Jahzel Misner - Designer

My February entry for Drawing Challenge.

I wanted to challenge myself this month. I was going to do a cell shaded style and that is why I started in Illustrator. I changed my mind and decided I wanted to try an even scarier challenge – acrylics in Painter. My favorite part about this drawing is the old woman, she was so fun to draw and color. My least favorite part would probably be the hands. Illustrator is great for clean and smooth lines, but I find it hard to draw more intricate parts like hands and eyes. My goal for next month is to focus more on the drawing. I think I need a lot of work on anatomy and posing.

Media: Illustrator, Photoshop, Painter, Photoshop (in that order)

I woke up today really excited because there was only one day left before the Northern Voice conference – and then I realized I had no business cards to pass around! After some panicking I decided to whip up a simple card to get my local printer to print as a rush job. I based this card on a concept I was playing with a couple of months ago.

For an hour’s work I don’t mind it at all.

[Update: Scratch a couple of months ago, make it 6 months. How time flies.]

During my birthday party my friends and I worked on a large canvas together. I really like the results and plan on hanging this in my living room!

I asked for acrylic paints for my birthday with the intention of learning how to paint. I love painting on the computer but I think my drawings can look processed. My Photoshop painting techniques involve burning, blurring, and dodging – nothing at all like traditional Paints. So in order to improve my digital painting I have set a goal to learn how to paint traditionally. No undo button.

This is my control piece, painted before I do my usual training process. (How to books, training videos, and online tutorials).

From left to right – versions spanning 3 painting sessions: 

- My painting equipment (Thank you again bro for the wonderful birthday gift!)

- Ver 1. She started out nude, not very appropriate as I had intended the mermaid to child-like.

- Ver 2. Added background effects, corrected the nudity, and over did the hair. Heheh Marge Simpson hair.

- Final piece. (top) Hmm so there is an undo button. Just paint over.

It’s been a while since I’ve made an icon set. Icon design is not one of my favorite things to do; however, it’s nice to take a break from web design and Illustration. I was originally hired for graphic design. It’s refreshing to go back to my graphic design roots every once in a while, even if I’ve already decided it’s not a path I want to pursue.