7.15.2013
"There may be a fortune waiting, or maybe an egg souffle..."
6.24.2013
Challenge no. 15
June 24 - July 5, 12, 2013
UPDATE: Since the submission deadline lands on a holiday week, it's now extended to Friday, July 12.
Make 2-4 spot illustrations using the lyrics of a favorite song.
These can be super simple, i.e. sketches, experimental, color, black and white, super finished, etc. Is for fun.
Some examples for inspiration:
All submissions due by midnight, July 5.
Be sure to include/embed whatever song you used with your post.
UPDATE: Since the submission deadline lands on a holiday week, it's now extended to Friday, July 12.
Make 2-4 spot illustrations using the lyrics of a favorite song.
These can be super simple, i.e. sketches, experimental, color, black and white, super finished, etc. Is for fun.
Some examples for inspiration:
All submissions due by midnight, July 5.
Be sure to include/embed whatever song you used with your post.
6.21.2013
"Turquoise Sunrise"
Turquoise Sunrise
by Marti Major
6.125" x 6.125"
Acrylic and Glass Beads on Bristol Paper
This is a tributary companion piece to a glorious work titled "Silver Rain" that my sister and I saw 3 years ago at the Yavapai County Fair in Prescott, AZ. Unfortunately we didn't take a picture, but the sketch below is the best that I can remember:
 |
| (Envision loads of thick black/blue/purple/gray/yellow paint with black glass beads for the horse's eyes.) |
Not purchasing the piece is one of the few regrets of my life, so here is my tribute to a masterwork, as painted with my right hand (I'm left handed).
6.10.2013
Challenge no. 14
June 10-21, 2013
This challenge is one to keep for the portfolio:
Create a piece of art worthy of the The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA) permanent collection.
Caption explaining your masterpiece's background required.
(A particularly moving piece below from the MOBA site:)
The artist's affection for her dog far outstrips her artistic skill. Paint is slapped on the canvas with random brushstrokes, creating matted, impossible fur. Done in such a hurry that the canine anatomy was not even considered, the artist still captures Ronan's playful sweetness. Or perhaps the pup has just lapped up all the spilled eggnog at a holiday party and is ready to attempt a clear tenor rendition of "Danny Boy."
From: Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco, Ten Speed Press.
A little about the museum:
This challenge is one to keep for the portfolio:
Create a piece of art worthy of the The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA) permanent collection.
Caption explaining your masterpiece's background required.
(A particularly moving piece below from the MOBA site:)
RONAN THE PUG
Erin Rothgeb
18" x 24", acrylic on canvas board
Purchased by M. Frank at a Boston thrift store
MOBA #333
18" x 24", acrylic on canvas board
Purchased by M. Frank at a Boston thrift store
MOBA #333
The artist's affection for her dog far outstrips her artistic skill. Paint is slapped on the canvas with random brushstrokes, creating matted, impossible fur. Done in such a hurry that the canine anatomy was not even considered, the artist still captures Ronan's playful sweetness. Or perhaps the pup has just lapped up all the spilled eggnog at a holiday party and is ready to attempt a clear tenor rendition of "Danny Boy."
From: Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco, Ten Speed Press.
A little about the museum:
"The Museum Of Bad Art (MOBA) is a community-based, private institution dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms and in all its glory...
As the only museum dedicated to bringing the worst of art to the widest of audiences we felt morally compelled to explore new, more creative ways of bringing this priceless collection of quality bad art to a global audience. Another Boston-area cultural institution, Dedham Community Theatre, generously allowed MOBA the use of their basement. Our first permanent gallery is now conveniently located just outside the men’s room in a 1927 movie theatre. The ambience created such a convivial atmosphere, that when we went looking for a second location, the only place that was up to our quality standards was another theatre basement. The Somerville Theater in Davis Square, Somerville MA is now our second gallery."All submissions due by Friday at midnight, June 21.
6.07.2013
Sampson Sets Sail: Smuggler's Cave
"Sampson knew it was a smugglers cave because they are very secretive and although the cave was full of jars labeled 'Nancy's Prize Yellow Pickles,' the smugglers, who were none too bright, had left only 2 little gherkins per bottle to disguise all of the gold nuggets lumped at the bottom of every jar. Still being hungry, and knowing they might notice if he sampled their pickles, he rummaged in the corner and found a rattly, dusty tin labeled 'Belgian Ginger Snaps' which surely wouldn't be missed. Prying the sticky lid off bit by bit, he..."
(Rough excerpt from a book I'm working on.)
5.21.2013
Challenge no. 13
May 21 - June 7, 2013
[Sidenote: Excuse the long pause in between challenge 12, part 3 and this challenge. I've been completing projects, and moving between cities, which is also the reason that this challenge covers 3 not just 2 weeks. After that, back to normal.]
This next challenge is one that's based in animation, but is very, very applicable to illustration as well:
Create a background for a scene for a story.
In other words, stage a character!
