Redesigned Bond's Blog and a Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus strolling at Dusk

Welcome to the newly redesigned Bond's Blog!  As I dabble in tweaking the html, I'm sure the design will shift here and there.  But I am much happier with this new look.

To celebrate this fresh start, here is a new Spinosaur piece I created for the upcoming Prehistoric Times magazine.  It represents an artistic jump in my abilities as I began experimenting in digitally colouring!

The above piece was created using a mix of trad and digital techniques: it began as a pencil sketch, then scanned into the computer where I tweaked the contrast to change the pencil into strong "ink" lines.  Using layers in photoshop, I built up the colours and shades and details, until he ended up looking like the final product.  To finish him, I placed the coloured spinosaur into a photograph of a beautiful beach (that I took in the Philippines while traveling in late 2008.)

Zoom in to see the full effect of this digital colouring.  It's not perfect, as the black "ink" layer gets lost in places, and the general shading still needs work.  (Also, if you think about it, his left foot disappears conveniently behind his right! Yikes!)

Anyway, it's a new style for me that I'd like to continue and try to perfect.  How do you digitally colour your drawings?

In Transition

Upgrading to Bond's Blog 3.0...

Stay tuned for a more artistically focused site.
Hold my place in line,
I'll be right back!

My Vancouver Olympics Photos

Vancouver Olympics Rap-Up

Final Medal Results:  USA 37  -   Germany 30  -  Canada  26  -   Norway 23  -  Austria 16
(See the final results here)

What an amazing experience the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was!  The city had an amazing vibe with people partying in the streets and singing 'O Canada' on the seabus!  With Canada wining more Gold medals than any other country and winning the most Golds ever for Winter Olympics, I couldn't be happier!

One of the most amazing experiences was actually going and watching an event.  I was lucky enough to get tickets to the last night of Short Track Speed Skating and witness Canada winning two golds (Thanks Craig and Lady R!)   Another post will cover that soon.

But it's not the medals, not even the sport.  It' was the patriotism and the party.  It was something special...

If you haven't seen Stephen Brunt video essay on the Games, it sums up perfectly my feelings:




With the final Hockey Game won (most amazing game EVER!) and the Closing Ceremonies over, we turn our attention to the Paralympic Games!  Next Saturday, I'll be going to my first Sledge Hockey game.  I'll tell you all about it later...

Vancouver 2010 ... What fun!

A Special Event of Phenominal Preportions

Medals:  USA  39  -  Germany 29  -  Canada 25  -  Norway 22 -  Austria 16  -  Russia 15
GOLD:  Canada 13  -  Germany  10  -  USA  9  -  Norway  8 ...
 
Today was the Greatest Olympic Day yet!  3 Gold Medals!!!  Canada is now third in medal standing and leading in Gold Medals!

With Craig staying with me in Vancouver (and spending all our time enjoying the Olympics!), we are finally able to sit down and do something arty and creative.  So we've decided to do something radical and potentially damaging to our friendship.

Craig work with computer graphics, while I work with pencil and paper.  We thought that it would be interesting to work together and see if we can create something together - a joint dinosaur project using both of our skills!

For this, we're taking on the most famous of dinos - Tyrannosaurus rex!  The progress of this Epic Event is being documented on Craig's blog Weapon of Mass Imagination. 

The process works like this:  Craig creates a tyrannosaur in CG, and I create a tyrannosaur on paper in pencil, and then we digitally lay one over the other to see the difference between the recreations.  The point is to use both our interpretations, along with reference material from the internet and books (specifically Tomas Holtz's) to create an uber Rex.  The final product will be in CG, as we are able to walk through each body part and discuss and tweak it much more easily that on paper.

Step 1: Our two images, side-by-side (left-mine, right-Craig)

I am extremely interested in where this project will lead.  This is the first time Craig and I have worked together side-by-side on the same thing.  We both have our strong opinions, and have already come to blows over honestly stupid details, such as adding muscle grooves and ear-placement.

Anyway, check our progress out here and let us know how we are doing!  Here come the King!

Live Blogging: Olympic Edition 8

 

Liveblogging finishes for today - after a bunch of late nights enjoying the downtown festivities, intense and stressful Olympic action, and hours of drawing, inking and photoshopping.  Just really too tired to focus.  Craig is tired too.  He just lost his Therizinosaur's body - comically leaving legs, claws, and a head floating in space.  (As I type, he has already mended most of the damage but subbing in an older dinosaur's body and playing with it.)

Above is my first attempt at colouring using photoshop. The effect was unexpected and kinda works - enough for me to keep playing with it!  If anyone has any suggestions or tips in colouring digitally, let me know!  Thanks!

So that's it for now, I'm off to bed.  Liveblogging 3 will continue another day!  Stay tuned...

Live Blogging: Olympic Edition 7

 

  

A late update, but real progress here.  I've managed to finish up the inking to an extent that I am happy with.  Now I'll be experimenting with colouring in photoshop...  wish me luck!

Quite the smackdown, theropod on theropod!  Leaving the alioramus with some intense gashes on his face - would he survive?

After Canada suffered a loss to China in curling, Craig entered a period of depression, transmitting all his remaining energy into colouring (texturing) his therizinosaur.  The resulting collapse and explosion of creativity on his part has created a beautiful grey-green-orange coat of scales!  Check it out here.

Live Blogging: Olympic Edition 6

Ok, I'm over the loss of Canada to USA, so back to updating the progress of this Therizinosaur. 

Since the game is over, Craig and I have both been making lots of progress on our pieces.  Here is Craig's progress.  As you can see, most of the ink detailing is done on the therizinosaur.  I have only his right leg to place and ink. 

Craig as become stressed again as Canadian curlers are loosing 4-2 to China.  But M&Ms and Lady R's delicious dinner helped.  Dishes time. 

Next is to finish all the ink details, then get a good scan.  I'm going to try to colour it in photoshop, which will make good liveblog-reading as I've never tried it before!  But that is one of the bonuses of having photoshop-savy Craig! 

Live Blogging: Olympic Edition 5

Too sad to post.  Canada lost.  Also no work progress to show.  Well done, Miller.

Live Blogging: Olympic Edition 4

 

 

End of the second period now, with USA up 3-2 on Canada...  yeah, the game is certainly distracting Craig and I from our liveblogging.  He modeled toes and an arm, and I inked a foot.  Not a lot completed.  The stress level is high and our voices are horse...

Go Canada...

Live Blogging: Olympic Edition 3

So here are the inks starting, and I'm liking the cartoony feel of it.  I'm not sure if I'll paint it or not - maybe use watercolours?  Any suggestion?

Olympic update:  Canada won silver in speed skating!!!

Now Hockey has started and both Craig and I are incredibly distracted.  And nervous!  USA is up 2-1 at the end of the first, so Canada needs to step up and put pressure on... 

Art.

Hockey!!!!!

So far, Craig forgot to add a knee and I missed a toe my therizinosaur's foot - so things are going great!  Stay tuned for more fun...


Therizinosaur: Coloured or not coloured?

Live Blogging: Olympic Edition 2

We've flipped over to 300 m speed skating - to Craig's shegrin.  4 Canadians are in this contest, so I'm stoaked!  The Swiss just won two points in curling, so Craig is freaking out.  Beyond that, he is currently working on the proportions of his dino's leg.  I'm beginning inking my drawing...

Go Cindy Klassen in speed skating!!!!