IMC 2011 Day 1

It's close to midnight on the first day of crits and lectures, but it feels like I've been here for a few days already. I'm not too happy with not making time to prepare a stronger batch of sketches for today, but it was a busy and hectic week back home.

I have settled on a scene with a uranium dragon (u-dragon) from my Dragonist mythos. It depicts a u-dragon in streaking overhead while congregation of Dragonist clergy and acolytes gather on a craggy cliff. My goal is to complete the drawing by Monday afternoon before starting in on the painting. Thus far, the biggest stumbling block has been in choosing a cropping for the main u-dragon overhead. The scene is fairly effective with the entire dragon in view, although most read it as an alien machine of some kind, mainly because of the overall form and vapor trail from its hind quarters. And yet again, some conflicts and doubts about the piece have already begun to set in in ways that they never did when I worked on personal pieces. Come to think of it, it is a bit too much to digest input from several people, including peers and faculty. But ultimately, it comes down to making a decision about which advice to follow.

Goals:
a strong, memorable composition
a successful group scene from quality reference
a vibrant color palette
an original an inspiring dragon concept

Limits and Challenges:
1. first attempt at a major group scene
2. u-dragon design unresolved
3. dragon form reads better in other sketch

Resolutions to above:
1. Have classmates pose, or build costumes from sheets, towels, etc.
2. Silhouette is strong. should try cut paper model tomorrow, like Gurney.
3. Save it for another painting.

Lastly, I should mention that author Milton Davis (Changa's Safari) was kind enough to pen an amazing draft for a Dragonist short story called "The Signal" My original plan was to take on a critical scene from the story for IMC, but that will have to happen later this year. This collaboration has been very exciting thus far. Milton has a real talent for storytelling, and he has been very helpful in helping me to move this concept to the next level.

This year's lecture on using reference included Greg Manchess, Scott M. Fisher, and Dan Dos Santos. Each had roughly 20 seconds to explain each of their slides (an average of about ten or so) and share their process for using and manipulating reference. We also got a crash course in photographing with lights, and a fun lecture from Ian McCaig mostly focused on drawing and inspiration. After last night's lack of sleep and the general good energy and anxiety, I'm feeling a bit more relaxed tonight.

I'm going to attempt one last sketch before turning in.