Our SVS Virtual Studio AUGUST 2020😎

[Valerie Light]

Hello everyone! I'm new here at SVS, bingeing on the podcast and getting tons of great info from these forum posts. Thank you to all the friendly and hardworking artists here!
I've spent the past few weeks exploring the possibility of a career transition to illustration. I've been a scenic artist and set designer for the past 17 years, painting and designing scenery for live theater. In that line of work, your paintings are prized for their versatility of style, not for their consistency of style.
So I've been sketching in gouache and pen and ink and Procreate for the past few weeks, trying to get comfortable working in my natural style and learning how to compose images with compelling characters. Here's a collage of some recent explorations. Each a sketch is between 2 and 5 hours of work, and originals around 8 inches max. I'd love some encouragement about what things are working well right now!
Thanks in advance!
Val

[Jess-Weaver]

@Sarah-Simpson Love this!!

[Kim Hunter]

@jsnzart Love your use of highlights - called rim light in film lighting.

[Kim Hunter]

@jsnzart 2nd look at river. A tiny bit of rim lights on the buildings would complete a triangle from the highlights on the log and the bright spot of the sunset.

[Coreyartus]

@Valerie-Light Woot! Let's hear it for the Theatre crowd!!

I, too am a theatre person (I teach Costume Design at University of San Diego) and I feel your pain. I have yet to land on a "style" as much as I've created "lengthy series of similarly illustrated images". I couldn't for the life of me tell you what my style is... <sigh> But I sure feel confident trying to parse out and replicate others. LOL!

I think your work is lovely, and all I can suggest is that you keep making more images over and over and over again. I'm coming to the exasperating conclusion that one's "style" is, more often than not, a result of endless iterations and images wherein common rendering traits evolve and become apparent. I'm not sure (given my contradictory training in theatre that values emulation and distillation not invention) I will ever be able to point to anything of my own and say "That's my style." I could instead say, "These are the marks that came out of me." I feel like I have little control over my own style as much as I simply choose a process/medium/approach and what organically comes out the other end is what results...

I can say, though, that your work is gorgeous, and it's clear (to my theatre eye) your stage painting experience. Gouache is a very very good choice for a substitute for casein paints (for example) and the dark-to-light methodology is spot on. I have always been envious of the practice of backdrop paintings and elevations, and I wonder if your inherent training to "set the scene" as it were might come in handy when developing rich and interesting atmosphere and images with lots of "space" to fill. There is a huge emphasis on Character creation nowadays, but having the skills to create the world they're in is sometimes a lost art. If you decide you are going to take any classes through SVSLearn, I would highly highly suggest Prop Design, Painting Color and Light 2.0, Creative Environment Design, The Magic of Color, Creative Composition 2.0, and Building Backgrounds. I think you'd be a natural fit.

And isn't Procreate a marvel?

Welcome to the forums!!!

[Valerie Light]

@Coreyartus
Thanks for the reply, Corey, and Hello theater family! Not much happening in the 'coughing on one another in dark rooms' lines of work in NYC these days. Trying out illustration feels like an exciting way to improve my skills and make some fun work, but wow, yes, I am a little shocked at how new and difficult it is not to have the 'guard rails' of the team-based, collaborative approach to making art that theater gives me. How do I develop a final image without getting constant feedback from my creative team? And you are spot on about valuing emulation and distillation over invention, especially in scenic art.

I have spent so much time drawing environments and spaces, and thinking about architecture, and I've hardly ever drawn people outside the context of a figure drawing class. Maybe it will be useful to stay a bit closer to my comfort zone and work on style choices by exploring props and environments before diving straight in to character creation.

I think I just need to get a ton of bad drawings, (and bad media choices, bad color harmonies, bad compositions, etc.) out of my system right now, put them in a big pile, and then get rid of 99% of them. Thanks for the suggestions of classes to start that with, and for the encouragement. It is very much appreciated.

[carriecopadraws]

I made a couple of interior illustrations to go with my Wizard of Oz book cover so I'd have a nice project for my portfolio. Next cover is Howl's Moving Castle!

[burvantill]

I just finished my entry in the kidlit411 banner contest.

[jsnzart]

@Kim-Hunter Thank you very much.

[jsnzart]

@burvantill Nice. I wish you good luck!

[burvantill]

@jsnzart Hey THANX!!!

[deborah Haagenson]

I am working on a self-published children's picture book. This is my first Illustration for the book. I'm not sure yet if I'll actually use this one or this pastel-like digital style, but at least I've gotten started. I also did this illustration for another on-line class too, so I finished it to completion. I plan to sketch and work out the compositions and work all other paged as a whole, before starting the painting.

[Amanda Bancroft]

@Coreyartus I'm drawn to the way you use colors here, it's very appealing! Particularly the books in the background.

[chrisaakins]

I just realized that on Procreate you can create multiple selected areas at a time. What!?!? So I doodled a fun light coming through the live oaks sorta vibe for fun whilst I explored this witchcraft...

[braden H]

Surf's up

[ajillustrates]

@carriecopadraws This is such a wonderful addition to your portfolio! And I love your color palette on the cover.

[Jade Vaughan]

@carriecopadraws wow wonderful pieces! I can’t wait to see howls moving castle. It’s actually one I was looking at doing a rendition of as well!

[Jade Vaughan]

A few pieces I felt were complete but now looking back I feel I still need to workshop.

A few idea I’m still playing with. I’m thinking about doing a sort of talk show/interview short comic with a girl interviewing her stuffed animals...but I also like the idea of news casting hmm.

[Gary Wilkinson]

It's been a busy month as I have been finishing off a new book. Got this last page finally done, but still got the cover to do .....

[carriecopadraws]

@Jade-Vaughan Howl's Moving Castle is one of those books that could use a fresh cover! Would love to see your take on it if you decide to make one.