Nick's Rage Against the Machine Spot

[Nickillus]

Haha - Like that idea Caesar.
Not Santa's main problem in the world my childish mind inhabits - although definitely worth considering . . . . . . hmmmmmmmmm . . . . ..

[Caesar]

.... tell elves not to forget that brass buttons
show high fragility at very low temperature,
therefore I wouldn't risk, like Napoleon did, for sure
to let the poor old Santa show everybody his buttocks!
:D

[Nickillus]

That's interesting stuff Caesar. No wonder brass monkeys are so at risk.

Here's a very early stage of page 8. Reckon this one will change a lot.




EDIT - here are some more layouts as this bit evolves.

[Nickillus]

Still not quite right with the first one but getting closer. Plus a ciuple of screengrabs of some of the parts in porgress - all organised as groups of layers within one document.

And a vague layout basis for another one.

[Boxy]

Great stuff! I especially love the polar bear.

[Caesar]

I'm utmost delighted by Your update, dear Nick, and also very interested and grateful to see how You progressively reworked and improved the composition. A most valuable lesson, especially for me owner of too little patience and discipline ....:) Thank You very much again.
I thought several time to exercise myself on Your works and style too, but I don't have the courage to realize how much short I would get qualitatively.:o

[Nickillus]

Thanks chaps.
Who doesn't love polar bears and penguins? Well as long as the bear isn't too close that is!

On a self generated project like this where I'm playing around with writing text and creating images, I have the freedom to let the layouts kind of evolve. It would be better to work in a more disciplined way, finalising text first and then thumbnailing layout ideas so that the imagery and its content is defined before I begin the artwork proper.

However in working this way, although it may take a bit longer and lead up occasional blind alleys, there is the joy of stumbling across ideas I might otherwise have overlooked. Sketch ideas feed the text and vice-versa.

For instance - the idea of having a polar bear and penguin pulling a cracker didn't come up until I'd reworked the text on that page for about the fifth time, and in reality was controlled by trying to contrive a rhyme for the word 'thinking'.
The sort of little verses I do are really high-brow, intellectual stuff - cough!!!!!

EDIT - Typically I've got ridiculously busy now and probably won't get to finish off my silly poem card in time for this year's Xmas festivities. Anyhow here's progress from one of the obstacles to that situation.

[Caesar]

Best wishes to You, dear Nick and thank You very much also for such an utmost valuable illustration out of Your art and genius!

[Nickillus]

A belated Happy New Year chaps.
Busy, busy, busy, which os good. But behind, behind, behind which isn't so good.
Here's a sequence of wip's for an illo just done. It's a bit of a spot the difference competition in some cases. All done using chalk, crayon, pencil, inkline and watercolour tools, with a bit of texturing using various sticker brushes and one stencil made from a picture of a stoney surface.

Not sure if it's of any help but who knows? Finish is in the gallery section.

First 5

[Nickillus]

WIP's 6-10

[Nickillus]

WIP's 11-15

[Nickillus]

WIP's 16-20

[Nickillus]

And finally WIP's 21-25.
As said before - finished (ish? - time got short on the deadline) version is in the gallery.

[Caesar]

This is another entry I cannot but appreciate immensely as a unique admiring and learning opportunity, dear Nick! You really took us a stunning late Xmas gift, even more valuable considering the pressures You have with Your work. ;):) Thank You!
My heartfelt congratulations also for Your outstanding presence on ArtRageUS magazine I was delighted to read and save.:)
Among other considerations, I was glad to know about Your age (I was born in 1959) because it means I'm not as yet that old to retire with my drawing and painting passion, but also sorry because I cannot rely on an artistic education and career even vaguely comparable, as a self-taught amateur, to hope to get ever significantly closer to create what You manage to do. :eek::cool:
I wonder how many separate layer You used this time (I've some limitations of size layers on my computers not seized by my older son).
Despite the Mayas forecast I wish You a marvellous 2012!:D

[Nickillus]

Thanks Caesar,
Yep I'm an old fart, but don't tell my inner child that.

