2020 Boot Camp Schedule

Monday, Jan 6th
• 10am – Introduction, Go over student sketches
• 11am – Open Studio
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 3pm – Erik Demo
• 4pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Life Drawing (Erik Demonstration)
Tuesday, Jan 7th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• 12pm – Ryan Lecture: Using Reference for Illustration
• 1-2:30pm – Lunch
• 2:30pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm – Life Drawing
Wednesday, Jan 8th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• 12pm – Lucas Demo
• 1-2:30pm – Lunch
• 2:30pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Life Drawing
Thursday, Jan 9th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• 12pm – Erik Lecture:
• 1-2:30pm – Lunch
• 2:30pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pmWorkshop
Friday, Jan 10th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• 12pm – Ryan Demo
• 1-2:30pm – Lunch
• 2:30pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Life Drawing
Saturday, Jan 11th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• 12pm – Lucas Lecture:
• 1-2:30pm – Lunch
• 2:30pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm Final Critique

2020 Preliminary Critiques

Hey all, In the interest of getting a head start on the workshop we are going to offer some preliminary critiques for those who are interested.  To have your comp work critiqued just follow this process.  1) set up a blog just for this project 2) write a post containing a brief description of your chosen project and the images you wish critiqued. 3) post a link to your blog in the comment section of this post. Good luck!

2020 Bootcamp Descriptions

Bootcamp Assignment Options

Hey all,

If you are already signed up for the bootcamp (or just want to play along at home) choose at least one of the sample assignments listed below, and try to come in to the first day of the bootcamp with as much of the following ready for critique as you possibly can.  The more prepared you are the better chance you will have to complete the project in the six days we have together.  This being said, we understand that people are coming from a variety of experience level, so work to your comfort level and we will be there to guide you in taking your work to the next level.  Please try to have thumbnail (rough) sketches, reference photos, and a tighter sketch ready to go.  Along with your preferred painting surface and materials.

Project Descriptions

Art Assignment 1: War/Peace

Description: Pick a wildlife species that is native/local to your home state/country/region. Combine its anatomy with human anatomy using your own tastes and aesthetic. Then, either show this creation rushing into battle toward an unseen enemy, or show it making peace with a human or humans after a battle. Think about how you can use the composition of your piece to tell a story and make it instantly readable, even when reproduced at a smaller scale. Gathering reference will be important, so also plan how you will find images to work from when constructing this fantasy scene.

Art Assignment 2: The Wizard and The Dragon

Description: Illustrate a scene in which a wizard type character is fighting a Dragon in an epic battle.  The Wizard and Dragon should be your own designs.  The location and time period is your choice.  Feel free to explore a cross genre theme.  For example Wildwest/Fantasy, or Sci-Fi/Fantasy.  The designs of the characters and environment should clearly define what genre you're crossing into.  The format is up to you, landscape or portrait.

 

Art Assignment 3: The Trap

Description: Illustrate a archetypal  hero/protagonist caught in s timed trap set for him/her by a archetypal villain/antagonist.  The focus should be on our hero in the "inescapable" trap and some kind of countdown, but the villain should be implied as well.  

Portrait Format

2020 Boot Camp Introduction

Introduction

Hey everyone,
Welcome to the official blog of the Watts Atelier Illustration Bootcamp!  In the posts to come we will be introducing you to and giving you a glimpse into the processes of our three instructors, Ryan Pancoast, Lucas Graciano, E. M. Gist .  We will also be posting the sample assignments in the following post, and are open for any questions you may have.

Those of you who have already signed up we look forward to getting to know you over the next few weeks, and finally meeting you in person at the workshop.

Feel free to checkout any of the previous posts, but with the exception of the assignments below they are from the last four year's workshops.

Thumbnails

Hey everyone, I've gotten a couple of questions about thumbnails and wanted to make a slightly more detailed explanation into what I'm thinking about when I'm creating thumbnails.

The Graphic Design
Arguably the most important part of the thumbnail process is finding a strong overall design.  This is a balance or harmony of shapes and values.  Before any details, an appealing organization of shapes and values is what I'm going for.  The whole reason of doing the sketches at thumbnail size is to have better visual control over this.  It keeps us from getting into detail too soon.

These thumbnails go a bit further with some detail, but you can see that they each have a strong graphic design at a small scale.  I know that each of these will work on a design level.  This phase will eventually become somewhat intuitive and you'll be able to have the Graphic Design mentality as you start your thumbnails.

The Staging
Here is where I start thinking about the elements of the image: Perspective, camera angle, size relationships, foreground-middle ground-background, and placement of the elements.  I try and stick to my initial graphic design as much as possible. 

