New Stuff 5/5/10

Here's some recent stuff, including a David Bowie portrait completed with charcoal and carbon dust. Also, a portrait of the mysterious iamamiwhoami (who will get her own post devoted to her very soon) as well as some Mage character. If you couldn't tell, those two were done using Sketchbook Pro (with a stylus no less, which makes a bigger difference than you might imagine).

In other news, the self portrait you'll see below with the green background (the one closest to the top of this page) just recently got selected to appear in the Student Show at WPU! Hooray!

Neon Trees

I saw these guys completely upstage 30 Seconds To Mars (who were tragically disappointing) 2 nights in a row last week, and I've gotta say, they come highly recommended from me, both on record and on stage. The first time I heard their current single "Animal" I'll admit I was not blown away. However, it's a song that carves it's way into your skull without you even realizing it, and ultimately becomes indicative of their masterfully constructed Pop Rock tunes. Imagine The Killers with less synths, less ego, and a better singer. Normally, less prominent synths would be a strike against them (I'm an absolute sucker for synthesizers and electronics in general), but Neon Trees more than make up for it with their exceptionally tight, focused arrangements and charisma. Their ace in the hole in this case would be singer and synth player Tyler Glenn, who has an absolutely phenomenal voice that's arguably better live (see the 2nd YouTube link). Some of the finest moments on their debut album "Habits" come in the form of Glenn harmonizing with drummer Elaine Bradley on songs like the aforementioned "Animal" and "1983." Guitarist Chris Allen maintains a driving and restrained playing style, never getting in the way of the song itself while simultaneously moving it forward. Similarly, Bassist Branden Campbell locks in with Ms. Bradley, creating a genuinely powerful rhythm section throughout. Campbell's presence is refreshing, given how often the Bass guitar is undermixed on albums of every genre.

Overall, Neon Trees aren't doing anything terribly original, which they acknowledge. Rather, their strength comes in the form of superb execution. Their songs are remarkably well crafted on record, and wonderfully, energetically performed in the live setting. (It also doesn't hurt that they're incredibly nice and inviting people off stage.)


Sins of My Youth (Live in Montclair, NJ - Filmed like a true amateur by yours truly)

Your Surrender (Live Acoustic)

Buy their album

MySpace

Official site

Twitter

Sketchbook Pro

Well, I got an iPad. It cost many pennies, but the Sketchbook Pro app alone (by Autodesk) seems to be more than enough to justify the cost. I should hope so since that's what convinced me to get one.

I've been meaning to embrace digital media in conjunction with my drawings for a long time now, and the Sketchbok Pro app may be the thing that finally allows me to do that. It basically lets me use the iPad as a portable tablet to either create entirely new and original pieces, or more importantly, color my pre-existing stuff comfortably where ever and whenever I want. This is a breeze since all I have to do is sync my iPad with anything I've scanned and put on my laptop - Sketchbook Pro then allows me to import it no problem. That's a big deal for me and I can't wait to master the program (I've got a badass stylus on the way, too - psyched!).

And here's my first piece created entirely in Sketchbook Pro. Inspired by the album cover to Steven Wilson's "Insurgentes." I'm also coloring the Pilot Girl you see below. Once that's finished I'll post that. Enjoy!

Pilot Girl and Editorial

My latest assignment for my Illustration class was to create an image for an editorial. I chose this article discussing the 3D cash-in that's happening in Hollywood right now. Check out the article, it's a good one, anonymously written by a CG supervisor.


Also, I had fun doing this sketch of this Pilot-lady tonight, who I've enjoyed drawing before - you haven't seen the last of her!

Self Portraits (Spring Semester)

As promised, here are the self-portraits I've done in class so far this semester. Right now, I'm taking a break from myself, doing a more surreal painting that's more in tune with my drawings and sketches (and is in fact based on a sketch I have)... I'll post the original doodle along with the final painting this week. I just want to touch it up some before I call it finished. It wasn't easy, and took at least double the time of the paintings you'll see below, but by the end of the second class period, I had reached a turning point. More details when I actually post it, I just wanted to mention how I'm finally exiting my comfort zone in terms of my paintings. Enjoy!

Maybe John

My brother John recently commissioned me to paint him a portrait after seeing the most recent ones I did of myself (I'll post those soon). This is a little more interesting, though, because it's not me and there was a bit more to the process since I needed photo reference. Ultimately, I focused on the picture that had a somewhat interesting light source and what I felt accurately represented my brother. This was done fairly quickly and spontaneously, however. In the near future, I'd like to take a more conceptual approach that in some way mirrors the music John is currently wrapping up for his solo project, titled Maybe Bomb. We briefly discussed the idea of painted album artwork which I love and would happy to help execute.

Attention music nerds and tech geeks!

One of my favorite musicians, BT, recently did a lengthy but incredibly interesting interview for Macworld. They discuss everything from his completely unique approach to songwriting/producing to the current direction of technology. Fascinating stuff.

BT, aka Brian Transeau, also just put out a new full-length album titled These Hopeful Machines. It's an epic, 2-disc, 12 track, almost 2 hour piece of music and I highly recommend it. Check out the interview here.