Student Testimonial by Dan Baldwin

As many of you know, I teach a course for Schoolism. The title of my course is "The Art of Caricature", but the course covers much more than caricature. I teach my drawing and painting techniques as well as anatomy and much more. My next course for Schoolism starts February 6th 2012, to sign up or to get more info, click HERE.

The piece above of Ron Paul was painted by one of my students Dan Baldwin, and as you can see, he's quite the talented artist himself. Dan worked very hard and continues to do so. Check out his blog and say hello! Dan's blog.

Dan wrote a testimonial about my course so I thought I would share it here. Please feel free to check out Dan's blog and write him as well!

Dan Baldwin Testimonial
Ever wonder what it might have been like to sit in the studio corner of J.C. Leyendecker, James Montgomery Flagg, Norman Rockwell, or any illustration giant of the past? Can you imagine peering over their shoulder to simply watch their approach to concept, technique, and business? What if they actually stopped their work, with deadlines looming, turned around and began a long, personal dialog about your path as an artist? What value would you place on that experience?

Sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn’t it?

Or does it?

As I was in the midst of my Art of Caricature course taught by Jason Seiler, I began to realize that this was happening – right now, and with me. Throughout the course, and in the midst of finishing illustrations for major publications like Rolling Stone, ADWEEK, and The NY Observer, Jason stopped and “turned around.”

During this time I was truly amazed with the sincerity and generosity of Jason. He took the time to answer specific questions, and discussed broader topics that related to art, business, and technology. He shared amazing personal experiences, and tied those stories into the development of my work. Jason offered focused feedback that only immense knowledge, years of experience, and mind-blowing talent could provide - and this only describes the critique portion of the overall course.

Although I was only one student in a full class, I felt very much as if this course was crafted just for me. I’m not sure whether to call this experience mentoring, apprenticeship, or simply a great curriculum delivered by an excellent teacher. What I do know is that years from now, I will be fortunate to say I spent time in the studio with an illustration giant...and you can’t place a value on that.

Schoolism LIVE Workshop Series presents: The Artist Master Class with Jason Seiler

Click HERE. to read more about the workshop.


"Jason Seiler is visiting Vancouver, Canada on February 25, 2012! His proven teaching methods on caricature will TRANSFORM your thinking and EVOLVE your level of art. With his mind expanding techniques and lectures you will leave looking at people in a whole new way!

If you missed the last Schoolism LIVE Vancouver workshop, definitely don't miss this one. Take the opportunity to see what everyone is talking about and purchase your tickets now!

Jason's illustrations have been featured as covers and interior pieces for Rolling Stone, TIME, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, MAD magazine, New Line Cinema, Universal Pictures, Aardman Animation, and Sony Imageworks, among others. Jason also worked as a character designer on Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, helping to create such characters as the Red Queen, the Tweedles, the Bandersnatch and more."

So long Kim Jong.

I'm going to miss this guys face, and body, and hair . . . mmmm, the glasses too . . . he was one of my favorites to draw, good night and good luck!

The Black Keys for Rolling Stone

The Black Keys for Rolling Stone! I'd like to say thank you to Steven at RS for thinking of me for this one.




Ever since I was 15 I dreamed of painting for Rolling Stone. This is my fourth painting for them and I hope to do many more. Besides the personal high of painting for RS, I am a fan of The Black Keys and have been listening to their music for years, so painting them for RS was quite the honor.

Wallstreet Bullsh@t.

Cover I painted this week for the New York Observer. This one was a rush.
(painted in a day and a half)

All in all I only had a day and a half to do this cover. "Life" happened, and so I lost a lot of time that I would have normally had. Another challenge with this one was that there isn't very good reference available of the judge. The judge needed a specific expression and in the two pictures I had of him, he was smiling, so I took pictures of myself and my friend Brian for expression reference. I had some fun with the lawyer character and used myself as the model. It was fun messing myself up! :) My favorite part of the whole piece was painting the Bull, the colors were a lot of fun to work on. All in all, I wish I could have had more time to work on everything . . . sometimes these quick turnarounds can really feel like a marathon and this one was no exception. There's not much time to step back and analyze, you have to tuck on and adjust as you go, and when the time is up, it's up.

