Playboy Processes

So, every year during Playboy Magazine’s “Student Issue” they have a writing contest in which students submit their own stories for a chance to be published in the magazine and win $3000 (which is what they pay their writers for a normal article; seems like a like for a publication that gets purchased for it’s pictures, huh?).
It’s been a tradition for Playboy to offer the MFA Illustration department at SVA the opportunity to submit illustrations for the chosen story. 7 students will be published, with the first prize winner getting $2000 (the normal fee for illustrations published).

Moral issues aside (I’m not into supporting a pornographic magazine with my artwork, and will be very hesitant if my piece gets chosen), I decided it would be a good exercise to knock out an illustration.

So, I read the story.

It’s well written, but very strange and depressing. The main character has MS, but attempts to hide it by riding around his apartment complex on an office chair, being pulled by a dog. Waking up in a puddle of his own vomit and urine, he decides he should check the mail, in order to find his SSI check. On his way to the mailbox, he discovers a young boy who’s attempting to avoid a truant officer. They talk, he attempts to protect the young boy from the officer, and the story ends when the man’s girlfriend shows up at his apartment with sandwiches.

Not exactly encouraging or uplifting, nor can anything morally or intellectually valuable be gained; but there are a few clever jokes I guess…

Hot Damn Sketch | Playboy Magazine Submission

I usually start off by drawing several boxes on a single sheet of paper. My sketches start off fairly loose, but when I find one I like, I try to tighten it up a bit. This was 5” X 5”. This stage is all about setting up a nice composition.

Hot Damn Pencils | Playboy Magazine Submission

Once I find a sketch that I like, I scan it, blow it up to proper size (in this case 11” X 11”, print it out in a light blue, and go in to refine the pencils. I add detail and focus on lighting and shadow.

Hot Damn Inks_1 | Playboy Magazine Submission

After my pencils are finished, I scan them and convert them to blue lines, and print them out. Then I begin to ink. This is my favorite part of drawing. I love the feel of a brush on a nice piece of bristol board. The textures you can create are wonderful.

Hot Damn Inks_2 | Playboy Magazine Submission

At this point, I had shown my work to a few friends and gotten some feedback (mostly my classmate Rafa, we’ve decided to keep each other accountable to creating awesome work). The chair’s handle was too long and out of proportion, the boy didn’t really look african america, the woman’s hand was way too small for her body. I also added detailing and grit, and made the dog’s fart more pronounced.

Hot Damn Illustration | Playboy Magazine Submission

I added my colors, though I like the black and white much better. I was under a pretty tight deadline, and didn’t feel like I did a very good job. When I get some free time, I may go back into the colors.

School is Over

It’s hard to believe my first year of grad school is over. This year has been incredibly intense. Getting married, moving far, far away, drawing a whole lot. I was looking at my old sketchbook last night. I’ve really grown in my drawing ability. It’s very exciting.

My book project has taken up a great deal of my time, but I have managed to put a few other things in there.

Jason Rohrer as Child | KillScreenDaily.com

I’ve had the fantastic opportunity to do some work for Kill Screen Magazine. They’re an awesome group of people dedicated to looking at video games as pieces of artwork.

This is a portrait I did of independent game designer, Jason Rohrer.

Jesse Schell, Gamepocalyspe | KillScreenDaily.com

Here’s another portrait I did for Kill Screen. Jesse Schell is a game designer and entrepreneur who has a great talk on the future of video games and how they will affect our lives.

It’s a Creature | Timber Music

I have a few friends who are incredibly talented musicians. They’re working on an EP right now, in the meantime, check out their website.