Thumbnail Drawings
As an illustrator, I was used to sending sketches to the client at the start of a project. This was stressful because it meant that I had to present a convincing preliminary drawing owing to the fact that if I didn’t, I could lose the job. And the deadline for ideas was generally a short one. Generating the idea involved many tiny thumbnail sketches, to actually see what I was thinking about. The sketches had to always consider the client, the audience and the purpose of the illustrations, and end up as a memorable image, original but not too original, and easily understood.
These are the thoughts of my teachers that went through my mind when I started 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 thumbnail, then it isn’t there. Making the drawings small makes the drawings faster and avoids needless details which can upend the composition.”
This is a collection of those drawings that hint at that creative process typically hidden from view.
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A rhythm study to discuss integrating the actions of the model. From life. Vine Charcoal on newsprint. This was from a life class that I was teaching at Ringling.
One of two drawings on tracing paper. The first is considered rough, mainly to get the proportions and general shapes of the composition. 6B graphite pencil, on tracing paper. The base layer.
Second layer of line drawing for watercolor illustration. This overlay refines the the line drawing details. Clubhouse Magazine.
"Dining Out" Sarasota Magazine. Watercolor on illustration board. 1984. I had learned to work small for easy mailing. This is approximately 4" x 4". I liked to style the characters into large geometric shapes but unfortunately the rotund woman who wrote the food column thought it a personal insult.
Notes to a student in a basic illustration class. Pencil on tracing paper. The manikin figure diagramed space and constucted the basic forms which capture light and shadow as well as local color & details. Pencil on tracing paper. 2003. RMCAD.
Tiny thumbnail, 1/2 " x 3/4" graphite thumbnail for "The Gnarly Man" from the book: Lands and Legends. The neanderthal man kept moving, staying within the shadows of society to avoid trouble.
The Gnarly Man L. Sprague de Camp 1939. A Neanderthal is struck by lightning, becoming immortal, and roams through time , until one day he is spotted in a side show, by a scientist. The scientist is curious to the point of stepping over the line of human decency, when she engages her scientific colleagues in her discovery. From the anthology "Lands and Legends".
Tiny thumbnail sketch, one of many, for "Banshee" illustration for "Lands and Legends" . Graphite on tracing paper. After interviewing Bill Mayer, for my Masters Thesis at Syracuse, I began completing thumbnails in large numbers. It helped.
"Banshee" Preliminary pencil thumbnail sketch for digital version in. PhotoShop.
"Banshee" final. PhotoShop. Book illustration for "Lands and Legends".
Demonstration lighting drawing for class critique. Photoshop.
"Snowman Bombshell" 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.
"India Competes for Asian Tech Business " Asian Wall Street Journal. Pencil drawing.
This is the 3 hour deadline illustration, start to finish, the shortest deadline I ever had when I was doing illustration for the Asian Wall Street Journal. I had to get the article, read it, come up with sketches, send them to get approval, then do the finished art. The drawing was completed then took about ten minutes to send via dial up internet, speeding to Hong Kong.
Tiny thumbnail for "Florida Agriculture."
"Florida Agriculture" Tonal drawing in charcoal for final illustration. Sarasota Magazine.
"Asia Ahead." Market Investment Returns to Asia. Asian Wall Street thumbnail sketch.
"Asia Ahead." Market Investment Returns to Asia. Asian Wall Street thumbnail sketch.
Published Final Illustration for the Asian Wall Street Journal. PhotoShop.
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.
"Summer Reading" graphite thumbnail sketch, colorized in PhotoShop.
Summer Reading Sketch 3
Summer Reading Sketch 2
"Summer Reading" Robinson Crusoe finds a book on the sand. Syracuse University Masters Program.
"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.
1 of 4 sketches for Gallery Magazine illustration, "My Darling Pils" by Mike Todd. Graphite on tracing paper.
2 of 4 sketches for Gallery Magazine illustration, "My Darling Pils" by Mike Todd. Graphite on tracing paper.
3 of 4 sketches for Gallery Magazine illustration, "My Darling Pils" by Mike Todd. Graphite on tracing paper.
4 of 4 sketches for Gallery Magazine illustration, "My Darling Pils" by Mike Todd. Graphite on tracing paper.
Gallery Magazine illustration, "My Darling Pils" by Mike Todd. Oil on canvas.