Recent work

You may have noticed that I've been absent from the blog for a while. It's because the last month or so has been quite busy for me. As classes get near the end of the semester, there is a lot for me to do to get ready for finals. Also, I took on an onsite contract at a firm in the Bay Area specializing in legal graphics and animation that took all my 'free' time. They recently moved their office location and I created a digital illustration for the front of their mailer to inform clients of the new address. Here is that image. It's a straightforward illustration of the historic building that houses the new offices, but some details have been simplified and its position relative to San Francisco has been fudged a bit, so it becomes a bit conceptual.

New large illustration

Another exhibit image has come my way. This one was not as large as some I've done, but it was quite complex and quickly zoomed up to over 2 Gb. My time was running out as the deadline quickly approached, so I had to cut some corners near the end and leave out a few details. The day before it was due, I stayed up all night trying to get everything finished on time. I ended up being awake for 41 hours straight those two days, but I wasn't working on this illustration the entire time. I also had to go out and teach a few classes, then I went to San Francisco for a concert after the image had been sent off. Still, it was a grueling process and I'm glad it's over. I kind of like the image though, after all that.

New class last weekend

I taught a digital illustration class at the BAVC last weekend. It was all day Saturday and Sunday and I think the students learned a lot and had a good time. I'm working on updating the handout I give them, so when I do, I'll put a link to it here. I'm also working on putting together a new tutorial to share and I have some upcoming news, so stay tuned for more.

A file to use

Hello again, Photoshop class! We will be doing some fun stuff for this week, learning about glamour portrait retouching. You can use an image of your own, or this one that I am providing for you. As usual, click on the image and download the fullsize version. You need a large, good quality image for this kind of work.

Click here for a PDF covering these topics.

Sample file for the Photoshop class

Tonight, we will be practicing for the photo restoration assignment. You can work on your own if you have it, or use this one to get a feel for what to do. If you need it, here is an image you can use. Remember to click on it, then download the original size.

New magazine cover assignment

Recently, I was contacted by Foreign Policy and offered a job illustrating the cover of their upcoming March/April issue. It was a quick turnaround, but the money was good and it seemed like a good opportunity. This is the first time I've been contacted by a publication like this directly, so that is nice. The image was pretty straightforward, so I just needed to do an accurate rendering and try and make it look cool. Along the way, I learned a bit about UAVs and Hellfire missiles. This particular UAV is a Reaper.

Click here for a preview of the cover at Foreign Policy.

Sample file for the Photoshop class

For tonight, we are going to try some cool stuff. You may need a sample file to start with, so here it is. Click on it to get the fullsize version, then download it.