Tuesday, May 29, 2007

HANA PART 1: Page 10


No witty pun-inspired title. I'm too sick.

This page was a lot of fun. It was one of those where I had such a bold vision of what I wanted. The problem with drawing on a computer is that you get caught up in the details and you lose sight of the big picture. If you look really closely, that gantry is kinda insane. I just got drawing and just kept drawing. I think I tranced out and went into some kinda meditative drawing state.

I did end up running over time, and I had to cobble together a photo of the "jaws" for the launching pad. I like to think, that of all the photo merging jobs that I've done in my art, this one is one of the best. It's almost seamless where the drawing ends and the photo begins.

The figure reference is from a client of mine. I just couldn't get it to work. So after I finished a class with one of my clients, I explained to them the predicament I was in. She thankfully helped me out with this shot, and the one of Hana with her hands up on the next page.

The best special effect came from Nicola (Lee's wife) and in my Art Team. She suggested that having everything in focus actually visually detracted from the piece. She wasn't sure what to look at. In an act of (what I consider to be) incredible artistic bravery on my part, I blurred Hana (and the leaves) out to create a strong difference between the foreground and the background. Why's it so brave? Cos I did all this work and subtle rendering, only to have it blurred out. But it had to be done.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Seriously - had you not said that there was a picture there, I wouldn't have even considered the idea until I saw the lineart, lol. That's amazing :)
I'm glad you took the risk on smudging Hana - it looks very cinematic. The leaves were a nice touch too.
And that gantry! zomg. I'd have lost my mind!
Oh, and quick artsy question - what do you use to get the kind of... ugh, how to describe it? Grainy-ish texture? As seen at the top of the rocket. Is that just good old fashion paint and smudge, or are you using another brush/texture to get that effect?
Hope you feel better soon!

Anonymous said...

You are a fucking nutcase. Good god, the detail.

Anonymous said...

My jaw has dropped at every panel in which we see the rocket. The time and the detail, and the tiny-ness of it all! I know that must have taken forever. The work really shows.

And Nicola was right (as you obviously realized). Looking at the lineart only, it is a bit hard to tell what to focus on. The risk of blurring was worth it. :)

CurlyMarie

Anonymous said...

Oh, and I'm sorry to hear that you're sick. You need to take some time off and rest--you've been driving yourself too hard for too long! Hope you'll feel better soon.

CurlyMarie

Anonymous said...

How fortunate you are to have people around you to give you valuable insight to help you with this project. Hats off to you, and them as well.

Sorry you aren't feeling well. Get better soon!

delusions_of_grandeur (from 9th Wonders)

Unknown said...

Sick? Sick? Dude, slow down! You're trying to do too much, and that's not your special ability. ;) Give yourself a break if you can... relax, have a beer, throw some shrimp on the barbie... (yes, I'm a smartass, but you can't throw rocks this far... nyah...)

But seriously... you need to relax! And peppermint tea. That always helps.

Kelly J. Crawford said...

Awww, pookie's feeling a little under the weather? I hope you get over it soon, luv. Take care of yourself.

KJC

Anonymous said...

Great stuff! I hope to see more of your work in the future.

Rinibini said...

As always your work is fantastic. I agree with Acidburn had you not said it was apicture I would not have even thought about it.

And agreeing with everyone else you need to take better care of yourself and take a break.

Any news if you will be doing any comics for Heroes over the summer?

pngaou said...

The detail really IS crazy. It's almost like a maze. Great job, great job.

Feel better!

jasonb said...

acidburn133: Hahhaha. I like to use photos... carefully. I hate it when they're slapped in with no thought. The grainy texture is a page of grey watercolour that I painted that I scan in and overlay sparingly onto my artwork to create a more organic and less "techno" texture. there's no substitute for real life!

david b: Like you can talk! =)

curlymarie: Yeah, Nicola's switched on like that. She encourages me to make those brave calls.

delusions: I'm better now! thank you!

polsons: no beer or shrimp. Just tea and rest. That seemed to work. =)

KJC: Pookie is ready to kick some butt now! (artistically speaking)

Will: welcome aboard! Thanks for stopping by!

rini: Yeah, I'm insane. News incoming on the comics.

pngaou: Yeah, I totally got lost in it. It was fun in a meditative sort of way.