Stiles of Art

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library)

This piece was inspired by Gallery1988’s tribute show dedicated to the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), for their 150^th anniversary. The only problem was, I didn’t have any idea of what to do. I could do an illustration, but to be honest, I grew up reading books, and while I hardly do so anymore, I do believe they are what helped foster my vivid imagination. I wanted to do something meaningful, or more specific to the topic. It was suggested we could choose to illustration something of the public domain, but I wanted to create something a bit more substantial.

One of the (many) finalists in the sketching fervor that ensued during development

I toiled aimlessly for a few days, maybe longer, trying to determine what would work for this project. I eventually decided that making a keepsake of sorts would be nice, so I went with creating another enamel pin. This would be my fourth venture into the (abhorrently expensive) field, so I had some experience. I knew that the sooner I had an idea, or solidified a design, the better as the manufacturing process takes weeks.

Final concept

I started by first doing some research on the internet about the Los Angeles Public Library, including its history, and locations. I was surprised to see how many branches they had (72), and just how much of the population they serve. I was perhaps a bit too focused (initially), on the beauty and architecture of the (Richard J. Riordan) Central Library built in 1926 by Bertram Goodhue. The building is a landmark, but hardly the birthplace of LAPL. It did contain several design elements that were very attractive, but I ultimately settled on imagery that was more generic. It didn’t feel right to celebrate just the one branch visually, so instead I went in a different direction.

I began my initial sketches on September 24^th, 2022, spending two (2) hours, and thirty-eight (38) minutes on different concepts in Procreate. It took some time, and a lot of evolving before it got to the final stages around October 3^rd. My concept was to have people ‘check-in’ at the library and ‘check-out’, some books. I had initially used a check symbol before utilizing the ‘check-in’ icon more formerly associated with technology. I then determined a book with LAPL as the title, and maybe the date of origin below to keep it very simple.

Teutonic Font founded in the same year as LAPL (1872)

I also set about creating a backing for the pins and went with an old ‘library check-out card’(see below), like I recall from my youth (bringing that analog to the digital and vice versa). On it, I attempted to replicate a typewriter font, along with the date of the show, its title, and my name. The back part I wanted to highlight what the ‘cause’ was about and utilized my research to come up with some historical information about LAPL.

Yup, that's right, they were typed, stamped, AND handwritten on and lived in a little pocket in the book

Once I finalized my concept, I decided the best color to go with on this pin was none at all. I wanted it to look more classical, or like an authentic collector’s item so I went with antique silver. I also wanted to have a limited run on this piece to celebrate the anniversary properly, in addition to having a proper backer made. I contacted my liaison with Alchemy Merch, and sent them my design, plus the additional details for my order.

Backer Design (front)

Backer Design (back)

The design process took me roughly twelve (12) hours from start to finish. In addition to the sketching above, six (6) hours were logged in Adobe Illustrator designing the pin, with three (3) hours more dedicated to the backer. In the design process I used Calibri Bold font for the card, and an old typewriter font for everything else. The LAPL font was inspired by a font available at the time LAPL was formed in 1872, called Teutonic.

Final product with backer.

The 1.5” x 1.26” antique silver pin was limited to a run of 150 in honor of LAPL’s 150^th anniversary, as part of Gallery1988’s show ‘Required Reading'. The show was originally scheduled to run from December 9^th, 2022, through December 23^rd, 2022 with all remaining works available the following opening day at noon. At this time the pins are exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the show including mine.

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here.

You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting, crafting or painting.

Website: www.michaelstiles.com

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Thursday, September 22, 2022

SPAM (LIKELY)

This piece was pulled from the archives of my pun ideas, and while I swear I had a sketch for it I just could not for the life of me find it (UPDATE: the sketch was found so I posted it below for comparison, I’ll spare telling you it was literally sitting in a sketch book next to my computer the entire time I just never bothered to look in it, because I didn’t realize the book was there…behind all of that stuff…the lesson? Clean your workspace often). Anyhow, I redrew the image from memory on my iPad, which took me around five (5) hours in Procreate.

Original concept which looks a bit Spongebob-ish

With the initial sketch and layout fully realized, I took the drawing into Adobe Illustrator to vector all the linework. Upon completing that process (untimed, but potentially five [5] hours), I took the outlined piece into Adobe Photoshop to literally stitch it back together. I then painted the image in Procreate for about seventeen (17) hours. Once I was finished with the illustration, I sent it out to SGX for proofing.

