tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83435672024-03-05T11:07:43.463-08:00Dreams and Shadows“If we shadows have offended,
Know but this and all is mended.
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear,
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding, but a dream.”
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-16700712781008991782018-08-22T12:31:00.001-07:002018-08-22T12:31:19.758-07:00WorldCon 76 San Jose, CA. 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZm7oKXCdxOLfJE0quhfdz0KcRy8eGI7P8IcuMNJqWErbZjngOY-WO6lqJ-mdMGTUpOIKYw7hpoz6FLlWCgN2WozJp9n1LIGI_pGA11A_kvMpVDVt4VQXLGi11pyi8YLZ0C7qmtA/s1600/2018-08-21-Worldcon76panels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZm7oKXCdxOLfJE0quhfdz0KcRy8eGI7P8IcuMNJqWErbZjngOY-WO6lqJ-mdMGTUpOIKYw7hpoz6FLlWCgN2WozJp9n1LIGI_pGA11A_kvMpVDVt4VQXLGi11pyi8YLZ0C7qmtA/s320/2018-08-21-Worldcon76panels.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When I was starting out in fandom and in art, I used to LOVE going to SF WorldCons. The panels with all the authors were great to attend, the art shows were huge and amazing with lots of well-known artists, many people came from all over the country and the world. <br /><br />I haven't done a WorldCon in over a decade. My friends gradually stopped going, attendance was growing lower, instead of on Labor Day weekend, they moved into August, conflicting with GenCon (I was working mostly in games, so GenCon made more sense for me to attend), and DragonCon (which I haven't been attending--but many went to this year instead, since it was the weekend after).<br />
<br />
Since I've stopped going to GenCons, and since I could drive to San Jose, and since a friend was going, I was happy to attend San Jose's WorldCon this year. WorldCons are expensive... but that's just how it goes with a con that moves around and can't really rely on long-term contracts and known attendance and regular workers, etc. I was used to the price (although it's higher, of course, than it was years ago). I was annoyed at not being able to book a room at one of the con hotels for the night before the con--they sold out right after the reservations for the blocks were opened (plus the time announced for the opening was botched in the announcement). This was NOT a good beginning and the ConCom seemed to care less about trying to expand the dates/blocks. I mean--some of us were driving 7 hours up and needed to be in the art show in the morning to set up!<br />
<br />
Then there were issues with the programming being insensitive to some guests and not being inclusive enough. They did seem to try to fix that. There was a disgruntled attention-seeker threatening a protest and lawsuit that thankfully fizzled.<br />
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To the attendee, it wasn't as controversial as it could have been (considering all the sick puppy stuff going on in past years). <br />
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Artist-wise, it was pretty smooth. The art show director had a lot of experience running shows this size. And computerizing the system seemed to be helpful rather than annoying (as has happened way in the past when new systems were more untried). <br />
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There were very few book cover artists in the show. Not too surprising since it's the East Coast shows that benefit from geography (has always been that way... you'd think there'd be more folk living in the West and Mid-West doing big cover illustrations, but oh, well). The art track of panels wasn't huge, but had enough to interest most, I think (I missed many, but did hit the AGOH presentation and things like that).<br />
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=====================<br />
<br />
Since I haven't shown much over the past few years, it was fun to be able to haul some of my paintings up to San Jose to show them. Of course, being a lazy person, I hadn't finished them, so was furiously tinkering with oils (not good!) up until packing them all up! I only had 3 oil paintings, but they were large, as you can see in the photo of my 4 panel bay.<br />
<br />
"Pegasus, Bellerophon--fighting the Chimera" is 32" x 48" oil on canvas. I did it for Dan DosSantos' SmArt School class and showed it at an IlluxCon showcase, but still dabbed a bit more oil on it.<br />
<br />
Top left, bad angle!-- "Elements: Ravens" is oil on masonite 18" x 24". This was done for another of Dan DosSantos' SmArt School classes, with Michael Whelan as guest instructor who created that assignment for us. (I love ravens, so it was fun to do! It should be worked on a bit more, but I was lazy and just threw it into a frame for the show.)<br />
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Top right, bad angle, sorry!-- "Garden of Gargoyles" is 22" x 28", oil on cradled masonite. This was done for a Donato Giancola SmArt School class.<br />
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The two on the bottom are canvas prints of pieces I did in the same class as the Pegasus. Bottom right is a canvas print of "Beauty and the Beast" done at IMC (Illustration Master Class) years ago. And next to it is an acrylic painting for the Wheel of Time card game that was also done years ago.<br />
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I did not sell any originals (they were priced pretty high, I'm in no hurry to sell, plus I still need to varnish them! and take better photos). I sold one canvas print and 10 photo prints/posters in the print shop. <br />
<br />
Looking around, bidding seemed a little slow in the art show overall, but I think people came in before bidding ended and roamed around and bid a fair amount. I didn't talk to too many others about sales, it seemed a tad disappointing to some, but not really horrible or anything that I heard.<br />
<br />
Anyway--overall, I enjoyed it (although I miss the old days!).<br />
<br />
==================================<br />
<br />
Got to keep HIGHLY recommending:<br />
<br />
Illustration Master Class (IMC) --held for a week annually in June, sells out quickly. One of the great experiences for anyone who loves fantasy art and artists!!!<br />
Website: http://www.artimc.org/<br />
<br />
And the associated online courses, SmArt School -- held in Spring and Fall, 13-14 weeks. Amazing teachers, students and learning. Seriously--I have a BFA in illustration and this is still SO GREAT. Melissa Gay, one of the students in the last class I took won a Chesley Award at this WorldCon.<br />
Website: https://www.smarterartschool.com/<br />
<br />Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-67007322888794508142017-06-09T01:30:00.001-07:002017-06-09T01:30:57.332-07:00Trying to Make a Stop Motion AnimationMy nephew and his friends documented their high school Senior Project: "Trying to Make a Stop Motion Animation"<br /><br />
<br /><br />
It's hilarious! <br /><br />
<br /><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zzPF78fmzlc" width="480"></iframe>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-34048002425238325742017-06-08T23:52:00.001-07:002017-06-08T23:52:53.778-07:00Artwork -- Antelope Girl I took a SmArt School online class with Dan Dos Santos, February-May 2016. It was fantastic! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Dan's an amazing teacher.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.smarterartschool.com/">SmArt School Website</a><br />
<br />
The first assignment was a portrait of some kind. <br />
<br />
Sketch of a sort of winter queen elf... (yeah, it needs a lot more thought! like can we have something a bit more detailled? story and personality -wise?) <br />
<br />
Digital (Photoshop and Wacom Intuos)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/hN5DZ33"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/hN5DZ33.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Dan suggested maybe more of a headdress... I couldn't make it work, snow-queen-wise... My wintery designs were crap. So I went in another direction... Went for a more desert-like style and changed her to an antelope girl, and made her face 3/4 instead of profile...<br />
<br />
Worked up digitally.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/7BuzqLt"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/7BuzqLt.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Put some texture around the doorway around her, cleaned up outfit--<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/QpyvZOf"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/QpyvZOf.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
More work tightening things up--jewelry, hair; put in a door so cast shadow falls across it--<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/CYxz3be"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/CYxz3be.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-73029399940353175232017-06-08T23:29:00.000-07:002017-06-08T23:30:30.426-07:00IMC 2014 -- Illustration Master ClassThis year's special guest instructors were Brian and Wendy Froud. I've long admired their work, so I had to attend!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.artimc.org/">Illustration Master Class website</a><br />
<br />
Brian Froud brought many of his originals for us to look at--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7253_zps5e927373.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7253_zps5e927373.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7253_zps5e927373.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7254_zpsaeaa6858.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7254_zpsaeaa6858.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7254_zpsaeaa6858.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Greg Ruth and Iain McCaig--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7256_zpsfa146939.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7256_zpsfa146939.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7256_zpsfa146939.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Greg Ruth, demoing his drybrush method--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7257_zps361f426c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7257_zps361f426c.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7257_zps361f426c.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7266_zps4d69d1ca.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7266_zps4d69d1ca.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7266_zps4d69d1ca.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Rebecca Guay, Greg Ruth, Dan DosSantos in background--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7267_zpsf056f629.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7267_zpsf056f629.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7267_zpsf056f629.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Boris Vallejo, painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7276_zps46f3a4c0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7276_zps46f3a4c0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7276_zps46f3a4c0.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Jeanette and James Gurney with Brian Froud--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7279_zps83687807.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7279_zps83687807.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7279_zps83687807.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Allen Williams and James Gurney, painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7290_zpsc561579c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7290_zpsc561579c.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7290_zpsc561579c.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Rebecca Guay--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7296_zpsf034c4b8.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7296_zpsf034c4b8.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7296_zpsf034c4b8.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Brian Froud--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7309_zpsd8d29114.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7309_zpsd8d29114.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7309_zpsd8d29114.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Students working--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7332_zps12d92a23.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7332_zps12d92a23.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7332_zps12d92a23.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
This year we were divided off into different sections--those working in the Froud's section had their own little area--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7336_zpsbb1397d7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7336_zpsbb1397d7.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7336_zpsbb1397d7.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Those of us working with Brian were mostly doing sketchbook work... sort of concepting fairies... (some of my work, alongside others)--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7406_zps2545856d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7406_zps2545856d.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7406_zps2545856d.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Outside the World of Froud--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7415_zps2546988d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7415_zps2546988d.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/World%20of%20Froud-Brian%20Froud/IMG_7415_zps2546988d.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
World of Froud, Wendy's work--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/IMG_7239_zps32f4bd39.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7239_zps32f4bd39.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/IMG_7239_zps32f4bd39.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Wendy Froud's materials--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/IMG_7246_zps56b974cb.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7246_zps56b974cb.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/IMG_7246_zps56b974cb.jpg" /></a><br />
