Back on the Trail

Being a dad and an illustrator and working part-time to support my family (and my illustrating habit) can lead to times when art has to take a backseat. My son has reached a point in his life where he still needs supervision but is finding his own independence.

Summer finale - Father and son trip to Gencon 50! Hitchhiking sasquatch approves!

It won't be long before he's not going to want to hang with dear old dad. Now that the summer has ended it is time to get back to my raison d être. 

The hard part was simply remembering where I had left off. I knew that I had certain projects I was working on but remembering the priority order was troublesome. There are potential portfolio pieces, time sensitive art, and time-intensive projects and I had the order all figured out before summer started. 

This week was about getting back into the groove. 

Thankfully, it only took a week! It's one thing to have a break when you have only one job. But the rest of life kept going and while I was still drawing, it wasn't to the same degree. 

The good thing about all of this is that I now feel more energized. When I have breaks my mind comes back more motivated and while this wasn't a break from everything, it was a chance to recharge. 

New art is on the horizon and I am so excited to meet it!

Spare Time?

What do I enjoy in my spare time? Aside from watching Science Fiction or Anime (about sci-fi) I have been playing Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures by Fantasy Flight Games.

I haven't been serious enough about it to play competitively. I don't think my skills are that good. But it is a fun take on turn-based combat. I particularly enjoy the non-linear aspect. Players can choose where to go based on the maneuvers of other ships on the board. Out maneuvering your opponent for the best attack with Star Wars themed ships and weapons is amazingly fun. 

I love being able to share stories of flying a tricked-out B-wing through an asteroid field to attack an Imperial Shuttle and its escorts. 

What I have also discovered is that it is fun to paint the miniatures too. Like this Jolly Roger-themed B-wing. The miniatures are only a few inches long (most are 1/270) so the level of detail is impressive and painting is a challenge.

I have a few other ships that I have painted as well but those are for another post. 

Seems I am never far from my strength!

Star Wars Fan Art

"The guy just ran into me!"

Not long ago I read the Star Wars novel Lost Stars by Claudia Gray following the story of two people in love and on opposite sides of the Empire. It is a good read and as such, several times I found myself wanting to grab a pen to sketch the imagery I was seeing in my imagination. The best books can be like that for me which can also be a little aggravating.

One of the strongest scenes for me was one that took place immediately after the destruction of the first Death Star. One of the main characters is tasked with retrieving Darth Vader in his damaged Tie fighter and she gets a first-hand look at the destruction.  

The scene makes Vader seem more mysterious and dangerous than any of the movies ever did. But what really stuck with me was the image of Vader sitting patiently (perhaps meditatively) waiting for the Gozanti carrier to arrive. 

This was executed using Adobe Illustrator and a lot of reference imagery from production models and film stills. I am not normally prone to make fan art or imagery from established franchises but this case was a very good opportunity to test a few techniques. 

Most important was the slow, methodical building of layers and texture. I am most happy with the lighting as the shadows fall around the ball section of the fighter.

Whole Lotta' Updates.

Sorry to not have written here in a while. I have been working up a few things including my children's book and more illustrations for the Ruins site. I've also been working up my Illustrator CS5 skills. I found that I really enjoy the program more than I anticipated. I think it is because I can create a more finished product more quickly.

One feature that I can't say enough about is the strangely-named "Blob Brush" It allows me to create shapes more like I paint. The precision of the tools also gives me a fine edge that I so enjoy.

There was a time when I was less than happy about creating digitally. I felt it wasn't ready for the type of imagery I wanted to create. Now, with the suite of art programs I have, I feel like I can create the images I want.

For example:


This image went through a few shading changes before I hit upon the dramatic back-lighting. I can say I am rather pleased with the results.

In a few weeks I will be attending a children's book conference. After that I may post a few images from it. I am reluctant to give too much away since I have had copyright problems.

I have also started a Facebook page for Jouan Illustration to give more immediate results on my everyday work as well as links to pages I find useful. Click over and join up for the latest.

Of course, the primary portfolio website is due for an update but I don't foresee that being accomplished before the conference. However, the latest art has been posted to my deviantART page.

-Jouan Illustration on Facebook
-Jouan Illustration on deviantART

Art Update

Here is the updated image from the last post. I am having a ball in Adobe Illustrator and I am discovering new ways to get the textures I want. I am particularly happy with the planet cloud details as well as the texture on the foreground panels. It took a bit of wrestling with the program but I solved some functional issues.


I look back on some of my earlier efforts with the program and can see where I have made some progress in my understanding. I really did miss using it. I was just never satisfied with the earlier results. They were fine for some of the basic freelance work but I've never been satisfied with "fine" when it comes to my personal art. Maybe someday I'll explain why I stopped using it five years ago.

