Colour

Feathers McBeaky – Digital Character Illustration

16th April 2023 By EMELBI

Feathers McBeaky – Ill Equipped For The City

I really like this character. Feathers McBeaky is a brightly feathered bird (genus unknown) who has spent far too long in the big, dirty city. Looking slightly dishevelled, a little oily and wearing a tatty scarf, he’s going about his business of surviving in the large urban sprawl.

There is something deliciously exciting about having created the initial line drawing of any illustration. Knowing that you are about to embark on a journey of detailing and colour forming, making decisions about the mood and feel of where you want the artwork to go. There are times when I work differently, where I paint and/or illustrate in a manner that doesn’t require a strong line drawing at the outset. But more often than not my style often follows the procedure of line drawing then colouration, adding of textures, shaping of the composition and all other components that go into making the imagery. In this case I have also added a graphic element such as text placement using a bold font and then blending that graphic aspect into the image.

Every image that you produce as an artist is its own journey. Even if you have a set style or a certain way of doing something. Each new image is a brand new experience by virtue of the fact that it is a brand new piece of artwork and therefore to a certain extent, a new experience. I feel that I always learn something new each and every time I create an image. Which is a good reason to create more and more imagery. Maybe the best reason.

It’s my intention to do a lot more character illustrations based on fauna. Birds and fish especially I think. Watch this space.

Initial Procreate Line Sketch

Procreate Edit

Post Procreate, Photoshop Finished Image

Original Finished Image and Colour Versions

Watch the illustration come together in the YouTube video

Easter Bunny – Digital Character Illustration

16th April 2023 By EMELBI

Easter Bunny – Post Easter Weekend Bunny Business

I wanted to do an illustration of the Easter Bunny. I imagined that he might have been dressed in a smart suit getting on with the job of hiding all the eggs. A smart Easter Bunny out doing business.

In this image the Easter Bunny looks like he has had a weary day and is more than a little fatigued from his annual chore, which he has just fulfilled. You know, hiding countless chocolate eggs for millions of children. It’s a tough job after all. Having put in such a long shift he has tired eyes but is still full of love for the job that he does diligently every year without fuss or complaint.

I like how this image evolved from the initial line prompt sketch. In the video you can see me correcting the line image a few times until I was happy with how he looked. Thereafter, I got on with the task of colouring and adding detail. I also love how basic the initial line prompt sketch is. This is the beauty of doing these fast illustrations. Character can just jump right out at you even in the simplest form and give you something to get your teeth into in terms of further embellishment. You can see the same character in the early drawing, the mainstay of the mood and expression. It’s carried through to the finished article.

I wonder what the Easter Bunny does for the rest of the year? Works in stocks and shares? He’s got the suit for it.

Initial Line Prompt Sketch

Procreate & Photoshop Edit

Original Finished Image and Colour Versions

Watch the illustration come together in the YouTube video

Hoodie Bun Bun – Line Prompt Sketching

14th April 2023 By EMELBI

What is Line Prompt Sketching?

There are a few different types of sketching that I do when I’m creating imagery. Full on sketch book sketches with detail, shading and colour using various mediums. Pen and/or pencil sketches with hatching, cross hatching and shading detail. There are also these super quick line drawings which I like to call ‘Line Prompt Sketches’. These line drawings are made really quickly. I tend to get into a groove with them and can produce about 30 to 40 images in the space of half an hour. Granted, some are more successful than others but I love this way of working. More often that not I’m pleasantly surprised with the imagery that comes out of me.

Drawing is a joy and having done it for so many years I’m really comfortable with putting pen to paper. In fact I find comfort in it. When making these simple line sketches I try not to think too much about what I’m going to draw at the outset. I tend to start with a shape and then add whatever jumps into my head. Ears, eyes, horns, teeth, lips, ears, dribble, incidental marks and symbols, whatever! The process is fluid and organic. An immediate response, ink on paper. Although it does tend to end up being a character of some description. Working like this produces a lot of imagery as you can imagine. The drawings that I like I turn into full on illustrations, like the one below.

