Airship Refueling Port

I'm finally on the home stretch with the ink line on my Airship Refueling painting. I'll be painting soon. It always amazes me what a huge leap there is between the ink line and the finished color because of the contrast and depth that the color brings. My first decision was whether to paint it without an ink line or leave out the line. I've gone both ways many times. Of course the ink line won't look so strong when the color is in.

The highest values and hues will be with the airship and the fueling port. The dwellings on the hillside will be rather monochromatic and muted. The sky will be obscured by a heavy industrial smoke, throwing the background airships into a low monochromatic value. The lights on the airships penetrating the smokey fog should provide a dramatic effect, as will as an unseen light out-of-frame on the left. There may be a hint of blue sky in the upper right portion of the frame. This is what's in my head...we'll see what lands on the "canvas".

 I'm still up in the air (pardon the pun) about what sort of building I will draw under the airship, in the bottom center of the frame. Also what to put on the refueling tank on the left side, a name or logo of some kind. I had originally lettered "Sub Standard Oil" in the pencil layout, but I think I've abandoned that idea. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles? Check it out here.

Airship Refueling sketch 3

Here's the third stage of the pencil layout of my Airship Refueling painting. From the last sketch you can see that I've started the inking process. I usually pencil and ink my way through a color illustration. When I'm satisfied with the pencil layout in a section, I go ahead and ink it. I'll add a little more pencil detail to the dwellings on the lower right, then I'll ink that section. Then I will invent one or two more airships in the distance to increase the sense of perspective. Then I'll decide what buildings will go in the bottom center. 

The final phase will be taking it into color. That will be critical because I want to make the color as dramatic as possible. I plan on creating a heavy industrial smoke atmosphere, with perhaps a hint of blue sky showing through.

Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles?

Airship Refueling, 2

Here's the latest version of my Airship Refueling painting. I tweaked the airship from the last sketch and added the refueling depot, along with background information. The background shanties and factory will be monochromatic and low value so that they don't get confused with the foreground. The sky will look smokey and polluted with a small patch of blue sky peeking through in the upper right. At least that's what I have in my head. We'll see how it translates to color. 

Have you seen my other blog, the Trowbridge Chronicles. Right now we're right in the middle of my graphic novel, The Legend of Shrew Khan. 

Airship Refueling

This is a detail from my next painting of an airship refueling at a docking station. In the next pencil layout you'll see the docking station, background, and more refinement in the rendering of the airship.

My new children's book, Monster Safari is now available. To order, click on the Monster Safari graphic in the right column. I'll sign the book on request.  

My Secret Forest Studio

Deep inside an ancient forest in the Pacific Northwest is my secret forest studio, where I go to get away from civilization and work on my projects. Above is a river in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. Just off the river bank  is my forest studio. I have everything I need here, except Internet access. I'm off the grid while I'm here.

Today the conditions are perfect. It's about 80 degrees, and it's pleasant and cool in the rain forest. I'm sitting on my seat cushion on a thick floor of sphagnum moss. The big nurse log behind me has a thick layer of moss, which makes a perfect natural back rest. I prop my feet up on the log in front of me and bury myself in my work. Just to my left is my beverage of choice, which rests comfortably on a shelf fungus (Basidiomycoda). Behind me is a giant Western Red cedar tree.

I often look up and remind myself of where I'm at. I wonder why it doesn't seem to occur to other artists that they can escape the confines of their studios. I spend enough time in my studio as it is. It's always wonderful to get away and hide in the deep Northwest forest while I do my work.

My drawing board is a sheet of Plexiglas, so it doubles as a light table. Today I'm working on my Oakdale, California cartoon map. I need to trace images from my pencil layout onto my Strathmore Paper. So I simply tilt my Plexiglas board until it's vertical, and the rays of the sun come shining through to illuminate my pencil sketch.

I will return soon to my secret spot. I hope you find a secret spot of your own.

My Monster Safari How-to-Draw Book is out!

Add caption

Here's the cover art for my new kids' book. It took me over a year to write and draw the book. It's almost entirely hand-lettered to give it more of a sketchbook feel. Only the last page is typeset.

Young readers follow me on a make-believe expedition to a remote, unexplored island in the South Seas, known as Monster Island. Each page in the book shows a sketch of one of the crazy creatures that we encountered on the island, as well as a page that shows, step-by-step, how to draw the monster. Also included are shading and other drawing tips. You can order the book from the side panel.

Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles?

Sky Fishing

Here's the final Sky Fishing painting. Below you can see the two pencil layouts that lead to the final painting. The fish is a grouper. It's painted digitally with a Wacom Cintiq on top of the pencil layout that you see below, with some tweaking. Check back soon to see the Sky Fishing book cover. 

Have you seen my other blog? The Trowbridge Chronicles