Here's another one I've been working on this week, showing some WIP's the same way as the last. If nothing else I know how to put folk to sleep. This is predominantly built up using watercolour washes over pencil and inkline, with odd bits of solid work to crisp areas up as needed.

When I finish it I'll post the image in the gallery section.

WIP's 1-5

[Nickillus]

WIP's 6-10

[Nickillus]

WIP's 11-14

Finish will be posted to gallery section.

[Boxy]

This post only needs one word but it is less than 10 characters and therefore not post-able on its own. AMAZING! :)

[Caesar]

Superb drawing, perfect lighting and an excellent gamut choice. How could it be ever better accomplished?
You certainly have a first ranking and stable place in my Olympus of illustrators, dear mate!

[Catmandolin]

very very cool

[Catmandolin]

on your WIP--you laid in masses with an airbrush, marker?

then you inked the tonal sketch (the masses)--correct

then you detaild after that

looks like you have multiple layers as well.

I'm trying to understand the workflow for digital painting. I'm very new at this so any help or advice from you would be very much appreciated.

[Rowena]

Nick Harris what an awesome artist you are, you are...:cool:
And I seriously hope that this thread will not be wiped out as per forum clean ups?!

[Selby]

lovely to pop past and see all your updates Nickillus:) its a treat to see all your wips too and watch as you weave your magic to turn them to the finnished peices makes me happy every time I come to admire it all.

[silvy]

Great!:):):):)

[Nickillus]

Thanks for all the positive feedback chaps.

Jayd - I tend to sketch with the pencil, then block in masses with the chalk and/or crayon tool. I use the same for solid colours as I build up and overlay more tones and colours using the watercolour tool. That's a brief but more or less round up of my working methodology. Line will be tidied up with the pencil or inkline tool.

Meanwhile here are a couple of sketches working towards something else in the pipeline.

[Caesar]

I took my chair and I'll be around to eagerly follow this new lesson of Yours, dear Nick There's magic in what You progressively accomplish, not only an extraordinary technique!

[Nickillus]

You are always really encouraging Caesar. Thank you so much for that. Not much progress while I juggle several jobs madly, but here's a couple more early WIP's.

[Rowena]

I admire your drawings... truly masterful!!!

[Caesar]

What a delight, dear Nick!

[Selby]

Swoon! loving those characterful faces the cross hatchy type line work is one technique i always enjoy so much and yet find it such a tricky one if ever I give it a go:)

cheers
Selby

[Nickillus]

Many thanks guys. Your kind, supportive comments are always appreciated.

Here is where that giant thing went to.
Plus another thing in the pipeline, which may well ahve to go right on the back burner wile I get on with paid work.

[Nickillus]

Here is one more on that last thing - a detail.

Talking of paid work as I was, here are three beer labels just done - I've submitted them to the gallery today also.

They are for Broughton Ales, a small, independent brewery on the Socttish borders. http://www.broughtonales.co.uk/

It's part of a revamp of some of their established ales plus launching some new ones. I only did the main image and not the label design. That was supplied by them and I don;t know what software they used unfortunately.

The labels are copyright Nick harris and Broughton Ales 2012 of course.

[Weeks]

Hey Nickilus, heavy stuff out there :) :eek:

:D:D

I learn a lot from your pages... ;)

Best,

Weeks

[Selby]

Gorgeous as always Nick:)

Loving the illustrated lables -what a fun & beautiful way to do them.

[Caesar]

Dear Nick, I always appreciate Your works very much for at least two reasons:

they all have a top class level of quality (masterpiece too I'd say)
they always keep me very humble
Thank You very much for sharing Your marvels and procsses with us and be informed that I downloaded most of Your works and sketches under the Nick Harris file in my gallery of masters and artpieces I like the most (with quite a number of the greatest painters and illustrators of the past).
I hope I may have Your permission to keep them in this absolutely personal collection of my preferred artistic images ever.