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Building up from the armature--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/IMG_7268_zps97fb0721.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7268_zps97fb0721.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/IMG_7268_zps97fb0721.jpg" /></a><br />
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Wendy, working--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/IMG_7306_zpsca84d4b6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_7306_zpsca84d4b6.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/PHOTOS-General/2014%20PHOTOS/14-06-IMC/IMC-World%20of%20Froud/IMG_7306_zpsca84d4b6.jpg" /></a>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-76730816684446650712017-06-08T22:43:00.001-07:002017-06-08T22:43:58.559-07:002013 -- San Diego ComicCon(Posting old photos of stuff... after a big non-blogging gap!)<br />
<br />
View from Diana Harlan Stein and my Exhibit Hall booth in the Fantasy Illustrators section--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3204a_zps2feb4bb4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_3204a_zps2feb4bb4.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3204a_zps2feb4bb4.jpg" /></a><br />
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Cosplayers/costumers walking by--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3203a_zps91a36d8d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_3203a_zps91a36d8d.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3203a_zps91a36d8d.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3200a_zps32143746.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_3200a_zps32143746.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3200a_zps32143746.jpg" /></a><br />
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Pendragon Costumers across the aisle--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3194a_zpsf7d2284c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_3194a_zpsf7d2284c.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3194a_zpsf7d2284c.jpg" /></a><br />
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The lovely Pam Ford--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3190a_zpsdcb80b0a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_3190a_zpsdcb80b0a.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3190a_zpsdcb80b0a.jpg" /></a><br />
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Sean Astin --<br />
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Lots of figures/sculptures--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3158a_zpsb74c87b3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_3158a_zpsb74c87b3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3158a_zpsb74c87b3.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3126a_zpscd08ad0d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_3126a_zpscd08ad0d.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3126a_zpscd08ad0d.jpg" /></a><br />
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Costumes from Winter Soldier--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3120_zpsa67c1404.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_3120_zpsa67c1404.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3120_zpsa67c1404.jpg" /></a><br />
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Television News Vans lined up--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3078a_zps985d5a19.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_3078a_zps985d5a19.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-07-SDCC/IMG_3078a_zps985d5a19.jpg" /></a><br />
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<br />Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-636659952221598472017-06-08T21:48:00.001-07:002017-06-08T22:21:42.103-07:00IMC 2013 -- The Illustration Master ClassI love the IMC so much!!! A week of wallowing in fantastic fantasy art!<br />
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Check it out: <a href="http://www.artimc.org/">Illustration Master Class IMC Website</a><br />
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They always sell out right away, so don't hesitate. <br />
A core group of top-notch teachers working in traditional, digital, comics, gallery, children's book illustration: Rebecca Guay, Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Donato Giancola, Dan DosSantos, Greg Manchess, Scott M. Fischer. Often with Iain McCaig and James Gurney. With a main Guest Instructor, and many dropping by to give talks and lectures.<br />
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IMC 2013 had Mike Mignola as Guest Instructor (although he had to leave a few days early).<br />
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A list of assignments to pick from to work on during the week (held in Amherst, MA, in June), is given out beforehand. We bring materials/supplies/computers to work on. Live and eat together. <br />
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Around 100 students.<br />
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Auditorium for Lectures/Presentations--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1693_zps9179a627.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1693_zps9179a627.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1693_zps9179a627.jpg" /></a><br />
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Crits on the first day, with 3 or 4 of the faculty--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1696_zpsebeeaef0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1696_zpsebeeaef0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1696_zpsebeeaef0.jpg" /></a><br />
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Lecture on Shooting Reference, with Scott Fischer and Donato Giancola having some fun--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1739_zpsd706df4d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1739_zpsd706df4d.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1739_zpsd706df4d.jpg" /></a><br />
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Some of my rough sketches for the "A Midsummer Night's Dream" assignment--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1757_zps38e88adf.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1757_zps38e88adf.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1757_zps38e88adf.jpg" /></a><br />
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More detailed sketch of Titania and Oberon--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1892_zps1b101fb0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1892_zps1b101fb0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1892_zps1b101fb0.jpg" /></a><br />
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There are some models/drawing/painting sessions... this one has James Gurney doing some painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1898_zps5072a658.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1898_zps5072a658.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1898_zps5072a658.jpg" /></a><br />
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Boris Vallejo--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1920_zps725537f9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1920_zps725537f9.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1920_zps725537f9.jpg" /></a><br />
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My oil painting, on 18x24" masonite, at my workstation--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1921_zps22ba8006.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1921_zps22ba8006.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1921_zps22ba8006.jpg" /></a><br />
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Diana Harlan Stein, working on her Captain Nemo painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1922_zps2cb7dbd3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1922_zps2cb7dbd3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1922_zps2cb7dbd3.jpg" /></a><br />
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We were in the first floor painting studio. There was also a room upstairs, and another room just for digital (darker and no paint allowed!)--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1938_zpsb0217251.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1938_zpsb0217251.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1938_zpsb0217251.jpg" /></a><br />
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Row of easels--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1939_zps4b43a6df.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1939_zps4b43a6df.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1939_zps4b43a6df.jpg" /></a><br />
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Greg Manchess, painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1941_zps4cb44cc2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1941_zps4cb44cc2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1941_zps4cb44cc2.jpg" /></a><br />
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Iain McCaig, Greg Manchess, and Donato Giancolo looking at artwork--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1951_zps58cf27f9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1951_zps58cf27f9.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1951_zps58cf27f9.jpg" /></a><br />
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Scott Fischer, painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1960_zpsb68585df.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1960_zpsb68585df.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1960_zpsb68585df.jpg" /></a><br />
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Donato Giancola, painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1967_zpsfc1d7ab0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1967_zpsfc1d7ab0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1967_zpsfc1d7ab0.jpg" /></a><br />
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Diana Stein, painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1969_zpsc668f532.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1969_zpsc668f532.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1969_zpsc668f532.jpg" /></a><br />
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Rebecca Guay, painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1978_zpsba575a8b.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1978_zpsba575a8b.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1978_zpsba575a8b.jpg" /></a><br />
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My painting--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_1988_zps8e1757e9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_1988_zps8e1757e9.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_1988_zps8e1757e9.jpg" /></a><br />
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End of the week, display of work and sketching in everyone's sketchbooks--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-06-IMC/IMG_2118_zps7935459a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_2118_zps7935459a.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-06-IMC/IMG_2118_zps7935459a.jpg" /></a><br />
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<br />Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0Amherst, MA, USA42.3732216 -72.519853742.1855136 -72.8425772 42.5609296 -72.1971302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-15915335685584590502017-06-08T21:03:00.002-07:002017-06-08T21:07:52.045-07:00Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! 2 -- May 2013Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! 2 -- May 2013, Kansas City, MO.<br />
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(June, 2017--I am posting some of these old photos, because, why not? I got busy and then had health problems, so I stopped keeping up with my blogs until now...)<br />
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Here's the booth Diana Harlan Stein and I shared--<br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-05-Spectrum%202/IMG_0744a_zpse621e72d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0744a_zpse621e72d.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-05-Spectrum%202/IMG_0744a_zpse621e72d.jpg" /></a><br />
