Hello to all! Thank you so much for stopping here to check out this new process post! I have been kind of going crazy with inspiration lately so this is another piece that has jumped from the page to the tablet and then on to your screen!
I was at an event with the family one evening recently when I pulled out the sketchpad to doodle. I wanted to try to work on a few head sketches because I feel that I need to add variety to the shapes and proportions of the faces I draw. As usual, a simple sketch turns into narrative-like doodles and I ended up drawing two faces that vastly contrasted each other. I thought it would be fun to give them two character types and then use them to practice more on my digital painting. I wanted to call the duo “The Wizard & The Warrior.”
In the case of the Warrior, I started with a cool pallet with deep blues and purples and want to exercise a warm pallet of red, gold and oranges as a contrast on the Wizard piece when I paint it later.
I admit, I really got carried away with excitement on this piece and kept trying to push it as practice. Then, when I thought I was comfortable with a stopping point, my oh so awesome and bold wife pointed out an area that was lacking and I really had to face it honestly. It was with the skull-shaped face painting. My wife said that the first version I had (when I was just trying to hint at the skull) was too faint and vague. I had to take a step back and admit to myself that she was right and then I went back into it and pumped up the color and shape of the skull and the whole piece is better for it! Thanks sweetie!
So, I am going to hold off on painting “The Wizard”, the complimentary piece to this painting, until I have a few more panels of my book, “The Tiniest Titan,” finished. I really need to get control of the distractibility I am having on that project. I keep getting inspired to do all of these other practice pieces, which are great ways of giving myself breathing room on learning to paint better, but they are also beginning to become a tool of avoidance and I need to maintain myself. This is one of the biggest hurdles we creative-type people face with personal projects; maintaining momentum and drive on a singular piece or project over time.
I have been a professional graphic designer for 7 years now and working on my own small projects on the side for years too and I really want to make a serious move to turn my intellectual properties into products. For me to be successful with that, I have to maintain my professionalism with my books even though they are personal projects. I want The Tiniest Titan to be the first of many successful books and the beginning of a grander creative future for my family and I and that requires that I take myself and my schedule seriously. That can be hard at times, but well worth it.
Now that I am all booked to go to the Creative Talent Network Expo ( CTNx ) in Burbank November of this year, I really want to be able to showcase the finished Titan book along with a strong portfolio. There are people that I am sure I am destined to meet and connect to creatively and my book and portfolio will be GREAT tools in those conversations! I will tell you all more about that as the show gets closer! But…enough with my talkativeness, lol!
I will continue to keep you all in the loop on the new things going on here at DutzWorks! Until then, my very best to all of you!
DutzWorks 