Balancing Values in Black & White Line Art

In the seven months since beginning my Low Residency MFA in Illustration at Hartford, the biggest personal change I've witnessed beyond multiplied creative output is a new found sense of focus and confidence in my individual style. In the 6 years from undergraduate work til now, a number of techniques, media, and approaches took hold of me. In that experimentation, I lost a sense of confident direction in my work... and my output suffered as well. Whether it was the final decision to take responsibility for my growth through graduate work, or simply being surrounded by massively talented classmates, almost instantly in the first days on campus I could see with a new clarity which piece best represented me as an artist. 

'Survival of the Biggest' had been an experiment in process, using technical pen on blank white clayboard as opposed to scratching into pre-inked black scratchboard (something I went back and forth about multiple times over the years). Claybord's unique flexibility for sculpting values in ink combined with additional compositional prep work on my part brought the piece to a certain level of style and finish that I continue to be proud of today.  I decided that between my enjoyment of that process and satisfaction with the final product, this was the vein I would continue down for the foreseeable future. 


Since that moment seven months ago, I have held true to the process and started building a new portfolio of work that feels genuinely 'Albright,' for all intents and purposes. Now I've come to a point where I feel a comfortable enough distance from the pieces that I can evaluate the body of work as a whole, and am more able to improve upon the formula in small but significant ways. For example, using what I'd call thumbnail evaluation some images are more effective than others when viewed from a distance or reduced to a small preview on screen.  Viewing an image at this greatly reduced size helps you ignore the subtleties for a moment and instead judge the overall composition, clarity, and impact.  

Using quick thumbnail evaluation, I've recognized that my drawings with larger areas of heavy blacks are more immediately effective and easier for the eyes to process than drawings with even contrast through the entire piece.  Case in point, both 'Sabre Skull Valley' and 'Pterodactdinner' (above) are rather tonally even throughout.  Intending to provide the viewers dense jungle of information to explore, all areas of the picture plane are handled with equal contrast and no large areas of heavy black aside from 'Pterodactdinner's frame. But in comparison with 'Lava' or 'Post-Apocrowlyptic' (below), both of which contain large areas of black to counter evenly balanced hatch work, I'm finding the two latter examples are more successful and give the eyes both a resting place and an easier point of entry.  And by that virtue, they both perhaps appear more 'finished.'

Long story short, moving forward I intend to pay closer attention to having areas of heavy black as a resting point for the eyes.  I also suspect this will lead me to make more complete use of the claybord medium in the sense that these black areas will require that I use my scratch tool for white detailing, rather than building up values with the pen and using the scraper tool for corrections alone.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!

From the Heart of my Bottom

What's really, really warm and comes deep from within?  Love, of course!!
Happy Valentine's everyone, from the Heart of my Bottom!

I finally designed this greeting card after sitting (hah) on the idea for quite awhile.  Sometimes those inspirations will get stuck in the back of your head and won't go away until you put them down on paper.  It's not my usual style, but I love working with vector graphics all the same!  Check these out on my etsy shop for the next loving special occasion. 

Deny Spec Work

There are thousands of posts about why sites like 99Designs.com are bad news for businesses and designers, so I won't try to summarize them all.  But I'd like to provide a couple links to helps educate upcoming designers and artists about why this dreaded 'Spec Work' and croudsourced designs are ill-advised and actually hurt you as a creative professional.  These practices also hurt the credibility of the client business when they take advantage of artists in this way.

To use the old cliche, you wouldn't hire a plumber to fix your toilet only to pay him if you decide you liked his personal technique.  We are professionals, and our services should be approached as such.  So please avoid sites where businesses are encouraged to ask designers to put their time, resources, and reputations on the line in hopes that the business won't steal your work or decide to pay you a low price after the fact.

http://andrewhy.de/spec-work-is-evil-why-i-hate-crowdspring/

http://www.no-spec.com/faq/

Speckyboy -Thoughts on Why Spec Work is Bad and Why You Shouldn't Do It

(Note: I realize some consider Threadless submissions spec work, and while I agree that it fits the bill in some ways, it's with a conscious knowledge of its other benefits that I draw the line.  A perk of submitting to Threadless is its ability to provide feedback on the designs, and in the end, the work is still yours to sell or market if not accepted for print by Threadless.  On the other hand, being asked to design a client specific graphic only to have them pay someone else for the job is unethical.)

Illustrated Greeting Cards

Check out the illustrated greeting card collection on my etsy shop!  I wanted to compile my favorite pen & ink / scratchboard pieces from the past year, and also added a couple bonus items to the set.

Printed on recycled paper with blank interiors and envelopes.  And every purchase in the store comes with a bonus gift.  Happy shopping and thank you for your support!

Pressure-Sensitive iPad Stylus

I don't normally post about tech gear, but I'm really excited about the upcoming JaJa pressure-sensitive ipad stylus on Kickstarter.  I just pledged $80 for a 2-pack and replacement nibs for about the price of one, as it will eventually retail.  These ship out in April and will integrate with the well-regarded ProCreate app, essentially giving us the Wacom Cintiq solution we've been looking for in portable form on the iPad.  I've been fiddling with the Wacom Bamboo stylus, but this sounds like the thing I've been hoping for instead.

I'll spare you a full-blown summary of all of it's features, but two programmable buttons and airplane mode functionality (bypassing wifi and bluetooth through high pitched frequencies) make this a really exciting option for artists on the go.  Anyone out there with an iPad who's been salivating over a Cintiq might want to look into this....