Often times I group the Graphic Design phase with this one.  I know what the image needs based on an idea or assignment and I organize the elements into a strong graphic design as I explore different possibilities through thumbnailing.

The Value Break-up
The thumbnails above have a rough value break-up but I want to be a little more clear with how I'm going to organize values. I try and focus on just 3 values: Light, middle, and dark.  There is a great chapter in "The Famous Artist Course" that goes into detail about this.  I highly recommend reading through that, if you can find it.  You want to find ways to bring attention to your focus by controlling your values.  Contrast is one of the best ways to get the viewer to look where you want them to.  I will often place a light value behind a dark figure or a dark value behind a light figure if I want that figure to stand out.

There are different combinations and value ratios you can play with:
Light on top of Middle on top of Dark
Dark on top of Light on top of Middle
Middle on top of Dark on top of Light  (thumbnail B below)
Dark on top of Middle on top of Light  (thumbnail A, C, and E below)
Light on top of Dark on top of Middle  (thumbnail D below)
etc.

Color

Adding color can be a great way of getting a better feel for the mood and give your AD a better idea of your intentions for the final piece.  There are hundreds of great color combinations.  Most combinations have already been invented so I'm mainly looking for color harmonies that will best support the emotion I'm trying to evoke in the image.

The color sketches above go a little beyond the thumbnail tag.  However, both of these started out like the thumbnails above.  Thumbnails are just for me, a chance to explore as many variations as possible in a short amount of time. This is what I would give my AD for approval to move to a final.  There is enough detail and color information there to let the AD make any comments or approve to move onto final.

Rough Itinerary for the Watts Illustration Bootcamp

Monday, Jan 7th
• 10am – Introduction, Go over student sketches
• 11am – Open Studio
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 3pm – Erik Demo
• 4pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Figure Workshop (run by Brian)

Tuesday, Jan 8th
• 10am – Studio Opens
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 3pm – Lucas Lecture: Working as a Freelance Illustrator
• 4pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Figure Workshop

Wednesday, Jan 9th
• 10am – Studio Opens
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 3pm – Cynthia Demo
• 4pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Figure Workshop

Thursday, Jan 10th
• 10am – Studio Opens
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 3pm – Erik Lecture
• 4pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Figure Workshop

Friday, Jan 11th
• 10am – Studio Opens
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 3pm – Lucas Demo
• 4pm – Open Studio
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Figure Workshop

Saturday, Jan 12th
• 10am – Studio Opens
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 3pm – Cynthia Lecture
• 4pm – Final Critiques

2019 Preliminary Critiques

Hey all, In the interest of getting a head start on the workshop we are going to offer some preliminary critiques for those who are interested.  To have your comp work critiqued just follow this process.  1) set up a blog just for this project 2) write a post containing a brief description of your chosen project and the images you wish critiqued. 3) post a link to your blog in the comment section of this post. Good luck!

2019 Boot Camp Introduction

Introduction

Hey everyone,
Welcome to the official blog of the Watts Atelier Illustration Bootcamp!  In the posts to come we will be introducing you to and giving you a glimpse into the processes of our three instructors, Cynthia Sheppard, Lucas Graciano, E. M. Gist .  We also posted your three assignment options below, and are open for any questions you may have.

Those of you who have already signed up we look forward to getting to know you over the next few weeks, and finally meeting you in person at the workshop.

Feel free to checkout any of the previous posts, but with the exception of the assignments below they are from the last three year's workshops.

2019 Boot Camp Descriptions

Bootcamp Assignment Options

Hey all,

If you are already signed up for the bootcamp (or just want to play along at home) choose at least one of the sample assignments listed below, and try to come in to the first day of the bootcamp with as much of the following ready for critique as you possibly can.  The more prepared you are the better chance you will have to complete the project in the six days we have together.  This being said, we understand that people are coming from a variety of experience level, so work to your comfort level and we will be there to guide you in taking your work to the next level.  Please try to have thumbnail (rough) sketches, reference photos, and a tighter sketch ready to go.  Along with your preferred painting surface and materials.

Project Descriptions


option 1
Art Title: Inspiring Angel (sample MtG illustration)
Color: White legendary creature 
Location: Against an open daytime sky Action: Show us a female angel wearing gleaming metal armor of your design. She flies through the air raising a sword in one hand, and a flowing white banner in the other, as though inspiring us to charge into battle. Mood: Dramatic, awe-inspiring. Focus: The angel Notes: No halos or real-world religious symbols, please.
 The goal here is to create an image that has good story telling, strong mood, and will read well on a 2 inch card. 

