br />
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The level between detail and the subject of your composition is another way to achieve focus. The simplest way of course to approach this is through the extreme of having your subject having the most detail versus a background of minimal or suggested detail. We still take in the suggestion of the background which gives our subject context for it’s surroundings and allows us to soak in the level of detail of the subject. The reverse can be done as well but the end result might be different in which the background now becomes a focus, but this can be a good strategy if you want a composition that is a world of a lot of hidden details that your viewers might enjoy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLs5KCAeSmfUmYd1vzO1e36y8HxF8JiOw6ESn4cCtaZRc0eUOi1G_QeBwDHTv5kNDTqg2c-FHdpQJITetlIqT3-4_46SGmBwTrRaXJ0bxL6yVRE4Kix4usBLaG2qj82tcZwC5D55z9uQq/s1600/ChaosAlice2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLs5KCAeSmfUmYd1vzO1e36y8HxF8JiOw6ESn4cCtaZRc0eUOi1G_QeBwDHTv5kNDTqg2c-FHdpQJITetlIqT3-4_46SGmBwTrRaXJ0bxL6yVRE4Kix4usBLaG2qj82tcZwC5D55z9uQq/s320/ChaosAlice2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Notice that Alice is the subject and that she stands out but most of the detail is in the rest of the composition.</i></div>
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<b>Contrast in Size</b><br />
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Lastly we have contrast in size in which your subject is either the smallest but noticeable object in your composition in perhaps in a piece where everything is oversized, for example: a tiny man exploring a desk that looks like it belongs to a giant. Vice versa, you have your subject the largest object in your composition, for example: Godzilla or Cthulhu looming over an entire city. Again this is merely tricking the mind into noticing what is different.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPlrYowoe3XT9XSLnDMuH_88pDVHjbN3qlZB671z5sre0YYEri9KUcjOehwLOf4ZO745P_75vH7bcH5_Xz2rPhwj3vmwR4DvxXrB7HMy4UbHZjEu4Tp0I-8HI5mGdI4WFKDM_G_al6E1l/s1600/cthulhu_rising__humantity__s_defiance_by_ito_saith_webb-d5oni8x.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPlrYowoe3XT9XSLnDMuH_88pDVHjbN3qlZB671z5sre0YYEri9KUcjOehwLOf4ZO745P_75vH7bcH5_Xz2rPhwj3vmwR4DvxXrB7HMy4UbHZjEu4Tp0I-8HI5mGdI4WFKDM_G_al6E1l/s320/cthulhu_rising__humantity__s_defiance_by_ito_saith_webb-d5oni8x.png" width="258" /></a></div>
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<i>Notice how Cthulhu looms in his size to the city but we also notice the girl because how small she is relative to him and the city.</i></div>
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Now most of the examples of contrast I have given out, are of course, are all in the extreme but this is of course just a starting point and often a composition can have more than one focus, so using a variety or different levels of these contrast methods will help, but one mustn’t ignore other tools of composition such as directional line, mass, balance, suggestion of movement and many, many, more compositional tools. If you would like a good book on these compositional tools and rules then I would highly suggest the book Framed Ink <u>“Drawing and composition for visual storytellers</u> <i>by Macross Mateu-Mestre</i> which is jammed packed full of great information</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-9633593199900805372013-02-11T17:00:00.000-08:002013-02-12T09:34:59.671-08:00Call of Cthulhu: LegsI recently just finished up a group of commissioned illustrations for Jim Philips' new Call of Cthulhu adventure book call <u>Legs. </u>This was an enjoyable project to work on, not only because it was Lovecraftian, but also because of the working relationship I developed with Jim and I was impressed to see the final layout of the book combined with my artwork.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWoATZAohieApPqSP3ToboZlx5eLeeE2ZgaxEFu2VOaJebLAV7dNaIbqdjuFru8XQca5q6nW6IcW-8pKbOqGV7lv6cAsFHS40J0fQLnAzg_ow18x68ABjM0uuolBMKGCd8CefC1GnTylH/s1600/Spider-Cover-Layout-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWoATZAohieApPqSP3ToboZlx5eLeeE2ZgaxEFu2VOaJebLAV7dNaIbqdjuFru8XQca5q6nW6IcW-8pKbOqGV7lv6cAsFHS40J0fQLnAzg_ow18x68ABjM0uuolBMKGCd8CefC1GnTylH/s400/Spider-Cover-Layout-3.png" width="308" /></a>This was the final layout for the book and I think it came out looking really good. The adventure book is for the Call of Cthulhu RPG game and it is a free PDF download. <a href="http://www.cthulhu.me/p/legs.html">Free PDF Download</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ApITZ32IRGjA7sAZZmdwROC1aa_yyZ-IqQ2kZoAj566LJ2JR-1qNsWn-0cu0PUt1zKcGmON2FlmbCoyubFr7YFDUIQDjstlyfp6C-2jwwzdvGZJXhTXKqpp1P1APEkSil4qmTPJGUHP3/s1600/Spider-Dream-Stone-Note-Color-V2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ApITZ32IRGjA7sAZZmdwROC1aa_yyZ-IqQ2kZoAj566LJ2JR-1qNsWn-0cu0PUt1zKcGmON2FlmbCoyubFr7YFDUIQDjstlyfp6C-2jwwzdvGZJXhTXKqpp1P1APEkSil4qmTPJGUHP3/s200/Spider-Dream-Stone-Note-Color-V2.png" width="200" /></a><br />
