Bret A Melvin: Portfolio of Illustration

Say Broccoli!

2012-02-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

This one was actually a lot of fun to draw. Mrs. O has got one of the most unique facial structures I've drawn in a long time. It was a challenge and a pleasure to draw. Toughest part to capture? That expression that looks like she just smelled a poot and is trying not to laugh. And don't even act like you don't know what I'm talking about.

The Mac Daddy

2012-02-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd take a break from politics today and do a quick doodle of Mr. J. He's an interesting guy with an interesting story. I'm sure they'll make a "Social Network" style movie about him some day.

After his death, it was disappointing for some who were so aware of his commercial success to find out about his personal shortcomings. It's a reminder that not all great men are good and that not all good men are great. A question of priorities faces us all as men regarding how we will spend our short time on earth and how we will at the end define our greatness.

One of those days...

2012-02-08T19:34:00.000-05:00

This was a lot of fun! I've been trying very hard to get my speed up lately and wanted to see just how fast I could do a simple character illustration from a blank page to final. So, I sat down this evening and finished this 2 hours later. It's certainly not perfect, but it was a huge confidence builder to be able to start and finish something under such a crunch.

Hope you all enjoy it!

MLK Day

2012-01-16T17:16:00.000-05:00

I didn't have today off, but I did take a few minutes over lunch to do a quick sketch of Dr. King. It was an interesting challenge to start drawing a more diverse range of faces.

As I've been working though my class on schoolism.com on ZBrush, I've learned an incredible amount about the face and its structure. Michael Defeo, the instructor, has been outstanding so far. Just in the first week, I've learned so much about the face that this sketch took shape at least 50% faster than it would have prior to the class. Wow. It's nice to have a little "growth spurt" every once in a while.

Hope you all enjoy the drawing!

Until next time, God bless!

Got My Mitts On Some New Art

2012-01-05T20:53:00.000-05:00

8 votes...WOW!

Not to Trump My Own Horn...

2011-12-13T21:58:00.000-05:00

Donald in his ubiquitous "you're fired" expression. My first real attempt at a new Photoshop painting technique. Trying to figure out how long these would take on a more regular basis. This one went MUCH faster than I anticipated - just over 4.5 hours total. I imagine part of that is because of how distinctive his face is and partly because I had really good reference. It really does make all the difference!

Enjoy and God bless!

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

2011-11-30T09:59:00.000-05:00

Michele Bachman has some of the most piercing, intense eyes I've ever seen. Hope I captured them in this piece as I work my way through the Republican candidates. Have a happy week everyone! God bless!

Retirement

2011-11-29T13:01:00.001-05:00

This is part of what I hope to be a recurring theme on the blog...a "SKETCH OFF" between some buddies to stay inspired. Back in a previous life, we were members of a site called "Drawergeeks". The premise was to have a topic every two weeks at the end of which would feature a gallery of sketches and doodles from some really talented folks who'd been invited to participate. Life, as is its way, took many of us in different directions, and the site eventually retired. But I loved the idea of a broad topic with a tight time constraint.

So, today's topic was "retirement". We had to start and finish the sketch over our lunch break and have it posted before 1:30. As my lunch break is now over, I present to you all my doodle.

God bless!
By the way...check out my friend, Nelson Gonzalez' piece here.

Merry Christmas!

2011-11-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a poster I did for my church, First Baptist Orlando, for their "Singing Christmas Trees" program. The concept was to have the "Grandpa" character telling his grandson about the true meaning of Christmas despite its getting crowded out with so many other things. George Livings, who art directed the piece, wanted to integrate the cross amongst the chaos on the tree. So after a few sketches, I settled on using garland and lights to incorporate the cross into the design.

This was a TON of work, but seriously one of the most fun projects I've had the privilege to do.

Check us out at:

www.firstorlando.com

Twi-Hards Unite!

2011-11-16T12:50:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I know, I won't even post the excuse that I watch these movies because of my wife because no one would believe me. Also...it wouldn't be true, because I LOVE them. They are the single most fun movies to watch in years. Don't believe me? If you've ever watched "Mystery Science Theatre 3000", then you know just how much fun it is to watch awful, terrible, and painful movies like "Twilight" with a lampooning backtrack and commentary.

Is it mature? No.

Is it hilarious? Oh yes.

Enjoy this brooding lunch break doodle of Edward "Constipated" Cullen.

