Friday, September 2, 2011

Recently, I bought a frame from IKEA that was just begging for something to be put into it. And I obliged. I wanted to test out a process I'd seen theirison do, and heres a walkthrough of my result!


First, I sketched out something I wanted. I was feeling rather inspired by Disneyland's The Haunted Mansion (and when am i NOT?) so went for a classic portrait. This is kind of a representation of my character Clementine from The Skeleton Bandit





I then transferred the sketch to a larger format.




I covered the line areas with a reddish brown colored pencil to transfer to the illustration board I worked on.



I transferred the image by drawing over the lines, pushing the reddish brown color to the illustration board. afterwards, I covered the board in a light green watercolor wash. I then laid down a heavy layer of white colored pencil, which makes blending colors on top of the white slightly easier because of the waxy buildup.




Then, I rendered the hell out of it with an array of blues, purples, flesh tones, etc. I used blending stumps and paper towels to assist blending in my attempt to achieve the look I was going for.




I added some more color to the background with another watercolor wash, using a dry sponge brush. I added a flat green for the jacket. At this point i was getting a little frustrated with the blending process and didn't think I could achieve the texture I wanted for the jacket.




After adding hair as well, I rendered colored pencil shading and highlights on top of the acrylic paint. This actually worked quite well, but its harder to blend the colored pencils on top of the acrylic paint.




It was a constant back and forth with the rendering, and adding details like the piping on the jacket, buttons, etc.



And the FINAL touches, adding UV markers and paint for a secret little bonus to the image. 



The FINAL image, in the frame. Click on the image for a much larger version!

All in all, it was a pretty fun project, and the medium provides a rather relaxing process. It kept me exited to work on it. I don't know how often i would use this process, but it definitely provides a unique look. This now happily hangs above my bed. Enjoy!

-B 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Bat-Family

So, if you know me at all...you know how much I love Batman, and everything that comes with the books, movies and characters (excluding Joel Schumachers films and the Halle Berry Catwoman...yeesh...).
I've seen Batman Returns ~200 times since it came out in 1992. yeah. i know...

On top of enjoying the various forms of media Batman comes in, I also enjoy creating some fanart every once in a while. I've been reading a lot of the current bat-family trades with Dick Grayson as bats and so on. Decided to play with some drawing techniques while I drew the Grayson Batman, Damian as Robin, Tim Drake as Red Robin (in his "dream costume" from recent Red Robin issues), Kate Kane as Batwoman, and Stephanie Brown as Batgirl.


Click for larger version!


A few weeks ago I was watching some of the animated series from the 90s, and also reminiscing about how goofy/fun the 60s live-action show was, and wanted to draw me some Barbara Gordon Batgirl, in all her sparkly purple glory!

Click for larger version!


Enjoy!!

-B

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Hot Mess "Learn to Sleep With the Light On" Album Packaging

As promised, I present to you the final product of my Hot Mess project. The album, Learn to Sleep With the Light On, is the debut album from award-winning Chico, CA pop/rock band Hot Mess. I had played with some mock ups of the earlier versions of the logo, and in the process accidentally developed the name and visual concept of the album (and a happy accident at that!).



They really liked the gritty, old, pulp fiction-ey textures and the splatters, which lead to the final iteration of the logo. They also liked the idea of naming the album after the song of the same name (which, by the way, is my favorite on the album...GO BUY IT!)





And heres a photo of the album and all the gear that I designed with it! Check out larger photos in my DeviantArt Account! And visit Hot Mess online!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

I Suck at Blogging.

I really do. I don't know what it is that holds me back from properly keeping up with posts and whatnot. Maybe it's the lack of readers? Who knows. ANYHOW. I recently (TODAY) finished the album packaging for Hot Mess. While you won't be seeing photos of the completed project for about another month, you can see a little of what I've put together for them on their site

In commemoration of finishing such a fun, wonderful and SEXY project, I decided to post my process work from the last year or so trying to come up with a logo for them. We went through a lot of versions, trying to peg down the "image" they wanted to present. Key words like sexy, trendy, retro, dark, pop, edgy, glamorous, old-Hollywood, film noir and flashy were thrown around as we came up with the look and feel of the final logo. Ideas ranged from super-modern clean fonts for that "pop" and trendy feel, to the retro Munster's inspired ideas. Due to availability issues, they had to go with www.hotmesslovesyou.com for their website, so the incorporation of the heart logo started to bring everything together. In one of the last discussions we had prior to creating the final logo, they told me "we want it to look like an old broke-down hotel sign"...and so, the Hot Mess logo was born!! Hope you like! And stay tuned for a follow-up when the final printed product is in my hands!



Click To See Large Version!







AND! Now that this is done, my freelance palette is effectively CLEARED. I'll be focusing on The Skeleton Bandit for a while! I'm gonna say pages will start being posted by the end of May...don't hold me to it though. hah! Been working out the last bit of details with Randy, hopefully we'll be rollin' on it soon!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Productivity

I HAS IT!

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks in productivity land. I'm inbetween temp jobs (and can't seem to track down any permanent jobs!), so I've been clearing things off my to-do list. Most importantly, I had the time to redesign my resume, portfolio, and website. Check out all three at http://www.brandonredenius.com !!!

Alongside all of that, I'm learning WordPress combined with ComicPress for a platform to present my webcomic, The Skeleton Bandit! Keep an eye on www.theskeletonbandit.com in the coming months! Here's a sneak peek at one of the baddies from the book!




The other big project on my plate at the moment is working with Chico, CA Indie Pop band, HOT MESS! We recently finalized their logo, and I'll soon be working on their album packaging.



Check them out!
Hot Mess
Hot Mess on Facebook

Monday, November 8, 2010

"...and theres no place that I'd rather be..."

I live in San Francisco.

Thats a sentence I've wanted to say for a very long time, and everything's falling into place. As much as Chico means to me, and as much as I love the handful of people I called friends in Sacramento, THIS is where I'm meant to be.
After two months of staying with extremely generous friends, I'm now settled in a place in Noe Valley.
I've got a wonderful boyfriend. Spending time with him never gets old. He's sort of been my chauffeur in the city, showing me places and introducing me to people that are becoming my friends as well. Hes exponentially bringing the nerd in me out more.
Although I'm starting to feel like I need to be focusing more on creating my own stories and mythologies than enjoying the work of others.
Skeleton Bandit is still in development, and I think this ball will be rolling by the end of the year. I'm trying to learn wordpress as a platform to put my comic into the internet world.
While the job front is less than consistent, I think I'm making it work so far. The Creative Group got me a 1.5 month contract with a political marketing agency that gave me yet a different look into the design world. Seems like each design job I've had isn't the typical kind that school taught us about!
I think thats enough blabbing for now. Here's some songs I've been listening to a lot lately.
Back to job applications!










Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Skeleton Bandit

This is the "cover" to my Skeleton Bandit story (stay tuned...)

heavily inspired by tattoos, and the ram's skull idea came from watching a movie called Dead Man starring Johnny Depp!
CLICK HERE!!

AAAND a song for your listening pleasure