A Creative Year

I recently had the opportunity to work on a unique illustration project. Superbolt, Inc. is updating their 12 minute corporate video with new graphics, new footage- new everything. I’ve been working on this for quite a while as it is a side project with no set time table.

At one point in the video, 2 cartoon drawings are used to show the dangers of swinging heavy sledgehammers around. These were created over 12 years ago. They look dated, unprofessional, and were probably colored using crayons:

I eagerly put pencil to paper in an effort to bring my own little cartoon workers to life.

My goal was to make the drawing look more refined, have better color, and look crisp and professional. The basic scene was to remain the same and communicate the same message. Here is an initial sketch:

I then scanned the sketches that I liked and began outlining them in Adobe Illustrator. I wanted nice, crisp vector outlines for our scene. Here is an example of this completed process:

After that I had to decide if I was going to color the scene in Illustrator, with finishing touches in Photoshop, or just take the whole thing into Photoshop. I decided on the latter since my coloring skills in Illustrator are a little rough, and I feel much more comfortable in Photoshop. Also, I hope to do some digital painting soon and this was an opportunity to try a few techniques.

I laid down basic color, put the background in, and then went back to do shadow and highlights. This is supposed to be a cartoon and I kept the coloring simple and straightforward, while trying to clearly separate all the elements and characters.

After the two scenes were finished and approved, I flattened all the layers, sized them appropriately to be imported into the Premier Pro video project, and that’s all she wrote. The images are a vast improvement over what was, everyone here is happy with them, and considering this is something that is not my area of expertise, I am happy with the results. What do you think?

I know there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you want to do. Like sleep. For those who are creatively inclined, sometimes we find ourselves going in a million different directions. Web designers, especially, can get overwhelmed with all the rapidly changing and emerging technology. It’s tough to stay on top of things, and improve your creative skills, much less find time for a hobby or a creative project that is just for fun.

But it’s worth it.

If there is a creative project that sort of just hangs around in the back of your mind and won’t let go, it’s time to block out some time and get cracking. Don’t let those creative ideas fade away. Get them sketched, jot them down, and, hopefully, find the time to work on them. You will find a sense of fullfillment, your abilities will be stretched and will grow, and you will have trained those creative juices to keep on flowing. Who knows where trying something different will take you in the future!

I’ve completed my first illustration project since the launch of A Creative Year. In case you missed it, I tend to work on more print and web design projects, and don’t get to do much drawing or illustration. I found an old sketch and worked it up in Illustrator, brought it over to Photoshop for some final touches, and the completed product is below. It was fun, and it’s a start. What creative projects are you working on?

I’ve been tweaking the look of this site, and it is coming along (finally). There are still some things to iron out – that header graphic is just asking for some more punishment. At least the RSS links are up and running, meaning you can subscribe to this blog via your favorite feed reader. If you have any problems subscribing to our RSS feed, let me know.

Illustration Project 001: ‘Floating Head’ is coming along. I’ve decided on the sketch I want to illustrate, and I’ve started the outlines. This is one that was jotted down several years ago and I had to do some digging in the closet to find the sketchbook, but it was worth it. Dopey Head here might turn into an interesting illustration (or at least a good warm-up). So, below you will see the sketch and also the vector outlines completed so far in Illustrator.

The sketch was imported into the program on a seperate layer, and the only thing done here was using the pen tool to create the outline. You could do something similar to your own sketches using Photoshop as well, although when it comes to vector art, Illustrator is the standard. As I was finishing the eyes, it seemed like this guy needed some bushy eyebrows. Next, I’ll start coloring and shading him in for some depth and hopefully a little more character, and maybe some hair. If he’s lucky.

So, thanks for visiting and if you are in the middle of any creative projects right now, I’d love to see them. Next week, we’ve got a book recomendation, and then stage 2 of our illustration project after that. Stay tuned.

I just finished reading a book by Dan Miller called ‘48 Days to the Work You Love’, a book I came across while listening to financial guru Dave Ramsey. Dan makes a living helping others find the courage and tenacity to chase a dream, make a change, and face and overcome adversity. He helps people figure out what they love to do and find a way to make a living at it, which coincides nicely with the purpose of ‘A Creative Year.’ What good is an idea that you never act on? Are you pursuing your passions and using your talents like you want, or should be?

For those of us who love to create, and are fortunate enough to make a living out of it, our very nature is constantly churning up ideas. Sometimes we let them go back from whence they came, but some of them we latch onto and wrestle with until by sheer force of will and determination, we drag them into reality. Maybe it’s a painting, a web app, or a certain combination of color, type and shape in a brochure design. You may find yourself doing a lot of web and print design projects for others, but you really don’t want to let that illustration bug go. That’s what this site is going to be about – finding the time to become better at whatever it is you do, and also making sure you are doing what you love (even if it’s just on the side).

I thought a good place to start would be where every creative project should start – your sketchbook. I tend to draw cartoonish faces with big round eyes when I’m doodling, and am interested in doing portraits as well as designing interesting characters. Below I’ve scanned in 3 sketches I’ve made in the past, and what I plan on doing is taking one of them and turning it into a finished piece.

Step one of that process will have to wait until next week. I encourage you to find a sketch you did, that you loved, and revisit it. Maybe you can turn it into something more…