The Elder Statesman: Dick Cheney

2011-09-30T11:01:00.000-04:00

Dick Cheney...enough said.

The Incomparable Paul Ryan

2011-09-15T10:32:00.001-04:00

I think Paul Ryan should wear a lab coat and stethoscope when he speaks. He has a unique, physician-like quality of concern and compassion as he explains the encroaching cancer of debt and spending. It's a rare combination of seriousness and honesty that remind me of a veteran doctor's bedside manner. Neither dire nor idealized, you get the feeling that he may be one of the few folks around that is actually calling it like he sees it. We may disagree with the prognosis and of course, we are duty bound to confirm with a second opinion, but I find him to be a clear thinking, substantive person. I'm keeping my eye on Mr. Ryan.

Wifey Pants :)

2011-08-29T10:07:00.001-04:00

Is it a bad idea to draw a caricature of your wife? Maybe not. Is it a bad idea to do it twice? We'll see, won't we? Here's a doodle of the cutest thing in the history of adorability...my girl!

Krauthammer!

2011-08-24T12:21:00.002-04:00

Droll, droopy eyed brilliance. In respect to Mr. Krauthammer's terse brevity, I too shall be brief. As a wise man once said, "brevity is the essence of wit". And as my mother always said "don't wit your briefs". More to come soon, friends!

O Face Pt 2...With Video!

2011-03-31T18:38:00.004-04:00

Ok...

So, just another pre-work doodle to get the ol' muscles limbered up for a big day of well...not drawing. But, that's ok, it was still a great day.

I uploaded my process to youtube in case anyone is interested in seeing how a sketch like this takes shape. They're really rough of course, but hopefully it'll give you an idea of how I approach these types of things. Pretty much everything I do starts out scribbly then gets refined little by little.

You can't imagine how many years it's taken to get me to loosen up this much, but all I can say is that my art school teachers would be very proud.

(For those who know what I mean, I used nothing but a 2H pencil and plate bristol for my first 2 years of school).

Thanks, Mr. Drummond, for breaking me of that!

Enjoy everyone :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLYHaRgTnX0

The Axe Man Draweth

2010-10-12T19:32:00.003-04:00

David Axelrod, top advisor to President Obama. A particularly unsavory and despicable fellow, but a lot of fun to draw! This guy would make a terrific Muppet. Although for accuracy's sake it would somehow have to talk out of its butt.

You've Got Red On You

2010-08-17T22:25:00.004-04:00

So I saw this tshirt several years ago at the mall that had a stylized Shaun of the Dead character with the words "Zombie Killer" on it. I asked the guy where he had bought it and to my utter disappointment, it was from some private shop out in the UK. So, after scouring the internet for days after that, I gave up on ever having a cool shirt like that...until now.

So, I figured I'd just make my own...so I did...so there!

Enjoy my homage to a most entertaining movie.

Coworkercatures Take 2

2010-04-20T17:23:00.003-04:00

Jon Pinto, the pencil portraited punching bag of this poignant post is a new coworker here at the office. And nothing says "welcome" like making fun of another person's physical appearance. So, Jon...welcome!

You can see some of Jon's work here. Be sure to check out his really cool "Dr. Who" series of illustrations!

By the way...yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is REAL pencil on this illustration. Don't get used to it ;)

Pelosi

2010-02-18T22:04:00.002-05:00

Even she looks stunned that I drew her...

Newt!

2009-12-19T16:41:00.004-05:00

I've been working with a new program called "Art Rage Pro 3.0" this week and it's been a BLAST! Some of the most convincing pencil textures and tools I've seen yet!

I decided to give it a spin this week during a lunch break doodle of Newt Gingrich. Enjoy!

Busted!

2009-12-14T22:38:00.003-05:00

Some more caricature fun for one of my favorite shows, Mythbusters!

Man, I need to draw more! This wedding stuff is keeping me busy!

Ronnie

2009-09-23T19:03:00.003-04:00

A little after-work sketch of former President Reagan. Total working time, 1.5 hrs. Great face and a great man. It was a joy to do this one.

Progress...

2009-09-17T00:02:00.003-04:00

As I attempt to move beyond my superficial understanding of anatomy I've unfortunately had to accept over the past years as I develop other skills, I'm reminded afresh of the tangible thrill of discovery followed closely by the vexing frustration of application. Knowing the proportions of the body is one thing; applying it- something else altogether.

