Sketches 7/19/07

I have been tied up on a new animation/illustration project so my sketches-of-the-day have fallen off. To replace that idea for now, I'm posting a bunch a quick sketches that I have been doing at night to stay sharp. Most of this is sketched from John Buscema's work. I have been trying to get my hands on everything of his I can lately. I think if I draw his stuff over and over again, it may rub off on me.

Cintiq Sketch of the Day 2

Another of my sketch of the day attempts...this one is a little different approach than Monday's. I still drew directly in Photoshop, but tried starting with the shadow areas first and then working on the midtones, etc. The last drawing I did in the opposite way...not sure which I like more. This approach was much quicker but it seems to be a little less subtle.

I am copying my friend Peter Krause's idea, for doing a sketch of the day. This one is sketched from a photo in Sports Illustrated of Rafael Nadal...all done in Photoshop on the Cintiq tablet again.

Sketch for the Extended Version of Fever

Another experiment...

I was trying to see what would happen if I drew directly in Photoshop (on a Cintiq tablet). It is a bit of a departure in style from most of my work but I think it is valuable to try things outside of your usual pattern in order to improve. I typically like to work with more graphic shapes and hard edges, but in this I was going for a much more painterly feel. I also tried to not use any reference and just draw straight from my head...just to push myself a bit.

I've learned a lot of great techniques for an illustration like this from the DVD's at the The Gnomon Workshop . They are a really excellent resource.