I took a picture of my own hand holding a scrap of paper for a reference of this shot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVvnZM3R_LGSyxiD0gojnhWwB8uudFhja3gv2M6V1oWKN2OWmuO3Vsyjzh-dtyENGeNiaUcwRzqyhW2DNv9Nmhnti3VYX95eElS4wwj43bvx_40xMR6L5Ue0gTrBAVtuH21reJtM6sWQJ/s1600/Spider-Birth-Final.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVvnZM3R_LGSyxiD0gojnhWwB8uudFhja3gv2M6V1oWKN2OWmuO3Vsyjzh-dtyENGeNiaUcwRzqyhW2DNv9Nmhnti3VYX95eElS4wwj43bvx_40xMR6L5Ue0gTrBAVtuH21reJtM6sWQJ/s200/Spider-Birth-Final.png" width="154" /></a>One of the few things that can disturb me as a horror artist and that is critters bursting from the skin so I could relate with this guy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79NFL3j57HCPaGpNppQwZjk9Rddb9oQcfCyspYCm-WIeZt0ecAKAuHmllmrlJ0BKOb4JZqpBOshOA7C4bLNRQlOp2xQO42AxLG29wfTD-UVcTBMIdWbcGsSADJQh3BBUOV5HSnSaXpeIT/s1600/Spider-Host-Hotel-RoomVdutch-angle-high-res_V2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79NFL3j57HCPaGpNppQwZjk9Rddb9oQcfCyspYCm-WIeZt0ecAKAuHmllmrlJ0BKOb4JZqpBOshOA7C4bLNRQlOp2xQO42AxLG29wfTD-UVcTBMIdWbcGsSADJQh3BBUOV5HSnSaXpeIT/s320/Spider-Host-Hotel-RoomVdutch-angle-high-res_V2.png" width="320" /></a>It is always a challenge to do sexy plus gory at the same time. I also used the Schindler's List trick of just using the color red for this mostly black and white piece.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrna73mYSQ5rj7i4l_V13zJFFrCBaNqXpfVJXJWp9yw1G9PLFShJrNHwRtwLhKKqPvnJQ_bBQWt0RHFkZj18qt3sMwjw90rIlg_SB2mqzMeISdN1n-nc4tR98C9zBSf-MmJ890qSlSMDPP/s1600/Leng-Spider-in-the-HallwayFinal.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrna73mYSQ5rj7i4l_V13zJFFrCBaNqXpfVJXJWp9yw1G9PLFShJrNHwRtwLhKKqPvnJQ_bBQWt0RHFkZj18qt3sMwjw90rIlg_SB2mqzMeISdN1n-nc4tR98C9zBSf-MmJ890qSlSMDPP/s320/Leng-Spider-in-the-HallwayFinal.png" width="247" /></a><br />
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And yet this guy is not even fully grown yet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_3z98yEhTiMbyRJrrAOMwCaVmYbxh59221tv71e2JCEOu0NQ_-C97p0eJtVIoZ-GFnIjNUcwAYDuOd66-pAy0WHW3OR9VxPapA2yv9g0qm8KBrAa5gaCzGFnfCPSW6z9pooq666cy6Gl/s1600/Spider-Cover-Final.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_3z98yEhTiMbyRJrrAOMwCaVmYbxh59221tv71e2JCEOu0NQ_-C97p0eJtVIoZ-GFnIjNUcwAYDuOd66-pAy0WHW3OR9VxPapA2yv9g0qm8KBrAa5gaCzGFnfCPSW6z9pooq666cy6Gl/s320/Spider-Cover-Final.png" width="247" /></a>This is the cover with out the text layout, although having the text is really good as well. Not sure what I prefer.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-67665254144086277472013-01-28T20:46:00.001-08:002013-01-28T21:21:26.641-08:00Color Blending, FX Brushing and Photos for TextureHi Everyone,<br />
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For this week's blog I thought I would do a demo covering how to create light and shadow with color instead of just value and various texture techniques using Adobe Photoshop CS 5 and lower. In this demo you will see how to use the color blend mode for layers, how to use the FX options with your brush strokes and color blend mode, and how to use photos for texture using the color blend mode. These were techniques that I learned and adapted from my illustration professors Cliff Cramp and Christian Hill at Cal State Fullerton. I have broken up the tutorial into three sections because of duration limitations on You Tube. I would suggest viewing these demos at a high resolution so that you can properly see the settings. These demos only go over the very basics but they do give insight of how to approach digital painting. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-51616206435905012202013-01-25T01:40:00.000-08:002013-01-25T01:41:18.889-08:00Leaps, bounds and Muscle Memory For all the artists out there, frustrated that perhaps their skills are not growing fast enough, I give the advice of patience and diligence. While this advice might seem pat, I can assure you that this advice is sound for it is backed up from my talks with other artists about our shared personal experiences. The skills of some artist’s you see, grow at a slow and steady pace as they garner their art education and this is reflected in their work which slowly plateaus, but other people on the other hand learn by what I call <u>“Leaps and Bounds”</u> from which seemingly, from time to time, to spontaneously increase in skill. <br />
