New Year In Motion

So, the year 2012 has begun... the Myan's believe its our last, I like to think on the positive side of things and have to strongly disagree, I think its going to be a great year and the beginning of more great years to come, it certainly started out fabulous in the clubs of downtown Denver on New Years Eve! New Places, New Friends, New good times to be had! Anyways to keep the positivity ball rolling... I was playing around with animated Gif's a little, since I do believe the future of illustration is "illustration in motion". For example check out this illustrated version of Alice In Wonderland for the IPAD. I think the whole idea of it sounds fun, new, and interesting.

Here is my go at something similar...
I used a piece I did awhile back thats currently in my portfolio.



If the image does not animate for you, hopefully you can then view it by clicking the link below. Or if it does not repeat itself in animation (not sure why it doesn't go in repeat all the time), you can always just refresh the page in the browser of the linked page and it should reanimate.
Animated Illustration Direct Link

I had fun doing this little gif, I'd love to start doing more for fun so i can get better. I wanted to put it on my homepage of my website, but my host site won't allow any images besides Jpg's. Any ideas on how i could get around that? Anyways, as always your comments and questions are welcomed.
-Braxton
www.BraxtonIllustration.com

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

I finally got my new computer all set up in my new home in Colorado, I love it! My first real project happened to be mt Christmas Card for this year. I thought it was a cute illustration. I hope everyone has a great Christmas, holiday season, and an amazing 2012 ahead of them!

Website Launched!

finally I have my online portfolio/ website up and running. I think I finally have a style starting to brew. I'm working on some more pieces, Ill post sketches and such in the upcoming weeks, Until then... check out the site!

www.BraxtonIllustration.com

-Braxton

Milly Tat and Her Cat 2

      Its been awhile since I've posted anything on my blogger, and I've really had a big breakthrough in my work since my last post. My portfolio looks to be taking shape since I just recently completed my portfolio class. I think I also have an interesting style that I can now call my own. In the next few weeks I'm going to post some of my new work but I want to start by first posting a link to the preview of the book I had been talking about.
     I created this book, Milly Tat and her Cat, for my book illustration class a few quarters ago. It was a great learning experience. Its not completely in full color and I'm hoping to go back and finish the colors and fix it up a bit, then maybe send it to a publisher or two to get some feedback. Right now it is for sale and a 19 page preview is available through Blurb.com, so check it out and let me know what you think. here it is...

Milly Tat and Her Cat by Braxton Garris

Until next time,
Braxton

Collage!!

 Its been a little while since I've posted any work (No posting due to finals), and I should be posting some new work but with my previous school quarter finally over, I'm looking forward to my next quarter because I'll be taking a Collage Illustration class. I want to see what collage has to offer, I really love the whole concept of it. Maybe its because I'm one of those people that saves interesting papers, textures, and patterns for no reason. I hope you don't see me on one of those hoarders shows in the future, separating my colored papers into piles so people can walk through my house.
    Anyways, Last summer I did a collage piece that I think turned out nicely. I wish I had pictures of the finished project because after the stage that you see it in here I had added a beautiful crackling varnish to it in a nice crimson color that really made the whole piece pop. The piece is constructed with Textured paper, coffee stains, an image transfers of some bugs I had drawn, and a fly block print that I carved and stamped. There is also a little watercolor thrown in. I'm going to try and get a nice scan of the varnish stage on here soon because I think that's what really made the piece come together.

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-zoomed in area-

Maybe I'll get a few nice pieces out of this class, If anything it will be a fun class to take while I'm busting my ass in portfolio. Also, "Milly Tat and Her Cat", The children s book I just did for my book illustration class is finished. I chose to make it a Mock book due to time. I was trying to finish it while I was in two other studio classes and it just wasn't going to happen. So, we had the choice of just coloring the 3 double page spreads and working the other pages up to a finished sketch or inked page. The mock book is kind of a book I can send out that shows the possibilities of a finished children s book from me. I'll try and get a link up to it this week so you can preview it.

Until next time,

Braxton Garris

Milly Tat and Her Cat

   One of my classes this quarter is Book Illustration, its a fun class but publishing a book in 10 weeks is tough. We are self publishing through blurb.com, which is kinda exciting and I believe it will be available for purchase from what I understand. Anyways, I thought about my book subject for months over Christmas break, wondering what to do. I came up with a two ideas I liked, but on the first day of class I found out I needed 3 proposals. Randomly I remembered this cute children s book that my older sister and brother wrote and illustrated for me when I was younger and had my mom overnight it to me so I could use it as my third proposal. I really hadn't wanted to do a children s book originally, which is why I took "Book Illustration" instead of "Children s Book Illustration" but it was a really solid idea and the class enjoyed it. My other choices were good, but one idea I couldn't use because of copyrights and the other needed to be written so it would have taken me more time and I'm taking 3 studio classes this quarter so time is something I don't have. I changed the story up a bit and added a few more pages too but its basically the same. Visually the book is going to consist of very cutesy illustrations. Its called "Milly Tat and Her Cat", which I changed from "A Bat In A Hat". The main character is named Milly Tat, I based her very loosely after my sister when she was a little girl. Here is a sketched I cleaned up of what she looks like.

                                                                          until next time,
                                                                             -Braxton

Ode to Basquiat and Warhol.

