This blog is now located at http://go.johnlepinski.com/category/illustration/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://go.johnlepinski.com/feed/.
 OK - So my more liberal friends are going to hate this, but I designed the characters and created all the 3D illustrations for Disagreement Speech. It's an online comic/blog that addresses American politics and issues from an ultra-conservative and politically incorrect perspective. Enjoy!
 This is the final render of the Japanese Beetle Samurai character that I turned in for my 3D class. You can see that the ferocious beetle can decimate an entire forest with its sharp weapons of mass destruction. I hope that I will be as capable someday.
Japanese Beetle Samurai
 I was assigned to design a bug for my 3D class. I'm working on the model and environment now, but this is the 2D version of my bug design. Initially, I wasn't sure what bug to base my designs on. Then, I ran across an article about the invasion of the Japanese beetle. It had a photo of one of the miniature perps, and I quickly recognized the species as one that I used to play with when I was growing up in North Carolina. I was fascinated by their colors then, and I never knew that the innocent looking insects were such ferocious predators of local foliage. For the record, they also make great toys.
 This is the resulting image that I produced with the sumo panda teapot design. I just created the scene in a traditional/modern Japanese restaurant setting and rendered it. There's not much to it really, but I made some sushi rolls complete with wasabi and pickled ginger just for this image.
 I love calamari, sushi, and pretty much anything from the ocean. I guess it shows in my work, but that's probably a good thing. Here's one of my original characters - a loose squid.
 This design is based on a teapot design that I created for my Maya class at BYU. I created a concept that included the sumo wrestling panda character as the teapot and a first place cup for the teacup. I'm still working on the 3D version of the assignment. I've got to create a suitable environment for my objects, but I'll post a render of the resulting scene when I finish.
 Here's an illustration of an ultra tropical fish with really vibrant colors and a curious expression. It's another one from some of my earlier sketches, and I hope you enjoy it!
 This is a cartoon illustration I did based on an early sketch of a freaked out fish. You can get a FREE royalty-free copy for your commercial design work at Stockazoo.
 This is another digital illustration I threw together last night just for fun. It's been too long since I've taken the opportunity, and it felt great. I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed creating it.
 I have always been a bit of a seafood fanatic. But, just over a year ago, I took to doodling fish toons in my sketchbooks and notes. I enjoy remembering the highlights of my snorkeling trips in Indonesia, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. There's really no better way to study fish than in person. I guess it's kind of an escape for me because those are some of the best times of my life. The only problem is that as I draw fish and other sea creatures, I can't help but think about eating them. Some of the best food I ever had was on those trips that included snorkeling excursions. In Indonesia, we paid our cabin cooks to chase down some fishing boats and get dinner. They cooked a huge spread of white snapper (caught a few hours earlier), coconut, rice, and shrimp that we had caught in the tidal pools that afternoon. On Kona, Barbara and I caught a huge Mahi Mahi with some of our friends. We grilled it a few hours later and topped it with lemon basil butter. It was incredible! My most recent favorite was the Fish Casado in Costa Rica at the La Vista Restaurant at the Los Suenos Marriott resort. You can order it with fresh grilled Mahi Mahi or Sea Bass. Both were amazing. If you're ever in the neighborhood, don't forget to ask for the Salsa Lizano on the side though. It's fabulous!
 I enjoy sketching animals whenever I'm not drawing fish. Animals have always fascinated me. As a kid, I had caught and raised a variety of species. Growing up in North Carolina, I had lots of opportunities. By the time I was 17, I had caught every species of lizard and skink in the Audubon Society book that I treasured. We had raised doves, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, snakes, chameleons, lizards, skinks, rabits, cats, dogs, parakeets, frogs, toads, and everything in between. Then my family moved to Indonesia where they adopted a slow loris, parrots, geckos, and a whole bunch of half-wild Indonesian cats. The antics of all those goofy little critters are pretty entertaining, so once in a while I'll try to capture some of the fun in a quick sketch.
 Here are a few more toons from my notes. I'd have a better collection. But, I have a habit of losing them to eight year old kids who have an insatiable appetite for original cartoon art.
 This is a small sampling of some of my sketches of vampires and bio-mechanical alien robots. These usually appear in meetings when I get really tired or just get the urge to draw something and have no idea where to start. Sometimes when I have the time to sketch, I draw a serious blank and have to give myself a creative assignment. It's really tough being the teacher and the student though. I think I might do better embellishing a real assignment rather than an imaginary one.
