Mid-Summer News

Wow!  It's been a while since my last update!  Well, that's been mostly from me taking up some more illustration jobs online.  Some being more successful than others.  Making some income at least since I haven't been able to apply for any seasonal work this summer.  A lot of necessary professional house renovations with me needing to house-sit during the week.

But anyways, here are some of my work:

Oyster Company Logo Concept

Kel and Uda, ebook stamp illustration

Noir & Blanc Illustration Contest Entry

Treasure Chest App Icon (1 of 4)

Dragon's Lunch - Business Card Concept

So most likely, I'll be taking on other illustration jobs while renovations continue.   I might start getting enough work coming in soon to afford my monthly health coverage among other things.  So if anyone wants to see my profiles on Freelancer and Fiverr where I take on freelancing jobs, click on the links below:

Freelancer: https://www.freelancer.ca/u/Crystaliumjmc.html

Fiverr:  https://www.fiverr.com/crystaliumjmc

I'll be getting more works showcase here fairly soon.

Red Ant Retro

I wanted to help announce here on my brother's behalf about his new online business: Red Ant Retro.  Red Ant Retro is an online retail store that fixes and sell aftermarket games, home gaming consoles and their accessories.  There's also the service of fixing up your gaming possessions to next to mint-condition if you wish to try.

My brother, Jason McMillen is an avid gamer and computer whiz in code programming; he even design game programs in his spare time.  He and I are big video game fans since childhood and it only makes sense for him to invest his enthusiasm and computer skills into his latest venture.  So if you are long-time game players since the early 90's or gamers that enjoy playing the classics, Red Ant Retro is a great store to seek out for your classical gaming needs.  Please take a look around if this is your cup of tea or coffee or pop, whatever you regularly sip on.

Here is the recent flyer that explains what Red Ant Retro is about and what they offer:

Website:       www.redantretro.com

No Spamming please! For further information about the services and products, please consult with Jason. Contact information is on back flyer side. Thanks and have a good day.

Samples and Experiments

Hiya.  Been working on some new samples for my Fiverr Gigs, some are yet to be active but soon.  I might be tied up with some family obligations for a while but I'm not letting that stop me from freelancing nor improving my creative skills.  Here are some stuff I've been doodling around with lately.

New Fiverr Sample - Black & White Line Art

Bouncing Ball Sketching Animation - Can you guess which one is 1-Looped?

Storyboarding Sample - Tea Time Surprise

Storyboarding Sample - Stormy Horizon

Slumber Studying, 2016

Experimenting with Adobe Draw (iPad App)

Blonde Headshot

What's been happening lately...

Hey everyone.  How's everyone doing?  I've been busy with a lot of stuff at home.

I've been side-tracked a lot over family matters lately.  My Dad unfortunately suffered a stroke back in Late-January.  He was hospitalized twice since then; after the first 2 weeks, he was home for 5 days before having to go back over mini-strokes.  He now needs someone to always be with him at home as his brain isn't what it used to be, plus now blind in one eye.  Mom had to go on leave with her job to help Dad but I help her out at times, especially since she's working to get her driving license.

At this time, I would be working a usual job placement in Toronto. Unfortunately, I wasn't given the job this time so I'm currently looking for other opportunities.  More freelancing, another temp agency or a more permanent job in design or retail, whoever would have me (hint, hint).  While waiting for  in between, I'm clearing off my backlog of projects.  This scrap card stock for a quick illustration for one.

So just stating what's been happening with me lately.  I want to be getting my artistic momentum rolling again that Mom is home for Dad now.  It's just a matter of deciding which direction I want to go for employment at this point.

Stradna and Pip

In a long strand of works that I've started but left unfinished, here's a new acrylic painting on canvas.  This started out as a test painting for trying out my wheel-able french easel.  I was going to paint a lily plant beside a old fence in the late afternoon in Summer but soon loss interest and started sketching a fantasy scene.  It's nice sometimes to break away from working on a computer and working with physical media.

Now completed after about 2 weeks of late nighters, I'm loving the results here.  I wanted it vibrant, ornate and leave you wanting to explore more of the city, especially a genie city.  Some of you might recognize the young man in the painting if you watch disney junior shows.

My Fiverr Gig Samples

I hope that everyone enjoyed had their Holidays off last year.  Here's a Christmas Illustration I've made, if I've haven't send one to you.

Aside from enjoying the Holidays, I've been making some promos for my Fiverr Gig.  I'm offering to do sketch drawings for $5 each, with rendering them into polished works as extra.  If you're interested, please check my Gig page out at: https://www.fiverr.com/crystaliumjmc/illustrate-a-character-or-more-of-your-choosing

Pixel Art

Thanks to a generous gift from my brother, I've been learning to do game graphics in pixels on Udemy.  Here are some samples of what I've done:

  

I'm still learning the basics but I'm already got the hang of shading still graphics. This is much like stippling dots in ink but combine with strokes.   The course is also to teach me to do animations too.  I could start offering up to do pixel works on a professional level soon.

Timing Illustrative Styles

With my temp job with L'Oreal is now done (and some other expenses), I'll looking for more work, closer to home hopefully or without a lot of commuting time.  Also I"m experimenting with how long it takes to do an illustrative style from a sketch.  For today I did 2 versions in Photoshop on 1 of my old SDC sketches from last year.

Original Sketch

Estimate Time: 6 hours

Estimate Time: 4 hours

I was seeing if there was a professional style I could go with for my freelancing online.  Style 1 with purely shape and no contours and Style 2 with contours.  I had before obsess with having thick 'n' thin lines done perfectly which had contributed to having spent more hours on a piece than maybe necessary.  When you get to experiment like this, you definitely get to explore what works better for yourself and your work.

Owl bears at a Salmon Run

Salmon Run Owlbear

This one took a lonnnnnnnng time to complete (about 4 months on my spare time), plus in a poster format with over 650MB in Photoshop.  For those following from Spring this year, I've made a day trip on my bike, getting some exercise, fresh air and inspiration for new works.  Some of those sketches I've made while cycling are down below.  It wouldn't be the first time than I've used the Salmon Run Fountain of Bobbie Rosenfeld Park for a project and I was wanting to do some fantasy works. I've also took photos and videos of running rivers and rapids with my iPad's camera while riding across the bike paths of Taylor Creek and Don River Valley. With those sketches, I've started to do a poster work for a fantasied salmon run.  Most of the time working on this went into the salmons and owlbears and the rock wall of the river.

Overall. I liked the final look of the piece.  Usually I don't like how long some pieces might take to do those sharp and highly-detailed markings with but it had come out all right in the long run, literally.

Refined Rough for Salmon Run Owlbear

Original sketches while on day trip in Spring 2015