The Various Roles Illustrators Play

This summer went by entirely too fast...officially only a few short weeks left.

But as I juggled my various personal and client projects with multitasking fervor, I realized that all of the various roles I played as part of my illustrator job might have had a little something to do with it:

• Marketing Agent (art promotion, client and genre networking, social media posting)
• Legal Agent (contract development, negotiator, invoicing overdue accounts when applicable)
• Accountant (billing, invoicing, taxes, tracking expenses)
• Clerk (filing, art storage, categorizing and backing up resource files, documentation)
• Model (figure posing)
• Photographer (reference poses, shots)
• Writer (graphic novel development, blog and other social media posts)
• Researcher (reading and developing and/or following art specs, considering new art strategies to improve speed and quality of project development, keeping up with or studying esoteric topics that flavor both art and writing, considering technology application for current/future projects)
• Scientist (switching hats from biologist, zoologist, technician in order to design characters and/or creatures, and their environments)
• Web designer (website maintenance, updates)
• Computer technician (maintain my own equipment and some of the family's, on an "on call" status)
• Graphic designer (marketing materials, print portfolios -- targeted to various genres)
• Artist (illustration, sketching, anatomy practice, painting, layout design, color study, comics, all of the above)

And yet even after creating that list, I'm sure I managed to leave something out that is part of my weekly, if not daily, task list.

Keeping busy....

Painting Studies Prep

I've got a few traditional paintings I'd like to do before the end of the year...but it's been awhile since I've done any acrylic painting, so I figured I'd better get in some practice studies first. 

The canvas -- gessoed illustration board. Each study is about 6 x 9 inches. At the moment I'm deciding what type of fixative (if any) will be used to save the line work, since I do want some of that showing under the paint. Maybe. 

I did a quick sketch on each canvas with HB pencil.

Above study is "Jon Snow and Ghost" inspired by GoT. The other three are also inspired by my imagination...mostly: "Horse," "Warriors," and "White Deer".

I'll start applying color next week.

Tiny Drawings: My 2013 Sketchbook

As much sketching as I like to do when I get started on a project, it seemed like a good idea to pull a few of those together into a small sketchbook collection. This way, I could post it on Etsy and also take a few copies with me to conferences next year (something I hope to do).

For my 2013 collection, I think I'd like to include a variety of thumbnails that lead up to the more detailed drawings that I completed from 2012/13. I have a some of those.  Might include a few other odds and ends for added interest, too.

The above sketch was a preliminary thumbnail for a cover illustration. About 3x5 inches done with a blue ball point pen on printer paper. After I scanned it, I converted it to b/w and then did a little bit of shading to push a few of the values. The final illustration for that one is currently in progress.

I like sketching out thumbnails with a pen because I have to deal with the permanent lines I've placed on the paper. It forces me to think more about shapes and layout as opposed to detail. And, if there are a few accidents, happy or otherwise, I can always write some notes along side it about what I'd like to change or keep...if I intend to push the thumbnail further with a more detailed drawing.

But especially -- no erasing! :)

A Knife in the Dark

Keeping busy juggling a few projects this summer, which I'm happy to be doing. A few personal projects creep in now and then -- the above started out as a warm-up sketch and then, as someone mentioned on my Facebook page, it took on a life of its own. 

About to start a painting based on my Valkyrie portrait. I'll post a few stages of the progress at another time. It will be my first traditional acrylic painting in about 20 years -- whee!