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and from the Spectrum Fantastic Art Awards--<br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-05-Spectrum%202/IMG_0759_zps0a2b2e6f.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0759_zps0a2b2e6f.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-05-Spectrum%202/IMG_0759_zps0a2b2e6f.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-7684271145604371652013-05-15T23:49:00.002-07:002013-05-15T23:49:13.604-07:00Cons: Off to SPECTRUM Fantastic Art Live! tomorrow---Convention Season starts for me this weekend. Going off to Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, in Kansas City, MO. It's an all-fantasy art expo that started last year. It's run by the folks who do the SPECTRUM: Best in Fantastic Art Books. And they have their awards ceremony there. Tons of artists have booths and guest artists do panels and presentations. It's pretty cool if you love fantasy art at all.<br /><br />Here's the website:<br />http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/spectrumfantasticartlive/<br /><br />I'm sharing a booth with Diana Harlan Stein... and friends, Karen and Joseph Bovenmyer will be there to help us out and just hang out.<br /><br />Other upcoming events:<br /><br />Illustration Master Class -- (attending as a student) in June<br />http://www.illustrationmasterclass.com/<br /><br />San Diego Comic Con -- (booth with Diana Stein in Fantasy Illustrators area) in July<br />http://www.comic-con.org/cci<br /><br />GenCon -- (table in art show) in August<br />http://www.gencon.com/Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-3155184708019780802013-03-30T18:04:00.002-07:002013-03-30T18:04:32.604-07:00Cons: WonderCon, Anaheim, CAGot a free Professional Badge for WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center (across the street from Disneyland), so I thought I'd check it out for the first time.<br /><br /><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0503_zpsef66e5fe.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0503_zpsef66e5fe.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0503_zpsef66e5fe.jpg" /></a> <br /><br />Wondercon has only been down in Anaheim for a few years. I think it used to be up in the Bay Area? Anyway, I had no idea what to expect other than that it is run by the same folks who run the San Diego Comic-Con.<br /><br />People have said it is a bit like a Comic-Con-lite... <br /><br />This was the line to get into the Exhibit Hall on Friday--<br /><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0504_zpse23dc6e4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0504_zpse23dc6e4.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0504_zpse23dc6e4.jpg" /></a><br /><br />The advertizing banners was definitely like a mini-Comic-Con--<br />http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0505_zpsf868a03f.jpg<br /><br />LOVED the food trucks lined up along the walkway between the hotels on the main walkway to the Convention Center. I had to stand on line to get my badge. There was still a big line to get into the Exhibit Hall when I got back, although it was moving quickly. I figured I'd take an early lunch at the food trucks before committing myself to the con and convention snacks. I had a great sliced steak with pesto sauce over fries from the BarcelonaToGo truck. Sat on the benches along the walkway and listed to live music played in the plaza in front of the Convention Center. <br /><br /><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0506_zps87b8f626.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0506_zps87b8f626.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0506_zps87b8f626.jpg" /></a><br /><br />The Exhibit Hall was pretty dang HUGE... and busy for a Friday. There was a large Artists Alley, autograph booths with Peter Mayhew and Lou Ferrigno and Richard Hatch, and a ton of guys who played secondary characters in various movies and tv series. Lots of booths with artists and small press books. <br /><br />I saw Teresa Mather in Artist Alley, and Llyn Hunter had a booth... chatted with them briefly. Saw some other guys, Ken Meyer Jr. and Tom Baxa, but didn't stop to chat since they were busy. Bumped into old Art Center chum, Mitchell Bernal and chatted and walked about with him for a while. He's sold his Skellanimals company. (Skellanimals had a booth.)<br /><br /><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0507_zps03d395d9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0507_zps03d395d9.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0507_zps03d395d9.jpg" /></a><br /><br />There were the a few electronic games demoed and displayed. Some cool odds and ends being sold--the usual clothing and jewelry and art supplies (I bought a ton of $1 brushes from the Art Supply Warehouse booth, and a $5 sketchbook). Picked up a couple of art/illustration/character books.<br /><br /><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0511_zps7214613d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0511_zps7214613d.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0511_zps7214613d.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0508_zps345aaa00.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0508_zps345aaa00.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0508_zps345aaa00.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Missing were the Mega-booths that Comic-Con has, no freebies, no huge, noisy displays... but there were still some things that came close--<br /><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0509_zps6c3d33f0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0509_zps6c3d33f0.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0509_zps6c3d33f0.jpg" /></a><br /><br />And there was definitely a lot of people. Couldn't even guess at the attendance... Seemed to be around GenCon size which is 30,000 or so? Hard to say because GenCon has people crowded in huge gaming halls, not all in the Exhibit Hall. There was programming for WonderCon, but not at all the big names and presentations Comic-Con has... still, not bad. Some media presentations and sneak-peaks. And they had a cool animation and children's animation film festival/track, as well as anime. Plenty of things to see and do.<br /><br />And for the people who miss the comics at Comic-Con... a bit more of a comics emphasis. <br /><br /><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0510_zps971e3407.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0510_zps971e3407.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0510_zps971e3407.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Kinda liked this resin sculpture with the glowy lights, but happily resisted buying it--<br /><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/aprilllee/media/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0515_zpsa5e0233c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo IMG_0515_zpsa5e0233c.jpg" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/13-03-WonderCon/IMG_0515_zpsa5e0233c.jpg" /></a><br /><br />I failed to resist buying a lot of other stuff, however (got one of those shoulder dragons with the wires that move the head. Geesh. But they had a lot of cool ones on display, so I finally caved! Also had a major failure to resist some of the clothing... got more Steampunk attire (corset, skirt and bustle).<br /><br />Anyway--It was definitely worth a visit. I could actually make it through the entire Exhibit Hall in one day, with a lot of concentrated effort. I didn't get to any panels. It had really great foot-traffic, nice crowds, for the Hall and the panels. Even the convention-food had some variety. The complex includes a number of large hotels, also with food and snacks. I think the vendors were doing OK. The booths are less expensive than Comic-Con and it's more likely customers will find your booth--so it might be worth it for sellers to think about.<br /><br />I was too lazy to go again on Saturday, but that's just me... I'm very lazy these days! It would have been another nice day, I'm sure... I just didn't want to face the chance of more spending-temptation! Although some of the panels about IP and business sounded good...<br /><br />I'd definitely go again next year. Would think about selling stuff, but am already committed to other cons at this time.Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-14076528942967970662013-01-24T17:12:00.001-08:002013-01-24T17:12:08.945-08:00Art / Cons / Workshops -- 2013One more day to submits stuff to <b>SPECTRUM</b> (the book). --I've done my share of supporting Spectrum through submissions the first 8 or so years, so I haven't thought about submitting stuff in YEARS... but it's still a very cool thing.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/">http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/</a><br /><br /><b>SPECTRUM FANTASTIC ART LIVE 2</b> is in May, held in Kansas City, Mo. The booths are reasonable, but sales were pretty low the first year. But people seemed optimistic and understanding when I was there last year. So I'm doing it again this year. I'm sharing the booth, so even better. The show is very cool to attend for an artist because of the folk who are selling there and the panels and presentations. And the Awards show is the next best thing to having an Academy Awards for Fantasy art... it's a well-produced event, attended by the top guys to give it credibility.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/spectrumfantasticartlive/">http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/spectrumfantasticartlive/</a><br /><br /><b>ILLUSTRATION MASTER CLASS 2013</b> will again be held in June in Amherst, MA. Mike Mignola is the special guest instructor this year. I know it's expensive, and an investment of a week in time, but I still can't recommend this thing enough. Unfortunately, it is SOLD OUT this year. There might be a waiting list. I'm going for my fifth year. It's keeping me alive, art-wise, I think. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.illustrationmasterclass.com/">http://www.illustrationmasterclass.com/</a><br /><br /><b>SMART</b> art courses-- Many of the same instructors, plus more, run classes online. I'm sure this kind of one-on-one, even if not face-to-face, is highly beneficial. These instructors are amazing. I'd do this in a shot if I was interested in improving my career and skills.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smarterartschool.com/">http://www.smarterartschool.com/</a><br /><br /><b>SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON</b>-- Pro-reg initial approvals have passed for this year, they are taking pre-Pro-reg for 2014, though. Actual Pro-reg is still up-coming. If you can prove you work in fantasy art, games, films, etc., you can usually score the ability to try and get a free Pro-badge (after jumping through the required hoops). Regular membership to this con are almost impossible to get! This is a crazy-big con, maybe 150,000 people or more. Almost too big to actually be beneficial, but there ARE contacts to be made. Almost everyone in the known world is there (not really much of an exaggeration, either). Booking a hotel is nearly impossible, as is getting around in the traffic. It really is a big, nasty, incredible thing, the Comic-Con. I share a booth there so I can get out of the way of most of the crowds.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.comic-con.org/cci/professionals">http://www.comic-con.org/cci/professionals</a><br /><br /><b>GENCON</b>-- held in August in Indianapolis. Still a great con to sell art at (HUGE art show, they give you tables and pro-panels to hang art so you can be there and sell stuff). Having a booth can be good, too. Also making contacts in the table-top/paper and collectible card game industry. There are smaller game cons, but GenCon is still the biggest and best. I've attended for 15 years or more and it's been worth it. Great for sales, socializing and making connections.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gencon.com/">http://www.gencon.com/</a><br /><br /><b>ILLUXCON</b>-- I actually haven't been to this, but people seem to love it. Lots of amazing artists and demos and such. I mean to check it out someday...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.illuxcon.com/illuxcon2012">http://www.illuxcon.com/illuxcon2012</a><br /><br /><b>TLC WORKSHOPS</b>-- I haven't been to these, but know the person running them and the folk who are instructing and I'm sure they are fantastic. If you can get to the NW for a short workshop, think about it!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tlcworkshops.com/p/illustration-workshops-2012.html">http://www.tlcworkshops.com/p/illustration-workshops-2012.html</a><br /><br />-------<br /><br />I'd love to hear about more convention recs and fantasy art events and workshops!Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-80231052396561932232012-07-29T01:34:00.000-07:002012-07-29T01:43:48.765-07:00Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!Yeah, I'm trying to catch up, which is just impossible for me... Anyway, back in MAY, the folks at the Spectrum: Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art series of art books held its first event in Kansas City, MO: Spectrum Fantastic Art Live!<br />
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Here's the website:<br />
http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/spectrumfantasticartlive/<br />
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Brom was one of the special guests, he gave a slideshow overview of his career, which was, of course, fascinating--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4084.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4084.jpg" /></a><br />
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Brom had lots of amusing stories about getting to work for TSR and his time there. From the outside it seemed like they must have loved having him there, shaking things up a bit and keeping the art interesting and fresh, but he thought management felt he wasn't quite fitting in with his muted palette and dark, edgy characters.<br />
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"the secret to making it cool: put an eyeball in a hand"<br />
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management: "your elf looks gay"<br />
brom: "i posed for that"<br />
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gets called by the people doing Scooby Doo and goes he goes in thinking, "you want me to be Shaggy" <br />
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Sculpture by Virginie Ropars, based on Brom artwork--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4309.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4309.jpg" /></a><br />
... She won the Spectrum 19 Gold Award for Dimensional Art at the Awards Ceremony.<br />
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Another of Virginie Ropars' sculptures--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4317.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4317.jpg" /></a><br />
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Batmobile displayed outside--<br />
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Random photo--<br />
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Special Guest Iain McCaig (creator of concept art for Darth Maul, etc.) gave several interesting presentations. I picked up one of his books and a sketch by him. Yay!<br />
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The Art Department had their booth across from ours--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4342.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4342.jpg" /></a><br />
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Diana Harlan Stein and I shared a booth. It was by the stage where the Guests made their presentations, which was very cool I got to see them all. There were also panel discussions, but I missed those.<br />
