Hammer Time

Wow. It's been awhile.

This is an illustration I painted recently for a large point-of-sale poster. The company is Hammer Bowling and I like their style. They project an image like no other bowling company. Nuff said.

The text and logo were added by Firecracker Studios, the agency that hired me for this project.

Anatomy of an Illustration

The above images show the progression from initial sketch to finished illustration (or series of illustrations) for a piece I painted for National Geographic Magazine.  The two-page spread told the true story of Bruce Means, a scientist that was bitten by a rattlesnake while alone in the wild.  He was far away from help and had to fight to stay alive while making the long trek back to civilization and medical help.

1. The first sketch served as a thumbnail sketch for the project.  It's a little more finished than my thumbnails tend to be but there was a lot of information to convey in a fairly small space.  At this point I'm mainly setting up composition and figure placement.
2. The second sketch is a more finished sketch that was produced a little larger and is beginning to show more detail.  It also begins to use Bruce Mean's likeness that was pulled from video screenshots and combined with posing a model in the studio for drawing reference.  The foreground panels are also beginning to take shape and show the process of cell degradation that is happening within Mean's body.  The panel composition also needed to change at this stage to allow for the spine of the magazine.  Otherwise, an important piece of the illustration could get lost in the binding.
3. The third image is a color rough.  If time and budget allow, a color rough can help a client better envision the finished piece and show the color palette the illustrator is planning to incorporate into the piece.  Both this stage and the final illustration were produced in watercolor.
4. The fourth image is the finished illustration.  Notice how a panel has been dropped to open space for a block of text on the right.  Also, notice how the foreground panels' content changes throughout the process.  Working through the sketch and rough process with a client can help them to "nail down" exactly what they want the final illustration to depict.  

all images copyright National Geographic magazine

IT'S ALIVE!!

I'm very happy to announce that my new website is now "live!"  So, feel free to head on over and poke around a bit.  There's lots of info and even a few "easter eggs" if you can find them.  Over time, there will be new content added and new images in the Gallery section.

I'm very, very grateful to my buddy, Mark Johnson, for taking my designs for the site and making them actually work.  Mark constantly took my ideas and added his own twist and expertise, making them so much better than I could have dreamed.  Mark is an amazing artist and web designer and I'm so glad he agreed to help me by putting this monster together.  Thank you, Mark!!!

Mark has also been the model for many of my characters over the years.  If you go to the Projects: Batman section of the site, you can see Mark and his lovely wife, Cammie, in reference photos from Batman: Absolution several years ago.

Click the link below to check out the new site:

BRIAN ASHMORE ILLUSTRATION

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Art Exhibit Opening

The opening night of my art exhibit at the Toucan was an exciting night. Hundreds of people passed through the Toucan Art Gallery during the Billings Artwalk. It was great fun to get to chat with comic book and art fans, alike. You wouldn't know it from the pics but we were pretty swamped with people checking out the Absolution watercolors and all the other fantastic art that was on display at the Toucan. My many "thanks" to all who stopped in to see the work!

The show will be hanging through the end of August. So, if you live in Billings or are in the area be sure to stop by the Toucan.




Batman: The Art of Brian Ashmore
August 1 - August 29, 2008

Toucan Gallery
2505 Montana Ave.
Billings, MT 59101

406-252-0122

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Absolution in the News

The Billings Gazette ran an article today on my art exhibit at the Toucan Art Gallery. The article talks about the show and the book I illustrated, Batman: Absolution. Must be a slow news week...Heh, heh. The story includes an image of an oafish, potato-headed old fart that they claim is me (Yikes! Aging is not for the faint-of-heart. Seek the help of a professional before trying it at home, kids).

Check it out (if you dare):

Billings Gazette Article

They also recorded a short audio interview (listen, if you are man/woman enough):

Audio Interview

AND, last but not least, an old interview when Absolution was first released (read it if you...oh, never mind):

Older Absolution Article

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Illustration Art Exhibit

I'm proud to announce that Toucan Art Gallery is hosting an exhibit of my work. More specifically, some original watercolor works from Batman: Absolution, a graphic novel I illustrated a few years back. It should be a fun show and I invite everyone to come by the Toucan and check it out, as well as all the other fantastic work from other artists that Toucan has displayed. I'll be at the Toucan on August 1st from 5 to 9 pm for the opening during the Billings Artwalk. Come by and say, "Hello."

Here are the particulars:

Batman: The Art of Brian Ashmore
August 1 - August 29, 2008

Art Walk opening August 1st (from 5 to 9 PM)

Toucan Gallery
2505 Montana Ave.
Billings, MT 59101

406-252-0122

Baby Steps.

I thought I'd check and see how posting an image works. Here goes...

This is a watercolor sketch of our ol' pal Obi-Wan that I painted recently. Hey, Obi-Wan, why so blue? Heh.