The final illustrations can stray slightly or even vastly away from the original line work and become something completely different, such is the beauty of the creative journey. Other times I remain faithful to the original line prompt and just add a bulk of colour, texture and atmosphere using Procreate and Photoshop. Which is what I have done with this illustration.

Becoming comfortable with drawing as an absolute must for any budding artist. Putting down all inhibitions and just drawing for the love of it is liberating and often throws up all sorts of amazing results. Doing, rather than not doing, is the key to it. If you draw often and get comfortable with your own process, that’s when the magic opens up and creating imagery becomes pure joy. Exciting in fact.

My advice is this. Don’t ever be afraid of making mistakes or doing something wrong. Happy accidents can occur and take you on even more journeys of creative discovery. Tumble down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. You might well end up with characters like Hoodie Bun Bun.

Have a go at creating multiple drawings really quickly. Get a whole load of lines down on paper as quick as possible. At the very least it will open up some new ideas and insights.

In the past I have also called this process a ‘Nimble Line Bimble’! You know, taking a line for a quick walk etc. (“,)

Initial Line Prompt Sketch

Procreate Edit

Post Procreate, Photoshop Edit

See how the illustration came together in the video below

Photoshop Edit – Colour Versions

The Spirited Drifter – Accidental Pop Art

27th March 2023 By EMELBI

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I love to explore the multiple possibilities of a single image.

This image, entitled ‘The Spirited Drifter’ is a great example of what I mean by this. Over all I am presenting 107 images here. Actually, 108 if you include the quick line sketch which is where this image started. Ok, OK 109 if you include the featured image above.

This example of image exploration is just scratching the surface. In all honesty, these are just colour and tonal explorations. Imagine multiplying that by a slew of subtle graphic adjustments, then saving those files as individual images. Then adding numerous and major graphic updates where upon more tonal and colour enhancements are introduced etc. The possibilities are infinite. It could bend your head just thinking about it. There’s also something exciting and beautiful in the grouping of these images in a way that you can scan across them all, view and appraise them against each other.

I posted 9 of these images in a grid formation to an art forum recently. It was a single image made out of multiple images. Someone referenced that I had presented it in a ‘Pop Art’ kind of way. I had never really thought about it in those terms, but I suppose when you consider Andy Warhol’s ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ or his ‘Marilyn Diptych’ silkscreen artwork, you can see the connection.

Multiple versions of one image can also be seen in the brilliant artwork made be Takashi Murakami. His ‘Flower Superflat’ is a fine example of how well this can work. The same graphic, multiple colour variation, all put together to form one image. Quite marvellous if you ask me.

It was never my intention to create Pop Art. But in a way, I guess that’s what I’ve been doing.

Initial Line Prompt Sketch

One of the challenges that I have set myself recently is to do 100 drawings in a day. The target is to do this twice a week. At the end of the week I will have a lot of material to chose from with the idea to form new work. The drawings don’t have to be complicated or detailed necessarily, just a generation of some strong ideas. Sketches that might spark an idea or have the beginnings of a strong character. My intention is to do them quickly but in a considered way, using reference material and photographs as well as forming randomly made up characters. This is where the above sketch came from. I thought it was strong enough to develop and it eventually turned into this mini project.

Procreate Edit

Procreate Edit – Colour Versions

Post Procreate, Photoshop Edit

Photoshop Edit – Colour Versions

Final – Zombie Edits

See how the illustration came together in the video below

St. Stives – Journey Line

23rd March 2023 By EMELBI

Journey Line – The lesson Learned

A Compulsion to Create

This character is called St. Stives. Named because I drew the sketch in St Ives, Cornwall. I like using certain attachments, loose or otherwise, regarding the naming of my work. Not always, but more often than not. These cherubim style characters are a new thing. Angelic little faces yet coloured and textured with a dirty, rough style, as is my process.

Every time an artist makes a mark there comes a promise of something new. Perhaps not always fantastic and maybe not always finished. But something new regardless. Even if the sketchbook page is torn out, disregarded or destroyed, something new would have occurred. The journey of line is something that I am compelled to explore daily. Almost obsessively. It wasn’t always like that. There were times when I could go for days, weeks even months without drawing something or making a mark. Now I just have a constant and inescapable urge to create, to jot down at least some reference of an idea in one form or another. Much of this has come from my own experiences through creativity and what it means to me to be an artist, mixed with my own philosophies regarding forward movement in life, who I am, and what makes me tick in general. What do I mean by this?

