Back in 2009, I created a small series of caricatures that focused on leaders around the world. These caricatures were posted to an old blog that I was using at the time. I thought with the passing of Kim Jong Il, it would be a good opportunity to revisit his caricature on this blog. You can also see my caricatures of President Obama and Russia’s Vladimir Putin on my website. Robbie McCord Illustration
Sometimes in the world of illustration, an artist needs to go back to the drawing board and revise a piece they’re working on. The choice to rework an image may be a result of direction from the client, or it may come from the artist himself. Either way, an illustrator needs to be willing and open to reexamining their artwork. This is one of the best pieces of advice I can give to a new illustrator starting out. Know that there is always someway to make your work better. Don’t fight, but welcome a chance to take a second look at a piece you’re working on. You’ll more than often be surprise at what you can come up with.
The final illustration for the Elphland book cover went through this process, and in the end, a much stronger piece and more captivating characters were the result. I look forward to where these characters will take not only me, but any other future artists that they come in contact with.
Please visit the website, “Elphland Elves”, to find out more about the story and the characters who make up Elphland.
Here is a little teaser of the final Elphland Cover.
A few character development sketches for Elphland.
Maybe something more realistic.
Now that I’m finished reading Elphland, it’s time to begin my character development sketches. It’s now that I really like to take the time to explore how the characters are going to look. Here are some initial rough sketches of Krysta, a teenage elf in the story. As you can see, I like to work through, not only the physical characteristics such as the shape of the eyes or the style of hair, but also different clothing style options.
Yesterday, I was presented with an opportunity to work on a new project with an old friend. He’s not old, I’ve just known him for a while. His name is Braul Parajon and he has written a children’s book called Elphland. Braul and I met a few years ago when he was working for a toy company here in St. Louis. They were in the market for an illustrator and designer to work on the Girls/Seasonal product line and he thought that I would make a good prospect to join the team. Even though we both had gone on to do other things, we still managed to stay in touch over the years.
I’m really looking forward to helping create the visual world of Elphland and all of Santa’s elves that live there and through it all, I hope to share on my blog, some sketches and peaks at the finished art that will help tell the tale of this Christmas story.
I’ve been a bad boy. I started a painting a while ago for someone of their dog, and I could never seem to get it finished. It was one of those projects where other things would pop up and delay my completion of it. Of course, that could have just been my excuse for what was really happening. I did finish it once, but it was horrible. I found myself struggling. I was struggling with time management and creative inspiration. I don’t mean that the subject was uninspiring. I, creatively, couldn’t find a vision for how I wanted to paint what was in front of me. In a lot of ways, I was afraid to sit myself in front of the easel, pick up a brush and put paint to canvas. It was as if I didn’t know how. Time seem to get me out of my slump though, and perseverance paid off. I did recently accomplish what I set out to do those many months ago. I can’t really put a finger on why I struggled, or what was blocking me. I chalk it up as all creative people go through similar events. Sometimes, the flood gates are open to allow all the creative irrigation to flow while other times, their closed to enable our bodies to refill.
Here is a color sketch for this week’s Illustration Friday.
