Kevin Vito's Illustration and Sketch Blog

Update!

2010-11-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

It has been far too long since I have last updated this poor blog.
I have some news though.

I've finally saved up enough money from plasma donation to buy a tablet. Now I'm able to get back into doing digital art! Maybe now I'll be able to get commissions.
I'm a little rusty at digital art though, so I'm trying to get back in shape with a few art exercises.
After watching an episode of Community, and this PSA on youtube I've decided to do a portrait of George Takei. Here's the work in progress.

Now that I look at these again, I realize that the shape of left eye, the position of the mouth, and the hairline are all way off. I'll have these mistakes corrected in my next blog post.

AMERICA

2010-05-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

I've been busy today.
I went and bought bagels this morning and picked up an application for a part time job (just a little money here and there for rent). I photographed a bunch of my old student projects. I'll be posting these to Etsy and putting them up for sale (just a little more money here and there for rent). I did some sketches for a comic I'm illustrating (I'll post some soon, I promise).
I also started work on a new pet project.
I posted to facebook:
"What shall I draw today? YOU DECIDE AMERICA!"
Stephen Buchanan responded "Dicks."
Mallory Harrelson responded "A butterface. A lovely lady with a really ugly face chasing down a knight who came to save her."
I decided to go with that last one.
Here's my rough sketch so far:

I apologize for the quality. My scanner sucks, and I couldn't mess with the curves because I do not have Photoshop on my home computer. Hopefully if I can make some money from selling work on Etsy, I will be able to finally clear both of these hurdles and get back to making digital work. In the mean time, it's all traditional media for me!

Stream of Thought

2010-05-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

A couple of quick stream-of-thought doodles I made last night.

...and... here's something old I just found!

I haven't gotten much work done today. I went to bed late last night (sometime around 5:00am) and ended up waking up really late (like around 3:00pm). So much for my daily schedule.
I went out for a stroll, and ended up finding a bagel shop/bakery shop I never knew about. Apparently they are hiring. I think I'll put in an application there for a part time job. That will get me by for a while at least while I work on these comics and get some more commissions.

Scanner

2010-05-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

I got my commission for Louis completed, shipped out, and received payment. Enjoy buddy! I wish I could have gotten a good scan of it, but I don't have a big enough scanner at the moment.
I did manage to get my crappy Dell scanner working at least, so here are a few little doodles for you.

I need to start drawing more equipment and weapon pieces for my portfolio. I want to do concept art for game companies at some point.

This was just for fun.

This is a page from my sketch book. I've been doing rough sketches for a comic book I'm working on with my writer friend Noah Mann-Engel. I'll be posting more of these along with some thumbnail and layout pages in the next few days.

Getting My Ass in Gear

2010-05-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to adjust to life outside of college.
I need to start waking up before 8:00am.
I need to come up with a schedule for myself.
I need to get to work on these two comics and start doing more commissions.
I need to get the money together to buy a drawing table. Drawing on my floor hasn't been working. Hanging my works in progress on my walls to work on is better, and it helps remind me to get to work.
I need to either get a new computer or get my computer upgraded so I can get Photoshop and Illustrator and start doing digital work again. I need to get a scanner and a tablet. This is going to be expensive as hell.

Work in Progress

2010-05-17T11:31:00.001-07:00

I really need to get a scanner. I've been having to use my crappy camera to take these for you.

I have a bunch of sketches I want to put up here too, but again, no scanner.

WIP Update

2010-05-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

Finally, after moving into my new apartment, I am now starting to get back to work.
Check out this commission piece I'm working on for a friend of mine.

It's getting there.

Working Hard

2010-05-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

A commission piece in progress.

To do:
1) Clean this up, touch up some details.
2) Color it (ink wash)
3) Touch up the details.
4) Collect payment.
5) Mail it off.

Other things to do:
1) Create three sample images for another commission I want to do for a cell phone game.
2) Work on my comic book I'm illustrating with the help of a writer friend of mine.
3) Find more work.
4) Pack my things.
5) Move into my new apartment.