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<u>“Leaps and Bounds” </u>in this case is a misnomer, it only appears to others, and sometimes even to yourself, that your skills periodically and spontaneously increase in level, which is then followed by a plateau time period before the next jump. What is really happening is that the education learned from teachers, peers and self-education has only laid dormant, then to surface when the artist is ready. The “ready” moment, varies from artist to artist and often won’t show for months or even years, so these artists need to learn a lot of patience. However, this plateau period of little or no growth is just an incubation period for the conscious and subconscious is assimilating the information, assembling its self like a jigsaw puzzle, then when the artist is ready to leave their comfort zone, those skills come forth in a epiphanic bloom. <br />
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The <u>“Leaps and Bounds” </u>artist have the advantage of continued and ever climbing growth, but this is a double edge sword, for if the artist stops painting or drawing they start to go down hill and must re-learn everything once again. So, it is vital that artists who learn this way to maintain their skills and keep up the effort to always learn more about their craft. The diligent artist, no matter how they learn, gain a secondary skill which is called muscle memory, yet another misnomer. Actually, muscle memory crosses over into any skill and it is gain merely from everyday practice. You know when a skill has become muscle memory when you switch from thinking about what you are doing and not how you are doing it. For artists, muscle memory takes many years to totally sink in, but when it does, the artist’s art is like a bird released from a cage.<br />
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So to all those frustrated artists out there who think their skills are not improving, hang in there, don’t give up and keep up the diligence, for you will never know when you will have a <u>“Leaps and Bound”</u>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-6498414805750413952013-01-20T23:00:00.001-08:002013-01-20T23:01:02.790-08:00Digital Freehand Inking With Adobe IllustratorBeing a good inker is a valuable skill as either a comic book artist, graphic designer or an illustrator. While traditional inking skills with brush and pen makes for a good solid foundation, having digital inking skills in today's day and age is a must. When it comes to digital inking, knowing how to handle the pen tool is a must and it was something I quickly had to learn during my internship at MGA Entertainment, however using the pen tool, while can give you a lot of control, also takes a lot of time and has it's own problems. The ability to ink fast is another skill that is a must in the art world, because let's face it, the faster you can do quality work the more money you can make. So in this video I am showing how to digitally ink using the blob tool which is more intuitive and has a more natural look. In this video I have used a Cthulhu sketch I did for T-shirt flair in my new clothing line I am calling Lovecraftian Flair.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-wsi0OmzMVM" width="420"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-29130729518613005252013-01-06T16:16:00.001-08:002013-01-06T16:38:06.879-08:00Talent, Potential and SkillI want to talk about a little thing people call talent, it doesn’t exist, except in the minds of people who are unable or unwilling to do well in something creative or wonderful. Let me expand on that, from my own experiences and through talking with other creative types about their experiences, I found that when someone says, “This person has talent”, they have the mind set that the person they refer to has some innate ability that allows them to do wonderful and creative things without effort. This is from the truth, because every successful creative person out there had the passion to dedicated themselves to the time and effort it took to get their skill to that level, it isn’t easy. <br />
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While I don’t believe in talent, I do believe in potential and aptitude. Every single person has the potential to do wonderful things if they dedicate themselves, but some people have more aptitude than others in achieving wonderful things and that is the only real edge they have. Lets take artists for example, they start off drawing young just like everyone else and for the most part they don’t draw any better than anyone else and the only difference is that they either took more enjoyment from it or took it more seriously. So, as that artist grows up they continue to draw and learn from mistakes. Sometimes, if lucky, the artist grows up in a family that has an artist or two living with them, whom they can learn from. If the passion is particularly strong that artist might ask for art lessons or get books on the subject, but still that is not always enough. If the artist stops their artwork longer than a year they become rusty and have to retrain and this is devastating. The successful artist is the one that seeks help through training but also continues self education and is willing to explore, make mistakes, and discover for greater understanding to create wonderful art. So, the successful creative person often puts years upon years of time, effort, and dedication in order to become good at what they do; sometimes this takes a life time.<br />
