Cave Critter

I am not really forgetting to post something. I just was sidetracked a bit with the last week of school and finals. I was also working on this painting the last week or so. Here is the link on youtube if you are interested. http://youtu.be/uqFyJVVmA1U

I don't really ever know what sketch will strike my fancy and eventually become a painting. This particular painting started with the sketch posted in my Halloween countdown. It might still be at the bottom of the page. If not, then here is the original sketch.

I am painting this using Corel Painter 12.2. I have about 15 hours work into the painting at the moment. Painter is still my main painting program though I often jump around between different programs depending on my mood and what I am trying to accomplish.

The original image dimensions are 5400 x 4100 pixels.

I will post an update of the final image when finished.

Bang! Bang!

Ever want to just shoot something up? Can't help you there. If however you have ever wanted to paint a bunch of bullet holes in an image, then this is just for you.

While cleaning out a bunch of files, I found an old Painter nozzle of some bullet holes. I made this back in 2007 for a project I was working on and had forgotten about it since then.

To use the file you will need one of the Image Hose brushes in Painter. Just load it as a nozzle and paint away. You will probably need to adjust the size settings ...... maybe some other settings too.

If you are not familiar with the image hose and need some instructions let me know and I can post some.

Download the file here. Bullet holes nozzle file

Brush and Ink Doodle

Occasionally I will break the routine and doodle with something beside Prismacolor pencils. This drawing is done with ink and a brush. There was no initial idea. I started with the eyes and it grew from that point. The original size is 5 x 8 inches.

Doggie Movie

Playing around recording some drawing videos. This is a very low res version of the original.

Of course, I draw this quickly. :) Haven't figured out how to keep my short and stubby fingers out of the movie yet.

Little Dark Angel

Sketch done this holiday break. Wing duplicated and placed on the left side of the figure. Wanted a very symmetrical look to the wings but not the girl. Sketch is on brown paper using black and white prismacolor pencils, black watercolor prismacolor pencil, and photoshop.

At some point I am going to add color to the image and work it over a bit more.

Just a Sketch

Just a sketch tonight. Too tired to do much else. 

Notice the careful smudging and subtle color transitions in the lower part of the drawing. These take a lot of skill and care to do well. There is a secret to achieving the effect successfully that I am willing to share. 
1. Spill your lime Diet Coke on the image. 
2. Jump up while throwing your clipboard on the floor so you don't get soaked with the quickly moving liquid. 
3. Shout a few obscenities for emphasis and effect. 
3. Mop up the spilled Coke with the first rag or napkin you find. 

That is all there is too it.

And now for something.....

In a few more days I will get back to posting regularly. I am going to post lots of sketches and doodles. I want to post a few tips on how I do things, what is my favorite technique of the moment, what changes over time for me, generally answer questions I think might be of use. I hope to post an occasional short tutorial. If anyone has a question, please do not hesitate to ask. I do read everything even though it sometimes takes time to respond. If you don't want to ask publicly then drop me an e-mail at don (at) seegmillerart.com

Currently I am scanning my sketchbooks. I don't know why I have suddenly decided that this is important but I have. I am about 45% finished....I think. I am currently at number 4359. These sketchbooks were started about 2000. While I have drawings all the way back into the olden high school days, I really did not start drawing with purpose until 2000. I wish that I had started 20 years earlier. You can never draw enough.

Someday my kids can start a big bonfire with all the doodles that are accumulating.

Here is just a page of inkling sketches.

Life gets in the way.

It amazes me how easy it is to become a total slacker when it comes to posting. Life sometimes gets in the way is my usual excuse.

Life did get in the way last week. A very dear friend suffered a stroke and eventually passed away from the episode. Al Wadle was his name and he was one of the finest men I will ever know. He was the owner of Wadle Galleries Ltd. in Santa Fe, New Mexico. http://www.wadlegalleries.com

He took a chance and was the first gallery to accept my work and hang it on a wall. This was way back in 1981. I have been showing with them since that time. This was a man that trusted me enough to only require my word and a handshake. He treated me better than I deserved. He encouraged me, told me the truth about my work even when I didn't want to hear it, paid me quickly, promoted my efforts, and generally was a fundamental reason I have had success selling my art.

Unfortunately I was not able to make it in time to see him before he passed. I was able to attend his funeral. I was able to spend some time with his wife and will try and keep in touch with her as time goes on.

I love Santa Fe. This trip however was very bittersweet and emotionally draining. Usually I will spend a day or two wandering the galleries, enjoying the food, and marveling in the quality of the light. This time, I just didn't have it in me. It will always be a special place but has fundamentally changed for me.

