Monday, June 18, 2012

"Tarzan: The Light of Knowledge"

Here it is! My finished oil painting from the 2012 Illustration Master Class:
Tarzan-The Light of Knowledge by Cynthia Sheppard
Click to enlarge

...And if you think this painting came easily, it didn't. Here's the full story:

Out of about 7 assignment choices, I chose to illustrate Tarzan. It's the centennial anniversary of Edgar Rice Burroughs' original novel Tarzan of the Apes, and having grown up with the Johnny Weismuller Tarzan and Greystoke, I thought I was set to start working on thumbnails, so I did. Then, about two weeks before the Master Class, Noah Bradley mentioned how different the original story was from the movies, and I decided I needed to read the book. It helped me understand the character so much better, and I did some more thumbnails:



I fleshed out 3 of the thumbnails, and the overwhelming response from my critique group each time was... "these are terrible." Sometimes honesty is easier to swallow than others- this was one of those times when it wasn't. I hadn't slept well in two weeks, as I was under a lot of pressure to meet a giant pile of deadlines before the Master Class. At one point I actually broke down and cried. Finally, my good friend Marc Scheff got on Skype with me and gave me a pep talk. For some reason when he said "be yourself," it just made sense...

I couldn't shake the feeling that Jane was a weak character, and that Tarzan was more than just a vine-swinging brute. So I threw all those ideas out and strayed from the assignment a little bit. The language acquisition parts of the story were some of my favorites, and some of the most telling about the capabilities of the Tarzan character- they were the most unbelievable passages, but it's a fantasy story, so there always has to be some suspension of disbelief.

So I made this pencil drawing of an adolescent Tarzan learning to write 12 hours before I left:



THE CRIT WALL.
Anyone who has attended or heard about the IMC knows that on Day 1 everyone breaks into groups and puts their drawings up on a wall for the faculty to critique. I personally love this format, and coming with a more finished drawing this year gave Julie Bell, Donato Giancola, and Brom a better opportunity to give me solid advice. Donato in particular suggested that instead of making Tarzan's gaze on the book the main focus, I redirect the focus to the hands. He mentioned that they were the strongest storytelling element, and I felt he was exactly right.

After the crit, I took some visual and written notes in my sketchbook:



So by Day 2 of the Master Class, I had a solid to-do list. I put tracing paper over my original drawing and transferred the information I wanted to keep, shifted the composition a bit, and penciled in some changes. Next I transferred my revised drawing to my illustration board with a sheet of graphite paper, and sealed it with acrylic matte medium:



I stayed in the studio till closing time on Day 2 to finish an acrylic underpainting. At this point I hadn't 100% figured out my color palette, so I stuck with a monochromatic raw umber underpainting to block in the basic values.


Photo by Irene Gallo



I started painting in oils on Day 3, when I was confident in the strength of my underpainting. Dan Dos Santos and Aaron Miller broke me of a bad habit I've had for a long time- instead of being impatient and starting by painting the figure, I began with the background. "Save the dessert for last," Dan said, and yes, he was right:


Photo by Rebecca Yanovskaya

The experience as a whole wasn't just educational and fun, it was also very validating. Not only did the faculty give me some killer advice along the way, but hearing directly from people like James Gurney and Boris Vallejo that my work was going well- you can't ask for a better feeling than that.

Day 4:


Technique-wise, there are a few things I would do differently next time- I would spend more time gathering reference photos (instead of calling people over to my easel and making them hold still, heh), and I'll try to get my values in oil correct earlier on instead of relying so heavily on glazing after the fact. Still, one of the biggest takeaways from this IMC was the emphasis on storytelling over technique. It was a takeaway from last year's IMC too, but it took a year for it to really sink in for me. I became confident, finally, that as long as my concept was solid, I could get away with a missed brush stroke here and there. Also it became ever clearer that loving a piece makes a huge difference. I'm inspired to do more passionate personal work, more than ever. I'll talk at length about that in my next post...

Enjoy the painting, and thanks again x1000 to Rebecca Guay, the faculty, and the volunteers for putting on another amazing IMC!

18 comments:

  1. Love it! You really captured my feelings for what excites me about the Tarzan story!

    It was inspiring to see how motivated and determined you were - and how you pushed through your doubts.

    Thanks Cynthia!

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    1. Thank you, Corinne! It was a long and difficult process, but so worth it in the end. Glad you enjoy it. :)

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  2. Thanks for sharing your process on this one. I like the fact that you choose to flush out the narrative of that particular part of the story.

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  3. Awesome awesome read Cyn! I've often had the feeling that I haven't necessarily been true to myself in my work much of the time. I've been trying to find more and more time to do work that is just for me, which as you well know, is hard to do while juggling deadlines for other people's work. It sounds like IMC has been the perfect impetus to drive the idea home for you, and maybe vicariously for me too.

    Love how your piece came out, and yes it does feel much more "you" to me :)

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    1. Yeah, my thumb ideas started out somewhere between cheesy romance novel covers (now with 20% more greased up man-chest!) and bad budget Frazetta poses. All cliche, and not me at all. Before this IMC, I didn't realize there was a bad direction to try "something new," but once you find your own voice, I think it can be a step backwards to try to adapt other artists' choices to your style.

      Thanks, Joe. :) I do hope you do more personal stuff soon, too- your latest has been looking really sweet.

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  4. Thank you for sharing the process, its really educational and encouraging. I`m really struggling with my oils at the moment so I am quite grateful I´ve read this post, and that other artists find making their illustrations difficult as well. Good luck with your art, that Tarzan looks great!

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    1. Don't give up! Thanks for the kind words, Romina. :)

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  5. Somehow watching you 'be yourself' through this event has made it all seem, at once, daunting and do-able. I'll won't have the money or opportunity to attend one of these IMCs (at least not in the near future), but we can learn by proxy! Congrats, Cynthia; the finished product is simply luminous and yeah, so brilliant in the storytelling aspect!

    (Though don't always neglect the power of 20% more greased-up manchest...promise me, 'kay?)

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    1. Haha! I will never deny the power of chest grease! ;)
      Thanks, Cris!

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  6. Thank You Cynthia for this encouraging post. I'm always struggling and giving up on the half of the way, not knowing where to get some advices and ideas how to handle the problem.

    To think of that some greate Artists like you also have problems, makes me believe that I'm still on the right way to the progress.

    From now on I have to read your posts, not only watching pictures :).

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    1. Very glad that the post is encouraging, and thank you! It's good to remember that everyone struggles with their paintings, even if they make it look effortless. As one part of the process gets easier with practice, new challenges come up all the time, even for those who've been doing it for 60+ years.

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  7. thank you so much for this! this work in progress is encouraging and eye opening. I love every step of the way! You are absolutely amazing.

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  8. This blog is very interesting. Information given in this blog is useful.
    fantasy art

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  9. Thank you for sharing your work and process. My favorite part was reading about changing the focus to the hands because that is the first thing I noticed. I really enjoy this piece.

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  10. I really like your painting Cynthia. What you shared here was very inspiring. Makes me want to attend next year even more.

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  11. What a wonderful story :D and the Result... a true masterpiece! With its colors and all the little details it somehow really touches my heart. Thanks for sharing

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  12. It's a beautiful painting and I enjoyed reading your story a lot, you seem so disciplined! That tip about saving the dessert is a great piece of advice which I will try and follow myself, but it's hard!

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