Excerpts From Various Sketchbooks

2011-09-02T23:37:00.000-07:00

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

The Bat-Family

2011-05-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

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

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

2011-05-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

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!

I Suck at Blogging.

2011-03-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

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!

Productivity

2011-02-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

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

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

2010-11-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

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!

The Skeleton Bandit

2010-06-23T01:38:00.000-07:00

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

Optimism

2010-06-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

Optimist:
Noun
1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome.

Optimism: I has it.
I feel like really amazing things are about to happen. I've never felt this good in my life. Cross your fingers.
And in the meantime, check out my recently redesigned website! There's also a PDF version of my physical portfolio on the right side of the home page, above the photo of me!

And here's an extremely optimistic song to go with the blog!

Intro to 2010

2010-02-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

New Years saw my Vegas plans fall through, but I'm not upset about it because I had an amazing time in Chico with wonderful people. I'll visit Vegas someday when I have more money to blow.

In true B.Red fashion, the last 2 months have been busy and packed full of adventure, which also means I haven't had enough time dedicated to freelance projects and personal projects. They'll get done... eventually.
I paid a price for all my adventuring. The first week of January, I got strep throat, had that for a week, and fought it off for another week, and I've gotten 2 colds since!

And inbetween the colds I've been in SF and Chico, with only a weekend or 2 in Sacramento. Not enough going on to keep me here. After this weekend I WILL have to stay put for a while; I have projects to wrap up and money to not spend. haha.

On one of the trips to SF, I went to SFMoMA with Leslie and Allen. There's quite an impressive collection of works there right now, including this gem.

This was the first time I'd gone to SF after really deciding I wanted to live there. I took in a lot more, my sense of direction there is much better now. The second trip to SF (Feb 18th), I saw Alkaline Trio and Cursive at Regency Center Grand Ballroom. GREAT show, 4th time I've seen Cursive. Added bonus; Rykarda Parasol was playing roughly 2 blocks from the venue, in a bar called Hemlock Tavern. On top of THAT, members from Cursive and Alkaline Trio came to that bar after the show. SO, I got a picture with Tim Kasher and got to tell him how much I appreciate their music. Personal goal crossed off the list.

Judgement Day debuted a video that I assisted in making. I made the Violin Hero logo and packaging for the game box...if you're a fan of anything Adult Swim, you'll appreciate this video!

My good friends Team Shark Week put up some new songs. Click the link to check them out.
Also, the amazing Allen took photos of them, check out his flickr.

Reading List:

Hunter S. Thompsons "The Great Shark Hunt"
Batman: Battle for the Cowl
Batman: Mad Love
Hack/Slash

Watching List:

Magnolia
Whip It

And for your listening pleasure, songs on my brain:

Check out my DeviantArt for all my latest drawings/sketches!
Until next time...

Wrap it up 2009!

2009-12-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

So this year is rapidly coming to a close, and I've been extremely unproductive on account of the many holiday related activities I've been attending. This was the second year I got to see Gorgeous Armada's Sleigh, and even helped with graphics for flyers and play programs and the like!
I'll be starting 2010 off the right way, with some of the closest bestest friends I have, in the City of Sin.
This year has been full of a lot of stagnant times, but when the fun parts came around, we made them count. I made a lot of great new friends, from Chico, to Sacramento, to the Bay, and the friends I already had, we made the bond stronger.
The last couple months showed me how much support I have behind me, family and friends alike. And its good to know I don't need to worry about those close to me judging me for who I am.

So, since I doubt that I'll be updating this again before 2009 dies, I'll post my "resolutions" now.

Update Resume and Portfolio
New Car
New City...? Stay Tuned...

That is all for now, here's some lovely songs!
Bring it 2010!

-B.Red

Rapidly Approaching Holidays, Some Current Favorites, and a DRAWING!