Anxiety and Imposter Syndrome

Am I good enough? Could I be better? Am I where I want to be? These and many other questions often enter the minds of the creative professional. I feel that most artists, at least most of the ones that I have met, have an overwhelming urge to be better and constantly get better in their individual pursuits. This might not be the most surprising statement to make, after all, we all strive to be good at what we do and perhaps be the best that we can be in any given pursuit in life. There was a time, many years ago, when I found that my constant need to get better meant that I got into a space where I wouldn’t create art unless I knew it was going to be better than the last thing that I made. What a terrible place that was. Such a ridiculous burden to put upon one’s self. It was not without a whole heap of anxiety issues to boot.

Once I noticed that this was a destructive place to have got to, that it was stopping me from putting my foot forward and isolating me from the very thing that I loved doing, I knew I had to change the script. So I did!

I’m Good Enough

Experience helps you get better!

A bold statement, but for the most part experience of something in a positive or negative sense is going to make you more aware of what that thing is. You will gather a greater knowledge of how to deal with it, how it works and an awareness of how you react to whatever that something is. Regarding art and creativity, as with any practice, the more that you do the better you will get. At the very least, you will become more aware of the materials that you are exposed to, how they react to each other, how you react to them and what you can do with them in your own unique creative way. You will also get a better appreciation of how all these things fit together into the bigger picture of who you are as a creative artist, perhaps even as a person in general. Immersing yourself in something will inevitably bring about a better connection to that something and with that, a better understanding.

When I was blocked from ‘doing’, due to my self imposed restrictions, I was fortunate enough to have these things drawn to my attention. Partly through my own observations and partially because of conversations with peers etc. Having thought about these issues, and having considered them at length, I realised that the best way forward was to move forward. To do instead of not doing. Since I made that decision, not only have I learned more about my skill set, I have had a better appreciation of who I am as an artist. I’ve been able to reconsider the fact that there are no mistakes in the journey of art, just experiences. Experiences to derive value from, enjoy and have as a part of my unique journey, also contribute to my creative skill set. If we decide that we are good enough to create in any given moment, to enjoy that creativity and relish the experience fluidly, the inevitable outcome is that we will progress anyway. Without anxiety and probably at a pace.

Another thing that stopped me ‘doing’, was measuring myself against other artists. There will always be greater and lesser spirits in this world. The journey of quality experiences, and applying the wonderful things that influence us in a positive way, is as good a journey as we will ever make. So doing rather than not doing is very much the way forward.

I saw this quote recently that sat well with me. ‘You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.’ – Maya Angelou.

The Outcome

Create. Make. Colour. Scribble. Glue. Carve. Splash. Splat. Scrub. Spray. Stitch. Polish. Scrape. Draw, Draw, Draw…

Doing is the way forward. Being proactive in your creativity is the journey. If you do it with wild abandon, with fascination and excitement of that journey, all of your outcomes will be pure joy.

This lesson I learned was many years ago now, but I wanted to share it and have it written down as a reference. I hope it makes sense to you and that you get something out of it. The outcome of the lesson is, even though I keep improving, is that I am good enough. Always!

See how the illustration came together in Procreate and Photoshop

Different Colour Versions

Penzy – Sketchbook Illustration – Coffee, Quiche, Cake and Conversation

21st March 2023 By EMELBI

Coffee, Quiche, Cake and Conversation

I love to fill sketchbooks. I always have a couple on the go, but my go to paper of choice is a sheet of A4 printer paper. I’m not sure why I favour this. I think it’s because it’s a nice big sheet of clean paper ready for some new creativity. I have boxes full of drawings on A4 paper, images that I have built up over the years. When I am sketching ideas, I love to get things down quickly. With characters, I keep everything loose, scribbled almost. I like there to be a lot of energy in the resulting imagery.