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Enclosing, always remember that if you want a writer, artist, musician or other creative type to produce something wonderful for you, your business or any other venture, remember we all work for a living.<br />
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"If you are good at something never do it for free"— Joker (Heath Ledger) <br />
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The following pieces of art are to the best of my knowledge in chronological order to show how long it took me to progress to my current skill level in art.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSwCM_WxtsaiUemIzZIjvRvcj4cMSO0BykfdyRllB1ohMQxPoCPU_SkyqXS6J08L20JWwShJ1lkTNygPB7U5Fx8gMz8jgLF0QOrc6Gjk_WXyIzfeF56lNmfjl7NdAoiJdj6Me8rv-qynz/s1600/Age5_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoz7r8Uz4VRqq5cCYHIeX6uWpGbl_ISlLZMyl2NX3o3T2w1ducFitNZDvPO9TwlPqPPYLRFeqFHpLO3n02Pb3Vhg8Uq-rPgVnfF1EW5sayJ9oQmMtGrmbUSzuDAlsEpETfzRguh1WAGIZ/s1600/Age5_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoz7r8Uz4VRqq5cCYHIeX6uWpGbl_ISlLZMyl2NX3o3T2w1ducFitNZDvPO9TwlPqPPYLRFeqFHpLO3n02Pb3Vhg8Uq-rPgVnfF1EW5sayJ9oQmMtGrmbUSzuDAlsEpETfzRguh1WAGIZ/s320/Age5_1.JPG" width="240" /></a><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSwCM_WxtsaiUemIzZIjvRvcj4cMSO0BykfdyRllB1ohMQxPoCPU_SkyqXS6J08L20JWwShJ1lkTNygPB7U5Fx8gMz8jgLF0QOrc6Gjk_WXyIzfeF56lNmfjl7NdAoiJdj6Me8rv-qynz/s320/Age5_3.JPG" width="218" /></div>
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Around Age 5 <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNtnPNymXsalva0cll_Hb0bQ0AngQdbM84Nj83p4Xg17AC6d9PFytKWeOrP6LXZ730pH44ZKMW84f1UOTWH1ALg-PdmqR6V8-OYZID9-1s7-4Q3ZvDVxBth-sxnjbZSXFUVBP3utBEkzE/s1600/Age+9+to+10_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNtnPNymXsalva0cll_Hb0bQ0AngQdbM84Nj83p4Xg17AC6d9PFytKWeOrP6LXZ730pH44ZKMW84f1UOTWH1ALg-PdmqR6V8-OYZID9-1s7-4Q3ZvDVxBth-sxnjbZSXFUVBP3utBEkzE/s320/Age+9+to+10_2.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjramUheDEftE5tWg_TjhgN1oxMhEbQsp7EGWs0v1r6M8o995KQPhZpOAOdKO5XtXC296u0iAhpLJKOLc0POMORPXIeFMtlEMJ9aVep42dGq1vCZs87TZWqiRJ7yMcCW6iPeC6AxWaqEF0r/s1600/Age+9+to+10_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjramUheDEftE5tWg_TjhgN1oxMhEbQsp7EGWs0v1r6M8o995KQPhZpOAOdKO5XtXC296u0iAhpLJKOLc0POMORPXIeFMtlEMJ9aVep42dGq1vCZs87TZWqiRJ7yMcCW6iPeC6AxWaqEF0r/s320/Age+9+to+10_1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Around Age 8-10<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIl0ETENRqJC8y1mLZm7gtNtczLEjemrutC9EleSBd1w3Yj2QvPXs96lrLSncEHttNKUQP-PAoV7SeWU2zLmDjWlVxgKeXYECnKZPILKQ9jhKfo4PTnDHWS_Ce50WanHSNUYwztEcGObb/s1600/Preteens-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIl0ETENRqJC8y1mLZm7gtNtczLEjemrutC9EleSBd1w3Yj2QvPXs96lrLSncEHttNKUQP-PAoV7SeWU2zLmDjWlVxgKeXYECnKZPILKQ9jhKfo4PTnDHWS_Ce50WanHSNUYwztEcGObb/s320/Preteens-1.JPG" width="206" /></a></div>
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Around Age 8-11<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaGT8Okrt1ttvFsRV0KzVdbWW0-8cpBHZgqFQCshJvzGddw7eABdw66-nyXsp-bywu1HYXkYhu97QBugvcxOIEfVZdPJvC_ew73c41X-E2UOo4AmNeRDmbOZCuwr78t7PeXzXv-yNR8DE/s1600/Mid+Teens.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaGT8Okrt1ttvFsRV0KzVdbWW0-8cpBHZgqFQCshJvzGddw7eABdw66-nyXsp-bywu1HYXkYhu97QBugvcxOIEfVZdPJvC_ew73c41X-E2UOo4AmNeRDmbOZCuwr78t7PeXzXv-yNR8DE/s320/Mid+Teens.JPG" width="254" /></a><br />
Around Mid Teens ( I think I am going to revise this comp it is just to fun to pass up)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqRkqAFftJ2eQmxKNslkY7hmQC9OcySFbIQm-NHCwVpBHCHcKpsnB5O1BIigoM9tP-FhGdxXL31zhWRXqyzj79JqDX082PngDunl-IGJWBnzv6rhYGLj8ssvzRGJLsx_agO6f8FDHocoW/s1600/Teens+but+modified.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqRkqAFftJ2eQmxKNslkY7hmQC9OcySFbIQm-NHCwVpBHCHcKpsnB5O1BIigoM9tP-FhGdxXL31zhWRXqyzj79JqDX082PngDunl-IGJWBnzv6rhYGLj8ssvzRGJLsx_agO6f8FDHocoW/s320/Teens+but+modified.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia89XTSJWSNxijeD7U0iNkqBpoA-a3VfM3EaMRfCeBvqU2YS20ICa0aKTolHJaHgEaEr3DlU3GO8XobCz5lJSOvEb1aTORIZqkb2ZKrjYhENTNmyqMJtH59Pl2ooYeEq2FKiAsdZi1KLof/s1600/Late+Teens.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia89XTSJWSNxijeD7U0iNkqBpoA-a3VfM3EaMRfCeBvqU2YS20ICa0aKTolHJaHgEaEr3DlU3GO8XobCz5lJSOvEb1aTORIZqkb2ZKrjYhENTNmyqMJtH59Pl2ooYeEq2FKiAsdZi1KLof/s320/Late+Teens.JPG" width="241" /></a><br />