Unfortunately, due the name (SPAM), the image file was misplaced, and I was never able to get an actual proof. I had to ask the printers to produce the final images sight unseen as my deadline* was rapidly approaching. Thankfully, the delay, and mix-up were not too problematic (other than just being simply stressful), as the image did not need any correcting.

The illustration is associated to a series of pun-based images I have done over the course of several years. Hopefully the ‘joke’ reads, but if not, I shall elaborate. These days those of us who have cellular phones get a lot of calls from telemarketers trying to solicit sales. Most phones these days have a feature that identifies the caller, allowing them to determine whether the interaction will be worth their time. The calls are typically referred to as SPAM (or spamming), and will show up with that title on the phone’s caller identification. Hence, the joke. I also added some of other mirth making ‘Easter Eggs’ into the image as well.

I started the 8” x 10” image (printed on 100lb Cover), on September 11^th, 2022 and finished it on the 22^nd, spending roughly thirty (30) hours on the image. The piece was due on October 7^th, 2022*, at Gallery1988 for ‘Jerrod Maruyama’s SMORGASBORD’, a group show put on by the social media maven and artist dedicated to food. The show debuted on October 22^nd, 2022, and closed November 5^th, 2022 featuring works of myself and many other talented artists. At this time the prints are exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the show including mine.

(*sidenote I thought it was due October 1^st, so I literally rushed to get this piece done. This is also what happens when you have too much going on all at the same time)

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here.

You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting, crafting or painting.

Website: www.michaelstiles.com

Etsy: Stiles of Art

Threadless: mistiles

LinkedIN: Michael Stiles

IG: stiles1978

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Pinterest: Michael Stiles

Tumblr: stiles1978

Twitter: stiles_of_art

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

LEGEND (1985)

I started the concept for this piece back in January completely by mistake. I was working on some ideas for an upcoming show when I tapped into some inspirational spark and began sketching multiple layouts for different films I loved. I had several by the time I was done, and thankfully I’ve had the opportunity to utilize some of them. Long story short, this was one of those images, albeit a bit more fleshed out than the others, but that’s likely due to my obsession with this childhood favorite.

Even to this day, Sir Ridley Scott’s ‘Legend’ manages to enchant new viewers under its spell, I think, because of its timeless appeal and rather overly simplistic story structure that draws inspiration from ‘the fall of Man’. It’s a classic tale of good versus evil beautifully presented, with amazingly talented performers. The film stars Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennet, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, Peter O’Farrell, Kiran Shah, Annabelle Lanyon, Robert Picardo, and more. Most people will recognize Curry’s portrayal of ‘Lord Darkness’, even if they have never seen the movie nor even know who Curry is (blasphemy in opinion). Not with controversy, the film has two versions, and two soundtracks. The original is the one most have seen, but the director’s cut contains almost a half an hour of extra footage which does flesh out the story with improved pacing/character development. Musically, the film has a theatrical release with a slightly modernized score done by Tangerine Dream, while Scott’s cut contains the original by John Bettis, and Jerry Goldsmith.

As a fan, I have long loved this film, but as an artist, I have an extreme aversion to producing work dedicated to it. Why? There is an abundance of it, and most of them are really good. I don’t really want to compete with other artists in a saturated market, BUT, this was a really great concept so…I went with it. I also had some encouragement from others to choose the film, and that helped.

My first piece dedicated to the film for Creature Features 'Tim Curry Tribute Show' (2018)

