Procreate time-lapse test. In video form.

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I have been wanting to try out the time-lapse feature on Procreate. Usually, I just ink my work digitally but I wanted to take something from the sketch to final. Time-lapse is a very interesting feature but a bit too lightweight for what I was looking for. I see how they are utilizing the redo/undo feature to make a time-lapse video, which is cool but when I see an artist process I would prefer a screencast. I love it when IU can see all the tools an designer or artist is using and how they use it. The best part about tools like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator is that there’s a number of different ways to do the same thing and I love getting that insight through screencasts.

Either way this is still cool and was super fun to play around with. Defiantly check it out.

Top design, illustration and creative podcasts. (part 1)

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top design, illustration and creative podcasts header image with headphones, designer tools and an ipod.

 

why podcasts?

I have been wanting to do this post for awhile now. As both a commuter and someone who works from home a few days a week. I’ve always had to rely on some sort of noise in the background to keep me engaged while I am in my office working remotely. I started with music but eventually transitioned to podcasts and audiobooks. The constant conversation gives the illusion of inter office conversation and breaks the remote silence.

After I graduated from college I had a part time job in the afternoon but still got up around 6:00am to have a coffee, search for potential jobs in my field, and the odd freelance job. My roommate at the time had a real job that went from 9 – 5. I was going stir crazy and was looking for anything to break the silence in the apartment. I had exhausted all my music then moved to talk radio but few of the topics interested me and a lot of the banter felt so fabricated.

I had recalled a while back Apple had announced they would be putting podcasts into the the itunes store. I was like awesome….but…what the hell is a podcast? Upon further investigation it was downloadable talk radio that seemed to be highly specialized. A perfect medium for a kid fresh out of college, looking to sponge up information in his field.

Over the years many podcasts have come and gone, some continue to stick with me to this day. Here is a selection of my favourite podcasts focusing on illustration, design and being a creative.

Let’s get into it: “Top design, illustration and creative podcasts (part 1)” as stated by me.

Best design podcast Adventures in design logo

Adventures in Design

Adventures in Design has to be one of my favourites on this list. It’s not the creative content or how it contributes back to the industry (though it does a great job at those things) that rank it high. It’s because it feels real; like shop talking with a peer or hanging out with an old friend. Those are the conversations when you see nuggets of wisdom, experience and craft drop right in front of you. All while still having a laugh and not taking yourself too seriously.

Mark Brickey is the crass talking host that mans the ship. Steering you through the rocks and waves of the creative struggle as well as his own personal ones. Shows are released pretty much daily with guests that range from designers and illustrators all the way up to executives for multi-million dollar corporations. Mark brings his knowledge of everything DIY. Leaning on his years of life experience in touring bands, rough childhood and being one of the pioneers in the gig poster/silkscreen scene.

The shows cadence isn’t for everyone but I think that is why I enjoy it. His interview style is unique, detailed and realistic. In an over saturated market this show definitely stands out and constantly surprises me. This is the punk rock of design podcasts.

Notable guest:
Shepard Fairy, Bobby Hundreds, Tara McPherson, and Paul Frank (and SO MANY more)

Best design podcasts Master of One Podcast logo

The Master of One Podcast

You know those kind of friends that you haven’t seen in ages but when you get together you can just pick up where you left off? That is The Master of One Podcast in a nutshell. You sit back and shoot the shit while Andrew, Patrick and Luke talk about everything movies, comics, video games etc. The next thing you know, your gut hurts from laughter and now your amazon cart is filled with all the cool new stuff you got to checkout.

The main focus of the show is getting you up on the cool new trinkets, art and whatever else you can get your hands on. When they aren’t getting you wise to that stuff they talk with the creators. Digging into process, life story or just hanging out.

Welcome these guys into your podcast library and they will become the friends you didn’t know you had.

Notable guest:
Huck Gee, Matt Taylor, Andrew Kolb, and Invisible Creature (and SO MANY more)

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Thanks for checking this out. I hope to release more insights on some of the podcasts and resources I am digesting on the regular. Hope you guys enjoy and comeback soon.

Check out part 2 (coming soon)

 

My First 2 hours with the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate. From Sketch to Something Final-ish?

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my first 2 hours with the ipad pro, apple pencil and procreate by blake stevenson

Right off the bat, I want to say that I was the guy talking crap about the iPad Pro. I tried it for a few minutes and flat out declared that no person who actually creates art regularly is going to use this thing. Then I was given the opportunity to actually spend some REAL time with the iPad Pro, Apple pencil and Procreate.

The right software:
I am not saying Procreate is the only software to use with the iPad Pro but for digital painting I’m in love with it. I found that if you don’t do some research up front you can get discouraged pretty quickly by the piles of garbage programs with odd interactions, unrealistic feel and cluttered canvases. This burned me really early on and formed a very negative opinion about the hardware.

Setting up my canvas in Procreate:
So, here is my first skeptical moment with the software. In programs like Adobe Photoshop, I like to build my canvas at 18″ x 24″ @ 600dpi. I know this is much lager than most people work but it has messed me up in the past, needing to enlarge an image and not having a larger enough graphic to do so. After I switched to this rather large canvas size I have yet to run into that problem I had in the past.

