Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Fat Old Man

As a kid I wasn't sure what to think of Santa. I fully supported the idea of a magic guy that distributes presents in the middle of the night. Honestly, that act alone would make me think anyone was awesome. I think that's why I could turn a blind eye to his alleged violations of children's privacy, cookie engorgement, and kissing random kids' moms. And yet I couldn't help but feel nervous any time I was supposed to sit on his lap. Maybe I wasn't so okay with everything after all. Thanks Santa, I'll take the presents, but let's just keep our distance, okay?
Someone requested I post some work-in-progress versions of a painting, so here you go. I was also going to describe why I did things this way, also, but it didn't make any sense so I deleted it. Sorry.

24 comments:

  1. Sam, thanks for sharing your process (both art and thought – regarding Santa, lol). I’m one of those “self-taught” artists, with no peers or acquaintances involved in illustration to help me grow. So, I can’t tell you how much your posts, and those of others in this little artists’ blog community, have helped me progress.

    Thanks so much and Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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  2. Man those cheeks are bulbous - it looks like they might pop. I also like the texture on the cotton ball end of the hat. Merry Christmas.

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  3. Great stuff Sam, hope you have a Merry Christmas!

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  4. Anonymous4:27 PM

    this is an awesome illustration. I'll use it as my background for the christmas season. i think i learned a lot about taking a painterly approach to digital art from it, too. thats something i've always struggled with, but this piece gives me the confidence to try it again. thanks! and merry christmas!

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  5. Looks great! Love all the different tones and depth. Original take on the old man too ;)
    Interesting to see the steps, thanks for those!
    Merry Christmas and happy newyear!

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  6. Santa would be proud.

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  7. Very cool Sam, great to see this in steps!

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  8. Amazing stuff Sam! Thanks for sharing.
    Are you painting in Painter or Photoshop? Or some program I'm not familiar with?

    Happy 2009!

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  10. Thanks everyone!
    Ken: This is all in Painter 10.

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  11. Awesome! Thanks for sharing the steps. You always get a strong dimensional read in your work.

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  12. Great jobs!
    Happy new year!

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  13. Great end result, and I love seeing your work-in-progress too. Everything you do is amazing to me. You'd think I'd start to expect it from you and not be amazed anymore, but no... still amazed every time. Very nice, Sam.

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  14. Ahhh..I somehow feel better now. Thanks for posting that. I welcome any more to come in 2009.

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  15. Wow, thanks for sharing this... Ive learnt something here

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  16. Happy New Year Sam!

    Your work continues to inspire me!

    -Gavin

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  17. its a pleasure to see this process of colour development,lovely,very impressive.

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  18. Que buen trabajo, felicitaciones.

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    I also thought that Santa was something magical that's the reason now I making some important studies related to that event with children.

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    This is an amazing blog post. Thanks for sharing....

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