Tam Lin pieces / compositing process

The basic process for this piece was to make the sketch below, scan it, separate out the separate figures, use carbon paper to sketch them out at various scales onto watercolor paper, make watercolors of all the figures, scan them back in, and composite those. It sounds somewhat simple but it actually took many, many hours!

As you can see from the final, I changed a few things from the original sketch, like the pose and face of the woman, and the various birds just to crows.

Tam Lin / Liege & Lief cover

Ahh. This is one of my favorite pieces I've made in possibly years. As you know, the ballad Tam Lin is a song I love and continue to revisit for inspiration. Recently I was assigned to illustrate an album cover, and chose Liege & Lief, the 1969 Fairport Convention album. They have a wonderful interpretation of Tam Lin, fabulously psychedelic and haunting and rocking.

Here are some relevant lyrics:

So first let pass the horses black and then let pass the brown
Quickly run to the white steed and pull the rider down
For I'll ride on the white steed, the nearest to the town
For I was an earthly knight, they give me that renown
Oh, they will turn me in your arms to a newt or a snake
But hold me tight and fear not, I am your baby's father
And they will turn me in your arms into a lion bold
But hold me tight and fear not and you will love your child

All the sections of this piece were done in watercolor with a bit of gouache, and the final is meant to be the size of a record album. There's no original because all of the figures, animals, shadows, and the background were done separately and put together in the computer. I'm getting a lot out of this way of working, it gives me a new flexibility and range to experiment in. (For one thing, I did four versions of the woman before she was right!) I like that I can switch out for different animals and shift the composition as needed.

Soon I'll make a post with all the separate animals I drew!

honeycomb

Watercolor and gouache study of some honeycomb. I thought of the colors first, then the honeycomb. Original is about 11"x11".

four-legged snake

This was an illustration for an issue of the Hypocrite Reader. It's waterproof ink with watercolor washes on top. Original 15"x11".

periscope fish

This was for an assignment in an illustration class. It's meant to be wine label for a winery called Periscope Cellars. You can see I was in a bit of the same color world as I'd been in when I made San Francisco Animals.

I've been making a lot of work, I just haven't had time to post it lately! So I've finally queued up a few posts of what I've been working on.

In this one, I was just starting to experiment with compositing many drawings into one.

They Draw and Travel: San Francisco Animals

Remember the San Francisco map sketches I made? I put them to use in this They Draw and Travel Map of San Francisco Animals. And it turns out it won an honorable mention in the They Draw and Travel Contest!

My prize for being an honorable mention is a copy of the They Draw and Cook Book. What's funny about this is that I already got a free copy of They Draw and Cook, because my recipe is going to be in it! Oh well, now I get two free books. Maybe someone will get an autographed copy...

a wolf in sheep's clothing

I just finished taking an illustration class at the California College of Art extension. We had a couple assignments, but I didn't make anything from the first one I felt like sharing. (It was a good exercise though.) The class overall has really helped my thinking about illustration and composition, working with editorial-type assignments, working with deadlines, knowledge regarding the business of illustration, and other great things.

This is one of the pieces I did for the final assignment, to illustrate an idiom. I had a ton of fun depicting the wolf, and I like how creepy the sheep / sheepskin is (though I wouldn't mind it being a bit creepier) but I knew the whole time I was working on it that this was one of the most boring ways I could interpret that assignment! I got close to something with another idiom which I will share soon... I didn't quite finish it before class on Monday and I think this weekend I'm going to try to really finalize the idea. So for now, here's the wolf in sheep's clothing.