Boxing Trainer- Contemporary Tradigital Art / Painting / Drawing

My friend Al Alvir has a very popular Boxing/Mixed Martial Arts blog- http://shootafairone.com/ and I decided to create a character for one of the writers he has on staff (O'Toole). Allen is a big fan of Mike Tyson (heavyweight champion) and his legendary trainer Cus D'Amato who also trained managed Floyd Patterson (olympic and heavyweight champion) and Jose Torres (light heavyweight champion) so I made this character with D'Amato in mind. I used D'Amato reference photos for my initial drawing but also had fictional "Rocky" trainer Mickey Goldmill in mind (portrayed by Burgess Meredith). Using these two icons; one from pop culture one from reality, gave me an interesting image to illustrate. In this video, I documented my process.

I started out with a pencil drawing that was based on reference photos of Cus D'Amato and fictional character Mickey Goldmill. Next, I cut out two boxing gloves from a photograph and glued them down. Then, I added a layer of illustration marker to quickly put down some color. I followed the markers with a layer of color pencil and I exadurated the wrinkles. I also use color pencil to prime the artwork for painting. Then I added some paint. The paint mixes very well with the color pencil. Next I scanned the artwork and opened it up in Paint Shop Pro 9. I didnt like the pose of the body so I changed it. (Arent digital possibilities wonderful?) I juxtaposed hands legs and feet. Then I printed it again. The print is like a dried layer of paint. I started layering with color pencil again and I followed it up with oil paint. Mixing traditional mediums with digital technologies is called tradigital art.

Caffeine Junkie Coffee People

My Website- http://merrillk.com This is my tribute to caffeine junkies, coffee addicts, red bull chuggers, mountain dew doers, Amp addicts, Jolt juicers and tea tasters. It was made with a variety of media; both traditional and digital (tradigital). I started out with pencil and sharpie markers, to set deep base tones that will be seen after several layers are added. Next, I used illustration markers as a quick means of adding the first layer of color. Next, I used color pencils to create a layer of translucent, blended color. The color pencils also serve as a ground for the oil paint layer (which is next). I use oil paint because it is so versatile, it can be applied thin or thick and it is easy to mix a range of colors- which is important when you are mixing flesh tones. I finish the artwork with oil pastels and color pencils. Then I scan it, cut it out on photoshop and juxtapose my two characters over a digital photo. Please comment, rate and subscribe if you wish! I answer all of my comments! The song is Mexican Coffee by King of Hawaii (from Youtube Audioswap)

Artmorphs- Stewart + Franken + Limbaugh + Levin

What happens when you merge the faces of Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh, John Stewart and Mark Levin? Probably somebody suffering from political schizophrenia! Aside from that, since Americans cant seem to agree on political issues, I decided to merge the faces of our conservative and liberal talking heads. I wish that political energy/resources could be used to do great things, but its not. Every time a see a mudslinging television ad, I wonder how much is spent on demonizing an opponent rather than funding a needed program (um......art is vanishing from schools). It seems that our political pundits pour fuel on the fire rather than bringing a sensible voice to the bickering. It is sometimes hard to remember that they are entertainers who depend on advertising revenue from their shows. It seems that "sensational" is more entertaining which doesn't do anybody any good. It frightens me that liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican are becoming identities rather than ideologies and we forget that we are on the same side!

Mass Drawing / Line Drawing- Learn to Draw Any Cartoon Character / What You See

In this video I am going to share a very effective training technique that I use in my classroom. It is a strategy tailored for novice artists and it will make you better at drawing what you see (also known as the skill of rendering). I call this process mass drawing / line drawing. The process will seem awkward at first, but I have seen students get great results once they understand the process. So please give it a chance. All that you will need is a highlighter, a pencil and some paper. Lets begin.

This is a mass drawing. I used the highlighter to make a silhouette of the cartoon character, Ni Hao Kai Lan. I scribbled it in quickly and as a single mass. This will serve as a guide for the second step, the line drawing.

This is a line drawing. Notice that it is done directly over the mass drawing. But don't just outline; make corrections. The mass drawing will enable you to see the big picture and the mistakes that you made. Many of my students have found it much easier than guessing on a blank sheet of paper. So dont outline your mass drawing make corrections while doing the line drawing.

Take a second to look at how many changes I made to the original mass, such as the right arm, the shoes and the hair.

Still confused, thats ok, watch the process a few times and you will begin to understand it. Remember that it is just a drill and drills are used to build good habits for the future. This drill will help you build observation skills and comparative skills which will help you develop the ability to draw what you see. I don't expect you to use a highlighter for long. In fact, I will show you a more advanced method, later on in the video. I will also teach you a really cool trick that will get rid of the color from the highlighter.

But for now, remember that there are two steps to this process. Use the highlighter to create a mass drawing of what you are trying to draw. If you are very new to drawing, try to make your mass drawing a similar size to your reference picture or object. With more experience, you can experiment with scale. Remember that step two, the line drawing, is meant to be a correction of step one.

I have observed that when my students do this process for the first time, they struggle a bit, and complain that the yellow or pink from the highlighter "throws them off". Please remember that it takes three tries, on average, to get fully acquainted with this process. I have also observed that the students who improve the fastest, look at their reference image more often. Get in the habit of looking at your reference image at least once for every five seconds.

To get rid of the color from the highlighter, flip over your drawing and start to scribble all over the back. It is easiest to use the side of a graphite stick, but you could also use a pencil. Once the back of your drawing is covered, flip it over again and tape it down over a new piece of paper. Then, retrace over all of the lines. I used a blue pen for this step. When you remove the tape, you will see a perfect print of your drawing

Now, I am using the pencil to create a mass drawing. Notice that I am pressing very lightly while scribbling in the mass. I have observed that using a pencil is a little bit more difficult for beginners due to the tendency to apply too much pressure and leave dark lines. Also it is much easier to differentiate the bright colors from the highlighter then the subtle tones of a pencil. Still, after you feel that you are progressing with the markers, move on to this step. Do not worry about mastering the process with the highlighter, just get comfortable enough, and move on.

Thank you for watching my video, I reply to all of my comments, so feel free to ask me a question, or just let me know how it goes. Remember to try this at least three times before you judge the process. I guarantee that it will feel foreign at first, but I have used it for eight years in the classroom with a high success rate so give it some time. Happy drawing everybody!

In my demonstrations, I drew, Ni Hao Kai Lan, Spongebob, Homer Simpson, Moose A. Moose (Noggin), Characters from Yo Gabba Gabba, Lilo from Lilo and Stitch, Wow Wow Wubbzy, Dora the Explorer, Patrick Star (Spongebob), Stitch (Lilo and Stitch and Blue the Dog from Blues Clues (Nickelodeon Noggin). I am confident that this process could teach you how to draw any cartoon.

Oil Paint Portrait- Kiss

This is an oil paint portrait that I made for a friend. I haven't made one (a pure oil painting) in years. I am now a mixed media artist but it feels good to try this again. I used Old Holland, Vasari, Bloxx and Gamblin Oil paint on paper. It has some details added with color pencil and paint marker. The medium that I used was Liquin.