Best format would be 16 by 22 horizontal.

option 2

Art Title: Dragon Battle in the Skies

Illustrate a scene where two dragon riders do battle in the skies over an open landscape. The dragons and riders should each feel as if they belong to different clans. Maybe one rider reflects a more scavenger appearance and the other more civilized. The dragons should echo the archetype of the rider. For example- if you have a big brute character, the dragon should also have characteristics of being brutish. The focus should be on the battle of the dragon and riders. This can be done in either portrait or landscape format. (2:3 ratio)

option 3
Art Title: Battle Royale
A large group of "heroes" of mixed gender and ethnicity engage in battle against an equally large group of villains (no stock figures, I want to see a variety of body and character types).  I will leave this fairly open as the main thrust is to compose a multi figure illustration.  This could be super heroes vs.villains,  knights vs. orcs/goblins, space marines vs. aliens, make it your own, and make it fun
Best format 14 x 22 vertical

2018 Boot Camp Schedule

Tuesday 2nd

10am - Introduction/ Critiques on Sketches

11am-1pm - Get everyone set up and working

1pm - 2:30 - LUNCH

3pm -4pm - Lucas Demo

4pm-5:30pm - Studio Time

5:30-7pm - DINNER

7pm-10pm - Figure Workshop (figure demonstration Erik Gist)

Wednesday 3rd

9am - Doors Open

11am - 12pm - Erik Demo

12pm-1pm - Studio Time

1pm-2:30pm - LUNCH

3pm - 4pm - Tyler lecture

4pm-5:30pm - Studio Time

5:30-7pm - DINNER

7pm-10pm - Figure Workshop

Thursday 4th

9am - Doors Open

11am - 12pm - Lucas Lecture

12pm-1pm - Studio Time

1pm-2:30pm - LUNCH

3pm - 4pm - Mike Demo

4pm-5:30pm - Studio Time

5:30-7pm - DINNER

7pm-10pm - Figure Workshop

Friday 5th

9am - Doors Open

11am - 12pm - Erik Lecture

12pm-1pm - Studio Time

1pm-2:30pm - LUNCH

3pm - 4pm - Tyler Demo

4pm-5:30pm - Studio Time

5:30-7pm - DINNER

7pm-10pm - Figure Workshop

Saturday 6th

9am 1pm -Doors Open

1pm-2:30pm - LUNCH

3pm - 4pm - Mike Lecture

4pm-5:30pm - Studio Time

5:30-7pm DINNER

7pm-10pm - Figur Workshop

Sunday 7th

10am 1pm - Doors Open

1pm-2:30pm - LUNCH

2:30pm - 5:30pm - Studio Time/ Last Critques

2018 Preliminary Critiques

2017 Preliminary Critiques

Hey all, In the interest of getting a head start on the workshop we are going to offer some preliminary critiques for those who are interested.  To have your comp work critiqued just follow this process.  1) set up a blog just for this project 2) write a post containing a brief description of your chosen project and the images you wish critiqued. 3) post a link to your blog in the comment section of this post. Good luck!

2018 Boot Camp Descriptions

Bootcamp Assignment Options

Hey all,

If you are already signed up for the bootcamp (or just want to play along at home) choose at least one of the sample assignments listed below, and try to come in to the first day of the bootcamp with as much of the following ready for critique as you possibly can.  The more prepared you are the better chance you will have to complete the project in the six days we have together.  This being said, we understand that people are coming from a variety of experience level, so work to your comfort level and we will be there to guide you in taking your work to the next level.  Please try to have thumbnail (rough) sketches, reference photos, and a tighter sketch ready to go.  Along with your preferred painting surface and materials.

Project Descriptions


option 1

A Light in the Darkness: 

Depict an adventuring knight lost in the misty halls of an ancient mansion. The knight holds a magical flame (of any color) suspended in the air which lights the way.  The knight is cautious but determined. They are ready to fight if need be in order to find what they seek. 

The artist is free to design the knight and mansion however they wish.  The gender as well as the gear they carry is entirely up to the artist.  The goal here is to create an image that has good story telling, strong mood, and will read well on a 2 inch card.  

