For those of you who are curious about my working methods, here's a walk-through of my recent illustration for
The Indypendent.
Keep in mind that I don't have a "fixed" system. Every assignment's different - eg. full-color versus black and white, hand-painted versus digital, etc etc. But below is an example of my general process.
1. I read the text and got a sense of the messages conveyed in the story. (Sometimes the full text isn't ready so an outline or synopsis is all I have to work from.)
With those ideas in mind, I sketched this little dinger. Usually I'll do a series of sketches - four to five or more if I can't "get it right." But considering I only had a couple of days to do this illo, I went with the first idea. (I strongly suggest doing multiple sketches before moving onto the final.)
Most of my "thinking" is done at this point. I look for strong composition and draftsmanship.
2. I plunged into pencils. I went online and used five reference pictures of Bloomberg to make sure I got his likeness. (Note: use multiple references to avoid legal troubles.)
I changed the head's angle so the reader can see his face more.
Though I did most of my thinking at the sketch phase, I still modify things as I move along the process. Surprises can be cool but too many of them can make your final look like a hot mess.
3. Using a couple of brushes, acrylic ink and a micron pen, I inked the bugger.
Any modifications at this point are nominal. Eg, extra hatching in various spots.
4. I scanned it in, cleaned up any blemishes, erased a stray line at the bottom and bumped up the contrast.
With the illo clean, I digitally added grays and sent the final to the designers.
And here
it is.
Again, I don't have a "regular system" for doing illustrations. (Recently I've incorporated tracing paper into my illustrations. More on that some other time.)
But I always use the a) think and sketch, b) pencil and modify, and c) ink and finish process for my illustrations.
Hope you had as much fun placating my ego as I did. :)
Rock on,
Frank
© Frank Reynoso, Nov. 2008, All Rights Reserved
This is an illo I did for North American Congress for Latin America (NACLA). Needless to say, the magazine deals with the US's relations with Latin America. It's a solid magazine with great, intelligent writing.
One of the things that kept me busy lately was writing this review of the NYC Horror Film Fest for The Indypendent. Below is an excerpt.
Modern monsters (psycho-killers, zombies, urban legends, etc.), a staple of the genre since the 1960s, were well represented in notable films like the action short First Kill, the eerie feature From a Place of Darkness, psycho-short Drip, and the apocalyptic short Antibody. Bmovies — a volatile blend of horror, gusto and laughs — excited audiences with Frank Henelotter’s Bad Biology winning Best Feature and Zoe Polley’s teen gorefest Devil’s Grove. The horrific whodunit Surveillance by Jennifer Chambers Lynch and the monochromatic, antiwar, pantomime Hold Your Fire by Jesse Gordon spoke to fans of intense horror.
Multi-genre films, particularly the sci-fi/horror hybrid, pushed expectations and won audiences over with each showing. The 1980s scifi satire/homage short Martians Go Home follows a sci-fi nerd’s battle with hostile space zombies. Harry Owen can’t escape his short-film existence in the humorous meta-fiction The Glitch. Eel Girl is a sleek and humorous horror- short-cum-music-video. Audience Choice-winning feature Time Crimes (Cronocrimenes) by Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo is a mind-bending mystery that brings out the best of both genres.
This is a hi-res file that you can download and print out.
1. I read the text and got a sense of the messages conveyed in the story. (Sometimes the full text isn't ready so an outline or synopsis is all I have to work from.)
2. I plunged into pencils. I went online and used five reference pictures of Bloomberg to make sure I got his likeness. (Note: use multiple references to avoid legal troubles.)
3. Using a couple of brushes, acrylic ink and a micron pen, I inked the bugger.
4. I scanned it in, cleaned up any blemishes, erased a stray line at the bottom and bumped up the contrast.
Driven by biological excess, a young man and woman search for sexual fulfillment, unaware of each other's existence. Unfortunately, they eventually meet, and the bonding of these two very unusual human beings ends in an explosive and ultimately over-the-top sexual experience, resulting in a truly god awful love story. Directed by Frank Henelotter
Came out a little lighter than expected...
Snarky characters, clean illustrations, and totally DIY, Track Rabbit by Geof Vasile's a choice comic.
Last night's election kept me from posting new stuff. At any rate, here's a pencil of Venom.
Here's my one-page comic response to voting.
Back in August, I illustrated this cover of The Indypendent.
So I fixed up the moon and tightened up the ground in the lower left hand corner.
My first public display of superhero pin-up. (I'm not counting the numerous Batman drawings done with crayons back in the first grade.)
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