  The late Jean-Michel Basquiat happens to be one of my favorite artists. He was an outsider artist so it really is an acquired aesthetic. Most people who don't know much about art view it as child-like and silly and it is in a way, but there is so much more to it than that. I did this piece while I was experimenting with different materials and techniques last year. The background is a giant coffee stain, which I love to use now, and the hair was masked off and I dripped blue ink onto a wet surface. The face itself is actually a drawing I did, then I xeroxed it and did an image transfer to give it a "block print" look to it. I love the aesthetic of a broken image, a screen print that looks old and faded.
    The second piece was done from advice I got from one of my teachers. I love Andy Warhol, who doesn't? Its very cliche, but it looks cool with the image I think. It was fun to do, and it added color to a very monochromatic piece. Without Further ado, here they are...

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--R.I.P. Jean-Michel Basquiat & Andy Warhol--

There were actually a few more things that I did with this image, but I thought two were enough for now. Maybe I will post the others some other time.

Until next time,

-Braxton

                                                               

Look what I found!

I don't have many of my big foundation studies pieces on the computer. I'd like to eventually get some professional-like pictures of some of them before they get smudged away or ruined somehow, but there is plenty of time for that. I did however, snap a few pictures with my digital camera a couple years ago of a few of them. The pictures are not that great of quality and the second piece I had to crop because of this horrible looking glare (lol).
      Anyways, these two pieces I thought I would post today. They are a lot more traditional than what I'm currently working with, but I like doing fine art too. The piece with the spiral composition I believe I titled "Vegas Baby!", I did either late freshman or early sophomore year. Its done in black and white charcoal and I think its 20x30.
             The second piece is from around the same time period, maybe a little earlier, and its an 18x24 live nude model study that was done in black charcoal (blehhh, so glad I don't have to work in that medium anymore unless I choose to). I think I did it in about 4 hours, because I believe the model sat for us for 1 1/2 classes. Its very loose and the background is just implied. I wish the picture had turned out better so i didn't have to crop it because the actual piece is put away and would be hell to try and drag it back out (lol). I really want to post some of my other model studies up here, because there was a while there a few years ago when I was doing them all the time.
         

 

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Untill next time,

-Braxton 

P.S. I'm working on the children s book this weekend so ill try and post those sketches next time.

                                                                           

Sweetness!

 I did these vignettes awhile back, I thought I would post them to break up the two digital art pieces I just posted with some traditional work. Even though they are simple Vignettes I thought they would be a great example of two things. One, my recently acquired aesthetic of print-like qualities. For example; miss prints, broken lines, and limited color pallets. Something about human error in printing that makes each piece one of a kind really appeals to me. Two being that my artwork is very stylistically versatile. I'm currently working on getting a style together that my portfolio can focus on. However, the past year I have been experimenting in many styles and techniques which has really confused me artistically. So, if you continue to follow my blog, maybe you will see my signature style start to develop. The thing I like the most about this piece is how simple and graphic the line work is mixed with the off centered stencil-print for colors. I actually used a sponge to color it and it gave it an interesting texture. I have some block prints that I've done over the past year in experimenting that have also been a big inspiration in the direction I'm currently taking my artwork, I'll try and post those soon too. Anyways here they are, I grouped them together and made them smaller to make it easier for you to view here. I believe you can click the image to enlarge it though.

 

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P.S. two more things... Yes all of the artwork I'm posting is mine from beginning to end, its all done by me. That's why I've put the copy write across them, because I don't want them to somehow appear elsewhere and I also haven't put a signature on some. So, hopefully you can look past the writing across the images, it doesn't appear on the original of course and yes I know you guys are not that dumb but I thought why not clear it up. lol. Also I am working on my first children s book!! Its for my book illustration class, but we are going to be self publishing through blurb.com!! hopefully I get it completed or at least presentable as a dummy book I could send out to possible employers. regardless, its exciting! Its a remake of a book my sister and brother wrote and illustrated for me when we all were little, originally titled "Bat in a Hat", now its called "Milly Tat and her Cat". Its a very cute rhyming story that means a lot to me and my family. I'll post some sketches and work for it eventually here, but it will be on sale through blurb.com for anyone to pruchase in less than 7 weeks!!!! Exciting and Scary!!!! Untill next time...

-Braxton Scott Garris

                                                                      

New comics on Wednesday still make me happy!

 In light of it being new comic book Wednesday, I thought it might be fun to post a sketch I did of my all time favorite X-Men character, Psylocke. The new Uncanny X-force came out today and my excitement for it reminded me of being 12 again. so, this piece is for 12 year old me!(haha) I used the quick pencil sketch to practice layering in my electronic illustration class, so its colored with Photoshop. I was learning a new technique so I feel like I could go back and fix a few things but I like it for what it is. also... yes I did use a lens flare (haha)... shoot me, I thought it looked cool.

 

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Welcome To My Blog!!

So, I'm new to the whole blog thing, but while I'm working on my website I thought it would be fun to create an art blog. Ill try and post things I'm working on every now and then. Any feedback or comments are welcome.

          This first piece is a poster I designed and illustrated in my Poster Illustration class this past week. Its not a piece that reflects my work as a whole, but I had a lot of fun creating such a graphic image. Its for the movie "Machete", which if you have not already seen is absolutely hilarious and I was really surprised with the star-studded cast. I tried to keep things fairly simple to really grab your attention. The original piece is 20x30 printed, so its pretty big. Here it is a bit smaller for you to view. Once I get the website up and going I'll be able to provide links for better images.

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