Jeff Thank you for the step by step, clearly stated, videos you put together. You are on my list of new favorites and MUST watch artists. Your work style is how I taught myself believe it or not (pencil-pen and ink-color). There was no TH-cam when I was a kid growing up fascinated with the art of Boris, Bama, Kirby and Romita. It was "figure it out yourself" and "discover what works". You are an inspiration!
William, Thanks for those kind words. So glad I made your list :-) Yeah, they weren't really teaching this kind of stuff in school when I was younger. I also had to figure everything out by trial and error. But I did have a little help from Boris with a book of his techniques he put out many years ago. And I also spent a bazillion hours just lying on the floor staring at Frazetta's Ballantine art books when I was a kid. That made all the difference when I started to teach myself to paint. I finally understood how he achieved certain things.
Your videos featuring mixed media are excellent. The concise and helpful descriptions of the materials and techniques you use are the best I've found on TH-cam. The fact that you don't try to narrate while you're working, but instead, narrate afterwards, makes your videos a pleasure to watch. Too many artists on TH-cam narrate while working, resulting in left brain/right brain conflicts, with annoying "ummm"s, "y'know"s, "O.K"s, agonized silences and bored sighs. I look forward to viewing all of your videos. Thanks for posting them.
Tom, Thank you very much for the insightful comment. While I do not always narrate my videos, I know exactly what you mean. In some of my videos I do talk to the viewer while I'm actually working. In others, like this one, I narrate after the fact. Both have their merits. What's important is that I take the time to edit them properly and try to keep the pacing interesting for the viewer. I have the benefit of having a wonderful helper/coach/camera operator/interviewer in my wife. She does a good job of keeping me focused and in line :-) I'm thrilled you enjoy our videos and find them useful.
I love your work. I have learned so much. I just finished a mixed media class and came across your videos doing research. Thanks for sharing the knowledge of your craft.
Thanks so much for sharing your techniques and explaining why you use certain materials, why you take certain steps, it's very helpful, I learn a ton from your videos every time.
Very inspiring and I love the end result. It's nice to show people how many times you changed the hands...i feel many artists can get all worked up and serious about sketching when really you can drastically change any part at any time in step one, often for the better. Excellent!!!
Elbow in the palette. I've done that before so many times. With the hand too. Sometimes the fingers. Even the brush drops into the palette often. I'm just messy haha.
thanks for doing this, I just found your channel today and just learned about the blending for the shadow, brush + water ... I have a long way to go but I guess practice makes perfect
I'd love to come back to Canada. Last time I was there, when I was like 8 years-old, I was chased by a bear. No lie! I've been wanting to come back to see if I could still outrun him. LOL
I*am going to fantasi image latter today .butt trying out some colour pencils and hard pastel in mixed media. Thanks for Great video post by you jeff miracola
Thank you for the wonderful work Mr. Miracola. If I may ask when you do work for a client such as Wizards of the Coast for say a Magic card at what size do you usually work on the image? Thanks again for sharing your work this way!
There is no set size. As long as the artwork is in proportion (horizontal) to the size they need it, then the artist can work any size they like. If the artist works digitally, then it can certainly be any size. If the artists works traditionally, then it would be ideal to the do the artwork small enough so that it could be placed on a scanner and scanned because the client prefers to receive digital files for final art. If the artist does their work too large to be scanned, then it will have to be photographed, which takes time and money. Most of my paintings for Magic: the Gathering are too large to be scanned. I photograph them or I scan them in sections and piece it all back together in Photoshop.
+saskwash2 This was done on chipboard, which is like thin cardboard. I do not normally draw or paint on that kind of paper. I only did this because it was the inside cover of my book called "Monstrosity."
amazing art! I just have a question about the paint. how the acrylics does not cover the lines? because sometimes I use pen first then color and even the pencil color covers my lines and then u have to make the lines again jaja. by the way thanks for share your work with us! greetings from Costa Rica!
Hey there Jeff, excellent work! I'll definitely be picking up a copy of your book soon! Also, have you ever used "Liquitex Ink" in your work? I've been experimenting with them and they are really vibrant and highly pigmented.