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More random booth photos--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4075.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4075.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4076.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4076.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4079.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4079.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4080.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4080.jpg" /></a><br />
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Spectrum Art Awards--held in a fabulous old theater. Announcing the nominees for Best Dimension Art, Virginie Ropars, winner of the Gold.<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4122.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4122.jpg" /></a><br />
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Spectrum Art Awards. Donato Giancola, one of the presenters.<br />
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Spectrum Art Awards. Michael Whelan announcing Grand Master award given to James Gurney--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4211.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4211.jpg" /></a><br />
James Gurney was there to accept (as were most of the artists. He also gave presentations during the day, and had a booth where he did demos.<br />
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Cool dance/art show between the awards, by the Quixtotic Fusion dance company with Android Jones (one of the Special Guests)--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/?action=view&current=IMG_4285.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-05-Spectrum%20Live/IMG_4285.jpg" /></a><br />
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The hotel bar was buzzing afterwards. Exhibitors I heard from reported "Eh" or "OK" sales, but were enjoying other aspects of the event. That was pretty much my experience, too. The show and the Awards Ceremony were well-organized and definitely worth going attending.<br />
<br />
It was announced that Spectrum will try it again next year.Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-53950159995024871962012-06-30T16:10:00.002-07:002012-06-30T16:11:33.042-07:00IMC: Last photos, student work, etc.Here's the last few photos from IMC... <br />
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The students are seriously amazing (even the ones who are just starting out, since all levels are able to come). There are Art Directors who are doing the class, as well as working artists and hobbyists and people who are doing something else but want to get into art, and art students. And there have already been success stories--students who have furthered their careers and who are getting into Spectrum and getting jobs. There are students who have started their own art workshops. And those who are just happy to hang out in an artistic atmosphere for a week.<br />
<br />
<br />
..<br />
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There are two large painting studios, plus the digital room. I usually take the downstairs studio because I don't like taking the stairs to the upstairs room. Here's the downstairs studio where we set up our station and work on our pieces. Half of the instructors are set up along the wall to the left, where some are painting and some aren't...<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5130.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5130.jpg" /></a><br />
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Tarzan was a popular choice for the assignment--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5127.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5127.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5087.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5087.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5233.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5233.jpg" /></a><br />
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Old Man's War, SF assignment.<br />
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Here's Scott Fischer and Greg Manchess painting on someone's spaceship... I know this can freak some people out, but it's fun, really, to watch these guys in action. They aren't slopping stuff over someone's hard work, they are doing little things to something that hasn't been worked on... and the student is free to paint over it if they don't like it. I wouldn't mind having people paint on my painting in this way. I mean--these guys know what they are doing and can really help things out and give you ideas. And they DO ask first! <br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5209.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5209.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5221.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5221.jpg" /></a> <br />
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Hunger Games assignment--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5219.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5219.jpg" /></a><br />
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Tristan and Isolde fantasy assignment--<br />
Not all digital had to be in the digital room, this (amazing!) guy was downstairs--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5226.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5226.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5350.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5350.jpg" /></a><br />
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Up Against the Wall! The Usual Suspects! No... some of the instructors at the Closing session... Great images of the week in the presentation. And gifts given out as thanks for help and for the instructors from the students.<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5294.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5294.jpg" /></a><br />
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Scott showing off his gift (they were hilarious! hand-made bags... his was the only pink one... well, the DOES do children's book illustration...!)<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5314.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5314.jpg" /></a><br />
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Afterwards--we clean up the studios. Have our paintings on display. And do lots of sketches in the sketchbooks. Everyone does. I got Boris to sketch in my book this year--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5322.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5322.jpg" /></a><br />
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But it's lots of student/student sketching... which continues at the High Horse bar in Amherst...<br />
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And all night at the dorm...<br />
No photos... I've turned in by then! Needed to pack and get up early for the shuttle in the morning!<br />
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But another IMC gone--but not forgotten.<br />
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Seriously... if you're into fantasy art at all, I highly recommend checking this out!<br />
<br />Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-76451210280150265112012-06-25T00:23:00.001-07:002012-06-25T00:55:37.878-07:00IMC: My PaintingFor the IMC (Illustration Master Class), there are always cool choices for the assignment. This year there was the High Fantasy: "Tristan and Isolde", the SF: "Old Man's War by Scalzi, movie tie-ins: "Tarzan" and "The Hunger Games", and a YA short story about a boy and a ghost.<br />
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I've always chosen the fantasy assignment. At this stage of my life, I'm more interested in doing things for myself and I prefer to concentrate on fantasy images. Although Tarzan was tempting. But I liked the costumes and romance of "Tristan and Isolde."<br />
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I worked up several sketches--all sadly pretty similar, of a couple, full-figures. I'm afraid I had a pretty set idea of what I wanted, the poses just varied slightly. I didn't do thumbnails (bad me), and I didn't draw boxes around the sketches (I use the page size as the box (again, bad me). <br />
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Here's the sketch my instructors (for the crit: Rebecca Guay, Dan dos Santos, Greg Manchess and Iain McCaig) chose:<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5042.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5042.jpg" /></a><br />
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And yes, it's very romance-y. I was looking at romance book covers... Oh, well...<br />
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Rebecca said: You have almost a straight line dividing the couple. NEVER do that.<br />
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Then somebody suggested that I could bring Tristan's cape in front of them to break the line. Or visa-versa, Isolde's cape flowing in front. And another suggested that I could have Isolde's (or Tristan's) cape flying out more.<br />
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They took tracing paper and sketched it. And then flipped it.<br />
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After the crit, Scott Fischer came by and suggested I lean Isolde into Tristan more. (I drew darker lines on the sketch to see where she should lean in her body more). And I caught Julie Bell to ask her if the sort of "A" shape of the couple was OK, and she said to go for it.<br />
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I rather crudely re-worked the sketch like this--<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5043.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5043.jpg" /></a><br />
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I'd always been meaning to have birds flying around them. Someone had suggested the birds flying away, and I liked that... (I thought, as if their love was fleeting, flying off, doomed, right?)<br />
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I then went off to work up the piece in photoshop, taking bits from images. I also took ref. photos, but not too seriously (bad, bad me). That took a day! But I was also working out color and values that way. And getting reference. <br />
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I took my file in b&w to the copy shop to get it enlarged to 18"x24" to fit my masonite (clayboard) the next morning... ok, so next afternoon! After the 10 lecture and lunch...<br />
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And I spent the afternoon wet-mounting it (the Donato transfer method!). I used semi-gloss medium instead of matte, and since I wasn't sanding between layers because I was in a hurry and didn't have sand paper anyway, it was a super-slick surface! bleh... <br />
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The toner was crap and lots of it washed away with the water and medium. bleh.<br />
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But I can work under idea conditions! I did a quick value/base-color underpainting in acrylic (ultramarine blue... I just favor that, or burnt umber if I'm doing a warmer colored painting). The acrylic stuck well to the slick medium and helped that a bit.<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/?action=view&current=IMG_5046.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/12-06-IMC/IMG_5046.jpg" /></a><br />
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hmmm... not much change here... Anyway... acrylic underpainting-- good because it dries quickly, also good because I had barely let the medium and board dry out. I quit painting for the night and let it dry out so I could start with the oils in the morning.<br />
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So... only two days to paint! Aggh. Laid out my palette-- using plastic wrap from my masonite board taped around my sketch book because I forgot my palette paper... And quickly started slapping paint on (very thinly with tiny brushes, though, to keep it from getting goopy and hard to work with and bearing in mind that I had to pack the painting up in a few days to get it home and didn't want sopping thick oil paints to mooosh everywhere!).<br />
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Greg Manchess dropped by to say he'd make the birds behind Tristan only go to shoulder level, which sounded good to me. I'll have to try and recall that when I actually get around to the birds. Will need to dig up better refs... the ones I dug up for my photoshopped image were pretty awful.<br />
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I got rid of the darks in T's cape... not sure if I like it more neutral or not. Might go back and darken it later, for more drama. Might look better to be dark towards the bottom, anyway...<br />
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Also discovered that I was using the crappy kind of Turpenoid. Dan dos Santos said the "Natural" Turpenoid wasn't like regular Turpenoid... it took forever to dry and remained a pile of goop instead of evaporating away. I borrowed some... Gamsol? I think, from Nicole, and it was nice! I'll have to get some of that. <br />
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"Natural" Turpenoid is a bit easier to carry in luggage... but I'll have to try and work around that the next time, I guess!<br />
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Anyway, I now had more fears of a smooshed painting... so my painting pretty much slowed down after that.<br />
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Oh, and Boris came by and said I had to move Tristan's arm up... and he was right--it was way too low!<br />
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I'd already tried to move it up, but he said it need to be moved up more...<br />
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Julie Bell came by and I asked her if I should stick with my original
plans to make Tristan's tunic brown and she said to go for it... <br />
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Check out my cool maul stick (below). It's a collapsible magnetic towel bar from Target--and it sticks to the metal easels here! (I find this pretty funny... some day I will get a real maul stick.) --for those of you who don't use oils--they remain wet so you need something like this to rest your hand on for detail work.<br />
