Look Familiar?

-by Dan dos SantosA few years ago, a student of mine sent me an email letting me know that she saw one of my paintings in a movie she had watched. I've had a -lot- of people tell me similar things, and I usually dismiss it since those people are usually my Mom and Dad and tend to think anything remotely SFF related must have been created by me. But this person was a student of mine, and intimately familiar with my work, so I felt it worth looking...

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A Teaser

by Arnie FennerI try not to talk about Spectrum too much here on Muddy Colors—though sincerely appreciate it that others have and really want to deeply thank everyone that recently participated in #18—simply because we have an official website already (maintained by our capable son, Arlo Burnett, and administrative assistant, Jackie Miles).But there are a couple of Spectrum-related things in the offing that are part-and-parcel with what we've been...

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Francis Ford Coppola: On Risk, Money, Craft & Collaboration

I just found this awesome little interview with film maker Francis Ford Coppola (via Boing Boing).http://the99percent.com/articles/6973/Francis-Ford-Coppola-On-Risk-Money-Craft-CollaborationA lot of what he has to say is incredible apropos across many creative fields, including illustration.He also hits on a lot of topics that we have been speaking about quite recently here on Muddy Colors."The cinema language happened by experimentation – by people...

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It's not too late!!!!

The Spectrum call for entries deadline is TODAY.If you haven't sent out your entries yet, it's not too late... Entries need only be postmarked by the end of the day.Don't have a quality printer?Go to your local Wal-Mart with a CD, and print your images using the one hour service. Or, use the Kodak Instant Picture Maker. Both produce great quality prints, are quite color accurate, and relatively inexpensive. A single print will...

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Inspiration: FASHION

-by Dan dos SantosCostume design is an integral part of any good fantasy illustration.A good costume can be the main driving force of a composition, or it can be used to add a deeper backstory to your character. Either way, it's importance is not to be understated.I gained an intense interest in fashion starting back in High School. Though, you wouldn't guess it by looking at me now, since I rarely get out of my pajamas these days. I do however...

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Showing At The Society of Illustrators

Gregory ManchessFor those of you who are near New York City, I’m having a small show of my work.A selection of paintings will be hanging in the Members Gallery at the Society of Illustrators, opening February 1st. There will be about seven large paintings up, bridging the gap between mainstream illustration, science fiction, and fantasy work.It has been a long, arduous road working between science fiction and mainstream illustration. It was difficult...

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Experimentation

By Justin GerardI am a chronic experimenter.Most of the following test pieces were done between client projects. They are all victims of a continuing campaign whose goal is a better understanding of the mediums available to the contemporary illustrator.Some of these experiments seem to give good results:Oil, thinned with 80% Galkyd, 10% linseed oil, 10% OMS mixture* over Golden Heavy Body Acrylic underpainting on gessoed panel, sanded smooth.While...

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Dancing in the woods and other advice.

By John Jude PalencarOn Friday Eric Fortune posted some artistic advice that resonated with a number of visitors to our blog. Most have read or leafed through the book "Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain". That book offers hands-on practical exercises for the artist to develop a way of seeing the world. The material Eric posted was a bit different. As artists we all know creating art is a bit of a mind game. While we all have fairly decent...

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Tips and Tricks from an Art Slave

By Eric FortuneActually this is not by me. Back when I worked as an in house illustrator at Gooseberry Patch......... ok, now that the chuckling has quieted down, one of my co-workers gave me a copy of some tips for freelancing. Although they make a lot of sense they aren't always easy to follow. Most of the artists I know are workaholics, not always a good thing. I wish I knew the source of this information so I could include it. Unfortunately,...

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Life Models and the Art They Inspire

by DonatoLive figure drawing has been one of the greatest sideline pleasures I have experienced as part of a freelance career. What other job has you stepping into a studio in SoHo New York with dozens of other artists to pass away three hours of time in studious contemplation of the human form...and call it work!! (and write it off on your taxes !) These breaks from my regular studio time have been ways to recharge my creative batteries and revisit...

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Over the edge

You need to push yourself over the edge. - By Jesper Ejsing I never feel at ease with what I do. I think drawing and painting is damn hard and extremely difficult. I do not have a system or a basic training that I can lean on and that will help me along. Instead I have a blurred vision in my head of what the illustration should look like. My process is what I do to painfully squeeze that image out. I try to keep myself on the path of improvement,...

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Cover Browser

Here is an awesome website for all the comic fans out there: COVER BROWSER.Cover Browser is a massive database of over 450,000 comic covers, starting at, well.... the beginning I guess. You'd be hard pressed to think of a popular comic that you can't find on there.Some of the scans are a little low-rez, but that's OK. For me, they mostly serve as inspiration. When I start to get frustrated with a book cover assignment, telling myself that it's the...

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The Wild Side

-By Dan dos SantosA little while ago I was commissioned to do the cover to an Urban Fantasy anthology called 'The Wild Side'. One of the great things about anthologies is that you tend to have a lot more freedom with the subject matter, since you need to capture the flavor of multiple stories. In this case, the Art Director gave me an unprecedented amount freedom, and let me do whatever I wanted, provided that the image screamed of 'urban fantasy'...

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