Thanks so much for the process video, Jeff, I always learn something new. Can I ask a few questions? Those Golden acrylics seem to dilute really nicely with water, are they the Open acrylics? How do you figure your proportions in the sketch phase if you work outward from the torso form? Your "distracted artist" moment is better than mine! I usually end up sticking my brush into the cup of whatever I'm drinking while I'm working... or mistakenly reaching for my brush water when I mean to be reaching for a drink.
I'm using the Golden Fluid Acrylics, not the Open series. The Fluids are already fairly diluted because they are ideal for airbrushing. I always start with the largest area when drawing anything. It's just something I've always done. If I draw an elephant or a human, I will always draw the main part of the body first (well almost always). It's much easier for me to then draw the limbs and head because I have that large torso area to base all of my proportions off of. I did A LOT of figure drawing in my life so that has helped me immensely to understand the proportions of a figure.
"I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR STEP-BY-STEP DRAWING AND/OR TELL US YOUR TECHNIQUE FOR DRAWING THE CREATURE/MAN THAT YOU USED AS A FRONT COVER FOR YOUR "MONSTROSITY SKETCH BOOK!!!!!"....."THANK YOU!!!!!"
Great video jeff amazing!!! ... I see your videos a lot over and over and have come to the conclusion that you really have a love and passion for art so I wanted to throw a bit of a challenge just to see how far can you go as an artist I would like to see you do an entire drawing with a ballpoint pen and coloring markers I would be nice if you can grant my wish of watching a video of you drawing withing the suggestions of my challenge :-) as always great video :)
Bryan, I wish I could do that but my time is soooooo limited these days. I have a backlog of projects that I am always working on. I have tons of paintings just waiting to get done. A bigger challenge would be challenging me to get some sleep :-) Seems I've learned to live off 4 hours a night!! Thanks for enjoying my vids though.
Hey Jeff can you do a video on female illustration and give tips on the Brest and the body. When I'm sketching people the breast looks 2D or just two circles and any tips during making a portrait. Thanks and love the video, they really help me think differently while sketching and painting, I really didn't think much of water until I watch it done right and serious :) thanks you for sharing the knowledge.
Bryan, it's all about lighting and imagining where your light source is coming from so you can do the correct shading. I'll do a video of a painting of a woman at some point so you can see how I handle it.
LOL. A lot! Some time ago I transferred all of my music from Cds to the computer. Been using the CD cases ever since. And a few friends, knowing I use them for my art, have given me their old ones, too. So I'm like the crazy cat lady, but with cd cases. LMAO.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Just a little repayment for you. Your copyright at the end of the video says 2013. just a heads up. haha. But seriously I wish I knew enough to share. Maybe one of these days I will. And for free of course.
amazing art! I just have a question about the paint. how the acrylics does not cover the lines? because sometimes I use pen first then color and even the pencil color covers my lines and then u have to make the lines again jaja. by the way thanks for share your work with us! greetings from Costa Rica!
Jeff Thank you for the step by step, clearly stated, videos you put together. You are on my list of new favorites and MUST watch artists. Your work style is how I taught myself believe it or not (pencil-pen and ink-color). There was no TH-cam when I was a kid growing up fascinated with the art of Boris, Bama, Kirby and Romita. It was "figure it out yourself" and "discover what works". You are an inspiration!
William,
Thanks for those kind words. So glad I made your list :-) Yeah, they weren't really teaching this kind of stuff in school when I was younger. I also had to figure everything out by trial and error. But I did have a little help from Boris with a book of his techniques he put out many years ago. And I also spent a bazillion hours just lying on the floor staring at Frazetta's Ballantine art books when I was a kid. That made all the difference when I started to teach myself to paint. I finally understood how he achieved certain things.
Your videos featuring mixed media are excellent. The concise and helpful descriptions of the materials and techniques you use are the best I've found on TH-cam. The fact that you don't try to narrate while you're working, but instead, narrate afterwards, makes your videos a pleasure to watch. Too many artists on TH-cam narrate while working, resulting in left brain/right brain conflicts, with annoying "ummm"s, "y'know"s, "O.K"s, agonized silences and bored sighs. I look forward to viewing all of your videos. Thanks for posting them.