[Steve B]

What's interesting to me is how well lit they are. This is a compositional thing that Nick just has down. It often blows my mind.

I love how, in the one with the wizard, we've got him backlit from the left with this rich orange glow, which outlines the hat and his sleeves and gives him that "pop", and yet he's also lit but this pale blue in the front. There's real drama in it.

The evil looking gnome/dwarf also has a very strong down light, as well as a bit of back lighting, which you can see around the edges of his clothes.

It's this sort of dual lighting process, outlined edges where the light cuts around the character, and the strong lighting on the faces that leads to some really interesting compositions. These are really fun Nick, and quite instructive! They were lucky to get you to work for them. :)

[hanzz]

jaw is on floor.... cannot speak..... wow...
Super Nick Art (SNA)

[Rowena]

What's interesting to me is how well lit they are. This is a compositional thing that Nick just has down. It often blows my mind.

I love how, in the one with the wizard, we've got him backlit from the left with this rich orange glow, which outlines the hat and his sleeves and gives him that "pop", and yet he's also lit but this pale blue in the front. There's real drama in it.

The evil looking gnome/dwarf also has a very strong down light, as well as a bit of back lighting, which you can see around the edges of his clothes.

It's this sort of dual lighting process, outlined edges where the light cuts around the character, and the strong lighting on the faces that leads to some really interesting compositions. These are really fun Nick, and quite instructive! They were lucky to get you to work for them. :)

Agreed... I am also astounded by the lighting, and also the anatomy and perspective...
I remember Nick pointing out the useful habit of using multiple rulers with the pin set to anchor a point, but understanding the complex rules of perspective and vanishing points frequently foils the likes of me!

I love the drama that the perspective gives to that illustration of the giant... and the strength of that beautifully rendered hand and arm, then ending with the idea of the tree growing out of his head and a flock of black birds... *Sighs* How I wish for such marvelous skills!

We are all so fortunate that you are a forum member dear Nick!
P.S: I was wondering if you ever use references for anatomy or such like, or how did you achieve your holographic understanding of anatomy?

[Boxy]

I agree, the lighting and characterisation are always top notch with your images Nick and these are no exception! I might be nipping down to the borders at some point, will have to look out for the beers. :)
Sav

[Palex]

This stuff is so good. I salute you on all the hard work it took for you to reach this level.

[Fashmir]

Nick- You always make me smile. Widely. :D

[Nickillus]

Hey thanks for all the kind comments, chaps. You are always so supportive and it's really appreciated.

Talking about lighting, which some of you mentioned.
It's a bit of an old illustrator's 'trick' to use 'rim lighting' to crisp things up sometimes to make it read better.

By rim lighting I mean use of a slightly exaggerated, secondary light source that picks out the edge of an object or character to help describe the form. When you have a strong colour behind the characters as you do in the beer labels, it just made sense to go with that and use a light tone of that colour to indicate reflected light around the some of the edges.

For me it works best when used sparingly, but if you have a strong secondary light source, or if indeed the back-lighting is the main light source then go bolder and go to town with it.

Meanwhile here are a couple of sketches starting to work out a character for one of my own project thingies (that has been simmering away on the back-burner for so long it's nearly boiled completely dry). I've over cooked how far I've taken the last Wip and will likely take a step back and go in a different direction with it.

EDIT -
I knocked back the blue shadow a bit (by reducing the layer opacity) so that everything isn't filling in and looking so dirty - although grubbiness is one of the attributes this chap is going to have.

To bring the blue back in again with the potential for more subtlety and control, I duplicate the relevant layer (both set to multiply blend mode) - with a view to being able to work on both with a light yellow colour (using the chalk tool) and develop a more patchy shadow/lighting pattern.

[Lima]

Nick great display of talent, technique and imagination. Beautiful work.

[Nickillus]

Thanks Lima. You are very kind.

I'm chasing my tail like mad on a deadline at the moment and so can only snatch minutes to spend on this while files are saving and such - or I just need to get my head away from the grind for five minutes to relax.

