Building Your Foundation for a Future in Illustration

Dear Friends,

Last week’s post I have since removed from this blog. The post was badly worded, poorly thought out, and hastily written. And, unfortunately, it completely missed the point I intended to make. It also created a discussion completely off of my intended subject, and one that I had no interest in debating or pursuing further. I appreciate all who dropped in to read the blog and those who took the time to post some very thought-provoking comments.  I apologize to all those who took offense, and for those who missed it, let’s move on to more creative topics. (Dave waves his hand in the air cryptically and says in a low voice, “These are not the words you are looking for. Move on…”)

Next Topic: Maximizing Your Success By Learning Illustration Basics

When I was 19 and just learning my craft, one of the main things I  did was to draw…all of the time. I would sketch in bed, sketch at breakfast, practice at the drawing table, at work on break, and after dinner in front of the TV.  I had set a goal for myself to become the best illustrator I could, and  I knew I needed to work at my craft and invest as much time and work as humanly possible.

Dave Dorman Student Sketches, Circa 1979

Most artists have sketchbooks filled with the work product to prove it. Oddly enough, I have very few “sketchbooks” from that time in my life. The bound drawing paper-style sketchbook was way too restricting for me. It never laid flat, it was usually not good paper–at least not the sketchbooks I could afford as a student and military kid— and I could only review one to two open pages at a time.

Dave Dorman Student Sketch Sample #2

My solution? I discovered it was better for me to purchase packages of 5″x7″ blank index cards and use those for my work sketches. The paper was good and stiffer than sketchbook paper. It held up well for pencil, ink and watercolor. Buying a 500-sheet package was way cheaper than buying a 500-sheet sketchbook. If I was working on a series of images or thoughts, I could do them individually and lay them out like panels in front of me rather than flipping pages in a book.

Dave Dorman Student Sketches #3

As a student,  I produced literally thousands of these little sketch cards. I used them to

• Rough out ideas
• Work on form and structure
• Copy other artists to see how they worked out anatomy, body structure, and the dynamic figure.

This was my ongoing training daily, practicing my craft. Without this groundwork, I could not and would not be the artist I am today. For all of you students and up-and-coming illustrators, I believe the work you put into learning the basics will pay off enormously as you build your career. There is no magic or shortcut to it. Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers summarizes it in two words: 10,000 hours. I sat down one day and calculated how many hours I would have put int before I reached my first professional sale. 10,000 hours seemed about right.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

Captain America v. Darth Vader

Dear Friends,

This Captain America v. Darth Vader image has been toying with my mind for a while, so this week, I decided to paint it. Let me know what you think. Perhaps I should title it S&P v. America?!?

A WizardWorld Chicago 2011 Exclusive, I will be premiering this painting for the public this weekend for the very first time. The paint is barely dry!This piece is oil & acrylic on canvas and 18″ x 36″. I will post progressives on my blog, probably after WizardWorld so you can see the process.

As always, thanks for reading!

The Darth Vader v. Captain America Battle in My Mind's Eye

My Tori Amos Art

Dear Friends,

As promised earlier, I am posting my Tori Amos art. Every once in a while, I’m asked to get involved in a charity, and since I really enjoy Tori’s art — her wonderfully ethereal and original music — I wanted to give back for the enjoyment she’s given her legion of fans for many years.

Both of these original pieces were done as oil and acrylic on illustration board for Tori’s organization, R.A.I.N.N., which stands for the “Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.” Both of these pieces were for calendars she does to raise money and awareness for her organization. The first piece, which is the winter scene, I did to show the contrast between the warmth of her red hair against the brittle cold of a winter forest.

Dave Dorman's Tori Amos Portrait for Her R.A.I.N.N. Calendar-December

The next piece came as the result of me playing around with the spelling of the name Scarlet, her alter ego, and how I would work that into a sign. I thought of New Orleans and their many trolley “Car Stop” signs, and it inspired me to do this piece, which also appeared in her calendar. This original 12″ x 18″ painting I still have in my possession, so if anyone has a serious interest, I’m asking $5,000 for this treasured piece.

Dave Dorman's 2nd Tori Amos Portrait for her R.A.I.N.N. Calendar

This next piece of text I pulled directly off of their Web site, but it if helps to raise awareness or bring them money, I’m sure they’ll let me take this liberty:

VOTE every day from now through September 30th and help RAINN win $250,000 through the Pepsi Refresh Project. Your vote will allow us to bring our Online Hotline to Spanish-speaking victims!

You can vote 3x a day, every day in September.

Vote Online: www.refresheverything.com/rainn

Vote by text: text 102552 to 73774

Vote through Facebook: install the app once at www.refresheverything.com/rainn and vote from Facebook

Let me know what you think of this art – it’s a little different from what you’re used to seeing me do, so I’m always curious as to how people receive it. This art is also in my new book, Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman, so be sure to check it out on Amazon or in your local Borders & Barnes & Noble bookstores. It’s 5 pounds and 326 pages of art and my life’s memoirs, so quite a unique book, great as a gift for Sweetest Day, birthdays, holidays or just as a way to give yourself a rare treat in a bummer economy.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

PROGRESS MADE ON MY HORROR PAINTING

I hope everyone’s having a good Monday night. Did you all enjoy the Oscars? I could really have done without the people standing on stage waxing poetic about each nominee, the entire dance segment and the fact that no film clips were shown during one of my favorite awards – “Best Cinematography.” Maybe that’s the artist in me, and no one else cares, but for me, the cinematography makes the film. Of course, my choice for “Best Film” was “District 9,” and we sort of knew it wasn’t going to win, but we still held on to some hope of it until the fat lady sang.

As some of you may recall, I started a painting during a charity event for WildClaw Theatre, my favorite horror theater group in Chicago. They held an event called “Dance of the Demented” with a live deejay, live models, a burlesque show and more. For the artists who attended along with me, it was a lot of fun. So I started this painting, and I’m making progress and I just wanted to show you where I am since you last saw it, so here it is:

And here is a closer shot of the main character:

Dave Dorman's Demented Painting,XCU

I hope you all were able to check out the course I’m teaching in San Diego this summer, Comix Academy, along with my friends Scott Hampton, Christopher Moeller, John vanFleet and Durwin Talon, with a special guest appearance from Mike Mignola. If you can join us, sign up now because seating is limited and the price goes up April 30th.

This weekend I will be at MegaCon in Orlando, and for my Florida friends, fans and colleagues, I look forward to reconnecting with all of you there. If there’s anything in particular you see for sale on my site that you would like me to bring along so you can see it in person, please let me know.

I hope you all have a great week. I will post more art as I make more progress.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.