Ganesh gets a skin treatment

I created a palette of ranges and a tonal range from black to white.

I proceeded to describe the general fall of light over the Ganesh body. I started with the eyes because it is always a good place to start, hence the greys to shade the eyeball.

Starting at the bottom feet is a vibrant orange. As it moves up the body it gets more golden. I included some shadow areas along the way but will be revisiting them again later in another layer.

I added "flesh tone" to the palm and bottoms of the feet. Although this flesh tome is hardly fleshy at all and generally seems Pink to me.  Then I attacked areas with bold strokes of read. There is beginning to be some back and forth play between me and the canvas now, we begin having a conversation.

By the end of the session, my brushes and colors are getting a little muddy so I step back to assess some of the advances and mistakes that have developed and take a breather until the next session.

Shiva, keep on burning

I did another 5 hour session in the studio with focus on working more with the airbrush on the background flames on the Shiva piece.

Here are the tools I'm using. Compressor and Iwata Eclipse HPC airbrush. Creatix and Golden fluid acrylics with airbrush medium/extender. Home made shields cut out of watercolor paper.

The first thing I did was to use golden acrylic and smaller shield shapes to put down a variety of orange flame shapes. I really like how the airbrush can be used to create hard and soft lines.

I gently glazed over from bottom to top res-orange-yellow to create a gradual change in color. I think the flames are looking more violent now with more harder crisp edges.

Here is a shot of the entire piece so you can better see the darker red bottom and how it moves up into the yellow at the top. I think it is starting to look like a bushy ball of fire.

I then created yellow flames over the entire piece. I was hoping the yellow would be less opaque an I wasn't happy with how "canary" yellow the tone came out but I do like the gentle fades over the orange and red.

I used the airbrush and watered down reds and oranges to tone back the yellow and bring back the gradient I ant the whole piece to have from top to bottom. I am still not entirely happy with the flames yet, but I need to put in some more lights and then go over it with freehand to smooth out some areas. But first, I need to get to the art supply store for some more black Gesso and to get a different color yellow for the remaining flame layers.

Shiva, light my fire

Airbrush time!!!

This is where I left off last session. I blocked in the red and some black spots to be the deepest level of fire. This was all done freehand with the airbrush. The paint I am using is Creatix liquid  airbrush paint.

I then blocked with the variety of shields shapes in orange. I added in some free hand areas to begin the flushing out process and to add some of the outer embers.

I went back in and darkened the lower half with more red. My plan is to have the lower portion more red with embers and fade gently up into brighter yellow flames.

It may be hard to tell in this photo, but the next stage here is a subtle blocking in with a yellow/orange over top the previous layer. The shields are soaked and my hands are covered in over spray. I am starting to get the hang of it.

I worked a brighter yellow over top and worked out some more shapes. I think I am going to do a second layer of the entire process again over this fire to create more depth and detail. I like using this shield method to create realistic looking fire paint effect.  I intend on painting the rest of the painting in oil. I have to have this part blocked in first since it is acrylic and it is the background before I proceed with the rest of the painting.

Ganesh becoming encircled in rays

This was an entire studio session, mind you it is a 5 X 5 foot oil painting.

I mixed up some Viridian green and white in two tones to create the radial stripes. I also painted around the sides of the canvas, without taking the canvas off of the wall mount, which was difficult but it'll look really good even if it isn't framed.

I then created a purple with a Deep Cadmium red hue and Cobalt blue. I created two tones by adding white and painted the radial stripes in between the green ones. I am liking how it is turning out. There is an optical illusion that the Ganesh is in a bright circle.

I have to wait for it to dry before I can paint the other stripes, it is oil paint after all. I might tape it off to get a crisp meeting between the stripes.

Shiva begins

to come to life

I used the center line to place the Shiva figure on the big black canvas, sketching it in with black charcoal. I always rub my face and look like a coal miner during intense drawing sessions, it's kinda funny.

I'm having troubles placing the drum hand, it's still not resolved but I'm going to sit on it and see how the other stuff develops compositionally and allow it to unfold. creativity should be a risk. Artists need to take them, otherwise it would be paint by numbers.

In the next session, I whipped out the airbrush. I blocked in with red the general location and shape of the background flame. I am painting the red first which represents the flames that are furthest away. As I continue, I will paint lighter and lighter colors layered on top.

On the floor is the little compressor and some black and white reference photos. This is my first time really using an airbrush (another risk). I like it but it does take some practice.  I still might be faster by hand but I really want to get this fire to look real rather than graphical.

I revisited some blacks to help create some depth and allowed it to drip to add some interest and texture. This paint is supposed to be dry if not heat set, so I am going to wait a day to ensure it is at least dry enough to continue painting the layers.

A little more perspective

this is the continuation of the drawing class material.

