Artist Head Concepts

Alright! I’ve started the beginning stages of developing the main characters in my story. I must say I’m really excited to work on the boy and his mom. This class and all the work I end up finishing for it is going to be great to show in my portfolio. 

Apartment Concept for Mother and Child

So this is the concept I created after doing some referencing of 1950s decor and the illustration style of that time. This one took about an hour.

I also tried another idea to make the composition a little more dynamic. 

And now here it is in black and white. 

Revisiting the "Roof Top"

This is the revised roof top concept art that I created in about one hour. I felt that the composition was lacking contrast so I tried a few different options by adjusting color levels and brightness and contrast levels. The other ideas you’ll see below. 

First round of adjustments. I feel like this is working much better.

Second round of adjustments. A little on the cool side. I feel as though it doesn’t have as much warmth as the first adjustment. 

The last adjustment is just to check value structure and see if the composition reads well when color is completely removed.

Inspiration Station!

So I’ve been spending a bit of my time in my schools library, which I visited at least two if not three times a week. And I thought I would share some of the books that I’ve been turning to for a source of inspiration, reference, and reading research. I love our library, they are constantly updating with new books and since the communication design program is still on the smaller side there are tons of options to check out because I don’t know of many students other students who are using the incredible resource we have in front of us.

So here are a few snap shots I took and the links for more information about the books!

http://www.amazon.com/Charley-Harper-Illustrated-Life/dp/0978607651

This book is HUGE! I haven’t had to much time to look through this entire book but man oh man Charley Harpers style just inspires me so much. Basic shapes and thoughtful color selection is met with a crescendo of texture through out all of his work in this book. I absolutely love it!

Put this one on the wish list to own someday because I’m not going to enjoy returning it to the library. 

This next book here is a fun little treat from Richard Horn, published in 1985 by Beech Tree Books. It is titled “Fifties Style: Then and Now."

The setting for my story is in the 1950s and if I’m going to be drawing furniture or any other type of house hold appliances I’m going to need to make sure my drawings are accurate to the era! 

Here’s a link if you want to know more about the book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688021913?tag=openlibr-20

The last book I am using for referencing and inspiration is by Thomas Hine, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. in 1986.

Gotta love me some post-WWII mass consumerism!!

Here’s a link if you want to know more about the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Populuxe-50s-America-Thomas-Hine/dp/B000JQZP1O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276033793&sr=1-1

Hope you enjoy my rants and raves. 

Facial Expression Reference is KEY!

When working with expressions in character development, whether for animation or illustration, I’ve realized the believability of that characters existence rides on gesture and facial expression. I believe the latter can evoke just as much emotion if not more than gesture if done correctly. I could be wrong but check out the video below and maybe you’ll understand why I think that.

I was perusing my rss feed and found this on a Top 10 Spelling Bee Freakout’s article at time.com…

I love this kids punctuated facial expression while trying to figure out this word ‘banns'. It’s rather comical and cute all at the same time. I’ll definitely be using this for reference when I start doing some character concepts.

The Painters Shed.

So this concept is based on the little boys make-shift artist studio in the shed on the rooftop of the building that many of the main characters live in. 

Another Concept!

One more concept to add to the group. I played around with composition for a lot longer than I wanted to but feel good about this color study.

Concept Art - Possible Scenery

I will be uploading concept art all weekend! Comment if you’d like. This is an alley way that the boy walks with his mom from time to time to get to their apartment.

This one took about 3 hours – it’s a lot longer than I wanted to spend on it but hopefully I can knock it down to 1 hour. Lets see how it goes!  And I messed around with the color a little and removed the color to see if it was working effectively for lighting.

Okay…Making progress, this one took me only 2 hours this time – This concept would be the inside of the studio where the Artist lives and works. I’ve included a color and black and white version.