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Eh, I got pretty far... I can see where I'm going with it, anyway, which is the important part.<br />
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I think i need to move his belts up, too. *sigh* And I was reminded to make sure the highlights and lowlights in her hair weren't all so even... <br />
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Trip home... the portfolio case doesn't show up on the carousel, so I go to talk to the Baggage folk for American. They manage to dig it up, to my relief. It had come in on an earlier plane. And my painting was mostly un-smooshed. A bit up in the sky got mashed a bit, but that's an easy fix! Yay.Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-16856105977277919762012-06-23T13:56:00.002-07:002012-06-23T14:03:22.023-07:00IMC-- Iain McCaig mini-demoBetween lectures and painting time with instructors going around, and the meals at the Amherst College dining hall (which are great meals, by the way), there are impromptu demos. Here, a student asks Iain McCaig (most known for doing the concept art for Darth Maul, etc.) for help with a demon face and Iain starts painting... <br />
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using watercolors--<br />
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Sorry... I never seem to catch these things at the very beginning, but I think he just goes right into the painting/sketch. He has one of the students stand so his head is at the right angle. And he's also glancing at the other student's original sketch of the demon (although he's deviated from it quite a lot).<br />
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He washes a shadow in, seeming to obliterate a lot, but...<br />
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Break for drying (one of the students supplies the dryer and actually dries it for him--<br />
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He uses water to pick back up some color to make highlights. <br />
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Many years before (a good decade or more), he was a guest at a con. At the time he was doing all water-colors in the English style rather like Froud and I remember him talking about using bleach to get back to the white of the papers--so I ask him about it. I'd mentioned this to others and they'd scoff and say it would yellow the paper, but Iain says he DOES use bleach and just makes sure to soak it back up with water, so it doesn't eat/yellow the paper.<br />
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Doug Gregory, AD for Blizzard is on the left, looking on, with Greg Manchess on the far right--<br />
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Iain signs the sketch for the student. So cool! ^___^<br />
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... more stuff to come from IMC 2012...Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-79535311485805124802012-06-23T00:10:00.000-07:002012-06-23T00:11:12.070-07:00IMC-- continued...Well, I'm back from the IMC (Illustration Master Class). I've been bad about posting the past few years, so I'll try and be better this time around. As usual, I have not broken out the paints to finish up my painting... but that doesn't mean I won't. I can definitely see where I'm going with it. I just need to set up a painting space--something that hasn't happened yet, but I'm still hopeful!<br />
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So... back to my experience at the IMC...<br />
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Donato's set-up, working on a painting of Gandalf.<br />
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The importance of shooting good reference... Donato has the perfect model for Gandalf--<br />
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I borrowed some fabric from another student and someone else helped me set it up, so I'd have some photo ref for all the drapery that suddenly happened in my sketch--<br />
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During the crit sessions on the first day, for a Hunger Games assignment-- Iain gets down at a low angle to capture a quick sketch of Greg... getting physical to show samples of what could improve the composition--<br />
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One night in Studio 101, Greg Manchess does a demo painting--<br />
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... more from the IMC to come!Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-53327678422558616912012-06-12T22:30:00.001-07:002012-07-29T01:39:49.651-07:00Illustration Master Class (IMC) 2012I'm at the IMC (Illustration Master Class), all week. <br />
http://www.illustrationmasterclass.com/<br />
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Core instructors are:<br />
Rebecca Guay<br />
Donato Giancola<br />
Boris Vallejo<br />
Julie Bell<br />
Dan Dos Santos<br />
Scott Fischer<br />
Greg Manchess <br />
Irene Gallo<br />
and last year's guest instructor, Ian McCaig, is back again.<br />
Guest Instructor for this year is Brom.<br />
Doug Gregory, AD for Blizzard Entertainment <br />
James Gurney, guest instructor from 2 years back, is visiting again to do demos and lectures.<br />
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Before we arrive, we get the assignments. There are a lot of cool ones this year: <br />
Tristan and Isolde<br />
Tarzan and Jane<br />
Old Man's War<br />
... a YA story (can't remember name)<br />
... and a few others.<br />
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I chose the "Tristan and Isolde" assignment. Going for the Romance!<br />
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We are to make thumbnails and bring sketches for a crit on the first day.<br />
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There is an online student network were we can ask questions, post images, and arrange shared shuttle rides from the airports. I was busy reserving one of those on the way out for the afternoon arrivals (there were 5 of us), during the days before... But I actually did work up some sketches... No thumbs, though, bad me! And as usual, I had to work on the sketches a bit more on the plane to Mass.<br />
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We signed up for a crit sessions with a set of instructors... So here are Rebecca Guay, Dan Dos Santos, Greg Manchess and Ian McCaig doing crits. <br />
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These are the BEST crits ever. Nothing nasty. Just lots of great ideas to choose from.<br />
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We are encouraged to shoot reference. There are lights set up in the Lecture Hall between lectures, and students bring stuff--like this full suit of plate armor. And other students will put it on to model it for other students. Everyone has work to do, but there's a serious amount of fun and cooperation.<br />
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We choose from two painting studios and one no-paint allowed digital room to set up our stuff. And the instructors set up, too. They come around and help students and also do demos and work. Watching people like Boris Vallejo (here) and Julie Bell paint is just amazing.<br />
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Lectures so far:<br />
Iain McCaig's Beginner's Boot Camp<br />
Shooting Reference<br />
Art of Greg Manchess<br />
Manchess: the Talent Myth<br />
Dos Santos: The art of...<br />
Iain McCaig: Visual Storytelling <br />
Art of Brom<br />
Gurney: Composition<br />
Gurney: Light and Color<br />
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Demos:<br />
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Donato's paper mounting method<br />
Gurney d<br />
Dos Santos painting from the model<br />
Figure model for gesture poses<br />
Manchess--painting<br />
McCaig--monsters<br />
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I spent two days on my sketch, got it mounted on board the third day and did some underpainting... Two days left to oil paint...!!!Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-29654007680324278192012-01-24T22:22:00.000-08:002012-01-24T22:27:18.060-08:00SPECTRUM Fantastic Art LIVE!I've been trying to sort out my convention schedule for 2012 (luckily I don't have regular events early in the year, eh?). <br /><br />New this year is the new SPECTRUM Fantastic Art LIVE Exhibition in May.<br /><a href="http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/spectrumfantasticartlive/">http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com/spectrumfantasticartlive/</a><br /><br />Is anyone else out there going? Just curious!Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-18222256278412486712009-07-20T02:57:00.000-07:002009-07-20T02:59:04.290-07:00CONS-- San Diego Comic Con is almost hereCripes!!! How did this sneak up on me so quickly??? ARRRRGGHH! I'm once again, totally unprepared!!!<br /><br />This year, sharing a booth with Diana Stein: #4821, in the Fantasy Illustrators section. "Lee and Stein" (thanks for changing that, Diana!). I will be there looking frantically unprepared with nothing to sell... so stop by and feel free laugh and point, or whatever. *sigh* O______o<br /><br />Oh, what the heck, it's only money spent that I don't have and money unmade that I need... nothing new! At least it'll be a crazy, crowded, wild time! I'll have fun once I stop worrying about stuff that is too late to fix... *double-sigh*Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-88312086966407743092009-07-18T02:20:00.000-07:002009-07-18T02:21:54.459-07:00Illustration Master Class-- Day 6 & 7--Sat. & Sun. June 20-21Saturday was our last painting day, but it was also full of lectures. Argh!<br /><br />One of Rebecca Guay's originals sitting around in Studio A--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010023z449.jpg"><br /><br />At 11am was a lecture by Shelly Bond, an Editor at Vertigo Comics. Ever since its inception, I've been a huge Vertigo fan. Even though my comic buying is way down, I still like some Vertigo lines, such as FABLES. So this was quite exciting for me.<br /><br />Shelly talked about what went into the production of FABLES--script, pencils, etc. and about what she did as an editor, coordinating it all, making a guide for where the word balloons would go, overlooking the pencils and panels and general look of the pages. She showed examples of pages, talked about balance of positive and negative space, numbers of closeups per page, two-shots (2 characters in a frame, speaking to each other--and the need to vary the angles). Lettering. Inking (looking at page balance). Color ("color will not save black and white"). Covers (likes it graphically pleasing, tells a story, sense of motion).<br /><br />Talked about where she found artists (web, published things, conventions). Tips for Portfolio (presentation neat and orderly, less than 10 images). Prefers getting postcards 4x a year rather than .jpgs via email (which I thought was interesting). Advice: Know your potential client (do your research), make yourself available (may be needed to fill in for someone in an emergency), go to conventions and know how to submit your work for reviews.<br /><br />She was just FULL of interesting and specific information and advice about comics work.<br /><br />Piece Rebecca Guay was working on--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010036z449.jpg"><br /><br />After lunch, there was a lecture by David Saylor from Scholastic (publisher for US Harry Potter books, largest children's/YA publisher in the world). Talked about picture books (32pp, 16 spreads, typically), the graphics book line (doing a BONE novel by Jeff Smith). Talked about advances against royalties(usu. 1/2 up front), schedules, how children's tends to be a bit more stable in this sort of economy, about other rights (foreign--as in, they will try and sell them). Agents (depends on the agent). Showed samples of various projects/books he was involved with. Recommended: Society of Children's Book Illustrators. Portfolio: likes to see a strong portfolio, maybe a full book MS with illustrations or illustrations from a classic tale. Talked a bit about narrowing market for books--mostly Barnes and Nobles and Borders (maybe Target and Walmart) these days. Covers need to work for THEM--like maybe one guys working for B&N who calls all the shots.<br /><br />Both Shelly and David were roaming about the Studios in the afternoon, looking and talking with students.<br /><br />I'm pretty sure this was Donato's... it was being worked on in Studio B, upstairs, so I never saw him actually painting on it--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010304a600.jpg"><br /><br />But a day or so later...!!!--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010066z600.jpg"><br /><br />Sadly, I had a very slow painting day on Saturday. I guess all the lectures didn't help, either. There was more lectures to come, too. But I felt like I was slogging through molasses compared to the day before. Luckily, Donato came by to suggest using some purples in the shadows of the shield... I really had no clue about what reflective light colors to use! And I painted in some golds in her hair and on her dress... and a wee little boat in the distance (Arthur coming for Excalibur???). Her dress and feet and part of the sword and the shield are supposed to be under water, but I hadn't managed to work on that yet...