Art Process

I always find it interesting to see how people work. It's one of the reasons I love getting into people's sketchbooks. This is how most of my commissioned stuff (i.e. the art that has to be planned and isn't a happy accident) happens. A lot of my commissioned work is done digitally so I don't have all of these stages on hand, but I did this piece in colored pencil for an upcoming issue of Dark Valentine Magazine, so I actually have examples for the process.

1. There's an initial idea sketch. Sometimes its in a sketchbook, but a lot of the time I do mine at work when I should be doing something else (and they end up sketched on whatever is at hand) . These are messy, and are just an opportunity for me to work out basic composition and rough out some of the details
   
2. I like to scan the original sketch into Photoshop and use the program to do rough edits. Its easier to manipulate things like scale in PS and I don't have to re-draw the prep sketch a million times. Here you can see I wanted the woman to be a lot more voluptuous, I added in the snakey border, and put the man in a suit instead of having him nude. At this point I also adjust the levels so that the lines are nice and dark. This is important for the next step.
3. If I'm working on a relatively small scale, like with this piece, I just print the prep-work out at the final size and using a light box (which I don't have, so 'light box' means 'paper taped to a bright window') I roughly trace the design onto the final paper. Adjustments to pose, proportion and details are finalized and then I execute the work in the chosen medium.
   

Sneak Peek

Since I'm apparently incapable of keeping a blog going...
really though, I need to get it together and actually use this as a place to dump stuff that isn't going to end up anywhere else. That said, here's a little sketchy sketch of an upcoming project. Very seasonal no? (unless of course you live in the southern hemisphere).

This is how most of my work starts. Really, really messy.

Handbags by Quote

I've been thinking of trying to make myself a new purse lately. I made a shoulder bag as part of a design project at university and have wanted to design something for myself ever since. Plus - working with leather is always interesting and the design challenges of a bag are different than with clothes. But the bags by Quote on Etsy are so affordable I'm now tempted to skip the hassle and buy instead of make. They have that lovely balance of interesting design (odd shapes! can be carried multiple ways!) with functionality that is impossible for me to resist. Something about supporting small businesses and independent designers also makes it easier for me to part with my money.

WANGIE

I've been watching Angie Wang on DeviantArt for quite awhile and was thrilled when she started a fashion illustration blog (WANGIE). I'm utterly smitten by her unique style and bizarrely lovely designs.

Dark Valentine Magazine Live!

A few months ago I was contacted by the amazing illustrator Joanne Renaud about contributing to a new project she was working on. Dark Valentine Magazine is an online dark fiction and art publication: "fiction on the edge of a black and beating heart". I hadn't done any professional illustration projects in several years and illustrating stories by very different authors while sticking to your own artistic style is an interesting challenge. I've been impressed by the level of talent showcased in the premier issue. Second issue is coming soon!

Getting ones feet wet...

The intention for this blog is to have a place to collect things that interest and inspire me as well as allowing an outlet that is less structured/professional/finished than my deviantart account and professional website. Artistically I'm such a dabbler and am so all over the place that I hope this will be a way for me to create some sort of cohesion in my pursuit of the aesthetic life.