Nov 28, 2009

Something From Part One of the Book









8 comments:

  1. Hey Andrew, some pretty weird shit going down here, man! Can you show me some of those dance moves on Saturday night? And what's with the bald kneelo - an intimation of what's to come?

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  2. Heh, I been practicing my moves man. See you soon! Insert smiley face here. :)

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  3. Interesting, Andrew. The color palette and lighting reminds me of something from the old Masters (imagine what they would've done with a 3D program and a computer! Ha!). 300 illustrations -- congrats are in order!

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  4. Thanks Justin,

    Yes I often wonder what the old masters would have done! Still they were the kind of people who often ground their own pigments, so they probably be horrified at the work a computer can do for you.

    I've been trying to get away from the cg look by introducing some canvas textures and a warm overglow to the illustrations. The backgrounds of Fantin Latour, the french flower painter, are worth a look at (not that I like flower paintings more than other subjects.)

    cheers again

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  5. Hi Andrew, I'm new to IF and came across your blog - just signed on to follow. Wow what an incredible project, I'm also writing and illustrating a book, but not nearly quite as ambitious as yours! Your work is just stunning! How was it for you to transition from the traditional to the digital? Obviously it worked well, as your pieces are beautiful, but I mean how shall I say, "emotionally"? "mentally"? As it's very hard for me to think of myself working digitally, I'm kind of a purist! I do admire the technology though and might give it a try someday. I have this thing about the computer acting as a barrier between the artist and the work, but I guess your soul is poured into it so it shouldn't matter, right?! I love in this piece the incredible light and detail - can you post some more from the book? What is the story about? My book is about my rescue dog and how he became a therapy dog and I work in colored pencil. If you're interested, my link is here:

    http://susanbethstudio.blogspot.com/

    Cheers! Susan

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  6. Hey Susan! Thanks for your kind words. I checked your work and it is very impressive. You have a good compostional eye, wonderful colour and the textures add another dimension - thankyou for the link.

    To answer your question... hmmm. After seeing your work I'd stick with traditional media! It's great as it is.... Digital is sterile and all about technique. It's about using your head, you never get dirty and you never get a real work to hold in your hand - which is what disturbs you mentally!

    It's strange - but I think it is the way of the future. (Not that that is good).

    My work is like working with puppets that you 'texture' and pose and light. Once you have set everything up then you can "render" from many different angles very quickly. (Render is like photographing the puppets) - so the hard work is in the setting up and particularly in the lighting.

    Then you bring it into photoshop or similar and spend a lot of time trying to hide the fact that you have made the work digitally! Very silly really.

    I'll post some more about working this way later and some more stuff about the book as well.

    The book is about a boy who runs off to join the circus, discovers that it is not really everything he dreamt, then returns home with a wider knowledge of the world. The plot is simple, based on a multitude of myths and has a plenitude of archetypal characters....

    Thankyou very much for your kind interest.

    cheers for now

    Andrew :)

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  7. Thanks for your comments and support Andrew! Your comment about digital being the way of the future is exactly what I think is coming too - I just hope there's room for everyone and the traditional mediums don't become extinct! Best of luck with the project, sounds great!

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  8. Thanks Susan :)

    This might be of interest to you?

    http://artistadvice.blogspot.com/2009/12/hello-welcome-to-my-ramblings-and.html

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Hya! Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I appreciate your time and thoughts.