coyleart

Octopus Woman

I am a sucker for 1950's creature-features and campy sci-fi B-movies. The posters are often more promising than the final product, but I watch until the end nevertheless. Netflix has a few classics that you can stream like Them!, Attack of the Puppet People, and The Monster that Challenged the World. (Featuring a fantastically ridiculous giant underwater caterpillar.)

I recently watched The Wasp Woman by Roger Corman and it got me thinking about how I might find an evil-genius chemist to extract some essence of multi-armedness from an octopus - so I could work a little faster. It all sounds good, but these movies have taught me not to tinker with mother nature. Or radioactivity. Or spray paint and foam rubber.

One of my projects of the moment is converting my Step by Step Illustrator class to a new and improved self-paced class, Beginning Illustrator. This creature is taking over my studio. I couldn't help myself, it started out small and then suddenly I decided to make it bigger and better and now I want to drink some octopus arm extract.

If you are interested in learning Adobe Illustrator though, you will be pleased with this online class. This is the same class as Step by Step, with a new central project that includes step by step instructions for six design elements (double the previous three). Here's a sneak peek:

Each of the six elements and the background offers a learning experience, with more opportunities to establish and reinforce your skills in Illustrator. And you can use the art you create for your layouts, cards, logos and all manner of Illustrator vector goodness.

Yes, it's larger, it's more killer, but I have it under control. Arriving at a theatre near you (ReneePearson.com) in the next several weeks!

Renee Pearson Blog Giveaways!

July is a big month on ReneePearson.com, where I teach Adobe Illustrator classes online. Renee has launched a brand new blog with a new entry every weekday. There are tips, techniques and links to all kinds of cool digital stuff on theBlog, so check it out! I just learned from one of Renee's posts about some amazing pattern generating software that I'm excited to try.

And while you're there, take the opportunity to enter to win a free "Christmas in July" class. There are three great classes available, whether you are interested in scrapbooking, photography or card-making.

Holly Shop, my Holiday card-making workshop for Illustrator is up for grabs this Friday. Bookmark theBlog at ReneePearson.com and drop your name in the hat this Friday for a chance at a free Holly Shop class.

And in other class news, I'm hard at work on my Beginning Illustrator class, a re-vamp of my Step by Step class - it's coming soon. I have an all-new project included that's bigger and better than before, so stay tuned! I think you'll really like it! All current class scheduling info lives on my classes page.

My latest illustration e-promo: Flight International Cover

If you received this promo today and it brought you here, Welcome!

I had the pleasure of working on this assignment recently for Flightglobal, for the cover of Flight International Magazine. The illustration strives to capture the meeting of Parisian culture and Aviation that occurs every other year when the Paris Air Show comes to Le Bourget Airport, just outside of Paris. This is the oldest and largest air show in the world, an aviation tradition that began in 1909.

Zooming ahead to the 21st century, you can also view the interactive version of the cover and magazine (Flash required) created by Kern Roderick-Jones of FMG that features animation of my mini Patrouille de France, the acrobatic jet team of the French Air Force.

One thing I relish as an illustrator is the opportunity to research an interesting subject like this and find the reference I need for all the details. When I lived in New York, I loved to visit the picture files at the New York Public Library, but I confess I love the convenience of a Google search even more.

Here's a quick shot of the print edition I snapped on my light table. I like to add finishing touches with pen and ink, but after my initial pencil thumbnails, I draw most of the art on the computer.

My Dad happens to be a librarian at the National Naval Air Museum in Pensacola FL, so I was happy to show him that his love for airplanes, and for modeling and drawing them, has rubbed off a bit on me. Here's my Dad going the extra mile to get the best shot of his rubber band powered Fokker biplane. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

You can see the Paris Air Show cover art and more of my work on my illustration portfolio website at www.coyleart.com.

 

Christmas in July : Holly Shop for Adobe Illustrator!

Ho Ho Ho, I know, I know, it's a wee bit early for making cards for the holidays. But if you're looking for an excuse to play with Adobe Illustrator while working on a fun project, I promise I'll make it worth your time! Holly Shop is one of my "Make it Now" project classes: an hour and 30 minutes of video lessons that you take at your own pace.

Watch the "trailer" video on my YouTube channel for all the details - you'll see how easily this project is adaptable to birthday cards or other celebrations and you'll find out just how much you'll learn about Illustrator in the process.

The class is $20. and it's available for purchase through the end of July (it won't be offered again until later this fall). When you purchase, you'll have lifetime access - so you can take it up whenever you're ready!

Here's the link to Holly Shop!

 

Dover clip art

This is one of the sample images I received free this week, after signing up for the Dover Design Sampler. I've collected my share of Dover clip-art books over the years and they can be a great resource of copyright-free images for your design library. Some books come with CDs containing .eps format vector art. For the older books that don't include a CD, a scanner and Live Trace in Illustrator can get you pretty far. Check out their offerings at DoverPublications.com.