1st sample series of illustrations for Wickiup Hill Learning Center

I recently finished about 36 illustrations that will be used in a natural history exhibit as well as a coloring book. The black line work initially started with traditional media, but changes were made in Photoshop and Illustrator. All color work was done in Photoshop. The client was going for a watercolor look, and felt these woodchuck babies were "too realistic"! I had so much fun making the fur however, that I couldn't bear to toss this version. This is just part of the illo- I enlarged it to focus on the cute fuzziness! Guess how I did the fur- used a custom brush meant for making grass and went crazy with it!

new MAYA images

I've finished my MAYA class at Parkland. For those unfamiliar with MAYA, it is a vertual 3D application- you have "cameras" and can move about in space. To make an object, you have to construct it in 3 dimensions. Lots of geometry involved. You set the lights in different places, and decide which angle provides the best composition. Here are my two favorite images created during the semester:

The Party's Over

This was our final project, modeling, creating color & texture, setting lights, and even a bit of mapping. The detail of the surface the bottle is lying on was from an experiment with acrylic washes which I scanned into Photoshop and "mapped" on.


Labrynth

This was my first project in the class. We were not allowed to do anything but model and set lights. I wanted a mysterious, Esher-like look.

You are invited!

If you live in the Champaign Urbana area, come by the Wind, Water & Light Gallery at Lincoln Square Mall during December to see my show! I'll have some samples of my excursions into Digital Art as well as many pieces in traditional media.

The reception is Friday, Dec 9th, from 6-8 PM.

Hope to see you there!

Textured Spheres

I am deep in my MAYA class, and this assignment was to create a composition of spheres with lots of different textures and colors.

Really got to indulge my love of color!

Salamander with eggs

Here is Mama Salamander looking after her eggs! Though most of the animation will be hand-painted in Photoshop, some close-ups may combine my altered photos with my hand-painted digital images. Ultimately it will depend on which styles work best together, for a seamless and consistent effect.

In Photoshop I drew three eggs, duplicating, reversing, and otherwise adjusting them to give variety. I left some areas unpainted, some semi-transparent, to ensure a translucent quality.




This photo I'd taken of a dead log worked well for the background. It had that moist look salamanders laying eggs out of water need. I eventually made several alterations to ensure it merged well with my drawings.





The salamander began with an ink drawing scanned into Photoshop. I used Photoshop painting tools to create a color rough over the line drawing.

First, I made ink storyboard drawings. Liking the textures in this scene, I chose it for one of my first color roughs.

The animated movie will accompany lectures by a college biography professor, illustrating "ring evolution". The salamanders and their environment do not represent any particular species or area, but are generic.

All images are
© Lucy A. Synk 2011

first rough drawing in Photoshop

Here is my very first rough drawing done in photoshop. It is part of the salamander project I'm working on. (The frog will be the nemesis of one of the salamanders)

I drew the bullfrog in pencil first, and scanned it in. Then "painted" it, with several different brushes on different layers.Used varying amounts of transparency to get more vibrant colors. The gradient is on the bottom layer. Originally I was going to leave it on white, but the background color really makes it pop.

summer class

The summer semester has started, and I am very excited about the independent study course I am taking! Using "The Digital Matte Painting Handbook" by David B. Mattingly as the textbook to improve my Photoshop skills, I will be working with the instructor to create some short animations. I'll be able to use the computer lab at Parkland to work on After Effects, Flash, and MAYA.

The project ultimately will produce an educational video on salamanders for a Parkland biology professor. I will also be working on a personal animation project. I will soon start posting samples of the work I come up with over the summer.