We began with a quick review of isometric drawing and how to use the Q-bert box to draw a contained object, such as a fire hydrant.  We then reviewed our basics for one and two point perspective.

3 point perspective can make a drawing really dynamic.  Above is the first example drawing of how to create a cube floating above the horizon with a shadow beneath.  The vanishing points are spread out like an equilateral triangle. The two vanishing points on the bottom are along the horizon line as in 2 point perspective.

Here is an example that might be used in a comic book, like Spiderman. Its more of a birds eye view looking down on the top of buildings. It is constructed in the same way but this time the horizon is set high and the third vanishing point is below. It is important to remember........ often when you are drawing your vanishing points are far off the picture plane/paper. The dotted red line gives an example of where the actual frame of the drawing may be.

We expanded these ideas and rules into close up objects in order to learn foreshortening.  Also how an ellipse is drawn correctly. To the far left are examples of a column drawn in isometrics and to the right of that wioth foreshortening ( or in 3 point perspective) notice how as the cylinder moves away the lower/further end becomes smaller than the top.

Here is the examples on the board that I used to illustrate how to draw circles properly in perspective using some geometrical tricks. You can eyeball it but people tend to put the center in the wrong place. BY drawing a diagonal you can see where the center intersects and then draw a line parallel to the front and back. The front portion will be wider than the portion further in the distance. You can then split up those into 16 smaller squares and use geometry to create points that you can connect with simple arcs.

My class notes are much more extensive, and we created a lot of drawn examples to work on the techniques. It is really fun to create drawings using the rules of perspective!

Perspective

Been on a blogging hiatus lately.  Doesn't mean I haven't keep busy.....

I have been teaching a cartooning course at ACAD on Wednesday evenings. This weeks class was on Perspective.

We covered how to draw three dimensional objects such as cubes and how to use this to do drafting and isometric drawings. I then had the students do a quick exercise where they created their name in block letters. I then taught them one and two point perspective. The students had to draw a city scape in both one and two point perspective.

I filled the board with other examples but didn't snap a shot for this blog. Then, I decided to take the idea of the block letters from before and used the techniques of two point perspective to do a large example on the whiteboard.

To the right you can see how I drew stacked cubes above, bisected and below the green horizon line. The vanishing points are marked in red. The sketch lines were done in blue. The shapes are inked in black. I also challenged them to try drawing a room interior in both 1 and 2 point perspective.

Same room, different view. Next week we will cover 3 point perspective ( birds eye and worms eye view) Exciting!!!

RAMA - The fall of light

The next stage

The fall of light, from light to dark and top to bottom.

 

The dramatically low light falls at about a 30 degree angle. This is the next stage in creating classic realism. First, it looks like flat, then like a cardboard cut out the has gradual shading from top to bottom. I wrapped up around midnight. On second viewing it with a fresh perspective. I can do much better. I intend on revisiting this stage to blend the tones together more gradually.

GANESH dead coloring

dead coloring begins to bring Ganesh to life.

As is my practice, I work on many pieces at once. My method keeps my mind keen and helps keep me busy rather than watching paint dry. It is oil paint after all. I am currently working back and forth between the two paintings, I have posted here recently. This is how the elephant god, Ganesh is progressing.

I  blocked in some bold mustard hue for the skin tone. It was mixed with Raw Sienna, a tinge of Cadmium Orange and lightened with some Naples yellow. The consistency was perfectly creamy, just how I like it, liquid love. It is slightly transparent, once brushed on you can see some of the shadow areas beneath. 

I filled in some orange for the fruit. I was feeling Cezanne come thru on the color but I think I may make the fruit peaches, not certain yet. I blended a nice soft blue made of cobalt blue and titanium white for the mid tones of the fabric. Some of the charcoal particles mixed in but I still have lots of work to do on this part anyhow. I blended the leftover blue and mustard yellow to make the grey/green base for the bowl and tusk.

 I also had enough juice left in me to paint a fancy lotus with a fragile stem. I am happy with the progress, however, didn't feel confident enough to tackle the axe or background so instead I turned my sights on the Rama fall of light, will post tomorrow;)

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my posts!

RAMA gets dead coloring

If yesterday was a battle, today was a victory.

It may seem flat and simple like a silk screen print but this is the very foundation that the painting is built upon, the dead coloring stage.

 I began the next step the drawing stage which follows the charcoal sketching stage. I outlined and created shadow areas for all the skin areas of the RAMA painting.This allows me to define the edges and a few of the details. Though it looks cartoony, it really helps to visualize the character better.

The paint used to outline the piece is thinned with odorless spirits. Though the reference is well lit and doesn't have super dark shadows I used this stage as on opportunity to play with the dark areas a bit. I cut back in some of the edges with red acrylic before proceeding to the next step.

