Creeping Kudzu

Ink drawing with digital colors.

So relieved to have this behind me. Believe it or not, I originally intended this drawing to be just a quick study to launch a new series. Instead, I got bogged down with weeks of tedious Photoshop coloring. I'm pretty sure I like the final result, but it's all enough to make me want to stay away from this subject and media for a while.

Creeping Kudzu- rough colors

It's been a busy week. I did manage to spend a few hours adding some watercolor on top of the ink drawing, but it kind of failed. As I feared, I just couldn't define front and background enough with the relatively low-contrast watercolors I chose to use. Putting less ink detail on the background could have also helped.

Thankfully, I can still finish the piece using my backup plan- Photoshop. Since there's nothing else to post this week, I thought I'd throw up the start to that process. This is actually a quick color guide I made for myself before adding watercolor, even though in the end it didn't prove to be much use. 

Creeping Kudzu- inks

In process- a scanned ink drawing of the first entry in my new series "Creeping Kudzu," depicting a more aggressive version of the invasive vine. Despite its tendency to destroy biodiversity, there's a visual power in the way it covers everything and sends out tendrils to expand its reach that I want to capture.

I plan to color this in Photoshop, and I'm really hoping that controlling the color will give the foreground and background some contrast.

Boat Decal Proof

3' proof of my boat illustration came in the mail this weekend, printed on a vinyl decal. The final 8' version has recently been put on a fishing boat in Naples, FL, and I'm waiting for some pictures of the end result.

I'll post more images as they come to me.

New look, same great taste!

Check out my newly restructured portfolio website: www.jakelagory.com

Out in woods...

For the next several days I'll be out in the woods, backpacking the Art Loeb trail through North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest. Assuming I make it out (I fully intend to), it may take some time before I get motivated to share the story and to start producing again.

See you in a few weeks!

Sittin' On Top of the World

My entry for a sci-fi themed art show at ZaPow, the gallery where I show my work and sell prints.

Like many of my illustration concepts, this one came from imagining a literal interpretation of a common expression. With this piece, I thought it would be fun to take a line from the popular folk/blues song about maintaining a positive attitude and turn the meaning on its head. 

I picture these brainy-squid aliens as interplanetary nomads. Using minimal amounts of energy, they float through space and feed on the thermal energy at a planets' core.