Post by neenjah on Feb 1, 2007 20:13:06 GMT -5
Thought I'd start a thread for the art I showed at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL this past June '06.
I've been coming to Metropolis every June since 1999. I've seen it grow over the years- a lot!
www.supermancelebration.net/
First up is a close-up painting of Tom Welling as Clark Kent/Kal-El flying.
First I sketch and crop the image using an Artograph projector and a pencil.
Usually can't get a lot of detail with photos like this, so I end up just getting an outline and a few key reference points. This is where knowing how to draw comes in! So I start using grey in my airbrush (VL-3 and Createx) to sketch out the drawing.
A little more...
This night was better. The brush started off a bit squirrelly, but I kept working with it and it all started to flow a lot better and stopped fighting with me. That's when it gets fun.
I finished it, then thought he could use a few more highlights.
I pulled the white bottle out from my airbrush and "SPLAT!!!"- white paint shot up the left side of the canvas! D'oh! Luckily it didn't get on ht portrait part- just the grey/ky area. After a few choice cuss words, a damp rag, and another few minutes fixing the sky and my signature (I switched it to grey since that color was flowing better, and it looked a bit better) I said this one was done.
I figured I'd work on two paintings at once, so here's the one I did after goofing up my first attempt at it. It's a tight close up of Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor from the cover of 'Smallville' magazine. After a big mishap again with the airbrush I decided to start over on the Lex painting.. I'll fix the other later.
It started to get a bit late so I figured I'd finish this one the next night and/or the one after. Blurry vision and lack of concentration don't go well with airbrushing! I learned that with the first one.
Here's the Lex painting finished. It was the last one I had time to finish before we left for Metropolis. Man did I cut it tight again!
Got to meet Michael/Lex. He dug the painting and said he wanted one, but when I offered it to him he said, "No, that one's yours- but I would like one just like it!" I got the info where to send it, then he signed my painting and posed for a picture or two with me and it! That was a kick!
So now I've got to do one just like it for him. I heard it might be for his mom. Got to get on that one soon!
Here's Clark with the Kryptonian symbol.
Start off with sketching it up on the canvas. I use an opaque projector and a pencil, but on a drawing like this I'm usually just lucky to crop it and pick out a few highlights or severe contrasts. This is where knowing how to draw is really important!
It was fun to get out the airbrush and have 'Smallville' season 4 disk 1 playing in the background!
I finished the grey tones on it.
After debating if I should leave it black and white or to go ahead and add color I took a deep breath and started in with the blue. He quickly began looking like a smurf!
I added some red.
Then some more white to shape up the symbol.
Some orange.
Some yellow- and a bit more blue above him. In that episode he's in a phone booth outside the Atlantis night club and there is a lot of blue neon.
And finally I was done!
No accidental splatter-painting this time! If there had been I would have looked like this-
Here are a few sneak peaks at the next ones I'll be working on. The model is Scott Cranford- the official Superman of Metropolis. The Superman costume Scott wore was designed by Steve Stanley. Steve, Kevin, and I got to go around Metropolis last year and take some cool reference shots of Scott the last day we were there. It was a blast!
Close up-
City Hall.
Phone booth.
My close up of Scott Cranford as Superman.
First I use some brown and purple to sketch things out and figure out the shadows.
Then I start adding yellow and red.
Then some blue and some white for highlights.
I had to make a trip to the Art Center for more red, yellow, and blue paint!
Started the phone booth painting next.
Here I'm almost done with my Scott Cranford phone booth painting.
First I got the back ground finished.
Then started doing some more body work-
Just have his face to finish before I can call it quits on this one and get on to my next one of Scott. (I had to take a few days off from painting to work on a BT page!)
Back to the 'Superman Phone Home' painting- Scott's looking a bit alien, which for being Superman is a good thing I guess.
Started with some red brown on the face.
Then used some purple, white, black, gray, and blue to finish it up. Added a bit longer and hair, and brought the curl down. The wind had blown Scott's hair up some.
Here is is finished. It's 2 feet by 4 feet.
Scott Cranford stopped by to drop off by the comics building right after I got the paintings hung. He talked for a bit, checked out some of the art, and then posed for a photo with one of my paintings. You can't help but like this guy!
Here is the next one of him as Supes. It's of Scott standing out in front of Metropolis City Hall. I loved the big columns, and took this shot of him while he was standing at the top of the stairs, and I was a few down. Steve and I would swap sides after a few shots.
Had to work on the next BT page so I had to work on this one a few days later.
Put the paintings in the auction on Saturday night in Metropolis. There were a lot of cool items- I wanted some of the "Smallville" replica props, but since my paintings were towards the end of the auction I decided to bid on a few lower priced items, since I didn't know if I would make any money that night!
Had to keep enough set aside to get home on!
Well, none of them sold there, but-
at the Phoenix Comicon in January there were a couple BT pages and comics in there as well as my Kal-El/Smallville painting and....
Tess Fowler is the winner!
It found a good home and helped raise some money for the HERO Initiative. Thanks, Tess and George!
I've got a couple from Superman Returns and a GPW Harley Quinn I worked on while I was in Metropolis. They'll be finished for this June's Superman Celebration.
Here's a sneak peak of Brandon...
Anyway, the art show in Metropolis went well, and actually looked like an art show this year- not like I was just clearing out a closet! I was very pleased at the art everyone brought with them, and was pleased at the numbers of folks at the panels we did. Had a lot of compliments on them- just like this review!
www.paperbackreader.com/newcolumn2.php?ColumnID=128
Be sure to check out the Superman Celebration boards and let them know what you think about the celebrations you've attended, what you liked, didn't like, and would like to see there.
superceleb.proboards107.com/
More photos in the "appearance" section of these boards and in the gallery section of the main Bushi Tales site.