It’s good to draw, it’s an essential tool for all artists. I will always encourage any artist, young or old, to draw as much as possible. Getting your ideas down on paper is important and a crucial aspect of the artist’s journey. Even if you don’t use the imagery immediately you may well come back to it at some point later and discover something fresh about it. I often look at old sketches and form new ideas about where to take the imagery. When you draw freely and almost for the sake of it you never really know how the image is going to unfold, or what you’re going to end up with. In my experience, the excitement of creating like this happens from that first mark that is made on that pristine piece of white paper right through to the finished artwork, if indeed you take it that far!

I was recently down in Penzance, in Cornwall. I was having a coffee and a slice of cake with my daughter in a fabulous little cafe called ‘The Honey Pot’ on Parade Street. It’s well worth checking out by the way. While we were there we met a lovely couple on the next table. They engaged us in conversation because my daughter and I were both drawing. We ended up talking about art and culture and what makes us tick etc. The gentleman’s name was Richard Sorrell. He gave me his card and told me that he was also an artist and that he lived locally. His work is quite different from mine although he likes to draw people too. There is a lot of energy in his work and some great colour use. You can see his work here… richardsorrell.co.uk

He had a sketchbook with him and was also making marks in it as we spoke. They were a smashing couple. The conversation was lovely. For some reason I felt compelled to give them the sketch I had been making while sitting there in the cafe. It was more or less like the sketch below. I drew this second drawing immediately afterwards. I could still see the pressed lines, and therefore the image, that my pen had left on the sheet underneath the one I had worked on. The following morning I took the sketch into Procreate on the iPad and made this illustration from it. I called it Penzy. I wonder if you can guess why?

Why am I telling you all this? I have always found that creativity brings people together. Over time, I have noticed that people will engage with you if you are doing something creative. There seems to be an energy that occurs when one is being creative. Some positive vitality emerges and stretches out in all directions, encompassing the space. Perhaps all space?! It nourishes and is exuberant.

The day after this chance meeting my daughter and I were back in the very same cafe at the very same table. I told you it was a good cafe. The goat cheese quiche was unbelievably good! While I munched into that, my daughter had some more of the chocolate cake that we had ordered the day before. We were sat both drawing again. I was sketching on the iPad this time and my daughter was being creative in her sketchbook. Two ladies sat at the same table beside us, where the couple we spoke to the day before had sat. They immediately engaged us in conversation, again because we were both drawing. They told us that they were travelling and were from South Africa. We talked about all things creative again. A lovely natural conversation opened up about positive energy, education and creative endeavours. It turned out that that younger lady was also an artist. She showed me her work. Fabulous imagery of flowers and plants, bold marks and wonderful colour use. Lovely observational work. We talked until the cafe staff eventually asked us to leave as they had to close up shop. We could have sat in there all day long, drawing and chatting to people. One of lifes simple joys!

So my advise is to draw and sketch in public with wild abandon. Put away all inhibitions. Be creative. Always! You never know what wonderful things it will lead to. Chance meetings and great conversations in this case, and a nice new illustration for my portfolio.

See how the illustration came together in Procreate in the video below

Colour Variations

Yücel Eucule – The Upshot Perspective

10th March 2023 By EMELBI

The Upshot Perspective

Yücel Eucule

This image is one of a series of illustrations that I am creating called ‘The Upshot Perspective’ based on humanoid or cyborg units, or renegade humans living in future city settings in a far off world. All of the images in this series will have multiple colourway versions, exploring different moods in the resulting imagery.

Yücel Eucule is a top ranking government official. He holds much sway in the higher echelons of the SIU (Supreme Institute Union). Not many beings have seen him, but nearly everybody has heard of him. He is a quantum weapons expert and is said to have been the cause of innumerable atrocities in his search for power within the 9 solar systems of ATTA. These systems are currently governed by the SIU. No one is particularly happy about this either.

Initial image produced in Procreate. Colourway edits produced in iColorama on both iPad Pro and iPhone. Other colour corrections and finishing in Photoshop.

