Who the Hell...?

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My name is Alan Washburn, and I am a graphic artist, web designer, and pencil/paper artist looking to get more into digital works. This blog is for sketches and finished work, as well as a place for me to rant and rave as need be.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Battle Artist 09

My Believe in Angles piece ended up taking my bout in Battle Artist 08 Single Battle, so I'm obviously pretty pleased with that.

This bout, though?

Molotov Cocktease of Venture Brothers fame.

Fuck.

Yes.

Not only is Venture Bros basically the shit in animated form, she's awesome, and this is one of the rare times in Battle Artist where the subject fits my specialty.

Totally looking forward to this one.

If you don't know what Venture Brothers is, I weep for you, but you should definitely go check it out if you like sick, twisted humor.

GO TEAM VENTURE!

-J

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Believe in Angels

Here's my entry into this week's Battle Artist competition over at DeviantArt.

As usual, you can click here or directly on the picture to be taken to the full version.



I hadn't seen the Crow since it first came out, and I barely remembered anything about it... had to check it out on Netflix to get reacquainted. It's kinda glorious in how ridiculous it is. I do really wonder if it would be more than a footnote in cinema history if it hadn't been for Brandon Lee's tragic death during the filming.

Anyway, there you have it!

-J

Friday, April 6, 2012

"I'm Sorry, We Don't Accept Sketches"

Only within about the last year have I made an active effort to get my work seen across more of DeviantArt, making an attempt to take it from a simple hobby to something that might become at least a part-time career. I have a long way to go in terms of skill, I think, before I can be truly competitive in the art world, and I realize that. Especially in the realm of color work, I need a lot of improvement.

One way I have been attempting to get my work seen has been to join various groups in DA. I've found that it makes it much easier to get your work seen because the group already has an established audience and group of fans. When you post to it, your work gets sent to everyone on that group whether they are following your individual profile or not. This gets you exposure, and exposure is important when you're trying to find work (moreso in the industry than many others, I'm finding).

However, something that I occasionally encounter when joining or submitting artwork to groups has popped up again this morning, and it always frustrates me.

"I'm sorry, but our group only accepts finished pieces, not sketches or line art." Sometimes it's preceded by "Your artwork isn't bad, but..."

My work is not sketches. My pieces are black and white pencil drawings, yes, but they are fully shaded, detailed, and cleaned up. They are finished pieces, and frankly, with as much time as I put into some of them, calling them "sketches" is insulting.

If the only issue is that it isn't colored and you want colored artwork in your group, that I can completely understand. I don't expect you to change the rules of your group to accommodate me or my black and white pencil art, but please... don't tell me I'm not allowed into your exclusive club because my work is drawn in pencil and therefor "only a sketch".

-J

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

More New Artwork

New stuff up in my DeviantArt gallery. Head on over and take a look!


More new stuff hopefully coming soon... entered into Battle Artist again and already halfway through that piece. 

-J