This blog...

...was initially for pieces done on a computer, but has since become a free-for-all. Here you'll find process work (digital and otherwise), sketch pages and studies, sometimes with commentary.

You can see the rest of my work here.

Remember kids : if you can't make pretty designs, at least make pretty lines!

-Paul

Monday, September 26, 2011

lifedrawing log - 09.24.11

...and earlier.

The Dr. Sketchy model last night was some world famous bellydancer who couldn't hold still for shit.  The girl we had on Saturday morning was the real deal.  She understood what made for a dramatic pose, and never once duplicated herself.  What a joy to draw!



More blather...GOTTA GET IT OUT OF MY LIFE!!!

lifedrawing log - 09.25.11

I had a more competent run yesterday (post pending). Tonight I was feeling experimental.*  The non-sketchbook ones were done in Sai, using a mix of the x-shape arrow brush and rough/vertical sketch tool.  I felt like a doucebag with that laptop, but it was kinda fun fumbling around in a program I don't know very well.


*read : sloppy

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Kivatar 01

Was in the mood for a quickie when I got home today.



It's sloppy, but reduces nicely.  Here you go, you sweet, evil thing, you.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

"A Taste For Trolls"

Last weekend, my friend Kurt Papstein and I both did demos at a local workshop. I demoed a Space Troll and he demoed a Space Turkey. What a life! This weekend, I had a bunch of Blizzard/Carbine friends over for a marathon comic jam where we were each to produce a 3 page comic. My story revolved around the two warring factions from last week's workshop. I wasn't able to complete it in the allotted time frame, but will share anyway.  It'll be a while before I have my comic shtick down, but...baby steps!





turtle toaster, ogre-lord, pumpkins, corrupted angels...

...all fairly par-for-the-course on my sketch pages!


Thanks to the mighty Cory Loftis, who inspired Turtle Toaster.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Gold Pt. 1

At Blizzard, you have to paint a lot of gold. Fortunately there's a guy in Cinematics named Mathias Verhasselt (a.k.a."the computer") who can render the shit out of gold.  And pretty much everything else.

This was my first attempt, under his stern tutelage.


Get this : gold apparently doesn't cast a shadow on itself.  Mathias saw that I drew one [left] and said, flatly, "No, no, no. Get rid of that." Rather, gold starts out resembling a muted chrome and the yellowy-orangey warmth comes from highlights, ambient occlusion, and areas reflecting itself! As someone who's only thought about shadows up to this point, the idea of painting reflective anything boggles the mind. I guess this is what bounced light is, but still...

I'm going to keep trying, but it'll be a while before I can catch up to the computer!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

матрешка

They say the best gifts are hand-made. Today I was gifted with this, a Russian nesting doll (matreshka*) remix of my Blasphemous characters.


That's Hailey on one side and Holly on the other.  These photos don't do the piece justice on a textural level -- there's glitter glazed into the hair and a reflective sheen to the skin.  And the craftiest detail of all is that the pair are seamlessly woven together in much the same way I visualize them : inseparable.

A little about the artist, an unexpected treasure in-and-of herself : Victoria Yurkovets hails from Moscow, where she's most famous for her involvement in the Russian gaming community. She's hosted numerous reviews and interviews as "Kiguri", an alias that can be traced back to her Deviant Art account. It was through these things -- gaming and illustration -- that I came to know (and eventually meet) Vika. She's heavily into metal, cosplay, anime and, more recently, nail art.  She speaks English and Japanese.  Her pets include arachnids, reptiles and mammals.  She hisses at children.


photo by Alex Klimov

I could go on, but one of the things I find most captivating about Victoria is the recurring cast of characters she draws. They all have names and histories -- lives that take place both on and off the page.  She refers to them as one would refer to close friends or family members.  They're part of her.  In her way, she encouraged me to start doing the same with my characters -- to become more familiar with them, cherish them, give them personalities.  Destinies.

And so, to the giver of this torrid, twisted and telltale gift -- to the giver of many possible destinies -- I say "Thank you, my one, my only Ki."  If my artist self has ever had a muse, it's you.
.................................I love you SO MUCH.

*I should mention, too, that Kiguri does these matreshkas on a limited commission basis. You can contact her for rates...AT YOUR OWN RISK!  

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

scrapbooking

a.k.a. "what happens when I'm too lazy to clean up a bunch of scans"

Monday, September 5, 2011

low-res

Dinking around in Photoshop today on a single monitor, wacom tablet setup. My laptop isn't very powerful, so I kept the file teeny tiny, but you can totally concept at 72 dpi if you don't care about printing stuff...which I don't.

Saturday, September 3, 2011