Ultron

IF (Illustration Friday) 10/24/14, the topic was Puppet.  For this topic I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do.  I had some ideas, but they were all rooted in the same area and I wanted to attempt something different, and less complex after last weeks topic.  I came upon the subject matter for this piece while I was watching the early release of the "Avengers: Age of Ultron", trailer in which the song from Disney's Pinocchio plays ("I've Got No Strings"), and in closing Ultron claims he's not their puppet.  It was hard to find good reference for Ultron considering the movie is yet unreleased and his likeness from the comic books has changed over the years (also considering he's had several reincarnations/versions of himself over the years, each with a redesign).  I decided to pick a design that was most easily recognizable to me, since I have some background knowledge in comics, but was not entirely aware of who Ultron was/is.  I also wanted to add an interesting design element to the piece itself, and decided I'd do Ultron's head, with it melting (or at least that was the goal).  Overall I'm satisfied with the piece, but considering the time constraints I have this week, and the detail I put in last weeks piece I'm okay with this weeks simplicity.  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.

Tuesday

IF (Illustration Friday), 10/17/14 the topic was Trouble.  This was a tough subject to capture for me, because I was uncertain as to how I was to portray 'trouble'.  After some sketching and my usual procedure of researching the word itself, I finally came up with an idea.  The subject I decided to illustrate was that of Dawn Summers, the younger sister of Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I was a long fan of the show, and have already done some pieces inspired by the show.  This particular piece was inspired by one of the more prominently known episodes, 'Once More, with Feeling'.  In the episode the cast is enthralled by a demon who causes the whole town to sing, and dance out loud, divulging their insecurities and secrets aloud.  After hearing that her sister Dawn, has been captured by the demon in question, Buffy says aloud "So, Dawn's in trouble...must be a Tuesday".  This particular line was very poignant, as Dawn was always abducted by one villain or another in the show constantly, and the show itself was primarily aired on Tuesdays.  The piece itself also went through many overhauls.  Initially I was only going to paint Dawn, and some omnious shadow or hands behind her in attempt to illustrate her constant need for rescue, but the compositions were too boring.  After some more sketching I came upon a better layout, which illustrated my primary focus, but also told some of the story about who Dawn is/was.  The photo reference was tough to come by since the actress who played Dawn was quite young while on the show, and began to physically change over the few seasons she was on it, so I had to decide what age I was going to portray her as.  While I took much longer on this piece than normal, and there were several ups and downs, I have to say I am very pleased with how it came out.  The piece is entirely digital, done in Painter.

UPDATE 3/26/18:
To purchase this image, please visit my etsy store here:
The Key (Tuesday)

Cthulhu

IF (Illustration Friday), 10/10/14 the topic was Octopus.  This topic was difficult for me because I honestly lacked any inspiration for it.  After some brainstorming I eventually came up with an idea that was satisfactory enough for me to keep my interest.  I decided to illustration Lovecraft's 'Cthulhu' for this piece, since the description of the alien deity included his head being that of an octopus (hence why I only illustrated his head as well).  I wanted to make this piece more simplistic, and decided to utilize a different style that I believe created a more haunting visual.  I'm pleased with the final outcome of this piece, and may utilize this strategy with future illustrations.  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.

Essence

IF (Illustration Friday), 10/3/14 the topic was Silence.  This topic was initially a bit of a challenge, as there was a previous topic that was very similar earlier in the year, so trying to come up with a new idea was difficult.  Eventually, during my planning phase, I somehow came across some images from Disney's 'The Little Mermaid', and it occurred to me that Ariel loses her voice to the Sea Witch Ursula as part of the bargain for making her (Ariel) human.  I did some sketches and came up with an idea I was really happy with.  The most difficult part of this piece however was unifying the work, it seemed empty, or flat.  I tinkered with the background, and ocean floor a bit, and it really came together.  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.

UPDATE 3/26/18:
To purchase this image, please visit my etsy store here:
Essence

Wishful Thinking

IF (Illustration Friday), 9/26/14 the topic was Wish.  This was one of the more inspiring topics, and I had plenty of ideas some of which I hope I can revisit in the future.  This piece however I decided to do an illustration based on a character that struck a particular chord with me.  I chose to illustrate Zatanna Zatara, a magician from the DC Universe.  I've always been more of a Marvel fan in the past, but that may be due to my exposure and familiarity with their franchise.  Zatanna however I came across while watching an old episode of 'Smallville', her character in that show may differ from the actual comic origins (as most media depictions do), as she possessed the ability to grant any person's wish, once and upon doing so her eyes would glow an eerie blue.  That wish would not end until the recipient no longer desired it, which was an interesting plot device, and a twist on an old format that I had not seen before.  My version of Zatanna differs slightly in some ways (for the most part the character has black hair), but I based her off the portrayal of the actress from the show Serinda Swan. I had a lot of fun working on this piece, and if time permits, I would like to return to it and fine tune it.  It is entirely digital done in Painter.