My earlier Illustrator work seems almost primitive now that I look back at it. This marks a slightly new direction, or at the very least, a new set of skills in the picture-making process.

I've come to the point in this piece where I set it aside for a while and look at it again in a few days. I find that I can have fresh eyes when I do. I don't always have the luxury of such time but for this one I am experimenting with technique. Not creating to a deadline.

If I still like it in a few days it may become a portfolio piece.

Experimentation and Play

It is often difficult to get in enough time to do the art I want to. I usually try to stay up on industry trends by following a couple of blogs and painting when I can. Lately, I had the desire to do some work with Adobe Illustrator largely under the inspiration of a site called VectorTuts+. I remembered how much fun I had creating art with it before my son was born.

With that in mind I decided to see what I could do. I feel a little like I have gone back to school artistically so I thought I'd apply those ideas to a piece I had already created but develop it in Illustrator.


Though I love the piece Hi Gs, I have never been completely satisfied with how it came out. The coloring and how the planet looks always bothered me. After importing it into Illustrator as a template, I began a process of pulling out shapes and defining forms.

Illustrator helped me to slow down and plan better and to that end, I feel like I have been able to accomplish more of my original intent with the art. The image below is a work-in-progress snapshot but the progress has been phenomenal.


It is easy to get into the rut of doing the same thing over and over and I often have to remind myself that I need to try new techniques once in a while. I think my next step with this piece will be to finish off the major elements and then do some subtle rework in painter to build up texture.

I am also doing this to get an idea of how I want to approach my children's book. So far I have the story and rough layouts but I want to have a couple of finished pieces to show publishers.

Lego Rocks (And Here's The Proof)

Anyone who has known me for a while has probably heard me go on and on about the anime series Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Over here in the U.S. it aired under the title Robotech and was combined with two other series from the same studio (for continuity of animation) to meet syndication standards.

Since first becoming hooked in the early 80s, I have eagerly consumed any and all Macross information I could find. I have even seen all the associated series and movies. Some with some pretty dubious dubbing or subtitles.

Recently I came across some interesting information about the creator Shoji Kawamori. It turns out he uses Lego in his design process! In the following video you'll see what I mean. If you don't understand Japanese you might want to turn down the volume if it is too distracting. Pay particular attention at 2:20.



The mecha he created is for the Macross Frontier series which I think is the slickest and visually detailed of the Macross Universe. I particularly enjoy how he is able to take his Lego design and make it transform!

Here is another article from the Lego site about a visit to the Denmark Lego HQ.

All this Lego creativity has me feeling not too bad about borrowing a few legos from my son to crate a maquette for the bridge of a starship. Photos from that to follow.

Knowing Too Much

"There are hazards in knowing too much about engineering or technology. It can limit the imagination."

--John Berkey
--The Art of John Berkey

I am a collector of quotations - especially inspiring ones. I imagine many people are but I like to collect quotes that mean something to me on an artistic level so from time-to-time I will post a quote that I enjoy and occasionally write a few words about what it means to me.

This first quote is by the late science and science fiction artist John Berkey. He is one of my favorite artists for the simple reason that his imagery is fantastic! Not just good - I mean beyond belief. I was drawn to his art primarily for the spacecraft but have come to appreciate his broader body of work.

At first glance Berkey's art seems atmospheric and mechanical but closer inspection reveals his ability to take small, seemingly random brush strokes and coordinate them into a coherent vision of some amazing future (or past?).

In the quote, Berkey makes the point that sometimes knowing too much about your subject can stifle creativity. I have found this to be true in the sense that my desire to render something in a realistic way can sometimes lead me to discard ideas that seem too outlandish. I also err in the opposite way and find the initial work too derivative of popular culture.

I find it is important to remind myself that NO ONE KNOWS WHAT A STARSHIP LOOKS LIKE! They don't exist!

How could I possibly get it wrong, then?

Maquette Making

Following the lead of James Gurney I decided to work on creating a maquette of one of my aliens in the Abandoned Worlds story. Once I put all the materials together I found that the simple process of creation was very stimulating.

I am looking forward to using the maqette to get a better understanding of the anatomy of my creatures. I also found that I draw better from life than I do from imagination. Or at least I enjoy the results better.

I'll post photos as I get them prepared. Right now I have progressed to the point of detailing the creature and will be ready to "cook" it to hardness.

The techniques I have been learning from Mr. Gurney's blog feel like pieces of a puzzle I have been missing from my training as an artist. It has been hard stumbling around in the dark of ignorance.