Here is where it's at for now. Going down a darker path again. Mostly built up with watercolour washes on layers set to multiply - but with odd bits of tidying done using body-colour on another layer (chalk and pencil).

EDIT - 2 more WIP's - Really going darker again with a deep greenish layer over the top set to multiply - then cutting light areas back in with an orange/pink chalk. Then chucking some sticker brush foliage into the foreground to explain the shadows a bit. Need to lose the centre parting in that I think . . .

[Boxy]

I love your dark side! :D

[shechat]

Great respect for your talent Nick, amazing and awe inspiring work.

[Caesar]

Thank You for this further great lesson, dear Nick!:cool:

[Jono]

Such skill and attention to detail. The charcters on the bottle labels are stunning. Don't ’spect I'll see those down south very often. To think, you'll get a mini master piece with every purchase. Hope they gave you a complimentary crate or three and paid you more than just beer money.:D

[Nickillus]

Thanks for the support chaps. Sorry it's taken a while to reply. Have my head down chasing deadlines all over the place and so my goblin has stalled. I'll get back to him. Meanwhile here are a couple more little pieces just done to support editorials. One is about candlelight, the other about becalmed seas.

[Steve B]

Nick,
In the candelight scene, I see that your shadows seem sort of warm. I'm used to doing mine rather cool. Am I seeing your color choice wrong? Or, if it is warm, what's guiding you to that? Your use of light and contrast is one of my favorite things in your drawings, and it would be interesting to get inside your head a little bit on that aspect.

[Nickillus]

Ooh you don't want to get in there Steve. So messy and disorganised.
No you are quite right about the shadows being sort of warm in this candle one, as opposed to the more obvious choice of blues to complement the orange glow.

The thing about this one is that I am being influenced by the paintings of Georges Delatour which I've always loved. He was a renaissance guy, birlliant at doing candlelight scenes. I wanted the same warm glow that infuses some of his imagery, plus something close to the level of chiaroscuro typical of the period. I went for a combination of purples and greens for the darks, which warmed up more when I splashed a red wash of watercolour about on a layer set to multiply over things. If there had just been the one candle I wouldn't have done that - but with three throwing their light about I thought I could get away with it, to make it feel more like a warm interior scene.

[Caesar]

Superlative as usual, dear Nick! How long does it usually takes to You to complete one of this marvels? I was wondering because I've such little patience to plan and improve progressively a painting (and no contract to fulfill to help me being more accurate :D)

[pat1940]

Nick, your paintings are so fabulous and wonderful to look at, always a pleasure.....WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[Selby]

Beautiful Nick

The candle light is entrancing me -like Caesar I marvel at your patience...prehaps ill grow some one day but for now I'll settle at admiring yours.:)

[Nickillus]

Many thanks for the nice comments and support chaps. Apologies for the delay in replying - deadline chases and all that.

Caesar - Not sure how log that candle piece took exactly. I was juggling that with another piece and also it followed a different route to normal because for the editorial its to support I had to go through one/two and three candle lighting schemes - which slowed it down somewhat. Probably about three to four days solid work?

Meanwhile here is a tiny bit more progress on that goblin, and some WIP stages from something else, equally unsavoury. I was wondering how vampires keep their clothes nice considering their reputed sleeping habits?

[MSIE]

it's amazing to see your paintings evolve! :D thanks a lot for sharing your WIPs :)

I love those mice, and the dress of lady vampire is awesome! :) :)

[Boxy]

it's amazing to see your paintings evolve! :D thanks a lot for sharing your WIPs :)

I love those mice, and the dress of lady vampire is awesome! :) :)

I agree, the critters are a superb detail, brilliant paintings. :)

[Caesar]

Dear Nick, I thought the goblin was finished, but then here's a further step I didn't even imagine possible. All that green around this character (a stunner in itself as well as the den or shelter he's in), the leaves, the grass look so natural, so perfectly detailed and vivid that I dropped my jaw! I don't know if it's a matter of layers or any other software than ArtRage or whatever else (apart Your unmatchable talent and skill), but it utmostly impressed me.