For those that do not know my gallery work, I am posting several examples. I work in oil on either panels or canvas. Most of my work is smaller than 24 x 36 inches and the majority is less than 18 x 24. I paint the figure as if it were still life. I love painting skin and fabric. Quite honestly, in 30 years of painting I am now just learning how to do it.

Another Big Fish Story

Back in July I posted this photo of a monster Brown Trout that my son caught. http://www.seegmillerart.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html
Well, he has done it again. Here is the fish that he caught yesterday. This one was even larger than the previous measuring out at 29.5 inches and right around 15 pounds.

A huge and beautiful fish. Well, it is actually a really ugly fish but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He was released to continue his quest for the perfect female brown; then set up temporary home on that ideal gravel bar.

Halloween Countdown #29, 30, and 31

Wanted to save up and do one final post. Tonight are the sketches I did while sitting on the front porch handing out cavities to all the cute kiddies.

This second part of the post is sketches done while at school today.

Everyone that followed along, I hope I made your Halloween season a bit more fun.
I am thinking of printing a sketchbook of all the posted pieces, the original untouched sketches, and a few undecided extras. If you might be interested drop me a note.

Until next year ....... Happy Halloween!

Halloween Countdown #28

A little older piece. Some sort of gooey creature.

Halloween Countdown #27

Had to get in a traditional witch. This is Prismacolor pencil with color work in Photoshop and Painter.

Halloween Countdown #26

Just another sketch. Getting close so I will need to post more soon. Look for a couple later today. :)

Halloween Countdown #25

Just a sketch.

Halloween Countdown #24

The Grimm Reaper.

Halloween Countdown #23

What would Halloween be without Frankenstein?

Halloween Countdown #22

Be the best at what ever you are. In case you are a frumpy and rather strange looking vampire....still go for the blue ribbon. You never know, you just might win it.

Halloween Countdown #21

Halloween combined with the media barrage during the U. S. elections can often lead to a headache.

Halloween Countdown #20

Started as a pencil sketch but morphed into something else inside Photoshop. I may have gone a bit too coloring book on this one. I do like the eyes though.

Halloween Countdown #19

Goblin Brothers

Not a traditional sketch tonight. This was done with the nice painting program, Art Rage. I really like the airbrush as you can probably tell. I guess this was really a sketch but done on the computer.

Halloween Countdown #18

The girl with the tentacle hands.

In the last post I mentioned drawing in boring meetings. This doodle was done in a faculty meeting though I am not saying it was boring by any means. Actually, any of you that doodle in meetings, etc, know that you can pay close attention to what is being said while you draw. I guess that you use different parts of your brain for the different tasks.

Unfortunately, I can not tell you what went through my mind to come up with this drawing since I was concentrating on the meeting agenda. :)

Halloween Countdown #17

I find it interesting that some of the doodles I like the best are ones that start out with the least concrete idea. This monster head is an example. There was no initial idea but just a scribble that then became something as I kept adding pencil strokes. I was probably sitting in a boring meeting somewhere trying to stay awake....

On the subject of awake. One thing that just makes me crazy is when a student falls asleep in class. Any ideas on how to handle such careless snoozing? Maybe I will post a sleeping sketch before Halloween.

Halloween Countdown #16

Just a creature in his cave.

Halloween Countdown #15

I would really like to get 30 of these posted before Halloween. Since I started a bit late, I am going to have to double some nights.

Here for your viewing pleasure is a vampire girl taking a nap.

Halloween Countdown #14

And now for something really scary.
Yesterday was a bit cute so today it is time for something from the opposite end of the spectrum. Maybe a bit scary? Prismacolor pencil, toned paper, and Photoshop.

Halloween Countdown #13

Since I missed Saturday night here is an extra one tonight.

Halloween Countdown #12

Getting the stuffing ripped out....
Sugar, spice, and everything nice....that's what little girls are made of!
Maybe not in this particular case.

Corel Webinar Image

Purple People Eater

This is the image that I painted Tuesday in a webinar for Corel. I recorded the whole thing as a video and will post a compressed version soon. The painting took just over 2 1/2 hours. An hour of which was done during the webinar. I concentrated mainly on applying the skin textures while online with the attendees.

Halloween Countdown #11

Jack-o-lantern
This is another sketch done with Prismacolor pencils. This time the original is on a toned paper and both black and white pencils were used.

Halloween Countdown #10

Just a witch.

