Sketchbook Fury - EP 1 - Mojo Your Dojo

Sketchbook Fury - Mojo Your Dojo (episode 1) from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

Art & film Graham Smith

Strathmore Sketchbooks 300 Series Sketch

400 Series Toned Tan

400 Series Mixed Media

& many more

camera & edit Graham Smith

camera 2 Andrei Booriakin

Music

         Logjam - Podington Bear

         Interlude - Tickle

         Big Mojo - Kevin Macleod

         Part VI -  Jazzer

         Pink Fish Signs - GeeNerve

         Early Riser - Kevin Macleod

 Music: Creative Commons CCx4 2016   

Video: Copyright © Graham Smith 2016 

Confessions of a Paper Junkie

Confessions of a Paper Junkie

The good folks at Strathmore Artist Papers™ were curious to see inside my actual art studio, and wanted me to draw something in their sketchbook. I told them, I draw on hundreds of sheets of Strathmore® paper a year, plus anything else I can get my hands on. But by all means, please send more. I'll be happy to draw on it, give a tour, and nerd out about paper anytime!

So, last month we filmed this video.  :)

Here's the transcript and some random screen shots:

Art Directors used to call it taking an idea out for a walk. That…it's, it's the best part of the project… it's when…you can just grab ideas from anything, and anything goes… and you're always on a deadline, so you are drawing as fast as you can.
You grab your sketchbook and you just start…drawing. 

 So, you explore every graphic permutation of an idea with little sketches - to develop the idea into it's best possible form. You make lots of little sketches, and follow wherever they lead.

If I'm drawing figures for an art book, I'll prep a sheet of Strathmore® Drawing Paper with a light acrylic wash… (to) give it a textural feel, and a tone to work from. Then I'll go to town with colored pencils, or ink, or anything else.

I use the same technique on this creature series. This is acrylic wash over Strathmore drawing paper. I imagine the creature, and render it with, uh, graphite and chalk. I'm combining imagery from classic(al) antiquity, (and) Victorian Flower Language to create deities from an imagined past.

Basically, I craft an image to suit a story. I'm an illustrator, and at the most basic level I take ideas and turn them into things we can see… and drawing is the very first step.

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For my art nerds that read all the way down here, here are the process details. The type of sketchbook "the girl with black hair "is drawn in is Strathmore Toned Tan (5.5x8.5"). It's nice! She's an imagined character, drawn with colored pencils, with acrylic paint washed over it, then black china marker, and more colored pencil.

I filmed this in my studio, with help from art school assistant, Britney Sharp. She climbed up the ladder to hang the art, and worked the camera. A big shout out to Alberto Ruiz for the video's name. Yes, Strathmore send me a big box of sketchbooks. No, you can't have one. Go get your own.

Photo Gear: Canon 650D (t4i), Canon 50mm f 2.8 lens, Canon 18-135mm STM lens, 2 softboxes 5000k, Rode VideoMicPro, Davis and Sanford Tripod, Cowboy Studio slider, edited in iMovie.

Credits:

Strathmore: strathmoreartistpapers.com
illustrator website: grahamsmithillustration.com
video: vimeo.com/inkdrawing
music: freemusicarchive.org

Music: There It Is by Kevin MacLeod (cc) by 4.0
Music: Astronauts On Earth by Cosmic Analog Ensemble (cc) by 4.0
Video: Copyright (c) 2015 Graham Smith/art/camera 1/edit
Camera 2 /Assistant: Britney Sharp
Models: so many models! thank you all.

Sketchbook 36 - Graham Smith

Sketchbook 36 from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

Did you know that 36 sketchbooks makes a pile 4 feet tall?

I've been drawing in my sketchbooks everyday for the last few years, so I started numbering them, and just measured the book case where I keep them. The drawing streak was broken while filling Sketchbook 36, when I got distracted by something shiny, and skipped a few days here and there.

Anyways, listen to me mumble incoherently, while you take a peek inside number 36... I'll be finishing up Sketchbook 37 while you watch. It's 1:55 seconds long.

And don't forget to draw something everyday!

Transcript: 

Well...well, the important thing to remember about sketchbooking is that, uh, it's a personal thing, they all come out differently. 

You know, people ask me, "What do you put in your sketchbook?" I mean... what am I supposed to do? To me, the answer will be different for everybody. You do... you're an artist, you do what you want. There aren't any rules.

