Lessons from the 2011 Illustration Master Class

The week-long Illustration Master Class came and went; While I was there it felt like maybe I'd always been there, but after arriving home and readjusting to daily life it seems almost like a dream.



For those of you who haven't heard of or experienced the wondrous event known as IMC, the basic concept is this: Take a group of hungry and dedicated fantasy illustrators, put them in a beautiful college campus environment with a dozen or so of the world's top working talent acting as faculty, stir for a week until magic happens. Between working on our paintings, watching incredible lectures, and surprise faculty demos, we all came together and celebrated the sense of family and community fantasy illustrators have, that I've mentioned many times.

Of the countless memories and information I'll take away from the experience, here's my top 5 list of lessons from IMC:

1. Good planning makes good paintings. Instead of doing 5 thumbnail sketches, make 50. Instead of shooting 10 reference photos, shoot 100. Doing more work in the planning stages will force you to think through all the challenges you'll face when painting, and come up with solutions before you start laying paint down.

2. Be meticulous about your reference photos. While I was modeling for another student's piece, faculty member Dan Dos Santos readjusted a light under my arm four times, for about 20 minutes, just to give the student exactly what her piece needed. You should take the same care when shooting. It's worth it to use the best equipment you can afford, to set up your lighting as close to what you want in your final image as you can, and to get models who understand your vision. Many of the faculty cited "getting great models" as a part of the success of their figurative work.

3. Copying Old Masters' paintings is a good way to build your painting skills. It might seem like a waste of time to stop what you're doing and reproduce an existing painting. After all, you won't get a portfolio piece out of a copy. But the exercise can affect the way you think about making your brushstrokes, blending and choosing your colors in your own art.

4. Practice constantly, but don't just practice what you know constantly. Your brain only builds new neural pathways through challenging practice, not repetition alone. If you do the same painting 50 times, you'll only improve at creating that one painting, so go a little bit outside your comfort zone when you can.

5. Make art for you. This was one of the hardest-hitting lessons at IMC for me. Find a way to inject something you love into every painting, whether it's an assignment with a strict style guide or a personal piece. If you're not sure, go through your portfolio and look at common themes you've chosen. Doing so will make it almost impossible to burn out on painting.

Mirror Maze Cover

Fun! I recently learned that Mirror Maze by Michaele Jordan is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Earlier this year I collaborated with Michaele and art director extraordinaire Lou Anders of Pyr Books to create this painting for the cover:



Early concept sketches:


Mirror Maze is the dark tale of Jacob Aldridge, who finds himself affected by a curse that runs in his family. Read the full synopsis and information about the author.

A Sketch from my Family Vacation

I took the week off (a rare occasion) and my husband and I went out to Estherville, IA to visit 96-year-old Grandma Sheppard for Easter, because we rarely get to see her, and it's important to let her know we're thinking of her. She's sweet as can be for someone that's been alive since 1915, though her short term memory is very bad. By the time we landed back in Washington, DC, we knew she'd probably forgotten we visited.

But, thankfully, while we were there we had the brilliant idea of getting her engaged in a little painting, to challenge her mind, and so that she'd have some proof of our existence. My husband got her a small acrylic set on her 92nd birthday, but she forgets she has it, so she doesn't use it. Not the case this week.



So when we talk to her on the phone we can ask, "hey, is there a landscape with the pine trees on your wall?" And she replies "Oh, yes! Did I paint that?"



You sure did, Grandma.

Transferring a Digital Drawing to Illustration Board

When I start an oil painting by sketching it digitally, I go through a process of transferring the digital image to the traditional surface. There are a few ways to accomplish this task; Some artists use a large format printer and mount the prints to a work surface, some people use a projector or light box, and some people (including a younger version of me) use the laborious grid method. There really isn't a wrong way to do it, but I prefer the very easy graphite transfer method, which I'll explain.

