Charlie Griak's Illustration Blog

Illustration Academy Part 1

2009-06-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

I've been having a blast at the Illustration Academy this summer. This is my second year in attendance and it has been just as exciting and inspirational as last year. Here is Anita Kunz' conceptual portrait assignment-- I went with Stanley Kubrick.

And a few of the figure drawings from our Tuesday and Thursday night classes. More to come soon...

National Geographic Magazine Illustrations

2009-05-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

I created these illustrations for the current issue of National Geographic Magazine. Rather than traditionally created botanical illustrations they wanted realistic, very clean, vector graphics to go along with the overall look of the 2 page spread. I was very excited at the opportunity to do this work, as National Geographic is definitely on my list of dream clients.

Sketchbook 5/21/09

2009-05-21T07:57:00.001-07:00

Some more excerpts from my sketchbook. Just trying to have some fun and not be so concerned with the results. It keeps me sane to balance the work I labor over with some that is just done to explore.

I noticed something about using the copic gray markers that has been in the back of my mind for awhile. I was always wearing out the # 4, 5, 6, and 7 before any others, so I thought I'd test my suspicion with a full grayscale (below). It turns out that the markers at both ends of the scale are really close in value-- in some I can't see any difference at all. I kind of felt this subconsciously, but it helps me to bring that type of "beneath-the-surface" feeling into concrete understanding (mainly so I don't forget it).

Not to take anything way from the copic markers -- I think they are great -- but you may not need to buy the full scale to do solid value studies.

"Fever"- Now Available on iTunes

2009-04-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased to announce that "Fever", my short animated film, is now available for purchase on the iTunes music store through Shorts International.

Visit your iTunes store to purchase:
US
UK
Canada
Germany

Markers

2009-04-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

These little marker values studies have become almost a regular nightly practice for me in the last few months. I feel like this exercise, and the oil painting, has made a positive impact of some of my recent illustration work. I can't post them yet, but I recently completed a couple of fun jobs-- one for National Geographic Magazine and one for Outdoor Life Magazine. I will post more about them sometime in May once they are on the news stands.

Oil Painting Class

2009-04-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

I've been taking an oil painting class at night this spring-- that is, when other deadlines aren't too pressing-- and thought I would post one of my pieces.

Indiana Jones Illustration

2009-03-31T06:57:00.000-07:00

I created this banner for the 2008 year-end party for Hewlett-Packard held in Los Angeles. My job was to create a 21 foot long piece of artwork depicting various employees of the company as if they were in an Indiana Jones movie. For the party, they had also created a movie in which they employees were super-imposed over the actual footage from the films. I didn't see the entire film, but the clips I did see were really amazing. My banner was sort of the movie poster for the event.

For something this big, it made the most sense to me to create a clean line drawing, scan and convert it all to vectors, and then work in Adobe Illustrator for the coloring and rendering. It was a really fun job and I was happy to see that the employees enjoyed it!

More Marker Sketches

2009-03-20T12:49:00.001-07:00

Value Sketching

2009-02-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

More sketching-- concentrating on recognizing values.

Sketchbook

2009-02-25T07:39:00.000-08:00

More sketches here with grayscale markers...

Hockey Illustration

2009-02-19T08:20:00.000-08:00

Taking another of my little sketches to a finish. I just had to do this one because I really liked the overall pattern-- I have been a little obsessed lately with these sports compositions. Every free moment I've had in between my real jobs, this is what I have been playing with. There is something really fun about working with the obvious bold colors of a uniform-- it easy to see it as abstract shape I guess.

Anyway, this is another vector piece. I'm just not ready to give up on vector artwork, even though I fear there is a bias against it being real "art". There is something I am after with it that feels like it is starting to happen. I believe something will show up if I keep trying--and belief can be a dangerous thing.

I am also taking an oil painting class right now which couldn't be any more of a polar opposite approach (at least how I see it) than working with vectors. I alluded to this before, but I have this idea that if I make my mind work in two radically different ways (one very analytical/mathematical and one more intuitive/emotional) that I will overwhelm it and force it to expand into something better-- maybe something that can think both ways simultaneously.

...oh, and the pencil from this piece. My justification of vector art being something more than just tracing photographs...

And some more sketches...

2009-02-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

This time moving on to gouache for a few. Just trying to work really quickly and really small(about 3x3) as a way of learning more about value, and pattern and how to mix color. I'm always surprised at how little line is necessary for the image to "read" if the values are arranged with some planning. I'm also having fun trying to draw these without caring about the end result. It is very hard for me to let go of the need for good results (and even harder for me to post these for others to see) but really enjoyable when things go well.

More Experiments...

2009-02-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

Some more sketches that I've been doing lately while looking at magazines. Still concentrating on value and shape, and hoping to create an interesting abstract pattern...

And one I decided to finish as vector art...

I have a strange need to justify any digital artwork I do by showing the hand-drawn aspect of the creation. I'm not sure why I hold this bias, but I'm usually not a fan of vector art that is merely a traced photograph. I'm clearly looking at reference here, but trying to let the drawing process redesign it into something more interesting. Hopefully I've maintained some of the energy of a drawing in the above digital piece, but somehow I always like my sloppy thumbnails the best (probably because I don't care how they turn out). I'm always trying to bridge that gap. I wish my vector work could somehow have some of the randomness of the above thumbnails. Someday I hope to crack that code...

Below are some of the steps I take before starting on the computer to create vector artwork.

Sketch Book 01-25-09

2009-01-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

Sketches with pencil and gray markers, trying to focus on value and shape instead of line...