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Around mid to Late Teens (was modifed in PS 10 years ago can't find original was two separate pieces)<br />
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Around mid to late Teens<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjs0MylRUItt2t52lfxN_iuuF0CGlDS9O6HMSRV1vi-wHPR__8EaFkssK0mKqpfIaekqc5MmILd_Q8jcroaPhLRdMCl4_OcqkJP8Jyg6lVFT6lHizoFfnt89OiteqPxElGUArlB8sdwB3s/s1600/Early+20s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjs0MylRUItt2t52lfxN_iuuF0CGlDS9O6HMSRV1vi-wHPR__8EaFkssK0mKqpfIaekqc5MmILd_Q8jcroaPhLRdMCl4_OcqkJP8Jyg6lVFT6lHizoFfnt89OiteqPxElGUArlB8sdwB3s/s320/Early+20s.JPG" width="255" /></a><br />
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Early 20s<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpSehDxXhJ55U4_3kTKrZQ2j2M52P0zhNk91st3kLtOg61o38UCBhAQl6V3GrdjeMOx-f1JXXjzKkhb9glQg4WR_ApXNyMlhrYxE7xaBJkoZViJlZQhWrqmGWubAf0i_7Tu5u98Bgy5jk/s1600/Mid+20s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpSehDxXhJ55U4_3kTKrZQ2j2M52P0zhNk91st3kLtOg61o38UCBhAQl6V3GrdjeMOx-f1JXXjzKkhb9glQg4WR_ApXNyMlhrYxE7xaBJkoZViJlZQhWrqmGWubAf0i_7Tu5u98Bgy5jk/s320/Mid+20s.jpg" width="257" /></a><br />
Early 20s<br />
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Mid 20s <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyRv8WR_SirI5CzWJvCkYDjE20JOVCAI3zDQFNk9IUZaXzQpxD8sTiA6Ikr5Igtf6C2LeGLkGfnOnWFpcQRB1R4PJQhpOXkyNOf34U3yM9w8gJgRcJo5vbbEjo3aZlboBaDfRWvrslyQ4/s1600/Old_Art_work_from_College_by_King_Rastel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyRv8WR_SirI5CzWJvCkYDjE20JOVCAI3zDQFNk9IUZaXzQpxD8sTiA6Ikr5Igtf6C2LeGLkGfnOnWFpcQRB1R4PJQhpOXkyNOf34U3yM9w8gJgRcJo5vbbEjo3aZlboBaDfRWvrslyQ4/s320/Old_Art_work_from_College_by_King_Rastel.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
Mid to late 20s finally in college studying art<br />
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Late 20s still learning to paint digitally<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKUgSbgbpW3DfliIQSY9KqU9oeCVpBIvk7K5gKwfMd4BlUgPwUlehz_BUPBbU8EO-HBbUVaP4IqQl40IOskZMumC1AbcF9hsdelrhiy5RZSC_HA6eP2wjXeCzb4e4deJlubxHmz6iPHzY/s1600/the_city_underneath_by_ito_saith_webb-d5pvrh2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKUgSbgbpW3DfliIQSY9KqU9oeCVpBIvk7K5gKwfMd4BlUgPwUlehz_BUPBbU8EO-HBbUVaP4IqQl40IOskZMumC1AbcF9hsdelrhiy5RZSC_HA6eP2wjXeCzb4e4deJlubxHmz6iPHzY/s320/the_city_underneath_by_ito_saith_webb-d5pvrh2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Present day!<br />
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Check out more of my work at <a href="http://www.wix.com/itosaithwebb/tobiaswhiteillustrations" target="_blank">Tobias White Illustrations</a></div>
<span style="color: lime;">You should also follow me on</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TobiasWhiteIllustration" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top" target="_blank">linkedin,</a> <a href="http://ito-saith-webb.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Deviant Art</a>, <span style="color: lime;">or catch me at</span> <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/TobiasWhite1" target="_blank">@TobiasWhite1</a> <br />
<span style="color: lime;">Don't forget, you can also purchase many of my works as full sized prints at</span> <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/tbw_designs" target="_blank">TBW Designs On Zazzle</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-18781060913720450162012-12-24T17:32:00.002-08:002012-12-24T18:47:21.426-08:00Visions of RevisionFor those that follow my work regularly, they know that my artistic skills have improved over the years. However, when I look back at my past work I still see the potential those composition had. Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned" but instead of living with that abandonment I have taken it upon myself to revisit my older works and improve them to make them stronger.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXejOoJla_OFxbYjdpFDIIpIRB925FxWukQB23kllLjvIjIaO1awsaus2i0MU0BI2WN61Bik1Omdt8gx_RCXs4N9nSKcs4BE_2W1vL92pIVN5YJRjxWjyeMUfdcY0YDMQOMbHJtuN7rWQd/s1600/wishful_thinking_Before-and-After.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXejOoJla_OFxbYjdpFDIIpIRB925FxWukQB23kllLjvIjIaO1awsaus2i0MU0BI2WN61Bik1Omdt8gx_RCXs4N9nSKcs4BE_2W1vL92pIVN5YJRjxWjyeMUfdcY0YDMQOMbHJtuN7rWQd/s400/wishful_thinking_Before-and-After.png" width="400" /> </a> </div>