Best format would be 12 by 16 horizontal.

option 2
The Summoning
Illustrate a scene where a sorceress is summoning a large Dragon. The location is an old ruin, in a forest, once used for a ritual of some kind. The mood should read like- the summoning of an ancient and powerful beast.
Format: artist's choice

option 3
The Creation
A creator (mad scientist, necromancer, alchemist, etc.)
bringing his creation to life.  The creature should be human-ish.
The setting should be the creator's work area, surrounded by the tools of his trade.  I would like to see a strong theme to this piece.  The work area should look as though it belongs to the creator, and the creature, HIS/HER creation.
Format: Book cover roughly  14 x 22 inches (or bigger) vertical. Leave room for title and author.

option 4
The Modern Day Muse 
The Muse, as in personified inspiration, has been portrayed repeatedly in classical arts. Take the concept of the Muse of Poetry, Dance, History and apply it to a modern day creative or cerebral pursuit. Examples could be Muse of the Tattoo artist, Muse of the Chef, Muse of the Animator, etc... If you think you can make it interesting, Muse of the Computer Programmer is perfectly fine.
Format: artist's choice

2018 Boot Camp Introduction

Introduction

Hey everyone,
Welcome to the official blog of the Watts Atelier Illustration Bootcamp!  In the posts to come we will be introducing you to and giving you a glimpse into the processes of our four instructors, Tyler Jacobson, Lucas Graciano, Michael C. Hayes, E. M. Gist .  We will also be posting your four assignment options, and open up for any questions you may have.

Those of you who have already signed up we look forward to getting to know you over the next few weeks, and finally meeting you in person at the workshop.

Feel free to checkout any of the previous posts, but realize they are from the last two year's workshops.

2017 Boot Camp Schedule

Hey all,  3 days until the boot camp begin, and we couldn't be more excited.  Except that we are now more excited! Hearthstone Art Director, Jeremy Cranford, will be joining us on Friday to give a special talk and look at portfolios!  See you all soon!

Monday, Jan 9th
• Doors open at 9
• 10am – Introduction, Go over student sketches
• 11am – Students get set up
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm life drawing (Demonstration by Erik Gist)

Tuesday, Jan 10th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• 11am – Erik Lecture:
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 3pm – Lucas Demo: Painting a Dragon
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Life drawing

Wednesday, Jan 11th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• 12pm – Dave Lecture:
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 4pm – Mike Demo:
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Life drawing

Thursday, Jan 12th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• 12pm – Erik Demo:
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 3pm – Lucas Lecture: Working on Magic
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Life drawing

Friday, Jan 13th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• 12pm – Dave Demo:
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 4:30 Guest Lecture by Jeremy Cranford
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7pm-10pm Life drawing

Saturday, Jan 14th
• 9am – Studio Opens
• Last Day, Students work to finish projects
• 12pm Mike Lecture
• 1-2:30pm Lunch
• 5:30pm-7:00pm – Dinner
• 7-10pm Final reviews and critiques

2017 Preliminary Critiques

Hey all, In the interest of getting a head start on the workshop we are going to offer some preliminary critiques for those who are interested.  To have your comp work critiqued just follow this process.  1) set up a blog just for this project 2) write a post containing a brief description of your chosen project and the images you wish critiqued. 3) post a link to your blog in the comment section of this post. Good luck!

2017 Boot Camp Descriptions

Bootcamp Assignment Options

Hey all,

If you are already signed up for the bootcamp (or just want to play along at home) choose at least one of the sample assignments listed below, and try to come in to the first day of the bootcamp with as much of the following ready for critique as you possibly can.  The more prepared you are the better chance you will have to complete the project in the six days we have together.  This being said, we understand that people are coming from a variety of experience level, so work to your comfort level and we will be there to guide you in taking your work to the next level.  Please try to have thumbnail (rough) sketches, reference photos, and a tighter sketch ready to go.  Along with your preferred painting surface and materials.

Project Descriptions

option 1

Dragon Fighting

Depict a scene where a group of off duty, Scandinavian warriors, are betting and cheering around a ring where a cock fight is taking place.  Instead of roosters though, there are young dragons fighting.  The focus should be on the two dragons fighting.  The mood should reflect that of a traditional cock fight, cheering, yelling, coins passing hands, etc.  Make sure the dragon designs are different from each other.  The background should be that of a war camp or village.

Bookcover format  roughly 2:3 vertical (14 x 22 or 16 x 24 is a good size)

Hint:  The focus will be on the fight but your background can help support your story. Maybe the dragons that lose the fights are strung up to sell for meat or maybe there are cages of other dragons that are going to be fought.  Play with different camera angles.  Try low, in the middle of the fight.  Try over the shoulder, as if the viewer is a spectator.  Try birds eye view.  See which angle works best for the story.

option 2

Angel of Sacrifice   (Fake Magic card assignment)

Show an Angel in light armor who has just taken, or is about to take a fatal wound (arrow, sword thrust etc) in order to save the life of a knight.  The angel should radiate a sense of duty and serenity.

