Ron Swanson

He everyone I wanted to share another painting for my BFA show coming up this spring. This weeks subject is Mr. Ron Swanson himself!

First off I want say that I'm a huge fan of the hit tv show Parks and Rec. I think that I entire cast is absolutely hilarious. Ron Swanson, played by the talented Nick Offerman, is by far my favorite character on the show. He's a mans man with a  love for whiskey, breakfast foods and has a sweet spot for  celebrity miniature horses. If you haven't seen the show check it out!

That's it for this week's post.  I have several more paintings in the works that can't wait to share with all of you. See you next week!

-Adam

Witch Portrait

Hey everyone out there in cyberspace!!! Sorry for the delays in blog posting. I've been super busy with school and life and haven't had a lot of time to post here on the old blog. I have however, been posting daily sketches on my Instagram account! Search munoa13 or click on the link and you should be able to find me.

Another big thing that has contributed to my lack posting is the fact that I have officially started working on my BFA (Bachelors of Fine Art) project for school! My BFA project will feature 14-20 caricature/ character portraits and our lovely Witch here is the first one in the series!

I'm supers stoked to be working on this project that will showcase all that I have learned while attending UVU. When completed the artwork will be on display at a gallery open to the public. I'll let you know when I have the final date, location, and time secured.

Thanks for all the love and support!

-Adam

TMNT... Raphael!!!

Raphael

Rough Sketch

Refined Sketch

Value Painting

Final Painting

A good friend of mine, Micah Larsen, works for a local museum called The Leonardo. He is the supervisor over the digital commons area. This is a really neat part of the museum that focusses on digital mediums such as video, animation and art.

 Looking to feature some digital artwork at the museum, Micah thought it would be fun to showcase some of the artist from Utah Valley University. He contacted Don Seegmiller and they worked out a theme and set a date for submissions. The theme surprisingly was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Any of you who have taken classes from Don, know why we were all shocked.

For my submission I wanted to paint my personal favorite ninja turtle, Raphael. I've also included a few progress images so you can see how this painting was created. This was made100% in Photoshop CS6 from the sketch to final painting.

Dog vs Cat!

Hey folks! For this blog post I wanted to share my latest painting from my Children's Book Illustration Class taught by Will Terry.

For this assignment we had to Illustrate the word "Action". Will gave us a brief narrative about a dog chasing a cat through the kitchen eventually destroying a birthday cake and most of the room.

Having grown up on a healthy diet of Saturday Morning Cartoons, I thought it would be fun to pay homage to one of my favorites Tom and Jerry. Everything about that show was fantastic! The backgrounds and the characters were so well designed especially in the earlier cartoons. Each environment painting could easily stand on it is own and the attention to detail was absolutely amazing!

I had originally worked out a completely different background with a fun forced perspective. I spent forever painting that version but ultimately it wasn't working. So I choose to  simplify my painting and go with the less busy wall and I think it worked out for the better. It was hard to let go of something that I had invested so much time painting, but hey that's the life of an artists.

As usual I learned a ton on this assignment and am ready to move on to the next project!

Down below is my original thumbnail sketch, final character designs and the backgrounds that didn't make the cut.

Till next time!

"JAW"some

Being an artists is a lot of fun but, being a dad is 2 million times better! I love my kids they are the best and every year I get to help design and create their birthday invitations. Can you guess this years theme?

Recently, my soon to be eight year old son Ben has become obsessed with monster movies like Godzilla, King Kong, Jurassic Park etc... Earlier this summer his cousin Ethan came up from California for a visit and told him how awesome the movie JAWS was.

A little background for those of you that have never met Ben. He is completely obsessed with animals!  He can tell you pretty much anything about crocodiles, snakes, big cats, and yes sharks!

Since Ethan's visit, Ben has begged and pleaded to see JAWS. So I hesitantly, borrowed a copy from my Dad and we watched it. He freaked out a little but is now 10 times more obsessed with sharks!

This project started with a quick sketch on some bond paper, was scanned and painted in Photoshop CS6.