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Before and After</div>
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<b>Wishful Thinking</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-N0U4MghxpT6yC_v5PDAXXlPWOW9koJXIJKkn7-_X57xuq3Z1VWd2uwdNHhUhyphenhyphen51I4TxZS14ex_O_1RbllVekeuFPa_VNhPCbDXPsophF-VzVD8qmMMKM5M8SeiBUNPZRnGoDRn1Vd0mB/s1600/grand_priestess_of_cthulhu_Before-And-After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-N0U4MghxpT6yC_v5PDAXXlPWOW9koJXIJKkn7-_X57xuq3Z1VWd2uwdNHhUhyphenhyphen51I4TxZS14ex_O_1RbllVekeuFPa_VNhPCbDXPsophF-VzVD8qmMMKM5M8SeiBUNPZRnGoDRn1Vd0mB/s400/grand_priestess_of_cthulhu_Before-And-After.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Before and After</div>
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<b>Grand Priestess of Cthulhu</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4BptHe_U5sRLkLbIt_BI2502xWT1TXNM4cjmAGAcEfddBBYaRJO7G971yrK9qrIruLrmpsI6_33EgsGIpVJfLc3BpZ8irVEL0KP64TeFVKUgR5kP1GLvuB5rTzMT0-yfhKwKTCSuN6Ai/s1600/Definance-Before-and-After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4BptHe_U5sRLkLbIt_BI2502xWT1TXNM4cjmAGAcEfddBBYaRJO7G971yrK9qrIruLrmpsI6_33EgsGIpVJfLc3BpZ8irVEL0KP64TeFVKUgR5kP1GLvuB5rTzMT0-yfhKwKTCSuN6Ai/s400/Definance-Before-and-After.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Before and After</div>
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<b>Cthulhu's Rising: Humanity's Defiance</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBg5h9IZHk6AEnpEOEkXk6PtWj39e0PrUCe9i5ub6BcOH_kBKZVJj8968Nk3ht54zrBZKq7BEmATGd92qKaslVX2fCsJzYOC0avgE-Yp-OO93-D8KJdRKCphTNi54BWzYhJtx-1S3YPNo/s1600/grand_priestess_of_cthulhu_2_Before-And-After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBg5h9IZHk6AEnpEOEkXk6PtWj39e0PrUCe9i5ub6BcOH_kBKZVJj8968Nk3ht54zrBZKq7BEmATGd92qKaslVX2fCsJzYOC0avgE-Yp-OO93-D8KJdRKCphTNi54BWzYhJtx-1S3YPNo/s400/grand_priestess_of_cthulhu_2_Before-And-After.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Before and After</div>
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<b>Grand Priestess of Cthulhu 2</b></div>
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Of course I started these revisions off with my Lovecraft pieces as that is something I specialize in, but there will be more revisions to come and they will cover a more variety of subject matters. Feel free to ask any questions you may have and also don't forget to visit my new online store in which you can purchase these paintings as full size prints or as other products such as coffee mugs, skate boards and more!</div>
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Check out more of my work at <a href="http://www.wix.com/itosaithwebb/tobiaswhiteillustrations" target="_blank">Tobias White Illustrations</a></div>
<span style="color: lime;">You should also follow me on</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TobiasWhiteIllustration" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top" target="_blank">linkedin,</a> <a href="http://ito-saith-webb.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Deviant Art</a>, <span style="color: lime;">or catch me at</span> <span style="background-color: lime;"><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/TobiasWhite1" target="_blank">@TobiasWhite1</a> <br />
<span style="color: lime;">Don't forget, you can also purchase many of my works as full sized prints at</span> <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/tbw_designs" target="_blank">TBW Designs On Zazzle</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-72619968021726181832012-08-08T14:01:00.000-07:002012-12-24T17:35:08.995-08:00The Cast of Bubba Beef Jerky and the rejects.Let me introduce you to the cast of mascots from the new and up coming Bubba Beef Jerky line. I was commissioned by Bubba Beef Jerky, which is linked to Sunset Gaming, to create mascot s that represent a different flavor and it was my task to come up with different characters based on what my client wanted and my own interpretation of the flavor. While I haven't tried all the flavors yet, the ones I have tried have a good flavor and can pack some heat. Fighting Habanero is very spicy but has a great taste. Honey Hippie is mildly spicy but is coated with a honey glaze and if you don't mind sticky fingers can be quite tasty. Lemon Bomb is it's own unique tangy flavor and it is selling well. Teriyaki Infusion as you can expect tastes a lot like other teriyaki flavored jerky but it is a good one. I have yet to try the other flavors but I am most interested in trying out War-N-Onion and the Java flavor Jerky.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnxlBWSV1wDfyxhMeCTUsQ4-HczF7tzTG3NUqRQwvDrXUSxPx6MANTAOkMIu2rxEalqGt1TETX0qT_HWTQvpvc2XU0He31WG2bBsecZ_hDmorAtEdPVPdv-_hgbQJ_g0bnmtr-5mBfEME/s1600/Bubba-Cast.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnxlBWSV1wDfyxhMeCTUsQ4-HczF7tzTG3NUqRQwvDrXUSxPx6MANTAOkMIu2rxEalqGt1TETX0qT_HWTQvpvc2XU0He31WG2bBsecZ_hDmorAtEdPVPdv-_hgbQJ_g0bnmtr-5mBfEME/s640/Bubba-Cast.png" width="492" /></a></div>
