http://drawger.com/jamesobrien/ Tue, 28 Jan 2014 09:48:57 EST FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://drawger.com/_images/drawger_leo_logo.gif http://drawger.com/jamesobrien http://drawger.com/jamesobrien/index.php?section=articles&article_id=14737


Initially, I drew a pattern of abstract shapes, but the client wanted me to show the drugs used to treat TB. The final sketch fused the cabinet with the head and shoulders profile.







I used my trimmed Pentel brush pen for the line work. It was getting low on ink which allows me to create a more textural line.



Below is the illo in a few stages of development.









]]> Tue, 28 Jan 2014 14:48:56 EST http://drawger.com/jamesobrien/index.php?section=articles&article_id=14604



I made this drawing of Macklemore back in August while I was watching the MTV VMAs with my daughter, later added color in Pshop. I like using my Pentel Brush Pens but sometimes the ink comes out a bit too heavy. So I decided to trim one a bit thinking it would reduce the amount of ink coming out. It did but it also created a kind of rakey line quality which I really like.

]]> Fri, 15 Nov 2013 17:02:12 EST http://drawger.com/jamesobrien/index.php?section=articles&article_id=14449

  Last month, I was assigned a job by Harvard Magazine to make an illustration for an article about Alzheimer’s. The concept relates to a treatment referred to as “meaningful engagement.” One of the effective activities discussed involved patients tending to plants. I wanted to make a decorative portrait that showed this relationship between the patient and the plants, as well as the internal isolation of the patient’s mind. The larger portrait represents the external activity, the patient tending to the plants, and the smaller internal portrait represents the patient separated from reality. Below is the process, beginning with thumbnail sketches, rough sketches for the client, and the final sketch approved by the client.









  Above is the ink line work I made with a Pentel Brush Pen. For my work, I use new textures made from scanned elements as well as old textures pulled from previous illustrations. For this illustration, I used three textures pulled from previous illustrations and re-colored them, light orange for the main texture, medium orange for an additional texture, and green for a texture that will relate to the line work.



The image below shows the inked line work on a layer above the textures.



I brought in additional textures to create the head shape, and additional textures for the body.





And below is the colorized line work followed by the final illustration.





]]> Mon, 02 Sep 2013 20:04:34 EST http://drawger.com/jamesobrien/index.php?section=articles&article_id=14282

This is a demo I did last semester showing students how to create an illo using Illustrator's Primitive Shape tools.



I used the Rounded Rectangle tool to create the main head shape and then used the Ellipse tool to create the features. The triangles were created using the Star tool, reducing the number of points to three. The Line segment tool was used to create the line at the top of the mouth between the nostrils.



I then used the Shape Builder tool to combine the shapes. I lengthened the nostrils by dragging one of each circle's points down to the line above the mouth.

]]> Sat, 08 Jun 2013 03:27:12 EST http://drawger.com/jamesobrien/index.php?section=articles&article_id=13874



(The thumb for my animated gif was looking goofy, so I added a static image above the animation.)

]]> Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:06:19 EST http://drawger.com/jamesobrien/index.php?section=articles&article_id=13721

This image was commissioned for a magazine article about inflammation. The idea for the piece was a pattern of abstracted cell shapes surrounding a helpless floating figure that also contained some of these cell shapes. I sketched out a couple of options for the client to choose from. The first was a hand rather than a figure. The inflammation was also concentrated in one part of the hand as if stemming from an injury. The client felt the figure better fit the story and wanted the cell pattern to be within the figure.



I first painted the silhouette of the figure using white gouache on craft paper.



Then I used a variety of media to create some abstract cell shapes.









Using a Pentel brush pen, I created some line work for the head of the figure.



I used graphite on rough paper to create a shadow to insert within the figure, darkening its edges. I also made a hand and a foot along with additional shading marks.





I had originally sketched the figure as upside down but the client wanted the figure to be right-side up. I widened the pattern out a bit to better fit the format and then placed this sketch into Photoshop to use as a guide for the art.



To start the image, I used a number of textures to build up a dark blue background.



I then arranged the individual cell shapes into a pattern leaving a space for the figure, and colorized the cell shapes using a blue palette that was brighter, cooler, and more saturated than the background blues.



Next I placed the figure silhouette in the open area and colorized it with one light value and one medium value cool pink.



I then added line work and shading to the figure and created a pattern of cell shapes within it using a darker pink and red palette.



And here again is the final cropped image.



]]> Fri, 26 Oct 2012 20:56:19 EST