I've been coming to Metropolis every June since 1999. I've seen it grow over the years- a lot!
www.supermancelebration.net/
First up is a close-up painting of Tom Welling as Clark Kent/Kal-El flying.
First I sketch and crop the image using an Artograph projector and a pencil.
Usually can't get a lot of detail with photos like this, so I end up just getting an outline and a few key reference points. This is where knowing how to draw comes in! So I start using grey in my airbrush (VL-3 and Createx) to sketch out the drawing.
A little more...
This night was better. The brush started off a bit squirrelly, but I kept working with it and it all started to flow a lot better and stopped fighting with me. That's when it gets fun.
I finished it, then thought he could use a few more highlights.
I pulled the white bottle out from my airbrush and "SPLAT!!!"- white paint shot up the left side of the canvas! D'oh! Luckily it didn't get on ht portrait part- just the grey/ky area. After a few choice cuss words, a damp rag, and another few minutes fixing the sky and my signature (I switched it to grey since that color was flowing better, and it looked a bit better) I said this one was done.
I figured I'd work on two paintings at once, so here's the one I did after goofing up my first attempt at it. It's a tight close up of Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor from the cover of 'Smallville' magazine. After a big mishap again with the airbrush I decided to start over on the Lex painting.. I'll fix the other later.
It started to get a bit late so I figured I'd finish this one the next night and/or the one after. Blurry vision and lack of concentration don't go well with airbrushing! I learned that with the first one.
Here's the Lex painting finished. It was the last one I had time to finish before we left for Metropolis. Man did I cut it tight again!
Got to meet Michael/Lex. He dug the painting and said he wanted one, but when I offered it to him he said, "No, that one's yours- but I would like one just like it!" I got the info where to send it, then he signed my painting and posed for a picture or two with me and it! That was a kick!
So now I've got to do one just like it for him. I heard it might be for his mom. Got to get on that one soon!
Here's Clark with the Kryptonian symbol.
Start off with sketching it up on the canvas. I use an opaque projector and a pencil, but on a drawing like this I'm usually just lucky to crop it and pick out a few highlights or severe contrasts. This is where knowing how to draw is really important!
It was fun to get out the airbrush and have 'Smallville' season 4 disk 1 playing in the background!
I finished the grey tones on it.
After debating if I should leave it black and white or to go ahead and add color I took a deep breath and started in with the blue. He quickly began looking like a smurf!
I added some red.
Then some more white to shape up the symbol.
Some orange.
Some yellow- and a bit more blue above him. In that episode he's in a phone booth outside the Atlantis night club and there is a lot of blue neon.
And finally I was done!
No accidental splatter-painting this time! If there had been I would have looked like this-
Here are a few sneak peaks at the next ones I'll be working on. The model is Scott Cranford- the official Superman of Metropolis. The Superman costume Scott wore was designed by Steve Stanley. Steve, Kevin, and I got to go around Metropolis last year and take some cool reference shots of Scott the last day we were there. It was a blast!
Close up-
City Hall.
Phone booth.
My close up of Scott Cranford as Superman.
First I use some brown and purple to sketch things out and figure out the shadows.
Then I start adding yellow and red.
Then some blue and some white for highlights.
I had to make a trip to the Art Center for more red, yellow, and blue paint!
Started the phone booth painting next.
Here I'm almost done with my Scott Cranford phone booth painting.
First I got the back ground finished.
Then started doing some more body work-
Just have his face to finish before I can call it quits on this one and get on to my next one of Scott. (I had to take a few days off from painting to work on a BT page!)
Back to the 'Superman Phone Home' painting- Scott's looking a bit alien, which for being Superman is a good thing I guess.
Started with some red brown on the face.
Then used some purple, white, black, gray, and blue to finish it up. Added a bit longer and hair, and brought the curl down. The wind had blown Scott's hair up some.
Here is is finished. It's 2 feet by 4 feet.
Scott Cranford stopped by to drop off by the comics building right after I got the paintings hung. He talked for a bit, checked out some of the art, and then posed for a photo with one of my paintings. You can't help but like this guy!
Here is the next one of him as Supes. It's of Scott standing out in front of Metropolis City Hall. I loved the big columns, and took this shot of him while he was standing at the top of the stairs, and I was a few down. Steve and I would swap sides after a few shots.
Had to work on the next BT page so I had to work on this one a few days later.
Put the paintings in the auction on Saturday night in Metropolis. There were a lot of cool items- I wanted some of the "Smallville" replica props, but since my paintings were towards the end of the auction I decided to bid on a few lower priced items, since I didn't know if I would make any money that night!
Had to keep enough set aside to get home on!
Well, none of them sold there, but-
at the Phoenix Comicon in January there were a couple BT pages and comics in there as well as my Kal-El/Smallville painting and....
Tess Fowler is the winner!
It found a good home and helped raise some money for the HERO Initiative. Thanks, Tess and George!
I've got a couple from Superman Returns and a GPW Harley Quinn I worked on while I was in Metropolis. They'll be finished for this June's Superman Celebration.
Here's a sneak peak of Brandon...
Anyway, the art show in Metropolis went well, and actually looked like an art show this year- not like I was just clearing out a closet! I was very pleased at the art everyone brought with them, and was pleased at the numbers of folks at the panels we did. Had a lot of compliments on them- just like this review!
www.paperbackreader.com/newcolumn2.php?ColumnID=128
Be sure to check out the Superman Celebration boards and let them know what you think about the celebrations you've attended, what you liked, didn't like, and would like to see there.
superceleb.proboards107.com/
More photos in the "appearance" section of these boards and in the gallery section of the main Bushi Tales site.