As for the piece itself, I started the sketch back in January (31^st, 2022), but didn’t return to it until August (24^th. 2022). Thankfully I had a clear idea of how this piece was going to look, so making decisions about placement and design came quickly. I really wanted to include all the major players, so first and foremost was Curry’s ‘Darkness’. I have seen the antagonist portrayed so many ways, but I was always partial to one of the original poster designs in which ‘Darkness’ is blended rather subtly into the background. In the film ‘Darkness’, depending on which cut you watch, is not fully revealed until much later yet we are given an indication early on about his chthonic appearance. I chose to depict him thusly and then placed him centrally in the layout. On my list of must haves for this piece, I knew I wanted to depict ‘Lili’ (Sara), ‘Jack’ (Cruise), and the Faerie Folk accompanying him. I also wanted to include ‘Darkness’’ lair, the Great Tree as the design was always so fascinating to me. It was imperative I include a nod to the unicorns in the film (as they are major players), and as I progressed through the piece I determined having them central was best. It would also help to contrast against some of the darker elements of the image. Primarily due to spatial constraints, I ran out of room to include all the images I wanted so a few of the more interestingly designed characters did not get represented and I had to eliminate one of the unicorns as well from the composition. Since the film takes place primarily in the forest with enormous trees, I decided to use them as a framing device to duplicate the atmosphere.

I determined that most of the characters would have to be silhouetted in order to provide the contrast I was visioning. I originally planned on going back to each one and adding a bit of a highlight here or there to give them more dimension, but quickly abandoned that plan when it became apparent that the details would most likely not be legible in the final piece. I was also reluctant to place ‘Lili’ where she is in this composition, as it echoed a piece from earlier this year. It was however the best place for her and actually worked really well from a design concept as her ‘hair’ leads us into the swamp scenario and blends into the twisted roots of the trees. I chose the color palette based on the movie’s own visuals and from a previous piece I did inspired by the film (above), for Creature Features and their ‘Tim Curry Tribute Show’. I started with the background colors first, determining that the transition was the best way to contribute to telling the film’s story (without spoiling it). It also helped with contrasting elements, although the right side suffers a bit I think due to the darker colors used, but it also forces the viewer to the left which is where the story begins anyways so...there’s that. The unicorn, and ‘Lili’ were then painted next, followed by ‘Darkness’ on the original background layer (which I never do, and was VERY anxious about). Thankfully the image did not require additional proofing beyond the initial one, and the whole process took me roughly sixty (60) hours in Procreate on my iPad, in addition to a few hours in Adobe Photoshop editing. In all, this piece really did not take me as long as I thought it would and I was incredibly concerned I would not make the gallery’s due date of September 17^th(2022). While I did resume the piece on August 24^th (2022) I didn’t complete it until September 7^th(2022) as I was juggling this piece at the same time, in addition to life events. For the time spent, I can say I am very happy with how this piece turned out. I have long wanted to develop something inspired by the film, but I just couldn’t realize what that was. The first piece I did for Creature Features was a very difficult piece for me to realize, and even after completion, it just did not seem to fulfill the void. This is a prime example of not having the skills at the time to execute a vision, and how returning to a concept, or even developing a new one later is worth exploring.

The 12” x 18” image (printed on 100lb Cover, thank you SGX), was made for Gallery1988’s ‘Crazy 4 Cult XVI’, a group show dedicated to many classic and modern films with a (cult-like) following. The show was originally scheduled to run from October 1^st, 2022, through October 15^th, 2022 with all remaining works available the following day at noon. At this time the prints are exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the show including mine.

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here. You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting, crafting or painting.

Website: www.michaelstiles.com

Etsy: Stiles of Art

Threadless: mistiles

LinkedIN: Michael Stiles

IG: stiles1978

TikTok: stiles1978

Pinterest: Michael Stiles

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Twitter: stiles_of_art

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Elden Ring (Sketch Cards 5)

Seeing as I had some mild success with Hero Complex Gallery’s ‘Sketch Cards 4’, I decided I’d try my hand at their next installment aptly titled ‘Sketch Cards 5’*. This time however, I was much more prepared…or so I thought.

"Godrick's Great Rune"

"Great Rune of the Unborn"

In my last bungling attempt, I had used all of the 5” x 5” cards leaving me with nothing but the standard 2.5” x 3.5”. I was prepared to overcome this daunting task, but I was really concerned if I had enough space to do really…anything. I’ve seen what people can do with these cards so I know what’s possible, but can I pull it off? Only one way to find out, right?

"Radahn's Great Rune"

"Rykard's Great Rune"

"Morgott's Great Rune"

I began by trying to come up with a theme for my cards. A series, or thread that connected them all to one another, yet still uniquely different. I had just finished watching Amazon’s ‘The Boys’, and I really enjoyed it, so I began coming up with concepts for possible cards. The only problem? Size. What I wanted to do just wasn’t going to work with these tiny @$& cards. Thankfully, inspiration struck in the form of a video game…‘Elden Ring’.

