Short Keys for CS5

This is nice quick reference chart for Illustrator, since I use it ALL the time this will be handy to have. It is mostly just for me to look here really quick, instead of trying to find this in the web somewhere, when I need to add a quick anchor point. 

Brought to you by Wells & Drew, makers of fine engraved stationery.

Week 7

Again, this is definitely not week 7, but as a series I am just going to keep the title consecutive so I can find them easy on the blog. This is a Caiman lizard and I really liked drawing him (or her, hard to tell) because of all the great detail on its skin. It took awhile to finish this one because I only work on these when I have a few minutes and it seemed like I was drawing scales for days and days and days!!

I hope you like it.

Kim's Tattoo

I was commissioned by a friend, Kim Allen, to design a tattoo she was looking to get 

She loves Sunflowers and Music so she was looking for something feminine and very nice

I came up with this concept and she approved with very minor adjustments

and here is the finished art for her tattoo.

Star Wars Snowflakes

Today I found a great creative project STAR WARS CHRISTMAS SNOWFLAKES!! 

I did a Darth Vader one 

http://www.anthonyherreradesigns.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56:star-wars-snowflakes&catid=34:anthonydesign-blog

Have fun and a very Menry Christmas!!

Week 6

This latest study took me a bit longer than a week, but I wanted to show the process of these sketches. I first find my subject matter, I try to find subject that will challenge me. 

This subject was a gorilla. 

I start with a blue line sketch to get proportions and shape down, at this stage I can change my drawing quite a bit.

I then take my graphite pencil and go over the highest detailed parts, and shadows can be filled in with ink and do not need to be filled in with pencil.

I then copy the pencil (and the blue line does not re replicate on a regular xerox so I just have a faint pencil sketch to go over with ink. I have been using Uni-Ball pens and sharpie to see how challenging the sketch can become.

This is my finished sketch, and I have several versions I can add to a portfolio.

Art is a challenge, I love being an artist and I hope you all keep challenging yourselves as well.

Week 5

Another Instagram photo turned into a sketch. 

This photographer just takes photos of his wife and posts them, they are done so well, if you are on Instagram follow kirishoru he does wonderful work.

These are just sketches in my sketchbook.

Pencil on paper

Week 4

I have become a fan of Instagram on my iPhone and while finding incredible artists and photographers I came across this amazing set of pictures a random photographer takes. rydenbunny is her handle on IG so if you use the app look her up.

I asked her if I could have permission to sketch some of her photographs and she was very happy to say yes, you will see my sketches of her photos peppered now on through out this blog. She is amazing.

Week 3

Well technically in is not the third week.. but it is my third desk drawing.
This is the Amazon Horned Toad, I loved his face and how serious he looks... the technical part of this drawing was making his skin have the semi scaly feel of a frog with using only an ink pen.
He turned out well.

Pen on Paper

Week 2

Fatty

This cute little guy is a Brussels Griffon he is the pride and joy of my friend Holly Jo.... I absolutely love his face.

This drawing was a nice challenge, drawing fur is always complex and with a pen it is a challenge to get the shading correct. I had fun drawing this little Chunky Monkey.

Pen on Paper

Week 1

I felt that I had been losing a little bit of my focus on art with so much going on in life so I set up my desk at work to be a drafting table and told myself to try to do a drawing a week... TRY being the key word.

Here is the first weeks drawing, a Humbolt Squid, I have an obsession with drawing tentacles...they riddle my sketch books and work station.... I have no idea where the need to draw them comes from.... but they are fun.

Pen on Paper

Utah FM Benefit Poster

I was commissioned by local DJ Angie Jantz to illustrate a spoof of Hot Shots part Duex for their annual benefit concert. I did the stations poster last year and this year they wanted to have a very funny image to promote the event.

I did a photo Illustration in photoshop of Charlie Sheen's WINNING face over the old Hot Shot's Part Deux movie poster... surprisingly he hasn't changed that much.

Photo Illustration / Photoshop

Homework Assignment #3 Returned

I am always happy when assignments come back and the critique gets less and less and the teacher says " Great work!" instead of..."You still need to work on this, this, and this...."
and that is what this assignment was... he really liked almost all of my panels... this is a storytelling class so I need to work a little harder at conveying the STORY rather than just impressing them with detailed art.

But I am extremely happy that the classes are coming along.. I just need ot get the next assignment in a little quicker.

Graphite on Bristol

Homework Assignment #3

Well I am so glad this is a "take your time" course...because this one took awhile... not that the assignment was hard, but life happened.... a lot of it.
This assignment was to show the ability to draw monsters and tell a story...
I know my monster isn't to scary but I like it.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Well my favorite holiday is upon us. Thanksgiving! It is a holiday when family gets together and just has a great time... the smell of everything cooking in the kitchen and the nieces and nephews running around.. the game on T.V. and yes I do wish I had a glass of wine in my hand .... but maybe one day when I hold Thanksgiving at my house that dream will come true.

This Illustration was inspired by a story Roger ( my step father ) told years ago around the dinner table, about a group of astronauts that came to a planet and the inhabitants were giants that captured them all and boiled them and ate them for a feast.. then kept the remaining astronauts around and bred them so they would always have them for dinner every year...
the joke being that the astronauts were from a Turkey planet and we were the giants... that is Roger's sense of humor for ya... funny stuff.

Graphite on Paper 8.5" x 11"
!!HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Desert Star Back Drops

I was approached by the Desert Star Theater to create some backdrops for them like I did in 2008 fo rtheir show "Wizard of Odd". This year it was for "The Bi-Polar Express"

These drops have to be done in a very short turnaround process, 4 weeks altogether.
1 week of comps and brainstorming to get the feel for the drops they want. Now these drops had existing drops that were painted by hand and now they have a set for their dinner theater also, so they can run the show in both theaters at the same time.

They needed a drop to look like the interior of a train car with section in the windows that they will cut out.


This drop was hard because of all the toys and trying to get them to look like they were all individually painted... which they are but you really have to see the detail of the drop to see the painting effect, from a distance they look very picturesque.

This drop was the funnest one to do..it just was really easy and I had fun with it.. of course it was the one that went the fastest.
Each drop took about a week to do and they turned out well. It is a project that could use a lot more time, but time is not an option I have as a freelance artist

Digital Art done in Illustrator and Photoshop CS5

YOGA Sketch

I am going to try to hit up threadless.com again.. but this time I am going to try this sketch. The word Yoga illustrated in people doing Yoga positions.
So this is the basic premise, I will put this into Illustrator and make it a nice tight vector image for shirts... I hope this one works.
Graphite on paper.

My New Website is done!!!

Please go and check out my new website!!

deanillustration.com

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

My design was accepted!!!

I put this design up on threadless.com to be critiqued and it did really well, so I sent it in for submission and it was ACCEPTED!!! I learned a lot from my last design I submitted and put that knowledge into this shirt.

Please go to threadless and vote 5 for me, it is cash and prizes if I win... and I sure could use it right now.... help a poor artist out!

I believe you have to create an account to vote, but it is very simple and takes just a minute to do.

Thanks everyone

Threadless..again!!!

http://www.threadless.com/critique/77595/Patty_s_Crest

Okay so I designed a crest and I want to see how it does out in the critique world... I really enjoy the design so I hope it does well. Please check the link and vote if you can.

Thanks!!