Now for Something Cute

I remembered that I had once done something cute and here it is.

This is a pretty old piece.

I was demonstrating Painter for Corel at Siggraph a few years ago. I was on a computer painting for three days. Every half day I would switch what I was working on so it would not be boring for those watching me paint. The original image only had the monster.

As I was finishing the piece one of the Corel people managing the booth came up behind me and quietly asked, "Don't you ever paint anything cute?" Up to that point I guess I had not painted anything cute. I told him that I could indeed paint something cute if I wanted. He challenged me to accomplish the task....

So, I added the cute, pink bunny in the corner getting the stuffing ripped out of him. I thought it was cute. He just rolled his eyes and laughed. I guess that peoples ideas of cute vary greatly.

Halloween Countdown #9

Tonight's creature. Never fear, I can do something cute if pressed and will try and post a cute image soon.

Halloween Countdown #8

Who you might meet if you trick-or-treat at the wrong door. Watercolor Prismacolor, Prismacolor, toned paper.

Halloween Countdown #7

It's the Great Pumpkin!

The image is about 8 inches square and done with black Prismacolor watercolor pencil. I love this pencil. Once it is wet and spread around it dries insoluble. You can then draw over the original layer to have multiple transparent layers.

Halloween Countdown #6

Just a really quick monster painting.

Halloween Countdown #5

Just a really old sketch resurrected for the season.

Halloween Countdown #4

Everybody loves zombies these days. My five year old grandson wants to be a disco zombie... go figure.

Corel Webinar Next Week

I am doing a webinar for Corel next week on the 16th. Here is a link if you are interested in signing up. It's free.

http://www.corel.com/corel/pages/index.jsp?pgid=12800021

Halloween Countdown #3

Just a  monster. Started out drawn in Prismacolor pencil.

Halloween Countdown #2

Posting two nights in a row is a minor miracle for me.

Here is number two (2) in my Halloween countdown.

Several weeks ago my wife and I took a quick and much needed weekend down to Moab, UT. For those of you not familiar with the area it is magical to say the least. Arches and Canyonlands, both national parks and Dead Horse Point, a state park are close enough that you could drive to all three and spend some time in each during the course of a long day. Not a recommended way to see the parks though as you really do want to take at least a day in each one. As a side note, late September through the winter is much friendlier in these parks as far as the temperature goes. During the summer and early autumn season the thermometer rarely dips below 100 degrees.

Within 100 miles is another state park that is hands down my favorite place in southeastern Utah. Goblin Valley is a small state park that can be walked through in a days time. It is one of the strangest and most otherworldly places I can think of. A portion of the movie "Galaxy Quest" was filmed in Goblin Valley.

We spent some time walking through the goblins and I kept seeing faces in the rocks. Maybe it was the warm turkey sandwich I had eaten earlier. Anyway I was taking photos as fast as I could focus the camera. At home I was looking through the images and came up with the idea that I would draw the goblins that are in the park. Of course during the day they look like rocks but at night, the magic happens and they come alive. You are allowed to play and wander through the goblins at night if you are brave enough. I am going to do a whole series of drawings of the goblins. Here is the first and the photo they were drawn from. I have not decided if I want to keep the goblins somewhat rock like as in this first sketch or make them even more organic and living.

It is a good Halloween #2 image I hope.

Halloween Countdown #1

I love October. The leaves blowing across roads in the late evening, great fly fishing, cooler temperatures, and of course Halloween. I have decided to post a sketch or painting each day with a definite monstrous or Halloween feel.

This first post is based on a sketchbook image but taken just a bit further.

The Illustration Club at Utah Valley University has a "Gallery of Terror" each Fall. Well, to be accurate, this is the first year of the Illustration Club and the inaugural year of the "Gallery of Terror". Regardless, anyone is welcome to display a work of art, in any medium, as long as it has a Halloween/Monster theme. I did the poster announcing the show. I wanted something that was over the top and grabbed the attention of students walking by in the halls. This is the image I used.

I guess that the sign of a good poster is how many of them start disappearing off the walls. A few vanished so at least the poster had average appeal.

The drawing is a scan from one of my sketchbooks. I used black and white Prismacolor pencils on brown toned paper. The texture in the background is watercolor. The bloody bits are Photoshop brushes. The whole thing is mixed media. It is funny how if I attach the term mixed media instead of digital the whole image gains credibility. Curious....

Inkling Sketch

Got a Wacom Inkling a few months ago. I think I like the tool. Here is a sample sketch.