Hope, Revisited

So, this is one of the projects I've been working on. You might recognize the picture from this post, though obviously it's now more colorful.

I've been learning more about Photoshop in what feels like leaps and bounds- it seems like every day I spend working with it, I learn a tremendous amount about how to make it work. So, since I've been getting more comfortable with using it, and my understanding of it has gone beyond using the paint bucket, I thought it might be fun (and educational, kids!) to revisit some of my older posts with the intent of coloring them, or otherwise applying my small amount of new knowledge to making them look even better.

Yes, I know- this means I'm not drawing as much. It's a little crazy for me, but I'm really starting to appreciate the idea of Photoshop-created art being just as valid as regular penciled drawings. Crazy! But I find my brain does a better job of telling Photoshop what to do versus telling the pencil what to do.

The picture- um, that's probably about 6-8 hours' work. There are 10 or 12 layers there as well, and God only knows how many colors. I think, were I to repeat this, I could do it in half the time. As usual, I do a lot of thinking on the fly, and a fair number of attempts didn't work out. But, I'm really pleased with it. Still not 100%, but a damn sight better than how I first colored the pictures. (One other thing- if some parts of the picture seem a bit flat, or blocky, or the coloring off, the original Photoshop file of this is about 40Mb in size; this jpeg is about 750kb. Not denying it might be me, but I'm just sayin' :)

Cheers!

Music- "Save Me" - Shinedown

"You're My Only Hope"

Another day, another knight. (I'm sorry, I just realized that's a pun...)

This image has been kicking around in my head for literally years. I first came up with the concept back in the early 90's, I think probably from having seen a number of shirts with "clever" sayings on them about what one would do for food (or beer, most likely). For whatever reason, the phrase "will slay dragons for food" leaped into my head, along with the general idea of the picture (kid, bum, food, shield). The one previous attempt at this was a total disaster, so the idea was set aside and more or less forgotten for the past 10 or 12 years, until this little Renaissance came about. The idea is the same as before, but it's all in the execution. For me, the real goal was to convey as much information as possible about the "story" in this one picture. I thought the best way to draw it would be to approach it from the girl's perspective, thereby letting the viewer in on her world a little bit. And this way, it gives us a chance to see the 'knight'. By the way- he might look similar, but he's not the wandering knight from the past post of the Grail Knight. I figured being homeless and being made to wander across Europe on a quest for the grail might leave a fella looking in a similar state of discomfiture.

Who is this broken down, obviously delusional homeless guy? What is he doing with a sword? And where are these so-called "dragons" he'll slay?

Ask the girl. She knows.

There's a story to be told in this picture, though even I'm not entirely sure what it is. I'm pretty sure it has to do with school, parents, mean classmates, self-confidence, failures, and redemption. And possibly dragons.

You should ask me about the tale of the snow dragon sometime. Talk about keeping an idea with you- try 25 years...

Oh- you'll also notice this picture looks a bit more "finished" than past efforts. I've been using Photoshop to clean up all the sketches (mostly for clarity and erasing extraneous marks on the paper) but this is the first time I've actually used Photoshop beyond its ability to change contrast and brightness. It's not much, but I like the texture it's given the picture. Now heaven help me when I start coloring with it.

New poll to the... right. Feel free to e-mail me with new poll topic suggestions (or comment below).

Alright, that's it- off wi' ya!

Music: "Hands Held High" - Linkin Park