The Art of Kirk McConnell: February 2012

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Graphic Designs and Faith. Part I

(Above) Okay. This is a rendering I did in a photo program I use. I am inspired by Alex Ross (part of his poster of the Justice League in the background,) who is a great comic book art illustrator. In a way this is an homage to his style art. He is number one on my top ten artists I like. I have had my influences in art and design. Perhaps I will blog about this in another entry, one that can do more justice to his artwork and others.

[click on any picture to see larger.]

(Below) are several examples of my graphic design art. I used to have a professor in college who dubbed me as an eclectic designer. Initially, I took offense at his comments, but have later come to appreciate his words to me. I am a bit here and a bit there sometimes. When I try to be too consistent, It seems I fall short, so I just do not try to be anything but myself and make things I like to look at. I think most artists and designers would agree on this, at least in principle. Much of the design I do is just to keep my skills up to date, but I make things to celebrate occasions or designs as a means of encouraging others. I am not very objective, but sometimes I try to be. I am more subjective, yet methodical.

My New Year design (c) Kirk McConnell

(Below Left) This piece is something I did to honor and remember all the soldiers or persons serving in the military. I used green army men to represent our soldiers (They can be USAF, USMC or USN), and a little bit of type juxtaposed so that the main focus is just remembering those who served. I am pleased with this design, and hope it honors those who are serving.

My Memorial Day 2011 piece (c) Kirk McConnell

(Below) In 2001, I originally made this design to commemorate what transpired on September 11, 2001. It is a message of hope and the call for Americans to become united. War is an ugly thing. In the ten years that have since passed, those nations that would do terror still against the banner of freedom have sought to do more harm, and we must ever be vigilant against such tyranny and fanaticism. Stand your ground USA. Design Revised, 2011(c)


Solidarity by Kirk McConnell (c)2001

(Below) The name says it all. Jesus is my Lord and Savior. This piece I did was a reminder to me, and hopefully and encouragement to others. It is loosely based on a design done in the 1980's by Living Epistles. I always loved wearing t-shirts they designed. This is an homage to that creative spirit and desire to share Jesus with others.

Savior (homage to Living Epistles) by Kirk McConnell 2011

Much of the artwork or designs I do has this element. I want to glorify God in the artwork I do, or not all. Much of this type of design I make is to encourage other brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope if you are reading this you are encouraged, too.


by Kirk McConnell, rev. (c) 2011

(Below) This piece speaks loudly to me. More so, now, that I am reading the book of Joshua. We are all on a road in life. This is my road. I believe it is straight and narrow. If you are a believer in Jesus, then you won't look left or right, but keep moving straight ahead until you reach the goal. I do not apologize for my preachiness. It is who I am. Whether one believes or does not believe in Jesus. We all serve somebody.

(Below) I made this for my niece as a T-shirt design at Christmas. I think she liked it. It was double stacked as a skyscraper with one upside down and the bottom piece upside correct. The words represent the windows of the skyscraper. But my message to my niece was to always remember her faith, to have hope, and to always love.

(Below) Love one another, this is what it says in the design. I am basing this on scripture from the word written in First John 4: 7 -8. If you want to know if someone is of God, know them by their love for others. The design itself is just simple colors, line, and rhythm that I constructed while listening to the Tron: Legacy Soundtrack.

Tis a logo I made for myself at one time.

(Below) This is a logo I designed for a friend of mine who is a hair stylist, and a good one at that. He doesn't hear that often enough I think, but he is excellent. The design represents hair and comb and the initial of my friend's last name. This is an homage to Jimmy.

(above) This is an homage piece to Daft Punk, masters of electronic music. You might have heard some of their music in Tron: Legacy, but they are also known for other things like Interstella 5555. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger is one of the songs Daft punk is really well known for performing.

(Left) This is a design I made for a magnet, to always remind me of Gods great love for us. For the Christian, Jesus is the focal point of one's life. Religion can only take you so far, that is why there are so many crazies in the world. It is also why there are so many atheists, but I am not one to judge. I know what I believe regardless of what the world says. I suppose if I lived in another country, I would change the colors to show where I was from, yet continuing to keep Jesus first.

(Right) a design I made using Illustrator. I have grown up most of my life seeing birds of paradise around my home. This plant is the inspiration for making this simple but lovely design.

[click on any picture to see larger.]

Birds of Paradise, by Kirk McConnell (c) rev. 2011

(Below) Another piece that serves as a reminder to me of the nature of my life I walk in Christ guided by the Holy Spirit. One might ask me how I can believe in a God I cannot see, but my response is that nothing is impossible for God, but I also say, "you can feel the wind, and know its presence. You cannot see the wind, but know it is there in your midst." As I walk daily in my relationship I realize and am reminded that I must decrease and Jesus must increase if there is to be peace in my heart and with others.

Encouragement to my friends.


This is my Sci-Fi Book Club. Each character represents a person in our group or subjects we like.