See how this illustration came together in the video below

Colour Variations

Head Study Illustration

27th February 2023 By EMELBI

One of the things I love about creativity and art, are the journeys you go on. Simple sketches can turn into intriguing and fun circumnavigations of colour, texture, tone, shade and line. This simple pencil sketch turned into an interesting head study regarding those elements. I photographed it on my iPhone and then sent it to my iPad Pro to work on in Procreate. I worked on it until I was happy with it, keeping the process as simple as possible. I then explored some different colour version which has been something I do quite often at the moment.

See the YouTube video below to see the colouring process.

City Slither Boi Seth

22nd February 2023 By EMELBI

Character Illustration

He might be a snake, but he is the best snake in town. Seth is his name and he’s all sorts of urban cool. Bang into his Hip Hop. B’ Boy exsssssssssssssstraordinaire. Slithers here, slithers there and does a mean moon walk. He truly is the king of all snakes.

OK, it’s becoming a major obsession, but I am fascinated by multiple versions of one image. To be honest, I’m only really scratching the surface. Imagine the colourways that could exist if you just kept exploring. Imagine a slight graphic change and then starting all over again. Imagine that again, and again… Mind boggling.

Original Illustration

This is a quick illustration in Procreate. Colourway edits produced in iColorama on the iPad Pro. Other colour corrections and finishing in Photoshop.

Initial image is the original illustration followed by subsequent colour versions.

See how this illustration came together on YouTube

Original Image and other Colour Versions

Top Bun City Prince – The Upshot Perspective

18th February 2023 By EMELBI

The Upshot Perspective

Top Bun City Prince

This guy is a human. His nickname is The Top Bun City Prince. His real name is Skip Warrington. He looks out for everyone, both human and machine. He can fix just about anything and is an adept hunter. Extremely effective with a sling or a bow and arrow. He usually travels with a dog, a tough looking springer spaniel named Jess.

Initial image produced in Procreate. Colourway edits produced in iColorama on both iPad Pro and iPhone. Other colour corrections and finishing in Photoshop.

Check out how this illustration came together on the YouTube video below.

Humanoid Cyborg System CCC_333 – The Upshot Perspective

17th February 2023 By EMELBI

The Upshot Perspective

Humanoid Cyborg System CCC_333

This CCC unit is an early humanoid prototype. Originally built to help in kitchens and perform basic catering functions. This one got a major upgrade 5 years into its service and can now cook just about every known dish in existence. It is particularly skilled in the brewing and distilling of alcoholic beverages. It is affectionately known as Bubble and Squeak.

Initial image produced in Procreate. Colourway edits produced in iColorama on both iPad Pro and iPhone. Other colour corrections and finishing in Photoshop.

See how the illustration came together in the video below.

Initial Procreate Illustration

Colour Variations

Finished Illustration Mastered in Photoshop

Colour Variations of Finished Image

City Cyborg Renegade – The Upshot Perspective

16th February 2023 By EMELBI

The Upshot Perspective

City Cyborg Renegade

This character is called Scoop. He used to be a government cyborg and had a specific function. His job was to round up trouble causers and rebel factions intent on causing specific insurrections, specially skilled in security preventing government transport disruption. Usually food haulage or credit, gems and bullion transportation. His success rate was 100%.

That said, he was turned by a highly skilled human rebel operative called Mouse. Taken out by an EMP Drone during his last operation, and reprogrammed to help in the hijacking of the things he used to protect. He still has a 100% success rate.

Initial image produced in Procreate. Colourway edits produced in iColorama on both iPad Pro and iPhone. Other colour corrections and finishing in Photoshop.

Check out how this illustration came together on the YouTube video below.

Post Apocalyptic Utopia – The Upshot Perspective

15th February 2023 By EMELBI

The Upshot Perspective

Post Apocalyptic Utopia

Cyborg Medic, serial number 108-C9-XX. This humanoid unit has the long nickname of ‘Post Apocalyptic Utopia’, but is mostly referred to as PAU. (Pronounced ‘pow’). It is an extremely adept surgeon. It does however have rather an austere bedside manner. That said, it is known to make really bad dad jokes in order to put its patients more at ease. This has varied success rates.

It works in the heart of the city looking after rebel factions who have been injured fighting against government battle droids.