2009-11-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

It always seems that once Halloween hits, the rest of the year just dissolves. We're already 2 days away from Thanksgiving, a month away from Christmas and a little more than that away from 2010...yeesh. I'm going to see a lot of people in a short amount of time, and travel a little more than I'd like to, but should be worth it! Vegas may be in my New Years forecast, but I'll keep you posted on that one. haha.

I just finished reading Batman Dark Victory, which is kind of a continuation/sequel to The Long Halloween. I don't know how he does it, but Loeb sure knows how to use most every major batman villain and supporting cast while at the same time introducing new characters and expanding lesser known characters without overbearing the reader or making the book too cluttered. I definitely think that Tim Sale's art is starting to definte the Gotham City i know in my mind!

Favorite song of the week is IAMX - "Spit it out" (Designer Drugs Remix). Heard it at a dance party, and I had heard the original version a few weeks before that. The remix greatly enhances and compliments the original, and something about the beat just makes it very happy and (obviously) energetic.

Favorite video of the week is definitey Beyonce feat. Lady Gaga "Video Phone". Why do I like it? Beyond the infectious beat? Beyond the Sin City/Comic Book inspired costumes and ridiculous amounts of color? Beyond the sweet nod to Reservoir Dogs AND Kill Bill in the beginning? Beyond the intense editing to go along with the beat? Ok, I guess don't have any other reasons beyond those...but those are some good reasons to like it.

Also a good watch is Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance". A friend of a friend is the guy on the far left in the intro shot. This whole video is just insane and the costumes are ridiculous and its so well shot and production value is great! Eye candy indeed...love the spinny shot with the floating diamonds. haha.

And last but not least is my latest drawing. After reading a couple of the new Batgirl issues with a new lady under the pointy ears, I decided to draw an homage to the original Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. (Yes I know she wasnt the first, but I still consider her the original!) Click the thumbnail to see the bigger image on my DeviantArt Account.

Eat turkey, get fat, have a good one!

HALLOWEEEEEN

2009-10-31T01:25:00.000-07:00

Go figure that my mind waits til the night before Halloween to process the fact that tomorrow is Halloween. All of a sudden I'm excited and in the spirit...lets do this!

Hair has been re-bleached...thrift store purchases torn and shredded and ready for blood application...and a new mix to listen to in the car on the way to Chico!

This isn't entirely well thought out, and this is just from my current collection of music...if i had time to track down most of what i had before this would be a longer and probably more diverse list...this was mostly going for certain sounds or certain feelings that i associate with Halloween...and the first is a little blatant...ENJOY!

"Halloween" - A.F.I.
"Whats a Girl to Do" - Bat for Lashes
"Operate" - Peaches
"The Bridge" - The Knife
"The Killing Moon" - Echo and the Bunnymen
"Hypnotised" - The Faint
"Out of the Abyss" - Judgement Day
"Bloody Murderer" - Cursive
"Get Confused" - Fischerspooner
"Tesko Suicide" - Sneaker Pimps
"Pretty Mess" - Femme Fatality
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" - Joy Division
"Like a Pen" - The Knife
"Humming" - Portishead
"Skin of the Night" - M83

Some Songs and the Impending Halloween Weekend

2009-10-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

This blog is dedicated to slightly creepy songs/videos as Halloween approaches.
Not quite sure what i'm gonna be doing, what i'll dress up as, but i love the holiday, the stories that come with it, and candy aint half bad either.
Not much else to say right now, so on to the videos!

One of my absolute favorites is the Donnie Darko inspired video for Bat for Lashes' "Whats a Girl to Do?" The video greatly compliments the tone and beat of the song.

Next up is "Pretty Mess" by Femme Fatality. The song is pretty violent in tone and the "narrative" of the video reflects the tension and crazed pace of the song. Definitely one of my fave unknown electro groups.

The first Cursive song i ever heard was "Bloody Murderer," and i was way into the story elements and the energy and creativity of the song. Its dark, and angry, and amazing!