[PaperTree]

Oh, this work in progress is superb.

I like how you left in the bones of the WIP from the construction lines and perspective point of view of the first picture, through to the coffins being filled in and the mice even being out of focus as they speed away from inside of them to give a sense of motion.

To see how your thought process transforms into the more polished work is so very enlightening to me. You seem to construct from the inside out, creating a complete body first then constructing the scene (the coffin) round it. This is where the WIP tutorial is most advantageous to someone like me. What I am trying to say, is, that my most successful work is done from a photo, I draw what I see. If I attempt imaginary work I tackle it the same way and wonder why it does not turn out very well. Your WIPs (this thread in general) are very valuable for me to find a different approach.

Thank you, I know you must be busy, and I know that WIPs are sometimes time consuming to do but your efforts are not wasted, especially for someone teaching oneself.

[Nickillus]

Hi guys,
And many thanks yet again for the nice words.

Caesar - it's all ArtRage. Those leaves and grass are just a combo of some custom made stickers and painting back into it. Not happy with either yet. Depth and subtlety of colour and tone are built up with layers as you suspect.

Papertree - I don't know how else to do it when I'm working from scratch without reference. After some initial sketching to work out what I'm going to do, which is attached, I mark the thing out. I don't set up a perspective grid until after that, so that I am not tempted to get to hidebound by the technical stuff too early. Simply pin the corners of each ruler once you have the horizon line decided, then make that one disappear so it's not in the way. You can leave the others there and swing them out of the way as needed.

[Weeks]

Amazing drawings and creative job...

Best,

Weeks

[Someonesane]

Your artwork never fails to impress Nickillus. Great stuff :cool:

[gxhpainter2]

truly amazing work, I agree with all the comments totally and it is a wonderful gift you have and thanks so much for sharing on this forum your steps, and sketches...:cool::cool::cool:

[Nickillus]

Many thanks as ever for the encouragement chaps.
Wading on with it, between necessary trips to the recycling centre to dump some of the crap from our overladen garage. Here's where it has struggled onto now.

It was becoming an unwieldly file-size, so I had to flatten it and am working back in with new layers over the top.

[Caesar]

Dear Nick, making, using and painting back into stickers don't easily get such marvellous results if someone is not as talented as You though. So even if You created what I guess may be a huge library of custom resources, I'm still surprised by the capability You show getting these results with AR only. Your study sketches are also quite interesting, I enjoy them very much and I think Your productivity (thus Your speed) is just impressive with them. As for the rest, it's only Your awful quest for perfection that makes You take some time to get what You see as satisfactory (a few steps after what we already see as stunningly finished).
All the best, master!

[PaperTree]

Wow, Nick, my own personal tutorial from the master, thanks so much. I can't get enough of this thread, I keep reading it and re-reading it, and finding bits I missed the first time round.

I love the update of your coffin scene. I love how the moon light reflects off from behind the female vampire, giving the teeniest glint to highlight her facial features. I love the colour you have chosen as the moon glow, it just shimmers in the coffin lid, and off the leg of the female. You skill at making the bodies appear so solid is I suspect due to how you sketch out the body first and then cloth it, I feel I should go to an art class and do some live drawing rather than copy from photographs. It is inspiring, thanks so much for the lesson.

[Rowena]

Wow, Nick your work is so great and particularly your understanding of the human form is fantastic!

I am keen to learn how you go about getting the foreshortening of the body/face so perfect - I am wondering: does one need an encyclopedic memory bank full of anatomical knowledge to do this or is there another way you would share?

[Nickillus]

Thanks again chaps.

