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Monday, July 20, 2009
SBSM #2: Saul Tepper!!


Welcome to week #2 of Step-by-Step Mondays. This week's artist is Saul Tepper. He is a personal favorite of mine. It's unfortunate that he is often overshadowed. But when your competition is Dean Cornwell and Mead Schaeffer I can understand...haha (I think that timeline is correct right?). But holy moley, check out the painting on the first spread...wow!!!!!

*link taken down for time being**

take care!
-francis
posted by Francis Vallejo @ 12:03 PM   13 comments
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Brother Ali- Begin Here
When I was young you couldn’t tear me away from the stereo/ 
Used to carry one with me everywhere I’d go/ 
As I memorized the words I genuinely believed every line I heard/
I thought that these men that I referred to as prophets of our time would never lie in verse/ 
I can’t begin to tell you how it hurt /
as time went on and some of them disguises burst/ 
I always said if ever I get heard, if ever I am perched in an elevated place/ 
High enough so this world can recognize my words I would never turn and try to hide my faith/ 
And so I give it all as an author even if myself is all I have to offer/ 
I don’t exaggerate it, I would gladly be hated for what I am and just stand and state it/ 
And if you relate than you can take it, all human beings are the same when were naked/ 
We’re all living through the same insane trip but we ain't in it alone/ 
Somebody stand up and say…….  

A lot of people waiting for their big break to make it/ 
You’re gunna spend your whole life waiting until you learn that/ 
Anything given to a man can be taken/ 
Only thing that’s ever really yours is what you earn / 
It’s a mistake to label it patience when you see a person blatantly waiting for a turn/ 
Another one got the faith to go and take his, win lose or draw the end aint a concern/ 
I want it so bad I can taste it and makeshift tools are the only ones that work in the hands of a dreamer to make it take shape with/ 
See if I can’t get this old torch to burn/ 
And all of those chains and the braclets are symbols of that for which our souls yearn/ 
Strip it all away and what you face is, were trying to touch ? before we touch the urn /
I thank you from the bottom of my heart / 
Every show you ever saw every album that you bought/ 
You can be my guest and tear it all apart/ 
At the foundation you’ll be sitting there with what I forged/ 
The past is gone, my path is charted/ 
My grasp is strong I’m just getting started/ 
My aim is steady and my view is clear/ 
My name became heavy and the truth is here!


.....Just finished the Academy last night. Cleaning up today and recuperating. These are some of my favorite lyrics. They feel appropriate for the space that I am in in my life right now. I'm extremely inspired by this song. It's by one of my favorite mc's: Brother Ali. Click here to listen to the full song.

keep on keeping on!

-francis

*ps* speaking of inspiration...I was incredibly, gigantically fortunate to be able to add this Jon Foster painting to my collection last night. Jon is one of the reasons I switched my majors from animation to illustration, and I can't express how much it means to have this piece. It will be hanging proudly in my studio for a long, long time.


posted by Francis Vallejo @ 1:19 PM   8 comments
Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Camel and rider studies for a new painting. Ballpoint pen and pencil. Sorry for all the process work lately and no finals. I literally have a stack of pieces waiting to be finished/tweaked once the academy is finished. Expect them to be posted soon(ish).

take care!
-francis
posted by Francis Vallejo @ 9:48 PM   14 comments
Monday, July 13, 2009
Step-by-Step Mondays!!!


Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their week. In an effort to increase inspiration levels when the case of the Mondays hit, I've decided to start posting my scans of Step by Step magazine pages. It's a great old school magazine that had (drumroll) step by step tutorials of top illustrator's working methods, and profiles on illustration legends. I have access to almost all of the back issues so I'm making an effort to scan in many of the pages. I remember Sterling Hundley telling me that when he was in the trenches he used to scour over these magazines and copy the techniques they offered. If it worked for him, it must be worth a shot!

So to start if off, I've posted an article outlining the process of the great Thomas Blackshear. This is a great working method, especially if you find yourself running into problems when you lose your drawing by painting too opaquely over your lines. You can maintain your drawing, and challenge yourself to really switch up your process since you are actually pulling out your lights instead of painting them in. Great fun!!! Remember, it's based on solid, solid drawing!!

So below is a link to download the hi-res scans with very readable text (12 pages). I'll do my very best to post a new article every Monday, but sometimes other commitments may prevent that. In that case, I'll just post it on a later date. But I have quite a few gems, like one on Saul Tepper, Whitcomb, Cornwell, and many more!

**link taken down for time being**

enjoy!
-francis

posted by Francis Vallejo @ 12:51 PM   18 comments
Thursday, July 09, 2009
thoughts?

Hey folks. I've been making my images too unnecessarily  complicated lately, so for one of the last assignments at the academy I'm doing a simple-ish image of two rams butting heads. The point of it is to illustrate the sound that is made by the action. So when you look at the final piece you should be able to hear the crunch of the two animals hitting each other. I did a few thumbnails, so I thought I would ask the blogger-verse what ones  they feel are the most successful? I'll be doing a monotype for the final, and hopefully a large oil when I have a little time after the academy ends.

But I look forward to your thoughts! Their is a tiny green number above each thumb. Sorry it's a little hard to read.

take care,
-francis
posted by Francis Vallejo @ 10:01 AM   28 comments
Saturday, July 04, 2009
sketches!

Quick post! But these are sketches for two paintings I got going. They both are providing different problems that I've enjoyed solving (or am trying to). The bottom sketch is actual size. I'm thinking of making a post on thumbnailing and idea creation. Probably after the academy ends..haha.

happy 4th!
-francis
posted by Francis Vallejo @ 8:23 PM   14 comments
About Me

Name: Francis Vallejo
Home: Sarasota, Florida, United States
About Me: Freelance illustrator. Email: fvallejo.illustration@gmail.com Thanks for looking!!!
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