My favorite assignment to do is a cover illustration which is why I was thrilled with the project I’ve just finished.  The subject was to illustrate the cover to a short story called The Voyeur.  The material was slightly racy in the vein of Fatal Attraction and that’s fine with me.  Fatal Attraction was a good movie and The Voyeur was a good story.  My client forwarded me the story with some suggestions as to the illustration and after also reading the story  I had a pretty good idea of what would make a good painting.

The initial idea was to do a scene from the book where our villain is creepily peering through a window at a blind woman who is in the midst of undressing while her German Shepherd looks on.  The problem I kept running into was that I wanted the blind woman to be the most prominent part of the image but the window frame just kept getting in the way.  I ended up going back to the thumbnail stage and coming up with a more collage type image with elements from the story.  I just really ended up loving the composition and after getting approval from my client (YEAH!) I was ready to move on.

Gather reference & board prep!

From my thumbnails I  gathered all kinds of reference from photographing myself to photos of bedrooms until I had everything I needed to draw my image.  I put my image together in Photoshop and transferred it to my board.  Using my composited/drawn/painted Photoshop reference I used a grid to aid me in redrawing my image to my board.  My board is a 20″ x 30″ piece of 500 Strathmore illustration board coated with three layers of acrylic Gesso and mounted to a piece of foam core for added support.

Next, I cover the entire piece with some burnt sienna to get rid of all the white.  I also take some time to do a value study to help map my way to the paint.

Time to paint!

I begin by painting large easy shapes or my favorite part.  This time I start with the background because it’s going to influence the way I paint my figure.  I usually paint in large layers painting the whole thing, then going back to add a second and sometimes third layer building as I go.  Sometimes I’ll paint something all at once like I did the German Shepherd here.

This is where style really comes into play.  I can paint wild and loose or refine everything to a degree of realism the would surpass a photograph.  I’m definitely into realism but I have no desire to just paint a photo.  I’m aiming for a comfortable balance between the realism of the figure and abstract elements that create a lot of visual interest.

Photography & Digital Finish!

After finished my painting I use my Nikon D80 to photograph the image and do some Photoshop tweeks.  I adjust some color levels and add a few elements that are far easier to do digitally than traditionally such as the circle pattern behind the blind woman’s head.  Now that’s it’s done it’s time to send it off to the client and hope he loves it!

Ok, in part 1, I went over my general feelings about why an artist should use reference.  Now, I’m going to talk about how you should use it.  Nine times out of Ten I’ll do a number of thumbnails based on the idea or concept of my painting before looking for my reference.  I want my reference to improve my picture, not the other way around.

After you get your thumbnail it’s time to find some reference.  There are a few different ways to do this.

1. Use a camera to take your own reference.

You don’t have to be a semi-professional shutter bug to take some good reference shots.  You’re just looking for information to help you with your drawing.  Use your family and friends to pose for you.  Get them to dress up in costumes or anything that simulates what you’re after.  You can even put up flyer’s or post on Craig’s List advertising for models.  I did take some profile pictures of myself that I used for the peeping tom guy.  The biggest thing to look for when taking reference photography is lighting.  I’ve found it’s the hardest thing to make up and goes the furthest in grounding your image in reality.

Sometimes you don’t have the time or resources to find a live model.  Whenever I have this problem I turned to this giant box of photography I have on my desk called the Internet.

2. Find it on the web.

There are quite a few sites that cater to artists looking for reference that can be used commercially for free.  The money word is that last sentence is “commercially.”  You see, you just can’t go grabbing any picture off the Internet and using  them.  You have to have the photographers permission.  There are copyright laws and trust me you don’t want to be a dirty thief anyway.  For numerous sites like that check out the reference section over at Conceptart.org here.  From there you can find hundreds of links to other reference sites and forums around the web.

You can use copyrighted pictures to take information from.  For instance, in a painting I’m doing now I’ve got the German Shepard attacking the peeping tom guy.  I can’t draw a German Shepard from my memory.  I needed reference.  I searched online through Google image search, Yahoo image search, and various stock photography websites for pictures of German Shepard.  I ended up with 8 or 9 pictures of various dog snarling, jumping, attacking, etc.  I also got 4 or 5 more specially of German Shepard’s.  I used all of them to draw my own version.  So, while a single picture of a German Shepard can be copyrighted, what one looks like can’t.

3.  Use your local library.

Many times photos from the web are low resolution and just aren’t clear enough.  You won’t have that problem with books.  The best section for this is if you library has an over sized book section.  There are for the books are that too big to go on the regular shelves.  The only reason to print books so big is to showcase some beautiful photography.  Just remember that you don’t have the copyright to these image either and you’ll face the same restriction in using them as pictures from the Internet.

4. Use Photoshop.

I take all my reference and composite it together in Photoshop.  This way it’s really easy to move elements around, re size them and draw and paint in my own bits and pieces.  I’ll end up with something pretty close to what I want my painting to be.

I’ll print this out and along with my other reference photos draw my image.  I’ve also found that artists are an impatient bunch (I know I am) but I implore you to take your time as you do this.  Think of it as if each part of the process is your only job and when you’re done you’ll pass it off to a co-worker.  This forces you to put your energy into the stage you’re on instead of cutting corners so you can start slinging paint.