<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010027z449.jpg"><br /><br />To my left was Mark, working on a Princess of Mars image--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010028z449.jpg"><br /><br />Karen's Lady of the Lake painting (she was on Ruth's other side). Karen's only been painting for a few years, so I think she did a fantastic job during the class--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010040z449.jpg"><br /><br />Diana's Princess of Mars cover painting--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010047z449.jpg"><br /><br />Jennifer Oliver's lovely Lady of the Lake and Arthur--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010049z600.jpg"><br /><br />Irene Gallo's lecture was after dinner at 7pm. She, of course, is the very well-known, award-winning Art Director for Tor Books (also Forge and Starscape). And she'd been involved with the IMC all week, taking pictures, talking, wearing L.A. William's suit of plate armor, etc. She says she finds artists through annuals such as Spectrum and Expose and Soc. of Illustrators, Mailers (postcards with links to websites), Networking and Conventions, Bookstores (seeing published work), online communities(conceptart, cga, gorilla), recs from other artists. <br /><br />Portfolios: 8-12 pieces (you are hired on your WORST work), consistency important, show work that answers your client's problems, show work you want to do/get, show great figure work (figures in motion, multi-figures). <br /><br />Websites: should update regularly, no pop-ups, no indecipherable thumbnails, keep it fast and easy and sharable. Watch over-doing water-marks. Interviews: Impress, don't embarass; don't apologize, don't argue critiques, thank you notes are excellent excuses for a reminder/sample. She likes art blogs, for ease of access. <br /><br />Irene has an excellent blog on blogger. Lots of photos and posts on the IMC and other things. Google her to find it. (And scarily enough, she had one or two photos of me/my painting, identified by name, which totally freaks me out. Nah, not really. She was actually very fun and nice! ... still... wish I had finished killer piece to show, but ah, well--my competitive days are over... I just don't care as much now! I even sketched in her book, which is something I avoid like the plague... told her the story of how everyone sees those sketches, such as other artists and ADs and some sketches can just be horrible--and that I'd actually done one of those horrible sketches that you just want to tear out of a book, but can't--and it turned out the guy became an AD later!!! Nightmare!!! although he hired me, but still!!!)<br /><br />Again, this was upstairs in the other studio... but I think Greg Manchess was starting another painting since he finished his group of Steampunk Oz piece. Definitely a Princess of Mars, this one--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010064z449.jpg"><br /><br />Student--Steampunk Wizard of Oz--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010071z600.jpg"><br /><br />Another--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010075z449.jpg"><br /><br />A Lady of the Lake--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010164z449.jpg"><br /><br />Charles Vess ran an unscheduled lecture/slidshow after midnight on Fantastic/Fairy Art--lots of illustrators who are not commonly seen, many from the golden age, a few modern. He just happened to have some images with him and was just running through what he had. Said he often gives similar shows, but swaps the images out, so it's different every time. Surprisingly, even though most of us were frantically trying to get as much painting done, since it was our last opportunity, the lecture room was pretty full! It was a nice break, actually. And we all loved seeing more images! (I took audio notes--still haven't transcribed any of those yet, so no details, sorry!)<br /><br />I think pizza was ordered again, but I can't really remember! I know it was getting light whe I finally walked back to the dorm rooms!!! ...and there were still people in the studios painting...<br /><br />Our dorm hall--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010090x600.jpg"><br /><br /><br />SUNDAY---LAST DAY:<br />10-12 we had to clean up the studios, leaving only our paintings on the easels.<br /><br />1-5PM Open Studios with public invited to view. Also Yolanda LeRoy, Editorial Director of CharlesBridge Publishing and Susan Sherman, Art Director of Children's Books at CharlesBridge Publishing were going around looking and talking with students.<br /><br />Hall with our studios and lecture hall--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010095z600.jpg"><br /><br />Also... we all had these lovely red-bound gold-embossed IMC-logo sketchbooks to take notes in. And to collect sketches in, apparently. It started that morning... I grabbed Charles Vess early! (a fairy on a wood/demon) I love his work so much! Casual-seeming lines started to form. And piles of sketchbooks. I tried not to go crazy, since I knew none of the instructors would want to do 80 or so sketches. I just tried to get a few. Also got one from Dan DosSantos (elf girl head) and Greg Manchess (dragon head). And I got a few random sketches from the other students.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010170z600.jpg"><br /><br />There was a closing ceremony where students had organized to give gift packages to the instructors. And we'd all contributed sketches for Rebecca Guay, and signed cards to all of them, and for Sarah, Rebecca's assistant. I tried to write about how much some of these artists had influenced me in the past and how they continued to inspire me, but I doubt it came off half as well as I wish it did. They really are so amazing, there really aren't words!<br /><br />Rebecca's work from the intro-video. She didn't give a lecture this year since there were just too many people speaking already--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010129a600.jpg"><br /><br />Dinner was quiet. We were all exhausted! People were hanging out in the studios, still, afterwards, doing a bit of final clean-up, putting all the easels and chairs away, etc. And still sketching!!!<br /><br />I was doing very scribbley dragon head sketches... they kept getting looser the later it got! I was SO tired... but in a good way... Also sad, and didn't want it to end, even though we were all cleaned up and just needed to sleep and pack up for flying out the next morning.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010191a600x506.jpg"><br /><br />One of the students fell and badly sprained her ankle while running around trying to show her samples to the publishers on Sunday. Students accompanied her to the Emergency Room and made sure the CharlesBridge people saw her work and samples and got her painting and items back to the dorms, and grabbed dinner and breakfast the next day for her. <br /><br />Otherwise, things slowly wound down. I took a shared ride to the airport on Monday (organized through the class forum, beforehand). Had flight delays and changes along the way, but made it home at midnight (three hours more if you don't count the time change), and slept all day on Tuesday.<br /><br />And that was it!<br /><br />I hope there is an IMC next year, and if there is, I'll certainly try to be there.<br /><br />In the meantime, it's not quite over. They've told us we need to finish our paintings by Sept. 1. I still haven't worked on it, but am thinking about what I need to do on it...Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-1815932971607155322009-07-15T21:55:00.000-07:002009-07-15T21:58:09.551-07:00Illustration Master Class-- Day Five--Fri. June 19Sorry for the being slow with posting on this (Dad went into hospital briefly for an angioplasty--all is well, no worries). Anyway... back to the IMC! On Thurday, I'd finally got my image on board (Clayboard 18x24), so I tore through the underpainting... I had to pretty much be careful to keep the image since the non-pigment ink had floated off during the wet-mount method and was VERY faint (and green!--used to be black!). I used burnt sienna acrylics, I think. I'm usually a burnt umber type of person, but was thinking of Boris's and Julie Bell's lighter-toned underpainting... <br /><br />Here I am looking a bit manically at Diana Harlan Stein who was taking the photo over my shoulder...<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/dhs-aprilsketch.jpg"><br /><br />Finally, finally, finally... Friday, I actually squeezed out some oils... all brand-spanking-new W&N tubes. We had a list of basic colors to buy, and that's what I had. I was a bit confused about which mediums to use and tried linseed and turp with a smidgen of cobalt dryer... although I decided I didn't like the dryer since it totally seized up the paint way too quickly (I probably had used too much! --also, the stuff is horribly toxic). I was told that Boris and Julie didn't like using any mediums at all... and I was discovering that if I painted thinly enough, the oils would dry pretty well as it was. I still continued to use the linseed oil/turp mix, though.<br /><br />Rebecca Guay was down in our Studio and she came by to paint a bit on the dress, saying that it was possible to glaze with white... she put a bit into the water and smudged it around, saying it could be misty-looking... That helped a LOT, since I totally suck at drapery (even with my photo-ref) and I didn't have a clear idea of how I wanted the painting to look. I usually don't work at all so high-key... it was weird (I was still totally at sea!), but cool (love trying new stuff!). <br /><br />Basically, the underpainting, with some blue in the sky/distance (cobalt and ultramarine), some green in the leaves and some light flesh tones on her face and the thin layer of white on her dress... the white glaze over the underpainting created a sort of violet cast to the shadows. So yes, I caught up quite a bit in one day.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010310x449.jpg"><br /><br />Greg Manchess and Scott Fischer did some duel-painting on Ruth's piece. It was amusing to watch and attracted a crowd of on-lookers--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010306x600.jpg"><br /><br />There were putting in some color on the banners--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010012z600.jpg"><br /><br />The after-lunch lecture was by Special Guest Jon Foster. We couldn't take photos or record. But in the general presentation that was shown the first day, and run again the last day, I snapped a few quick pictures of his (very recognizable) work, here's one--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010138a361.jpg"><br /><br />He gave an amusing/interesting run-down of his past (community college, jobs, Parson's in NY, being OCD-ish, going to RISD, working in art store while looking for work... for years, finally getting stuff in Aboriginal SF mag., meeting other artists at cons, Spectrum 3--a big break for him, TSR, Wizards, Tor books, Dark Horse, Vertigo, National Geo., etc.)<br /><br />He did the cover for Brandon Sanderson's MISTBORN, (which is where I first noticed his art, several years ago)--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010140a449.jpg"><br /><br />And this book (which I also read, but can't remember who it's by... GREAT cover, though!--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010141a449.jpg"><br /><br />And the sequel--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010139a418.jpg"><br /><br />Dunno where this lovely piece is from--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010144a449.jpg"><br /><br />He stayed to do a Digital Demo--a sketch of a head from ref., using Painter and Photoshop.<br /><br />Boris and Julie presented the after-dinner lecture. No photos allowed, either. And wow, I was SO sleepy!!! but had to stay awake, of course! They do their underpainting in acrylic. Block in dark areas in oil, use turp as medium, pick off paint with turp. Use #1 W&N Ser.7 Round Sables for faces.<br /><br />They've been together over 20 years, over 100 pieces done together. Found their body-building background very helpful.<br /><br />by Julie (from the same instructor's art presentation)--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010149a449.jpg"><br /><br />by Boris--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010153a499.jpg"><br /><br />Late night in the Studio... Charles Vess inked his Lady of the Lake piece--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010014z449.jpg"><br /><br />And started painting--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010032z449.jpg"><br /><br />Student work, Studio A, Princess of Mars piece--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010013z449.jpg"><br /><br />And another--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010017a449.jpg"><br /><br />Student work, Digital--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC%202/P1010016z449.jpg"><br /><br />Tired, but everyone was still painting until the wee hours of the morning. Money was collected and pizza was ordered again. This time I ordered a bottle of diet coke--which I totally needed (caffeine-wise!). Only one more painting day to go on Saturday before the showing of the work on Sunday, and the clean-up... Everyone was pretty frantic...<br /><br />TO BE CONTINUED LATER...Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-21379092845271935152009-07-05T01:00:00.000-07:002009-07-05T01:04:05.758-07:00Illustration Master Class-- Day Four--Thurs. June 18During the class, I hadn't managed to get to sleep before 2 or 3am, so I started to skip breakfasts in order to sleep in to at least 8:30. I ran into town (well, across the street and down a block or two) to hit Starbuck's and the drug store to pick up some paper toweling since the studio had run out the day before, so I didn't want to count on it. <br /><br />I had slapped another coat or two of matte medium on my board... too much in a hurry to sand the texture away. And all too soon it was Lunch. And after lunch--two special guests gave a presentation on Fantasy in Picture Books, children's book illustrators Dennis Nolan and Gary Lippincott.<br /><br />From "Dinosaur Dream" (I think!), by Dennis Nolan--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010236z600.jpg"><br /><br />Dennis Nolan presented his work first. Influences (from childhood onward): '50s Golden Books, Dr. Seuss, Rackham, Parrish, Little Nemo, Mad Magazine, Frazetta, Sendak, Jason and the Argonauts. He did a variety of jobs (magazine covers, album covers, book covers, etc.) before becoming more well-known for his picture book work.<br /><br />From one of his earlier books, "Castle Builder," which was done all in pen and ink, stippling it all (he said he estimated the number of little dots he'd made at about 2 million). <br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010229z600.jpg"><br /><br />Example of his making a model for reference--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010241z600.