Korea

I have now been in Korea for a month. I have been reunited with my wife and 2 year old son! While this has been wonderful it has been keeping me more than busy. I will see if I can start an art club here in the area as there doesn't seem to be much for anyone other than ladies who want to do crafts or kids. Neither is a bad thing but seeing how most of the people here range in age from 18 on up with the military I am surprised there is not more for that demographic especially with as little else as there is to do in the area.

This post is mostly to say I am still alive but it may be a little while before I add more as far as developing the IP story line. But here are a couple of sketches one of the Fairy Queen, who's head dress is based on an orchid, that is to be the Rabbit's mother:

and one that was more for fun but may find it's way into the illustrations if even just in the background working with the father, a vengeful protector, perhaps like the rest of them. 

I will keep this up as my time is even more limited now but it will progress. 

Just keep drawing. . .

So, I signed up for a comic book as literature class and they asked us to make our own comics. Since I just started this story I thought I would put it to use and expand on some of the illustrations. They only want a few pages though, and cutting the story down from what I intended to fit the format and still flow is a little difficult and takes a lot out of the story but is another challenge for the format. I really enjoy comics though, and am having fun with the idea. We'll see how it all comes out in about a month when the deadline is. Until then I'll keep posting stuff on the way there and then beyond.

Another sketch to add. Not really sure if I will make use of it in the story line but it is worth holding on to.

And onward

So, I am continuing on with this effort. I am finding the hardest thing to decide on colour and style. I would like to do a Rackham inspired type of illustration as the character of this tale is more than just a children's book kind of fairy tale, more like the dark tales of the original stories. For me I always think of Rackham style illustrations accompanying those tales. However, I fins myself wanting to make certain illustrations more colourful than those but I want to make a homogenous set of illustrations as well. For now here are some more sketches and colour studies. I did a digital colouring and traditional one with marker, watercolour, chalk pastel and coloured pencil. Each was traditionally inked. There is also a new scene of the Rabbit's trip across a giant lagoon from the light side of the forest where his mother is to the dark side with his father where he will encounter the minotaur and his difficulties. The Rabbit is taken across by a large sea turtle and is accompanied by a mermaid who tells him of the things on the other side.

Starting on developing an IP

So, I recently decided to take some good advice and start a blog for my life as an artist. Now I was never sure what to write about but after a bit of inspiration and some decent sketches I decided to put together a potential short story to show case my illustration abilities. I decided to do this at first as a way to potentially standout to art directors but figured beyond that it is a potential IP (intellectual property) development.

I would like to make a hardback storybook in the traditions of the original fairy tales and others like the Monkey King story "Journey to the West". That means while entertaining they had some very dark motifs. Personally I loved the more mature or darker stories when I was young and "Journey to the West" has been one of the most entertaining stories I have read. But not only could I make this storybook to hopefully catch the eye of an art director, it is a possible seller in itself. And if that works out I can create 3D sculptures of the characters as well, prints of the art and other collectables. I can create a whole world and hopefully make a success out of it.

Now here's the challenge I think most can relate to: I am not a professional artist. I am not really a student. I have a BFA from a poor university that valued post modern abstract art above all else which means I am pretty much self taught through books and talking to other artists as I grew up a bit before the digital age took hold. (I will discuss what I have learned about art and school along the way.) I move and travel a lot which means limited supplies and time. I like oil paintings but if I started one right now I'd probably move before it dried. I have a family and work 12 hour days in jobs "other than" art. So, I am going this alone in my spare time developing sketches and ideas while on my lunch 1/2 hour or taking breaks. I am trying to be successful at Illustration & Concept Design which was unknown when I was in school. But I think this can be a learning experience for us all.

I will use this blog to document the trails and errors of essentially going it alone and on the move. I will let you know what I find out what works and what doesn't. I will discuss drawing tips I have learned and use and anything new I come across along the way. The use of kickstarter, 3D print companies, publishers and ultimately the success of the work as an IP and being able to catch the eye of an art director (in a positive way) will be explored and tested.

If there are any questions feel free to ask and if you have any advice feel free to share. Artist to artist, or aspiring to be, the best resources I have found are in talking with each other.

Let me tell you the story so far or give you a quick run down of it as I am actually making it up still. I will also be taking you through the development of the art to figure out and achieve the look I am after. Right now I am thinking maybe in the pseudo style of Arthur Rackham and classic illustration since these are the illustrations to the similar style of story I remember from my youth. For now here are some quick sketches developed at work.

The hero to the story will be a rabbit. Nothing outrageous (to start with) just a plain simple rabbit.

 He will be in a world of light and dark, spirits and mythological creatures trying to make his way on a journey to becoming a protector of the forests, the animals and the spirits within it.

These are rough sketches, not all finished and like I said all done at work. Which means no reference and typically in 30 second bursts of adding a line or taking it out then working for a few more minutes then another burst of quick drawing throughout a 12 hour day.

That's the intro for now. My weekend is finally here and it is time to experiment with colours, inks, papers, digital and stylization.