Spotlight:DaveDorman

From Ani-Jobs

Spotlight On: Dave Dorman

The Project:

The idea for the cover for the RAIL graphic novel was to introduce the two main characters from the series, Edge and Iguana. I wanted to have an action scene with the emphasis on the figures yet still show a bit of a feel for the texture of the story, what I call a "motorcycle western".

The Art:

STEP 1 and 2

The beginnings of the ideas start with thumbnail sketches of the ideas. No real detail, just blocking out the composition and design.

After I decide which thumbnail is the best to represent what I want to show then I do a larger thumbnail. This lets me block in more of the figures and compositional elements and I can start working in smaller details as well.

At this point I know all the elements that will be going in the piece and I can arrange for shooting my photo reference. I have friends come over and model for me. In this particular case it was Del Stone, my scripter for the RAIL book, who posed for both of the characters. I also collected photos of the type of locomotive I wanted for the background and I had a model of a 1938 Harley that I used for the foreground motorcycles.

STEP 3 After the reference photos are shot, I begin the drawing. From this point on, the drawings I do will be the actual size of the painting. I do all my drawing on vellum tracing paper, which allows me to work over previous drawings and make easy changes to make the art more dynamic. The first full pencil is very rough blocking in all the elements to make things work visually within the frame.

STEP 4 Once I am happy with the placement of the elements and look of the final composition, Then I lay another piece of tracing paper over the rough and refine the drawing filling in all the fine details. This gives me a finished pencil piece that will be the basis/reference of the final painting.

STEP 5 When I had finished the pencil drawing I was looking at it and something just didn't seem quite right. I decided to scan it into the computer and mock-up a cover to see if that might help me figure out what was wrong (left image). Well in looking at it then, it was obvious to me what the problem with it was. The figures were facing the spine of the book rather than the opening. While this may not be a big deal if the painting was a stand-alone piece not intended for publication. But as a cover it needed to draw the reader into the book. So I decided to flip the whole piece and have the action facing right. After making another mock-up of the cover (right image) I felt this was a much better composition.

STEP 6 So I flipped the drawing, and proceeded to start the painting. I paint on #100 Crescent illustration board that has a coat of gesso on it. I use the gesso in certain areas on the board to create textures, so that when the paint is applied to the board the texture will show thru and add an extra dimension to the work. After the gesso dries I make a photocopy of the final pencil drawing and transfer the image, using graphite paper, to my gessoed board. I then sprayfix the pencil and I am ready to paint.

I first lay down some general tones to get a feel of where I'm going visually and this also helps develop contrasts for the elements in the piece.

STEP 7 I let that dry and then I come back and work the background a bit more by adding some more details. Once again I set this aside to dry.

STEP 8 & STEP 9

At this point a lot of the background is in so I start working on the main images in the piece, which are the figures(left image). As with the background, I block in the colors and contrasts and work them into the background (right image).

STEP 10 I let this dry and I come back and begin working on the details. This is really where the fun starts for me because the painting starts to come alive with the addition of the figures in action.

STEP 11 As I continue to paint, it becomes a process of just refining the details and playing with the paint and textures to tie everything together visually. And as I get closer to finishing, I have to keep myself from putting too much detail in. I want the viewer’s eye to travel a certain way in the painting, and if I put too much detail here or there, then I will make the viewer stop in areas that weren't intended.

STEP 12

So here we have, after about 6-7 days of work, a finished painting (left image). I'm very happy with the piece and I feel it captures what I had intended, the action and drama of the story. I decide as an afterthought to do a quick mock-up of the art as the proposed cover (right image). Once again this works very well for me.

The Interview:

Q: Are you working in gouache, acrylic, or do you generally paint with mixed media?

A: The artwork is done in whatever medium suits the project. Primarily, I do work in oils and acrylics. Oils are what I taught myself to paint in and am more comfortable with, but as a commercial artist I have found that it is the final art that speaks for itself, not the medium it was created in. So now I tend to start in oils, shift to acrylics if need be and finish up with bits of colored pencil and marker to touch up or define elements just a bit more.

Q: Do you ever enhance your paintings digitally for the final look?

A: Yes, on some pieces I do use digital means to augment certain areas of paintings. It does not happen that often but it can help give a piece that extra pop. Stylistically the digital effects tend to be the same thing I would have used the airbrush for years ago, but the flexibility of the digital programs let me play with a little more minute augmentations as well.

Q: How did you get started painting for huge brands like Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Batman?

A: I was working for Dark Horse Comics, amongst other companies, doing freelance art, covers mostly when I heard they were going to be publishing Indiana Jones comics. Well, as a big Indy fan I had to put my two cents in and let them know I was interested in doing covers. When I was approved by Lucasfilm, Dark Horse had me do a series of covers. After that, once again, I heard they had the Star Wars license as well and I inquired about covers for that, which i got. From there my career skyrocketed and i seeked out, or overheard, of other fun projects, including those in the comic field, Batman, Captain America, Aliens, Buckaroo Banzai amongst others.

Q: Do you have a preference toward using certain color choices or palettes?

A. The color palette is demanded by each piece individually and what I, or the client, want to say. But I do tend to approach certain projects with a pallete in mind. Indiana Jones gets an earthtone approach, Batman gets a strong shadowy-night like palette, most other superheroes get a bright colored dynamic choice, etc. But once again I stress these are initial thoughts and each piece needs to tell it's own story both in imagery and color, so there is no hard and fast rule.

Q: Do you tend to get a lot of client feedback on your paintings when you're working for such enormous franchises as Star Wars?

A. Feedback is always part of the commercial art field as it is important that the client and artist know exactly what they want to achieve for the marketplace. So constant feedback is expected during the creative process. That has its positives, mostly in the exchange of ideas prior to completing the final art, but has its drawbacks in the possibilities of changes after the art is finished.

Q: You've taught at Gnomon Workshop in Hollywood, CA, and recently released two tutorial DVDs of your painting process on their website.

A. Yes, they produced 2 DVDs of my technique, both showing traditional methods of working rather than digital. One DVD was on drawing, and the other on painting. Gnomon teaches mostly digital work and they have come to find their students have a great interest in traditional methods as well, so my DVD set introduces some of those techniques to them. Click here to see Gnomon Workshop DVD

Q: What career advice do you offer students interested in following a career path like yours?

A. First, work hard at your craft. You will get nowhere if you think you are the greatest artist who ever lived and you do not work to better yourself. As an artist you should never be satisfied with where you are, you should always strive to see things differently and more interestingly. Feel free to experiment, school study is fine but do not let your teachers say you can or can not do something stylistically, because your imagination is the only limit you have.

Q: Do you have any books or films that inspire you and that you can recommend to our readers?

A. Any drawing books by Andrew Loomis or George Bridgeman

Also, art by Frank Frazetta, Dean Cornwell, Norman Rockwell, Jean Giraud (Moebius), Alex Toth, Mike Mignola, Enki Bilal, and Drew Sruzan.

Any film by Sergio Leone. The music of Aaron Copland is also inspiring.

Any artist that lives or has lived in whatever time and whatever style...look and learn!