Autodesk Sketchbook Mobile

Autodesk just released their latest version of Sketchbook Mobile today, and what better way to commemorate a new drawing app than with a cyborg portrait?

I really appreciate all the new additions to the program, they've genuinely elevated the utility of my Galaxy Note 2 as a portable digital sketchbook. Things like selection tools, smudge brushes, gradient fills, and guides are warmly welcomed. Unfortunately, even if you already own the previous app Sketchbook Pro, you'll have to pay to upgrade Sketchbook Mobile in order to access its full feature set. Still, it's only a few bucks... For the cost of a comic book, I can't ask for much more.

At any rate, great app, available on iOS and Android.

Motoko

As part of a development initiative, I've spent time doing tutorials and getting some coaching from Cristian Silva, a senior lead artist in one of our Australia studios. We went over the fundamentals, and he taught me some very useful Photoshop tips and tricks. It's helped tremendously with things I do on the job, and I've wanted to apply some of this new knowledge to my personal work, perhaps for a portfolio piece.

I knew Michelle Eubank-Mussoni from back in the days when I used to help staff and run anime conventions; she's a great cosplayer, with strong attention to detail and a very professional approach to costuming. I saw a pic that she posted of her dressed up as the main character from the anime/manga series "Ghost in the Shell" and thought it'd be good to use as the base for a photo illustration. I received permission to use the pic, along with a thumbs-up from the original photographer.

Motoko Kusanagi from "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex"

From Wikipedia:

Major Motoko Kusanagi (草薙 素子 Kusanagi Motoko) is a fictional character in the Ghost in the Shell anime and manga series. She is an augmented-cybernetic human employed as the squad leader of Public Security Section 9, a fictional law-enforcement division of the real Japanese National Public Safety Commission. Being strong-willed, physically powerful, and highly intelligent, she is well known for her skills in deduction and hacking.

Source photo:

Costume and modelling by Mogchelle Cosplay. Photography by The Enthusiasts.

Photo illustration:

I "up-rezzed" the art from 72dpi to 600dpi (a bit of overkill perhaps, but I wanted the option of having something I could print big later). I had to smooth out a lot of JPEG artifacting, using two copies of the art on separate layers; the top one set to color mode, and the one underneath set to grayscale, where I could concentrate on cleaning up the art and not worry about affecting the colors. I did some editing to simplify the wrinkles in the clothing, and added rim lighting using a technique I picked up from artist Glyn Dewis on Youtube. (Being able to separate the layer styles from a layer and apply masks is a revelation.) I then did more painting on an upper layer to fix problem areas.

I was shooting for the sort of character portraiture you find in work from High 5 Games, and I like the way this photo illustration came together. I need more practice, and this is a good step towards that.

Save the Date!

My sister-in-law Alicia and her fiancé Nick had this fun comic book-inspired idea for a "Save the Date" wedding invitation, and they asked me to help illustrate it. I drew up a rough sketch, depicting the two of them as superheroes trying to "save the date" from the evil villain, on my Note II using Sketchbook Pro:

Once I got approval to proceed as well as some notes on certain things they wanted to see in the final version (something like the Hancock Building and/or Sears Tower to identify the background as the Chicago skyline, and that the hero uniforms should be primarily navy and silver to match their wedding colors), I took the illustration into Photoshop and Illustrator and got to work. Something different I did this time around was to use adjustment layers and masks to block out shadows and highlights that gave the art a cel-shading look, and then go over top in another layer to paint in halftones. It saved a lot of time when it came to trying out different color schemes on the fly, and it proved to be pretty helpful.

I feel like I found a good flow, to the point where I lost track of time, finishing the illustration at almost 2 in the morning.  Sleeplessness aside, I'm happy with how it turned out overall, and I enjoyed working on it.

Salutations Redux

Did a little touch-up on an older piece, adding a little texture, cleaning up some edges, and adjusting the levels here and there:

Before and after

It's taking a while, but I'm starting to get it...

Portraits for RedditGetsDrawn

I stumbled on the RedditGetsDrawn group not too long ago, where Reddit forum members post pictures of themselves and artists of all skill levels create interpretations in the form of sketches and paintings. I decided to participate as a way of putting my Galaxy Note II and Sketchbook Pro for Android through its paces, and explore different illustration styles. The subjects have been varied and interesting, with people sometimes requesting to be depicted in anime style, like Disney characters, or zombies and what have you. The group is very supportive, and really nice work gets posted. Here are some pieces I've done, all drawn or painted on my phone/tablet, sometimes taken into Photoshop to add texture or make slight adjustments:

Everything that's old is new again

Things have been a bit quiet on the illustration front for me, being kept busy with work and family life... One creative outlet I've found is colorizing old black and white photos that people have been posting on Reddit. It's been an interesting way to practice photo retouching, as well as explore color theory and lighting.

Here are a couple before-and-afters of pics I've worked on:

New stuff

After what seems like forever and a day, I've got some new stuff to post. I've been super-busy at work, and haven't been able to do much art for myself beyond the random quick doodle. But recently, we were offered the opportunity to submit illustrations to display in an upcoming gallery-style showing at work, and I decided to take some older sketches and develop them further...

Frostfoot, watercolor and marker

The original drawing of Frostfoot sprung from a weekly sketch challenge I participated in for the topic Ways Penguins Fly, and I've always wanted to return to it. From the outset I envisioned the Frostfoot sketch as a watercolor painting, like something out of a children's storybook, and this is pretty close to what I had in mind. I think the colors I used are still a little too "standard" but I feel like my sense of value is getting better.

Drizzle version 2.0, Photoshop

Another one where I was going for a storybook feel, per the original DS painting. It's still rough around the edges and I consider it a work-in-progress, but the intent is there; I'm mostly happy with the way it's turned out so far. I may tweak it a little further before final submission.

So hey, new art! Woot!