EMELBI

Digital Artist and Illustrator

Photoshop

Feathers McBeaky – Digital Character Illustration

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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.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

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

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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.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

 

Initial Line Prompt Sketch

 

 

Procreate & Photoshop Edit

 

 

Original Finished Image and Colour Versions

 

 

Watch the illustration come together in the YouTube video

 

Humanoid Cyborg System CCC_333 – The Upshot Perspective

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The Upshot Perspective

Humanoid Cyborg System CCC_333

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.

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.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

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

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The Upshot Perspective

City Cyborg Renegade

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.

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.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

 

Post Apocalyptic Utopia – The Upshot Perspective

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The Upshot Perspective

Post Apocalyptic Utopia

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.

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.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

 

Procreate initial illustration and colour variations

Photoshop finished illustration and colour variations

With Any Luck – The Upshot Perspective

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The Upshot Perspective

With Any Luck

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.

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.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

 

Enzo Valentino – Character Illustration

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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.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

333 – Three lots of the Magic Number

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For a number of years now I have been including the number 333 in the images that I create. Sometimes subtly, other times quite blatantly. Some images will include the number as digits, other times it will be a series of dots or marks. Three lots of three dots, or three lots of three marks.

One of the reasons I started to do this was because I noticed that the number had started occurring over and over again in my life. More or less wherever I looked.  It would appear within sequences of numbers, printed on packaging, on car number plates, every time I looked at the clock etc. In fact it still occurs in my life sporadically. I am not necessarily a superstitious person, but this reoccurrence fascinated me. So I started to incorporate it into the imagery that I produce.

After having done a scant bit of research on Google, it turns out that the number is considered auspicious and could mean a great many things.

At times it is referred to as the ‘Angel Number’. Some say that the number 333 can also encourage us to put our plans into action or indeed let our personal strength be our guide. Apparently, it is a number that can encourage us to trust ourselves and our own intuition and is largely connected with creativity, optimism, growth and joy. It is also said to be a catalyst for positive change denoting a period of self fulfilment where one might strengthen ones connection with the physical universe.

As we all know, because De La Soul sung about it back in 1989, 3 is indeed the magic number. By numerous accounts the number 3 is a divine number, certainly if we think about it in terms of the Trinity of gods in Christianity (The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost). It also crops up many times in biblical scriptures in a positive way. In the Hindu belief system there are three main gods also (Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva). And, if that’s too spiritual for you, we could think about the number 3 where our physical being is concerned when we talk about the (Mind, Body and Spirit). The number 333 is also connected to the idea of strong or positive communication within relationships.

Obviously, I was delighted to discover all these things about the number and it sat very well with me and my own convictions. So this is why I decided to incorporate the number into my creativity.

Look out for it in my images in the future and see if you can spot where I have placed this auspicious set of digits. Remember, it could be the physical numbers or a repeat in occurrence of a graphic.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

Gabriel Barak IV – Character Illustration

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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.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

 

Peyton Orme

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Digital Character Illustration

As ever, I love to produce multiple version of some of the images that I create, and sometimes characters just spring up form nowhere. This character fell out of my head and onto the iPad screen in Procreate while I was semi watching Star Wars the other day. He’s some kind of Goblin Prince. A real friendly one at that. He travels a lot and likes to watch the folly of humans. Sometimes laughing out loud at their antics. He quickly disappears if anyone hears his belly laughter. Maybe you’ve heard him before?!

Using a limited colour palette, of mainly blues and reds, (a swatch I seem to be favouring at the moment) I added depth and texture to the simple line character I had drawn. After I had finished in Procreate I took the imagery over to Photoshop and added extra textures and elements over these the multiple versions. I love this way of working, between these two brilliant applications.

I like how this character turned out.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

Mind Jazz – Jason Ginnelly

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I was recently contacted by a lovely chap called Jason Ginnelly, who asked me to design the book cover for his up and coming publication of poems and prose. I really enjoyed designing this book cover and made sure that Jason was completely involved with the design process from the beginning, right to the end. The resulting cover very much reflects Jason’s personality and equally, the contents of this lovely book. This was a self publication project and it was important for me to get the right result for Jason, understanding what a hugely personal project this was.

