Sketchercise #70

Howdy! Here's Monday's Sketchercise! Thought I'd pull myself away from doing rocky terrains for a change, & work up a location that looks a little more inhabited... So I came up with this; some sort of strange castle-type fortress. The one key thing I had in mind before putting anything down was that I wanted some sort of construction towering over us... After a few rough sketches, I settled on the object being a tower. I wanted it to be the main focus of the scene, with pretty much nothing else near it or close to it's size... So from there, I knew it'd be best to have the sky mostly bare, as the scene would look too busy otherwise, & would disrupt the balance of shapes; not to mention, distract from the focus of the tower... Lighting-wise, I originally started this piece off as a night time scene, but then somehow (adjusting blending modes etc) decided the lighting I already had worked up, worked better for a daytime setup.

Not quite sure what this tower is, but I had decided that it was somehow carved/ constructed out of a giant crystal (hence the surface smoothness towards the top), & was some sort of ancient power source. With the lighting at the peak, I imagined due to the smooth crystal surface, it would reflect other highlighted clouds opposite it (off screen). Finally, as I wanted to convey a strong sense of scale, at the very end, I made a little swipe of a grainy textured brush to represent a flock of birds way up in the sky... that's about it ;)

Here's Sketchercise #70

-M-

Sketchercise #69

Hey all! A little late to post this one up, but here's Monday's Sketchercise. My process on this piece was a little indecisive... It started off as one thing during the early blocking out stage (with the very same shapes, but a completely different perspective), then ended up transitioning into this... I'm sure it's worked out better though...

Here's Sketchercise #69

Theme: "Landscapes"
Session topic: "Epic Scenery"

-M-

Sketch-ercise #68

Hi folks! So several months have passed since my last daily Sketchercise Session due to lack of time (& -discipline), so with some stern encouragement & a little scolding from some good friends of mine, I've decided it's about time I fired it up again!! If you'd like to join me & the rest of the guys who have come on board with my sessions, feel free to drop me an add on Skype by searching sketchlounge. 

As I did last year, I'll be taking a little time off commercial work to jump back on my various personal projects (animated/ illustrated) which I'll be sure to share with you all as I go. With regards to my Sketchercise sessions, I'm not sure I'll be doing it 'daily', I may just keep it to one piece a week (we'll see); but for now... 

here's yesterday's session #68













Theme: "Landscapes" 
Session topic: "Epic Scenery"



-M-

Star Trek (TOS) Character re-designs

Hey folks!! So I've just arrived back from an incredible adventure trip to Peru. I had an amazing time there, saw some incredible sights, met some amazing people & made some new friends. It's been a real dream of mine for many years to visit, so I'm very thankful I had the opportunity to go. If you ever have the chance, I encourage & recommend a visit; you won't regret it! Official post to come + pics & travel movie.

Ok back to business... Those who know me well will know I'm unashamedly a lover & fan of the Star Trek (the original series) franchise... Those of you who may not know me as well may remember this post I made back in 2010  declaring my love for the original Gene Roddenberry show & how I'd always wanted to create my own illustrated versions of the characters (for a future animated* project)... Well here are a bunch of the main cast members I actually designed last year, but only just decided I'd post up.

Kirk, Spock & McCoy...

Initially, I wasn't planning to share anything on this project yet till I'd developed the concept & vision I had a little more, but I figured it might be interesting to see what the response would be at this stage... I really grew towards liking the idea of designing the characters with no pupils or irises, only the white of the eye... The thought first came as I was roughing out 'Spock', & since he is after all half alien, I figured it'd give him an instant visual difference to the other characters... But then once I had the other guys in, I wondered how they'd all look with the same treatment... I really liked it! I liked the idea of them all looking slightly abnormal, which I think adds to the beyond-earth science fiction vibe + gives it a little dark/ mature-ish format, which is where I'd take a re-boot of the original animated series if I were ever to direct it. More in development...

Uhura & Chekov...

Scotty & Sulu...

-M-

Poster Prints For Sale!!!

***FAUX MOVIE POSTER PRINTS NOW OPEN FOR ORDERS*** 

£10 PROMOTIONAL REDUCTION FOR THIS FIRST WEEK ONLY!!!

(see image for info)

These prints are 270grm Archival Satin Fuji paper.

A1 size: 36" x 24"

A2 size: 24" x 16"

Shipping price provided on request.

For orders/ enquiries, email me at: max@maximajination.com  

 or call/ text: +44 778 626 0953 

Check out the actual prints here! 

