Doug McGuire :: Illustration

Trying new things

gfxdug — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:39:52 +0000

I have been struggling for a while (like every artist seems to) with my illustration – call it “creative block” or whatever, but I’m working through it. That said, I don’t normally draw a lot of monsters but I have a friend putting together a gallery project later this year and she asked me to be a part of it. I’ll post about it later once it’s ready to go, but the plan is for it to include local writers, artists and some sweet tech.

I felt like trying some new techniques/style on this one. I’ve not done any graphic novel-type illustration before but the subject matter seemed to warrant it. I got some great feedback from my brother, Bryan McGuire, friend, Andy Friz and my son Hayden.

Here are a couple of hand studies I did trying to work out details…

I used this project as a way to get myself back into “learning mode” too. You should never stop! Spent some time reading drawing books, looking at other artists techniques & tutorials. A LOT to view and learn out there. I have really been enjoying the process again.

Just for fun illo.

gfxdug — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 01:46:22 +0000

This was an internal illustration for a department at McGraw-Hill. Just for fun. Enjoy.

Sketched in pencil, painted in Painter.

Very cool online video tool

gfxdug — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:06:15 +0000

I just tried out a new online video / slideshow creation tool, Animoto. Incredibly easy, quick & fun.
I grabbed some images from our recent trip to GenCon for Aidan 5 and created one of the Animoto shorts (free). Looks like you can purchase “full-length credits” as well for longer pieces.

Here’s what I put together (took about 5-10 min total).

Another cool show…The Mercury Men

gfxdug — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:42:05 +0000

Another very cool black & white show …The Mercury Men
Met the film makers at GenCon this past weekend, great down-to-Earth (no pun intended, well maybe) guys.

Here’s the trailer…

Aidan 5 Ep. 1 goes live

gfxdug — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:16:42 +0000

The indie Web series I have been a part of, Aidan 5, has finally launched it’s first episode “The Rooftop”!
I did a good deal of the background drawings and there were a few very late nights and compromises in order to hit our launch date of the the 14th, but it’s here and live.
We’ve got a booth at GenCon in Indianapolis (#2014) and will be doing a screening of the episode along with Q&A at 7pm Saturday night. The shows site is starting to fill out as we add production stills and blog entries from the cast & crew.
It has been awesome working with such a talented crew. We ran into some roadblocks late in the process and the VFX / compositing guys at RAVE have killed themselves to get everything done. They will be participating in this years 48 hour Film Project which was the origin of the Aidan 5 series.
Check out the site: aidan5.com
Become a fan of Aidan 5 on Facebook

Side project – Aidan 5 Web Series

gfxdug — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:51:37 +0000

So, I have recently been working with a group of local creative friends on a new web series called Aidan 5, doing storyboards & illustration. This is a great group of very talented folks and I am geeked to be a part of it. The director, Johnny Jackson does a great job of explaining in his latest (and first) Aidan 5 blog post – check it out. We are in total churn & burn mode now and will probably remain there through the Summer. I will post examples if the project gets to where I can, or more likely, I will link to them on the project site.

Amazing trip to Glacier

gfxdug — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:50:10 +0000

Many Glacier Lodge

Just got back from an outstanding vacation in Glacier National Park, Montana. If you ever get the chance, GO!

We flew in to Minneapolis to see family and then rode the Amtrak (20 hours one-way) to East Glacier. I can’t say I was a huge fan of the train ride, it was pretty rough a lot of the time, but I am glad I did it. We rode coach on the train so, if I were to do it again, I would get a sleeper car or fly in.

We stayed in 3 different lodges in East Glacier: Glacier Park Lodge, Many Glacier & the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. I liked them all for different reasons. Met many nice folks, saw interesting places, ate good food.

A lot of inspiration to draw and paint. I plan to post the outcomes of that inspiration.

Scenery, wildlife, hiking, the freshest air I have ever breathed…I will go back.

I wanted to get some pics of the mountains reflected in the lakes…unfortunately, the wind was whipping the whole trip. I have a few pics of the trip posted on Flickr & Facebook, enjoy.

Happy Clients

gfxdug — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:51:13 +0000

Got a great compliment from my client at EcoTek Tiles. Always a wonderful feeling to have a happy customer. I really enjoyed working on this project, which had a unique challenge. Create illustrations that explain a do-it-yourself installation without using ANY words. The illustrations will appear on the side of the box so that no translations are needed. According to my client Robert…

“Very nice work on the assembly illustrations. They get the concept across simply and without text, allowing us to use the same packaging worldwide.”

Quick Draw for Giant Eagle

gfxdug — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:35:45 +0000

Recently, through my friends at Film Columbus I was contacted to do quick-turn storyboards for six :30 Giant Eagle commercial spots. 85 boards in about 37 hours proved to be quite a challenge. I had a great experience working with the guys from Optimus One in Chicago. I haven’t heard about the finished product yet, but my understanding is that the spots should be running sometime this month. (I’ll have to wait and see before posting any examples)

Kick in the pants

gfxdug — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:40:29 +0000

Ok, so I am painfully aware that my blogging is abysmal… So, I thought I would try to find some way(s) to make it easier – and to kick my own butt into doing it.

A friend of mine suggested trying ScribeFire, a Firefox blogging plug-in. Hopefully, if it’s in my face all the time, I’ll be more likely to add posts. This of course depends upon whether I actually have something worthwhile to say.