This is an assumption but I think in order to ensure the iPad processor doesn’t get bogged down, Procreate limits your projects layers (larger the canvas size, less layers you will be given). The maximum canvas size I was able to work with was 18″ x 24″ @300dpi but that limits me to only 9 layers. Which is fine, I just have to be aware of my layer management as I build my illustration. Hopefully the project layer number will go up with the next generation iPad Pro and its faster chipset.

Examining procreates UI:
My first impression of the interface was “meh.” I looked around and said “how could this do what I want it to do?” The toolset seems limited and unfamiliar. I started poking around and quickly found out that Procreate wasn’t problem it was my frame of mind. Procreates approach is to give you more real estate to draw with and only surface tools when you need them. Once I wrapped my head around the idea that this wasn’t Photoshop but more of a re-imagining/mobile touch version of it skewing heavily towards digital painting.

YouTube is your best friend:
With an unfamiliar interface in front of me and nobody to ask I decided to head to YouTube. A simple search query such as “Fill an object in procreate” or “Layer management in procreate” got me up to speed really quick and made me a power user quick. I strongly recommend this for anyone with and Procreate or curious about it.

Sketching with Procreate:
Initially I thought sketching was really good and responsive. The more I played with it the less I agree with my original statement. The software feels a bit unnatural and sticky but that is not my biggest gripe. The actual hardware is what frustrates me. The smooth tip of the pen and glass surface of the screen is not my favourite. I have heard you can buy a protective screen cover that gives the pen a bit of resistance. For now I will continue to do my initial sketch on paper, take a photo of it with the iPad and then work from there. I may be the only one in this camp but to me I can move faster and more confidently with a paper and pencil.

I have a old version of a Wacom Cintiq (12″) and can sketch with that thing for days. The responsiveness of the pen is leaps above the iPad Pro with Apple pencil. That all being said the Cintiq isn’t touch sensitive (newer 13″ Wacoms Cintiqs are), Lower resolution, and most important NOT portable. These are all factors that make the iPad Pro, Pencil and Procreate very appealing.

Sketch on iPad Pro with Procreate - Jetpacks and Rollerskates

Colouring in Procreate:
This is where Procreate shines. The baked in set of pens, brushes, etc. is pretty unbelievable. Each of the tools compliments the other nicely. The blending, overlays, translucencies of each of the mediums is really well thought out. And, if for some reason the a tool you want doesn’t exist. It’s easy to make them yourself and there’s a pretty active group of creatives making and sharing them.

 

Colouring the mouse with iPad Pro and Procreate - Jetpacks and Rollerskates

My Verdict: 

This is not the tool for everyone. It is expensive especially when you start doing the math:
12.9″ iPad Pro w/ 128gb = $899 USD +
Apple Pencil = $100 USD +
Procreate = $6 USD
Total = $1006 USD (to get you off the ground)

With that in mind, if you look at competitors like Wacom it’s very comparable in price, even a bit cheaper. It’s definitely not a Wacom Cintiq as far as quality but it’s close and probably close enough for most people.

Is it enough to go from sketch to final? Sketching is a bit weak (IMO) and it depends on what your working on. Limited layers makes it hard to to do larger scale pieces. Hopefully, the new processor on the second generation iPad Pro should cover some of those issues. The biggest thing that should not be overlooked and may make it sore above the competition is portability. The iPad Pro, Apple pencil and Procreate can completely change your workflow as a digital artist. It ‘s been very freeing to take a drawing from start to end(ish) while sitting on my couch. If you don’t have a drawing tablet yet this would be a great choice.

I hope that helps and if you have any question please feel free to leave them in the comment section. If you want to see more of my adventures with the iPad Pro and Procreate be sure to follow me on Instagram (instagram.com/jetpacksandrollerskates) where I post regularly.

Final (on instagram):

ipadpro-procreate-03-jetpacksandrollerskates

The uncreative part of being a creative with the Master of One Podcast.

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blake stevenson aka jetpacks and rollerskates illustrator podcast interview on master of one podcast

Got back in the hot seat with the Master of One podcast crew this week. If you don’t know what that is you must be living under a rock somewhere!? Just joking, It’s a great show that airs a few times a week and talks with creatives about the what they are working on, releasing and just general shop talk.

We rambled on about all sorts of goodies like getting your online store up and going, social media marketing, different sales channels, how to work with in constraints and so much more. Always a good time time with these guys!

Here is the episode I was on:

Checkout Episode 56 of the Master of One Podcast with Blake Stevenson aka Jetpacks and Rollerskates.

Fantastic Mr. Fox Adobe Illustrator Speed Drawing.

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Recording another speed drawing session. Once again for the monthly sticker club, Slaptastick. This months theme was fictional characters from books. My illustration was based on on of my favourite children’s books of all time Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl.

Fantastic Mr. Fox vector illustration by jetpacks and rollerskates

This illustration shows a way to design more symmetrical characters. By working on a single side, flipping it and then adding subtle modifications so it doesn’t look like an exact copy. In my opinion it’s all the little details that gives an illustration character and sets it apart, especially if you are working in a clean vector style.