"Mohg's Great Rune"

So I’m a little late to the party on FromSoftware’s ‘Souls’ franchise as they are notoriously punishing games, and I like to play games, but not if they make me throw my controller down in an epic rage quit. I did however receive a copy of their George R.R. Martin & Souls love-child ‘Elden Ring’ as a present. I had been playing the game off and on for several months (I’m a busy person) and noticed that the design work was beautifully elaborate. I can identify when care has been put into design, and this was one of those times. Every item in the inventory comes with an eloquent backstory or haunting description. The ‘Great Runes’ I took particular notice of as each one is part of a shattered larger symbol mysteriously referred to as, the ‘Elden Ring’. Most ‘Great Runes’ have a similar circular shape, varying only in color, and placement of certain intersecting lines (perhaps where they were individually shattered). I felt replicating these symbols would be a less arduous task than my original plan considering the spatial restrictions and began collecting the necessary reference material.

"Malenia's Great Rune"

My biggest challenge here was that most of the content online wasn’t true to color. For instance, the imagery I collected off my own television was more vibrant than anything I could find online. In fact, most of the time the imagine I had from the web was so poor quality that making the structure out of each rune was almost impossible. I even tried more unorthodox methods like posting on reddit, but to no avail. I determined that for me to complete this project I would need to complete this game. That or collect all the ‘Great Runes’ in the game so that I had access to high quality images. When I started the project (in June), I had all but about five of the runes I needed and was confident I could gather the resources I needed before the cards were due (August 31^st, 2022).

"Marika's Seal"

Casting aside the lack of reference, I started the project by painting several of the cards completely black as I would need the contrast. The black would also help in cleaning up any edges or mistakes made during the painting process and trust me there were plenty! Truth be told I wasn’t even sure this was going to work, as I feared it might warp the paper of the cards beyond use. Thankfully that was not the case, although they did warp a bit, they eventually completely flattened as I worked on them overtime.

"Rune Arc"

With the cards primed, I let them cure overnight and then began working on them the following day. I started each ‘Great Rune’ in the same manner, by using white acrylic paint to replicate the design and shape. I bounced back between using a brush, and marker to develop each one, and then proceeded to tighten them up, by cleaning up the edges with black. I wasn’t entirely sure how successful this process was going to be as it was all very new to me, so when I started, I only did four of the ‘Great Runes’. When they turned out successfully, I began recording the process with my iPhone and uploading the timelapse videos to my social media accounts (TikTok/Instagram).

"Radagon's Seal"

With the first step done, I then had to paint over the white base of each ‘Rune’ and replicate their appearance from the game. The first rune I tackled in this manner was ‘Rykard’s Great Rune’. I chose to start with it because it was the most vibrant and colorful of the ‘Runes’ I had reference for at the time. I also figured that if I started with the most complicated one I could determine how do-able this was going to be. I was rusty, but thankfully skilled enough to pull it off convincingly (I hope). With success on the horizon a new hope was rekindled, and I set out replicating the remaining ‘Runes’ in my possession (that is the ones I had acquired thus far in the game). Most of the replications went without event, that is, apart from the ‘Great Mending Rune of the Death-Prince’, winner for longest name, and most spatially challenged of all the runes. Its design is beautifully obnoxious, and I had to reorientate the layout of the card in order to (fail to) accommodate it (yet again).

"Great Mending Rune of the Death-Prince"

"Great Mending Rune of Perfect Order"

"Great Mending Rune of the Fell Curse"

I started these sketch cards on July 26^th, and completed the set on August 28^th, 2022 spending varying amounts of time on each illustration. As stated above, each card was a two-step process, first designed in white, and then rendered in color. Of all the cards I did, the most laborious was definitely ‘Malenia’s Great Rune’, followed by ‘Rykard’s’, or ‘Radagon’s Seal’. The cards were due on August 31^st, 2022, which I narrowly met,

*The show has since been renamed to ‘Mini Masterpieces’ and opened on April 29^th, 2023. All of cards measure in at 2.5” x 3.5”, are one of a kind, and exclusively available at Hero Complex Gallery. Please check the gallery’s website for availability and any other remaining works related to the show including mine.