This song is from the Queen of the Damned soundtrack and vocalized by Jon Davis of Korn. While the movie wasn't exactly an award winner, they did a pretty decent job with the music. The video is heavily inspired by Nosferatu and i love that sort of visual asthetic!

The last video i'll post has a similar vintage feel to the horror movies of old...its Judgement Day's "Out of the Abyss"! These are some swell gents that make glorious music that sounds like it belongs in a horror film!

Quite a Weekend...

2009-10-11T22:50:00.001-07:00

I'm gonna start this post with my Thursday (October 8th) night. I went to the Boardwalk in Orangevale and saw Touche Amore, The Dear Hunter, Fall of Troy, and THURSDAY. Now, I've seen Thursday before, at the Warfield in San Francisco. They're a band that I've listened to since sophomore year of high school. Classic teenage angst scenario. But there's a power behind their music that I've always hung on to, and their socially/politically driven lyrics keep it interesting. I'll wrap up the San Francisco show as being...lackluster. But the Boardwalk show was very intimate, and VERY powerful, left me wanting more. Definitely one of the best shows I've been to! The live rendition of "Between Rupture and Rapture" was hard enough to send chills down my spine and make everyone in the room move, in one way or another.
Having listened to Thursday for so long, you start picking out symbols used repeatedly. One that particularly stands out is anything that documents time; clocks, watches, calendars...which leads me to my favorite Thursday song, "Jet Black New Year."

I worked friday...blah.
Saturday, had some friends visit from Chico. We went out and somehow managed to synchronize a transition from "having a good time" to "what happened last night?" After a couple hours at Press Club, we came back to the house where my downstairs neighbors invented a "night club" of their own. Sorry guys, VIP only. HAH.

After piecing together our lives this morning and making a tasty breakfast, me and the gang went to see Zombieland. It was one of the most gratifying movies I've ever seen. Everything about it made me happy in one way or another, and none of it really felt over the top in a blatant way. It did a very good job of making you quickly attached to characters you know little to nothing about, with most of them not even using their real character names. It's always an odd feeling when you find violence lending itself to physical humor, and laughing hysterically at the meeting of baseball bat and brains. Zombies are the only horror icon I've ever really had nightmares about, and the movie definitely fed my brain things that my subconcious will use against me at a later date. I laughed a LOT. Very fun movie, one of my faves this year! I'll probably see it again before it leaves theaters!

And at the close of this Sunday eve, I think I've developed my second head cold in a month. Nyquil is my friend.

Blogging?!

2009-10-10T00:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought it was time to give this a try. I don't know how much good this will be to other people, but I definitely wanted to start this for myself, as a way to process WHY I like the things I like. Lets see if it works?

The first thing I wanted to post is "Splinter" by Sneaker Pimps. I've been listening to them a lot.
When I hear this song I focus in on the lyric "Does it take the fireworks to make you look in wonder?"
I'm not sure what it is about that lyric that draws me in, but I think part of it is knowing someone a little too detached for their own good, and trying to get them to see more than whats at face value...or maybe I'm digging too deep, you be the judge.
The minimal guitar with the ethereal electro elements give a cinematic feel to the song and paired with Chris Corner's vocals makes for a nice dark lullaby. Definitely one of my faves right now

Secondly, I would like to mention how much I loved the trade paperback of Catwoman: When in Rome. I remember seeing a couple of the individual issues in the store and thinking "Oh I'll wait for the collected edition" then kinda forgot about it. I came across it and snatched it up. Its very clever, and the art is stylish in a noir fashion, true to my internal concept of how Gotham City and its inhabitants should be. It takes place between the events of Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory (which I have yet to read). The creative team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale understand what Batman and his Rogues Gallery is all about.
Tim Sale's covers and pinups for the mini-series and trade paperback were influenced by French fashion illustrator Rene Gurau, and his respect for the artist are reflected very well while still retaining his own style and adding to the personality of Selina Kyle.
It's fun, smart, and leaves you wanting more...guess I gotta go pick up Dark Victory eh?