I hope you enjoy the video and I would love it if you subscribed to my channel.

Catch my on social media. I am pretty active and love being a part of the conversation:
Instagram // Twitter // Facebook // My Website

Ghosts in the Groove time lapse process video. Illustrating with Photoshop and a Wacom Cintiq.

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Another process video for you guys. This is for a piece I call ‘Ghosts in the Groove.’ This was created using my 12″ Wacom Cintiq (older model) tablet. With this illustration I was trying to mimic the overprinting process when doing silkscreen. To do this I chose 2 colours and used the multiply effect in Photoshop. When taking this to press always take Photoshop’s multiply effect a grain of salt. 9 times out of 10 it will not be exactly what you see on screen. It’s a constant trial and error process until you get the results you’re looking for.

In future videos I will show some of the other techniques I have used to mimic the silkscreen process. Until then stay tuned and thanks for checking out my speed drawing process video.

Deadpool vectorization process video

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Back at you guys with another process video. This time I am doing everyone’s favorite foul mouthed superhero; Deadpool. This process video goes from sketch to final vector to show you how I do what I do. This one is a bit different than some of my other videos cause you can see how I do a symmetrical vector illustration.

Here is a better look at the final piece. I ended up with 2 different versions of this. I couldn’t decided if I liked the softer red outline or the more solid black outline to make it stand out better.

deadpool vector illustration by blake stevenson aka jetoacks and rollerskates.

Slap Stickers Alternative Logo Process Video

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A few months back I was asked by Slap Stickers to do a fun reimagining of the brand. After some discussion we decided to go with a handmade script lettering approach. Whenever I get the opportunity to do some custom scripts I cannot refuse. It’s one of those design muscles that can never be flexed enough; in my opinion.

Here is a my speed drawing/process video for the project. You can see how I take the sketch all the way to final vectorization on my Wacom Cintiq drawing tablet.

Here is a better look at the final piece.

slap stickers typography logo design by blake stevenson aka Jetpacks and Rollerskates

Weapons of Mass Creation festival shirt design and process video.

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I have attended the Weapons of Mass Creation Festival for the past 3 years. It’s an event like no other. The people, speakers, and vendors compliment each other and create something very special. Last year I was asked to do an alternative art print for the festival. and this year I was so excited when they asked me to do a shirt design. Giving back to this creative event that has given so much to me is a no brainer. Here are a few of the artifacts that came out of this.

Process Video:

Shirt Design:weapons of mass creation blake stevenson tshirt design

5 Not so Creative Questions with Aaron Scamihorn of Ronlewhorn Industries

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5 questions with ronlewhorn industries

I have not yet officially met Aaron (or should I say Ronlewhorn) in person but I chat with him via the internet once a week or so. Getting to see what he has in the hopper is always awesome. His clean line work, composition and ideas stood out to me instantly. Which eventually prompted a delivery of the sacred “5 not so creative questions.” Enjoy this edition with Aaron Scaminhorn of Ronlewhorn Industries.

For those who don’t know you. Who the hell are you?

My name is Aaron Scamihorn. I operate my illustration, design & screen printing operation under the name Ronlewhorn Industries. Ronlewhorn is a pseudonym that started as a typography class project in college where you take parts of a word and re-arrange the characters. Using my full name aaRON LEWis scamiHORN i came up with RONLEWHORN and it has kind of stuck.

ronlewhorn industries projects

What do you do? OR what are you working on?

I primarily create illustrated portraits. I love bold, clean-line illustration that has a touch of comic book and retro aesthetic. Right now I’m working on a series of posters for the Indianapolis Museum of Art highlighting the films they’re showing as part of their Summer Nights Film Series. I’m also doing a couple pieces for upcoming Gallery 1988 shows and have a couple gig posters in-progress for Bayside and Frightened Rabbit.

Ronlewhorn Industries Projects 2

What’s a tip you’d give to people? Something you’ve picked up along the way.

My advice to people is always “do what you love as much as you can, put it out there for as many people to see as possible and eventually people will pay you to do just that.” This philosophy has always worked out pretty well for me and it results in the most fun projects.

Ronlewhorn industries Beer Labels

What are you into. Or something that recently inspired you?

I started an organization a couple years ago called the Craft Brew Doodle Crew. We meet once a month at Indiana City Brewing and do musical-chairs style art. There are some seriously talented artists, illustrators and designers around the table and it always inspires me to collaborate on a handful of pieces with other creative people. You can see all the work from that group on CraftBrewDoodleCrew.com or @CraftBrewDoodleCrew on Instagram & Facebook.com/craftbrewdoodle

Waffles or Pancakes? and why.

Legit Belgian waffles with the chewy dough and crunchy bits of sugar! Those things are like crack!

 

Social

Instagram
www.instragram.com/ronlewhorn

Facebook
www.facebook.com/ronlewhorm

The Web
http://www.59parks.net/

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If you like what you saw here check out more 5 not so creative questions posts.