Jan 25, 2006

The Truth About Poop Sketch



I've always enjoyed seeing artist's sketches, especially ones created for an assignment. With that in mind, I'm showing my finished sketch for a book I did for Viking entitled "The Truth About Poop". I'll try to keep all my rough sketches on an upcoming job and show the entire process if anyone's interested. I'd love to see other artist's approaches, as well.

-Elwood

15 comments:

Vonster said...

Elwood,

Wow I get a sneak peek at a legends process!?

I can't wait!

I've had your 'Do it yourself Smart Guy!' art director illustration on my work area wall for about then years now.

Love your work!

Von

Jared Chapman said...

Awesome work as usual, Elwood. I've always dug your style... seeing your process would be an absolute treat for me!

Jeff Andrews said...

Haha, that's awesome Elwood!

And I think that's a GREAT idea to post your process as well. There you go folks, Elwood H. Smith has thrown down the gauntlet. Let's see your process!

Thanks again for blessing us with your work Elwood, you rock!

RobSchwager said...

poop rules.

Unknown said...

good idea, Elwood. I've always loved your stuff. This blog is a blast! oh, and Jared, nice job on the title.

Jeff Andrews said...

Uhhhh....yeah Jared, good job on the masthead...grumble...grumble...pink....grumble...LOL!

;)

Metin Seven said...

Great artwork, great style, love it!

Cheers,

Metin

Jared Chapman said...

Thanks Brandon and Jeff... it was really easy for me... it was almost like I didn't even do anything...

Jeff Andrews said...

J-

You're just begging me to post that "Barbie Dream World" stuff huh?

Haha!

Has anyone seen evidence of this "wife" he purports to have? Becaaaaause.....uhhh... Hehe!

Elwood H. Smith said...

A LEGEND! Lordy, my hat is feeling way too tight today. It'll be fun to see other's sketch process.

Speaking of process, I use a Wacom tablet and stylus for much of my animation projects, but for my illustration assignments, I still do it the old fashioned way--Waterproff India Ink on Arches 90 lb. Cold Press Watercolor Paper and Pelikan pan-type watercolors. I use a Pelikan 120 fountain pen which is no longer being made. It has a wonderfully flexible nib and they are removeable, so when they wear out, I can replace 'em. I originally had 3 pens but I gave one as a gift & one recently cracked. Left with one, I panicked, but I found backups on eBay. I couldn't find nibs there, but fortunately, I had bought up a batch when I heard Pelikan dropped the 120.

And, belately, I add my congratulations to the beautiful job Jared did on the masthead. I wrote directly to Jeff & told him how great it looked & how I dont care much for most blues used in artwork. But I love the gray-blue of the masthead. Great job!

-Elwood

Jared Chapman said...

I appreciate the kind words about the masterhead, but I have to be honest, I didn't do it. It's a Jeff original. He did a fantastic job on it and I thought I should set the record straight. Awesome job, Jeff!

Elwood H. Smith said...

I thought it was Jeff's work, but that dang Brandon led me astray. No wonder poor Jeff was muttering over and under his breath. So, GREAT JOB, JEFF!

Now Jared, you do a masthead and we can thank Jeff so you can grumble a little.

-Elwood

Elwood H. Smith said...

Von, you mention the 'Do it yourself Smart Guy!' illustration that you have on your wall. I'm honored that you have it there, but I can't remember what it is. I wonder if you could make a scan of it & post it here or send it to my e-mail address at elwood@elwoodsmith.com so I can see it. I've done so much work over the years is my excuse, but it's probably because my memory is and always has been a sieve. Take your pick.

Thanks, Elwood

Unknown said...

oops. nice work on the masthead, Jeff. it's top notch. I thought you said in a previous post that Jared was going to make one. that's why I said that. Thanks for sharing your process, elwood.

Elwood H. Smith said...

I just posted this info on another blog, but it occured to me that it might be of interest to anyone wondering what kind of tools I use to make my illustrations:

I get a good, flexible line with nice variation (thick and thins) using a fountain pen. It's a Pelikan 120, which is no longer in production, but you can get 'em on eBay for around $30, if you keep trying. I am not an eBay user, but a friend who is, got me three beauties, none cost more than $100, which is less than a good new Pelikan. I prefer fountain pens, though I did learn to master flexible dip pens like Gillotte & Hunt, because I can draw for long periods without dipping into a bottle and there is no sudden blobs of ink on your nearly finished drawing.

I used to use FW waterproof India ink, but the new owner changed the formula from carbon to acrylic. I was in dispair as ran low on my old supply of the good FW, but finally found a great,, very waterproof and flowing India ink. It's made by Dr. Ph. Martin's. I tried several of the Dr. Martin's inks and the most waterproof (if that matters--it does to me, since I color my work in with watercolor) one are these two:

Dr. Ph.Martin's Black Star HICARB
and
Dr. Ph. Martin's Tech 14W Black

Both are available at AOE Art Supply:

http://www.aoeartworld.com/ink.html

PS:
Thanks, Brandon. Are you ready to show us how YOU get from point A to point B on an assignment?

-E.S.