Tom,
Thank you very much for the insightful comment. While I do not always narrate my videos, I know exactly what you mean. In some of my videos I do talk to the viewer while I'm actually working. In others, like this one, I narrate after the fact. Both have their merits. What's important is that I take the time to edit them properly and try to keep the pacing interesting for the viewer. I have the benefit of having a wonderful helper/coach/camera operator/interviewer in my wife. She does a good job of keeping me focused and in line :-) I'm thrilled you enjoy our videos and find them useful.
I love your work. I have learned so much. I just finished a mixed media class and came across your videos doing research. Thanks for sharing the knowledge of your craft.
You are very welcome. thanks for taking the time to watch.
She's lovely! Thanks for taking time to create and upload these videos. They're incredibly helpful.
That's great. It means a lot to me to know that you find the videos helpful. That is the point after all. Thanks for letting me know that.
Awesome video as always Jeff. You always make me want to pick up a brush or pencil and get to work.
Thanks a lot for letting us see you working with the sketches! I'm really enjoying it and gives a lot of inspiration.
I really enjoy watching you work you do bueatiful work
Thanks so much for sharing your techniques and explaining why you use certain materials, why you take certain steps, it's very helpful, I learn a ton from your videos every time.
Thank you Jeff. I am gonna try out the brush and the india ink!
Very inspiring and I love the end result. It's nice to show people how many times you changed the hands...i feel many artists can get all worked up and serious about sketching when really you can drastically change any part at any time in step one, often for the better. Excellent!!!
That inspires me to walk away from my computer and pick up some paint! Thanks for sharing this.
Absolutely beautiful work I look forward to seeing your videos on TH-cam whenever you post!
wow what can i say love your work and i want to follow in your steps and you make it very easy
great work jeff I love it!
I love your art! It's simply enchanting :)
hey bud thanks for sharing these vids....would love to see some more fairly large acrylic paintings!
Amazing work i really like your style keep doing this art 😄😄😄
This is so beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration!
Awesome awesome stuff, thanks so much for sharing! Total fan here :)
Elbow in the palette. I've done that before so many times. With the hand too. Sometimes the fingers. Even the brush drops into the palette often. I'm just messy haha.
Jeff seu trabalho é muito bom parabéns!
thanks for doing this, I just found your channel today and just learned about the blending for the shadow, brush + water ... I have a long way to go but I guess practice makes perfect
Love the video Jeff, really nice work!
very cool, i love it!
I love how confident your linework is! Can you come to Canada and teach? ;)
I'd love to come back to Canada. Last time I was there, when I was like 8 years-old, I was chased by a bear. No lie! I've been wanting to come back to see if I could still outrun him. LOL
I*am going to fantasi image latter today .butt trying out some colour pencils and hard pastel in mixed media. Thanks for Great video post by you jeff miracola
you my inspiration
Thank you for the wonderful work Mr. Miracola. If I may ask when you do work for a client such as Wizards of the Coast for say a Magic card at what size do you usually work on the image? Thanks again for sharing your work this way!
There is no set size. As long as the artwork is in proportion (horizontal) to the size they need it, then the artist can work any size they like. If the artist works digitally, then it can certainly be any size. If the artists works traditionally, then it would be ideal to the do the artwork small enough so that it could be placed on a scanner and scanned because the client prefers to receive digital files for final art. If the artist does their work too large to be scanned, then it will have to be photographed, which takes time and money. Most of my paintings for Magic: the Gathering are too large to be scanned. I photograph them or I scan them in sections and piece it all back together in Photoshop.
Thank you for the response Mr. Miracola! I hope we get to see one of those works in a future video.
It is one supernatural work. But I am also very curious to know on which kind of paper you work.
+saskwash2 This was done on chipboard, which is like thin cardboard. I do not normally draw or paint on that kind of paper. I only did this because it was the inside cover of my book called "Monstrosity."
I love the use of color in this one, What kind of paint do you use ?
I'd love to see you do a Xena drawing. or The Lord of Darkness from Legend.
amazing art! I just have a question about the paint. how the acrylics does not cover the lines? because sometimes I use pen first then color and even the pencil color covers my lines and then u have to make the lines again jaja. by the way thanks for share your work with us! greetings from Costa Rica!
you need to make a video about fantasy art model poses where we can study. thankyou
Hey there Jeff, excellent work! I'll definitely be picking up a copy of your book soon!
Also, have you ever used "Liquitex Ink" in your work? I've been experimenting with them and they are really vibrant and highly pigmented.
