Old Man's Story - Drawn from Life

Crazy Nekkid Grandpa from Graham Smith on Vimeo.


Art model, Van worked himself into character, building up, then channeling all his energy into each pose, creating visceral emotion through physicality. And he named each pose as they progressed, "Nekkid Grandpa, Alone in the Dark, Tortured, Feral Man, Cabaret..." 

He tied a strap around the stage and pulled against it with all his strength, that same strap was tied around his hands for his "Tortured" pose, and he cantilevered his balance against a stick, which became a prop in other poses.

Later, looking over the drawings, I began to make sense of the story from the names of his poses, and made this short video.

Crazy Nekkid Grandpa sure can tell a good story! And as for judging books with old covers: look closely or you might miss classics like Ernest Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea", or Herman Melville's, "Moby Dick".

That Red Head from the Weekend

That Read Head from the Weekend - drawing by Graham Smith

Summer Greeting from Earth

Summer Greetings from Earth from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

It was such a gorgeous day, that I had to go outside and play with my camera between illustration assignments.

Shooting video with my low end, Canon DSLR is my new hobby, and I wanted to learn how to better use it. So, I walked up and down the street in front of my studio, trying to get things in focus, along with a decent exposure. My goals are usually that simple when I go out to shoot.

I needed a peg to hang all this wide open, hand held, flowers and trees footage on; that's when I thought all this might be from the POV of a spaceman, with all the curious close ups, shallow depth of field, and the tranquil pace. With that minor concept in place, here is 4:41 seconds of pure veg-out.  :)

Canon 650d (t4i). 50mm f1.8.

MARKS: Volume One

MARKS: Volume One

Size: 8.75" x 12.25"
Price: $25
Pages: 48. Full color
Signed.

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I just finished designing "MARKS Volume One"- a 48 page, hard cover art book, containing a collection of life drawings, illustrations, and sketchbook experiments I have created over the last 2 years.

Graham Smith's MARKS Volume One, contains private life drawings, sketchbook experiments, and includes examples of my professional illustration work. The common thread throughout the work are my expressive mark making techniques, regardless of the media. I'm in love with the line! MARKS Vol. One, is my love letter to drawing the figure.

Graham Smith's marks Vol. 1 - book trailer from Graham Smith on Vimeo.



The infamous, Alberto Ruiz noticed my life drawings last Comic Con, and being a sucker for old school figure drawing, offered to publish a small run of them. He gave me 2 months to design a book, and deliver it to Xupuy Edicionés, his publishing company in Quito, Ecuador.

The Process:

I learned a lot about making a book. The biggest technical hurdle was improving the way I photograph artwork. After of years of fiddling around, I asked a professional to trouble shoot my DIY photo studio. Long story short, with some simple photography gear, common sense, and some fancy photographic diffusion plastic, an artist can photograph their artwork in-house.

To design the book, Xupuy Edcionés provides 2 Photoshop templates, 1 for a single page, and another for a 2 page spread. It is the artists job to fill those 48 pages with the best they have. Carte Blanche. Alberto Ruiz, the publisher,  takes care of the rest, supervising the books design, production and printing, in order to be "The Best Publisher of Essential Eye Candy The World Has Ever Known!"

How do you find the time to draw stuff?

A little bit at a time. Once a week, I'd venture out of my studio to brush up on my life drawing for a 3 hour session. Every week I would draw a few more, until I had a little pile going. After a couple years, the pile was pretty big.  I selected a few of my favorite drawings to put in the book. It's amazing what you can accomplish in only 3 hours per week!

I love drawing in my sketchbook, everyday. I even make my own sketchbooks, now. Inside their pages is where I invent color combinations, draw from my imagination, collect notes, and do drawing experiments. No one ever sees those sketchbooks, so I sorted through and a few, and selected some painting and drawing experiments to show you, in the book. Here is a sneak peak!

Want to see more?

Video:   Unboxing:   The night a giant pallet of boxes arrived.

Video:   Book Signing Party:     Friends, models, artists, beer and music.

