Oh Great...

My entry into the temptation show at the American Academy of Art. The show is being organized by the Illustration Society Club at my Alma Mater. I think it's really cool that there is a club at the school dedicated to putting on gallery shows for the students by the students. I'll be at the opening in the Bill Parks gallery at 332 South Michigan avenue in Chicago on July 19th, so I know I'll probably see all of my three followers there!

Nek Mako

So the first post in almost a year is fan art. This is an original character of mine based in the Star Wars universe. He is a Nautolan Jedi in the time after the rise of the empire before the rebellion. Not a good time to be a Jedi. Mostly I did this as Photoshop practice, but I like how it came out.

Working too hard

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. As some of you may know I have a summer job at Murphy/Jahn as a sketch archivist. It has me using a mouse for up to an hour and a half at a time retouching sketches in photoshop. about two weeks ago I tried to get some extra hours in by working for 7 hours with only a half hour break in between. Bad idea. As a result, I developed tendinitis in my right hand. Luckily it never developed into carpal tunnel, but it put my out of commission for several days from doing art. I'm finally comfortable getting back into things but it has put me behind quite a bit.

here is how far I've come with the leg illustration. I've decided just to do it entirely in Photoshop. I can't decide if I should leave the leg bones in or not. Everything still needs more work in the contrast department. Tell me what you think.

Projects in the Works

Welcome to the first post on the official Matt Pappadopoli art blog! Accept no substitutes! I will be using this blog to keep you updated on the many projects I will be working on in the future. I will try to update as often as I can, and feel free to comment if you have any suggestions of what you would like to see.

For starters, I am currently working on several projects. As a result of this things are moving slowly but I'm hoping to focus on quality over frequency. Anyway, one project that I am prioritizing is a medical drawing of the venous system.

Pencil for venous system

I was approached by one of my dad's colleges, Dr. Tolitano, to illustrate a diagram of a leg for his Laser vein treatment pamphlet. I plan to do this digitally in Adobe Illustrator and render it in photo shop. This is a method I learned from Kristen Mount, one of my teachers at the Academy. Check out her blog Human Anatomy for the Artist, it's incredibly helpful. Here's the link:
http://anatomyproartifex.blogspot.com/2011/05/external-ear-shhh-im-listening-to.html


Another project is a children's book that my aunt wants me to illustrate. The book is titled, "The Yawn!"

Page 6 of "The Yawn!"

My aunt Casey asked me to illustrate this book about three years ago, but I've been so busy with school I haven't been able to give it the attention it deserves. Now that I'm graduated there is no excuse! I wont say much about the story but it is very cute, I have high hopes for it if it ever gets published.


So that's just a little sample of what I am working on. Please tell everyone you can about this blog. The more people following, the more I will feel motivated to update! That's all for now.