Freehand Futurist

Illustration and design blog advocating freehand drawing in the design process.

Illustrations

Dreaming at Gunpoint

Dreaming at Gunpoint

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2016 has been indescribable, and I really mean that. Mostly I find myself completely helpless to do anything but daydream… Dreaming to escape a world currently holding a gun to all of our heads…

But the more I dream of escape, the bigger that gun becomes. The island utopia in my mind slowly grows into a looming volcanic threat. Then I remember…

We can’t escape, no matter how much we dream. So instead we have to dream of a better future, and set out to build that future together. I’m scared of the years ahead, as are many of my peers, but we can’t let that rule our lives. Of course oppression and bigotry suck, but we’re not powerless.

Recently I began to re-read Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” which I first read in high school. I won’t go into detail here (yet), but the story is a powerful one. The protagonist is a mid-20th century black man, but his struggle is still widely shared (sadly). Through his experiences, he discovers that his “invisibility” while on the surface seems powerless… beneath that his real power is immense. We the oppressed DO have power over our oppressors, not only because they fear us, but because they can never TRULY SEE us. Ellison introduces the book with two quotations, one from Melville (yuck) and the other from T.S. Elliot.

HARRY: I tell you, it is not me you are looking at,
Not me you are grinning at, not me your confidential looks
Incriminate, but that other person, if person,
You thought I was: let your necrophily
Feed upon that carcase…

T.S. Eliot, Family Reunion

Hand-Drawn Texture 101

Hand-Drawn Texture 101

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Creating Vibrant Hand-Drawn Texture in Photoshop

In this tutorial we will explore a technique to use hand-drawn textures in digital illustration. This method is quick, and simple to use. However, it requires that you take some time to understand the application before getting started. The first part of this tutorial is about making textures and preparing them for digital art. The second part will demonstrate a method to paint with texture and apply some color theory. This will all be created using Photoshop CS3, and should take anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on the textures you make.

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Trace and Ink Wash

Trace and Ink Wash

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Stop faking in Photoshop and make it REAL

There are many great brushes and techniques to produce ink wash in Photoshop, but they all fall short of the real thing. Why? Because Photoshop is missing the most essential ingredient for ink wash— WATER. Ink wash and water color rely on the flow of water to produce a wide range of effects, including gradients, blotches, and pooling of pigments. In this tutorial I will show how to combine tracing and ink wash to produce a work of art that you can scan and use in digital works. Rather than giving a step-by-step instruction, I will instead explain the techniques and media used to create the image so you can apply them to your own works. Ready?

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Vector Textures Made Simple

Vector Textures Made Simple

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The basics of opacity masks in Adobe Illustrator

Masking is an incredibly powerful tool for making textures and fades in the Creative Suite. Both Photoshop and Illustrator can create these effects, but there are pros and cons to using each. Making textures in Photoshop can often become cumbersome and tedious, due to both the interface and the nature of its graphics. In Illustrator however, textures are a breeze to make and edit, as well as being highly flexible vector graphics. In this tutorial I will show you how to use opacity masks in illustrator to create textured effects with ease.

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