Phillip Seymour Hoffman Caricature

Hi All,

How's it going out there?  How's summer time where you are?  Here in Phoenix, it's been hot, as it should be in summer.  This morning I cleaned the swimming pool and I've got a couple massage clients later in the afternoon.  So it's a good Monday.

The other day I watched the documentary about Drew Strewzan - the amazing movie poster artist.  Back when I was doing mostly airbrush work and illustration, he was one of my heroes.  So I got out the sketch book and a pen, as I was watching and started sketching a caricature of Phillip Seymour Hoffman.  I love his movies - such a great actor and I'm sad we no longer will have him around.

pen and ink in sketchbook

Initially I sketched with a ball point pen and sketch book in my lap....just for fun.  Then I took a photo of it with my phone and did a little painting in Photoshop on the computer.    I started with a magazine photo to work from.

sketch after painting in Photoshop with Wacom tablet.

I enjoy sketching once in a while as I sit around.  It's good for all of us to do this.  It gets us into the right side of the brain...let that creativity flow.

I hope you all have a great week.  Enjoy a little sketching today.  If you're not very artistic...make sure you do the sketching.  It's good for you.

Peace,

Tom

web portfolio:  www.behance.net/tk-artwww.behance.net/tk-art

Dylan - Part II

Hi All,

Wow!  What a great day here in Phoenix, AZ today.  We've got a nice gentle, steady rain coming down this morning.  Beautiful.  The summer in the desert has been long and hot, so this is a nice change.  I hope you're having as good a day wherever you're at.

So I got up early today to get an early start and be productive.  The first thing I wanted to do, is finish the Bob Dylan artwork.  (I know it's not really a priority - but - that's how it goes sometimes).

So last week I did a pencil sketch caricature of Bob Dylan.  It was fun and I liked it.  Just a fun sketch for myself.

Original pencil sketch

So after posting the sketch, I decided to continue to work on the pic a little and see where it went.  So I took it into Photoshop and started working with Black strokes.  I did this on the same layer as the sketch.  So I made a "pen and ink" with pencil.  Well, I liked it and I liked the effect.

finished color illustration

I thought about adding color and didn't want to affect the pen or pencil drawing - and I couldn't color on a layer below.  So I used the "darken" setting in the brush tool Mode.  It allowed me to add color to the image of Bob Dylan, without affecting the dark line work.  By this time I'd also "cut out" the Dylan image, and set it as the top layer.  Then I started coloring in the background layers underneath it.  I think the background is comprised of about 5 or 6 layers.  I keep adding layers when working backgrounds and playing with brushes, colors, and layer opacity levels.  Fun stuff!!

So that's the Dylan.  A fun little project.  Hope you like it.  All you out there - have a great week.  Enjoy what you're doing - every moment, and be good to yourself and those around you too.

Peace,

Tom

Fun With Dylan

Hi All,

Happy Labor Day to my fellow Americans and Happy Monday to everyone around the world.  Hope you're having a good day.

I loved the cover photo on the latest issue of the Rolling Stone, so thought I'd use it for a fun drawing of Bob Dylan.  I've subscribed to the Stone for the last 30 years for the music news and stories, as well as social and political information.  I've followed the careers of folks like Bob Dylan over the years thru the pages of the Rolling Stone.

OK - enough of that.  Sometimes I like to just sit down with pencils, sharpener, and eraser sticks; and just draw and enjoy creating a picture.

Starting out...having a little Monday morning fun.

So I started drawing with a Ticonderoga HB pencil, with my eraser sticks and sharpener.  I like caricature style drawing that's a recognizable pic - almost a cross between portrait and caricature.  It's a fun drawing of an early 1970's Dylan.

I wanted to keep it simple with some dark darks, rendered with a 2B Koh-i-noor pencil.  I wanted to make it look like Dylan and keep it loose and fun.  Here's the final product.

finished sketch...post cleanup with Photoshop.

It's funny...I took the photos with my new phone.  The photos of the artwork had a bright green tint.  I have no idea why.  So, I took it into Photoshop and did a little adjusting and "drew" the background back to white.  Crazy...yes, I'm not a photographer.  So that's my fun holiday pencil sketch.

Another aspect to this - on this Labor Day.  Dylan always had been pro-labor politically.  I like that.  My dad and granddads had been working men....hard working men in factories and my mom's dad in a print plant.  I was raised in a pro-union family.  I think this picture pays homage to that in some small way....at least in my mind.

Anyhow - have a great day and enjoy...whatever you're doing.  Be nice to those around you too....

Peace,

Tom