Still Alive…

Youngling and Terentatek (Unofficial Fan Art for Star Wars), Original Artwork by Brandon A. Miltgen, 2014

We’re still out here… floating around. My co-workers and I, the ones of us who used to be regulars on this site for our challenges, have been busy with, well, life of course. Since there haven’t been any posts for awhile, I thought I’d give a shout-out about my latest, a gift for my son. Happy Friday! We’re not dead… we’ve just been… actively elsewhere…

Give a click on those profile pics on the side to see more of what we’ve been up to 🙂

Illustrated Poetry – Resident Alien

© 2014 Tim Pospisil. Graphite & Photoshop

Resident Alien
by Tim Pospisil

Eons of time,
countless variations,
conquerors of worlds
with little hesitations.

A race long long gone,
no records left to see
leave one genetic strand
that has lead to you and me.

Yet Is He There

As we walk under a lesser light
Yet is He there
Yet is He there

As the night with darkness brings despair
Yet is He there
Yet is He there

Loneliness, shadows, sickness, death
Yet is He there
Yet is He there

Seek in Him for meaning there
Yet is it there
Yet is it there

Our Example, our Teacher, our Savior there
Yet is He there
Yet is He there

by Brandon A. Miltgen

Snowy Angel

There was an angel in the snow that day.
I know because I went outside with him.
The snow was very high,
And we felt taller than usual while standing on the front lawn.
Our footprints wound around,
Through the snow,
Like a maze of dashed lines on paper.
It was beautiful.

We even stuck a shovel into the snow
Before we made our snowy angels.
We headed inside,
My legs chilled,
And he drew an ‘x’ in the snow by the door.
His words could have melted the snow:
“I’m gonna make a lowercase ‘x’
To remember what fun things we did.”
The snow didn’t melt that day.
My heart did.
There was an angel in the snow that day.

Guest Challenge Announcement—Illustrated Poetry

Drum roll, please. I give you: THE ILLUSTRATED POETRY ILLUSTRATION TIME CHALLENGE!

The requirements are simple:
1. Draw a picture.
2. Include a poem to go with it (the poem can be your own or one you like that someone else wrote). It’s that simple.

This is a guest challenge because my sweet lil’ daughter, Rory (who’s art has graced Illustration Time here and there), suggested we try doing an illustration combined with a poem. When I asked a couple of the other core contributors to our blog they were down with it. And so it is. So get yo’ scribbles on, Illustration Timers!

The above poem, by Rory herself, can be interpreted as thus (as best as I can remember):
When a girl does hair
Her hair gets crazy
She says:
Get my hair back to normal!

See Between the Lines – Let It Burn

© 2014 Joe Kramer – Let It Burn

Like a lot of artwork that I do, this piece ended up larger and much different than what I expected.  I guess I saw a lot more outside of the lines than between them.  I did the line art in Illustrator and the final color in Photoshop.

Under Fire

Under Fire (Unofficial Fan Art), by Brandon A. Miltgen, 2014

This one was tricky for me. Once I’d stared at those lines and saw a super hero in there, I knew it would be a Captain America fan art piece. The trouble came ultimately with meshing an invented physique with reference and fitting it all to Joe’s line constraints (the hands and face are from reference of me; but the rest of him is obviously very stylized). It was a very fun exercise conceptually and very worth doing. But I think I’d be a little more careful in the setup phase if I could go back and do it all over again 😉 Happy Tuesday, Illustration Timers!

Here’s a look at Joe’s challenge lines overlaid on my drawing efforts.

Glorious Mustaches

© Tim Pospisil – Mechanical Pencil and Photoshop.

I’m sorry, all I saw in the lines was Mustaches, glorious mustaches.

See Between the Lines Challenge

The next challenge is going to be a little different in that there is going to be a starting point.  I’ve drawn some random lines on page (See Below) for you to stare at and then illustrate what your imagination fills in between the lines.  The only rule is that all of the lines need to be used in your illustration.  The subject is totally up to you.

Stare. Imagine. Create.

Power Animal Challenge – Seahorse

© 2014 Time Pospisil – Power Animal Challenge – Seahorse

I never really thought of myself as having a power animal. People change throughout life and fit different roles on our journey. I suppose my role now is best represented by the Seahorse because of the male’s role in caring for the young. The seahorse has this edgy look but still has this nurturing side to it. I’ve been a stay at home dad of twins for about 5 months now, what a change!