Clash

"Clash" | acrylic & graphite on paper | 8.25 x 10"

© Ryan Cooper | All Rights Reserved

New Painting - The Hypnotist

The Hypnotist | traditional + digital | 12.25x12.25" @ 600ppi


sketch



drawing


final image


detail

© Ryan Cooper | All Rights Reserved

Friends of Cupid

Here is a painting I recently finished which will be available as a print soon. As per usual, I started this image with a series of conceptual thumbnails and a preliminary sketch on standard 8.5x11" bond paper.

Once satisfied with the comp, I transferred the drawing to a sheet of Rives BFK via light box and toned the paper with thin washes of acrylic.

I then scanned the drawing into Photoshop and painted it digitally, first working out the flats and values in a typical layer structure, then pushing and pulling until it popped.

The final image:

Sketchbook #9

The Substitute

This image is part of a larger project that I'm not able to talk very much about right now, so I'll spare you the details and you will have to excuse my brevity in that regard. On the other hand, I did want to reflect a bit on the process, as I feel it signals growth in the right direction for me, if only from an illustrative perspective. Illustration is a unique form of art in that it allows certain "rules" of art to be bent or distorted. This is not to say that illustrations are somehow less deserving or otherwise unqualified than fine art, but form does often take the back seat in exchange for subject. In short, illustration is storytelling.

I started with a sketch on a folded sheet of standard 8.5x11" paper. The same type of stuff you can pick up anywhere for your printer. Copy bond. Once I had the basic shapes roughed in, I started working on the characters and other elements in more detail and tweaking the overall composition. At this point I am thinking of the sketch as a seesaw (or teeter-totter, if you prefer), where its balance correlates directly to the position and "mass" of elements on the page.


Once satisfied with the skeleton of the image, I scanned it into Photoshop and blew it up to somewhere in the neighborhood of 22x30". After printing out the pages and reassembling the image on my kick-ass light box (thanks, Robert), I recreated the drawing on a much nicer sheet of cream-tinted Rives BFK and sealed it with acrylic gloss medium.


After scanning the finished drawing back into Photoshop, I laid the flats in monochrome, establishing some value and separating the different elements. Once I had decided on how bright or dark each part would be, I started painting in the larger expanses of color. I created contrast, tone and depth in the picture plane using cool vs warm colors. You can feel that the substitute teacher is very angry and quite evil, really, but it is not the expression on his face that communicates this so much as the coolness of the blue and magenta in relation to other areas of the painting.


My personal critique: I am happy with the finished painting overall, but next time I will spend a bit more time polishing the initial sketch, as it seems to be lacking in energy compared to my original vision. On the color side of things, however, I exceeded my expectations.

• • •

A signed and numbered edition of prints of this piece will go on sale sometime early next year. If you would like to be
added to this list, drop me a line.

Melting + Maribel

Melting
Pastels and charcoal on Bristol Board, 8x10"


Maribel
Pastels on Cotton Rag, 18x24"

The Release + Fables Covers

The Release
Charcoal and pastels on Bristol, 11 x 14"


I got a signed and personalized copy of Fables Covers by James Jean the other day! It's one of the most beautiful books I've ever laid eyes on. I highly recommend it.

Simon's 5th Birthday + Mother's Milk

Simon, celebrating his 5th birthday.

Mother's Milk

Charcoal and pastels on Bristol, 19 x 24"

Cabin at Icy Peak

Cabin at Icy Peak
Pastels, 18 x 24"