Still not quite polished off the vampiric one, while I tackle another in the deadline pipeline. Just a picture of an old crypt that kind of goes with it. I'm splattering that same leaf sticker-brush at it that I was using in the goblin piece (also remaining unfinished as yet of course - get a grip and finish something, man - although that's for a personal project and as such is lower on the priority ladder). The effect needs much better integration to make it sit more comfortably. Still it saves hours of having to draw individual leafs - yes I am that anal sometimes, dammit. Might add a figure or two if I have time to give it a bit of narrative drama.

And then a quick sketch of that same goblin I mentioned. Don't ask what he's doing. Hopefully all will become clear later and you'll be glad you didn't find out sooner . . . . . . .6818468183

EDIT1- Started adding those figures I was talking about 68226

EDIT2- And then trying to increase the drama, whilst also focusing the composition a bit with some lighting effects - done by adding a tonal layer set to multiply over the top of everything, and then picking out the lighting with a suitable light colour using chalk and pencil (for crisp edges where they are needed). Still a long way to go with tidying that up obviously. And that light background behind the tree is a mess just now . . . .
68236
EDIT-3 - A bit more time spent on it - more knots got into - more use of that leafy brush, plus a bit of ferny growth - figures tightened up a bit but still in need of more TLC . . . .68281

[hanzz]

So great to keep coming in and seeing this thread develop . Fantastic all the way !

[Caesar]

Dear Nick,
You're extraordinary, what else to say?
My younger son, who seems to be willing to start, in a couple of years, a type school aimed at studies in view of an artistic career in comics, illustration and advertisement, was utterly speechless and enthusiastic to see also Your new WIPs. The vampires made him exclaim that he could hardly believe such a incredible imaginative art talent could exist.
So, even being a little worried for his future, listening to what You say about Your job perspective (and You're a number one!) and certainly for the size and competitiveness of the market, should it be limited to Italy, I thank You to possibly help re-inforcing his determination and will.
I can assure that if You lived close and kept courses, i would have been glad to pay him some courses with You!

[Boxy]

Those wips are incredible Nick. :)

[Nickillus]

Thanks for the encouragement, and sorry for the long silence. Keep forgetting to drop stuff in here. Before I do though - do take note of Boxy's links just above this entry and note the fact that Piggotty Wood is out as an e-book now. Outstanding work Sav.

Here are a few WIP's for an oil brush painting I'm working on just now.
70812708137081470815

And if you are in the mood to be put to sleep, Imaginefx have uploaded a vidcap I did to accompany an entry in their Q&A section about painting an armoured owl. You can find it here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBeIk7zCfkU
I've dropped the same link into the tips and tricks - video tuts here section too - so don't make the mistake of watching it twice - you may never wake up.

[limey-g]

I just love this thread, your talent is amazing , really enjoy the WIPs.
Geoff

[Boxy]

Thanks Nick! :) Wow, that is an amazing WIP. Do you use refs? The lighting from the window works so well. I really liked the owl clip too, didn't fall asleep once!
Cheers

[Arjen Vriezekolk]

Hi Nick,

Love the piece above!!
Your tutorials are so much fun to watch.... So much to learn still... *Sigh*..

Arjen

[Caesar]

Dear Nick, another amazing creation from You going through its spectacular formation.
You do have full control of Your imagination world and characters! You succeed to define so well them all as if Your mere will generates a core of activating physical laws deploying Your illustration by itself, perfect, credible, real down to the last detail, the smallest smart note, such as, for instance the shadow projected by the hat where some lighter reflections of fibers give texture to the wooden bench.
You may say it's natural because You followed courses, You made a huge experience by a long on the job training, that it's Your work... All true, but I think that You don't create all this to just earn money to live, You absolutely enjoy what You do, to pursue Your own top targets, You don't spare any more time and effort which are required even if they aren't paid or appreciated in full by Your customer. In my modest opinion this is more than professional, it's a quest for an artisanal perfection which follows Your inspiration and idea up above to become art.
Congratulations!

[eighty+]

Jeesus Nick Looks like I've got to go and Kick the Cat :D:D:D if I can find him :eek: :cool: :cool:

[Nickillus]

Well many thanks for the kind words of encouragement chaps.