Thanks so much for the process video, Jeff, I always learn something new.
Can I ask a few questions?
Those Golden acrylics seem to dilute really nicely with water, are they the Open acrylics?
How do you figure your proportions in the sketch phase if you work outward from the torso form?
Your "distracted artist" moment is better than mine! I usually end up sticking my brush into the cup of whatever I'm drinking while I'm working... or mistakenly reaching for my brush water when I mean to be reaching for a drink.
I'm using the Golden Fluid Acrylics, not the Open series. The Fluids are already fairly diluted because they are ideal for airbrushing.
I always start with the largest area when drawing anything. It's just something I've always done. If I draw an elephant or a human, I will always draw the main part of the body first (well almost always). It's much easier for me to then draw the limbs and head because I have that large torso area to base all of my proportions off of. I did A LOT of figure drawing in my life so that has helped me immensely to understand the proportions of a figure.
"I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR STEP-BY-STEP DRAWING AND/OR TELL US YOUR TECHNIQUE FOR DRAWING THE CREATURE/MAN THAT YOU USED AS A FRONT COVER FOR YOUR "MONSTROSITY SKETCH BOOK!!!!!"....."THANK YOU!!!!!"
you should do a wolf!
Good work! What's the technique using please? Acrylic?
Yes, I am using acrylic paint. Also using colored pencil and Black India Ink.
hey Jeff, what about doing a wolf???
Great video jeff amazing!!! ... I see your videos a lot over and over and have come to the conclusion that you really have a love and passion for art so I wanted to throw a bit of a challenge just to see how far can you go as an artist I would like to see you do an entire drawing with a ballpoint pen and coloring markers I would be nice if you can grant my wish of watching a video of you drawing withing the suggestions of my challenge :-) as always great video :)
Bryan, I wish I could do that but my time is soooooo limited these days. I have a backlog of projects that I am always working on. I have tons of paintings just waiting to get done. A bigger challenge would be challenging me to get some sleep :-) Seems I've learned to live off 4 hours a night!! Thanks for enjoying my vids though.
Oh its okay then I hope you sleep well one question where can I get a good pianting kit
Hey Jeff can you do a video on female illustration and give tips on the Brest and the body. When I'm sketching people the breast looks 2D or just two circles and any tips during making a portrait. Thanks and love the video, they really help me think differently while sketching and painting, I really didn't think much of water until I watch it done right and serious :) thanks you for sharing the knowledge.
*water color
Bryan, it's all about lighting and imagining where your light source is coming from so you can do the correct shading. I'll do a video of a painting of a woman at some point so you can see how I handle it.
Thank you, I really appreciate and love the videos :)
Just how many broken jewel cases do you have?
LOL. A lot! Some time ago I transferred all of my music from Cds to the computer. Been using the CD cases ever since. And a few friends, knowing I use them for my art, have given me their old ones, too. So I'm like the crazy cat lady, but with cd cases. LMAO.
Just Love this one!! Female monsters are great in it self... and you bring it to life :D Thank your wife for me. all the best/R
just curious do you ever use white ink or white acrylic instead of color pencil?
For sure, yes. I use white paint and white colored pencil in one of my other videos.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Just a little repayment for you. Your copyright at the end of the video says 2013. just a heads up. haha. But seriously I wish I knew enough to share. Maybe one of these days I will. And for free of course.
Oh Michael, pointing out my flaws are you? :-) I started filming it in 2013, so there! LOL I should have changed that, yes. But I was being lazy.
so awesome ^_^
So you could use a cereal box, soda box .
at least you didn't drink the dirty water. which I have done before! accidentally lol
She's very....Ray Harryhausen-ish!
I need to start painting it would really really add to my work this video just reminds me of the possibilities ..my drawings instagram uriel822
amazing art it's creepy and i love it
I love your art! It's simply enchanting :)
amazing art! I just have a question about the paint. how the acrylics does not cover the lines? because sometimes I use pen first then color and even the pencil color covers my lines and then u have to make the lines again jaja. by the way thanks for share your work with us! greetings from Costa Rica!
I keep the paint very thin with water. That way I can still see the ink lines. I'd love to be in Costa Rica right now :-)
Thanks so much! And it's very rainy right now haha D:
I love your art! It's simply enchanting :)