Dog Tags

I'm working on several projects right now. All in a different state of flux at the moment, but fairly soon all will be going to finished artwork. Because I'm working on some tight deadlines, I needed to work out some quicker techniques and a little more efficiency, so I decided to get back on Lynda.com, which if you don't know about it, is a great tutorial site for learning just about any software program under the sun. Since I've been using textures and patterns in my licensing work, I've decided to really push incorporating that feel into my book projects.

I spent a couple of days just playing and experimenting without any real finished art in mind. But somehow things just ended up coming together on this piece scanning in a rough sketch which I separated from the background and used without redrawing by cranking up the contrast and making the line look rough and gritty. I also used some newly created brushes, a photo of concrete wall texture, and lots of layers with different transparencies. And, of course, used my dog as a bit of inspiration. He's a pretty cool dog :)

Don't forget to join us next week for a whole week of celebration with our own Alicia Padron, who's new book "ABC, Baby Me!" has just been released. We will be reviewing it, Ali will talk about her art, and there will definitely be a giveaway of her book. It will be a very fun week!