Foreign Policy magazine

This was an interesting piece to work on. I was first asked to paint Nicolas Sarkozy and Henry Levy as "Rambo-like" figures, showing the French as strong warrior types because of their role in Libya. I thought it would be funnier to play a little more with the whole "French" thing. I also had not yet had the chance to paint Muammar Gaddafi for a publication and thought it would be fun to add him to the illustration, adding humor as well as a fun way to tell the story. Keep in mind, I started this job, two days before Gaddafi was killed. I thought it would be humorous to show the two Frenchmen being French, chilling out and so on with their wine and baguette's, I know, it's cliche, but it's funny too.

So, two days after I started the painting, Gaddafi was killed and the illustration was put on hold. I thought for sure that the illustration would be cut or at least the idea would have to be changed or something, but a day later, I was given the OK to continue on with the illustration. It felt strange starting an illustration before Gaddafi's death. I thought adding him would be funny, but while working on it, he was killed quite brutally and then on top of that, his mangled body was displayed on T.V. 24/7. So, what seemed like a funny illustration now felt morbid. Don't get me wrong, I feel he had it coming but nevertheless, it was a strange time to be working on this particular piece.

I realize that it's also strange that the illustration took as long as it did to come out, being that the story is old news now, but that's how it is some times. As for the background . . . there was never supposed to be a background. The idea was for it to be a simple spot illustration with a white background, but near the end I felt it would look better if I suggested the environment, if even just a little.

I had a lot of fun working on this piece and like most of my work these days, I didn't have near as much time as I would have liked, but that's the nature of the biz. So, I kept it painterly and suggested detail rather than labor over it, these are three great faces to play with and overall, I had a blast!

Moleskine fish sketch

Nothing serious, just a fun time sketching in my sketchbook . . .

The Spiritual Beatle

Cover I did last week for The Weekly Standard. This was a fun piece to work on, and know it's different from my usual look of realistically painted flesh tones but it was what was needed for this particular cover. The psychedelic aspect of image was fun to do, an I'm happy with how it turned out but I would have loved more time to push everything a little more.



Two day deadline.

Chimp sketch.

Done on Strathmore Bristol Vellum with Prismacolor markers . . .

PoseBook By Silver

This is a paint sketch that I did for Stephen Silver's PoseBook app, it's a great tool for artists, check it out . . .

HERE.



How does an artist get better at drawing? Very simple, by drawing. That practice,the act of being inspired and finding new approaches is what moves an artist to the next level.

The purpose of this book is to provide you with images to inspire you. A book dedicated to help guide every artist, to learn about, construction, form, balance anatomy, proportion, folds in clothing, gesture, silhouettes, portraiture, lighting, hands, perspective, and contrast.

With the images in the Posebook, you can sketch for the fun of it. Learn how to draw humans from the side view, back view, understand how the head tilts, how a body sits, understand the angles of a foot. You can study and draw the back of an ear, the underside of a nostril, the bottom of a shoe. Whatever you feel you need to practice, this is your chance. Flip to any page and start sketching what inspires you.

I find that when I am struggling, or uninspired, what works for me is to find photos that look like fun to draw. So I set in motion the tools to create the pose book that I always wanted. With great dedication and passion, I bring to you a book to draw from, learn from, and have fun with. Don't feel that you need to copy the pose exactly, or use it to find just the right pose for a comic you are doing. Remember this book’s purpose is to provide you with inspiration. You can take it everywhere you go.