Limey-G -
That's a very kind thing to say. Much appreciated, thanks.

Boxy -
No reference, but I must have looked at loads of imagery like this in the past and it's stuck. The lighting was just built up slowly with various layers set to multiply until the darks seemed dark enough and the mid tones seemed about right to make it moody. Being me I can't resist sticking a line round things though . . . .I must be a Graphic Artist at heart.

Arjen -
Your own stuff is so much fun, I don't want you picking up any of my restricting habits and losing that wonderful personality that always pokes through. You are doing just fine my friend.

Caesar -
Er, um, I'm not sure what to say to such an undeserved outpouring of appreciation. Except many thanks of course. I don't think I'm different to anybody else in that my ego drives me compulsively to strive and make every piece the best I can do at the time. With the time I get to spend drawing and painting to scrape a living, I ought to be a darned sight better than I am. That would take me standing back and taking an objective view about which areas and skills to work on specifically, and I just can't be cold and calculating like that. Or maybe I should say disciplined. I recognise I have a very limited skill-set that I push as far as I can. There are so many thousands of folk whose skills put mine in their place, that I am thankful every day that the Internet allows me to savour some of their offerings and draw inspiration from it.

EIghty+ -
Is tht the RSPCA I hear breaking my door down? What's that? Incitement to make others hurt their pets? I totally deny the charge and think you need to look elsewhere for the reasons behind certain behaviour. Cats can be darned annoying for instance. I know ours are at times.

Here is where I had to abandon that piece because I have no more time to spend on it.

[Arjen Vriezekolk]

Kind words from a kind man.... Thank you Nick :-0

Arjen

[Boxy]

Boxy -
No reference, but I must have looked at loads of imagery like this in the past and it's stuck. The lighting was just built up slowly with various layers set to multiply until the darks seemed dark enough and the mid tones seemed about right to make it moody. Being me I can't resist sticking a line round things though . . . .I must be a Graphic Artist at heart.



I love a line and colour painting. I don't know why or what or how, but a dark border around things gives them some other special quality. Such a good mood to this and even more impressive that it is all from your head!

[ENCHANTER]

These paintings are brilliant and each scene is naturally layed out and tells a story and asks questions to the viewer, keep on

[hildee]

Most excellent! Anything ImagineFX is amazing, love that mag.

[Jono]

Nick, this is superb - you are such a great ambassador for Artrage and digital art.

[Selby]

Fantastic one as always Nick!

I love the moody lighting and how my mind is drawn in to start to tell the story of this meeting:)

[mateuspollonio]

These webs, my favorite part haha.

[Nickillus]

Sorry to have ben so quiet, chaps. Lots of juggling and family stuff going on. Life basically, like we all have to deal with.

I'm always switching between AR and SKB for my drawing and painting, because for me they are both great software with different things to offer. Of necessity I've been using SKB for a book project that has been taking a lot of time, because it happened to suit the requirements better. That work isn't suitable fare for this Ambient forum then, but recently I've been getting a few more ImagineFX magazine projects to do again and those ArtRage is better suited for those.

I'm very lucky that the team there seem to like me and offer me Q&A entries to do a few times a year. Below is a sheet showing some progress stages that won't appear with the article. I won't explain what the question is about, in the hope that you will support the excellent magazine by purchasing the physical or digital edition when it comes out in the next month or so. All I will say is that the hairy thing is supposed to be a bear.
76634

Something I'm even more excited about is that they very kindly asked me to come up with a splash image, heading up an article for their 100th issue celebratory edition. Feel realy honoured. It was fairly short notice a few weeks ago and a tight deadline, so I couldn't ponder and deliberate much. My subscription copy dropped on the doormat yesterday, so it will hit news stands in a couple of days.