To be continued. More graphic design to be posted in Part II.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Some of my Star Wars drawings...more like doodles. (part I )

One of the things I really enjoy is Star Wars.

I know that my drawings here are

rudimentary, but some are really good, too. I know I can use some improvement

with some of the characters, but I wanted

to showcase things I like to do, like a solar

lens flare with my Vader (left) or the blister

card experiment with me as a storm trooper

(below left). Also, I have different drawings of Darth Vader on here, but some were just quick sketches

and others just for fun. Some of my drawings were for examples and other as gifts. I feel that these are good

but I am confident I can do better.

This Vader was a quick sketch for a friend.

Blister Card Me as a Stormtrooper.

A 4"x6" sketch of Boba Fett I made for a friend.

A Darth Vader I like, I drew.

A quick sketch of Qui Gon Jinn, I drew.

A drawing of Luke Skywalker, I drew.

My attempt at drawing Obi Wan Kenobi

An attempt to draw Asoka from Clone Wars.

My sketch for Star Wars Day 2010

Vader feeling a presence.

My attempt to draw R2-D2 (2010)

Vader feeling blue.

Another Vader I drew for a friend.

A Christmas present for my niece.

Sentinel Light Saber designed by Kirk McConnell (AutoCAD) 2007

Star Wars Day at Victoria Gardens in 2011

A top view of the artist at work.

As you can see from the pictures, I am hard at work drawing a chalk drawing of C-3PO for star Wars Day at the Victoria Gardens
.

Even though I started early, this project took me most of the afternoon to draw. I was distracted by the number of stormtroopers and bounty hunters who graced the

pavilion, and I enjoyed seeing everyone having a good time at this event.

I am my own worst critic, but that is okay. It makes me better as an artist to know where I can improve. It was so hot outside. I was drinking a lot of water, and my pants would not stay up, even though my belt was on its tightest notch. I had been losing weight. What can I say?

The year before, I sat inside and drew pictures for kids and colored from classic star wars coloring pages. The kids loved it. I am hoping to continue working with the library as I enjoy community service. I have loved Star Wars since I was a young boy in the 1970s, and a dream fulfilled would be the opportunity to go work for Lucasfilm or Lucasarts as a storyboard or concept artist. Friends who knew me then would always get mad at me because, I had "Star Wars on the brain". I still do, very much so, yet more refined.

Can I get some water?

Poses for the camera.

Taking a moment to pose.

Nearing the end of the drawing.

It was nice to have people watch.

Another view from the top.

Getting ready to have some help.

(Above) Before Star Wars Day at the Victoria Gardens Library, My friend Allen had asked me to come up with an idea for a chalk drawing, and I had thought really hard about what I wanted to do. C-3PO seemed to be the best choice. Although, not a perfect drawing, the idea was great. This one, I did as a sketch to prepare me for Star Wars Day. When I was in my teens I used chalk pastels, so this was not too different. I felt rusty, but I enjoyed making this, and as you can see above, I worked really hard to please the kids, too.

Saturday is for Superheroes or Some Drawings I have done.

These drawings are some of my inspirations from superheroes I like. I have read and drawn pictures from books like How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema or cartooning books by Christopher Hart. There are definitely influences in the way I draw. Early on in my teens I was greatly influenced by John Byrne, Jerry Ordway and others.

I have always had a passion for drawing, and I love comics. I am learning how to draw storyboards as a means to helping me tell stories visually, and to acquire more confidence in my drawing abilities. These shown here are all from different points in my life, and not shown in order. I have been growing more as an illustrator, and know that there are idiosyncrasies in the way I draw. Something I am trying to have more of when I draw is discipline. Without discipline, inconsistency rules the day.

An interesting thin you might like to know is that two inked drawings of Batman and Superman are scaled drawings of which I drew from 1 inch squares and a grid. Jerry Ordway has been one of my favorite artists, and I wanted to have something that was in honor of his work.

The drawing of Wolverine is just a sketch I did, and was from a time I was a really big fan of the X-Men and Wolverine titles from Marvel Comics. I am more of a fine artist than a comic book artist, but a dream fulfilled would be to draw characters I love from the titles I enjoy reading. If someone from Marvel asked me to draw, I would love to draw the Fantastic Four or Thor. If Someone from DC Comics asked me to draw for them, I would have to say, Green Lantern, Superman, Batman or a related title. What I would really love to do is draw covers. I will eventually put samples of what I can in that regards on here later.

Below, I have also included some gestural drawing and action poses which I use to warm up when I draw or try to visualize poses. When drawing, it is important to pay attention to what you see around you. Sometimes I forget details, so I try to recreate from photos and less from inside my head. With that said, let it be known also, that I have a very vivid and healthy imagination, too.

The Spiderman picture and the super kid drawings below are just some studies I did from looking at Christopher Hart art books.

Thanks for being with me and checking out my artwork. See you next time.

-K.