When I was in art school, they said... they said, if you want to be good, you want to be an artist, you want to be an illustrator, there is only one way to get good, and that's to practice. And where do you practice? You practice in your sketchbook. 

The sketchbooks I'm talking about are private affairs, where you work out your thoughts, write down your ideas, draw the world around you. You know, teach yourself how to draw. 

Everything you do in your sketchbook is planting the seeds of ideas, and your sketchbook is the garden in which they grow.    - Graham Smith

Notes about making the video:

Folks that follow my work know that I like to make everything I can, including my own sketchbooks. Sketchbook 36 contains a bunch of different types of paper. The fancy stuff is Neenah Environment paper. Plus, there is regular old xerox paper, graph paper, tracing paper, and anything I could get my hands on, really. The whole thing is stapled, and taped together with a cardboard cover.

I filmed this on my desk with the T4i, the low end Canon DSLR camera, a halogen desk light, and edited the shots together with iMovie, trying to keep the filming set up as simple as possible.

Credits:

Sketchbook 36: Graham Smith

Music: Roxy Music - India

Video: Graham Smith - Vimeo

"The Craftsmen Series" - Graham Smith

"The goal is to get your professional work and your personal work as close together as you can, to be happy." Graham Smith

I illustrate packaging for the Blue Moon Expressionist Collection - so, the crew from Complex Media dropped by to talk about craftsmanship, and the creative processes involved in creating the Blue Moon artwork.

Creating artwork for a national brand like Blue Moon is a collaborative process, where artists work together toward a common goal for the benefit of their client. Ideas and strategies to achieve those goals flow between many people, before the artist begins making all those ideas into one visual presentation.

To communicate many ideas quickly, the artist provides pencil sketches, so everyone on the team can see a concrete version of how the artist has decided to put all the ideas and strategies together, so they can deliver their input. This is a very social part of the process, where communicating between people is key.

Pencil sketches get revised and tweaked to match the overall plan, and eventually the artist is set loose to actually create the finished artwork - which, in my case is a many step process.

Agencies expect the artist to have the ability to edit every aspect of the work to meet the clients plans. And that's where the artists craftsmanship comes into play. A good craftsman will have understanding and control over all the aspects of the creative process. The art has to look good, but it also has to to created in such a way to be editable, on message, and most of all, on schedule.

I do many extra steps in creating artwork for a national brand, compared to the spontaneous nature of my personal work.

How does craftsmanship play a role in your work?

Pencil sketch: Blue Moon Rounder label

Final inking: Blue Moon Short Straw Farmhouse Red label

Final inking: Rounder label

Color proofs: Short Straw point of sale posters.

My desk at the end of a great project.

For the art nerds: Generals layout pencils, Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencil, tracing paper, quill pen 513ef nib, india ink, Strathmore drawing paper, Loew-Cornwell brush #8 round, flat 1 inch brush, and all the stuff you see in the photo above.

- G.

Get Lucky!

Get Lucky from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

I filmed my friend, artist Eddie Holly, drawing a Daft Punk tribute in his sketchbook at Sketchbook Sessions last week, and walking around the suburbs wearing the Daft Punk helmet. Good times.

This is him, and his artwork in the video.

(1 minute video)

Pen doodle video

Sketchbook 35 - ink sketch from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

Here's a quick pen doodle from Sketchbook 35.

I drew it with a Lamy Safari fountain pen in a small homemade sketchbook at our Wednesday night hangout, Sketchbook Sessions. I prepare the Strathmore 50 pound sketch paper by washing it with a thin mixture of acrylic paint and water, which gives it a nice textural tone, and a crisp surface to ink on.

The Graham Project: Featurette

The Graham Project: Featurette from Graham Smith on Vimeo.

"The guys from Filmtone stopped by the old studio a while back, asking questions about sketchbooks and the artists process, for their video, The Graham Project.

I was working on Sketchbook 30 when this was filmed, having started the sketchbook project a few years earlier.

During the interview, I suddenly realize the importance of the fourth dimension, time, to the sketchbook project. Each sketchbook encapsulates the current events, and the minutia of the day, and over time, a journey.  Below are a few images. 

For the art nerds: The paper I used to make Sketchbook 30 is Neenah Environment Paper. It is recycled, and great to draw or paint on. Click the link. They give free samples!

G.

MARKS: Volume One

MARKS: Volume One

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

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

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

G.

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