Transitions

Hi there blog watchers! Happy 2016!

It's been far too long, so I think it's about time I showed you a new piece of work. We'll blame work for that as it does really impact on the amount of time I have to do things I love doing. Still, I manage somehow and will hopefully continue to do so. But enough about that, you're here for art aren't you?

 

This new one is entitled 'transitions'. It's about change, specifically the changes we make in our lives that forever impact us. Often it's a choice and since we don't have the ability to see the future, it's a blind one; We don't know what will be on the other side of that 'portal' we choose to step through. In some cases there might not even be a way to retrace our steps and go back to how things were before, which can make that 'choice' all the more daunting, however it's also what keeps life interesting.

Things have changed oh so much in my life these past couple of years and I hope they will continue to do so. Most of these changes have been positive and have in most cases exceeded the possibilities of how I thought they would turn out. I hope that 2016 will be just as bright and bring with it even greater possibilities.

I'm quite proud of this piece. It was a good chance to really experiment with a strong sense of lighting, which I don't normally do. It was something of a challenge with how to actually do the shading and I wasted time with layers I probably didn't need to use.

One thing I struggled with, was whether or not to put in a deeper background. In the end I decided against it, because no matter what I tried I just couldn't get it to look right. Background is still something I struggle with and it will certainly be a thing I'll try to focus on overcoming this year. I've been sitting a on fantastic idea for an exhibition, but to really make it work I need to be much more competent with backgrounds, so I really can't wait to get there and start on that work specifically.

I was originally not going to put in a pattern on her top, but in the end I just couldn't resist. I love patterns and fabrics and if I didn't love fantasy and science-fiction so much, I'd probably be a textile designer. In illustration however, I can be both at the same time! I find that even the simplest pattern, (like the one above) can really bring some extra life to an image.

If you have any questions about this work or would like to obtain a print, just leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Until next time...

Cull in the void

So today I have something very special to share. My very first professional job. I received this job through email after the lovely Lulu Rae saw my Loop profile. Let this be a lesson to all that you should keep free portfolio websites up to date, they are just important as the ones you pay money for.

I was stoked! I couldn't believe someone actually wanted me to do work for them! I was to illustrate a band for Happy, which is a NSW based blog and web-zine that promotes local indie music acts.

The band in question was Cull, a NSW band that classify their style as friendrock/dreamgaze. These are not genres I'm at all familiar with, so I would suggest you have a listen here. You can also check out their website. I'm going to be honest and say that I hadn't heard of them before I started this work.

"Wow, let me just say first! Amazing illustration!!
We all love it. Thank you so much."

After a few back and forth emails about the requirements for the image, I set myself into research mode, which is always the first thing I do. This involved going on the bands Facebook page, website and Youtube channel. The later was for drawing (Pun!) inspiration from the visuals in their videos and the music itself. I concluded the music made me think about the unknown, particularly the great unknown expanse of the galaxy and universe itself. I considered the emptiness and excitement of space exploration, the final frontier as Star Trek calls it (big fan by the way). This was also helped by the clip to their newest single 'The Sacred Burial Urn' which features footage from a 1960's era science fiction. So I did some research into retro sci-fi and spacesuits, since being a portrait I need would something for the band to wear. Research done.

So into my sketchbook I went, though the entire process of the final artwork was digital, I still find it easier to sketch on paper first. This took about 4 hours or so, which is pretty quick for me. The whole time I was listening to Cull's Youtube channel on repeat to really get in the mood.

"You're so lovely!
I'm so glad you're as happy with everything as we are.
We are stoked!"

When it came to the band's faces, I ran into some difficulty. I don't often base the faces I draw on real people, and the only times I do is in life-drawing. What made it more difficult, was the lack of good photo-reference on the net. To get more I looked up previous bands the members had been in...I felt like a stalker!


The next step was to use my sketches to work up the line work in Photoshop. I usually start quite rough and slowly develop the drawing as I go. You might ask why the line art in red rather than the traditional black (which is what I usually do)? I knew that the background would be space, which is black (no, really?), so I thought black lines would mostly be lost in the background. Next time I do an artwork I'll be sure to take some screen-grabs so I can show my process in pictures. Until then, you must wait.

Most of the rest of the process is fairly self-explanatory, but I'll go into more detail when I have pictures to support what I'm saying. After being happy with the figures I moved on to the background. Now originally I decided to have a space shuttle flying through behind the band, but after finishing the figures I realised it might make the picture look a bit busy (not to mention the size the image would appear on the website would probably render the the shuttle too small to make out properly) and instead opted for a planet (with bonus moon).

So I finished the final image after about a week of fairly continuous work and emailed it to Lulu. What happened next was something I did not expect...

Now I will admit that on a personal level I thought this artwork as one of my best to date. However I didn't expect the fantastic response I received. I've interspersed this post with a few choice quotes by Lulu from our emails (used with permission of course).

"Thank YOU so much Reiko, people like you make it
easy and such a pleasure for us."

Truly, I was awed by her words. I was not expecting such high praise! I've really felt a boost to my confidence as an artist: I never imagined my first job would go so well. But it got even better! I also received a lovely message on Facebook from Alex Sol Watts, one of the members of the band. To get a positive comment from the band as well left me ecstatic.

I hope every job I do from now on turns out as well as this one did. It was such a joy to do. ^_^

Until next time...

Otherworldly charms

With the ending of my exhibited work at Brunswick Street Gallery, I'm happy to now present those pieces on this blog. If you were unable or unwilling to see them there, you can now see them with the ease of the internet. 

I actually had 4 pieces planned, but because of space and time constraints I had to cut down to only two artworks. Still, I'm happy with how they came out. I will eventually get round to finishing the other ones.

So without further words, here they are.

This was my first time doing backgrounds in this particular style, as I usually do characters on their own without background. This time, I really wanted to make prints worth buying, so I had them professionally printed. They are 100% archival quality on Museo portfolio rag, signed and numbered. Currently I don't have a store, but if you'd like to buy a print, contact me (using the contact tab at the top of this blog) and I'm sure I can arrange it.

The work continues...

Silhouettic

Hi there blog watchers! Sorry about the lack of new updates. I'm still working on speediness, but I've also been doing heaps of very dry and boring studies, which just really aren't that exciting to look at. I figure that if I'm not really enjoying doing them, they're probably not worth looking at. Anyways I digress.

So this new piece continues the same sketching style used in one of my last uploads. Each figure starts as a silhouette, just black paint on the digital canvas. This makes me focus on the overall shape and stops me focusing on all the intricate details, which of course comes later. It's been really great for coming up with more interesting designs, so I'll be sure to continue doing them in the future.

Soon I'll be uploading a new piece of work I did for a very good friend of mine, so look forward to that.

This is Reiko signing off...Beep...
Beep