Also titled “I don’t know the correct way, but here’s how I do it”.
A little while ago I posted the Creative Spark documentary Lynda shot here in my studio, introducing me and my work. Well, while the crew was here (and seeing my silly passion for illustrating wrestlers) they decided to shoot another piece focusing on my process. So here’s the result, the ‘Start to Finish’ of my Undertaker illustration.
Beware: I say “aesthetic” around 40 times in the first 2 minutes. My limited vocabulary really shines.
This is the first time I let anyone step into my space to record my process. I’ve had people request Signalnoise tutorials a lot over the years, but I don’t believe in teaching through “Push this button, now push that button” methods. So when Lynda brought up the idea of filming me in action, it was a great opportunity to discuss the nuts and bolts of my process while not being a typical “paint by numbers” thing. I’m a fundamentals guy, so you’ll see that there aren’t any fancy tricks or secret ingredients in my work.
This is the kind of stuff I do by myself in my office… just making it up as I go along. So it’s no lie when I say it’s weird for me to see this video out there. But I hope you enjoy getting a glimpse into my process, and it encourages you to experiment with your own art and design techniques.
This is rad so far and I’m halfway through! Humbling to see how similar your workflow is to mine. In fact I have had plans to do a project very similar to this for over a year now. Client work takes up too much time. I’m aiming for Jan. Anyway this is an awesome feature, really insightful, very well spoken and clear. Thanks for sharing dude!
Thanks for sharing your process. Really enjoyed how you explained the lighting and the templates. Great idea and work!
Sincerely, I wished you were my “Art Teacher” at School. This Starkade series is truly inspiring, thanks for sharing this video footage about your art/work (Cool toys to play with at your office by the way Ahah!).
“Shockmaster!” I seriously lost it when I saw him make that little cameo. Awesome work, buddy…turned out fantastic. Keep it rollin’.
Very insightful James! watched it twice over already! Keep up the good work!
These are incredible!
I wish I could buy the prints.
The Shockmaster was a brilliant surprise. Made me laugh with that one.
It’s rare that you find someone sharing their process from start to finish. That being said, this is super insightful. I never thought of using multiple layers for light sources – it makes all the difference! Thanks for sharing.