Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Using Maquettes on Location

Today is the release of my new video, "Fantasy in the Wild."



In this excerpt I show a fast technique for making a reference maquette that's practically indestructible and it can be put into almost any pose (Link to YouTube). It's also a fun, quick build that you can do with a kid.


I hot-glued braided cord along the arms to simulate the hydraulic lines. The pins were supposed to suggest antennas.


The maquette was helpful while I was out on location generating picture ideas and then doing the final painting.



I also used a maquette in the Rhinecliff location to help me imagine the flying car.

In its 71 minutes of running time, "Fantasy in the Wild" is packed full of practical tips that you can use regardless of your preferred medium or subject matter.

It's really a story of imagination meeting observation.
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"Fantasy in the Wild: Painting Concept Art on Location" is available in two forms:
HD MP4 video download...$14.95
DVD (Region 1 NTSC)......$24.50

22 comments:

Jared Cullum said...

Got it! :) Thank you for your hard work.

jimserrettstudio said...

Oh yea, fantastic. I know what Santa’s bringing me. Thanks.

gyrusdentus said...

Great crafting skills and great creativity.

Mitch said...

Just bought it! Thank you for sharing your process in a product that's also a great value. I expect to be making my very first maquettes in the near future.

A Colonel of Truth said...

Superb!

Michael King said...

Great, but 1080P download and online watch seems corrupt. Stops just after 29 minutes and a few seconds or so. For me at least. 720 P works.

Frank Gabriel said...

I had the same issue with the video freezing at 29 minutes on the 1080P version, so I'm downloading it again, but if others had the same issue I don't think it's going to help. Really enjoying it so far; great job as usual.

James Gurney said...

Michael and Frank, thanks for letting me know. Must be some interruption in the Force. I'll reupload the file to Gumroad (and label it "reupload" in the title). Let me know if that works for you. --JG

Michael King said...

Finished watching the 720p version. Awesome work. Great to see your thought process, trials & tribulations, corrections, etc. Kudos and 3 thumbs up!

Fabio said...

Just bought and downloaded :) Watching it now!

Fabio said...

Oh by the way, what kind of paper is the sketchbook you use at first? Looks like it doesn't cockle at all, so I guess it's heavyweight and fairly smooth?

Unknown said...

Just bought! Paypal worked fine this time in gumroad :) I expect to watch it this weekend!

James Gurney said...

Fabio, I was using a Holbein multi purpose drawing book. You're right -- it will take water media pretty well. Great for roughs.

Michael King said...

James,

Sorry to say the latest 1080P vid still ends at 29:20. Try it on your end.

Anonymous said...

Great stuff! My wife thinks it is funny how often I sketch diggers, so she had a laugh at subjects you chose.

I really liked the grid system drawing aid you used. I've made a similar one using an overhead transparency, but I had not thought of drawing on it directly. I also had trouble with my head moving around. I think I will have to revisit that idea.

I'm off to buy some toy cars.. uhh I mean Foreground Models!

James Gurney said...

Michael, thanks for letting me know. I've deleted the 1080p file altogether until I can figure out what's bedeviling it.

Sketchypants, Yes, I tried a bunch of configurations of the grid system until I hit on the idea of drawing on the acrylic sheet in water-based markers, and figured out how to hold my head stationary. The whole grid step only takes about 10 minutes total, but it gives immediate, accurate results. And I'm glad our wives realize we need to revert to our boyhood once in a while.

Luis, I'm glad Gumroad allows customers to use Paypal. Especially since I wasn't able to successfully upload the file to Sellfy.

Thanks, Gyrus! Mitch, even the roughest maquettes are super-helpful.

Jim Hartlage said...

Just curious, if you buy the 720 today can you download the 1080p later? Thanks. Love these videos.

James Gurney said...

Jim, I don't know. A few people were having tech issues with the 1080 file, even after uploading it a second time, so I just deleted it.

Both the 720 file and the 1080 file are HD. If anyone downloaded the large file exclusively and has issues with it later, please just contact Gumroad support (support@gumroad.com ) and they'll give you a download link for the other file.

Unknown said...

I've downloaded both 1080 versions and have the same problem. ;(
I liked very much the part I can see from the video... the 720 version it’s not the same thing, I just like to play them on a big tv. I've bought all off your downloadable videos and I love them all!

Vladimir Venkov said...

I downloaded the two versions whey they were available and they both work.
Thanks the great video James.

Carole Pivarnik said...

Bought the 720 version, plays great and looks great on my iMac. But more importantly, the content is superb. You are a great teacher and your sense of humor makes your videos so much fun to watch over and over again. Thanks for sharing your expertise in this way!

Dani Maupin said...

This video was completely amazing. I watched it once, then again, and then a third time, all in one sitting. The idea of making a maquette is so simple it's almost shameful that I haven't done it yet. I never get light right when I guess at it. Actually, my father dabbles in stop motion and I made him his own small version of a construction robot using your method of craft foam. Thank you for being so inspiring!