Monday, April 06, 2009

Phil Mickelson for GOLF Magazine




I can finally share the art that I did for GOLF Magazine! It's out on stands now, page 87. This was a fun piece to work on. Since the article I was illustrating for was mostly about the crazy golf course "Whisper Rock", I chose to make the background just as important a character as Phil Mickelson.

The fun that I have while creating these pieces is in creating something that didn't exist before. I used references of Phil Mickelson, but created the expression by shooting photo references of myself as well as spending a good amount of time making faces in a mirror. The background is fictional as well. For the background, I read up a bit on the course and found out what makes it unique and different from other courses. I then gathered up some visual references of the course and then created my own version . . . a "caricature" of the course.

*Fun Fact* The golfer in the very back is my little brother Jeremy.




Detail of face.






Detail of hands. I feel that hands are just as important as the face . . . if you screw up the hands, the whole piece suffers. I spent about a day working on these hands.





I had so much fun working on the landscape of this piece. The A.D. said they wanted the green to be ridiculous and impossible for any golfer to play. So I thought it would be funny to make the green really small with difficult planes and on top of that, make it a cliff of sorts. It was also a lot of fun working on the rocks and plants. I spent a good day or so just painting the rocks and brush in the foreground. It was probably the most challenging part of the painting for me to work on.




This is my color sketch or mock, and the first thing I sent to the A.D. This is the part where I twiddle my thumbs for a bit and wait for an email or for my phone to ring . . . will the A.D. OK this or have me start over? Thankfully there wasn't any big changes needed.





This is a stage shortly after approval. You can see here that I did a lot of work on Phil's face.





Here's how the art looks in the layout of the magazine.




This was a thumbnail sketch that the A.D. sent to me before I started the job . . .






33 Comments:

Blogger Patrick LaMontagne said...

Boy, the work you put into all of the other details really shows. Those hands look alive! Love the whole piece, Jason.

10:24 AM  
Blogger Carl Knox said...

Awesome to see how you put it all together Jason. Thanks so much for the breakdown! I'm still learning after the course is over.

Is it your model's body and hands etc?... or did you manage to get all you needed out of existing photo ref?

The lighting of all the foreground elements looks very believable. Congrats of a really inspiring piece.

10:25 AM  
Blogger samacleod said...

Brilliant, what a beautiful piece! Crazy good. I love your caricatures, your draftsmanship and the freaking painting is amazing.

10:50 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

great image,
so complete!
G

11:18 AM  
Blogger Pat Bollin said...

Thanks for the detailed breakdown. This rocks man.

I hope they're paying you well.

12:00 PM  
Blogger Jorge Restrepo H. said...

You are a MASTER!
Thanks for share the details of the process. A fantastic class!

12:33 PM  
Blogger Jonathan said...

WOW!! Jason this is incredible!! I have no words man!!! I love that you posted up the process of this piece! incredible Jason! Congratulations for an amazing painting!!

12:37 PM  
Blogger Anthony Jones said...

Fantastic works! :D

12:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Holy rusted metal Batman! Fantastic job Jason!

1:04 PM  
Blogger Tooninator said...

fantastic work, Jason. Thanks for givin' us a look at the process. I especially like that you uploaded the sketch the A.D. gave you. I've seen THAT before lol.

I like the parts where you really noodle at the image, such as the hands and face, but even the few cactus in the bg.

My only suggestion would be with the composition. Most of it is good, but it took me awhile before I noticed that the hole was at the edge of the cliff. I would have tried to push that up in the frame a bit so it grabs more attention. Right now, the paths you've created don't really draw your eye to the hole.

Killer work, dude.

1:05 PM  
Blogger Sam Nielson said...

The detail in this is just incredible. I especially like how the teetering rock echoes the tilt of Phil's body and the hole on the edge.

1:51 PM  
Blogger Will Appledorn said...

awesome piece. and it's always fun to see an artists process. the details really make this one special, those plants and stuff in the foreground look like you can reach out and touch them.

The only part that I'm not that fond of is the caricature of Mickelson. While it works and is obviously him, it doesn't feel as strong as most of your work. and the way it's rendered makes it feel a bit photomanip-ish, especially the eyes. just thinking out loud.

regarless, it's a really fantastic piece over all. thanks for sharing.

1:56 PM  
Blogger Thomas Fluharty said...

Brilliant piece Jason. This piece re-defines digital caricature. ~T

7:13 PM  
Blogger bert5693 said...

hey man thanks for posting that, its awesome to see the process, and its superbly done.
keep up the great job, you truly are a master.
hope to see you in ohio

7:19 PM  
Blogger Marco Bucci said...

amazing man. I always love how you never seem to pump out mediocre work. The quality control on your work is inspiring.

8:32 PM  
Blogger Doug said...

I love it. It's one of your best for sure. The McCord is awesome too.

8:57 PM  
Blogger Ique said...

Marvellous! What a face and hands. What a care!
Congratulations man!
Best
Ique

11:46 PM  
Blogger Mike Eppe said...

Absolut great! I think your right, hands are as important as the face to make it credible. Your hands are beautyfull (I never imagine telling this to a man).
And what I really appreciate is your "fun fact", add your brother in a professional work... great!
You stay my Jedi master Seiler!
May the force be with you

1:26 AM  
Blogger Ryan Wood said...

Great stuff Jason! I really appreciate you showing the different stages of painting, very helpful. Thanks!

5:31 PM  
Blogger Nico Di Mattia said...

Superb composition and rendering!

11:06 PM  
Anonymous theb said...

Ça dépasse l'entendement! Amazing piece,Phil's hand and face are beatifull!
I'm gona eat my graphic tablet right now...

2:38 AM  
Blogger Dominic Philibert said...

Beautifully done!!!!

12:13 PM  
Blogger TRIANA said...

its simply a big great study of technical pictorica & lights and shadows, very important!!

fantasticrazy your propuest artistic!!!
FENOMENAL

SALUDOS DESDE COLOMBIA

12:24 PM  
Blogger Nelson Santos said...

Nice.

12:25 PM  
Blogger Luke Watson said...

Looks great. I'd love to see your face pulling references!

The rendering really is spot on, but there's still a looseness to it.

That's how every golf course feels to me...

7:35 PM  
Blogger Carlos Rubio said...

Outstanding work Jason. It is really amazing, so many details and looking at the process makes it even more amazing, Congratulations!

8:47 PM  
Blogger William K. Moore said...

This belongs in the illustrator's textbook. Thanks for taking what little time you have left to share this experience with your friends. It's all here: design, drawing skill, painting skill, humor, and inventiveness. You've got to feel good about this.. for a moment anyway before the next deadline comes over the wire.

10:27 PM  
Blogger Richard Watts said...

Amazing picture,the detail is extraordinary.

12:17 AM  
Blogger J. Anthony Kosar said...

Dude, your attention to detail is incredible! Love the process!

3:53 AM  
Blogger Arti said...

What can i say? You have created magic here! Awsome...Really!

9:45 AM  
Blogger Jon Moss said...

Fabulous piece jason. Once again you've raised the bar. I love the intensity on Mickelson's face and i can totally feel his anguish as if I was there. I think I even held my breath!

1:37 PM  
Blogger Tiaggo Gomes said...

Hello, Jason.
Its amazing ways to give to the funny situations to illustrate ...
and with his mastery with the brush.
Congratulations


A hug.
Tiaggo Gomes

4:13 PM  
Blogger Fedor Kramskoy said...

!!!!!

4:45 AM  

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All artwork © JasonSeiler 2006 unless otherwise stated. All characters are copyright to their respective owners