Zatanna Cover

I have an illustration course this semester, and we're currently at the stage where we're learning how to trace. Since I need to trace for the project, I decided to at least make it a challenging trace.

Drop Anchor

A painting inspired by recently reading about pirate lore, and the Irish pirate Anne Bonny in particular.

Materials: Poser 9, Photoshop CS6, Illustrator CS6
Time: Roughly 13.5 hours

The Making of "Drop Anchor"

I recently found an interest in pirate lore, and in particular, I found the Irish pirate Anne Bonny, who makes for a fascinating historical figure. This painting was very loosely inspired by her. 

Step 1: Lineart (3 hours)
I created a very quick reference image in Poser 9 for the pirate, as well as using some reference images of older British ships for the boat. I then illustrated the digital rough using Photoshop CS6's round brush as well as the pen tool. Most of the time for the lineart came from the boat, which I created in Illustrator CS6.

Quickie- Killer is Dead title card

To break in the new Cintiq, I made a title card for Lotus Prince's series of Let's Plays on the Killer is Dead game. Considering I was working without lineart for the first time and trying to emulate the cel shading of the game, I think it came out pretty well. Still, my lack of practice for a month shows, and I'll hopefully be practicing a lot more in the coming break.

Update 12/19/13

I received my new Cintiq, so I hope to get back into illustrating within the next few days. Hopefully I didn't fall too out of practice in the interim.

Hiatus with a side of rant

So while I was planning on not doing any paintings this month while I work on the NaNoWriMo, it turns out that I don't have the option to at the moment if I wanted to.

As it turns out, the auto-update to Maverick screwed my system up. Shocker. I came out of the update with a knowledge of how to turn off auto-updates, that recently cleaning my backup drive to give it room for new backups was a really poorly timed decision, and that the Cintiq 15x I use will likely not work with Maverick. Since its last Mac driver update was in 2012, I don't foresee the problem being fixed. I now find myself pondering the joys of either needing to shell out for a newer Cintiq or trying to find a way to downgrade that doesn't immediately void my Mac's warranty, neither of which is a very pleasant option.

Spiritus

The finished painting of the Ghost Hunt anime.

Made between October 3-October 29 (with lots of distractions between)
Materials: Poser 9 (Alyson model), Photoshop CS6
Total Time: 12 hours

Tattoo Illustration

Someone on an Aspergers Facebook page I follow was looking for a tattoo design, and what she was asking for gave me an idea. It's simple, but I think it would work as a tattoo.

The Making of "Spiritus"

Because I was feeling a bit nostalgic, I decided to re-watch a fantastically creepy anime called Ghost Hunt, which inspired this painting.

Step 1: Lineart (2 hours, 10 minutes)
I first made a pose reference in Poser 9, which I used to set up the character of the piece, Mai Taniyama. I used some references for older Japanese schoolrooms for the background, as well. I then illustrated the digital rough with Photoshop CS6's round brush, with flow set to pen pressure control.







Step 2: Color, Texturing, and Shading (6 hours, 20 minutes)
Because of how I was doing this painting, everything basically became one step, starting from the texturing in the background up. I used several photos I've taken over time of woods, as well as a filter gallery effect, to create the classroom, desks, and board. I also used an explosion brush at various opacities to layer various effects into the wood. I also made a photo of the woods into a painting effect, and put it beneath the window and its metal textures.
When that was done, I again used the explosive brush to texture the chalk portion of the chalkboard, and created some bloody Asian text for the board. I created the flames around Mai's body in much the same way, using a mask.
Finally, I created various apparitions using the round brush and various opacities, along with the gaussian blur filter.





Step 3: Contrast and more detail work (2 hours)
I went in and, using the lineart as a guide, masked in shadows and highlights to the desks and Mai, as well as working a bit more on the spirits around her.





















Step 4: More detail work (30 minutes)
I added more details to the floor, support beam, and Mai's hair. I also put a creature in the back corner to try to make it seem like the unnatural dark had a source other than the spirits in general.

Step 5- More Touch-ups (1 hour)
To finish things off, I added adjustment layers for the contrast and saturation. I added more detail for the desks, as well as Mai's eyes and hair. Most importantly, I worked on the lighting so there wasn't half of the image seeming burned off.


















Made between October 3-October 29 (with lots of distractions between)
Materials: Poser 9 (Alyson model), Photoshop CS6
Total Time: 12 hours

Quickie- "Feast"

I decided to try my hand at a vampire piece. That it happened to coincide with my 7 Deadly Sins project in my advertising class certainly gave me some motivation.