Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Piccoli Ritratti

Here are some little portraits of some of the amazing people we had supper with in Lucca:

1. The incomparable comic artist Massimiliano Frezzato, creator of I Custodi del Maser, 2. Terry Brooks, author of Sword of Shannara, 3. Emanuele Vietina, vice-director of Lucca Comics and Games, and 4. Steve Perrin, game designer for Dungeons and Dragons and RuneQuest.


Also: 1. Skippy, 2. Mandy, 3. Athos, and 4. Andrea. These sketches were all made with water-soluble colored pencils, and all were drawn around the supper table (except the one of Skippy, which was a workshop demo).

Lucca Comics and Games

12 comments:

Mario said...

I would say "piccoli ritratti" or "ritratti piccolini" (which is a slightly "caressing" version of the first), in italian the adjective doesn't always precede the noun, it depends on "taste" and habit. Apart from that, I hope you are enjoying your stay in Italy, the whole area around Lucca is really wonderful.
Unfortunately I could not be there, the exibition and the "Lucca demo" must have been unforgettable. Anyway the Dinotopia seed has been planted, I hope it will spring.

pierangelo boog said...

Molto bello!
The brown pencil color sugested
giovani padres/young monks from a monastery?...
I enjoy your blog every day!

Oliver said...

Massimiliano Frezzato! You lucky dog!

Great sketches!

ryan mcshane said...

ah man these are so nice looking!
just a few questions that have been on my mind for days heh;
how do you go about painting with watercolor pencils? i cant seem to get the hang of it, do you make a sketch with them first and then just put water all over it all?
it'd be real helpful to see a step by step kind of thing for a portrait some time please
thanks !

WW said...

Marvelous variety of faces and fleeting expressions captured with spontaneity and a light touch. Bravo!

I bet the food was good too!

James Gurney said...

Thanks, Mario, I made the change, and was corrected by my companions at pranzo, too.

Oliver, I have become a great fan of M.F., too.

Ryanoir, Good question. I usually do the sketch in two stages. What I hit with water is a light, overall scumble over the whole face--no definition of features. When that's dry I draw the eyes, nose, etc, then make a few last touches with the brush to soften edges. I'll try to do a demo sometime, maybe on video.

Thanks, Walter! Coming from such a fine photographer as you, that's a kind compliment.

Johnnyburn said...

I think that these are great sketches. Are they about 4 inches tall or so?

I would be very interested as well in a demo video of how you do something like this with watercolor pencils without making a big smear of it.

Thanks for the post.

tiffannysketchbook said...

people don't mind that you're drawing them? that's cool :)

great sketches!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Fantastic job!
Reminds me of those court drawers. I've seen some excellent work from them.
You sure would qualify for this niche market.
As no photographs are allowed there - it's up to them drawers.

My Pen Name said...

how did you find time to eat :) maybe this is a new diet I will try, I sketch while everyone's eating :)

Seriously these are great... do you find you remember moments better when you sketch vs. photo or not do anything?

omar said...

great portraits!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.