Thumbnail Drawings
These are the thoughts of my teachers that go through my mind when I start a project with sketches….”In the beginning, keep everything basically simple and deliberately clear. The little drawing shows the big picture. This means that if the proportions look right in the smaller drawing, then they will look good in the larger painting. If you can’t see the idea in the sketch, then it isn’t there. Making the drawings small makes the drawings faster and avoids needless details which can upend the composition.”
Demonstration lighting drawing for class critique. Photoshop.
Charcoal on newsprint. Demonstration drawing with advice from Matthew McFarren.
"The Year of the Snake" This is a digital sketch, one of many, which was considered for the final picture, "The Year of the American Snake" which is seen in the editorial section.
"The Big Bad Wolf" charcoal on newsprint, demonstration drawing for RMCAD illustration class discussion.
"Summer Reading" graphite thumbnail sketch, colorized in PhotoShop.
"Banshee" Preliminary pencil thumbnail sketch for digital version in. PhotoShop.
"Banshee" final. PhotoShop. Book illustration for "Lands and Legends".
"India Competes for Asian Tech Business " Asian Wall Street Journal. Pencil drawing.
"Florida Agriculture" Tonal drawing in charcoal for final illustration. Sarasota Magazine.
"Market Investment Returns to Asia" Asian Wall Street thumbnail sketch.
Sketch & Final
One of many preliminary thumbnail sketches for Marco Polo restaurant mural painted in PhotoShop.
"Marco Polo" digital drawing for the Marco Polo Restaurant mural. This was the basic line drawing for the final.
"Marco Polo Restaurant Mural Preliminary Color / Tonal Study in PhotoShop." For me, PhotoShop is so quick and easy to try out many variations. This is mostly good, but I often try other methods to stay fresh.
This photograph shows the artwork just a day or so before it was completed. It is approximately 8' x 14'. Acrylic on canvas.
"The Future is in the Air" From the series of drawings in pencil on tracing paper to accompany class illustration project discussion.
"Three Stages of Pied Piper" Oil with Crystal Clear, Graphite and Charcoal.
Preliminary Drawing in charcoal on newsprint. Sarasota Magazine. 1995.
"Toshiba" Thumbnail sketch. Graphite on tracing paper. The project called for an image of downsizing a corporation.
"Toshiba" The basis of the final digital illustration was a simple pencil drawing on tracing paper. The dinosaur on one sheet, the smaller sections on another, then scanned in to Photoshop to join them.
"Toshiba Color Stage" Colorized green, then local color added digitally.
"Toshiba Final" Photoshop. 2000.
Tonal sketch and draw over response. PhotoShop. I the student's artwork is livelier, but I was expected to teach basic skills so this response emphasizes that. There was a lot of conversations too.