Sad Simon

This is my first painting of the semester. It was for Will Terry's Children's Book Illustration class, which I'm taking for a second time. The assignment was to illustrate an emotion along side a given narrative. 

As usual I had a lot of fun with this project. I loved designing the characters but, I struggled with the overall layout and the background. With help from Will and some other friends I was able to get it somewhat passable. You win some and you lose some. The biggest thing that learned is that I really need to do more environmental  studies!

Till next time! 

Frank

Today, I was sitting in front my computer with the best intentions to write a paper for an ethic's class that I'm taking right now.  While I was desperately trying to find the motivation to get this paper written, my mind drifted off to the month of October and the upcoming Gallery of Terror exhibit at UVU. Seeing as I hand't started my painting for the show I thought that now would be as good as time as ever to start. The paper would have to wait!

As most of you know I'm a huge fan of old monster movies! I love the drama and the set designs I especially love how everything was shot in black an white. The entire film had to read strictly in value. Light on dark and dark on light and so on. Boris Karloff was by far my favorite actor from that genre. So I thought it would be fun to paint a caricature of him for the gallery.

This painting took about an hour and a half to complete. It was painted in Photoshop CS6.
I've included a link to youtube which has a time lapse of the whole process.

Salt Lake Comic Con... That's all folks!!!

The Salt Lake Comic Con has come and gone. It was an awesome experience. Honestly There were soooo many people. The event even sold out on Saturday! I want to say a big big thank you to everyone who stopped by my booth at convention! I met some incredible people, sold some prints, and drew a ton of sketches! Thanks for all the love and support! Can't wait to do it again next year! You all rock!

No no no...I'm Batman!

The Salt Lake Comic Con is this week and I am super pumped for it! As with most conventions, there are going to be so many incredible guests! One of those guests is Adam West! Love him or hate him, he was my first real introduction to Batman. When I was a little kid I would go to my grandma's house and watch the caped crusader run down the streets of gotham city, scale buildings, and fight off sharks with his shark repellent bat-spray! He was awesome! It wasn't until I got older that I realized how campy the 60's TV show really was.

In anticipation of the Salt Lake Comic Con, a friend of mine asked if I would be willing to do a painting the Adam West Batman so he could get it signed by him. This is nice in a way because it completes the run on my favorite Batman actors (Bale, Keaton and West). Well at lest until Batfleck comes out!

Purple People Eater Stamp...

The Purple People Eater Monster Stamp! I think it would be cool to get some of these made into stickers! Thoughts?

I'm still...Batman!

A few weeks ago I painted caricature of the Michael Keaton Batman (my favorite batman). As I was getting all my ducks in a row for the Salt Lake Comic Con that particular painting was bothering me big time. So I decided to "fix" some of the things that were bothering me and make it into the painting that I wanted it to be. So here it is. The top one is the new version and the bottom is the old one.

Prints will be available at the con or if you are unable to attend you can purchase them through me and I can can ship them pretty much anywhere in the world. All you have to do is email me at: amunoa@mac.com

He's no good to me dead!

As most of you know I've been super busy painting and getting prints ready for the Salt Lake Comic Con. Here is my latest piece... Mr. Boba or "Bobble" Fett!

Having been a huge Star Wars nerd all my life, Mr. Fett was an easy choice while trying to come up with subjects to paint. I could have easily painted Vader or any number of Jedi but, I thought it would be more fun to tackle ole' bucket head. He is arguably one of the coolest villains ever created! To bad he went out like a buster!

If you are in the Salt Lake area September 5-7 drop on by the Salt Lake Comic Con and stop at my table (A-5) in the artist alley!

Till next time!

I am Iron Man!

Hey everyone out there in cyber space! I'm really excited to share another painting with all of you! For my latest project I'm continuing with the superhero caricature theme for my table at the Salt Lake Comic Con. This week's subject is...The Invincible Iron Man!

I've been a big Iron Man fan for a long time now. I love the movies and the comics, especially Adi Granov's work on the graphic novel Iron Man: Extremis.