2010-05-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

I have a commission!
I'm working on a pen and ink wash drawing for my friend Louis. Here's a rough sketch:

I'll have the WIPs and finished piece posted for you as soon as I have them done.

I'll also be meeting with a writer friend of mine next Monday to begin work on a comic book. The plan is to submit it to Zuda for $500, make prints at Alpha graphics, and hand out copies of the comic to publishers at WisCon. Wish us luck!

Also, I graduate this Saturday and move into a new apartment Tuesday-ish. Yay!

*edit*
Don't ask me why the sketch's colors are inverted... I linked to the google docs sketch I emailed to my pal as I didn't have the file on me to upload and it... came out weird. Whatever.

*edit2*
I'm on LinkedIn by the way.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinvito

I also have a new portfolio up at
http://kevinvito.carbonmade.com

Illustration Show Was a Big Hit

2010-05-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

I had my illustration show the other day!
Other artists at the show (in no particular order)
Kenneth Lindsay,
Matthew Clampitt,
Brian Rekruciak,
Andrea Radeck,
Brett Dlhy,
Chase Goostree,
Mallory Harrelson,
Samantha Haney,
Matthew Taylor,
Thomas Kuzmyn,

All in all I'd say it was a success. Mallory ordered some fantastic catering from imbodens, Brian handled the music, Samantha ordered a banner that we all signed and gave to our instructors Kim Martens and Todd Buck.
Sadly, I did not have any business cards to hand out there, but I was able to improvise. I handed out some portfolio packets that I had left over from the C2E2 convention. When those ran out, I ended up making business cards on the spot (thank you Brian for the pen). I wrote out my contact information by hand and drew little personalized sketches for people.
I think I made a good impression on the guests though. People seemed to like my portfolio and my outfit.

After the show, we all went out to a bar, had some beer, and sang along with Journey on the jukebox. Then we all went to Ken's place for a second after-party. I drew sketches of people, drank wine, attempted to flirt with people, and had a lot of fun.

Next step: Graduation.

Deviantart Update

2010-04-30T11:33:00.001-07:00

I added a couple of pieces to my deviantart page. Check them out!
chronoplasm.deviantart.com

Portfolio Turned In

2010-04-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

So I managed to turn in my senior portfolio with 12 finished(?) pieces. I also got a couple of prints matted and submitted to the BFA show.
I have so much more work ahead of me though.

Portfolio Review

2010-04-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

I've been quite busy lately. I've been getting things together for my senior portfolio review tomorrow and for my senior show this Saturday.
Wish me luck!
Check out my portfolio at kevinvito.daportfolio.com

Enjoyed C2E2

2010-04-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry for the late post. I went to C2E2 last Friday and haven't gotten a chance to blog about it until now.
It was pretty fun. I handed out portfolios and got a very good critique from the guys at Top Cow. I talked to Randy of Something Positive and got a drawing of Choo-Choo Bear.
I ruined a good pair of shoes though. I decided to come dressed up and proffessional looking, and managed to scuff up my nice dressy shoes at some point. I bought a new pair today. I'll be wearing them to a job interview tomorrow. I need to get a good steady income to supplement my career as a proffessional illustrator.

New Blog!

2010-04-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

So my old blog at kevinvito.blogspot.com is no longer running.
I found out that my gmail account was sending emails out to people (including art directors) without my permission. These emails contained virus-infected links. Apparently the computer at the library I work at got an infection from something my idiot coworkers were doing and the virus got a hold on my gmail account.
I decided to delete my gmail account, but accidently deleted my entire google account instead. Thus, my old blog was lost.
I have a new blog though, so it's cool.

I'll be using this blog to show off sketches, works in progress, and finished pieces. You can see some artwork I've already done at my deviant art page.
chronoplasm.deviantart.com
You can also look at my online portfolio at
kevinvito.daportfolio.com

I'll be going to C2E2 tomorrow. It should be fun!