Star Trek

So I did go and see the latest incarnation of Trek. (Don't worry, no spoilers here.) I was amazed to discover that I liked it. I wasn't sure because I enjoyed the original and it's spinoffs so much. Still, I realized that I wasn't excited about Star Trek any more.

Then came the announcement of this movie and I began to worry that it was going to be like Battlestar Galactica. Yet another series I enjoyed, turned into a gloomy remake that everyone else in the world seemed to like but me. I feared Uhura would be turned into a middle-aged white guy and Spock would be some hipster alien. Of course, we already know that isn't true but it is what happened to another series I used to like.

I am excited about Trek again. They were able to find a fresh take and explain inconsistencies using a plot device Trek has been known for. And it feels permanent without taking away from the trek I knew as a kid.

Bravo.

SyFy

Oh, NBC. Why?

If you simply showed science fiction like you used to and got rid of the wrestlers maybe you'd be able to sell advertising space again. I know it's more complicated than that but Sci-Fi was one of the last reasons for me to hold on to cable. The programming has gotten progressively worse so I looked to get my Science Fiction elsewhere.

Sci-Fi had already watered down it's content for a wider audience. I dread to think what it will become.

The name reads like someone from a 70s roller disco movie.

Abandoned Worlds

As an exercise and a way to get my creativity going all the time I have launched a separate blog to publish stories about a universe I have been creating for decades now. Abandoned Worlds is about a future earth and what our existence might be like if the only evidence of alien life we found were ruins.

Admittedly, I just want to draw alien ships and planets but I feel that if I can create stories and turn this into a regular exercise I can only improve my artistic skills. In fact, I have been reading several creative people who encourage others to draw all the time.

Create, create, create!

What better way to improve than to do something creative that I enjoy. It happens all the time in life where those who repeat and work at the same thing all the time get better at it. It reminds me of a quote from M*A*S*H where Hawkeye is speaking to a dejected Winchester after his first "meatball surgery" and says. (I may be paraphrasing here--you get the idea.) "It's not that we're any better than you. We've just gotten good at it through sheer repetition."

Look for illustrations on a regular basis which will include sketches, paintings, and maps. I plan to call on all my skills to fill out this universe I have been placed in care of.

War of the Worlds

My favorite holiday just passed and as it happens, this year was the 110th anniversary of the publishing of War of the Worlds by HG Wells. It was also the 70th anniversary of the Mercury Theater radio version that caused so much panic in 1938. To honor these dates I created a poster for my desk at work.

(click to see it larger)

I created it in about an hour and a half using Illustrator CS. It's a handy program I have used for a few years now and it makes my job a lot easier. I have used it to start several paintings. Blocking in imagery can be a lot easier and it allows me to try out several compositions quickly. I can also convert the illustrator file to a photoshop file and resize as necessary. From there, I can go into Painter and, well, paint.

Rings and Asteroids

As always I am fascinated with starships that don't work anymore. This one is parked near another piece of space debris orbiting a ringed planet. The original painting was started years ago and abandoned. I uncovered it recently and decided to give it a couple of hours to see what became of it.

I'm pleased with the result. The asteroid moon was a bit of a struggle and I think I could go further but sometimes it is best to stop worrying a painting and simply let it finish. The colors are sampled from a limited palette stretching from light yellow to deep brown and the brushwork is intentionally loose and suggestive especially on the planet. The main focus is the ship and rock.

Salvage Prize

In orbit above a desert world a struggling privately-owned salvage company has made the find of a lifetime. It is an alien ship of unknown origin. Two brave and hungry salvagers are venturing in to secure this prize and see what treasures or horrors they are aboard.

I wanted to create an image that captured the adventure of finding something mysterious and alien. Anyone who has read this blog for any time has learned that I love derelicts and the mystery they hold. There's something beautiful about these silent and decaying machines.

This piece was created using Painter 8 with the help of Photoshop for some of the initial prepwork.

Two New Images

Two new images are now posted to my website. Bridge Ruins and Salvage Prize were just added today. It has been a while since I have been able to post anything new but I finally feel like I am able to get new pages up more quickly.

I'll post more about each in the coming days

In Memory

I just heard that the world lost Arthur C. Clarke. I keep a copy of Childhood's End on my bookshelf because when I finished it the ending rattled around in my mind for days. When people speak of the visionaries of science fiction, he was definitely one of the greatest. Who else could have envisioned the world we would have today, so many years ago.

After reading his works I felt that we were so far behind the curve in exploration and advancement. He made it all seem possible and present.

I'm sure that this quote will be repeated often in the next few days but it rings true. He said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." It is one of my favorites of any writer.

Thank You for the great journey Mr. Clarke. Hopefully we can one day live up to your vision.