HAVE FUN!!!!
Stephen Silver

Male version includes:
* Over 2000 Hi-definition poses based on 6 lively male characters, including full body poses, silhouettes, facial expressions, and hands.
* 6 instructional videos given by Stephen Silver to help give inspiration and tips to help you become a better artist
* 25 Hi-definition interpretations of these characters from some of today's most popular artists
* Intro by Stephen including over 25 of his own Hi-definition character renderings
* Pinch and zoom on all Hi-definition images to focus on the details
* "Flip" feature for all Hi-definition images to flip the image horizontally essentially doubling the number of poses to draw from
* Stephen's biography and link to his website
* Information and video about Stephen's Schoolism.com online art classes for one-on-one art training.
* One universal app that works on both the iPhone and the iPad.

The Devils and the Deep Blue Sea!

New cover for the NY Observer.

This week I had me some fun! :) As usual, I only had two days so I had to work very fast. The subject is Ray Kelly, Police Commissioner of New York city. I was asked by the Observer to show Kelly as trying to put on a "good" face while corruption and so on continues within the New York Police department. I thought the idea of him as an angel would be funny . . . add a couple demon-cops in hell and there you have it. I'm happy they liked this idea, it was great fun to work on.

And Mr. Ray Kelly, if you happen to see this post, I would just like to say thank you for having such a wonderful face, it's been a while since I've had this much fun. Your face is a true gift, cherish it my brotha, cherish it!






Face detail.





Quick likeness sketch.





Mock up sketch.

First Annual MALEFICIUM Dark Art Exhibition - Opening Reception Oct 29

Please join us for the inaugural event at Kosart Effects Studios & Gallery:

Exhibition Opening and Artist Reception on Saturday, October 29, 2011, 6:30pm to Midnight.

Costumes and Creative Attire Optional.



The MALEFICIUM Exhibition runs October 29th through December 2nd.

Gallery hours (Oct 30 to Dec 2nd) by Appointment Only.
Please call to schedule an appointment: 630.310.8353





At Kosart Effects Studios & Gallery
760 Burr Oak Drive, Westmont, IL 60559


Exhibiting Artists in the First Annual MALEFICIUM Dark Art Exhibition include:

Tony Akins
Charlie Athanas
Kyle Bice
Brian Busch
Melita “MissMonster” Curphy
Samantha DeCarlo
Dave Dorman
Ray Frenden
Aron Gagliardo
Ashton Gallagher
Tom Herzberg
Douglas Klauba
Kenn Kooi
J. Anthony Kosar
Rich Kryczka
Larkin
Joseph Lester
Darick Maasen
Menton Matthews III
Matthew McCarty
Aaron Miller
Bill Reinhold
Chad Savage
Jason Seiler
Tim Shumate
Ben Templesmith
Jill Thompson
Bill Ystrom



Click HERE. for Artist Bios!!

On the cover of 2D Artist + 6 page tutorial!

I did a 6 page tutorial this past summer for 2D Artist magazine, click
HERE. to download your copy.


http://www.2dartistmag.com/

I was surprised and honored that they used my art on the cover! Thank you Simon!



Here's a sample of 1 of 6 pages in the tutorial . . . sorry, I had to blur the text, to read the tutorial, you must buy a copy by clicking HERE.

Melissa McCarthy sketch

Morning warm up sketch . . . my favorite character from the hilarious movie, "Bridesmaids".

Chimp

Working on a sketch while sipping tea at Starbucks . . . this is a small private commission for someone . . . I was asked to sketch a chimp, or was it a pimp? Hmmm? I better re-read that email. :)

Steve Jobs for Adweek.

Steve Jobs portrait for Adweek.

It was a true honor to be asked to do another portrait for Adweek and even more of an honor that it was to be a tribute for Mr. Steve Jobs. I felt it was important to capture his warmth and passion for life, but to be honest, I felt a fair amount of pressure to say the least. I took this on with the intention of creating something iconic, an image that I hope honors Steve and his family.




This cover was done as a tribute to Steve Jobs, a special three-page gatefold cover. Two illustrations and a photo. The second illustration was done by artist Jorge Colombo, on an iPAD.