Did it all in ArtRage 4, but was worried that the file size might become a problem as the number of layers swelled. Thinking ahead I switched to Painter 12, the big and much vaunted Corel monster, to avoid that and guess what? It crashed losing precious work. Then it crashed again. I reverted to AR and had no problems whatsoever. Brilliant.
Below are some stages that again wil not appear anywhere in the magazine.
76636
76637
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[copespeak]

Stunning work Nick, and so interesting to see the WIP. :cool:

[Nickillus]

Thanks Copespeak. Best bit about it was that it was fun to do despite the pressure. And ArtRage performed great. Such a super bit of kit.

[Cris Delara]

You are a Master Nick!!! Fantastic work! I am a fan!

[Caesar]

Definitely we missed You and Your masterful inventions in this while. Welcome back and thank you very much for sharing some new wonderful illustrations and WIPs by You!

[L Skylar Brown]

You are the Guru. Such Excellent works...

[Nickillus]

Hey gang,

Apologies for the long silences. Lots of distractions going on, including a first grandchild born in January.

Doesn't mean I've not been chugging away work wise, but I don't use ArtRage exclusively and it wouldn't do to wave images created in alternate software in this thread. That would just get confusing. There are a couple of AR images coming in the latest issue of ImagineFX mag out in the UK this Friday, April 25th - in the Q&A section. Paper version delivery varies in other countries, but the downloadable version should be available close to this date I believe. There are downloadable vidcaps to accompany whichever format you prefer, if you feel inclined to take a look.

Apologies for the intrusive copyright stamp - a necessary inclusion for Future to allow me to show these at all.

n8064080641

[Jono]

Congratulations for your grandchild and good to hear your ok and busy. I don’t visit here very often, but always check to see if you’ve posted anything recently. Hats off, you are a true master of lighting, using colour, perspective and story telling and, well, everything! Top-notch, thanks for showing here and heads-up about next issue of ImagineFX.

[Selby]

Beautifully captured as always Nick- it's a joy & a lesson each time to see how you work:)

[Nickillus]

This place has been very quiet of late, and I'm in no position to criticise that, given how long it's been since I contributed, or commented. To start to remedy that, here are a few bits and pieces from the last eighteen months or so. A couple of book covers without the text. A number of things that have gone into ImagineFX magazine in the Q&A section accopmanied by video capture, with narration discussing the proces in some cases, and a couple of sketches. It's all copyrighted to various places.. This post will only allow me to attach five images, so the res are in the next post.

Hopefully this will encourage others to start pitching in again
Come on guys. We want to see what you are up to . . . .

[Nickillus]

Here are the few that wouldn't attach in one go. . . . The last displayed is an earlier stage from the first displayed (rusting robot), to show how bare it looked before I went crazy with the sticker spray and some custom brushes I made.

[Boxy]

Amazing work Nick. I love your rich worlds. :)

[Nickillus]

Thanks Sav. You are always very kind.

Hey, I don't suppose you've done anything about a sequel to your wonderful Piggotty Wood book? I'm always ainticipating seeing a new thread starting where that takes place . . . . . . .? Or something entirely different. We don't mind. Anything from Scatola corner is going to be great . . . .

[Nickillus]

A couple more. All done for ImagineFX magazine, so copyrighted to Future Publishing. The giant mushroom one is from last year, but the other two are to be found in the issue 139, hitting the stores now. You'll find them with acompanying text and video capture in the Q&A section.

[Arjen Vriezekolk]

Hi Nick,

If the mushroom illustration would be sold as print, I would be the first to order.
One of the best you ever did. Love it!

Goo0d to see you back here.

Arjen

[Caesar]

Your artpieces are sheer delight! I'm so glad You posted again recently and ashamed to have realized it so late!

[nguyendq91]

Thank you to the subject in the last days of my Halloween

[D Akey]

Was a fun trip through. Exquisite drawings underneath the paint. Wonderful action and humor. Bravo, Nick!

:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::):):):):):cool::coo l::cool::cool::cool:

[Boxy]

Guess I'll be buying issue 139 then. Excellent!

[kenmo]

Issue 139? Is that ImagineFX?