Review:

Got an autographed copy of "Mark", what a collection of best work done by famous artist Graham Smith! All drawings, either in BW charcoal or colorful mixed medias, are carefully structured and rendered/painted. I saw how Graham drew figures in studio. He always wanted to have a good drawing angle and composition. Sometime he had to change his seat frequently in order to find a better angle. Besides all nice layouts, his line quality is what a professional artist should learn and master. Very dynamic and full of energy.The book contains figure drawings and illustrations in various styles that are inspirational to young artists for thinking outside of the box. The last, but not least, is the anatomy knowledge showed in the book. Graham fully controlled every inch of his figure drawings and demonstrated how anatomy knowledge should be used to depict muscle shapes, body rhythms, and figure poses. This is a five-star book an artist must have! 

Dr. Wei Xu  - Writer, Teacher, Scientist, Mathematician, Artist 

Art Book Signing Party

Book Signing Party from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

I'm throwing a party for all the people involved in making an this art book, down at the SDAI Museum. in scenic Balboa Park this weekend. We got, friends, models, drawing, music, food, beer... and art books! Did I mention art books? Art books, yo!

San Diego, CA - Internationally recognized artists, Graham Smith and Katherine Brannock, debut their premiere art books with a signing party at the historic SDAI Museum of the Living Artist, in scenic Balboa Park, Saturday, March 30, 2013 from 7PM to 11:30PM. The artists will be personally signing books, and displaying artwork, while celebrating with the artists and models that create San Diego's deeply talented, and diverse art scene.
This vibrant, artist-centric event is now a private reception, and features live music by "Man From Tuesday", Singer Songwriters, and Master guitarist demonstrators, Michael Lille and Andy Lund from Taylor Guitars.
Foodies and artists alike, will be thrilled by the delicious tastings planned by Sea Rocket Bistro, with local, farm fresh, sustainable, epicurean delights by Executive Chef Tommy Fraioli. Tantalize your palette with perfect pairings from Blue Moon Brewing Co's handcrafted beers, including Valencia Grove Amber and several selections from their Vintage Series!  Beverage service provided by San Diego's newest modern day neighborhood hangout, Heights Tavern.
Bring your sketchpads and draw. Art models featured in Graham Smith's book, Marks : Volume 1, will pose for drawings, by artists in attendance, and autograph their page for the fans.

Eventful.com Listing all about the event.
Unboxing Video

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Let's Draw! Video

Graham Smith - Sizzle Reel from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

Let's Draw! A video portfolio of illustration, life drawings, and sketchbook experiments by illustrator Graham Smith.

Art Book by Graham Smith - Coming Soon!

Graham Smith's marks Vol. 1 - book trailer from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

Woo hoo! I just finished illustrating, and designing my first art book, AND it was published by the coolest of cats, Alberto Ruiz of Xupuy Edicionés! I was so happy about it, I made this book trailer video containing sneak peaks at the book's artwork being made.

"Graham Smith's mark's Volume One" is expected to debut March 30th, 2013. I will let you know when signed copies are available.

This full color, hardcover book is a beautifully printed 48 pages of personal work, life drawings, sketchbook experiments, and illustrations - all created over the last 2 years.

Signed copies will be for sale on this blog.    Stay Tuned!  
Cover Model: Briana

How to combine illustration and photography for a unique title sequence

BritneyDraftA from Chris Park on Vimeo.

Making this 3 second animated title sequence took a lot of steps, but was the funnest thing ever to collaborate on!

First, Tim Mantoani and I did a 2 set up photo and video shoot with America's hottest hammer thrower, Miss Britney Henry. One set up for a glamor studio shoot, indoors; and another action shoot, outside at the Olympic Training Center, where Britney throws her hammer.

Second, the photos were edited, and 24 action stills were selected.

Third, the stills were outsourced to India, to remove the backgrounds, and drop them out to white.

And fourth, one set was printed at a 1 hour photo processor.

I showed up at Tim's photo studio around lunch time. The plan was to draw something on the photos while filming the process, and then to make something with the footage we shot. I didn't really know much beyond that. We were going to wing it.

Tim set up a giant piece of foam core as a table, and I sat on an apple crate with my random selection of art supplies brought from my studio. I suggested Tim move his giant expensive looking softbox back a bit, because I felt the need to fling some ink coming on. He switched the light to a 500 watt halogen, diffused by a sheet of plastic, and he was ready to film. I still hadn't thought of an idea.

