Nightwing: WIP

So, still sketchin'...still drawin'...and still entering art competitions.

This one is of Nightwing, aka Dick Grayson...aka Robin. This is a work in progress and a small part of a much larger intended picture. I would go into specifics, but I don't want to say anything just yet until I put it all on paper. Basically, I just wanted to show the work in progress from the initial 'ink' stage to the colors.

I'm the cheapest artist I know. And it also doesn't help that I don't get paid for commissions (see previous post), so I gotta keep stuff cheap. But that's going to change soon when I make that serious jump. Anyways, my pen is dying on me and I'm trying to get the most out of it, but its becoming an exercise in futility. I tried to do the best that I could with what I had. I definitely need to get some new pens if I plan on finishing this drawing.

So, these are the coloring stages I take. I first lay down the flat colors just to make sure that things will flow well together. Then I decided on how I wanted the lighting to go...which in this case I wanted the light to come in from the viewer's left. I shaded the face first to make sure it looked okay, then proceeded to the rest of the picture. Then I put in darker shadows and then the highlights. Here's that progress:


And the background is babyfood pea green because it helps me to see the whites easier.

Usually, I would leave things that way, but this time, I decided to add a secondary light source, which I think helps out greatly, even though it isn't immediately obvious. I thought that the image looked cool, so I decided to make it a picture on its own. I added the comic screen tone to the back and did a radial motion blur and added an overall texture, and this is how it came out in the end:

Meh...it looks okay...not fantastic. There's some things that I still have to change here and there on it. I just really hope that the larger picture comes together and is coherent.

The Commission

I was never fond of doing commissions...mainly because I didn't like the fact that I was 'selling' art...things that I grew used to and attached to over the course of me making it. And also, I feel that some people just don't have the same appreciation for certain things like I do. I perceive my own artwork as thoughts and feelings drawn out on paper...and it means alot to me. And truthfully, its kind of heartbreaking and discouraging when someone begs and pleads for my art and I give it to them, only later to see that its balled up in a wad somewhere or folded in half on the floor collecting dust...but thats just me.

Also, I don't really like drawing things for people because I never really know what they want. It helps if they sketch out a thumbnail for me so I can see their idea, but most of the time they leave it up to me. And I don't like it when I give something my all, and they don't even like it or its not what they want.

Then I thought to myself that artists have to live and survive too, and eventually I would have to get over that commission thing...so thats what I did...sorta. I'm like one of the only artists that I know who does commissions and doesn't get paid for them. Right now, I view art as something that I love doing, and love getting better at. And as long as things are simple and reasonable, I don't mind doing freebies. But I'm gonna start doing more detailed and intricate ones that go beyond the definition of sketches, and those I will def. charge for.

So with that said, on to the commissions that I've recently done (for free!! yay!!). They've all been watermarked because I feel that I drew the picture for that person and that person only, so they're the ones that get the pristine versions.

1. This is a drawing that I did for someone who's writing a book. From what I've read so far its a very interesting read. The picture of the main character's other entity that she communicates with. She's made up of fire, and it was hard trying to find a mix of the different colors that she described her character was made out of, but I tried my best.

2. This one was done for a fellow blogger. I'm not going to put his name here right now because I know he probably wants to keep this under wraps until he's ready to post it on his blog. I'm not going to post the total image, just a brief snippet of it. This is part of a larger image.
3. This next picture was also done for a fellow blogger. She showed me some images of what she liked and asked for something similar. I wasn't familiar at all with that art style, but I gave it a shot and infused some of my own in there as well. I hope she liked it alot and its what she wanted.4. This is one that I drew for a special friend of mine and is loosely based on her. This was supposed to be a beach scene and very simple. Still don't know if she liked it or not...but I guess she got her money's worth (especially since it was free)
So as of right now, I'm willing to still do 'free' sketches, as long as they're for the most part simple...all I'm willing to ask for in return is that you are able to post them online to your respective blog and link back to this site, Illuminate Darkness. If you are looking for something a little more involved, email me at IlluminateDarknessComics@gmail.com, or twitter me at IllumDarkness and we can definitely work something out from there.

Work in Progress: Wolverine

So, I'm not completely finished with this yet...there's still alot I have to do to it before the due date. At first, I didn't have faith that the drawing that I did before would turn out to be fruitful, and the other character I drew I had to scrap completely and redraw it from scratch...and it was getting frustrating. So, with some trickery, so redone coloring and hue changes...a background drawn in (finally!!!) things are coming along pretty well. You know, when I was going through my Gimp to Photoshop transition, I was thinking to myself that Gimp was fine and I actually preferred it...but now I've delved deeper into it, and I love Photoshop. I love Photoshop....anyways...here's what I have so far:

Zelda on the Open Seas

When I tell people that I have "artist's ADD", I don't think people really get me. Well...I have two pictures that I need to be working on for a competition that are due sometime this month. One, I'm like 45% done, and the other roughly like 15% done. But with deadlines looming like that, I still get easily distracted and start drawing other things. Take for instance this Zelda picture. Its based upon the game Wind Waker for GameCube (the MOST slept on Zelda game ever...if it weren't so short, this would be my favorite Zelda game). The whole point of the game is that you use this magical orchestrator's wand to change the winds for you to sail on. In this picture, someone obviously from the wrong game showed up...Blooper from Super Mario Bros. I just thought it would be funny...cause...I'm weird like that. This was drawn in my 5x8 sketchpad.


