Secrets

A former drawing teacher of mine from SVA, Mike Mattesi, moved to LA and started his own school in Pasadena. He gave me a call not long ago . . . Thus, in a couple of weeks I will be conducting a workshop, during which sketchbooks will be revealed, photoshop will be discussed, and people will be drawn! I will present the process of a digital illustration from start to finish in the first hour and draw from the model for the last 2 hours. Many closely gaurded secrets will be revealed.

When: Oct. 15, 2006
11am - 2 pm

Where: Entertainment Art Academy
145 North Altadena Drive
Pasadena, CA 91107

Cost: $50

For more information and to enroll, click on this link: http://www.enterartacad.com/events.htm

*** Update 9.27.06 *** Enrollment for the class has completely filled up. Thanks so much for your interest and support! See you in Pasadena.

Nike - Space Race 2020

Edit: Please check out Tomer's version of the project at tropicaltoxic.blogspot.com. Nike commissioned a range of artists to create a suite of posters. FYI, Tomer and I both went to SVA (he was a year ahead of me) and we lived across the hall from each other in Brooklyn after we graduated. The walls were thin. He smoked then. I was 10 lbs lighter. We shared many meals.


> Nike asked me to illustrate a race day poster. The theme: Space Race 2020. I was free to do whatever I wanted. I love jobs like this. The first sketch I did was a weird one . . . it was more 'interpretive dance' than what I had intended. I wanted to express the idea of competition as well, and since I was working on Fables at the same time, I wondered what a sci-fi rivalry between Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf would look like.



> Blue pencil on Bristol, 18 x 24." After the linework was finished, I coated the paper with acrylic gloss, which gave it a milky soft complexion.



> Photoshop CS, 18 x 24," 350 dpi. That's my chop on the left, carved in Taiwan, and I added some fun icons and robotic humming birds (we need super agile cameras to cover the event) to finish it off.

Terrorismo Grafiko - Tecno

> Postcard for Terrorismo Grafiko, 4.75 x 7". This is how I interpreted the theme, "technology."

On the Easel - Fables TPB 8 "Wolves" Part II

> I've coated the surface with some washes of color ( layers of trans. blues and browns work well ), and used some liquitex acrylic white gesso to bring out the forms. The gesso works well since it provides a little bit of tooth for subsequent layers of paint and other mediums, like pastel or colored pencil.


> And then, a little more than a day later, I arrive at the conclusion to the painting. This composition, which was so busy to begin with, is now further embellished by form, color, and texture. It will take some work in photoshop to bring clarity back to the picture.



> I outline the beanstalk and render Cinderella in vector to "pull" it from the surface. More pushing and pulling ensues.


> After some color dodging and color adjustments, I've arrived at the finish! Click the image above for an closer view. Now it's time to send it in for approval . . .

On the Easel - Fables TPB 8 "Wolves"

> I'm currently working the next Fables trade paperback wraparound cover. This is the sketch blown up and printed out, the sections taped together. I transferred the image onto a sheet of grey Rives BFK with blue transfer paper.


> My "drafting table" consists of a piece of MDF board propped on a paint box. A french easel holds up another piece of MDF board with the sketch taped onto it so I can refer to it while working on the final drawing.



> I inked the drawing and gave it 3 or 4 coats of acrylic gloss medium. I left the faces in blue pencil since I anticipate the edges there being softer than the rest of the composition. Now it's ready for paint this weekend . . . more updates after Labor Day!