Some light relief - Elsa from Disney's Frozen

Ever took on a job you wish you had said no to?! I am in the middle of one just now so I needed some light relief. I have been putting it off for months but my niece is (still!) totally hooked on Disney's Frozen so I thought I'd paint Elsa.
Just when you thought you heard the last of it....altogether......"Let it gooooooo, let it gooooooo...."

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10 Great Art Documentaries

My blog post last week on My Top 5 Art Podcasts seemed to be quite popular so I thought I'd continue with another post on 10 great documentaries for artists.

If you are anything like me, you love to watch/listen to documentaries while you work. If these documentaries are art-related, all the better.  I have compiled a list here of 10 documentaries that I think all artists would find informative and enjoyable, no matter what medium you work in.

If you have any more to add, please do so in the comments below. I should say, these are only documentaries that are freely available on the internet. There are many more available to purchase. Also, there are some top pieces of 80's intro music in here! So, not in any particular order....

10. What Do Artists Do All Day - Frank Quitely

This BBC series follows a selection of artists through their daily routine. Frank Quitely is a renowned comic book artist know for working on titles such as Superman, ...... This documentary shows his process of creating a comic book cage from start to finish from his studio in Glasgow.

9. The Making of The Last Of Us

This documentary goes behind the scened to learn about te development and unique philosophy at work in the making of the universally acclaimed, smash hit video game, The Last of Us.

8. The Masters of Comic Book Art

A little dated now, but this documentary shows the work, processes and interviews with some of the all-time greats of comic book art including Will Eisener, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Neal Adams, Berni Wrightson, Moebius, Frank Miller, Dave Sim and Art Spiegelman.

7. John Lasseter - A Day in a Life

I have always been a Disney/Pixar nut. This documentary follows the founder of Pixar, John Lasseter through a typical day. Great insight into one of the great minds and great companies in entertainment today.

6.  The Making of Disney's The Lion King

Disney is probably the single biggest reason I am an artist today. A visit to Disneyland in Florida when I was a teenager was the first time I realised that is what I want to do. This documentary shows the full process behind making a classic Disney animation feature.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

5. What Do Artists Do All Day? - Jack Vettriano

The second from this BBC series, this documentary follows Scottish Artist Jack Vettriano through his process of finding a subject to paint, shooting reference photography, and his actual painting process. Vettriano sells more prints in the UK than any other artist.

4. Iain McCaig Lecture - Storytelling

Not so much a documentary but i couldn't leave it out this list. McCaig’s exceptional command of human anatomy, character, emotional expression and visual narrative make him one of the most sought after artists working in the entertainment industry today. He has worked on a series of Hollywood blockbusters, including Star Wars episodes one to three, Steven Spielberg’s Hook and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Here he talks about the art of storytelling.

http://vimeo.com/channels/369008/51232131

3. How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way

Somewhere in between a tutorial and a documentary, this series teaches the tools of the comic book drawing trade with hosts Stan "The Man" Lee and John Buscema. 

2. The Forger's Art

Documentary about real life events of 1997 where John Drewe conspired with artist John Myatt to pull off the biggest art fraud in UK history.

1.  The Pixar Story

As the title says, this documentary shows the story of how one of the biggest companies in entertainment was formed and how they create their feature films.

Part 1
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq5vxi_stagehand-tv-the-pixar-story-1_webcam

Part 2
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq63h0_stagehand-tv-the-pixar-story-2_webcam

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Captain Hook Re-imagined

Here is the next in my Disney Villain Series, Captain Hook from Peter Pan. I painted this one from start to finish on my laptop whilst travelling so don't fully trust the colours/brightness/contrast etc. But here it is for now until I can get home to check it out.
This is the first one that I veered slightly from the Disney design. My reason was that the movie Hook kept to a similar design and I wasnted to do something different.
Anyway, hope you like it!!

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Snow White Evil Queen re-designed

It's finally here! I've had some time recently to finish off (I never feel a painting is totally finished) the next piece in my Disney Villain series, the Evil Queen from Snow White. She is always referred to as the most beautiful of the villains and I wanted this to come across in the painting. Again, I tried to stay true to the original Disney design, just put my stamp on it.
Some people have been asking what the "QG" on the crown represents. The Evil Queen was often referred to as "Queen Grimhilde" in 1930's publications so I incorporated that in the design.
Anyway, that's enough rambling for now. Hope you like it!

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Disney's Maleficent Re-imagination

The idea of redesigning a popular character or brand really appeals to me. Whenever I see a challenge along these lines, I always try to give it a go, time permitting of course. So I decided to set myself a challenge, re-design the evil villains from the animated Disney movies! Here is the first in the series, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

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