Sterling Hundley
Richmond, Virginia
From rocket ships to rock stars, NASA to Rolling Stone; I draw pictures that speak louder than words. Artist & Professor
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Gwynn
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1mo
added comment in18C: [Demonstration] Holding Onto Your Drawing While Painting - Acrylics and Pencil
Really fun process, I love having the drawing to work on. I've always worked with watercolors, and they really don't work on pencil. Using this process I can keep all the charm of the pencil drawing, but still take it further. I'm looking forward to trying your process from the Proko demo. It's a shame you didn't have time to finish it, I would have loved to see the whole process.
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29d
Thank you @Gwynn I wish I could have finished it, too. It just didn't come together for me in time. Your Hitchcock portrait came out very interesting. You actually can use watercolors over this in thin layers, very similar to diluted gouache. In particular, I like the inks in his shirt- nice introduction to subtle values there!
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29d
Painterly and ephemeral. Great feel to this one. Is this from Hound of the Baskervilles or another story? Sorry- I missed the reference to the story.
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29d
I've done the same thing @edel82 . I was just a few years into my career and teaching at the Illustration Academy while working on an illustration in the faculty lunch room. I spent all week trying to "find" something interesting in the surface and texture. My mentor Mark English complimented me when it was done- "Looks great- what the hell took you so long?" It was said in good humor, but the lesson stuck. Your value and composition look very well thought out. You might benefit from some smaller elements- shapes/marks, etc. particularly in the oil towers, even if it deviates from reality a bit. Excellent finish.
@edel82
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2mo
Asked for help
I went with The Hound of the Baskervilles. Landed on chapter fourteen.
In the first thumbnail I liked the visuals described in the book about the fog looking like an ice field and the house a floating ship.
Second thumbnail is after the Hound has been shot with Watson examining the body.
The third is upon discovering Mrs. Stapleton tied to a beam in the center of a room used as a gallery for a butterfly collection.
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29d
@edel82 Rich and evocative thumbnails, Edel. No.3 has an amazing setup for storytelling. I don't know the intimate details of the scene, but I'm assuming Mrs. Stapleton is found dead? I feel like she can become more of the centerpiece of the illustration- brought around the beam, towards the viewer. Additionally, if you can lift her off the ground- it becomes that much more terrifying. Use light and additional elements for framing and you have yourself a very powerful setup for your piece.
Sita Rabeling
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2mo
Asked for help
Inspired by Peter Rabbit.
I wanted to keep it very simple.
First idea was the 3rd image. Mr.McGregor small (loser) escaping Peter big (winner).
Idea process: silhouettes - different colours - a few riming words.
These are thumbnails, first ideas, so I didn’t work on it further, but:
- still to find one drawing style for Peter
- and I’m not sure about keeping the text as it is.
(maybe add: “away from the angry man” in the last cel)
- more corrections I don’t know yet
I hope I stayed within the rules, but the ideas took over in a way.
oh and the choice of colours was just 3 for each cel.
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29d
@Sita Rabeling In sketch 1- the introduction of a light source and shadow can add more visual interest to your sketch. In the second sketch, I'd advise avoiding showing Peter straight on. There will be more visual interest if he is turned. I hope this helps!
Eduardo Rubio
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2mo
Asked for help
Dracula
Chapter VII.
1- The dead sailor’s hands tied to the wheel of the schooner Demeter, clutching a crucifix.
2- One of the sailors, during his night watch on the ship, encounters the mysterious, extremely tall and pale man.
3-As the Demeter runs aground on the sandbank in Whitby, a huge black dog leaps onto the shore and runs inland.
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29d
Very nice work, @Eduardo Rubio. I'm drawn to the potential in number 2. My impulse is to make the Dracula figure secondary in value and to be selective in the particular moment in time. I haven't read that specific passage, so make sure to stay true to it, even if my art direction is a bit off. If you can flip the movement of the foreground figure's body language to push away from where he believes Dracula is, it may give a better sense of storytelling. The more you can force him into the lower left corner, the more he will visually read as being trapped. Continue to use light to your advantage to design your picture.
Danny Smith
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2mo
Asked for help
Moby-Dick: Chapter 48, The First Lowering - Couple of views from the first part of the chapter.
1. Ahab sets out with the hunting party (which is not normal), with secret crew members that were just revealed. A black shape, like death himself, a harpoon & ropes. Framed by the shape of the Pequod.
2. Pequod hunting crew, a black mass, all hands, ropes, ores, coats, sleeves, harpoons. (thinking of what the whale sees!)
3. Still a black mass of hands, harpoon, ores, small boats framed by the coming storm clouds - which cause a lot of problems on the hunt.
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29d
@Danny Smith These are all strong designs. I'm drawn to the abstraction in sketch 3. In all of these, I'd encourage you to push your shape-welding event further by merging your darker values where you can.
Dax Hansen
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2mo
Asked for help
One of my favorite scenes from Moby Dick is when Ishmael wakes up to Queequeg snuggling him. I thought it would be fun to show him with the New Zealand (shrunken) head. However, after re-reading it's clear that the shrunken head was packed away before Queequeg hits the sack. And it was made clear in the assignment instructions - STAY TRUE TO THE NARRATIVE.
So with that, I literally opened my copy to a random chapter and was greeted with Chapters 89/90 - chapters on the Fast-fish/Loose-fish laws where it in essence explains that a whale which is beached or loose, even if pursued by a ship with the crew's harpoons in the whale, it becomes property of the Crown. Then explains that the King gets the head and the Queen gets the tail.
I'm envisioning a designed, graphic feel. Play with division of land/sea, of king/queen and heads/tails.
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29d
@Dax Hansen Both of these approaches are valid. In the sketch with Queequeg- you are taking on the role of an illustrator with a fully narrative approach to the work. I don't know that you need the shrunken head in the image, as the connection between the quilted pattern and tattoos could be very interesting. I may encourage that the entire piece becomes pattern dominant as the first read and the figure's faces pushed to the top corner as a second read. In the alternative approach- you are taking on the role of a designer, using graphic elements as symbols to tell the story. Both work in very interesting, but different ways. Which is the more natural fit for the type of work that you want to make? I've been both in my career and ultimately, these approaches can be blended and paired together quite nicely, but it take an understanding of each of their roles. I'm drawing to the graphic solution as an idea, but it might not hold the page and viewer's interest and much as the illustrative sketch to the right.
adam burke
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1mo
Asked for help
The scene I chose to illustrate comes from a chapter in Stephen Kings' "Pet Sematary", where the protagonist is taking a bath and the freshly resurrected cat reappears.
Dead drunk eyes, the looming woods outside, and the spiral flowing in the bathtub—which symbolizes an inevitable or slowly closing trap—were symbols that appeared throughout the sketching process.
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29d
@adam burke All of these are intriguing solutions. I may be most compelled by number 3 and I wonder if cropping in even tighter and showing less of the figure is a possibility. I'm a bit of a sucker for unorthodox approaches and number 2 takes the prize there. I did a bit of a paintover, pushing the figure further down in the composition and the cat further up. The idea that the cat on the toilet was a suprise; it presents an opportunity to introduce a shower curtain as a blinding/framing element, to give room for the bather to be surprised. All professional work here.
Mandy Valin
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2mo
Asked for help
This assignment was difficult ! I chose Charlottes Web, the chapter where the goose shows Wilbur how to escape his pen
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29d
Hi @Mandy Valin I really like your drawing style for this story. It's a very good fit. I'm drawn to the image of Charlotte stepping through the sideboards. It reads a bit more clearly to me going left to right and the introduction of light can help communicate story (light=freedom), as well as enhance the aesthetic of the scene.