Last Wednesday, I was away with my family at an apple orchard of all places. I hadn't heard the news about the passing of Steve Jobs until that night as I drove back to Chicago. My agent called me and told me Adweek wanted me to paint a portrait of Steve. As mentioned above, I was honored to do this painting but felt a great responsibility to get it right. On top of that I had two days to do it. I gathered as much reference for Steve as I could and got to work. I based my image off of two different pictures but noticed subtle things within his expression from other images and brought them all together to create what I hope "feels" like Steve Jobs.



Detail of painting. Even though I did not know Steve personally, he's had such an enormous impact on the world, it felt as if I knew him and it was important to me to not create a sad image, but instead an image that would bring happiness and joy, and hopefully peace to those who knew him. As I painted, I tried to think about his family and what this might be like for them.



Sketches and block in . . . I'd like to thank Nick Mrozowski the art director for thinking of me for another cover, I really appreciate it!

Digital Painting Techniques Vol. 3

Two of my paintings featured in new book, "Digital Painting Techniques Vol. 3" by 3D Total.

Paint it Bleak! NY Observer cover

This week's cover for the New York Observer.
Will a Paywall Help Keep the Lights on at Louise Blouin Media? I don't know, to find out click HERE to read the article.




This was a fun piece to work on. I was asked to paint the "New York Observer guy" (their logo) in a gallery, looking at paintings of Louise Blouin. I was asked to do a "Mona Lisa-type" painting, which is basically just a painting done in my typical style . . . so eat it Leonardo! I was asked to do Warhol and Picasso-like paintings for the other two . . .




Three paintings within a painting!
Gotta love it!



Sketch.

Tuesday sketches . . . October 4, 2011

Did a cover last week for The Weekly Standard, a very different cover for me, no likenesses, with the exception of a face on a coin-like object . . . basically, I painted "objects" for them . . . anyways, I'll share when I can.

Today I finished another fun cover for The New York Observer, I'll share the final art for that as soon as I can.

After finishing the Observer job, I decided to do a couple quick sketches before leaving for the day. I designed this shark character for my daughters. They know my obsession with sharks and tell me that they want me to illustrate a children's book all about sharks. It's something I hope to do one day, we'll see?



This is a super quick sketch of my friend Damion Dunn . . . Damion did a cool painting of me, so when I have the time I'll do a painting of sorts of him in return. As you can see, there's no exaggeration here at all . . . after all, "It's funny because it's true". :)



Color sketch.

Lisbeth

Capitalism warm up sketch!

Lisbeth sketch

Quick sketch for something I may finish later on . . .

Cory Chisel: Sketch 3

Working on more sketches before I decide which sketch I'd like to turn into a painting.

Cory Chisel: Sketch 2

Cory Chisel: Warm Up Sketch

Quick sketch I did this morning of my friend Cory . . . more of a study really . . . will be working on more sketches and ideas for an acrylic painting.

Abe Lincoln (watercolor sketch 2)

After doing the Lincoln in my sketchbook, I was commissioned to do another Lincoln watercolor sketch . . . here's the result.
(size of Lincoln is 9")

Weekend gouache sketches.

Quick sketch done in my moleskine watercolor sketchbook. About a week ago I went sketching with my friend Andrew R. Wright, really cool guy, awesome artist. Anyways, we had fun, drinking coffee and tea, and sketching. I started a small watercolor sketch of a coffee mug on this page but never got to finish, so I decided to paint something else on top of it. If you look the the right side of Lincoln's face you can see the coffee cup.

I was searching for something or someone to sketch when I came across a picture of a Lincoln impersonator and I thought "Lincoln would be fun to sketch!" Lincoln is fun to sketch. He of course could be exaggerated a whole lot more, but that wasn't my purpose, I just wanted to paint for a little bit.

This is no where near being a finished drawing or painting . . . it is after all just a sketch. Still, there's something about these quick sketches that I really love . . .





I enjoy up close shots of sketches like this . . . it's cool how a few simple lines and a few washes of value create an image . . .





This was another one that I finished up this weekend. This is more of a study really. I was experimenting with brush work and layering, it was a lot of fun. I did this in about 45 minutes or so.