All art copyright (c) Mike Kloepfer
"The level of achievement that we have at anything is a reflection of how well we were able to focus on it."
-Steve Vai

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Rediscovering and reconnecting with old friends...

I have a lot of projects going on at the moment. Since I have been painting more, I have primarily been using my easel, and my sketchbook for a few other things.
I noticed that my lovely drawing table had become a collecting place for all the miscellaneous items from projects past & present, and various other items.
Before:
The drawing table is getting buried!
Why waste a good drawing table??? I have wall space to display paintings and shelves to prop up drawings and panels...
Since I have been researching drawing, composition and other subjects online, I decided it was time to make room for what the drawing table was intended for: drawing! I have been very excited about the information, skills and knowledge available online, and anxious to get to work. Not only that, I have several projects... and a ton of original drawings and paintings to do!!!
After:
Now THAT'S more like it!!!











Just a few pages of today's efforts:
Left: Dynamic Sketching exercises
Middle: Pages of thumbnail sketches
Right: Character design
and animal sketches.


It feels great to be sitting at the drawing table. It reminds me of the days when I would sit at my dad's drafting table for hours on end, just drawing and drawing; and later, when I would work on my college illustration projects.
While rearranging, I ran across another old friend... A while ago, my sister uncovered my tackle box/art supply box.I opened it up, and lo and behold - some of my pens still work!!!
I had a very fun and productive day.
I anticipate another surge of productivity coming on... :D



Saturday, February 22, 2014

ONGOING IMPROVEMENT of Skills, Knowledge, and Process: Dynamic Sketching, Character Development, Environmental Design...

There is so much more to good art than skill with a pen or paintbrush. 

In my ongoing quest to improve not only my art skills, but the visual impact of my artwork, I have been researching Character Development and Environmental Design. YouTube and Google are invaluable resources. There is a lot of good information out there, and the research has opened new and exciting horizons for myself, my creativity, and my artwork.
One of the most beneficial has been Peter Han's introduction to Dynamic Sketching.
Check out the videos here:
Dynamic Sketching I with Peter Han
Dynamic Sketching II with Peter Han
I strongly recommend these videos for anyone who is learning to draw, or who wants to improve their drawing skills. And that pretty much should include everybody!

The exercises covered are deceptively simple, but extremely powerful. They remind me of the training and warmup exercises Dino Casterline gives his caricature artists. Although it would not seem to the casual observer as 'exciting,' I have to say it really has been exciting and fun for me! There is immense power in mastering the fundamentals.
That being said, I must admit that my first attempts at the exercises were surprisingly lame... lol
I haven't done exercises like these in a while, and I see that I have a lot of rust under the ol' pen.
The challenge is going back over the same line multiple times without straying - eight times or more!
That is a lot more difficult than it sounds!!!

I have a long way to go... lol
But that's why I continue to learn and improve. And that's why I find it extremely powerful to go back to the basics regularly.
I believe with regular repetition, practice and focus, these exercises will help my linework become more fluent, accurate, and assured.The ability to put down a line swiftly and smoothly, fluently and elegantly, with more confidence and accuracy is always worth the effort.
The power of drawing a simple circle swiftly, elegantly, and accurately - time after time - is exciting. It is amazing to watch seasoned veterans execute linework as if it is second nature. That is what I am after. 
One of the interesting discoveries has been "slowing down to become faster." By calming myself, and slowing down just enough, my lines are more confident and smooth, and much more accurate. This results in the drawing being more accurate and more expedient. Who'da thunkit? ;)






Environmental design is a very exciting field, one that an artist could spend an entire career exploring without exhausting all the possibilities and inspiration to be found. I would like to improve my skills in this area - I know it will only benefit my final paintings to have stronger environments to place my figures and elements into, to tell a richer visual story. There is a lot to learn from this field.

Character design and development is a fascinating subject. I have always admired the artists who develop the characters in movies and games.
By nature, I am an 'impulsive renderer.' In my excitement to 'get to the good part' I jump into rendering a final image, too early (at least in my estimation,) before I have taken the time to fully develop the elements in the drawing or painting.
By following some of the examples of character design, I have been enjoying exploring and developing the characters in my sketches, and I know this will carry over into my final paintings.

02/20/14
Character Study
Sea Goddess 1a
02/20/14
Character Study
Sea Goddess 1b





One video demonstration by Ted Kim showed the artist working in Photoshop and using new layers to try out variations on a character's costume. I adapted this to my traditional art methods by using inexpensive paper which allows me to see the drawing underneath. I use this to try out different variations, without altering and losing the 'freshness' and inspiration of the initial sketch. This opens the door for me to do as many variations as I want while maintaining the initial sketch as a foundation. Equally important, it allows me to try out ideas without worrying whether they will succeed - the point is to work through the process and explore as many variations as I can come up with. Some of them will be good, some will not. But then I can pick and choose elements from both the good and the bad sketches, and combine them into a final sketch that is way better than anything I could come up with in a single, impulsive attempt.





