Han and Leia color study..

Concept art for Lucasfilm-

A few months ago I was asked to complete an idea similar to my print for Celebration 5, this time to include Han and Leia as apposed to Anakin and Padme.

What you see here is first study of what I'll be working towards for a future piece. The art is completed with colored pencil on canson paper, the texture allowed me to get a to a finished study much quicker than a smooth surface would like the poster art I usually create.

What I intended to get out of this piece was color balance, to really find a zone that felt right for Bespin and a layout that would bring back the emotion of Han and Leia's separation in the cloud city.

I hope to have an updated version before long,

Ben

Medium-Colored Pencil on Canson paper
Dimensions-12"x24"
Status-Original art available

Mission to Asgard..

I apologize for the delay, just about everything I've created since January has been going through approvals. But I'll begin posting things as I'm given permission.

Here's what I got out of traveling to Asgard..

Thor- a truly brilliant film. I was very inspired and proud to say the film truly did the character justice. Chris Hemsworth portrayed Thor very well just as Anthony Hopkins played the King of as Asgard perfectly.

I felt like Thor carried a very epic story line, a traditional tale of discipline where Thor learned more about himself after his powers were stripped from him by his father. Even though we may not agree with what our parents do and say, they always have a better range of knowledge in the long run. We eventually see their plans unveil themselves in time and we can appreciate what they do as it builds our character.

Fun fact-The reference for the destroyer came from the action figure at Side Show

Medium-Derwent Studio Colored Pencil on Rives BFK paper
Dimensions-22"x30"
Status-Original art for sale

Best-
Ben

Harry Potter Exhibit NYC..

I wanted to take a minute and share a wonderful experience I had this past week.  Due to a new project coming up on the Harry Potter franchise, I decided to visit NYC for the official exhibit put together by Warner Brothers.  The show included props, costumes, creature designs, head busts, and much more.

I would go in and describe each moment I enjoyed but it would take too long, and I couldn't do nearly as well as my agent who was permitted from Warner Brothers to make a video on her tour through the museum.  Take a closer look here,

http://www.artinsightsmagazine.com/ArtInsights_magazine/Outside_Insights_vids.html

If you have the opportunity to visit the show it's more than worth the trip,

Talk soon,
Ben

Thanks for Everyone's Patience..

I apologize for not sharing much art lately, I've been stuck on the drawing board since January and still have not been given the green light to post any art.  Please hang tight and hopefully we'll have something up soon.

Best-
Ben

A Journey to Oz...

   I'm currently working on a small vintage art collection that will be available soon, "The Wizard of Oz" was the first film I chose to work with...

I've seen so much Oz art over the years and have noticed a lot of modern interpretations of the story, but anyone who is familiar with my work knows I'm a traditionalist.  I wanted to go back and recreate Oz to be how it was so many years ago, where the yellow brick road was painted on a wall and used on set for a background.  When special effects were put together by physical props as apposed to the digital world we work in today.  While choosing the subjects I realized I wanted the final product to bring a more comforting vibe, so in the end I decided to leave the Wicked Witch of West out of the art and focus only on the friendship of Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion.

Here are the references I worked with...

Finished Art-
Dimensions-22"x30"
Medium-Colored Pencil on Rives BFK paper

A Recent Commission...

Thank you for your patience, since I've just opened my blog I would like to go over a few past pieces before I begin discussing what I'm currently working on.

A little while ago I was commissioned to do a piece on Padme and Anakin from Attack of the Clones.  The initial idea from the client was to capture the young love of Anakin and Padme while also incorporating the beauty of Naboo.  Here are the references I was supplied with...

 

     A good bit of the art seen in my gallery is created with colored pencil on Rives BFK paper, which is actually a soft cotton print-making paper.  An example would be just about all of my poster work.  This paper has no tooth were the pencils can look almost like paint.  With this piece I wanted to create it with a more fine art style, where Anakin and Padme would seem more incorporated with Naboo.  I decided to work on watercolor paper and keep a strong tooth where the pencils would have a more grainy feel to them.  I laid down a wash with acrylics then rendered the subjects with Derwent Studio Colored Pencils.  If you are an inspiring colored pencil artist, I highly recommend these over prismacolor, they have a hard base which allows you to apply more detail in the rendering.

Finished Art-

Dimensions-18"x24"

Medium-Acrylic wash and Colored pencil on watercolor paper.

 

Blog coming soon...

Welcome to my official blog spot, I'm currently very busy but plan on keeping this blog up to date with all upcoming projects and artwork.  I will discuss processes, color theories, and approaches to how I create the illustrations you're familiar with on my site.  Thank you for visiting and for your interest in my work, stop by again soon.

Best Wishes-
Ben