As with all endeavors whether artistic or otherwise, I find the old repeated adage to once again be confronting me daily. "The more I know, the more I realize I don't know". Or as Socrates put it, "One thing I know, that I know nothing".

To discover and comprehend this vast mystery of the human body is but the mere foothills of this mountain. To apprehend it is the real goal. To make this knowledge usable, consistent, and integrated into my artwork is just going to take some time and daily I'm finding that it's probably going to be awhile before I even realize how bad some of these drawings are.

But, as we all know, being able to look back and see the improvement is the most important thing. And I look forward to the next post when I can look back and see all the flaws and avoid repeating them.

Now, I myself am self motivated, but a very poor self-guide. I have the drive, just not the direction sometimes. So I'm choosing to acknowledge this missing aspect of my gifts and have chosen to follow a gifted guide, Andrew Loomis, for this first part of my tour around the human anatomy. I'm working loosely, though singularly through his book "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth", the DEFINITIVE book for commercial art figure drawing. Its days of gathering dust on my shelf are hopefully over, and while I can't guarantee that it will be seeing daily exercise, it certainly is officially out of retirement.

So, I hope perhaps by showing some of these drawings, I'm not only able to overcome the pride of staying within my comfort zones, but perhaps having a little public accountability will help me stay consistent and keep pushing when this gets even harder.

Now for those of you who may notice that the quality of these drawings is substantially lower than many of the other things on the blog in terms of polish, I would love to explain a little. These aren't what I would call "drawings" right now...they're more like "learnings". It's like learning a new language. The anatomy studies I'll be posting, it's important to note, are not drawn from a model, or direct observation, or a book. They're an amalgamation of multiple sources of information, some written, some illustrated, and some sculpted. So are they less polished? Sure, but I'm at the point right now of not trying to draw anatomy, but learn anatomy. Rather than merely "parroting", I'm looking to actually comprehend and form my own "sentences" and "thoughts" later down the line. So, just imagine how long it took to learn a language and how clumsy and infantile our early sentences and thoughts were. If you've ever learned to sing a song in a language you didn't speak, you could probably sing it just fine with proper inflection and everything. But, understanding what you were saying, however, would be an entirely different endeavor.

Hopefully that makes a little more sense and will at least buy me some time to slowly improve the quality of the art as I learn to "speak" more fluently.

Thanks for reading and posting comments!

God bless :)

Anatomy Studies

2009-08-17T22:32:00.002-04:00

So, I've been working a bit with Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro the past few days and I'm still having fun with it. It's a great program to doodle in and just do (as the name says) "sketchbook" style studies and drawings.

Lately, however, I've been absolutely consumed in studying some anatomical "ecorche" sculpts that I've found online. These are models that show the body without skin on one side and without a layer of muscle on the other. I've learned so much over the past week of studying that I feel like kicking myself that I didn't discover them earlier.

Anyway, lots still to learn! But this is one of my first, hopefully of many, posts of anatomical studies using ecorche and Sketchbook Pro.

Sketchbook Pro

2009-08-14T09:27:00.003-04:00

Just one of my doodles from this past week of trying out the program "Sketchbook Pro" from Autodesk. We had some guys come in to help us move the office and after seeing some of the caricatures hanging around, they volunteered to be my guinea pig over lunch. Good sports! I gotta say that there's some good stuff and some stuff I'm still trying to figure out about this program. One of my big reasons for using Painter 10 was the ability to spin the canvas, but truthfully, there are so many quirks about Painter that I've almost abandoned it lately. It is a bit of a resource hog and truthfully, I've only been using it to sketch in, then sending the sketch to Photoshop for the final painting.

So, when I started working with Sketchbook, I found that it sketches every bit as well as Painter, can spin just as easily, can export as a PSD, and is quite a bit less demanding on my system compared to Painter. I am, however, still not as fast with using the tools in Sketchbook as I am in Painter, but I must say that it does seem to have a pretty promising balance of power and usability. More to come, I still have 12 days left on my free trial.

Coworkercature

2009-07-31T21:38:00.003-04:00

Super talented and super controversial coworker, Eugenio Mediavilla is a constant source of crazy art and off color humor...and the occasional inter-office caricature :)

Drawergeeks: Chimp Guevara-Gorilla Warfare

2009-07-15T09:42:00.006-04:00

Just a little work-in-progress peek of my submission for this week's Drawergeeks topic. The subject for this week...MONKEYS! No, I'm definitely not a fan of Che, but I just couldn't get this idea out of my head, so here it is. Painting to come soon!

