Bangerang! #2

The previous sketch for the Peter Pan book cover was rejected. I agree with the publishers comment that that design was too much about Captain Hook, and not as much about Peter Pan. These new concept sketches for the cover were approved. Let's paint!

Bangerang!

A new edition of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan will be published by Ploegsma publishers. These are two sketches for the cover illustration...
I wish I had the time to do this one in oils, but I am afraid that will not be possible...

Progress

Sketch for the first spread of the little golden book I'm working on.

Gouache sketch

More concept art

Three more thumbnail sketches in which I explore variations for a living room.

Vincent van Gogh character

I am designing a character based on Vincent van Gogh for a children's book. I created a rough model in Zbrush to get a 'feel' of the 3 dimensionality of the head. The character is in development. I am drawing different expressions and gestures, to 'get to know' the character , so I can decide what should be altered and what works.

Sketching from life

I drew these sketches of my son while he was playing. He was moving all the time and not standing still to pose for me at all. When doing sketches such as these the main goal is to capture the essence of a pose in just a few lines. No rendering. It is a very good exercise for the eye.
As an illustrator it is tempting to want to create beatifully rendered pictures. However it is important to explore freely when sketching, and allowing yourself to make mistakes. Not every sketch will be a masterpiece and that is a good thing. Analysing why a sketch doesn't work and trying again and again will eventually benefit your skills.

Concept art

Concept sketches for an animated feature.
- Trippel Trappel blog
- Anikey animation

Life drawing session February 10th

I recently set up a life drawing group. These are some results of the first drawing session.

Portrait sketch

Portrait study of Dutch writer Gerrit Komrij. Oils on paper.

Richard Schmid states in his book 'Alla Prima" (which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more on painting alla prima) that you should never leave anything in your painting that you are not satisfied with. I totally agree. If you compare painting to speaking, leaving such a thing on the canvas is like mumbling, instead of spealking clearly.
Still I limited myself to one session for this sketch, especially to see which elements I overlook, when I am not revising every 'mistake'.
Most apparent are two things to me.
1. Colors. The tonality of the portrait is quite okay, yet the portrait lacks interesting play of warm and cool accents. The light areas are way too cool.
2. Point of interest. The sharp edges in his hair and his coat, take the focus away from his face. Because of this, the painting does not state clearly where the point of interest lies. This sharpness had better be placed in the glasses and his eyes instead.
I learn from this sketch that it is very important to take the time and to think about concepts like these (point of interest, composition, color, tonalities) even more, before putting the paint on the canvas. Painting happens in the mind first.


Detail for those who want to have a closer look at the brushstrokes:

Outdoor sketching

I wanted to do a sketch outside inspite of the freezing cold. Not equipped with the right protection (like gloves...) nature forced me to stop at the moment I could no longer move my fingers.
I had so much fun, though...The suffering is totally worth it...

Doodle

Quick doodle of Dutch comic artist Jan Kruis.

Sketches

Sketches

What is possible in drawing is limited only by your imagination. Drawing and observing the world often is a way to develop your imagination and skills to put it on paper.
Simply a pencil and a piece of paper are enough to endless learnig, imagination and fun!!

Sketch

I am working on a new book. I am exploring new directions for children's book illustrations, experimenting with distortions and perspectives. I work on this project in my spare hours, that I don't have much... progress will be slow, but it gives me the opportunity to put in some extras, that ofthen cannot be added because of deadlines, budgets or other restrictions....

Quick sketch

Very quick sketch at the Zuiderpark today. The small size of the sketch forces me not to go into detail. I took little time to create the sketch, so I had to make descisions fast. This kept me focused on the main values of the composition.

Kurt Russell

Sting

Preliminary sketch for a painting.

sketch fun

Sketch

This is a preliminary sketch for a painting I am working on.