I use PayPal for all transactions. An invoice will be sent to you once your order has been confirmed with me. If you require an alternative payment method, let me know & I'll see if I can help. 

Thanks! 

-M-

Print Orders!!!

HI ALL! So after a whole two months or so of an insane workload, juggling two commercial jobs at once + running the 'Kids Character Re-design' project for just over a month, I'm finally ready to begin taking orders for prints of my faux Vintage Movie-Poster Artwork!

I'll be taking orders as of ***MONDAY*** & will make an official announcement in the form of a promo 'poster' which'll have all the initial details on including prices, my contact details etc.

I'm pretty excited as this is my ***1ST*** OFFICIAL print run of my own *original* artwork... I'd like to thank all those who have supported, encouraged (pestered) & asked me to get up off my butt & do this... I'm sorry it's taken so long, but as it's my first time venturing into printwork, I've had a lot to research, sort out & test regarding getting the prints to the quality I wanted, size I imagined & price I felt would be *affordable* for all; whilst also taking into account the effort & time spent creating the artwork. 

It wasn't easy, but thankfully I believe I've ticked all those boxes now, & know you'll be happy/ surprised with the results! The print quality is FANTASTIC & actually came out far better than I expected; capturing all the detail & colour values I was a initially worried may become lost through the print process (as is often the case). 

I'll leave it there for now, but bellow (or to the side) are the 4 poster artworks for sale. I look forward to taking your orders as of MONDAY!!!

Ps: *whispers* There'll be a ***£10 PROMOTIONAL DISCOUNT*** during the entire FIRST WEEK!!! So grab em' while they're HOT!

See you then,

Thanks guys.

-M-

Animation Workshop at Bygrove Primary School!

Hi Folks! A couple months ago I was invited by my good friend Gosia who teaches at a primary school, to come in & visit her class of year 6's (11yr olds) to give a talk on 'following your dreams' + a little workshop on animation... I shall now boldly admit that instantly, the thought of giving any kind of talk to a bunch of 11yr olds scared the c**p out of me!

Questions like, "What would I say?", "How much would they understand?", "What if they don't listen?", "What if they get bored & start hurling insults or objects at me?" began to crop into my head... That was till I received a bunch of heart-warming personal letters from a each of them...*wipes single tear from eye*... I of course accepted & went over to see them last week Friday... & it was amazing!

Prior to my arrival, I decided to set them a little assignment, which was to design a character & present it in front of the class on the day; afterwards followed by their first ever crash course in animation! Little did I know how serious they'd end up taking the assignment; I was told by Gosia, some even stayed back after school to add extra detail & make sure they had it all finished before I came... & sure enough, their designs were BRILLIANT!!!

Here they are; have a look & let me know which one is your fave.
(best enjoyed in full screen).


Ok, so the assignment was actually a competition too, & to the winner was a prize of me "bringing their character to life" by doing a very short clip of animation using their actual design! And for the runners up, I'll be rounding up some of my animator/ illustrator pals to design their own versions of those characters; & have them sent to the kids as high-res digital files they can have printed out! There are 8 runners-up, so if you're an illustrator & would like to contribute to re-designing one of the 8 runner-up characters, pls feel free to drop me a message below or an email at: max@maximajination.com ... It's for a great cause, so ALL are welcome ;)

Without further adieu though, here's the one I selected as WINNER!!!
The ever glamorous Hollywood actress by day/ super heroine by night, Miss 'Lazy Pants'.
I thought this design was brilliant! Loved the colours, costume & personality shown... Her hair-doo had me in stitches too! Not too sure how she got her "powers" but I really liked the Hollywood actress back-story... be interesting to see how she'd manage to deal with the pressures of her responsibility & identity whilst being a big shot on the big screen perhaps, haha.

The kids absolutely loved the assignment & took so well to the animation workshop. After a quick demonstration on making a 'flipbook', I had them create their own & honestly couldn't believe how fast they picked it up...*gasp* & how GOOD they were! I filmed some of the day on my camera so once I have approval from parents etc, I'll be sure to post up a video montage of the workshop, so look out for that!

I'd like to thank my friend Gosia once again for inviting me to the school, & also the wonderful children for their lovely letters & warm welcome throughout my day there... Here's to the next generation... Let's inspire them!


Have a great weekend y'all ;)

-M-

'Legends of the American Old West' Art Book!

Hi folks! Here's the finished painting for the 'Legends of the American Old West' Art Book I'll be contributing in, titled 'Belle Starr' (Bandit Queen); & here's the official post I made some weeks back for more details on the project. The book is basically going to be a compilation of artworks by over 30 different artists from around the globe all working under the same theme of 'Legends of the American Old West'.

