Here's a little insight into the process I went through for this "Lost" piece. My original idea was a rather quick sketch with a marker to put down the essence of the piece before I forget it as I'm constantly being distracted. The good thing about sketching with a marker is that I'm not committing to anything too early. I know that things tend to change a lot from my sketch stage to the final drawing after reference is taken. At this stage I'm concerned with concept and composition mostly.
After refining the sketch a bit I then had my neighbor(great guy) pose for me. Using my photo ref and trying to keep the freshness of my original sketch I produce the final drawing onto watercolor paper.
Note about photo ref. If you are trying to produce a more realistic painting. Good reference is key.........Good reference is key. However, and you'll hear this again, you don't want to become a slave to your reference. You do want to refer to it, try to understand it, and apply the information it gives you to your work. Also, using reference doesn't take away all the spontaneity of the piece at all. It enhances my work and I feel I can still be as stylized as I want and yet have unlimited spontaneous opportunities.
At this point I can use my final drawing to make some value or color studies using photoshop. I produced one shown here that I thought I liked but decided to change. After having a little paint thrown down I'm able to produce a more refined color study(also shown above). This can be very helpful if I find myself not quite sure where exactly I want the piece to go.
Having a good sense of value and color saves a lot of time. I tend to build up these structures slowly with the acrylic. If I know something is going to be black from the get go. I can be more aggressive with my painting. I also gives you a good frame of reference for the rest of the piece.
You can view the final here.
From what I heard people where camping outside of Gallery 1988 the day before the opening! Wow. You can view the show in it's entirety here.
11 comments:
awesome! thanks for the insight, its great seeing the process. The color comps always seem like a pain, but its totally worth it judging by the end result.
wow. I love the complexity in these last few pieces.
Awesome work as always:)
you are amazing. great. awesome!
I really liked the 'Pooh' version of Hurley by Lauren Gregg and Dan May's polar bear.
The flaming head is really so intense it's like a real fire. I love the concept.
God, that piece is cool. 1988 is doing some great shows. I'm in the He-Man show coming up. Brings back memories. Eric, maybe when you get better they'll let you be in a He-Man Show instead of a Lost show.
Baby steps Bill. Baby steps;)
I want to make a long-winded comment to thank you for all of the processes you have posted, and the videos on youtube.
I have hated acrylics for as long as I can remember, because I never could get them to work properly. Only recently have I COMPLETELY changed my mind, thanks to people like you. Im finding that acrylics on watercolour paper is exactly the kind of medium I have been looking for, and seeing your art has inspired me no end. your process videos have taught me what I can't seem to find in books, and have provided that 'key' in my brain which makes me go from being fustrated with a medium to excited about its possibilities.
If you want, you can see the painting I finished shortly after seeing your work here:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_u954roiaaqs/SyEA3-tJEOI/AAAAAAAAAGg/hmMshpQNxuc/s1600-h/Dreamsfinisml.jpg
and I plan to do many, many more. Thankyou for dramatically advancing my artistic development!
Ok, I'm done now. heehee.
Maria....holy shit! Ok, no more vids or progress pix!!! I'm putting the blog on lock down. It's competitive enough and I have bills to pay;) Fantastic piece! Very well done. This is exactly what I like to see. I'm glad to have been of some assistance and inspiration. But you have obviously put in the hours and devotion that has brought your work to this level. Thanks for sharing:)
ahahaha, don't worry, I have a while to go until i'm anywhere near your level! You've got your style down and i think mine tends to veer wildly and drastically. This painting really is a bit of a landmark for me in terms of what direction I want to go in.
but seriously, please don't stop posting things. You put an insane amount of work into your pieces and seeing exactly how much really puts things into perspective.
the final is stunning. the decision of fire instead of smoke is definitely more powerful.
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