this is a commission i recently completed that made me smile. we have quite a few holiday shows coming up, our first one is one of my favorites – patchwork, this sunday in oakland. we also recently found 3 copies of everyday volume 1! get it before its gone ^_^ aside from that i’m pushing along on pashmina and don’t have much time for anything else.
hope you have a wonderful week ^_^
i created this illustration for a commission, but i thought it was perfect to share today. happy 4th!
i was recently commissioned to create two wood burnings for a new hospital in oakland. the last time i created commissioned wood burnings was in 2012 for paramount pictures. i was excited because i thought that many people would see the art – it was supposed to be used in a set on star trek into darkness. there are so many decisions, edits, creative calls that are made when constructing a film, i understood from the beginning it wasn’t a sure thing. i eagerly awaited the film’s release, sat in the theater and enjoyed the film, but whichever scene or set the art was procured for never appeared on screen.
i am happy though, that these pieces are headed to a new home, because i know many people will see them…
and after all, art is meant to be seen.
have a happy week! ^_^
I had the pleasure of working with a loving couple on a commission recently, V & P. The process was wonderful from beginning to end and with their permission, I wanted to share a bit about my process in creating an illustration.
At the beginning of the commission, I asked V & P to send me some reference photos – I can’t draw them without knowing what they look like ^_^ I also asked them if they had ideas of what they wanted me to draw and if they had favorites from my portfolio. Asking people about their favorites gives me a good idea of the colors, stories and emotions they are looking for… They sent all the requested information as well as a bit about themselves – this included a video that V had made for P on their first anniversary. I thought, okay, I’ll watch it for some more reference on their faces but focus on what they want. They indicated they were interested in a scene in their kitchen cooking together with the Washington Monument in the background (to indicate location). So I drew this:
But when I watched the video… it was as if V & P were right there with me. Telling me stories about how they met, fell in love and I truly felt as though I knew them. One story in particular stood out, on their first date it began to rain as they were walking which they compared to a bollywood film… Immediately this image popped into my head:
Generally with commissions I try to provide two distinct sketches in two different orientations. But the second sketch wasn’t one they asked for… I wasn’t sure they would like it. It seemed too simple. One of the things that is difficult to convey with a line drawing or sketch is what the transition from the above drawing to the final piece will be… I can see it in my head, but I do this every day! ^_^ I was hopeful that from this basic drawing they could tell where I would end up…
And they could tell! They picked that sketch and V & P only asked me to change the orientation, and indicate that it was fall time – my sketch was approved! Here is the revised sketch:
My illustration work is all digital, so these sketches were created in flash. Once the sketch is approved, I lock the line drawing layers and begin to draw in color over them. I spent a lot of time on the trees, drawing each leaf in the foreground, getting the fall colors right. Because I am drawing for someone else (as opposed to drawing for myself) I take this part slower than normal. I researched reference for the Washington Monument, fall trees in DC, and I watched V & P’s video a few more times (partly for reference and partly because it inspired me ^_^).
This is something I never show, but here is my full color drawing before I take it into Photoshop.
I often feel that the work I do in Flash is the “hard” work, and the work in photoshop is fun. In the drawing above, you get the idea of the colors, but none of the light, texture, or vibrancy that comes when I work in Photoshop.
I finished the color work in Flash one day and the next day I began to paint in Photoshop. I ended up with over 98 layers – which is more than I have for most drawings. I knew I wanted the sky to have a somewhat thunderstorm-y feel, but I also wanted to have a bright light come from behind the monument. Everything else I painted, added texture, light and shadow intuitively. When you look at the illustration it’s just trees, rain and a couple… but simplicity is deceptive. From the shadows on the sidewalk, to the texture of the grass, each piece, each layer, breathes life into the illustration. The longer I worked on it, the more I feel in love with it.
It’s always nerve-wracking when I feel happy with my work but I’m not sure what the receiving party will think. After all, we haven’t met. We exchanged maybe 20 emails over the course of the commission and in the end I wanted to ensure that V & P loved it like I did.
Lucky for me, they did. And in the end, I feel like they have given me a gift. A chance to peek into their life, understand and be inspired by their love and create a new relationship where there was none.
Art brought us together… and I love that.
this is a commission i completed last week – i was really happy with how it turned out.
i hope you’re having a lovely week!
this is a commission i did a bit ago, it was so much fun – i wanted to convey that first butterfly-in-the-stomach nervous and excited feeling before a first kiss…
This image was a commissioned piece I created for a Christmas present. It was one of my favorite commissions! I was given very minimal direction, which at first I was nervous about and later came to embrace. I looked through the couple’s photos, and immediately this image came to mind.
In general when I create commissions I provide three different sketches and the background is very simple. I took this as a challenge and a chance to push myself – drawing the coliseum was intimidating to me, but I knew once I did it, I would come out stronger. The best job is one you can enjoy doing and come through having learned something… and this was exactly that!
Have a great weekend!
i’ve had a lot of people ask how i make my images and if i do commissions (yes, i do!) so i thought i would share my process.
a bit ago, a client contacted me to create an image of her and her hubby for their first wedding anniversary. so cute! i love those kinds of jobs and i felt very honored to be a part of their special day. she gave me some direction – their honeymoon to greece, them walking together, and sent me a bunch of photos. we agreed on a price, which included a couple rounds of revisions and i sent off preliminary drawings.
after i sent these to her, she told me what she liked – the look between them in the first, the composition of the third, except it felt unbalanced on the left. oh, and that she wanted her black boots (hehe) and i had put a cat in her hubby’s bag (third), but they actually have a dog! i revised the sketches and sent her the following sketch.
this made her very happy so there was only one revision.
from here i took my line drawing and in flash added a layer over it and went in with color. i don’t usually have any specific color in mind, i am fairly intuitive with colors. after looking at her photos, i knew the kinds of outfits both of them wore and i generally tried to pick colors that would unify them and the entire piece.
after this, i take the drawing into photoshop. i add highlights, gradients and this is where i spend time playing with overlays of color and really finalizing the image.
and voila! she was very happy and so was i! ^_^