As well as Mike Collins (the host & organiser of the project), there are some other amazing people featuring in this book also. Just to name a few, there are the talented Jez Tuya, Rhys Byfield, Gillian Reid, Justin Rodrigues + much more! Here's a great post over on Mike's blog showing how the book's looking so far.

Will post up a WIP breakdown over the next few days to share my thought process on working on my piece. I went in several different directions in the beginning & couldn't quite decide where to go, but thanks to the help of my friends online who threw in their thoughts & opinions, I was able to settle with something... One thing I did manage to agree with myself on was to present the piece as a movie poster for a classic Western you might have seen back in the late 40's or so... Stemming from my Vintage Movie Poster project, it was actually more of an experiment to try out a few new painting techniques & compositional style (combining studies of a little Frazetta & McGinnis)... Was definitely pleased with the results, & the response from people on the final piece was amazing (very surprising actually). I also decided to give some shout-outs in the "film credits" to some friends too =)

Hope you guys like it also!

-M-

Movie Night Doodles...

Hi folks! Here are some sketches done over the past week. I've just started a new A5 sketchbook & dedicated to sketching whilst watching classic movies... Most of these were done whilst watching the 1955 classic, "Daddy Long Legs" staring Fred Astaire & the lovely Lesley Caron. A very charming, fun & entertaining film if you haven't seen it. Here's the trailer: http://bit.ly/KX4EFH

 

 

 

 

-M-

"Legends of the American Old West" Art Book!

Hi folks! I've been meaning to mention for some time now that I was invited my by my friend Mike Collins to be a contributor on a globally collaborative art book he's bringing out within the next month!

A great little project where Mike "rounds up" a bunch of artists from around the world to participate under a chosen theme. There have been two books so far; the first was in 2010, titled "Monster Mythos" (a book about folkloric monsters) & the second which was printed 2011, titled "Deus Libris" (a book about gods and goddesses from myth/legend). More info here.

This year's theme is "Legends of the American Old West!" & I have to say, I'm excited to have been invited to be a part of it. There are some amazing artists contributing to the book & already I've seen some fantastic pieces submitted! (here are a few)

Ok, so by the time I came on board with the project, a lot of the most popular Wild West legends had been grabbed already so I had to find one QUICK!!! Whilst brushing up on the very little I knew of 18th century Western American history (as opposed to just sitting at home watching John Wayne & Clint Eastwood movies), I came across some really interesting historical figures... The one in particular that stuck with me was Miss Myra Maybelle Shirley... better known as Belle Starr (The Bandit Queen). Here's her wiki bio.

I've spent the past few hours working up a few concepts & I think I've settled with something, but I'd like you guys to let me know which you prefer. I have 4 versions of the same image with a few minor differences in her accessories; Once I post up the images, let me know which one you think looks best by commenting on the image. Here's a link to my FaceBook Art Page where you'll find the 4 versions shortly.

Cheers guys!
















-M-

Day #03...

Ok, here's day 03's WIP. Threw in the guy's shirt & tie, & fleshed out the "broad"'s hair, outfit & a little work on her legs... So far, really pleased with the shape it's taking.

My palette hasn't quite been an exact match of my colour study, but at the same time it hasn't deviated so far as to mess up values etc... One thing I've found that has surprisingly been more helpful than I had anticipated in making this transition from digital to traditional, has been my understanding of painting in Adobe Photoshop... I work with a very painterly technique/ look in PS; from the way I blend my colours, to adjusting the wetness, load, mix & flow sliders in order to simulate techniques used when painting traditionally... & I can definitely say it really has helped! I'll save going into the details for now since I'm not actually finished, but I think it's more to do with the fact that working digitally frees you up to make mistakes quicker, knowing you have the luxury of easily correcting them... Depending on your process of painting in PS, I really believe this helps you learn faster & become bolder in your decisions, paint stokes & mark-making.

In terms of anything else, I'd say the biggest battle I have is with the drying time of the paint. I'm using acrylics, & though I suppose this could be a good thing, in forcing me to work faster/ make quicker decisions, at this stage it's drying a little too fast for me... [Note to self: "pick up paint retarder before moving onto the background"...  Let me know what you guys think!

Fig:01

Fig:02

Fig:03
I forget what gave me the idea to throw this in [most probably accidentally
getting a dot of white paint on the dress], but I decided to give the girl's dress
a little more detail & texture by adding lighter values as dots, to suggest
the dress being made of some sort of sequence fabric. 

