The Green Pages - The Official Mark Greenawalt Newsletter
VOL 13 ISSUE 7  

July 2017

 

An Early Digital Illustration is Revisited
by Mark Greenawalt

I began this digital illustration using a program called Bryce way back in 2002. This program is still around, but it isn't supported anymore and can't be used on Macs, but it was a very cool way to make 3D environments and bring in 3D objects and experimental skies and lighting. I designed an interesting pink and yellow sky and filled the ground with flowing lava. I decided that the project would be called Pompeii so I decided to add a few historic columns to the scene. I guess I had an old version of Photoshop at the time and I decided to experiment with some photomanipulation. I had done a photoshoot with Rachel with natural lighting and it seemed to fit the scene perfectly. Here is a picture of the original photo of Rachel and the original version of the Pompeii illustration. This version was used as the cover image for The Art of Fantasy, Comics, and Science Fiction Event page on Facebook.

It's great to be able to look back and see the beginnings of my digital illustration, but I knew that I could do more now with Photoshop than I could back then. I named the new illustration Vesuvius 79A.D. I basically started from scratch and everything was digitally painted instead of leaving any of the photomanipulation segments. I enjoyed giving a "painterly" look to the volcano and giving more detail to the armor and the magical sphere. I also added just a slight perspective for visual interest. Maybe I'll check back in another 15 years and make it a 3D painting!

 

The Hollow Queen of Wheelhouse Comes Alive at WesterCon
by Mark Greenawalt

I had been planning to do a body art project with model Griffin Maria and I found out that she was going to be at WesterCon with the Laughing Moon crew so it seemed like a great opportunity for a collaboration and cross promotion. Author and game developer Todd VanHooser recently introduced a new universe for the Laughing Moon franchise called Wheelhouse. I asked Todd if there was a character from this post-apocolyptic world that might lend itself well to a bodypainting with Griffin and he sent me a description of the Hollow Queen. Here is the description of the character:

This is a female elven character, who is now haunted and corrupt. Despite her appearance, there needs to be a seductive quality to this character. She is addicted to a magical drug that has warped her appearance and corrupted her personality. The Queen has long straggly hair and a wears a crown of broken glass shards. Around her waist she wears a belt that holds numerous vials or potion bottles (it’s from these broken potions that she has made her crown). A sickle moon tattoo is on her forehead, her eyes are shut, and the entire area around her eyes is black with trails of black tears running down her cheeks. Her arms should be bare, and the same blackness that has colored her eyes rises from her hands up to around her elbows, as well as covers much of her body. It is as though she is being consumed by this drug/potion that she consumes herself. In one hand she holds a wooden staff that is set with an eye, and in the other outstretched hand she holds one of the potion bottles, uncorked, whose vapor trail is rising from the opening.

I came up with a rough design and with comments from Todd, I refined the design and came up with this digital sketch.

 

Roadtrip To Northern Arizona With Family
by Mark Greenawalt


My sister-in-law Debbie Mills and my niece Kelli Mills came out from Maryland to visit us in Arizona. Being the consumet tourguide, I took them on a journey to some of the great sites in the nothern part of our Grand Canyon state. Our big loop started with bee line to see the Grand Canyon itself. We took in several overlooks on the south rim and climbed the Desert View Watchtower. It's always great to be a part of the experience when someone sees the Grand Canyon for the first time. It's truly breath taking. Our next stop was Horseshoe Bend Canyon on our way to Lake Powell. We ate dinner at the "Dam Bar & Grill" in Page and then jetted over to Chinle to spend the night. In the morning we woke up and hiked to the bottom of Canyon DeChelly. Spider Rock is one of my favorite sites to visit. Next up journeyed to Meteor Crator, although the weather didn't cooporate with us very much while we were there. And then our last stop was to pay homage to the late great Glen Frey as we traveled down historic Route 66 to the famous corner in Winslow, Arizona...it's such a fine site to see. A great time was had by all and here are a few photos from the trip.

E-ya later,
Mark Greenawalt
mark@futureclassx.com

Upcoming events:
August 26, 2017 - Spark Jack Daddy band at Garypalooza 2017 Pool Party Event, Saguaro Hotel, Scottsdale, Arizona.
September 13, 2017 - Speaking Engagement on Architectural Photography of Night Lighting, IES Street and Area Conference, Austin, Texas

copyright Mark Greenawalt, Future-Class X Publishing - Phoenix, AZ 85044
THIS PAGE WAS LAST UPDATED ON 8/26/2017
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