A quick note about my tools: For an oil work surface I most commonly I use Strathmore 500 Series illustration board. It's got a great smooth surface like masonite or sanded wood, but is easier to find at my local art store on short notice and lighter weight for easier framing and transport. The other items I use for this process are my printer, a 7B pencil, an HB pencil, and some acrylic matte medium.



Once I have the finished digital drawing the way I like it, I print it out; when my printer is smaller than my work surface, I print the drawing out in several pieces and reassemble it with clear tape. I work these drawings up at high resolution (450 dpi) at their actual size, so I have lots of detail in the prints.



Once the drawing is printed out and reassembled, I take a soft 7B pencil and make a light coating of graphite all over the back of the printed drawing. when I trace over the front side with a harder HB pencil, the graphite will be lightly transferred onto my work surface. If you're a little less cheap than I am, you can also use transfer paper which is sold in rolls or pads.



Typically the light traced lines by themselves feel a bit stiff or aren't dark enough, so I'll use my HB pencil to draw over the transferred image in areas I think need more emphasis or definition.

Lastly, since the illustration board by itself would absorb the oil in the paint and eventually degrade, I seal the surface with 3-4 coats of acrylic matte medium after the drawing is transferred. This helps keep the illustration board intact and seals the graphite drawing.

My Art Studio Workspace

Update, August 2012: Since this post was made, I've taken some new photos and posted them here. Carry on!

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A few of my friends have made posts like this about their workspaces, so I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon.


(click to enlarge and view description)

An artists' studio is always evolving. I think back to 5 years ago when I worked in a huge loft space above a nightclub, and how much has changed since then. I've sacrificed a lot of floor space over the last couple studio iterations, but ended up with better equipment, so in many ways it's a fair trade. My next missions for my current studio are to get a better flex-arm light for my easel and a second bookcase that can support my overflowing art book and magazine collection.

Website Updates and Thoughts on Branding

Sheppard-arts.com has received its yearly facelift for 2011, including a new mobile version for those of you who are bound by the confines of the modern smartphone.

I spent a little more time planning out this year's revisions than last, and more time thinking of myself as a brand. Some new features include:

-An official Cynthia Sheppard Illustration logo.

It's high time I had a single image that I can carry across all my promo items. I was inspired by some of my cohorts such as Sam Flegal who established his "Strange like Sam Flegal" brand last year.

-Bigger thumbnails.
1. I got a lot of comments like "make the thumbnails bigger!" hehe.
2. I still opt for a lightbox image viewer over a slideshow or full-page-scroll format because the proportions of my images are all different, so they look disorganized or don't read/resize well in a fixed window. One AD mentioned that using a lightbox can be cumbersome, especially if the window overlay doesn't allow you to right-click/save the pictures. So to make his life easier I chose a version that does allow people to save, and increased the thumbnail sizes so he and other ADs can better jog their memory of what a painting looked like without having to click on anything.

-A dropdown menu for external links/social media and to share the site on facebook.
I'll probably add some more sharing-via-social-media options later, but I want to test Facebook first to see what kind of traffic is generated.

-The removal of unnecessary sections.
My painting tutorials will still be available, but since I rarely had time to update them, having a whole page dedicated to them was dead weight. The majority of people that come to the site are there to see the artwork or to find out how to contact me, so I also nixed the Resume section in favor of a small and tidy client list on the homepage.

Enjoy!

The Illux-Chronicles

A Personal Foreword:
I had a difficult year, artistically. I don't enjoy making excuses, but for the record, I felt a bit pathetic in my art efforts in 2010, especially after renovating the house and changing day jobs. I spent the better part of the Summer without much internet access at home, so my online community interactions flagged. I stopped freelancing completely for four months, between late May and September.

And while it really was necessary to get my life in order, the not painting part SUCKED!!!

Because of this, I was nervous about attending Illuxcon this year, obsessing over the fact that I didn't have much new work to show and my artistic "game" was somewhat rusty. But as I was packing up the last of my Showcase display three days before the show, I got a game-changing email from Jeannie Wilshire, who along with her husband Pat, runs the convention. Justin Sweet had to cancel at the last minute and I was next on the waiting list for a table in the main event. "Holy...!" I thought. I HAD to find a way to make it work. Failure to do so was not an option. Jeannie was incredibly comforting, and somehow her faith in me restored some of my lost confidence.