Fig:04
A little more work to do on her hair...

My palette at the end of this session...

-M-

Day #02...

Hey folks! So here's where I'm at at day 02... Spent just over an hour on this today between other work. Worked mainly on the guy's suit-jacket, his hair & tidied up his face a little more.

-M-

Day #01...

So here's where we are at day #01; just under half a day's effort... Lot's of mistakes along the way, but so far, so good I'm thinking...

Today's lessons?? 

1): Need finer set of paint brushes for better precision on smaller details...
2): Keep a closer eye on colour study/ match pallet.
3): Work more in stages...
4): Work out the values with the paint a little more 
     watered down at first (lighter), then build up from there...


& lastly, 
5): Re-fill water jug more often...

Bring on day 02!!!

Fig 01

Fig 02

Fig 03

Fig 04

Fig 05

-M-

Colour study...

Here's a rough colour study I worked up yesterday... Realised the girl just seemed a little too generic with no real story behind her... at first I actually saw her as maybe some sort of ballet dancer who had just been visited by an obsessed fan; but then kinda wanted it to be a little more darker than that, so threw in a pair of playboy bunny ears on her & a more interesting story just seemed to pop out!

In fact, would be great to know how you guys interpret this scenario... Once I've finished the piece then I'll explain what I saw too. Also, I couldn't quite decide on which of these two versions to go for; the only difference being the sort-of over-exposed hot spot in the second image where the light source is closest... I quite liked the idea of them being illuminated from below/ just off screen; as is the trademark lighting style in the noir genre, of which I'm huge fan.

Feel free to drop comments below, love to know what you think ;)

Fig: 01

Fig: 02

-M-

To Traditional... and Beyond!

Hi guys! My my, it's been quite some time, huh? Can you believe we're entering the 4th month of the year already!!? Hope you've all been well?

So the past month or so (since my last post), as usual, I've been busy freelancing & working on some pretty cool projects; one of which was directing/ animating a commercial for a particular clothing retailer based over in the US, which I'll post a link to once it's all signed off...

Commercial work aside though, I have been working away on a few new personal projects; as well as some unfinished ones from last year. The latest being having a sudden urge to get back to doing some traditional artwork, & in the process, peel my eyes away from staring at a computer monitor... Mainly also to improve my skills in the areas of colour theory & better understanding how to control it. As with any form of digital media, there are many advantageous features & opportunities that are at our disposal, which we do not have as luxuries in the traditional world. On saying that, these "advantages" do at times also become handicaps in our creative lives, leaving us so dependent upon them, we can't even imagine how we ever lived without them... Obviously, when you think about it, this inevitably hinders our growth as artists or more generally, problem solvers/ thinkers...

More & more I've been seeing some AMAZING digital artists going down this route too (I guess maybe for the same reasons) & producing some brilliant traditional art! Which reminds me, I have to give a shout-out to these two talented young ladies, Eli & Oli [twin sisters in fact] who are two of such artists. 17yrs old & they're already more prolific than a lot of professional artists I know (myself included). Check out their stuff & show some support if you have a few mins.

... So yeah, with all the above in mind, over the past week or two, I've been raiding Art stores like a crazed hoarder! Picked me up some acrylics, a good quality set of paintbrushes, an easel, palette knife & a few other essentials. Below are just a few rough poses I did for this first traditional painted piece [in over a decade!]. I'm not planning to spend too much time on these, nor put too much pressure on myself; at this start-up stage I just want to have fun with it.

Fig: 01) Wanted to go for some sort of Noir-type 
"crime scene" feel; perhaps a character backed up into a 
corner making his last stand & going down fighting!

Fig: 02) Decided to throw a female in there to 

dramatise the scene up a little more... Yep, I'm a 

sucker for the archetypal damsel in distress situation... 

what red-blooded man isn't!!?

Fig: 03) At this point [in fig 02] I could now visualise 

the scene/ setup I wanted, & so decided to hop onto 

my comp [above] to tighten up the pose, body 

language of both characters & small details such as 

facial expressions, clothing & creases etc... I figured 

it'd be faster to do this on the comp than sketching 

it out on paper, feeling my way through till I go it 

right & wasting a few pages in my sketch book [as 
I said, I don't plan on spending too long on these pieces]. 

So now, TENSIONS are high, SUSPENSE is excruciating 

& ANXIETY is the name of the game... I name this 
piece in advance with the fitting title of, 

"Dead End Alley!!!".

Fig: 04) Light under-drawing transferred, & ready to 

begin!

... I'll keep you guys posted as I go. Have a fun weekend all!

-M-