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

facebook.com/RichardHuanteDesign

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

Sites Seeing

My fellow designers and designerettes, here are some links to sites that I frequent. Perhaps you'll enjoy them like I do.

The Font Feed is a site for all you typography nuts. Lots of interesting posts on this one.

The Deeply Graphic DesignCast is a podcast featuring 3 designers talking about, what else...graphic design! I'm actually listening to it as I type this.

The Graphic Design Forum features many discussion topics, including Resources, Business Issues and the ever popular Crit Pit (where it says to wear your heavy sweater!).

Logo Design Love showcases different logo designs for inspiration. I like visiting Logopond too, but their site appears to be down at the moment.

Well, hopefully you give these sites a try and find some useful to you. Let me know how you like these or if you have a favorite site to recommend. Til then, happy designing, my friends!

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Hobo of the Month

So, the next time you are standing in front of Ramiro’s admiring the typography on their sign, why not step inside and pick yourself up a tasty order to go? I recommend the chorizo plate with beans, rice & tortillas. Yum. Eee. You’ll probably want to go sooner rather than later, before Sherriff Joe & Company decide to raid the place.

Well, Bs & Gs, hope you enjoyed this month’s thrilling installment of “Hobo of the Month”. Mark your calendars and set your watches for the next time, when we will once again feature your second all time favorite typeface, Hobo Standard! 

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Buying Better Brands

 

When painting or drawing with traditional media, it’s always a good idea to use high quality materials. In the example above, I used cheaper, student grade Sap Green watercolor on the left. On the right, I used professional quality Holbein watercolor in the same color. Notice the difference in vibrancy and clarity. This becomes particularly evident when the colors are dry.

The obvious drawback to purchasing name brands is the higher cost. However, these paints are so loaded with pigment, you will almost always have to tone down the color, as it is too powerful straight from the tube. This means using more medium and less paint, saving you money in the long run. It also gives you a good reason to charge higher prices for your artwork. If you suddenly find yourself making too much money from your commissions, go ahead and send those extra funds my way; don’t worry about any inconvenience it may cause me. 

Richard Huante Design & Illustration 

Hobo of the Month

We'll reserve this space for images of your 2nd all time favorite typeface, Hobo Standard, in use. Your number one favorite, of course, is Papyrus (you know you love it).

This one was found at a Walgreens in Glendale, Arizona.

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

The Logo Process

I thought it'd be interesting to show the process of how I create a company logo. With the kind permission of my outstanding client, Quality Pickets, I will do just that.

After taking notes during the initial discussion with the client about their vision and ideas of their identity, I sketched up around 75 thumbnail designs. Here is a sampling of them.

 

From these thumbs, I narrowed it down to 5 rough designs for them to choose from. I kept everything in a dark value gray, so we could focus on the design element at this stage. We'll worry about color later.

The client liked the first design, but asked for a slight modification of the "I" and "picket" combination. Here are the variations of design #1.

 

1B was chosen. If you'll notice, I slightly thickened/stroked the word "PICKETS". I did this because I did not want the thin, negative spaced "E" to get lost when printed at smaller sizes. A minor detail perhaps, but I wanted to make sure nothing was overlooked. Now on to color:

 

I used Adobe Kuler to help me find appropriate complementary and analogous color schemes for the logo. Client liked C4, and after a slight alteration of the "I"-picket bevel, we arrived at the finished product. Let me know how you liked this demo. Again, a big thanks to Quality Pickets for allowing me to post this quality blog. Pun intended.

 

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

 

 

Podcasts

I don't really watch a lot of TV or movies. I can't tell you which contestants are left on the X-Factor or what happened to Snookie last night. However, I do enjoy listening to podcasts that I download. This may make me the most boring person that you know (or don't want to know). Eh, what can I say?

I like to listen to design and illustration related podcasts, especially when I'm...designing or illustrating. It's a nice change of pace from listening to the same old songs or when there's not a ball game on to listen to. Some of the podcasts I enjoy are:

Ninja Mountain Scrolls. A group of artists talking about the field of illustration. They give out the occasional critique, too.

36 Point - The Reflex Blue Show. An informative and insightful podcast on the graphic design industry. I find this program educational and a good listen, although one of the hosts has a bit of a sailor mouth.

InDesignSecrets. Lots of tips and techniques relating to everything InDesign.

The Illustration Underground. A couple of professional freelance illustrators sharing their experiences and advice.

These are a few of the podcasts that I am familiar with (all free by the way). Give them a try; you may find them interesting and worth a download or too. But hey, if people start calling you boring, don't blame me...

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

OpenType Fonts

Some OpenType fonts will contain additional elements such as ligatures and glyphs. In the example above using Feel Script, you can see the variations of the typeface, even though they are all the same weight. This was achieved in Illustrator's character palette. Select the "OPENTYPE" tab, and toggle the  buttons that say "Standard Ligatures", "Swash", etc. As you do this, you'll notice the different looks of your type. Give it a try; you may be surprised that you have different options.

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Get Wacky

A few designer friends have asked me if they should get themselves a Wacom tablet. My answer is a resounding yes. I use the Intuos3 model, and it is not only great for digital drawing, but for design work in general. You'll find that using the pen tool in Illustrator or Photoshop becomes easier with a Wacom. I have not tried other brands such as Genius or Adesso, but if they are comparable in quality to a Wacom, I'd definitely consider getting one.

Once you get the hang of using one, which won't be long at all, you won't go back to using only a mouse again. So do yourself a favor and get yourself a digital graphics tablet. Beg, borrow, or steal if you have to. On second thought, disregard the previous sentence. Never resort to begging. :)

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Dragon Sketches & Layer Modes

When sketching in Photoshop, try using different layer modes. For instance, for your shading layer, set to Multiply. On the "lights" layer, see how the Color Dodge or Screen modes look on your drawing. Hard Light or Pin Light modes work well with your highlight layer. These will give you interesting, transparent effects that you cannot get using standard, opaque "normal" modes.

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Apple Sketch - Step By Step

1. Let's sketch an apple with pastels. Using a Conte Crayon, start out lightly with basic forms to indicate the apple.

2. Use medium blue-gray pastel to deepen the shadows. Loosely sketch in a bit of background. 

3. Introduce some color. Medium green for the apple, and some beige and Conte red in the background.

4. Add some warm red as a transition color between the apple green and natural shadow. Gently merge colors with your finger.

Tip: Don't overblend when using pastel for sketches. You'll want to retain the crisp, fresh look the pastel strokes leave behind.

5. Use more warm red in the apple to unify. Add a crisp, cool highlight to complete your sketch. Be sure to include lost and found edges in your drawing.

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Hands

Hands are an excellent choice for sketching because they are a readily available model. Simply place your hand on a drawing table and sketch away.

The importance of well drawn hands is evident when executing a ¾ pose portrait. Many hours of sketching and painting hands from life went into the making of "The Ranchero".

Richard Huante Design & Illustration

Sketching From Life

Sketching or drawing from life is the #1 way to hone your skills. You will see values and detail that are not apparent in photographs. Place inanimate objects in front of you and sketch away. Heck, you might have a lazy uncle that's an inanimate object, so sketch him (ha ha).

Use one light source when sketching at first. This will give you a definite distinction between light and shadow. When you get proficient, you can try multiple sources of light to get interesting effects.

Richard Huante Design & Illustration