Recently I began attending a weekly figure drawing sessions.  I always thought that the best way in the world to getting better as an artist, no matter what medium or genre you’re into, is to do live figure drawing.  The models so far have been fantistic dressing up in costumes and utilizing various props.

There’s a scene in an old Frankenstein movie from 1931 where ol’ Frank is sitting beside a little girl at a lake. The little girl makes friends with Frank and they end up picking flowers together and throwing them into the lake.  To me it defines the character of the Hulk.  Despite all his strength and power he’s really just a child that wants to play.  Now, I know in the end of that scene he runs out of flowers and throws the little girl in who drowns but that doesn’t diminish my point.

This is the pencils for an oil painting.  It’s a commission for my best commission client.  I got the idea after playing hide and go seek with my own 3 year old.   I was after that expression of wonder, of discovery through innocent eyes that I think is really a defining characteristic of the Hulk.  Did I mention he’s my all time favorite character?

But then again, there is always that part of me that wants to have Hulk smash so  I drew this in a way to be both. If you cover up the right side of this face (his left) Hulk want to smash but if you cover up the left side (his right) Hulk just want to play.  I purposely tried to be a little coy about his expression.

Below is the clip from the Frankenstein movie I was telling you about.  Enjoy.

(In part one I’m going to talk about Reference in general.  In part two I’ll get specific on how to use it as a step in the process of creating a painting.)

It seems most artists are ashamed of it.  They keep it hidden away afraid the viewer will pull back the curtain and realize that the Wizard is just a homely little guy with a paintbrush.  Let me start by saying loudly and without restraint.

REFERENCE IS OUR FRIEND!

Let me tell you a little story about my beginnings with reference.  I didn’t begin to draw until I was 18 and was heavily influenced by a really good artist (and personal friend) at my local comic book shop who held the mindset that any type of reference was blatant cheating and a crutch for a lack of drawing skills.  That stuck with me for a long time and sadly delayed my progress as an artist for many, many, many, many, many years.  Yes, it was at least a five many stretch.  You don’t know what you don’t know.  Reference fills in what you don’t know.

Even the great and powerful Wizard had a few tools behind the curtain.

Use reference with abandonment.  I would strongly advise tracing too.

Whoa! Hold up!  Did I just say it was ok to trace.  Well, yes but there is a caveat.  You are allowed to do it if you learn something from doing it.  Trace to understand what you’re drawing and to memorize it.  Do it with a goal of being able to draw it if the reference disappeared.  I recently listened to an interview with Greg Manchess over at Sidebar.com (fantastic site by the way) and Greg said that while working at a design company in his youth he begrudgingly begin using an overhead projector in his work.  He said that he learned more on how to draw from that machine than any teacher he ever had.

You’re also allowed to trace if you already know how to draw and it helps you reach your goal.  I’m working on a 20″ x 30″ inch painting right now and I’ve used a lot of reference.  I have the ability to draw if freehand but it’s going to take much too long to get the drawing to the level that I want.  I’m using a grid transfer method to aid me in getting my drawing done faster and to keep the details that my mind would omit if I tried drawing it out of my head.

But, Bryan, why don’t you just trace it?  Because there are some pretty big pitfalls in doing that even when you do know how to draw.   From inherent distortion problems with photography to the fact that I’m not trying to just reproduce the photograph. I’m using the reference to hit a degree of realism  that my mind is not able to achieve on it’s on.  To supplement what I already know.  It’s a balance.  Reality is filled with so many subtle details that your mind can never remember them all.    And that’s a good thing.  It’s the mistakes or choices we make that go against reality that make our drawings so unique.  It’s what makes up the vision of an artist.

It’s a fine and sometimes confusing line, I know.  It’s very easy and common to see an artist just trace a picture with no skill to base it on.  To let the tracing substitute for his creation.  Reference has to be an aid to your creation not the creation itself.  It should be the means to an end not the end itself.   People and especially artists get so bent out of shape over this subject because they think reference is a substitute for skill.  That if f Joe Blow off the street with no drawing skill what-so-ever traces a picture and people are impressed that it’s like spitting in the face of an artist who has put in long hours of practice and dedication.  What they fell to realize is that no matter how well Joe copies it won’t equal or come close to what the trained artist can do.   It like comparing a memo from your boss on recycling to a great American novel. Here’s a great clip from the movie “Chasing Amy” that illustrates my point.

Reference is a tool.   It’s when it’s your only tool that it’s a problem.   So, go out today and trace a picture, than draw if out of your head.  While you’re at it draw from life too.  That’s better than anything.

A few months ago I finished a cover for a comic called Dragonstorm, put out by Unstoppable Comics.  I didn’t know if I had permission to post it or not so I would just check out their website from time to time to see if I saw it.  Alas, I’ve yet to see it but I did run across an email from them saying it was OK to post on my website, so here we are.  I really loved doing this and it’s my favorite digital piece I’ve done so far as the process was the closest I’ve gotten to my traditional painting.  It hard to explain but to me there is a difference between doing something in Photoshop and painting in Photoshop.  This piece felt like I was painting.