There were jokes among friends that Justin's shoes wouldn't be easy to fill, which is most certainly true (and I joked back that I hope he wears a ladies size 7). I felt like a kid who just got away with ordering a drink at the bar...

With very little time to prepare, I immediately sent my husband out on an emergency Dammar varnish run, ordered some frames to ship overnight, and started sketching out what pieces I'd put where on a 4x8 panel. I experienced about 8 different kinds of panic over the next 3 days. The good kinds.


Matting and framing my work the night before the show, 11/10/2010

In the end, Illuxcon 3 was wonderful. The table, the amazing art everywhere, the old and new friends, the conversations... all of it was more than I could hope for. For the first time in months I felt like I was awake again, in my own body - there was so much support that I can finally put 2010 behind me, and work toward a strong artistic year in 2011. I'm so motivated I could explode.

Thursday:
There's so much to take away from this event that it's hard to write it all down in one place. Like last year, I traveled up from Virginia to Pennsylvania with artist Laura Diehl and her fiance Chris Kozlowski. After helping me unload my artwork at the show (thank you again, guys!) we checked in at the Ramada, and headed out to our second annual kickoff dinner at the Altoona Red Lobster. Included in the group was Lauren K. Cannon, with whom I've shared a few Q&A pages in ImagineFX, Aaron Miller, Joe Wilson and Mike Sass, who are some of my best friends, as well as fantastic artists. And I met a couple new fellows, John Stanko, Chris Simmons, and Joe Slucher.


From L to R: Lauren Cannon, John Stanko, (me), Laura Diehl, Chris Kozlowski, Joe Slucher, Chris Simmons, Aaron Miller (behind Mike), and Mike Sass

Out of the three years the convention has been running, this was by far the busiest it's been on a Thursday night. It felt almost like the pace of Saturday from the 2008 exhibition. Throughout the whole event I had trouble sitting still at my table. I've gotten to know so many awesome artists who I consider to be my extended family, it seemed silly not to spend a lot of time hanging out with them. Thankfully my wanderlust was satiated at the artist's reception that evening. All the main event artists got to socialize and look at each others' work. As usual the display was amazing. I was certainly not the only one who felt humbled by the sight of it all.



Even though it doesn't have a "drinking party" reputation like some bigger cons, I did drink a lot this year, and almost every night (fun, but very exhausting!). At the bar I was able to get reacquainted with some of the artists I'd been out of touch with for a while, like Eric Fortune, Dan Dos Santos, and Michael C. Hayes who brought along his awesome artist table-assistant Thomas Babbey. Yes, Thursday definitely set the tone for great things to come.

Friday:
Friday was insane. I spent most of the day at the Heritage Center either at my table or at Le Bistro. Most of my friends either had tables of their own to watch, or went over to the Devorris Center to watch lectures (which I unfortunately missed out on this year). I may not have been there, but I heard many a joke about Donato's "hand commissions." (good one, D!)

While the artists in the Showcase were setting up, I grabbed dinner at the hotel with Daniel de Leon, Kyle Thomas, Jean Scrocco, and (the legendary) Greg Hildebrandt. Jean (who is not only Greg's partner but also his agent) recounted stories about the art trade and how some of Greg's work was devalued in an estate sale when a collector died unexpectedly without leaving a will. Among other things (including a great rant about how modern art is the biggest joke ever played on society), Greg talked about his foray into pin-up art, and how he loves working with the Trans Siberian Orchestra.

After dinner I toured the Showcase a bit, but it was so packed with people I could barely see the art! (How cool is that??!) Read more about the Showcase at my pal Laura's blog.

