Put the bunny, back in the box...

Recently I had the pleasure of working on a series of illustrations depicting the "lifestyle do's and donts" of Nicolas Cage for Details.com (be sure to check out the full article here). Because I am fond of his work in Matchstick Men, Adaptation, and personal fav Con Air, it wasn't too hard to justify going that extra mile and watching a bit of his filmography while painting . . .for additional reference of course:)

Seven variations of Nic were created, and as a result I am 75% confident that I can now draw him with my eyes closed, while left-handed, somewhat accurately, 50% of the time. Luckily each illustration was to depict him in a totally unique light, so there was never a dull moment during the process. I spent a great deal of time rendering a variety of fabrics, so in contrast, painting a sweaty and topless Nic Cage was a breath of fresh air. . . right?

This weekend I went to WonderCon 2010 in San Francisco, and had the chance to see Nic Cage in person while he was promoting his upcoming film, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." He was sporting an eye-catching-peroxide-blond hairdo which is for a future movie role perhaps? Either way, one's gotta love the ever evolving nature of this man's hair. . . I know I do.

All illustrations © Condé Nast Publications.

Swimming Lessons

This mother ostrich cannot wait for her baby to hatch before teaching it to swim:)

Mini-Golf Circuit.

The final assignment for my class was to do an illustration of Tiger Woods. With all the headlines featuring Tiger, there definitely wasn't a short supply of ideas to consider, but I wanted to do something that could be funny without his current scandal being the focus.

The hand was intimidating at first, and needed to be really good because it is featured so prominently in the painting. I took photos of my boyfriend Chris' hand, and used that for reference. Good reference makes a HUGE difference, I cannot stress this enough. After completing a value painting of the hand(and then adjusting the levels to match Tiger), I added color. The rest of the piece I blocked in with color and then refined as I went along.

Above are some early sketches. Once again I struggled sketching using my wacom tablet, and I am hoping to invest in a cintiq when possible. So far everyone I have spoken with says it is more intuitive and will speed up work-flow tremendously.

Overall this was a really fun piece to work on, and now that it is finished I am going to spend time creating more illustrations and studies for my portfolio. It is going to be a long journey ahead, and I want to thank all of you for your support, taking time to leave comments, and for stopping by! It is inspiring, motivating and much appreciated. More to come soon!

Is that ...?

Seems random - made it this evening for the art jumble topic this week : "my mona lisa"

Purrcasso

This is a digital painting created for Purcasso 2009, an auction and gala that benefits the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society. If you are in the bay area on Nov 7th or 8th be sure to come out and support the animal shelter. More information can be found on their website.

#2 DAD

This is an illustration of a guy whose work/life isn't the most exciting. I really wanted his surroundings to reflect his personality so I spent a lot of time figuring out what types of things would be in his cubicle. Hope you like it!

Bloody Mary

First sketch- of-the-day in a while, lately they have been turning into multiple day adventures. I was really excited to see that it was "editors choice" this week on one of my favorite illustration sites... check it out here!

Additionally, I wanted to submit this image for this week's Illustration Friday topic "Poise" because I think the mosquito maintains his composure, even caught mid-sip. He is quite sophisticated no? I say argyle socks are the epitome of class :)

Ice Dragon

Another dragon entry for this weeks Drawergeeks! topic.

Feeding time!

pet dragon dog, he might need a name for his bowl. . .any suggestions?

Under the Tree

After graduating from college, "Under the Tree" was the first large scale personal project I took on. It originated from a series of miniature ink doodles (seen below), which I never intended on combining. They were just fun ways to pass the time.

One night I was looking through all of them and wondered if I could incorporate them into a larger piece. I played around until I came up with the rough layout seen in the picture below. Also around this time, I was informed of a juried alumni show for my high school (which specialized in the arts). Even though most of my college studies centered around computer animation and 3d works of art, I was really excited about this drawing and wanted to submit it before the deadline.

Because I started with tiny drawings, I had to scan and print them at a larger scale and work in sections. Maintaining the same level of detail that I started with in the smaller doodles proved difficult and time consuming. Once each of the nine sections were complete, they were re-scanned and composited together. Due to all the cleanup work, I am still amazed that I completed it all before the show.

It was interesting to hear people discuss what they imagined to be symbolism and the meaning behind the animal placement, particularly the bird balancing on the outside of an egg (whose crack was too small for him to have fit out of in the first place). My favorite creatures are the tiny snails. I find them simple yet appealing. Also, I tend to draw a lot of animals in top hats.

After the gallery showing was over, I started selling prints of "Under the Tree" both small and large. I gave the final display piece to one of my best friends for her bday... and it hangs in her room today:)

Rub A Dub Dub

This was my first personal digital illustration, completed August 2008. It began as a simple pencil sketch seen below and slowwwwly evolved into the final image above. Also shown below is an early stage of the painting, where you may notice major differences in the candlestick maker's anatomy and shifts in the color design.

A major influence for this piece was the work of Paul Lasaine; most notably his water studies created for the animated film Surf's Up (as seen here). I am truly inspired by his work and hope to be awesome like him some day.

Although there are definite flaws with the final work, I am proud of the style the characters took on, as well as the humorous twist to a traditional tale . I learned a ton technique-wise and can't wait to put it all into practice. Who knows, perhaps there will be a whole illustrated series of mother goose rhymes in my future...perhaps.