 This is a corporate icon illustration that I did for Flavorshare, which is a company that offers their audience the opportunity to share cooking videos and recipes online. The illustration may seem a bit familiar since the concept is one that I developed for a painting that you'll see included below.
 This is an icon that I designed for Mascot Financial. It's copyrighted, so don't even think of using it without written permission. The objective of the design was to create an image that represented people working and thinking together to create and maintain wealth. The green and gold colors and textures were vital to the representation of riches.
 This was a classic illustration from my archives. Back in the early years of the internet, a lady designed "wearable" car covers for SUV's that she sewed at home. Her company was called "My Coveralls". She hired uSight to do some e-Commerce for her while I was working there. And, she had me convert a photo of one of her SUV covers into a catchy illustration to be used with her logo. The result was something akin to Pixar's "Cars".
 I painted this illustration for an advertisement for juice blends that combined vegetables with fruit. It was a pretty novel idea at the time, and the juice was some of my favorite. Incidentally, now my favorite juices come from Bolthouse Farms. They use sweet ingredients like Acai Berries, Maitake Mushrooms, Spirulina, Acerola Cherries and Prickly Pear Cactus in their juices. I love it!!!
 I don't do a ton of religious art, but this was an oil painting that I did for my parents. The actual size of the canvas is about 4 feet wide and 3.5 feet high. So, it took a while. Especially since I started with a black and white under-painting and layered glazes on top of it to get the color. It took about a year in my spare time, so next time I'll probably do something digital instead. It's just quicker, and it is a lot less messy to do digital paintings in the house.
 This oil painting on masonite board was intended to be a cover for the book "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell. Karana (The main character) is pictured as having conquered the harsh opposition in the natural environment which surrounds her. When it was finished, I framed the painting and gave it to my uncle who still has it in his private collection.
 This oil painting on textured board was a head study of a girl dressed like an old west pioneer. Looking at it now, I remember how much I enjoyed working with the textures and abstract shapes.
 If the average BYU Off-Campus Housing Contracted landlords were characterized in fairy tales, I think they'd look something like this. I had a good landlord once while I was in school. But, most of the time I was being taken advantage of by the cleaning check ladies and the crazy rantings of a crazy apartment owner. This illustration was published in the Daily Universe with an article about the problems that local students were having.
 I love my Macs. I grew up with them. I learned how to draw with a mouse when I was ten on a Mac Plus. But, at one point in my career, I realized that it is going to be a while before Apple is the standard. So, I designed this dismal image to mourn the fact that I was going to have to make myself as comfortable using a PC as I am using a Mac. Windows has been the bane of my existence ever since, but I have to say that it's a lot better than using DOS.
 A long time ago, I was assigned to paint a unique self portrait. So, I did this small (4"x 6") watercolor of myself as a Chinese Dragon. I even painted my actual Chinese name stamp so everyone would know it was me - as if that wasn't obvious!!!
 Lately, everybody has been telling me that I should post some of my traditional stuff. So, here's an 8"x10" head study I did a while back. I completed it in about 4 hours.
 I created this character "Gil" the Gecko, and it has been used on ThemeLizard.com as well as other sites. If you want to get a FREE royalty-free license to use Gil in your work, you can go to Stockazoo.com for more information. An isolated vector version of Gil is available at Dreamstime.
Outdoors Unlimited Web Site Promo Image
 This image was designed to promote the Outdoors Unlimited web site on BYU campus. It was so popular, the Director of Marketing Services requested a series. I wish he'd done so before we dropped the laptop.
Legends Grille Web Site Promo Image
 This illustration was fun to create because I'd never laid turf on a computer before. However, a note to the wary - stadium lighting will drain your battery fast!
BYU Games Center Web Site Promo Image
 This image was a favorite of mine. I kept the powerbook after it was all over. Now, I take it everywhere so I can enjoy my classic Atari games on the road. It's a big bulkier than a PSP, but the total mobile arcade experience is worth it!
Cougar Care Packages Web Site Promo Image
 I created this illustration to promote the Cougar Care Packages web store at BYU where parents can purchase care packages and have them delivered to students living on campus. The best part was removing the icing from the computer after the illustration was done. Sugar rush!!!
BYU Catering Web Site Promo Image
 This image was created as part of a series of images that promote SAS web sites at BYU. I gold plated the laptop for the illustration. Does that void my warranty?
 I designed this icon and a variety of other buttons with the same jeweled style. You can find them and purchase a royalty-free license to use them at Dreamstime.
|
|
|
