Loyalty (or my lack thereof)

Many artists like to use sketching tools they are familiar with and stick to a particular brand. Not me. Rather than staying loyal to a single manufacturer, I like to try different brands and their product lines, especially with pencils and pens. Some of the brands that I use are Cretacolor, Faber Castell, Tombo, Stabilo, Conte and Derwent, to name a few. All are top quality names and give excellent results in their own unique way. This makes for a nice change of pace when I am sketching and would like a different look and feel to my work. 

Sometimes I also like to combine pencils when I sketch. For instance, when using a toned paper, I’ll make the base sketch in a Derwent Coloursoft pencil, deepen the shading with a Faber Castell Polychromos pencil, and add lights with a Cretacolor white pastel pencil. For the next one, I might use my General’s graphite sticks or charcoal pencils for a looser look. Occasionally I’ll ink a sketch. For that I use my Micron or Staedtler liner pens in black, sepia or brown.

Using more than one type of pencil can also give your sketchbook or journal an individual look for each entry. You won't have to see the same style each time you turn a page, especially if you use different colors or shades of black/gray.

If you find your sketches getting stale or simply want a different look when you’re doodling, head out to your local art store and pick up a couple of new pencils or pens and start experimenting. Let me know what you get or if you have any questions or need suggestions. Keep filling up those sketchbooks!


Richard Huante Design & Illustration
 

Adobe Illustrator - Typography Effects Tutorial

Here's a video tutorial showing some cool typography effects in Adobe Illustrator.


Thanks for watching!

"Pink Apocalypse" - Step by Step Process

For some time, I've been wanting to post a tutorial on my digital illustration process. This latest piece, "Pink Apocalypse", gave me the perfect opportunity. You can click on the images to view at larger sizes.

My inspiration came from seeing a "Road Warrior" style photo shoot of a friend of mine, who does modeling (and is an excellent designer in her own right.) I asked her if it would be OK to draw her character in my style, and she graciously obliged.

So then, let's get started. Originally I was going to just draw her in a pinup style pose with a simple background. As I sketched out rough concepts, I thought it'd be even more cool to add a motorcycle and an environment setting, giving more of an "apocalyptic" feel. Sometimes I will lay out my initial sketch on pencil & paper, but for this project I used a Cintiq for the entire process. Sketchbook Pro is my software of choice for sketching on the computer. Here's the sketch I went with.

We're still in Sketchbook Pro. After reducing the sketch opacity to about 40%, I used a custom brush to "ink" the drawing on a separate layer. I always try to vary my line width for visual interest, but that's just my preference.

On to Photoshop for the rest of the painting. I create another layer for the "flats", or "base" colors. I'll adjust them later with darker and lighter tones accordingly. The Ink layer stays as the top layer - all other layers are created below this one.

A background is added next, with sand dunes, foliage and distant mountains. Including it at this early stage helps me to paint in the correct values later on the girl and motorcycle. I work on the background layer throughout the entire process, adding, deleting or moving elements to help the composition.

Time for some shading. Besides using a darker value, I also like to adjust color temperature. A general rule to keep in mind is warm shadows and cool lights with outdoor lighting, and vice versa for indoor lighting. A cast shadow, background structures and tire tracks are added in.

Final steps include putting in the lights, highlights, reflected lights, her face "mask" and some texture. I like to use a dedicated layer for the face rendering. In all, I used 22 layers for this piece. You can merge your layers as needed to save file space. When you feel you're finished, it's good to step away for at least a few hours, and then come back to your painting. With fresh eyes, you may notice some details you may have forgotten to add (or delete!) Sign your name, and you now have another great work of art for your portfolio, my friend.

 

Feel free to send me a note on how you liked this tutorial, if you have any questions, or just want to chime in. Happy painting, y'all!

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Don't get too comfortable

 

My fellow designers and designerettes, don't be afraid to venture outside your comfort zone and try something new. Example: I was recently commissioned to create the female Aztec warrior shown above. As I normally draw and paint things from the sci-fi and fantasy genre, this was an exciting opportunity to break away from my usual subject matter. It also gave me a chance to research and study the Aztec culture (something I probably should do anyway, since I have deep Mexican roots!)

You may discover you actually enjoy experimenting with new or different art subjects, especially if you've been in a creative rut. Then again, you might really hate it because you are horrible at it. Eh, what can you do...

Well friends, so long, until the next blog! Keep your mouse sharp and your pencils clicking (or is it the other way around?).

Richard Huante Design & Illustration 

Don't Fear the Font

Buying fonts can be a fun, and usually addictive experience. Some of you, however, may be hesitant on making a font purchase, particularly when the price seems higher than you'd like to pay. I'd like to offer my counterpoint, and encourage you to make the splurge and buy that font you've been eyeballing. Some good reasons why you should:

1. They look cool. Imagine how your latest design would look with a cool new font, instead of the safe, but unexciting, typeface you have on there now. Besides, do you really want to be using the same font(s) that Jane Secretary has on her computer?

2. You will develop a recognizable style. You don't need to spend a fortune on a whole bunch of different fonts. A few nice ones will do. Because of this, you will tend to use these fonts more frequently (and creatively) in your designs, therefore giving you a style people identify with. I liken this to a band that uses the same instruments, or a chef that uses certain favorite ingredients. Their work is instantly recognizable.

3. They are easier to work with. Purchased fonts usually have better kerning properties, and sometimes come with additional ligatures and/or swashes, when applicable. Free fonts typically don't have these benefits.

4.  You can claim the purchase as a tax write-off. The IRS keeps enough of our money. Why give the SOBs any more than you have to?

 

Keep an eye out for new fonts that have introductory offers. You can save a great deal by purchasing early. In December, I bought the entire 28 font set of RBno2.1 from My Fonts for $60. It now sells at regular price for $300.

Well, hopefully you found this blog informative and persuaded you to buy a font or two. Let me know how you liked it and what fonts you ended up buying!

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

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Old is New

 

I'm sure you've noticed the current design trend leaning towards the retro theme of the 40s, 50s & 60s.  Fast food and family style restaurants, insurance commercials, car advertisements, you name it; you'll see that old is new again. I am a big fan of retro design and like to use this style whenever possible. How do you like it?

Some cool retro font sites to get you started on a retro-istic journey:

The Font Diner

Lost Type

Sign Fonts.com

Give this style a try if you already haven't. Illustrators and artists: put some of this type into your artwork for a different twist. You may have some clients that like this and will appreciate an option from your usual art style. Let me know what you think, and keep it retro, dude!

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

More Life Drawing

 

Keep going to your life drawing sessions.  Life drawing not only helps you practice seeing values, but helps you remember anatomy correctly when sketching from memory. This becomes invaluable when commissioned to illustrate a figure with a unique or unusual pose.

 

Some courtesy tips when attending open studio/life drawing sessions:

• Turn your cell phone off or keep it on vibrate. Disrupting other artists while they are concentrating will make you lose popularity points.
• Don't go around critiquing the other artists. Nobody asked you to. Plus you might get your ass kicked.
• It's ok to strike up conversations with a neighbor, but only do it during breaks.
• It's usually a no-no to take pictures of the undraped model without permission. If you really want to take a snapshot for future reference, be sure to ask the model first and even offer him/her a few bucks for doing so. Cash has an unusual power of persuasion.

 

Well, I hope this little blog will encourage you to go out and do some life sketches. Grab your charcoal and/or pencils and get to it, son!

Richard Huante Design & Illustration