I created this entirely in photoshop in 30 minutes – I usually do the base drawing in flash. I wanted to explore painting on just one layer but old habits die hard! I ended up with 12 layers but that’s a big change for me.
I woke up with this image in my mind because I felt a bit crushed by the news… it feels as though all we have is a little light – but hopefully that’s enough to grow out of these shadows.
part of drawing everyday means i make the choice, everyday, to create. i love it! i feel myself growing and changing through that process. i never run out of ideas or new things to try. i’m also my own worst critic, and i nitpick my drawings to no end… mostly in my head. when i created the central park image, i was trying new painting techniques and brushes in photoshop, i fell in love with the scene, the foliage, the light and shadow, but i rushed the characters. the original image is fine as it is, but i wasn’t happy with it. the characters felt like an afterthought, and i’ll admit that to some degree they were. so for the first time ever, i decided to go back, scrap the characters and try again.
at the end of that day, i can choose to leave well enough alone, or strive to make it better.
this is me choosing to make it better.
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! ^_^