Check out more at www.drawergeeks.com

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-09T12:10:00.004-04:00

Just a little birthday illustration I did for my lovely girl while she's away in Australia.

Billy Mays Here!

2009-07-04T12:34:00.004-04:00

I have to say that I was honestly more surprised by the death of Billy Mays than anyone else over the past weeks. Not that I was a huge fan, but being a bit of an infomercial junky, I came to realize that Mays had carved out for himself something of a very unique niche in that market. His was really one of the great modern success stories of just sweat and hard work from the bottom up. He was never an actor, never involved in any major scandals, never did anything particularly important except to perfect a technique of generating interest in gadgets and products that may or may not improve your life slightly.

It's funny because there is nothing about him that should have made him a television success. His voice was a bit harsh, he was often over-animated, he never dressed up, he was a bit hefty in build, and in a time of laser hair removal and male leg-shaving, he sported an overtly black-dyed full facial beard. Yet for some reason, he became iconic and truthfully very good at what he did. I imagine everyone on the glowing end of the television knew that here was a guy selling cheap gadgets and taking himself entirely too seriously, but for some reason, his excitement about these wares was infectious.

After his incredibly successful campaign with Oxi-Clean (which I still buy habitually), I started seeing his face on TONS of other products. I would routinely ask why the "Oxi-Clean Guy" was hocking an extendable grabber gadget and what that had to do with laundry. But after a while, I guess I just stopped wondering and started to believe that if Billy Mays was endorsing it, then well, it can't be all bad. After a while, when I would pass the "As Seen On TV" sections in the store, I found myself relegating a particular and peculiar level of trust to the products featuring the bearded Mays, almost as if the box itself was yelling at me with that familiar infomercial rasp, reassuring me that "Billy Mays [is] Here".

So, was he a great guy? I have no idea. But I do give the man his due in becoming a pop-culture icon by just trying to be good at what he does. It seemed like for him, he really enjoyed what he did and truthfully I always got a kick out of his presentation style and flair. There could be a lot worse ways to spend your life than selling things, and with Mays, I'll always give him credit for being able to get people excited about something as simple and boring as detergent or wall adhesive.

For those of us concerned about exciting others toward the more weighty matters of life like freedom, God, and family, perhaps we could learn at least a little about presentation from Mays. At the end of the day, even his hefty, slightly obnoxious, bearded, middle aged persona could not outweigh his personal enthusiasm and seemingly genuine confidence in the ability of these gadgets to positively make our lives easier, cleaner, and more...scratch resistant.

We might surprise ourselves how influential we can be in our relationships with a little of Billy Mays' approach. One scoop of genuine confidence in our ideas, mixed with an ounce of sincere desire to help others, applied generously in a memorable method of communication that is clear and to the point, and I think you've got a winning formula for exciting and motivating others that could change ways of thinking and habits as old as laundry itself.

Empathy

2009-07-01T23:40:00.003-04:00

Just some thoughts on the recent Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor

Nelson Gonzalez

2009-07-01T23:30:00.003-04:00

Good buddy, fellow conversationalist, lunchtime political pundit, and coworker, Nelson Gonzalez, was the painted portrait punching bag of this little scribble. It started out monochrome as just a quick attempt to familiarize myself with some of Painter's brushes, but I was having so much fun, I had to finish it. Fortunately, Nelson still talks to me...we'll see how long that lasts.

Check out his blog here:

House: Hugh Laurie

2009-07-01T23:26:00.003-04:00

Just some more lunchtime caricature fun with Hugh Laurie.

Our company is working on getting a licensing deal with NBC Universal and I was put in charge of designing and concepting the majority of the items for the show "House" (which I watch quite often). While I don't always enjoy the philosophy on the show, I like Hugh Laurie quite a bit, so since I'd been staring at him for several days anyway, I thought I'd "doodle" him the honor of a lunchtime scribble.

Fwank!!!

2009-07-01T23:22:00.005-04:00

The funny thing about this drawing of Barney Frank is the uniform response it's received from nearly everyone. The response hasn't been, "that's hilarious" or "that drawing stinks", but almost everyone has said, "how could you stand to stare at that guy long enough to draw him?".

Perhaps I should stop drawing with "party lines" :)

The O Face

2009-07-01T23:17:00.004-04:00

Certainly not the best likeness of the President, but it was my first try and the best I could do over a lunch break. I'll try again soon!