I don’t know why I keep going back to the laptop, but I do.  Even at work (pictured here) where there are a million computers available, I’ll still drag out my laptop and work on it.  There’s truth to the notion that once you have a laptop you’ll never want to be without one.  Even with the plethora of mobile devices available (iPad, iPod, iPhone, Android, etc.) there’s still nothing like having a full-blown MacBook Pro at your disposal.

Drawing in the morning...

This morning my wife and I sat at the breakfast table having coffee while the kids played in the other room.  I took out my art supplies and decided to draw.  I only had an hour or so until I had to get ready for work, so I just started drawing.  I’ve been reading a few books by renowned fantasy artist Jon Howe, and decided to take a quick stab at drawing yet another dragon.  I don’t know why I draw them, but any time I have a few minutes I do.  I tend to draw them when I’m stressed out, and today is the start of another long week…

My T-Rex.

The kids wanted to draw dinosaurs the other day, and of course I obliged!  After a few thumbnails that looked more like angry alligators than a dinosaurs, I scribbled this T-Rex head on the corner of a sheet of paper the kids were using.  I’d like to sketch a full-body example some time, then render it in Photoshop.

Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro 2010

I’ve tried several paint programs over the years including the Corel Painter Series to Adobe Photoshop.  My latest venture into this genre is Autodesk’s Sketchbook Pro 2010.

Sketchbook Pro 2010 does one thing and it does it very well: it’s a digital sketchbook.  My exposure to the program has been brief, but I can already tell it’s going to be a major component in my workflow as an artist.  While no program will ever be able to replace my physical sketchbook and pencil, this comes very close.  However, I’ll only recommend Sketchbook Pro if you’ve already invested in a Wacom or other graphics tablet.

Sketchbook Pro 2010 retails for $99, but can be found on sites like Amazon for less.  It’s well worth the investment.

A brief sketch I made with Sketchbook Pro 2010.

The Wacom Intuos 4. Image courtesy of wacom.com.

Graphics tablets are one of the few products where I will recommend one brand exclusively, and that’s Wacom.  They’re wonderful, and have a wide range of products from under $100 to over $2000.

The Intuos 4 graphics tablet is by far the best I’ve ever used.  My former high-end tablet was an Intuos 2, which has now replaced my Intuos Graphire as my travel graphics pad.  The differences are more than subtle.  The additional levels of sensitivity and controls on the side of the tablet (movable to left or right) make the entire package worth the $400 I paid.  It’s an amazing piece of technology, and a great addition to any graphic artists tool box.

These were from a photo shoot last fall.  I edited these images for photographer Kerrie Cela (yes there is a connection).  The images were part of a senior portrait package that Ashley purchased from Kerrie.  The editing that I did was by hand in Photoshop, that means no actions were involved (I’m not a big fan of canned actions).

Ashley Images Before/After Editing.

Detail Work of Ashley.

Learn Channnel Masking in Photoshop!

Here’s a tutorial on an old technique called Channel Masking.  If you need to remove a subject with edges too complex for Pen Tooling, this advanced technique could really help you out!  See it here!

Preview of the New Clockwork Rabbit. Head to markcelagraphics.com for the full image.

The next image in the Clockwork Animals series has been completed:  The Clockwork Rabbit.  Head over to markcelagraphics.com for the full image.

Nicole Before/After

This is part two of the editing project that I did for photographer Elizabeth Oneill (elizabethoneillphotography.com).  There was quite a bit of work done to this.  Both examples were edited more than I would have for most clients.

Detail Before/After

The effects are subtle, but definitely show in the finished product.  From what I understand Nicole thought the final edits were great.  I love doing this type of fine editing on images, although I generally don’t go this far because some clients have found it insulting.  I had fun though!

-Mark

Nicole Before/After

Photographer Elizabeth Oneill (elizabethoneillphotography.com) let me edit a few images from one of her fashion shoots.  It was part of an experiment where she gave several photo editors the same images, and then compared the different styles.

Details of Editing

There was one more image from the shoot that I worked on in addition to this one.  I’ll be sure to post it later!

-Mark