Like last week's Thor painting, I had  a lot fun working on ole' Shell Head's armor. In particular the scratches and the arc reactor on his chest. It takes forever but, I really enjoy zooming in and painting some of these little details!

Also, for your viewing pleasure, I've included step by step process shots for each stage of this painting. Hope you enjoy it!

Now it's time to get back to work!

The Almighty Thor!

The epic quest continues to create more art work for my booth at the Salt Lake Comic Con! This weeks subject is the Almighty Thor! 

One thing that I really enjoy about painting digitally is the ability to work on really small details. Details that most of you won't even see. It's these little details that can make or break a painting.  They usually take the longest to render. But, these little details are the things can make a painting great. You have to be careful though, not to over work an area that will draw to much attention away from the focal point of your painting. So it's probably no surprise that my y favorite part of this project was working on the armor and the lightning. 

Hope you enjoy this painting! Now it's time to get back to work!

Couldn't this with out posting a scene from one of my favorite movies... Adventures in Babysitting!

General Fury!

The infamous San Diego Comic Con was last week. I have alway wanted to attend but scheduling and acquiring tickets hasn't worked out in the past. Lucky for me this september Salt Lake City is going to have its first ever Comic Con! Even better, is the news that I was able to secure a booth in the artist alley. This will be  my first time going and participating in a convention. I'm pretty stoked and hope that The Salt Lake Comic Con is a success! At my booth I will be selling sketches, prints, and if all works out an art book featuring my paintings and drawings.

General Nick Fury is the first in a new batch of superhero caricature paintings. I'm hoping to have a lest 10 more painted by september. If you have any suggestions on heros or villains that you would like to see a caricature of sound off below and just maybe you see a version of that character at the Salt Lake Comic Con!

Uncle Sam

Hello everyone!!! I wanted to get this uploaded yesterday but it was a busy day as most of you can imagine. For every major holiday I like to paint a something to commemorate it. As of yet I didn't have anything for the Fourth of July so I thought it would be fun to paint good ole' Uncle Sam. Also I did a screen recording of the painting and uploaded it to youtube. Hope you all had a safe holiday!

Milosport Skateboard Artwork

Being an artist is pretty freaking awesome!!! Everyday I get to work on fun art projects with awesome clients! One of those clients in Milosport located in Orem, Utah.

Around the age of 12 I purchased up my first "real" skateboard from my cousin Jared. I spent everyday trying to learn how to ollie (jump for the layman). I would practice and practice until one day all my hard work and effort finally paid off. Since then, I have spent the last 22 years or so on a skateboard.

Being artistic from a young age, I always dreamed of designing my own board graphic.When I got the call from Ben over at Milosport I was ecstatic! He pretty much left the door wipe open for me to work. For this design I wanted to pay tribute to Jim Phillips my favorite skateboard artist. He came with some of the most iconic graphics ever to grace the bottom of a skateboard deck.

These are the four colors that were decided upon for the final layout. Enjoy!!!

I'm Batman!!!

I'm Batman!!! I was 10years old when my dad took me to see Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie. I was so excited to see this film! I remember first seeing the trailer for it while watching TV at my grandparents house. I was awe struck, I had never seen Batman look like he did in the trailer. You see the only incarnations of the Caped Crusader that I had seen up to that point was the Super Friends and Adam West's campy TV show. All together, this was a different Batman, a new Batman draped head to toe in black and looking freaking awesome! When I came out of the theater that night I was hooked! As the result of watching that movie, I have probably drawn/painted more pictures of the Dark Knight than any other subject. I'm Batman!!!

The Man Of Steel!!!

For pretty much my entire life I have been a Superman fan! My mom would tell you that when I was little I aways had a red Superman cape secured around my neck and that I would be constantly trying to defy gravity by leaping off the arm of the couch. I clearly remember when I was a little kid going with my parents to see Superman II at the drive-in. One scene that I vividly recall seeing was the one where Superman saves the little boy at Niagara Falls! Awesome!

