Illustration

Japanese Beetle Samurai Warrior - 3D

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:49:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:54:00 +0000

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.

The Sumo Panda Teapot - Rendered Scene

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:17:00 +0000

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.

Calamari Rocks!

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:21:00 +0000

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.

Sumo Panda

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:12:00 +0000

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.

Another Fish Toon

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:06:00 +0000

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!

Freaked Fish

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:55:00 +0000

This is a cartoon illustration I did based on an early sketch of a freaked out fish. You can purchase a royalty free copy for your commercial design work if you wish.

The Patrol

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:19:00 +0000

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.

Seafood Daydreams

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:56:00 +0000

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!

Welcome to the Zoo!

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:54:00 +0000

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.

Toonies

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:53:00 +0000

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.

Vampirebots Etc.

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:44:00 +0000

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.

Sketches - People

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:43:00 +0000

Figure Study - Man Sitting

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:39:00 +0000

Figure Study - Woman Sitting

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:38:00 +0000

Figure Study - Woman Sitting

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:31:00 +0000

Flavorshare Icon

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 20:45:00 +0000

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.

Mascot Financial Icon

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 02:03:00 +0000

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.

My Coveralls

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 20:43:00 +0000

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".

Juice Blending - Acrylic

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:15:00 +0000

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!!!

Entering the Wilderness - Oil On Canvas

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:11:00 +0000

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.

Island of the Blue Dolphins - Oil On Board

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:09:00 +0000

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.

Western Head Study - Oil On Textured Board

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:08:00 +0000

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.

Shakedown

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:07:00 +0000

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.

Next 20 Years

noreply@blogger.com (johnski) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:06:00 +0000

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.