Stringthink sketch blog

Puppy Love

stringthink — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:52:42 +0000

This is a shot from a kids book that I am working on.

Hound Dog

Corel Painter ~8 hours (side note on this: I originally put 6 fingers on his hand by accident! Thanks to my friend Brian for catching that one.)

"The bald headed wise man" sketch

The snake oil-salesman

The Southern Politician

It took several versions of this character to get it right, but I think it turned out well in the end.

More music art: Tom Conlan

stringthink — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:20:02 +0000

Thankfully, over the past few months I have had the opportunity to do lots of music related art. This is a very personal one I got to do for my friend Tom Conlon.

This final image wrapped from front to back on the printed CD case.

Corel Painter/Photoshop ~7 hours.

This was one of the first concepts for the album. I still really like the colors on this.

After some redirection from the above concept, I did these thumbnails. Obviously the top left one was chosen for the final direction.

White Owl Video.

stringthink — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:12:40 +0000

Over the past few months, my wife and I had the privilege of working with Josh Garrels (one of our favorite musicians.) It was an amazing ride! Enjoy!

Made with Adobe After effects, Corel Painter, Photoshop, Acrylic paint, Pencil, and love. (about 300 hours)

Wedding Invitations

stringthink — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:49:41 +0000

This past weekend, I had the privilage of watching my friends Dave and Bethany get married. And, now that all of the festivities are finished, I can finally post the artwork I did for their wedding invitation. It was a blast attempting to capture their personalities in a caricature, while still remaining restrained and respectful enough for the occasion.

Dave and Bethany's Invitation

Adobe Photoshop/Corel Painter ~10 hours.

More Digital Portraits

stringthink — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 15:23:13 +0000

This is Bella. The second portrait of Justin Caridi’s two daughters. As I sometimes get asked, I thought I would explain my process a bit. This is not a photo manipulation, but a digital painting done “by hand” on my Wacom Cintiq, using Corel Painter. I take several photographic references, usually focusing on one pose, then use multiple photos for lighting, shading, and color reference. I draw a rough “pencil” sketch to outline the shape, then layer up color bit by bit, much like traditional media, until I get the desired result. Next time, I will post some “in-process” pics. Enjoy!

Bella

New Portraits

stringthink — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 03:14:02 +0000

Here is the first of two portraits I did for my new friend Justin Caridi, of his daughter Sophia. What a cutey! I had a lot of fun messing around with color and texture to give it a vintage photography feel. Let me know what you think!

Sophia

Corel Painter/ Adobe Photoshop ~3.5 hours

Putting Down Roots

stringthink — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:17:33 +0000

Putting Down Roots

Corel Painter/Adobe Photoshop ~4 hours

Sometimes I just like to color.

stringthink — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:28:02 +0000

Occasionally I get stuck. Frozen. I don’t know what to do next. Unfortunately, these are all bad things for the self-employed, so when I found myself in this position this afternoon, I knew I just had to do something fun to get my mind working again. So, I decided to color the sketch from my last post, and just let my mind wander. The good news is, it worked, and I have fresh goals, new ideas, and revived stamina.

Enjoy my wanderings.

The Wickmaster

Corel Painter. Around 3 hours.

(BTW, you can click on the images to see a bigger version!)

Today’s Inspiration: Red/Brown Ink

stringthink — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:52:48 +0000

I just received a new shipment of my favorite pens, and though I typically only use black, I always like to try out one of the 100′s of available colors. This time around, I tried this delicious Red/Brown color. Go imagination!

The Whipmaster and the Ladleman

Hi-Tec C Pen on paper. ~25 minutes

Portrait Painting for hire.

stringthink — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:47:33 +0000

So, here is my latest rendition of the Treases. I am working toward offering portrait services to customers looking for a unique digital likenesses for use in print and digital media. How many of you would be interested in something like this for you or your family?

Digital Portrait Prints

Digital portrait: Heather

Digital Portrait: Mark

Corel Painter, ~3.5 hours.