Fast forward to 2006 and the disappointing, Bryan Singer Directed, Superman Returns. I really wanted to like this movie but come on, Superman lifting a kryptonite laced continent into space!!! That was just plain STUPID! The film did have a few redeeming qualities like the airplane save at the beginning, but ultimately the film fell flat on it's face.

Over the last few years we have seen the bar dramatically raised in terms of Superhero action movies. The Dark Knight Trilogy, directed by the ever talented Christopher Nolan, was fantastic!  l loved Joss Whedon's take on the Avengers and really enjoyed Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man.

This summer we have already been treated to some incredible movies. Iron Man 3 was a lot of fun. I know that some of you are still angrily disappointed in the Mandarin plot twist but hey, it was a good ride! Star Trek was visually stunning and it's always good to see the crew of the enterprise boldly go where no one has gone before. There is, however,  one film that the little kid in me has been eagerly awaiting since it was announced!

This friday Zach Snyder's highly anticipated Man of Steel hits theaters! I'm so excited for this movie! I desperately want it to be good! The trailers and the footage that I've seen so far look incredible! I really like the new suit and Henry Cavill looks every bit like Superman! General Zod looks intimidating and menacing. The rabid fanboy in me can't wait to see superman actually punch something full force! Did I mention that I'm excited for this movie!?

Well, in honor of the film's release I painted this caricature of the Man of Steel. It was painted mostly in Photoshop CS6 with a little Painter 12 thrown in for good measure. Hope you enjoy it!

See you at the movies!

Cosmo Kramer

I think most of us that have lived in an apartment at one time or another can relate to having a weird neighbor. Recently, I was asked  to paint a caricature of everyone's favorite strange neighbor... Cosmo Kramer! Seinfeld was one of my favorite TV shows and still is. The actors were superb and the writing was absolutely hilarious.  For a show about nothing, it is so stinking funny! I'm sure many of us have our favorite Seinfeld Kramer moments here's a few of mine...

Alien Brain Guy...

How's it going everyone!? Just wanted to share a Digital Painting I completed recently. Lately I've been super swamped with family, client work, and school. I've been needing to paint something for myself. Luckily for me Don Seegmiller is currently teaching a special topics digital painting class at UVU. I was fortunate enough to sit in for the first week and participat in the first assignment... Paint an alien head! It's always fun to take a class from Don because I know that we will eventually end up drawing monsters or creatures of some sort. Hope you enjoy this one, I sure had a lot of fun painting it!

Street Fighter Sketch Madness!!!

Sorry my friends for lack of posts lately. I've been incredibly busy working on multiple projects that, unfortunately, I can't share with all of you. So in place of the void (of finished paintings) I give you Street Fighter Sketch Madness!!! It's funny drew a picture of Dhalsim and posted it to Instagram and Facebook and firends started requesting characters. These took about 30 minute to create. I had a ton of fun re-imagining some of my favorite SF characters. Any suggestions for the next round of Sketches? Post 'em down below!

Tony's Secret Ingredient Spaghetti and Meatballs!

Back in the early 1920's Tony Andolini had one of the premier italian dining locations in New York City. His restaurant, Tony's, was subsequently shut down when a reporter/ food critique by the name of Rodney "Scoops" Peabody discovered the secret ingredient in his world famous spaghetti and meat balls! Scoops' discovery made national headlines! Ruined and humiliated Andolini never opened another restaurant. He denied the allegations of using "questionable products" to his deathbed in 1943. However, recently discovered was this old family photo of Tony out back in the alleyway cooking up an "old family recipe".

This was a really fun Illustration for me. I'd been sitting on this ruff sketch of a chef for a few months and really wanted to paint it. While trying to figure out a creative direction to take the image I the thought came to me "What is the secret ingredient in a secret ingredient recipe?" and this is what came from that idea.

I painted a full color version of this but it wasn't working for me so I decided to give it a sepia tone and a little ware and tear. This painting is 100% digital and was created in Photoshop CS6. I included a little gif so you can see the steps it took to create this image.