Doing these commissions and commissions with other clients I have really learned some of the challenges one might run into with dealing with clients and what they want. Sometimes, if you are lucky, the client know exactly what they want which can make your job a lot easier; which feels great to get in, get out and get paid. Although other times they might know a general direction they want to go with but they want feedback and or want to be presented with ideas with what they want; this takes a little longer but is workable and just requires a little coxing. Lastly there are the times when they have only a small idea of what they want but they can't think or communicate exactly what they want, this can often.<br />
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Often I have been told and I am now learning first hand is that communicating with your client is paramount before a job even begins. Do this even if you have a repeat client with whom you have been successful in the past. You need to know what kind of style they are looking for, what kind of feeling they want the art to project, and to have them describe what they want as detailed as possible. Also having examples of other art from other sources can help communicate the desires of your client.<br />
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If you are just starting out like I am, one of the things that you must expect is to get a lot of ideas rejected and so be ready to submit a large amount of ideas to your client. A good idea is to send you client sketches or comps of a variety of ideas that encompass what they want plus it is a good idea to add you own ideas of what you suspect they want but they were unable to communicate that idea or didn't think of it. From there you might even have to do a second round of sketches but of refining from the ideas they did like. Down below you can find a variety of sketches I submitted that got rejected from being Bubba Beef Jerky Mascots and they only represent a fraction of what got turned down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oNds1b6k0TYKl_aKxmhklJblBktMk52nC2g2RMajwTYtuy_Idst_fOHW7oiapzavepSN5OjSWDOG0MHTghFMBURuv39wpSLWg-tqRcM9TDcshkjKWAczWJwmxDQZD75_SmDmrexohAzf/s1600/Rejects.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oNds1b6k0TYKl_aKxmhklJblBktMk52nC2g2RMajwTYtuy_Idst_fOHW7oiapzavepSN5OjSWDOG0MHTghFMBURuv39wpSLWg-tqRcM9TDcshkjKWAczWJwmxDQZD75_SmDmrexohAzf/s640/Rejects.jpg" width="492" /> </a></div>
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Just remember that you are basically a gun for hire in the art world so if you take a job then you need to do what you client wants and sometimes that require you to wade through a lot of ideas.</div>
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Check out more of my work at <a href="http://www.wix.com/itosaithwebb/tobiaswhiteillustrations" target="_blank">Tobias White Illustrations</a><br />
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You should also follow me on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TobiasWhiteIllustration" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top" target="_blank">linkedin,</a> <a href="http://ito-saith-webb.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Deviant Art</a>, or catch me on Tweeter at <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/TobiasWhite1" target="_blank">@TobiasWhite1</a> <br />
Don't forget, you can also purchase many of my works as full sized prints at <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/tbw_designs" target="_blank">TBW Designs On Zazzle</a> </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-62919590403580664752012-07-23T13:25:00.002-07:002012-07-23T13:57:55.277-07:00Orange County Art Walk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MiOYuj_2TSn84lWolij-t7MoOWvbABPlUo9yHUj7CLQ4LEL88hWB8PBLfa8tuaS9gPHWrNhR3roEE6t6jH45sn6SBHRX_3M6a7Zo4RCvMHOYJWo5k13U8PHHA6B2p0WoXXNWbRIp7Kff/s400/OC+Artwalk.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
A brand new website has recently been released by the fine folks at <a href="http://www.houseofdesigners.com/" target="_blank">House of Designers</a>. Within a simple click you can find yourself at the <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/" target="_blank">OC Art Walk</a>, a site devoted to artists who reside in Orange County of Southern California. There you will find out about local OC art headlines, events, features and profiles of artists in Orange County.<br />