To explain, and when it says animation, mentally substitute illustration, or focal point for action, etc.:
"Care must be taken in background design so it isn't obscuring the animation or competing with it due to excess detail behind the animation. Background and animation should work together as a pictorial unit in a scene." [link, exerpt from Animation Toolworks]
"Staging is the presentation of an idea so that it is clear. This idea can be an action, a personality, an expression, or a mood. The key idea is that the idea is made clear to the viewer.
An important objective of staging is to lead the viewers eye to where the action will occur so that they do not miss anything. This means that only one idea at a time occur, or else the viewers may be looking at the wrong thing. So, the main object should be contrasted in some way with the rest of the scene. A good example is motion, since the eye is drawn to motion in an otherwise still scene. In a scene with everything moving, the eye is drawn to a still object..."
"In the early days at Disney all characters were black and white, with no gray. All action was shown in silhouette (to the side), because if a character moved its black arm in front of its black body it would disappear, so the action had to be against the white background. The Disney animators realized that even without this technological limitation action was more clearly visible in silhouette.
Even with modern color 3D graphics, silhouette actions are more clearly delineated and thus to be preferred. over frontal action. An example would be a character waking up and scratching its side, it is easier to understand what it is doing than if it scratched its stomach."
[link, excerpt by Owen Siggraph]
So! Pick your scene or story, and set up the scene so that the background + staging actively tells the story. You don't need to include the character(s) unless you want to.
All three scenes above haven't any characters shown in them, but each has the distinct feeling that something is happening. Try and keep everything as simple and/or necessary to the story as possible.
All submissions due by midnight, Friday, June 7.
Great Pinerest animation background board by Keith Harrison.
Wikipedia link to Ernie Nordli, and another to Maurice Nobel, another Warner Bros. background designer.
[Sidenote: Excuse the long pause in between challenge 12, part 3 and this challenge. I've been completing projects, and moving between cities, which is also the reason that this challenge covers 3 not just 2 weeks. After that, back to normal.]
This next challenge is one that's based in animation, but is very, very applicable to illustration as well:
Create a background for a scene for a story.
In other words, stage a character!
To explain, and when it says animation, mentally substitute illustration, or focal point for action, etc.:
"Care must be taken in background design so it isn't obscuring the animation or competing with it due to excess detail behind the animation. Background and animation should work together as a pictorial unit in a scene." [link, exerpt from Animation Toolworks]
 |
| Two examples of Witch Hazel with Ernie Nordli backgrounds. |
"Staging is the presentation of an idea so that it is clear. This idea can be an action, a personality, an expression, or a mood. The key idea is that the idea is made clear to the viewer.
An important objective of staging is to lead the viewers eye to where the action will occur so that they do not miss anything. This means that only one idea at a time occur, or else the viewers may be looking at the wrong thing. So, the main object should be contrasted in some way with the rest of the scene. A good example is motion, since the eye is drawn to motion in an otherwise still scene. In a scene with everything moving, the eye is drawn to a still object..."
"In the early days at Disney all characters were black and white, with no gray. All action was shown in silhouette (to the side), because if a character moved its black arm in front of its black body it would disappear, so the action had to be against the white background. The Disney animators realized that even without this technological limitation action was more clearly visible in silhouette.
Even with modern color 3D graphics, silhouette actions are more clearly delineated and thus to be preferred. over frontal action. An example would be a character waking up and scratching its side, it is easier to understand what it is doing than if it scratched its stomach."
[link, excerpt by Owen Siggraph]
So! Pick your scene or story, and set up the scene so that the background + staging actively tells the story. You don't need to include the character(s) unless you want to.
All three scenes above haven't any characters shown in them, but each has the distinct feeling that something is happening. Try and keep everything as simple and/or necessary to the story as possible.
All submissions due by midnight, Friday, June 7.
Great Pinerest animation background board by Keith Harrison.
Wikipedia link to Ernie Nordli, and another to Maurice Nobel, another Warner Bros. background designer.
4.30.2013
4.21.2013
Challenge #12 : One of Some
Got a few more of these illos that I'm working on which I probably will post on my blog, not necessarily here... but here's the first of a few.
4.15.2013
Challenge no. 12: Part 3
April 15-26, 2013
Part 3 of Challenge 12 is pretty simple.
Now that you have your design and maquette:
Create an illustration using your character.
All submissions due by midnight, Friday, April 26.
Part 3 of Challenge 12 is pretty simple.
Now that you have your design and maquette:
Create an illustration using your character.
All submissions due by midnight, Friday, April 26.
4.12.2013
Japanese Pearl Diver, Sort Of...
Hm. I think we'll have her be the cousin visiting from a neighboring island, or maybe even Indonesia. I could use her for general character reference, but I'll have to keep working on the likeness. Hooray for brave attempt no. 1!
Her hair happens to be the same value as her ear in the top image, fyi, which is why it looks like a big club ear.
4.02.2013
Disembodied Maquette
This has been great Marti. I'm glad your assignments have been fitting well with the projects I'm working on right now. It's really helping me with some pieces I was having trouble figuring out.