You can get you own copy here: Mind Jazz

See a brief synopsis below…

Mind Jazz is a riff on reality and the nonsensical rhubarb we all encounter every day. It takes us on a journey through experiences and emotions, from our parents to love, loneliness to depression, to joy and laughter.
Encapsulating life in all its sadness, surrealism and silliness. Mind Jazz reveals life’s light and shade, its blacks. whites and greys with its serious heft beside the topsy turvy fanciful fluff that provides the mood music to our loves.

Friday Night

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A recent simple line illustration of my wife. Dozing on a ‘Friday Night’ after a long week.

My wife and I were just chilling out watching a bit of Friday night TV. I looked around and she was absolutely sparked out. So I took a photo of her and made this illustration from the photograph. I love how it turned out. I am a sucker for detail, texture and a multitiue of colours. That said, sometimes it’s nice just to do some simple line work with some muted colours. These can often be the most powerful of images.

The original colour image is the vibrant orange one. I then messed around with it a little and came up with the other colour versions. My favourite being the muted pink version. It’s always nice to explore different colour ways. The colour can make so much difference to the mood and feel of an image.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

MYRIAD FRONTIERS – Future Gaming Concept

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MYRIAD FRONTIERS

Concept art and idea based on future gaming.

© EMELBI 2022 – All Rights Reserved

Portrait illustrations based on the concept that we will soon live in a world where gamers will be able to connect to internet streamed game systems using cybernetics and control their digital environments in real time. Users would have a small set of surgical implant modifications. These modifications would allow them to connect to the gaming domain at any time. There would be multiple games to choose from, each with vast amounts of choice regarding gameplay. The game platforms would be constantly transmitted over the internet and/or other broadcast mechanisms. Gamers would possess heightened perceptions via their mods which would give them the ability to tap into an array of alternative existences. Pressure sensitive body suits would also enhance physical interaction within gameplay allowing users to physically interact with other digital avatars, creatures and habitats.

Optional layers of engagement would grant gamers the opportunity to encounter either a fully immersive experience, or alternatively, exist in a more augmented reality. If the gamer’s preference was a fully immersive experience, they would be rendered motionless and be in a sleep-like state in the real world. Those that choose the augmented reality gaming experience would interact with digital gameplay in waking reality. Gamers could have both experiences within the same game play at different times, where they would encounter multiple challenges and levels in which they could achieve a set of outlined goals and gain digital mods or tokens. All modes of gameplay would give gamers the opportunity to unlock vast layers of functionality and help them build and progress. 

 Gamers are simply known as, ‘Myriad’.

Check out the YouTube Video below for the illustration process.

 

 

Jazz Pizzazz

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This is a recent illustration created in Procreate on the ipad and finished in Photoshop on the iMac. I love working between these two platforms. It’s a real organic process much of the time and a slightly different way of working than I am used to. That said, it is quickly becoming one of my favourite ways of creating striking graphics and laying down ideas for numerous projects.

Here are a few different treatments of the same character. As I have mentioned many times before, I am fascinated by the infinite possibilities of how one image can be manipulated. The many different ways one can arrive at either a slightly different or vastly contrasting outcome. Something as simple as a subtle colour change can present a distinctive mood and change an overall feel to an image. The possibilities are literally endless. Exciting stuff.

The YouTube video at the bottom of the page shows how this character was put together.

 

Geoff McGeoff – Bodaciously Boho

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This dude, who I have affectionately called Geoff McGeoff, was created on the iPad Pro using Procreate. I was messing around with just one brush. The ‘Syrup’ brush, under the ‘Inking’ menu of brushes. I love hard line illustrations. It’s probably because I have always drawn with pens and markers. This technique in Procreate, using two different colours for the hatching, reminds me a lot of wood cut work. Positive and negative space is apparent in this type of technique.

The beauty of doing this kind of work on the ipad using an Apple Pencil keeps it feeling really organic as if were created with pens on paper, even though it is completely digital. After drawing this BoHo dude I exported the file from Procreate as a PSD document from the iPad into Photoshop on my Mac to further work on the image.

I love the way these two platforms work so well together. It really suits my style and the way in which I work. Such great fun and simple yet bold results. Check out the YouTube video of this image being put together below.