Also, if not many people know, I'm open for commissions. I've done a couple so far already, and as of right now, depending on the intricacy of the drawing or sketch, I'm willing to do it for cheap, and in some instances free...as long as you are able to post my work on your blog or website and have it linked to Illuminate Darkness. For other, bigger, more complex works, feel free to email me (email address located under the 'Contact Me' link above) or DM me on Twitta' and we can definitely work some things out from there. In some upcoming posts, I will post some recent commissions that I've done.

And like my main man always says: "Stay thirsty my friends"

Logan WIP (Work In Progress)

I'm not sure who really reads this anyways, so I guess I'm posting this here to chronicle my own progress. This is another work in progress of a bigger picture that I'm working on. I would say in the grand scheme of things, this picture here (which this part itself isn't even complete) represents like 15% of the total drawing. I just like doing them piece by piece so I can devote time to the little details of the character...and it makes the whole picture easier for me to take on when I break it up this way. The picture really looks tame as of right now, but in my thumbnail version, this will get really dirty and messy. *sigh*, now its time to devote some effort to that He-Man picture that I started not too long ago...

Prince Adam WIP (Work In Progress)

I haven't posted a real work in progress in some time...well, there was the Punisher picture and the Gambit one...but still. This is when you know you're a child of the 80s. I'm definitely gonna flesh this one out as much as I can before the 21st...because...yeah, I'm entering another drawing competition. But I'm also working on another 'real' picture at the same time, plus sketching random stuff all the time. Crazy. Maybe I'll be able to publish a sketchbook by the end of the calendar year that won't completely suck.

Maybe.

Grecco-Roman Goddess

I'm not fully versed in the mythologies of the grecco-roman era. Actually, I suck at history. I'm more of a math and science person...who likes art and draws in their spare time. My main goal was to use math and science to get to a point where I could do art whenever I wanted...but, its not playing out that way. Some days I wish I went to school to get a BFA instead of an engineering degree...and if I would be happier with that. But I guess you shouldn't live in regret...and that post is for another day...on another blog.

Anyways...

I had this idea to draw this a little while ago. I initially wanted it to be a drawing of Nefertiti in ancient Egypt, but I really hate that hat/crown she wears, and if I drew her without it, she wouldn't be easily recognizable. I might do a redux of this with her instead somewhere down the line, but I'm pretty happy how this turned out. The only thing thats not readily apparent which I wanted to convey, was that her dress was supposed to be sheer, but for some reason, it didn't come out that way...maybe I need to lower to opacity some more. Oh well. And I guess she's supposed to be the goddess of the sun, hence the faint sun rays.

Now I just have to learn how to and practice color holds in photoshop...

King of Music

Let me preface this by saying that I've been holding off on doing a Michael Jackson tribute post because I knew that the blogs would've been saturated with them, and I felt as if I needed to do something different. But then I thought, this is the passing of an icon...and if I can't do a tribute for him, then I shouldn't be doing tributes at all, let alone calling myself a lover a music. Without a doubt, the passing of Michael Jackson is definitely a serious loss to the music industry. He set the bar remarkably high...which seems untouchable by anyone else today. He broke boundaries, created classics, redefined what a music video is and should be, defined pop as a genre...the list goes on and on. His songs are so classic and timeless, to a point where I can find myself putting them on repeat and listening to them for hours...and thats definitely saying something in the era of ring tone music that we are in right now.

I'm sad that we lost MJ. I grew up to his music. I remember trying to emulate that lean from the Smooth Criminal video. I remember his Remember the Time with all of those stars in it...and thinking that his music has to be something special to bring all of those people together. I laughed at his Jam video with Michael Jordan. I knew just about all the steps to Thriller. His videos are so classic...words can't express how deeply they've effected all of the music we love and listen to today. Without MJ breaking boundaries with his music and redefining what genres are and how you can transcend them, there probably wouldn't be as great of a mix of music that we have today. There would be no great r&b...the Jackson 5 was the original boy band. No *N-sync, no 98 degrees, no Justin Timberlake, no Ne-Yo, no Usher, no Chris Brown...so much he has effected, and continues to effect by his music even today.

Most people choose to dwell on his personal life...but dammit, he's been scrutinized since he was 9 years old. His life has become a laughing stock almost, and its a damn shame that we're only now in his passing realizing how great he was and the legacy he left. MJ will definitely be missed by me...and there never will be another King of Pop...scratch that...King of Music.

The sketch above is only fitting.