02/20/14
Character study
Sea Spirit3a
02/20/14
Character study
Sea Spirit 23b








I believe that strengthening my skills in these areas will bring immense benefits to my artwork, and my enjoyment of the artistic process.
I have been enjoying the process of exploring my sketches in a way I never had in the past.











02/20/14
Character Study
Sea Goddess a
02/20/14
Character Study
Sea Goddess 2b

What is the larger lesson from all this? 
Slow down to speed up - and enjoy the process. 

Lots of sketches!

The past few days has been extremely productive.
I have been working on several projects at once, for a book, a CD cover, and some costume and character study/development for upcoming paintings.
And of course,  what day of sketching would be complete without a color study?

02/20/14
Sea Spirit
Color Study
Acrylic on paper 4x6"
Click here for reference
02/20/14
Character study
Sea Spirit3a
02/20/14
Character study
Sea Spirit 23b



02/20/14
Character Study
Sea Goddess 1a

02/20/14
Character Study
Sea Goddess 1b
02/20/14
Character Study
Sea Goddess 2a
02/20/14
Character Study
Sea Goddess 2b
02/20/14
Character study
Sea Spirit 2
02/20/14
Character study
Sea Spirit1
Character study
Female Guardian
02/20/14
Character study
Female guardian
02/20/14
Character study
Male guardian



Wednesday, February 19, 2014

THEMED ART

PIRATES:

Desire
Charcoal
18 x 24"
Fog, Smoke, and Cannonfire
(Diptych)

Acrylic on Canvas
Each panel 16 x 20"
Bring Me That Horizon
Acrylic on canvas board
8x10"
The Adventures of
Mister Cotton's Parrot
and Friends

AMCP 01 - Point Blank
Prismacolor on parchment
8 x 10"
The Adventures of
Mister Cotton's Parrot
and Friends

AMCP 02 - In the Rigging
Acrylic on canvas board
11 x 14"
The Adventures of
Mister Cotton's Parrot
and Friends

AMCP 03 - Out On A Limb
Prismacolor on parchment
8 x 10"
Skullduggery
Prismacolor
on
parchment
8x10"

Nature's Design
Watercolor
~8x12"

LANDSCAPE ART

Lakefront Stand
Acrylic on canvas board
8x10"
Lakefront Palm Tree (and jet)
Acrylic on canvas board
5 x 7"
Red Rocks Afternoon
Acrylic on canvas board
11 x 14"
Red Rocks Morning
Acrylic on canvas board
11 x 14"
Red Rocks 05/27/09
Watercolor
9 x 12"



Friday, February 14, 2014

FUN & IMAGINARY CREATURES

Pug Loaf
Pen,  2x4"
DAWG
Pen & Marker sketch, 2x3"

Shark
Pen & Marker sketch, 2x3"

Pudgerigar -
(A Pudgy Budgie)


Graphite
8.5 x 11"





Baby Gecko Dragon
Graphite
8.5 x 11"

Zebra
Graphite
8.5 x 11"
Tiger
Graphite
8.5 x 11"
Baby Turt-Owl
Graphite
8.5 x 11"













Turt-Owl
Graphite
8.5 x 11"





THE EVOLUTION OF THE 'PUDGERIGAR'


I saw a picture today - in my mind, I thought:
"It was... the PUDGIEST budgie I ever seen..."
Click here for reference
So I just HAD to draw it!

I started to draw,
and I was having fun.
As I drew, it changed-
I had so much fun,
I kept drawing-
...it evolved...
I kept developing the drawing
and making adjustments
...and it evolved...
the final sketch:
PUDGERIGAR

A Pudgy Budgie
8.5 x 11"




(To see the progression of the drawing, click on the first sketch and scroll through the images.)



HUMOROUS ILLUSTRATION

Pudgerigar
Graphite
8.5 x 11"




Baby Creature
Graphite
8.5 x 11"

Bulldog
Chartpak Markers
8.5 x 11"



The Adventures of
Mister Cotton's Parrot
and Friends 02

In The Rigging

Acrylic on canvas 8x10"




The Adventures of
Mister Cotton's Parrot
and Friends 01

Point Blank

Prismacolor 8x10"

A Dog
Prismacolor /
Art Stix
6x6"