This is not about blood and guts,  or an over the top comic book action pose.  This assignment is all about subtle storytelling and conveying the emotion of the scene.

Format is 3:4 (like 12 x 16), horizontal

Hint:Use google images to find visual references for MTG style angels and knights.

option 3

Genre mash-up cover

Create a cover appropriate illustration (one that captures a viewer's attention and imagination through an iconic image that suggests a larger story/world) which largely reads as a traditional genre (fantasy, SF, detective, western, Gothic horror, historical, romance, etc.) but a closer look indicates a contrasting fantastical element (fantasy, science fiction, horror). 

Examples: Westworld (Western/SF), Shadowrun (SF/fantasy), Bladerunner (Detective/SF)

Bookcover format  roughly 2:3 vertical (14 x 22 or 16 x 24 is a good size)

Focus: Appeal to both genres, as well as find/depict an interesting juxtaposition.  There should be an element of the unexpected.  Also consider: The characters may not know that they're living in multiple genres."

Option 4

Step-Down Imagery or Everyday Horror

Create an image that is set in an everyday location (ie. a grocery store, play ground, school, etc.) then contrast the mundane with “horrific” imagery.  As an example: a parent with a child in a shopping cart, perusing the frozen foods section of the local grocery store.  As the parent leans closer to examine the freezer’s selection a decaying hand reaches for from inside. (you can feel free to use this specific scene. but I would encourage you to come up with your own based on this idea)

Bookcover format  roughly 2:3 vertical (14 x 22 or 16 x 24 is a good size)

Hint: focus on ways to visually contrast the horrific elements with those of the “normal” world.

Feel free to post any questions in the comments below.

2017 Boot Camp Introduction

Introduction

Hey everyone,
Welcome to the official blog of the Watts Atelier Illustration Bootcamp!  In the posts to come we will be introducing you to and giving you a glimpse into the processes of our four instructors,Dave Palumbo, Lucas Graciano, Michael C. Hayes, E. M. Gist .  We will also be posting your four assignment options, and open up for any questions you may have.

Those of you who have already signed up we look forward to getting to know you over the next few weeks, and finally meeting you in person at the workshop.

Feel free to checkout any of the previous posts, but realize they are from the last two year's workshops.

Scheduling Change

Hey everybody,  We are all really looking forward to getting started.  One change to the scheduling, Jeremy Cranford will be giving his lecture on "The Business of Art!" at 11 after the introduction to be followed by "Opening Critiques" at 12

Lucas Kremer: Student Critique

Hey Lucas,

This looks like a good start.  I like the idea and the dynamics.  In my personal opinion there are a few things that could be improved.  First It feels a little cramped, this could be helped by either pulling the camera back, or pushing a bit more depth of field between the hunter and the Pegasus.  I lightened the value of the Pegasus a bit to see if that would help (it did) but I feel he could still be reduced in size and pushed a little more into the middle ground.  Second is in regards to the design, almost all the angles are vertical, horizontal or angling to the left (see green lines) making the image fell unbalanced.  This isn't entirely bad for the narrative in this image, but adding a few rhythms angling the other way can add a nice counter balance.  Then every thing won't feel like it's sliding to the right.  I would angle the wings and ground plane to create it visual balance (see the red lines)

2016 Bootcamp Schedule

Time is starting to fly by, and the boot camp will be here before you know it.  To help you get ready here is the schedule of events. The workshop will be open from 9am to 10pm or later.  This is the schedule as it stands, there will be some updating as we work out details, so check back often.

Monday 1/11/2016

10am- introduction

11am- Jeremy lecture on "Business of Art!"

12pm- open critique

1pm- lunch

2pm- get to work!

Tuesday

9am- workshop open

10am- Erik lecture on "Staging an Illustration"

2pm- Chris paint demo "Using Reference to Paint Fantasy Characters"

7pm-10pm Drawing from the live model (optional)

Wednesday

9am- workshop open

2pm- Lucas lecture on "Working on Magic The Gathering"

4pm- Mike paint demo "Glazing in Oils"

7pm-10pm Drawing from the live model (optional)

Thursday

9am- workshop open

10am- Erik paint demo  "Theatrical Lighting"

2pm- Chris lecture on "Cool and Mood"

7pm-10pm Drawing from the live model (optional)

Friday

9am- workshop open

2pm- Lucas demo "Painting Dragons"

4pm- Mike lecture on "TBD"

7pm-10pm Drawing from the live model (optional)

Saturday

9am- workshop open

11am- Jeremy Cranford lecture "Don't Be Afraid to Stylize"

Final critiques