Calibration issues

So, although the Mountain Druid piece was finished - thank you Halcyon for mentioning the illustration was too dark to view. I am still attempting to work out some calibration issues on my PC. Here is a slightly lightened version.

If anyone else viewing this could give some input, it would be greatly appreciated!  Hopefully this corrected the problem.

Sketch for latest piece

Stone throne. Decided to create character [hopefully] where there are no main characters, just a stone throne.

If a throne per se was made in nature, in the woods, how would it be adorned? Would the moss and lichen glisten? Would it be the bark of the trees that provided the intricate 'carving'. Nature as the craftsman, luck as the designer...this should prove to be fun!

Working with Habitat!

I am looking forward to working with the Habitat for Humanity and LaPorte Co. Master Gardeners Association this year. We have so much space at the landscape nursery - and because we arrange our perennials, shrubs and trees in the retail space like we would for landscaping, it just seemed like an easy tool for the groups to use for helping those with their first yards. I attended a Habitat for Humanity "First Yard" seminar this spring and was very impressed at how organized and helpful the group was/is. Earning a reputation as the nursery guy who says "No" has brought back many clients and propagated new ones, so my hope is to be able to assist the groups when they bring the new home owners in to understand why certain plants go in certain spots.

Should be a fun year!

A few older pieces...

Just to have a few more pieces up on the new blog, or anyone can visit some of the old artwork at creakinfrog.deviantart.com. These are also on the deviantArt site, but I promise to enter in some new work this weekend!

Quickly becoming a favorite of mine, Olaf the Magnificent!  Spawned from the character I created for the Gaming Geeks poster, it has been a tremendous joy and source of character pose inspiration drawing this fellow over and over. I suppose I need to move on soon, but he's just too much derned fun.

Ok, a REALLY quick sketch for a Master Gardener's seminar at which I presented. Part of a powerpoint presentation, this scene was a typical reaction to planning a landscape when faced with such an overwhelming task. Many of those attending were part of the Habitat for Humanity effort in the area as well. I was very honored to have given the speech. A lot of fun.

Just playing around with perspective. Everyone does buildings, town and such and all entering 'into' the perspective. Here I was playing around with expanding the perspective towards the viewer instead of away.  This later became a piece used for a test animation: "Thundery Afternoon" http://creakinfrog.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d31l125 - a collaboration piece with Dan Wolters of Gothenberg, Sweden.

Did not realize...

So, I created this some time ago this past winter, but did not realize the reaction it would get. Personally, I just saw it as a fun piece paying homage to a former pastime [playing AD&D]. It's fine but for two words...anyone want to guess which two words had people very unhappy with me?

Upcoming concepts

After having thoroughly enjoyed the mountain druid piece, I think the next few posts will be sketchwork and quick WIPs just for concept and playing around with the opacity. With perennials emerging, and the shrubs and trees breaking bud - now is an excellent opportunity for reference photos and quick practices!

Mountain Druid Finished

Yes!  This piece is done in numerous layers which apparently goes against the flow; however, much like some earlier work "On the road again" http://creakinfrog.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2k5of0 - which was later turned into "Thundery afternoon" http://creakinfrog.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d31l125 - the layers in this piece will have some play to them in a simple style animation and perhaps some flute tones and wind.  Looking forward to creating the update on that one.

Below is the druid satyr, crafted like the sheep, in a separate file. It seems easier to create the characters in their own files and them place them into the scene. In the past, this has allowed me and another artist to create a type of animation with subtle movements.  Not sure how others do it, but willing to learn.

Road to Retirement

Some of the inside illustrations for the book FST's Road to Retirement 

From Chapter 1: Retirement - Concept: pretty self explanatory, the character feels that he is on a slowly sinking ship or only partially afloat. One of the concepts the author explains in the book how to avoid. 

From Chapter 3: Time Horizon - Concept: Again pretty self explanatory, the early you start saving or investing, the better off you may be down the road. The illustration also notes that although the pile may be smaller, it is never too late to start saving!

FST' "Road to Retirement"

Book cover and illustrations. Dee Mosier's Financial Straight Talk - Road to Retirement. Published August, 2010. A fun challenge to interpret ideas concerning investment and putting them into illustration form.

Great resource for those who have never invested and excellent primer for exploring investing possibilities. Review: http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/non-fiction/dee-mosier/dee-mosiers-financial-straight-talk/

Available for order here on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Straight-Talk-Road-Retirement/dp/1452056765/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303303473&sr=1-1

Mountain Druid

Annnd done...ish!  Ok, I cheated by doing the satyr and sheep in their own layers, however I may want to do some simple playing around with puppet tools in After Effects. This seemed the best route, and they may be applicable elsewhere.

 

Now the druid was not feelin' it, so he moved down to a comfy rock below. Much more a part of the festivities!

This piece, "Mountain Druid" was influenced I'm guessing by two sources: one, the birth of a daughter by a friend, and two: the re-reading of "Leaf by Niggle" by J.R.R. Tolkien. The actual size is 11x14 portrait, done in Photoshop with a brief pencil sketch (linked in previous post). In the valley, seemingly hidden away in the mist is the small village. Candles adorn the windows, and the dwellers listen calmly to the mountain top - where the mountain druid and flocks of sheep play and dance in the moonlight.

Adding sheep

After a week of computer problems, I'm finally getting to putting in the sheep! The original sketch is here on deviantArt - http://creakinfrog.deviantart.com/gallery/24591764#/d3dakka

Almost done. Looks a little dark, however my work tends to photo print really well. I've gotten used to the tones and such in here, so please let me know if the colors seem off. Greatly appreciated!.

Latest Work - Mountain Druid

"Whistling at night, unsure of the sound - a small village awakes in the valley to hear the bleating of sheep. They should not fear, for the sheep are just playing in the moonlight with the druid of the mountain."

Here is the little fellow now, on the Pan pipes:

And here is the latest stage in the illustration "Mountain Druid" - http://creakinfrog.deviantart.com/#/d3e33c1 - Some set backs on the computer have slowed things down a bit, but this week seems to be picking up steam once more.

Setting up the page

Ok, after setting up FB and LinkedIn, I thought it would be prudent to get a blog site up as more of a portfolio. DeviantArt has been great to post on this past year, but there are so many people - needed to create 'mah' own space.  So welcome! I hope to have a lot of artwork up here soon.

Looking forward to seeing and interacting on here.