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The OC Art Walk's site is cleanly made, easy to navigate and has a little <span class="st">Razzle Dazzle but not enough to slow down the site from downloading.</span> The first artists that have the honor to be profiled on the OC Art Walk include <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/elena-bulatova/" target="_blank">Elena Bulatova,</a> <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/teresa-shippy-2/" target="_blank">Teresa Shippy,</a> <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/noemi-barajas/" target="_blank">Noemi Barajas, </a><a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/abraham-acosta/" target="_blank">Abraham Acosta,</a> <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/jessica-jo/" target="_blank">Jessica Jo,</a> <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/tobias-white/" target="_blank">Tobias White,</a> <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/jaime-johnson/" target="_blank">Jaime Johnson</a>, <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/steev-creeper/" target="_blank">Steev Creeper</a>, <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/paulina-ruiz/" target="_blank">Paulina Ruiz</a>, and <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/michael-mcginn/" target="_blank">Michael McGinn</a>.<br />
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OC Art Walk's ultimate goal is to help the artists of the OC to gain exposure and to create a stronger art community. So come on by and check out the <a href="http://www.ocartwalk.com/" target="_blank">OC Art Walk</a> , and if you want to always be in the know then hop on over and 'Like" their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/OCArtWalk" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, so you can be kept updated with their headlines and to help support their noble cause.<br />
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P.S. All you artists of the OC come on by contact the site and help this site grow and help strengthen our art community!<br />
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Check out more of my work at <a href="http://www.wix.com/itosaithwebb/tobiaswhiteillustrations" target="_blank">Tobias White Illustrations</a></div>
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You should also follow me on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TobiasWhiteIllustration" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top" target="_blank">linkedin,</a> <a href="http://ito-saith-webb.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Deviant Art</a>, or catch me on Tweeter at <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/TobiasWhite1" target="_blank">@TobiasWhite1</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MiOYuj_2TSn84lWolij-t7MoOWvbABPlUo9yHUj7CLQ4LEL88hWB8PBLfa8tuaS9gPHWrNhR3roEE6t6jH45sn6SBHRX_3M6a7Zo4RCvMHOYJWo5k13U8PHHA6B2p0WoXXNWbRIp7Kff/s1600/OC+Artwalk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718386697112200222.post-66897587809901254332012-07-02T19:44:00.000-07:002012-07-23T13:27:38.177-07:00Speed Painting Techniques Act 3Continued from <a href="http://tobiasartwork.blogspot.com/2012/06/speed-painting-techniques-act-2.html" target="_blank">Speed-painting-techniques-act-2</a><br />
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It was one thing to talk about the techniques of speed painting and another thing to watch it happen. So I finally decided to record one of my speed painting sessions. This painting was done in an hour but I have sped it up so that it is only 8 minutes long. For best results watch it at 720p HD or higher, although if you do, depending on your connection speed, you may want to let it load a bit, so that it plays smoother. If anyone has questions I am willing to answer.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fVvlydVQQR0" width="420"><p>&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Sl&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;</p></iframe><br />
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Check out more of my work at <a href="http://www.wix.com/itosaithwebb/tobiaswhiteillustrations" target="_blank">Tobias White Illustrations</a></div>
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You should also follow me on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TobiasWhiteIllustration" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top" target="_blank">linkedin,</a> <a href="http://ito-saith-webb.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Deviant Art</a>, or catch me on Tweeter at <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/TobiasWhite1" target="_blank">@TobiasWhite1</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613035339636503770noreply@blogger.com2