I also had a portfolio review with Jeremy Jarvis, Senior Art Director for Magic: The Gathering, that night. It was a good review. Jeremy's cool, and very easy to talk to. He made some keen observations about my work, like the fact that it's mostly figurative, but I rely mainly on environment for narrative. Very interesting - really made me think about my approach. Best of all, I'm looking forward to doing some work for Magic next month.

Friday night culminated in what was possibly the best hotel party I've ever been to, thrown by Grant "The Apparatus" Cooley, our resident p(ART)y animal. ;) I left around 3 AM, and there were still people going strong.


"Where did she go?" "I'll bet she's out drinking with those weirdos again."

Saturday:
I think it goes without saying that I was a complete zombie on Saturday. Breakfast was fun, but my head hurt increasingly as the group I was sitting with started waxing philosophical about politics... I digress. I spent more time at my table on Saturday, and it was a bit more fun with the increased amount of students in attendance. I love talking to students. I had a wonderful opportunity to review two student portfolios, and I think I was able to offer sound advice, despite the sleep deficit.

Saturday night we went out to a brewpub and chased our dinner with the first annual Illuxcon Art Jam! featuring multi-talented artists performing live music.


The Musical Stylings of Harchar and Zug

I'm not *entirely* sure how I was still upright long enough to go hang out at the Ramada bar yet again, but I had the pleasure of learning to speak Irish with the spry and infamous Patrick Jones, and sipping some Irish whiskey and bourbon with new acquaintance Tim Winkler.

Sunday:
Sunday had a mildly somber tone to it, mostly because we all knew we had to leave soon. (I waited to break into a full cry till I got home). Still I enjoyed the last day at the Heritage Center, minding my table, signing books, selling prints, and talking to curious onlookers. The show was open to the public on Sunday, so there's an interesting (or boring) shift in the questions people ask. You get a lot of "how long did that take you?" and "Where do you get your ideas?" etc. etc. Not that people shouldn't ask these questions necessarily, but sometimes I think people just talk for the sake of talking.

I still couldn't sit still, so me and Eric, along with Laura and Chris, hiked over to Sheetz to buy Dan a giant can of Red Bull.

At around 3:00 I took down my booth. Poor Lauren was waiting on me to go to lunch, yet I had forsaken her, and she lamented as she ate a stale pop tart to keep from starving. ;)

I did have a chance to thank Pat before rolling out, but it never feels like enough. I didn't make a whole lot of money (almost sold an original oil but the couple decided to buy another painting instead), but what I did make on print sales I used to buy other artists' prints (Hooray! I can finally add to my growing collection of Lucas Graciano prints hanging in my studio) and donated the rest to next year's Illuxcon scholarship fund.

Afterword:
It's ridiculous how much I haven't mentioned here. There just isn't enough room in my brain or on a page to recount everything in one go. If you have a memory we shared, or of something else cool, please write it down and send it to me.

To The Continued Success Of The Fantasy Artist Community.

Illuxcon 3 - Another Amazing Convention!!!

The fantasy illustrator family is alive and well, and for the third year in a row IlluXCon was a magical place to be. We all shared our images, techniques, critiques, and the vast amount of inspiration that comes naturally when you put a bunch of creative people together.


Photo by Laura Diehl

A very special THANK YOU to Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire for being so wonderful and accommodating to all of us. You outdid yourselves again this year!!!

Illuxcon 3 UPDATE

Due to a last-minute cancellation, I will be participating in this year's main show! This is an incredible and exciting opportunity, and I owe many thanks to Pat and Jeannie for their consideration!!

Since I was originally going to participate in the Showcase, I have a lot of prints already made, but am currently scurrying around trying to find/make bigger work to hang. This should be lots of fun, and a whirlwind two days in preparation... Here goes! :)

Portrait of Joe & Cassie Graus

On request, Joe is wearing modified Dawn of War scout armor, and his wife Cassie wears a purple and green "space fur" stole. The portrait also features their 4 cats (of Animal Planet's CATS 101 fame), from L to R: Templeton, Caruthers, Walnut, and Fergie.

Oil on illustration board, 22 x 30 inches.