Climbing

2009-01-24T10:44:00.001-08:00

Just trying to get this out of my system-- and follow the advice again of not caring so much about the final result but just paint and see what happens.

Pencil Drawings

2009-01-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

A quick post here while I am burning a bunch of back-up discs. These are the pencil drawing set-ups for a current job I am on. They are part of a 1 page "comic-book" style ad. I will post the finals once they are ready.

Odds and Ends from 2008

2009-01-06T13:20:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

First of all, thank you everyone for your comments on my last post. It really gives me a boost to hear all of your feedback. Being a freelancer can get kind of lonely sometimes, so I can't tell you how great it is to here kind words from other artists. So thanks!

I haven't been able to post much recently-- I've been working on a longer term project for an ad agency that unfortunately I'm not allowed to post just yet. In the few free moments I've had over the last month or so I've been up to my usual experiments with some side pieces. I tried to take a few really opposite approaches simultaneously to see if I could push myself into something new-- and managed to drive myself a little crazy at the same time.

The first picture here is an in-progress painting in oils and acrylics. I feel like it is not quite done but not sure why... so in case I completely butcher it as I go forward from here (like I have in my other 3 attempts to do this same piece!) I thought I should scan it. This is a left-over project from the Academy this past summer. My friend and fellow artist, Jeff Love, was the model for this assignment- but I ended up doing a different composition at the time. Sorry Jeff, if I made you look a bit evil here-- its not a personal commentary at all.

The next piece was partially a product of just being really frustrated. While in the process of failing at the above piece a few times I thought I better go back to basics. So I gave myself the first assignment from the Illustration Academy hoping it would break me out of my rut. I did the piece in Adobe Illustrator working only in flat local colors.

And finally, here is a link to my updated web site-- I thought it would be good to start the year with a slightly different look and get some more current pieces onto my site.

Thanks for taking a look-- I wish you all a great 2009!

Upcoming Issue of America's Civil War Magazine

2008-11-21T11:02:00.000-08:00

I just finished these illustrations for an upcoming issue of America's Civil War Magazine and the art director was kind enough to let me show them right away-- the issue won't be on newsstands until January 2009. The story comes from a Union soldier's diary and was extremely fun to illustrate.

For those of you interested in the process, the finals were executed with acrylic ink and gouache on Strathmore illustration board.

Below are the pencil sketches...

The quick value studies done with markers...

And some of the initial thumbnails (I made them very small here so the text is unreadable-- I don't want to ruin the story)...

And some of the embarrassing reference photos that I shot and gathered with the help of my wife (and my dog). It was really important to me to research everything thoroughly because I wanted the illustration to feel very authentic and believable. What you see here is just a tiny fraction of the research. And believe it or not, these are the least embarrassing of the reference photos...

Batman Illustration 2

2008-10-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

A second version of the previous post, this time created by painting oil washes over a fixed acrylic/gouache base.

Batman

2008-10-09T13:00:00.001-07:00

I've always dreamed of being hired to do a Batman cover so I decided I would give myself that assignment as I continue my experiments with gouache/acrylic.

Here is what I came up with. It is painted with gouache/acrylic in grayscale and then colored in Photoshop. I am also going to finish it in color traditionally but wanted to scan it in and do a quick color overlay in case I destroy it as I add colors. I'll post that as well when I am done.

The grayscale painting...

And the build up... starting with a thumbnail, then a tighter sketch after taking some photo reference, and then a value and color study.

Web Site Illustrations 3

2008-10-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

This is the third collage in a current project I am working on. The illustrations will be used as backgrounds on a web site that is scheduled to launch on November 1st-- I will post a link once everything is set to go.

Painting again...

2008-10-01T08:25:00.001-07:00

Click on the images for a larger view.

I have been really busy with a few digital illustration projects lately (which is great) but have been able to follow through on a personal commitment to continue my painting/traditional media education that began at the Illustration Academy this summer by working on personal paintings at nights and on weekends. I think this one is finally finished-- but I always question whether there is more to do. Mainly, I think I get to a point where I can't think of anything to do that will make much of an impact-- aside from completely starting over.

I am still wrestling and struggling with the best way to work with acrylic and gouache and at times it can be very frustrating. Having not worked with much traditional media before this summer I know that I still have a ton of learning ahead of me in order to get where I want to be. But finishing a painting is by far the most rewarding feeling I have experienced in making art-- and I am very excited and determined to continue down this path.

I read this quote in "Artist to Artist" and it made me think of how I was feeling while working on this painting. I'm guessing that other artists can relate...

"Finishing a painting demands a heart of steel: everything requires a decision, and I find difficulties where I least expect them... It is at such moments that one fully realizes one's own weaknesses." -Eugene Delacroix

Web Site Illustration Revision

2008-09-22T07:13:00.001-07:00

Here is a quick revision that I made to a piece from a few weeks back. The client wanted a version of this collage without the text box in the center. So we decided to add another musician to fill that area. It was a minor adjustment but I like the way it turned out. I have been trying to achieve a certain look for awhile now and I feel like this portion of the illustration is a step in the right direction for me.

Web Site Illustrations 2

2008-09-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here is the next page from the job I am currently working on...
(click on images for the full size view)

and a few details...

..and my initial sketches. As you can see, we (the web developer and myself) weren't sure on direction until the first sketch was done. After seeing it we felt like it was a little too different from the previous illustration. So we went back to the idea of a "collage feel" and I'm really happy we did. I think the results are much better.

Web Site Designs

2008-09-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

This is an illustration I just completed for a web developer. I'm covering up the name of the site for now, but its sounds like all of this will be live in a few months.

(click on image for a larger view)

And here are a few details...