The Canon 5D fired a shot every second, and sounded like a clock ticking. I grabbed a brayer, some tracing paper, ink and acrylic paint and started to go for it. 6 hours, and thousands of frames later, I finished painting on the 24 photos for the title sequence, and film maker Chris Park's work had just begun.

Thousands of jpeg stills were imported into Adobe Motion, and saved out to a movie file, where Chris edited the assets into the dreamy interview, hammer throwing showcase above, using Final Cut Pro.

To get the arial shot of the hammer flying through the air, film maker Chris Park taped a Go-Pro camera to Britney's 8 pound steel hammer. She threw the whole rig 200 feet downrange three times - and the camera survived.

Here are some behind the scenes shots of the production. Peek at BHP photographer Teresa Heath's Behind the scenes photos, too.

Hand painted frame #18 of 24 of Britney Henry by Tim Mantoani and Graham Smith

Britney "the Hammer" Henry by Tim Mantoani

Britney "the Hammer" Henry on white, by Tim Mantoani

Chris Park tapes a Go-Pro camera to the hammer

Photographer Tim Mantoani at work inside the weight room at the Olympic Training Center

Getting the shot

Chimping for Britney

The assistant - Austin Sosa

Britney Henry from athlete to model in a day.

Britney Henry working the photoshoot

 At the hammer ring

The hand lettered credits were chucked in the bin still wet. We got a schedule to keep people!

24 hand painted photos drying in the photo bay.

Ok,  here is the set up - go ahead and make something!

Credits:

Athlete                                       - Britney "The Hammer" Henry

Photography primary                 - Tim Mantoani

Photography documentary 1      - Teresa Heath

Photography documentary 2      - Graham Smith

Video / editing                           - Chris Park

Illustration                                  - Graham Smith

Make Up                                    - Momi Gonzales

Grip                                            - Austin Sosa

Location                                     - The Olympic Training Center, Chula Vista , CA

Music                                          - Cracks - Freestylers feat. Belle Humble

Painting on Polaroid

I was invited to Tim Mantoani's photography studio last friday, to collaborate on an art project.

The plan was to draw Tim Mantoani, while Chris Park filmed the process. Beyond that, details were vague. We intended to improvise, collaborate, make something up on the spot - film it and post it on the interwebs. We figured that would take the rest of the afternoon, so we ate Vietnamese pork sandwiches first.

I asked to draw on an old camera box, something photography-ish, or personalized to Tim. Offering help, Tim dragged in a giant cardboard box - the box a Moto Guzzi motorcycle was delivered in. Nice piece of cardboard, but it didn't say Tim enough for me.

 "How about drawing on a Polaroid?" Tim ran up the stairs looking for one.

It was a lot bigger than I expected, thinking of those little, square, white ones. A large format Polaroid is bigger than my drawing board! 20 x 24 inches, plus extra at the top and bottom.

We tested a corner of the Polaroid with a dab of acrylic paint, and it stuck like crazy. The surface was better than expected to paint on. Colored pencils would not show up on the dark slippery surface. Markers would work on light areas. Ink seemed to stick. My mind was scrambling about how to draw on that surface.

Our idea was taking shape.

Painting on Polaroid.

One image slowly develops into the another, over the course of a time-lapsed video.

I'd paint his portrait, on top of his giant Polaroid self-portrait, and we'd film it. Both portraits combined into a collaboration - each artist treating the subject his own way, in layers. The process of transformation from one to another captured, in time lapse.

The whole idea was nice and symmetric. We decided to make an afternoon of it.

I sat in my place, waiting, with my drawing board and art supplies, while Chris Park set up a giant soft box, lights, and four Canon 5D cameras. We estimated 20 minutes to draw the portrait.  It took 34.

Chris programmed the overhead camera to slowly travel, about 6 feet over the course of the video. The rig crawled along a rail with a camera atop, clicking away every second. The second camera was on Tim, a third faced me, and Chris operated the fourth camera handheld.

Tim sat across from me, unsure if sitting still for 20 minutes would really suck, or not. Or how bad.

Chris said everything is ready, and all the cameras started clicking. They sounded like an old grandfather clock, but louder.

Yikes! I better start painting something - squinting at the subject, I started mixing white paint in a baby food jar to stall for time... Watch the video to see it all go down!