4.01.2013
Japanese Pearl Diver in Training
Bologna, am I ever so late, but here's a character I've been working on for a mock magazine spread about a Japanese girl who's training to be a full-fledged pearl diver.
Challenge no. 12: Part 2
April 1-12, 2013
Alrighty! On to Part 2!
For this segment we're continuing on with character design using our character from Part 1.
Make a maquette of your character.
It can be either a head maquette, or a full figure maquette.
James Gurney, and other illustrators seem to mainly use Sculpey or Fimo polymer clay. Feel free to use whatever you would like, although I'd say some kind of craft clay, especially the kind that never dries, would be the easiest to work with. If you want something more permanent that you could paint, be sure to use a clay that will either air-dry or harden through baking.
Go ahead and use whatever you like though---mashed potatoes...vegetable shortening...homemade play-dough...
James Gurney recommends in his book, Imaginative Realism, "to economize with the polymer clay, and to make the maquette stronger...use a crumpled ball of aluminum foil formed over a loop of armature wire that can anchor the head, [if you're just doing a head maquette], to [a] wood base and take up some of the volume of the head" (pg. 68).
Inspiration/Examples
James Gurney
Head maquette for Arthur Denison, a character of the Dinotopia books.
From this post.
James Gurney has a lot of great blog posts on various maquettes, etc., which you can find under this link (there are several pages worth).
Adam Rex
Character maquette with plastic whale toy for Billy Twitters & His Blue Whale Problem. (link)
(Link.)
(Link.)
All posts due by midnight, Friday, April 12.
Alrighty! On to Part 2!
For this segment we're continuing on with character design using our character from Part 1.
Make a maquette of your character.
It can be either a head maquette, or a full figure maquette.
James Gurney, and other illustrators seem to mainly use Sculpey or Fimo polymer clay. Feel free to use whatever you would like, although I'd say some kind of craft clay, especially the kind that never dries, would be the easiest to work with. If you want something more permanent that you could paint, be sure to use a clay that will either air-dry or harden through baking.
Go ahead and use whatever you like though---mashed potatoes...vegetable shortening...homemade play-dough...
James Gurney recommends in his book, Imaginative Realism, "to economize with the polymer clay, and to make the maquette stronger...use a crumpled ball of aluminum foil formed over a loop of armature wire that can anchor the head, [if you're just doing a head maquette], to [a] wood base and take up some of the volume of the head" (pg. 68).
Inspiration/Examples
James Gurney
Head maquette for Arthur Denison, a character of the Dinotopia books.
From this post.
James Gurney has a lot of great blog posts on various maquettes, etc., which you can find under this link (there are several pages worth).
Adam Rex
Character maquette with plastic whale toy for Billy Twitters & His Blue Whale Problem. (link)
(Link.)
 |
| Made from a kneaded eraser. |
 |
| For this illustration. |
All posts due by midnight, Friday, April 12.
3.26.2013
Devil's in the...
details. So here be some character studies for some black and white illustrations I'm working on.
3.21.2013
Challenge no. 12: Part 1
March 22-29, 2013
Challenge no. 12 is going to be a three-part challenge.
Part 1: Design a character.
This can be whoever, for whatever, however, etc., etc. you choose. Since this first part has only 1 week to be worked on, it's just character sketches or drawings. As some of you are in animation, some in book illustration, etc., pick the character to fit into whatever market you like.
Fantabulous examples! all borrowed from Adam Rex's blog:
(The pandas were designed for Chu's Day, and the lion, the dragon and the girl for Chloe & the Lion. )
Have at it however you like, just be sure you really like this character because you'll be working with them the next two challenges.
Submissions due by midnight, Friday, March 29.
Challenge no. 12 is going to be a three-part challenge.
Part 1: Design a character.
This can be whoever, for whatever, however, etc., etc. you choose. Since this first part has only 1 week to be worked on, it's just character sketches or drawings. As some of you are in animation, some in book illustration, etc., pick the character to fit into whatever market you like.
Fantabulous examples! all borrowed from Adam Rex's blog:
(The pandas were designed for Chu's Day, and the lion, the dragon and the girl for Chloe & the Lion. )
Have at it however you like, just be sure you really like this character because you'll be working with them the next two challenges.
Submissions due by midnight, Friday, March 29.
3.04.2013
Challenge # 10 - Death by Snake
3.02.2013
Challenge no. 11
March 1-March 15
Draw a self-portrait in the style of a retro cartoon character.
Some examples, to jump off from:
All submissions due by midnight, March 15, or the Ghost of Caesar will haunt you!
Examples from tumblr blog, Cartoon Modern, by Amid Amidi, author of Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation.
Draw a self-portrait in the style of a retro cartoon character.
Some examples, to jump off from:
All submissions due by midnight, March 15, or the Ghost of Caesar will haunt you!
Examples from tumblr blog, Cartoon Modern, by Amid Amidi, author of Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation.
The Naturalist
Or at least this is the sort of thing my imagination came up with when I was out walking on a peat bog once. You can never really tell just how deep the water is under the peat. It's like walking on a waterbed with thin spots.
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