Jaja Pressure-Sensitive Stylus for iPad

Mammoth Down - Threadless Shirt Design

Please take a moment to vote for "Mammoth Down" at Threadless to help get it printed!

This is my first submission, and it would be super cool to see it in print.  Thanks for your support!

Cosmic Controls - Gallery Benefit Piece #2

Here's my second piece for Kettle Art's For The Love of Kettle benefit show on Sat, Feb 11th.  Follow the link for details.  Again, everything in the show is a steal for $50 and goes 100% to keeping the non-profit gallery afloat.  

I've been wanting to do a piece like this for quite awhile and hope to do some more on my usual scratchboards, possibly integrating color.  This one is nib pen on 9x12 primed masonite board.  This and the 'Empty Nest' piece were a good excuse to get used to working with a dip pen instead of technical fine tip pens.  Naturally I'm most comfortable on scratchboard and still feel they're the most flexible medium for me, but I enjoying playing with new materials!

Empty Nest - gallery benefit piece

Just finished up this piece for a benefit show at Kettle Art ("For The Love of Kettle") on February 11th.  I'm told every year there's a line down the block of people waiting to get their hands on the work, all of which sells for $50.  This is a major steal, by the way, and there's a huge group of talented Dallas artists showing work.

This piece was a challenge for me in the sense that I was working on a primed piece of wood instead of my super smooth claybords, which required that I use different tools to contend with the rougher and more absorbent surface.  I went through a large handful of pens, sharpies, markers, brushes, and finally settled into a comfortable use of a dip nib pen.  So far all of these new gallery opportunities are forcing me to really stretch out of my comfort zone, material wise, while retaining a sense of my usual aesthetic.  All good things!

Kablam! - mixed media Soda Gallery piece

This is a piece I just finished for the upcoming Fab 50 Show at The Soda Gallery in Dallas on March 1st (50 artists, 50 pieces, $50 each).

This was my first attempt at adding color to a scratchboard, and found that it's remarkably easy to to add watercolor washes to the Ampersand Claybords.  The silver was also an experiment, where I masked out the black drawing with a carefully cut chunk of blue painter's tape.  Spray painting the black was a total disaster, actually, because the paint wouldn't adhere over the silver layer.  I ended up having to manually draw the lines and hand paint the fills.  The painter's tape did a nice job of texturizing the silver when I pulled it off, which was a happy accident.  


Despite my reluctance to integrate color into my drawings, generally, this was successful enough that I suspect I'll be doing more of it down the line.

Sinking Mastodon Illustration & T-Shirt Design

I did this illustration towards the end of the summer and never got around to posting it.  Inspired by the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, I wanted to do a piece illustrating the murky decline of a mastodon.  It's a bit more graphic than my usual work in the sense that there's no detailed background, instead letting the black literally swallow the image down.  

I ended up adapting the drawing into a T-Shirt mockup for one of my favorite metal bands.  We never made it to production, but it was a valuable experience communicating back and forth on the design and playing with color for a change.

Plesiosaur - Dinosaur Illustration

Here's a plesiosaur working on a snack!  I recently drew this illustration for a dear friend, being her favorite of our dinosaur ancestors.  It was fun to transcribe my prehistoric obsession underwater for a change!  Good opportunities here for gritty grey tones and squiggly shapes.  This is something I'd like to explore further down the line to really push the textures and lighting some more. 

ArtHash Open Salon Show

Last night's gallery opening of the ArtHash Open Salon Show at Kettle Art in Deep Ellum was a total blast!  Incredible turnout and so much great art.  Thanks to everyone who came out to say hi, have a drink, and look at everyone's work.  Great to meet so many new friends and fellow Dallas contemporaries.

Happy Friday the 13th, Campers!

Happy Friday the 13th, Salute Your Shorts fans!

'Lobotomunny' - Custom Vinyl Munny

I recently took part in my first vinyl toy show, celebrating Atama's 1 year anniversary at Strangeways in Dallas with 'Show Me The Munny 2'.  Being my first first foray into customized vinyl toys, it was a great opportunity to meet some very talented Dallas artists and stretch beyond my usual territory of pen & ink illustration work.  

'Lobotomunny' in context... some serious talent around here!

I had fun working in an unfamiliar medium while retaining the tone of my drawings.  Our challenge was to start with a blank Munny doll and customize it in any way we saw fit, be it through paint, sculpting, deconstructing, or any other wacky method that came to mind.

Somewhere along the lines I decided to crack its head open and sculpt a removable brain using Sculpey polymer clay, followed by sharpie drawing on the head, and finally a custom fabric hospital gown.  I had fun putting together the wooden sawblade base as a final touch.

show flyer with shots of the removable brain and gown

The show was a fun and valuable experiment for me, and I'm now getting involved in Vinyl Thoughts 2: The Next Level, a video game themed toy show this March... in which I'll be sculpting my piece entirely from scratch!

'Lava' Volcano Illustration

Following my asteroid and prehistoric valley illustrations, I wanted to do one focusing on the erupting volcano.  This one is a 5x7, pen & ink on ampersand claybord (uninked white scratchboard).

This was a fun start to my day over coffee and heavy metal, and I thought I'd share an animated gif of the rough sketch, tighter sketch, and final inked version.