Tim Mantoani  Paint over Polaroid: Smith/Mantoani

20 x 24 inch Polaroid, white acrylic paint, Japanese brush pen, india ink.

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The Cocktail Napkin: fashion geek

"Does This Make My Antenna Look Big?"

I illustrate The Cocktail Napkin, the entertainment news feature on the last page of Miller McCune magazine, Art Directed by Craig Edwards. The tricky part of this assignment is drawing on a real cocktail napkin, no Photoshop allowed! The marker can't be too new or it bleeds, too dry and it rips the napkin. Touchy thing this napkin drawing.

This month's selected article is about high fashion clothing with cell phone receivers built into them. It's an actual thing!

More: Cocktail Napkin: Thunder Thighs

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Drawsome! Art Show Opening Nite Photos

Drawsome! Art Show by Sketchbook Sessions: San Diego

Anitza Rodriguez

Anitza Rodriquez of the Chula Vista Community Art Center asked me to produce an art show in support of the arts, at the South Chula Vista Library.

She explained, "The kids down here don't have anything. The art programs have been cut from the schools. These kids will grow up never knowing anything about art."

The Sketchbook Sessions: San Diego artists and I immediately agreed to create the Drawsome! Art Show to help support the arts in this underserved community.

The goal was to show the kids that real live artists, living in their neighborhood, create cool things we all enjoy, like books, movies, clothing... and iPad apps! The goal was to inspire the kids to be artists!

The CVCAC volunteers.

We planned so many activities for opening night we were lucky the Chula Vista Community Art Center high school volunteers made sure everything ran smoothly opening night. Thanks to Chelsea Reyes, Alanna Hinds and Janelle Hinds for attaching hanging wires to the artwork and helping to hang the art show!

There was something for everyone at this community oriented event: caricatures, face painting, henna tattoos, an art area for kids to draw and paint, digital painting demonstrations, rock bands, food trucks, a balloon artist, coffee and cake, all in addition to the art show! All these services were provided freely, by volunteers who support their community and the arts.

Javir Batiz opened the night with psychedelic guitar licks from back in his Santana days. Joy Watley, the library's branch manager, didn't blink an eye when he cranked his amp to 11. Aw yeah!

 

Caricature Artist Jared Lipscomb

Young-blood, artist Jared Lipscomb volunteered to draw free caricatures for the kids on opening night.

Jared wasn't allowed to get his caricature drawn when he was a boy. Not in the family budget. With that in mind, he sat there all night long, drawing everyone he could. Jared wanted every kid who wanted a drawing, to get one. So, they lined up!

 

Opening night, the library was packed with more than 600 people!

In the digital conference room, where it was a bit quieter, concept artist and teacher Dzu Nguyen offered a free Photoshop painting demonstration for the more serious attendees. A roomful of people came specifically to learn from the young master.

Dzu Nguyen - Concept Artist and teacher

Paul Davies co-founder of Sketchbook Sessions: San Diego, mugs in front of his creations.

Motion Capture artist Frank Strocco admires Dave Wilkins wall of El Zombo pages.

Creative Entertainment by Judah Buxton - balloons

The balloon artist, Judah Buxton worked those balloons all night! The kids loved their balloon swords and balloon superhero masks. His tiny blue and red "Spiderman" was spectacular!

Eddie Holly, co-founder of Sketchbook Sessions: San Diego.

Eddie knows how to please the crowd, so he busted out his Justin Bieber!

Artist Brice Banfield got recognized for his support of the arts.

Illustrator Dean MacAdam was in charge of hanging all 65 pieces of art in the Drawsome! show along with Cazi Tena.

Dean MacAdam generously donated his illustration "Reading Hill" to the library's children's section. Dean is an illustration technology leader dedicated to education, his #1 selling iPad book, Bobo Explores Light has gotten rave reviews, educating kids in an engaging way.

Anitza Rodriguez and Cecilia Eguia Serrano - El Solde Tijuana, Ejecutivo de Ventas Espectaculos Cultura 

Cecilia Eguia Serrano stopped by to interview Eddie Holly and I about the Drawsome! Art Show. Cecilia speaks Spanish and Eddie and I do not. Luckily, Anitza translated everything we said!

Artist Martha Ambrose, opening night of Drawsome!

That night, Tori Roze, an up and coming local musician, was the toast of the evening.

