Hot Air Balloon Combat Pilot

Did a couple of morale patch designs for Bryan over at ITSTactical.com. One of them was this only simplified to a 2.5x2.5 inch patch. I had too much fun rendering the concept that I had to go with a full size rendering. The next design will follow.

Rendered on a WACOM Cintiq 21UX using Painter 11 and Manga Studio 4 debut.

Until They All Come Home

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.

Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always.  Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.

And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind."

Major Michael O'Donnell
KIA March 24, 1970-Dak To, SVN

I Can Has iPhone?

Keeping with my "one drawing a day" motto, I have yet again rendered another on the iPad, same app, SketchBook Pro. It wasn't easy tearing myself away from my newest "iPet" , but I must adhere to what I started. That being said is it really any wonder what subject matter I would choose?

"But I don't want to go among Mad People"

Finger painting on AutoDesk's SketchBook Pro for the iPad.

IllustrationFriday.com - Ripple

This week's topic for IllustrationFriday.com was a special one, one with a cause.

"It's hard to make ripples in oil soaked water. But throw enough stones and you will!

It's not about the politics or the corporation. It's about the animals. It's about not feeling helpless in the face of an overwhelming disaster. We're illustrators. We don't lose touch with that kid inside who marvels at the creatures who swim below and fly above the sea. We draw them. We are inspired by them. We need to help them.

The Ripple blog was started on the 45th day of the Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe. The oil spill in the Gulf is now over 50 days old with no sign of stopping. We may be too small as individuals to do some grand gesture- but together our small gestures can be grand. "

Rendered with Manga Studio Debut 4 on a Wacom Cintiq.

Remember Them

Remember Them

If you are able,
save for them a place
inside of you
and save one backward glance
when you are leaving
for the places they can
no longer go.
Be not ashamed to say
you loved them,
though you may
or may not have always.
Take what they have have left
and what they have taught you
with their dying
and keep it with your own.
And in that time
when men decide and feel safe
to call the war insane,
take one moment to embrace
those gentle heroes
you left behind.


Major Michael O'Donnell: MIA 24 March 1970, Cambodia
Declared dead after missing: 7 February 1978
Remains repatriated: 12 April 1995
Remains identified: 20 June 2001

IllustrationFriday.com

This week's topic on IllustrationFriday.com is "Fearless". I read the topic and thought, "didn't we just do this?", and as you can see from the previous post, it is similar to the last topic that I did which was "brave". I started this two weeks ago for the topic "ahead" but never finished it. I guess it could work for this week's topic, at any rate, I didn't want to waste it.

Rendering was done in Manga Studio Debut 4 with colors completed in Corel Painter 11 and Photoshop CS5. All pencils, inks, and colors were rendered on a Wacom Cintiq.

IllustrationFriday.com-Brave

This week's topic for IllustrationFriday is Brave. This first thing that popped into my head was this. The sketch and inks were once again rendered in Manga Studio Debut 4, while the colors were all rendered in Photoshop CS4. I decided to use a variable stroke pen tip in Manga Studio to try something a little different. I have to say that I loved the feel that it gave the illustration. I have always used technical pens and have double stoked my lines in order to give them weight. In addition to changing up how I would normally ink, I decided to render my colors with a watercolor feel using multiple layers and various levels of opacity. Overall, I am pretty happy with the way that it turned out.

Any day I can draw for fun is a GREAT day.

IllustrationFriday.com - Perspective

This week's topic on IllustrationFriday.com is "Perspective". Now I could have gone with a nice play on the word and not gone with the litteral definition (especially in terms of art), but I just purchased Manga Studio Debut 4 and I was itching to try it out, and what comes to mind when I think of Manga? You guessed it- ROBOTS. So I started sketching and one thing led to another and we have my submission. The sketch and inks were all done in Manga Studio Debut 4, the colors were rendered in Corel Painter 11, and special effects were done in Photoshop CS4.

I have to say that Manga Studio performs VERY well, especially in the case of cartoon or comic book art. I am not saying that the other apps do not work as well, on the contrary, all the apps work well and compliment each oher. One app may not handle as well as the others under certain circumstances. At $40, Manga Studio Debut 4 is practically a STEAL. If you use any of the Wacom Cintiq tablets, add this to your illustration collection today.

Blazathon and The Art of Rufus

One character that I seem to keep bumping into each year is the Stillwater Elks Lodge Blazathon BBQ Cook-Off mascot named Rufus. He started off being drawn by a local screen printer (you can see his image in the left hand of the cook rules and parking map illustration). He never really changed much other than finding a clip art body onto which his head was slapped onto. I think I recall a year or two that he was rendered with some fancy airbrush shading or something or another. I have slowly updated him as to what I see him as, and have tried to breath some life into the little character. You can see something of his evolution from my design from 2007 and the artwork I have done for the official webpage. It goes in cycles, and this year that local screen printer I mentioned is doing this years artwork, which is great.

Tornado Alley Graphics Google Theme

figured I would add the link to my Tornado Alley Graphics Google theme for those that want to add it for their Google homepages.

Finger Painting on the iPhone

This is another blast from the past. Used Autodesks Sketchbook Mobile
on the iPhone. This is far and away the best drawing or painting app
on the iPhone.

Silverback Sketch

This is a project I am working on for the local US Army Recruiters station here in Stillwater. I'm awaiting approval of the sketch before I render the "inks" and colors. For a little background on these movies, I am working with a Wacom Citiq and Painter 11 with a splash of Autodesk's Sketchbook pro.

Getting Back to The Basics

Figured I would put this blog to better use and get my designs posted, rendering movies included. This is a doodle I started and need to finish. I call it "But I don't WANT to go Among Mad People..."

IllustrationFriday.com

This week's topic is "Propagate" so I figured what is more widely used in the digital world to propagate than the paste command.