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010242a600.jpg"><br /><br />Painting in progress... watercolors, I think--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010245z600.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010246z600.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010248z600.jpg"><br /><br />Then there was Gary Lippincott--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010253a494.jpg"><br /><br />Uses watercolors, liquid frisket (an art of its own, he said), works typically light to dark, back to front, wet washes to dry brush.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010263z600.jpg"><br /><br />Example of in-progress (actually, unfinished) painting--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010264z600.jpg"><br /><br />The after dinner presentation was by the wonderful Charles Vess, who did the art for the original graphic novel version of Neil Gaiman's "Stardust." I think he said he did this image before the book/story was finished--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010267z378.jpg"><br /><br />Influences--Prince Valiant (comic strip), Beardsley, Pyle, Wyeth, Rackham, Dulac, Kay Nielsen, etc.<br />Example of painting progression--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010278z600.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010279a600.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010280z600.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010281z600.jpg"><br /><br />In Studio B, Dan Dos Santos did a Life Portrait Demo, working on several quick monochromatic sketches first--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010292x449.jpg"><br /><br />Then mixing colors--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010293z600.jpg"><br /><br />Boris and Julie had moved up to Studio B to continue their paintings--<br /><img src="http://aprillee.tripod.com/Images--Etc./p1010294x449.jpg"><br /><img src="http://aprillee.tripod.com/Images--Etc./p1010296x449.jpg"><br /><br />Greg Manchess had original art tacked to the walls of Studio A--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010196x449.jpg"><br /><br />Charles Vess started working on his own version of the Lady of the Lake, penciled then inked within a day or so, and he also had originals on the walls of Studio A--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010209x449.jpg"><br /><br />Students painting in Studio B, another Lady of the Lake--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010302x449.jpg"><br /><br />... and one of the SF covers--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010299z600.jpg"><br /><br />Working furiously, students in Studio A... Pizza was ordered around 10 or 11pm... work continued way into the morning hours (with all the presentations and demos, there was little other time to work, aside from all night, but the energy was high, although there were early-birds who slept and came in early in the morning. Most people were working traditionally whether they were digital artists or not, taking advantage of all the instructors who worked in oils, but there were also stations along the sides with tables for those working digitally--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010219z600.jpg"><br /><br />To be continued... SEVERAL MORE DAYS TO COME!!!<br /><br /><br />----------------<br />I hope all the Americans had a fab 4th! Fireworks, music, picnics, barbeques... what's not to like???Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-48782748534459534762009-07-01T23:36:00.000-07:002009-07-01T23:41:32.113-07:00Illustration Master Class-- Day ThreeReport on the Third Day of the Illustration Master Class... We had our Guest Instructor, Michael Whelan come in the day before, but today, after lunch, would be his lecture/presentation. I'd been a fan of his work way back when he did that great image of Elric, and he certainly influenced my early work...<br /><br />He's at the back, ready to comment on his images...<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010112z600.jpg"><br /><br />So, on the previous day I was checking my photo ref and working on refining my sketch, and by Wednesday, I had it as refined as it was going to be. On Monday, I'd shot refs (using L. A. William's fabulous equipment and with the excellent Zelda as a volunteer model). On Tuesday, I'd had Charles Vess look it over (he drew an alternate composition on tracing paper and told me about how most people were getting the legend of the Lady of the Lake wrong--that she was an earth goddess and had gifted Arthur with the sword in order to do good, but he used it for more typical things, like battle; I told him I was thinking of the Lady as a Celtic Water goddess--the sort they may have been sacrificing precious objects to when throwing items into certain bodies of water... which, I thought, wasn't too dissimilar an idea). Donato Giancola had come by and suggested that I not move the composition about so much so late in the day and said that perhaps I should have the lake/water more prominent--as in coming down from the background, in a rivulet sort of thing, so her feet and the sword and the roots at the bottom of the picture could be in water. I looked at Charles and he said he loved hearing alternate suggestions. And since I really didn't want to change everything (after having shot refs and all), I went with Donato's suggestions.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/lakesketch1x459x600.jpg"><br /><br />Unfortunately, the copy shop still had their printer out of order. Ruth Thompson's printer was working, but it only took up to 19" and I wanted as large an image as possible on the 18"x 24" masonite board... which would mean doing a bit of tiling (printing on two pieces of paper and cutting them irregularly so that the two pieces would jig-saw together along less noticeable lines... but that sounded like a pain to me. Drew Baker had his 22" printer but the ink ran during the mounting process... but they thought there might be a work-around if we spray-fixed the ink. I thought it would only take the morning to get that all done, but it took a while to get my file sized, then to make an appointment with Sarah who was running Drew's printer... then to borrow some spray fix from some nice guy... anyway, I didn't get a print on my Strathmore 500 series single ply Bristol until late in the afternoon. Diana Stein helped me with Donato's mounting method...<br /><br />---------<br />Donato demonstrating his drawing transfer method with a student's work--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010191z600.jpg"><br /><br />Wet Mount Method<br />1. Wet down print or sketch (whatever you're mounting)--both sides, with paintbrush or soaking in water.<br />2. Apply Matte Medium with brush to board (masonite or whatever) and back of paper. Cover corners and edges well. Make sure excess water is gone first.<br />3. Use roller/breyer lightly to get out air bubbles and excess medium (do not squeeze it all out or it won't stick properly). [my suggestion, since I've done this before: roll from center outward to get ride of air bubbles)<br />4. Brush medium on top (unless wanting to use watercolors as an underpainting/painting)<br />5. Sand down when dry and add and sand 2 more coats (150 to 200 grit)<br /><br />Note: Tom Canty used to transfer his drawings by reproducing his detailed sketches photographically in a sepia tone and mounting them on Strathmore board... I'm not sure if he wet mounted them or not, though. I learned a similar wet mounting method from my teachers at Art Center and used it with drawings reproduced by a sepia tone blueprint printer (they could make oversized copies way back in the days when they didn't have printers/copiers available).<br />---------------<br /><br />I think only a few others were still in the sketch stage... so I was pretty behind! Ah well. But I was fairly sure I could catch up, since I'm not a very careful painter! Heheh.<br /><br />So, after lunch, Michael Whelan was speaking-- Diana Stein was fan-girling a bit (and rightly so, I thought!), but I have also been a huge fan. He was THE book cover artist for F/SF for most of the years I've noticed such things. I've got prints of his, and several framed book cover comps and a sketch by him, collected over the years when he was at his prime.<br /><br />He does very finished comps, here are some examples--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010131a600.jpg"><br /><br />Here's a sketch/comp--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010115x449.jpg"><br /><br />The finished piece--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010116x449.jpg"><br /><br />He said the ADs were the ones who kept picking his centered more iconic compositions. He'd generally supply a number of skeches/comps for them to choose from. Used whatever medium he felt like, but works mostly in acrylics. Also likes Gessoboard by Ampersand.<br /><br />He sometimes uses airbrush, mostly for flat areas, no details. Often uses free-hand, hand-made frisks made from mat board or other material, so that the edges aren't hard. Here are some of those--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010120a600x278.jpg"><br /><br />Some other tools he sometimes uses--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010122a600x379.jpg"><br /><br />He also recommends THE ARTISTS WAY by Cameron--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010126a544.jpg"><br /><br />After the presentation and Q&A, Michael set up in Studio B and worked on/demo-ed a monochrome horror piece--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010181z600.jpg"><br /><br />He also brought lots of prints of his work which he gave away (graciously signing them for us). I grabbed three--one of which was a poster of the Elric I always liked. Diana had me go up there to take a photo of her with him. I thought it came out nicely! (Heheh, she was later miffed at me when Michael was heading towards our table to sit, but then I pointed him towards Rebecca Guay, who was waving him towards where she was sitting. No way I'd feel comfortable sitting across from Mr. Whelan, but Diana would have loved having him by her. Ah, well! He WAS still at the same table, just farther down... )<br /><br />----------<br /><br />The evening was lovely--students and instructors were throwing frisbees on the green in front of the commissary and studio Halls.<br /><br />The 7pm lecture/presentation was made by Donato Giancola. He's one of those artists I totally noticed right away--almost from his first covers--or so I thought! But Donato started with his beginning work (a fun retrospective way back to his childhood) that showed me he actually had a few covers on some secondary lines that I hadn't seen. He seemed to me to have a meteorically quick rise, coming out of art school right into book covers, but again, I was wrong... the guy still put in his time and has got to be one of the most motivated and hard-working artists around... Thoroughly impressive! His love of doing art and wanting to inspire it in others was palpable.<br /><br />A private commission detail... scene from a battle (Agincourt?)--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010146a600x480.jpg"><br /><br />The full triptych, he worked an image of the buyer in, just like artists used to do in the middle ages--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010149a650.jpg"><br /><br />Very early influences (childhood): Star Wars, Tolkien and D&D, Romita's Iron Man comics.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010157x449.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010159x449.jpg"><br /><br />He mentioned that with the advent of all the digital programs, it was no longer so necessary for an artist to leave room for type on book cover art. Diana had left 1/3 of the image open at the top in her sketch for the Princess of Mars assignment, but was told she shouldn't worry about that, which surprised her. Apparently the currently thinking is just to create a good painting, as Donato said in his lecture. And for the purposes of our class, it was better to make a good portfolio piece, anyway, since it wasn't a true book cover assignment. I have to say, this is a huge relief, since the 1/3 business always made for crappy compositions without the type in there, I thought! <br /><br />And then it was Studio Time from 8 to 10... or to 1am or later/earlier for the students...<br /><br />Boris, sitting back and thinking about his painting--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010160x449.jpg"><br /><br />Julie, working on the figures (they are both just ace at rendering fleshtones!)--<br /><img src="http://aprillee.tripod.com/Images--Etc./p1010163x449.jpg"><br /><br />Greg Manchess, adding a bit more to his painting Wizard of Oz--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010173z600.jpg"><br /><br />Student, Ruth Thompson, had her under-painting finished--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010174x600.jpg"><br /><br />Other students with their drawings/paintings on board (more Lady of the Lake pieces)--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010175x600.jpg"><br /><br />Students, Painting away--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010177x449.jpg"><br /><br />One of the Barbarian vs Polar bear pieces--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010180x449.jpg"><br /><br />I was furiously lathering matte medium on my board... I didn't even bother with the sanding phase (not worried about the texture so much). I just wanted to get my ground ready to paint ASAP...!<br /><br /><br />MORE REPORTS TO COME<br /><br />[All photos: copyright (c) 2009 April Lee. All images (c) to their various owners. Any copyright holders please contact me if there are images you don't wish to be posted. Or persons who don't wish to be posted, for that matter. This is not a popular blog as I don't really promote it, but if the General Public does surf in here: Please Do NOT download these images. Thank you.]Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-27577964411082691782009-06-26T05:36:00.000-07:002009-06-26T05:38:49.834-07:00Illustration Master Class-- Day Two[Been listening to Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett tributes all day and all night... I grew up with MJ... loved him in the Jackson Five and lived through the craziness of the brilliant Thriller album. Definitely the end of an era...]<br /><br />So... Tuesday, June 16... I actually posted my first LJ report late on Monday night... so I think I got to sleep at around 2:30am or so. Breakfast was at Amherst's Valentine Hall from 7:00 to 8:30, a short walk from our dorm, Pratt Hall. But... I am SO not a morning person. Also, EDT is three hours earlier than PDT, which Did Not Help! *groan!* <br /><br />[Michael Whelan, guest-instructor, viewing instructor Greg Manchess's work.]<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010063z600.jpg"><br /><br />The food was good, though. And I thought I should have breakfast, since it came with the course and I knew it would be a long and busy day. We had a Hazardous Materials and Safety Meeting at 9:45, wherein the college's representative quickly ran down all the rules, such as making sure absolutely NOTHING went down the drains or into the trash that had any kind of paint or medium on it. There were special bins for everything--paper toweling and wash water and turpentine, etc. Wow. Well, I guess it wasn't a great idea for us to be pouring stuff down drains for all those years in other places, but still... wow. <br /><br />Donato had some of his sketches spread out for us to look at--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010074z600.jpg"><br /><br />I spent the morning on my laptop in my room, looking over the photo ref that was shot the night before and picking out the ones that were closest to my sketch, then laying them in to see... Of course, my sketch had the figure twisted in a pretty broken way (no human could pose that way, unless they were a contortionist... poor Zelda was not happy when I was telling her to try and twist around more!). THAT of course, is a reason photo refs are necessary--so figures can pose in a realistic way! Anyway, I mocked up an image with Zelda's pose. I'd change things in my sketch, of course... make her longer, mostly, but try and keep the pose looking real...<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/0-drawcopy.jpg"><br /><br />Then I ran back over to the Studio because that's where all the fun was! I 'borrowed' some tracing paper from Diana and sat in my spot and sketched for the morning. Troubles were looming in that the copy shop in town that usually makes large-sized prints on heavy art paper was out of service. Fortunately, Ruth Thompson had hauled along her 19" Epson printer and laptop and set them up in the Studio for everyone to use (with a suggested donation to cover ink costs). That was a total life-saver!<br />And Drew Baker had brought his 22" printer to use (back at the dorm). I swear, the students were all great about sharing stuff--materials and equipment... it was heart-warming!<br /><br />Ruth had mounted one of her drawings to board already, using the Donato method, and had started her underpainting in acrylics (borrowing some of mine--which I rarely ever use nowadays, but had managed to pack). It was looking great. I had fun sitting next to her and seeing it all go along (particularly since I was working so slowly... my usual pace, alas!). She had tiled two pieces of paper together on the masonite, since her 19" printer couldn't accommodate her large image, which is why the papers look different.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010079z600.jpg"><br /><br />Lunch was over at Valentine Hall... a short walk from our studios in Fayerweather, from 12 to 1:00. Again, a nice spread of food, cafeteria style. <br /><br />And afterwards, we had a lecture at 1pm, by Dan DosSantos on Frankensteining reference. I was recording most of the talks, but haven't downloaded them yet. Anyway... he demonstrated by showing a photo he'd taken just outside, a model (Rebecca?) against a stone background with ivy. Then he'd rifled through the internet the night before to pull off bits and pieces that he used to create an outfit and jewelry and flowers for the background... and he put them all into the picture, flipping and distorting and changing the elements to make them work.<br /><br />Here he is afterwards, laying in the sketch/undrepainting, with the printed out frankensteined photo-ref to his left, plus the original photo of the head and other refs around him. The top one was all gridded out so he could re-create it on his ground. Wow, he works quickly, getting that down! He had the face painted in a blink, it seemed!<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010070z600.jpg"><br /><br />The afternoon studio session always goes quickly and dinner was from 5:00 to 6:30. <br /><br />7 to 8 was a Lecture/presentation by Greg Manchess. Again, I recorded it and haven't downloaded it yet, so no details yet (if anyone is interested, I may post more later). He covers his career so far and has lots of terrific images and is an amusing speaker--showing his reference shots--mostly using himself as a model for all sorts of figures!<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010057z600.jpg"><br /><br />In the evening studio session, Boris and Julie are back, painting away. They've laid in background detail and their paintings are coming along so quickly.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010073z600.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010072z600.jpg"><br /><br />And then everyone is running for their cameras as Irene Gallo has been decked out in the full suit of armor that L. A. Williams has hauled along with him from Ohio. Another (Mark?) has brought a sword. (A number of students had brought props and stuff--swords, gowns, fabric--it was great!) Irene makes a perfect Joan of Arc, and that is Charles Vess behind her, and also L. A. Williams in the background.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010102z600.jpg"><br /><br />We were all laughing and having a great time crowding around them. It was just fun and crazy and not at all something you see every day!<br /><br />For some reason, I'm still not early to bed! Ah, well... just too much going on. I think people are already hanging about the studios working away until the early morning! I try downloading my photos to possibly post here, but the wireless connection is pathetically slow, so I give up and wait until after I return (now!). Gah... It was like being on a bad dial-up! I don't know how the students stand it. Maybe they buy their own connection???<br /><br />Anyway, more later!Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-239179954509381522009-06-23T23:46:00.000-07:002009-06-23T23:47:11.753-07:00Illustration Master Class-- Day One-- ContinuedI'm back, but still exhausted, so this will be a brief post!<br /><br />On the first day, after the moving our stuff to the studios (there were two in the Fayerweather building--Studio A downstairs and Studio B upstairs, with 40 students in each--I was downstairs in A) and having our sketches looked at before and after lunch, and then going to the lecture on shooting reference and studio set-ups, we had the evening tine in the studios, from 8pm to 10pm (and the building open until 1pm... or later for people to work if they wish). It was fantastic to see the instructors set up, with them working away!<br /><br />How often can one get to see Boris painting?<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010029z600.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010033z600.jpg"><br />Scott Fischer had a rotating board to paint on.<br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010034z600.jpg"><br />Greg Manchess was starting a piece that was one of our assignments (the Steampunk Wizard of Oz).<br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010035z600.jpg"><br />Students, already set up and working hard.<br /><br />John already had a terrific finished sketch ready to go for the Lady of the Lake assignment--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010037z600.jpg"><br /><br />Boris, with Julie Bell painting next to him, had a comfy chair, with his name taped on back.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010039z600.jpg"><br /><br />Some of Dan DosSantos's paintings on display in Studio A (I'd actually read BUTCHER BIRD, that had his art on the cover, which was my intro to his art).<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010041z600.jpg"><br /><br /><br />Donato had the beginning of the private commission he was working on--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010049z600.jpg"><br /><br />Greg Manchess knocked in the first figure on his piece the first night--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010050z600.jpg"><br /><br />Scott got a lot done also--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010053z600.jpg"><br /><br />Julie Bell painted the underpainting--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010054z600.jpg"><br /><br />As did Boris... all in an hour or two--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010055z600.jpg"><br /><br />Of course, they are well-admired professionals for a reason! I was still working on my sketch, of course... shooting photo-refs in L. A. Williams' room, since he had brought his lights and D700 camera, and the fantastic Zelda (who does the graphic/comics on Tor.com) had volunteered to model for a few of us (Diana Stein and Joseph and me), while she got Ruth Thompson to model for her. I was still sorting through photos at 2am. And the late nights only got later from there! Agh!<br /><br />As I'm still Very Sleepy, that's all for now...!!!Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343567.post-20243457710907706572009-06-23T22:03:00.000-07:002009-06-23T22:05:08.267-07:00Illustration Master Class-- Day One[cross-posted from my LJ]<br /><br />For a fantasy illustrator, this is like dying and going to heaven! There are 70+ students, ranging from beginning to being tops in their fields. Everyone is excited and working together and amazingly kick-ass. I arrived at Bradley/Hartford yesterday and shared a shuttle in with four others, all women, one a former Disney animator, now free-lancer. We all were glad to meet each other and three of them had attended last year. Apparently they had around 30 students returning, which is not bad in a recession.<br /><br />Remember that I did a massive fail in getting my assignment sketches ready (we were to pick from a list of assignments, do thumbs and shoot refs and bring a finished sketch or two to class the first day. I chose a basic fantasy assignment: The Lady of the Lake. On Sunday night, Jennifer Meyer, a great artist who is in the room next to Diana Stein and I helped me with a thumbnail and I made a really rough sketch--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010002a600.jpg"><br /><br />We are staying in the dorms at Amherst College. Lovely surroundings, good facilities, good food... <br /><br />The room I'm sharing with Diana (most have only one to a room, but we volunteered to share). <br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010001z600.jpg"><br /><br />Ate breakfast at 8 on Monday morning. 10 we gathered for the visual presentation of some of the work of the instructors: Rebecca Guay, Donato Giancola, Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell, Greg Manchess, Charles Vess, Dan DosSantos, Irene Gallo (AD for Tor), Scott Fischer and Michael Whelan. Then we ran off to our Studios to set up and to get our sketches critiqued.<br /><br />I had a few other crappy sketches--<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010004a400.jpg"><br /><br />(believe me, they were crappy... you should have seen some of the gorgeous finished sketches others had--they were suitable for framing as is!)<br /><br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010003a600.jpg"><br /><br />Four instructors made the rounds of one of the two studios (they would switch off on various days). Greg Manchess and Boris were doing my section.<br /><br />They thought this sketch was better and suggested I move the sword a bit and said I'd need to get good photo refs to go further.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010005a400.jpg"><br /><br />I grabbed Rebecca Guay to see what she said, since romantic fantasy is more her thing and she sketched a bit over my horrible sketch as well and suggested I flip the image.<br /><img src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a302/aprilllee/09-06-IMC/P1010014a600r.jpg"><br /><br />After dinner there was a great presentation by Boris and Julie and then Donato and Dan and a martial arts guy on shooting photo ref... slides of Boris and Julie's studio set up for taking photos (he as tons of expensive cameras and lighting). And Donato brought his diffusers and strobe light and reflected color gel light to do a demo with the marital artist doing leaps and kicks. Damn... we all need to upgrade our cameras and lights to a HUGE degree if we need to do it right. But as Boris said, it was better than when he had to use professional photographers and wait to develop the film, etc. <br /><br />Donato also demoed his method of transferring and mounting the drawing onto board (masonite or illustration board). (Uses matte medium.)<br /><br />In the studios Boris and Julie were working on their paintings, same with Greg Manchess and Charles Vess. Donato had a large private Lord of the Rings painting he was starting. The studios are all open until 1am. <br /><br />After that we went to L.A. William's room because he had a strobe light and D-700 camera and we got other artists to volunteer to model. There are people with swords and armor and chain mail and scanners and printers... others are doing all digital, but most are going to eventually be doing traditional. I'll be trying oils for the first time since college.<br /><br />It's now 2am and we have to be up at 7:30 tomorrow! It's going to be a crazy-ass week!Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05467872635415712789noreply@blogger.com0