Through a generous grant from the Chula Vista City Council, I was able to print a giant drawing of Tori Roze and donate it to the the Chula Vista Library. Tori and I both signed the canvas print that night.  (Printed and assembled by Cathy Kniess at Chrome Digital)

In celebration, Tori Roze and the Hot Mess played an inspirational set on opening night. (Yeah, we had two rock bands that night!)   Thanks Tori!   Listen to the album.

Paul Davies and I checking out the Tori Roze print hanging in the Chula Vista Library.

The Hot Mess guitarist's supports the musical arts with some gorgeous guitar playing.

Hellz yeah, Tori Roze plays the trumpet, kid.

Gourmet food trucks!

Folks gotta eat! The food trucks were super delicious, and charitable too! They supported the arts by donating some proceeds to the local high school band. I ate the last carne asada burrito, it was for a good cause, yo.

Dave Wilkin's youngest fan waits for the artist to autograph her El Zombo book - a book about the world's greatest luchador, back from the dead...

Betty Woznis the Library Director and Senator Juan Vargas' representative stopped by to see the show and to recognize the artists for supporting the arts in Chula Vista. Thanks for letting us have rock bands in your library!

Jin Yung Kim, Dave Wilkins, and Graham Smith, with our recognition certificates from the California State Senate. Thanks for supporting the arts Chula Vista!

Artist Cazi Tena hung the 65 piece show in a long night of curating and nail hammering with illustrator Dean MacAdam and the CVCAC volunteers

Dawn Vitale, Director of Marketing at Eventful did the marketing for the show - all Pro-Bono.

Dave Wilkins donated a bunch of his El Zombo books to the library. Then, he sat in the back room and signed autographs for his fans. 

Dave Wilkins illustrates books, is a professional luchador, creates artwork for Sony, and most recently, comic book covers for DC's the Green Lantern!

Artist Aaron Kasten gets officially recognized for his support of the arts.

Artist Kimie Kim is congratulated by Deputy Mayor Rudy Ramirez (wearing shorts and flip flops). Hey, it's California, man.

Admiring the art of Cazi Tena.

Joy Watley - Chula Vista South Branch Manager.

Anitza Rodriguez Chula Vista Community Art Center leader and City Council Representative.

Artist Jin Kim getting props.

Graham Smith with Sketchbook Session: San Diego founders:  Eddie Holly and Paul Davies, with artist Aaron Kasten.

Towards the end of the night, a tweenaged girl asked me if Sue Dawe, the unicorn lady, was really at the show. I pointed her to the artists lounge. A while later, I saw her running and yelling, "Sue Dawe drew me a unicorn!" The little kid waved it in the air and skipped away.

The San Diego Sketchbook Session Artists are a mix of professional artists currently working to create video games, concept art for movies, tee shirts, books, magazines and comics, all dedicated to supporting the arts in San Diego. They meet once a week at a cafe in San Diego to draw in their sketchbooks.

Drawsome! Art Show - Sketchbook Session: San Diego Artists
Paul Davies  Eddy Holly Cazi Tena  Graham Smith  Martha Ambrose  Dzu Nguyen Peter Han  Jared Lipscomb  Jin Kim  Dave Wilkins  Sue Dawe  Brice Banfield  Kimie Kim  Dean MacAdam  Aaron Kasten,  Ian Holaday

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Credits:

Art Donors: 
Dave Wilkins
Dean MacAdam
Graham Smith

Coffee: Starbucks on Palomar St. in Chula Vista

CVCAG Volunteers
Anitza Rodriguez
Alanna Hinds
Chelsea Reyes
Janelle Hinds
Lexi
Guy Fisher
Amanda
Elisa
Entertainment Volunteers:

Creative Entertainment by Judah Buxton - Balloon Artist  
Elidia Cabrero - Face Painter
Jared Lispcomb - caricatures
Natasha Papousek - Crescent Moon Design


Food Trucks
Crazy Wheel Coffee 
Delicioso Food Truck
Two for the Road 

Library
Betty Woznis - Library Director
Joy Whatley - Chula Vista Library, South Branch Manger

Marketing: Eventful
 
Music:
Javier Batiz
Tori Roze and the Hot Mess

Photos: Ian Holaday Arts.