My Sketchbook, Line Work and Color.

Here are several drawings I've done for my sketchbook recently.   Below I painted over several of them digitally and explain the process I used.

 

                                                                                               

Here I painted digitally on top of my original pencil drawings.  I would begin with a multiply layer painting in the deeper values gradually.  On top I added a soft light layer, picking out any highlights.  A final normal layer is added for any touch ups as well as adding the lightest and darkest shades. It was also used to cover up line work I didn't need.  (A couple additional layers were added to the rhino to add texture).  I picked up this process from following Kekai Kotaki on Facebook, please check out his work!

What's To Come, Portraits, and Poster!

Hello! Welcome to my blog, here you're going to find a number of rough sketches and paintings with a few finished pieces strewn about. My goal for this site is to act as a public sketch book, showcasing a variety of work in varying levels of completion.

With that being stated, here are five portraits I did last week, plus a bonus movie poster!

A friend of mine recently introduced me to /r/redditgetsdrawn.  The idea of the subreddit is simple, people post pictures of themselves/loved one and others draw the photo and post the results.  I enjoyed the idea and decided to contribute.

This was the first painting I did for the site.  The moment after I saw it I knew I had to try to paint it. The eyes, the smirk, this photo had a ton of personality that I wanted to capture.

This one was fairly simple, I enjoyed the lighting which is why I chose to paint it.

Another photo that had a ton of personality.

Similar to the second photo, I chose to paint this man because of the lighting.

I got a lot more involved in this painting than I originally planed. The initial idea was to paint it in a similar fashion to the four above.  After I started I realized that the photo was too delicate (and didn't have enough contrast) to approach in the same manner.  The picture was taken at night with a flash, so needless to say it was fairly blown out.  My goal was to bring a little bit of life and color back into the painting. 

I've never painted in the manner before and am happy with the results.  I will possibly explore this style more in the future (stay tuned!).

                                                                                               

Bonus movie poster!  The premier for Mosden was last Saturday and I had a great time.  The entire team did a wonderful job portraying Curtis James Salt's vision.  I worked  closely with him on this commission for the official movie poster, and I believe we are both extremely satisfied with the final product. You can learn more about the movie from the official Facebook page Here. If you have the chance, make sure you see any future showings of the film

-Topher

(Side Note: Pink's mask was a ton of fun and also a total pain to paint.)