I am pleased to present a new Artist Spotlight...Brian Roll of Odysseyart.net.

I love Brian's style and welcome him to CapedWonder™.com! It is an honor to be able to feature his stunning and unique artwork here.

Brian was born in October 1978 in New Jersey, and attended college at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He has a BFA degree in General Fine Arts with a concentration in Computer Animation. In 2001, he started Odyssey Art when he was commissioned to do portraits of his college baseball teammates. Brian currently lives in New Jersey with his wife.

Gallery Sampler

Below is a gallery of some of my favorite pieces by Brian. See more of Brian's artwork at his fantastic website, Odysseyart.net.

             

           

Step-by-step Process Example

Below Brian explains his technique for creating his fantastic artwork using one of my favorite CapedWonder™ Christopher Reeve Superman portraits from Superman-the Movie.

1. Photo Reference -- Obviously the larger and sharper the image the better so i can see more detail. If this will be a part of a larger layout, I do a low-res composition to see how everything fits and whether or not I need to find a different pose. The low-res comp also allows me to see where I can crop the photo and how much of it I actually need to draw. Very rarely do I draw a whole body or pose if I'm not going to use it later (I used to do that and it wasn't very efficient, plus I had a hard time bringing myself to crop off a part of the body that I had spent so much time on).

2. Block It Out -- I grew up wanting to be a comic book artist and since I didn't have any formal art training until college, I learned to draw like a comic book artist would. This step just gives me the general shapes and size of everything.

3. Sketch It Out -- This step is a little more detailed, not a full out drawing but a lot more in depth than Step 2.

4. Ink It Up -- Again like a comic book, I add ink over the pencils. I don't ink everything, just the outlines of things and the darkest shadows. I used to do Steps 2, 3 and 4 the traditional way. Red or blue pencil to block it out, graphite to sketch and india ink to ink. Then I would scan everything into the computer and add the color but now I do those steps in photoshop with my tablet.

5. Select and Base -- I set up the file so that there's a white background and the Inks are in a transparent layer. Then I create a layer set for the color and set it to multiply. I create a selection for the piece I'm going to color, in this case his skin, and fill it with a base color. Looks kind of strange at this point, I know.

6. Skin shade 1 -- For skin, I have a palette of 9 different colors (base, 5 shades, 3 highlights) plus black and white if necessary. I always use this palette for skin no matter what the person's skin color. This step is when I draw in the first shade.

7. Skin shade 2 -- I add the second shade of skin. With most pictures, this is the step where you can tell if you're going to get the likeness correct. Unfortunately, I realized that this might not be the best example because there's so much shadow on his face so it will take longer to show it's shape. Plus there isn't as much in the way of highlights.

8-10. Skin shades 3 thru 5 -- The further from the base color you get the less of each shade you should have to add.

11-13. Skin highlights 1 thru 3 -- After finishing all of your shading, it's starting to look good. But it still doesn't pop. It's amazing to me everytime I do this, how much life a few highlights here and there can give the picture. Skin highlight 3 is not always needed and sometimes you need to go beyond it and use white as well.

14. All Together -- I use the same process for each piece of him. Anything that's a different color needs to be selected, have a base color laid in and shaded and highlighted. And I always save my selections so if I want to I can go back in and tweak the colors. I don't leave everything as different layers because it would get insane! When the picture is at this step, there is only one layer of color. I add eyebrows, a gleam in his eye and drop in a background. I'm not going to waste time doing much of a background since this is just one piece of something larger.

The bad thing is, I do this so much I see the world like this now. I'll look at something or someone and see the different layers of color I would use to draw them! Okay, well, that about does it. Oh and this is all done in photoshop with a graphire tablet. So thanks for stopping by and I hope you've all enjoyed this little example!

Brian Roll
September 2006

This website is dedicated to the late Dana and Christopher Reeve, and to their children. Thank you to my entire family for your love, kindness and support. SUPERMAN and all related elements are the property of DC Comics, Inc. and Warner Bros. TM and © DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved 2008. CapedWonder™.com is fan-based and authorized By Warner Bros. It is produced with the highest respect and support for Superman and his creators, the Reeve family, DC Comics, Inc. and Warner Bros. CapedWonder™.com is Copyright ©Jim Bowers. "CapedWonder™" is a trademark owned by Jim Bowers. All Rights Reserved 2002-2008. Click here for additional legal and copyright information. CapedWonder™.com has been on the net since 28 March 2002. Any inquiries, comments, or suggestions about this website should be sent to Jim Bowers. "What I do is based on powers we all have inside us; the ability to endure; the ability to love, to carry on, to make the best of what we have - and you don't have to be a 'Superman' to do it." -- Christopher Reeve.