Initial image produced in Procreate. Colourway edits produced in iColorama on both iPad Pro and iPhone. Other colour corrections and finishing in Photoshop.

Check out how this illustration came together on the YouTube video below.

Procreate initial illustration and colour variations

Photoshop finished illustration and colour variations

With Any Luck – The Upshot Perspective

13th February 2023 By EMELBI

The Upshot Perspective

With Any Luck

In a world where nothing is what it seems, keeping your perspective and having a good grasp on what is real and what isn’t, is the best function you can have.

This character is an ageing cyborg who’s primary function is to serve as a bridge between reality and cyberspace for its masters. If you own one of these biomechanical constructs, it will help you navigate between augmented reality and reality. They tend to be safe and extremely reliable. This one is called ‘Bridget’!

Initial image produced in Procreate. Colourway edits produced in iColorama on both iPad Pro and iPhone. Other colour corrections and finishing in Photoshop.

Check out how this illustration came together on the YouTube video below.

Clifton B Boy

7th February 2023 By EMELBI

When I was a kid I used to frequent a place that was locally known as ‘Browns Subway’ near Clifton in Nottingham. So called, as the underpass was located quite close to a bakery called ‘Browns Bakery’ on Abbeyfield Road. These subways were a hub of creativity for any budding graffiti artist. As far as I am aware, they still are. The bakery however, has long gone.

When the graffiti that we associate with Hip Hop culture first came to prominence in Britain in the early to mid 80’s, I was a young lad growing up in Nottingham. At 14 years old I was just beginning to truly find myself and fathom out what it was that made me tick. I was particularly interested in the breakdance scene and listened to all manner of electro Hip Hop. Especially the STREET SOUND ELECTRO set of albums. I also fully immersed myself in the emerging street art scene. Dazzled by the huge, bright typographical scrawls and stylised characters that came along with the culture, I started out on a journey that would end up influencing my artwork to this day.

This character is called ‘Clifton B Boy’ and is a little nod towards those early days of influence.

At some point soon I will da a more comprehensive post regarding Browns Subway, as I have some brilliant old photo’s of the graffiti in that subway from way back in the mid 80’s to the early 90’s.

Check out the YouTube video at the bottom of this post to see how this character came together.

Enzo Valentino – Character Illustration

7th February 2023 By EMELBI

A recent illustration of a character that I sketched on a spare piece of envelope while on a conference call. I photographed the sketch and took it into Procreate on the iPad and embellished it with colour and texture. Using a limited colour palette of reds and blues, I went on a bit of a creative journey and ended up with this character, which I ended up calling, Enzo Valentino. I also ended up creating two or three symmetry version also, which has been another of my recent obsessions in the creative process.

Check out the video below for how this character came together.

Gabriel Barak IV – Character Illustration

3rd February 2023 By EMELBI

Character and Portrait Technique

Currently looking at a new technique of making portrait images. I have dabbled with this process before and want to refine it. So you will be seeing much more of this style in the future. Using the procreate app and a limited set of brushes, this type of image is a process of layering texture from simple beginnings. Much like you would if you were making an oil painting or an acrylic painting on canvas. There was no reference material for this character. Gabriel Barak IV came out of my head. But this is a process I am going to use more and more often from now on when looking at digital portraiture in general. An exciting new journey.

Again, as ever, I have explored multiple colour grades and texture finishes to this images, ever fascinated by multiple outcomes of a single image.

Symmetry and Negative Space

9th July 2020 By EMELBI

A quick exploration of negative space and assumed negative space within this symmetrical image of a dude on a BMX. I love how art and design can take you on a journey beyond the obvious just by using colour and form. I’ve always been fascinated in the exploration of colour relationships and how colour can completely change to mood of an image, while fundamentally, the structure of the image or graphic stays exactly the same. Of course playing with these structure and exploring their dynamics usually leads to new and fresh ideas and keeps the creative juices flowing.

When you take a good look around, you can find beauty in the most mundane of places.
It’s all about keeping your eyes open and being willing to look at the world just that little bit differently.

Here is some beauty that I found in a sink.