The richness of oil cannot be underestimated, it is what makes me happy about the progress and quality of the work. I filled in the major skin tone areas with a medium value made from flake/lead white and red umber (Old Holland brand). I also decided that the background that was blocked in with red acrylic looked terrible! Actually the word I used was "shitty". Oil is so dramatically rich.  I used almost half a tube of Windsor and Newton Cadmium deep hue, but it was worth it! In this picture you can compare the top half in oil and the bottom in acrylic.

Here is the canvas, entirely painted over in oil. It is rich and full. I painted over the kilt with an even tone of the read. Now I am thinking about using gold design aspects to create visual interest for the piece. As in all art, more questions than answers are developing at this point, that's the challenge and  that's also half the FUN!

GANESH

my battle with the elephant headed god has begun

 At first I made a central horizontal and vertical axis on my 5 X 5 canvas. I used red and blue colorerase pencils to mark it out. I then created intersecting diagonals or radial lines. I used string to create a compass and created some circles to help plan out the sacred geometry used to create the image of deities.

 

 I had some reference images printed out and created a dark red grid to base the character on. My studio is so hot and has no windows, I'm drawing in my skivvies. That;s just an aside, don't imagine it unless you are female.

I used the central axis for the sternum and drew in the weighty seated part of the figure. I decided to drop one leg so it could also be in dance and to create a dynamic symmetry. I also used the second square for the third eye area of the elephant head. I tilted the head in to echo the leg angle.

I began t block in the tilted head and trunk. I am using vine charcoal and a brush to rub it out. My hands are black by this point. Hi five!

Constructing this image has been a real battle!  I decided it is necessary to enlarge the limbs and the feet. Getting the placement just right takes a bit of trial and error.

I finish off putting in the four limbs and sketching in a bit of material around the figure. I decided to get rid of the lotus throne for the time being. By the end of the session I gave it a spray of workable fixative which stinks so bad and is a carcinogen so I have to exit the studio and call it a night.

RAMA

 shoots his mighty arrow

 I began work on a painting of Rama after a fantastic photo session with the very ripped and handsome Mr. Jules Lloyd. It was hot in the lights and at my top floor studio so there was a healthy sheen on the both of us, by the time we were finished. I had to use a camera Borrowed from KT and it took a bit to get used to the low light aperture but some of the photos came out fantastic. But I had to pick only one to work from.

I spent some time selecting which image I would use and which canvas it would be painted on. I graphed out some lines to get it centered. I intend on raising the arm up so the arrow is not so linear and horizontal with the canvas to make it more dynamic.

This is the rough placement of the figure drawn in with charcoal. Afterward I gave it a quick coat with workable fixative so it wouldn't smudge all over the place when I began to apply paint.

The initial sketch is to rough in the placement, the next stage is where I will turn this into a more refined "cartoon" outline drawing.

It was getting on in the night. I was listening to Penn's Sunday school podcast. I didn't have the focus to do the line work and I had a good idea that I wanted to create a red field to work in. Who knows? I may make the background gold and have his clothing be red with gold embellishments. It really helped me to feel like I made progress to come back to the next day as well.

Sometimes you have to use a "Smart art making technique" rather than sticking to the original plan!

Full Frontal

NUTV (Episode 65)

University TV station grabbed some clips of me and my good friend KT in regards to animation.

heres the link:http://nutv.ca/shows/fullfrontal/65

Unfortunately you'll have to scan through about 30 min. into the program. And its only seconds long, that was two hours out of my day and all they take is the shortest sound bite=:| 



C'est la vie! That's show biz!

preparation for studio shots

I hung hooks and anchors into the brick and mortar. Then I strung up glow rope across and overhead in order to be able to hang accessories and flowing garments during the modelling sessions. 

To the left is the black canvas for my Shiva painting. Above is the glow rope strung at about 240 cm height. The black pelican case is where the models will stand, slightly raised off the ground. I have lights borrowed from Emmedia and a few of my own to set up for each session. After doing this I spent a few hours preparing the canvases with the sacred geometry layout.

I made a central vertical and horizontal axis and two diagonals. I decided not to use graphite because it can lift into the painted layers. Instead, I am using colorerase pencils to do my initial planning lines. In the past masters would have used chalk lines.  I tied a string around the pencil and held one end in the center axis. By doing this I could draw circles like a compass. I also made measurements from the center to create the two octagons. I created many lines flaring out from the center because this will be a painting of Ganesh and I hope to have a dynamic background.

Beside the large Ganesh canvas it is another identical size canvas where I went about the same process. I made fewer radiating lines and changed the pattern but did create a large circle in which the figure will be placed. This canvas will most likely be used for one of the female godesses lakshimi or saraswati. I also worked on creating the geometry on a number of other canvases.