Diabolical or Genius?

“Oh Dom, I cant tell if he’s diabolical or a genius.  He really pushes us to the extreme and surprisingly enough, it works!”    

-Anonymous student evaluation 

This past fall I had the pleasure of teaching the Digital Painting class at Moore College of Art & Design again.  Above are just a few examples of some of the stellar work created by a bunch of really talented budding professionals.

The class is made up entirely of juniors and seniors, most of whom have never used a Wacom tablet before, let alone painted with Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter.  In addition to exploring the concepts and skills needed for digital illustration in the publication and entertainment arts industry I have the students approach each assignment as if they were real world commissions. The importance of each stage of the image making process is stressed from initial thumbnails to final rendered drawings right through on up to the final digital painting.  A constant theme throughout the entire 14 weeks was that applications (such as Photoshop & Painter) are simply just another medium like oil paints or water colors and that preparatory work pays off in dividends.

I’m a big believer that to grow as an artist one has to push themselves.  Often times to the extreme, working outside the comfort zone.  If your good at painting the figure, paint a landscape. Draw or paint something you've never painted before.  Don't sit on your laurels and be content with your last best piece, make the next one even better.  Be better than your best piece.

Thanks for stepping up to the plate, accepting the challenge, and knocking it out of the park.  I’m really proud of you guys.

-Dom

Images above created by (from the top left to right):

Anja Gudic

Stephanie Zuppo

Michelle Segal

Kristina Buylova

Laura Bushinski

Chrysta Stever

Phillustration 2011

For those in the Philly area or those willing to take a road trip there is a really cool Illustration show up now through July 17th at the Philadelphia Sketch Club.  They have some awesome works by Charles Santore, Boris Vallejo, Joe Devito, Julie Bell, and Matt Stewert just to name a few.  Also on display is a really great painting by this year’s juror David Palumbo.  While many of the artists that submit work are local, it is NOT a prerequisite.  Anyone may enter, and are encouraged to do so. Each year I am amazed at the work entered in the show and this time is no different.  I have three pieces on display and am very happy to share that I won first place in the institutional category with my train piece 1027 and second place in the self promotion category for my Lincoln painting.  Head on over and check out the 100+ illustrations now before its to late.

-Dom

Thumbnails

I have a confession to make...  

I hate thumbnails!  Let me rephrase that by saying, I hated thumbnails.  Up until recently I have always felt my thumbnails left a lot to be desired, not only for myself but also the client. While I have never gotten a complaint as to the level they were ever at I just felt they never really showed my final intentions.  I’d always be chomping at the bit to move along and get started throwing value down on the final canvas as quickly as possible.  I just didn't enjoy all the preparatory work involved with creating the final image, even though I knew it all was necessary.

Recently I have forced myself to really push my thumbnails as far as possible, trying to create full blown miniature black and white paintings of the image I have in my mind.  This has helped me immensely!  Even though I spend more time on these sketches it saves time down the road at a later stage of the illustration.  Everything is now figured out and there is no trial & error moving forward.  I know what I am looking for in reference, what I have to do for the final drawing, and even know what’s happening value wise with the final painting.  Best of all, I have really come to enjoy the thumbnail stage of a project now!

Check out the thumbnails above (click to enlarge) from some recent projects and let me know what you think.  Also let me know your thoughts on preparatory work.  Love it or hate it?

-Dom

Frazetta Tribute Show for Juvenile Diabetes

My A Princess of Mars piece was selected from over 300 entries for inclusion in the upcoming Frank Frazetta tribute exhibition at Gallery Provocateur.  The Exhibition will open concurrent to the Chicago Comic Convention which runs from March 18th - 20th. Proceeds from the show will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for Frank's granddaughter Jessica, who has type 1 juvenile diabetes, in hopes for a cure.

Like so many, Frazetta’s work was a tremendous inspiration for me as a young artist and continues to be to this day.  More specifically Frank’s Dark Kingdom piece from above was probably the single greatest influence on me and fueled my desire to pursue illustration.  Copying from my older brothers Molly Hatchet album, I would spend countless hours trying to recreate the masterpiece as a child.  That original album hangs in my studio to this day.

More info on the artists and exhibit can be found here, and many thanks to Veronika Kotlajic of Gallery Provocateur for putting together such a great show for such an awesome cause.

I am very honored to be a part of this show.

-Dom

Lincoln: Process

Just in time for his birthday here is a recently completed portrait of our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln.  I have always been fascinated by Lincoln and have wanted to paint him for quite some time.  Such great sunken eyes!

I also thought this would be a good opportunity to show off a step by step of my painting technique.  I’ve added a new section to the website called “Process” which can be accessed from the site’s main navigation bar.  So if you've been curious as to how I go about a typical painting click here and check out the step by step process and video slideshow.

Happy birthday Abe!

-Dom

Swashbuckle Fred Pirate Study

Here’s a quick little figure study from an old pirate painting that unfortunately never came to be.  I have decided to revisit the figure here as a study because a friend of mine was kind enough to pose for me and thought he’d like to see himself as the swashbuckling hero.  Who knows, maybe someday Ill be able to recycle this figure into a future project.

You can also click on the image above to enlarge and get a better look at some of the brush work.  Enjoy!

-Dom

Spectrum 17

Spectrum 17, a compilation of the years best fantastic art has arrived in book stores everywhere.  I am both honored and fortunate enough to be included in this year copy.  Ive had the pleasure of owning every single copy of Spectrum since its inception in 1994 and still to this day find myself flipping through past years for inspiration.  With the awesome Manchess cover (which I had the pleasure of seeing created before my very eyes at IMC 2009) on the crisp white background, amazing type design, beautiful reproductions, and new artist info next to the specific art, it is in my opinion the best Spectrum to date!  Heres a small list of some fellow artist friends & colleagues I have the pleasure of sharing the pages with.

Aaron Miller
Greg Manchess
Boris & Julie
Howard Lyon
Donato Giancola
David Palumbo
Allen Douglas
Scott Fischer
Teetering Bulb (Zelda & Kurt)
Rebecca Guay
Steven Belledin
Terese Nielsen
Kristina Carroll
Raoul Vitale
Matt Stewart
Allen Williams
Justin Gerard
Joe Devito

Congratulations to everyone who got in this year.  If you've already got a copy Im on page 249, if you don't... what are you waiting for?  Its awesome!  Run on out and grab yourself a copy or get a really great discount from Amazon here.

-Dom