I meet Karl Kopinski a few years ago at a magic GP in Liverpool. It was one of those rare moments where you meet a guy and like him right away and it feels like you have been friends forever. I new about his artwork and his fantastic talent as a sketchartist before meeting him but that day in Liverpool he showed me his real sketchbook and gave me a copy of the printed version, the collected sketchbook he just put together and was publishing himself, with the help from his wife.
It is mindblowing to see him noodling his way into an angry viking from a blank piece of paper.
Today I am in London doing a workshop with Karl Kopinski and he just gave m the sketchbook volume 2. It is simply fantastic. It is good, cos I almost ran out of facial expressions and characters to steal from, having stolen, I mean been inspired, a lot from the first one. Thanks Karl for putting it out there. Thanks for sharing it.
Anatomy 360 is a new app that allows users to rotate, light and even animate a variety of 3d models to their liking. There have been similar apps like this before, but none with this level of detail of customization.
For instance, you can purchase a high resolution 3D model of a head, and light it any way you like, to use as reference for a painting. The level of realism you can achieve, without any 3D experience, is kind of mind-boggling. Some of these 3D models are more than adequate to use as a substitute for a real model.
The other great thing about Anatomy 360 is that the App itself is free. Instead, they make money by selling models and poses. This means that you can get started using the program with very little financial investment, just $10 or so. Further more, the pay-per-model system also ensures that the company will be releasing new models regularly.
Below is a small sampling of some of the models and various poses that are already available.
And although I would likely still use a real model for figure poses (there are a lot of things that happen during a photoshoot that you just can't plan for), I would certainly be inclined to use this as a resource for various heads, essentially granting me a library of dozens of models of differing ages and ethnicities.
You can watch a video of what this program is really capable of right here:
Recently, I released 3 new Photoshop brush sets containing nearly 100 of the digital tools that I use for my personal and client jobs. For today's post I am sharing a few videos which show these brushes in action, as well as the method I use when I work digitally.
Demo from the Pencil Set
Samples from the Pencil Set
Why bother making your own brushes?
The reason I started making my own brushes was that my first true love was traditional media. When I discovered digital painting, I fell in love with so much of what it could do, but I found that most of the digital brushes looked too, well... �digital.� They look flat, plastic and they lack character.
To make matters worse, my favorite use for digital painting was to apply it over top of a traditional underpainting. But I found that most digital brushes looked unnatural over traditional material, and the final painting would feel unfinished and soulless.
To solve this problem, I sample scans of MY OWN BLOOD. (just kidding) I sample scans of actual brush strokes, paint splatters, pencil marks and paper textures, made with various traditional tools and surfaces. (And some spilled coffee)
I then arrange all of the 10 billion sliders and knobs in Photoshop to arrive at a specific mathematical formula. This transmits my subconscious into the computer, you know, like that guy from Tron. And once inside, there is a whole universe in there, filled with millions of people, all of whom hate me and want to kill me with laser frisbees and motorcycles. BUT I KILL THEM INSTEAD. And I use their ground up bones to make my digital brushes.
*ahem* Anyway, once I have imported these "real" marks and input all the correct settings into Photoshop, I am left with better brushes that look natural alongside traditional media and leaves you with something that feels traditional, yet unique. Sort of like the robots that will soon be among us; they aren't quite human, but close enough that you won't be that bothered by them serving you fries at McDonalds.
(Coffee. Not human blood!)
I'll be releasing 6 more sets this year. Next week I will be releasing a set made up of coffee spills!
Colorizing a drawing with the Texture Set
Colorizing a traditional drawing using the Watercolor Vol. I Set
This month's Patreon video 'A Portrait in Pencil, with Greg Ruth' is now available for download.
In this 2.5 hour demo, Greg Ruth walks us though his process of creating a fantasy portrait in graphite. Using one of his Dune-themed pieces as an example, Greg discusses not only how he creates convincing form, but how he imbues his portraits with a sense of character and backstory. Additionally, Greg takes the time to demonstrate how he creates the unusual textures he is so well known for, such as smoke and stars.
This video is available to all of our Patrons who donate $10 or more. If you are not a donor, but are interested in acquiring this video, please consider making a donation here: https://www.patreon.com/muddycolors
Mike Mignola is best known as the creator of the immensely popular comic and film franchise, 'Hellboy'. But in 2002, Mike created a short story called 'The Amazing Screw-On Head' which has since gone on to become many of his fans favorite works of his.
Published by Dark Horse Comics in 2002, starring the character of the same name, The Amazing Screw-On Head is a quirky story about a robot whose head can be attached to different bodies, each with different tactical abilities. The Amazing Screw-On Head functions as an agent of the U.S. Government, and is tasked with keeping President Abraham Lincoln safe from Occult threats.
The comic was met with great success, and was optioned as an animated series. The Sci-Fi Channel even went as far as producing a pilot episode. Sadly, the show wasn't picked up, but we can still enjoy the 22 minute pilot, which does a fantastic job of emulating Mignola's style and stars actors like Paul Giamatti and David Hyde Pierce.
You can watch the full episode below:
In addition to the original publication, you can also find a special Artist's Edition of 'The Amazing Screw-On Head', published by IDW. This enormous book (12x17 inches) reproduces all the original art at it's original size, without it's digital colorization. However, the black and white pages are actually reproduced in color regardless, which gives an amazing representation of what the original pages look like without and digital level adjustments. You can variations in the type of ink he uses, and even the pencil work behind the inks. It's a true feast for artists.
