Illustrations and Sketches from Matthew Gayle

Television Rules The Nation

2011-03-27T23:04:00.000-04:00

Here's a process peak at a new revision project that I am working on called 'American Idiot.' More details to come once it is completed.

CHEERS!

-MTG

Anybody Home?!

2011-01-19T01:50:00.001-05:00

   Talk about procrastinating... this blog was a graveyard for nearly a year. Well that it is no more, time for a resurrection! First off, I've been tinkering with the layout of this blog. As of right now it's more of a reflection of my portfolio site which is based on a minimalist format to allow the art to speak for it's self. Comments or pointers are more than welcome!
   The mindset of this blog will now be like an open tap on my creative process and incoherent ramblings of everything art and design. Oh yeah... and here are some quick sketches I did of some friends!

Cheers!
-MTG

Scratch that, I need a fresh start!

2010-01-22T20:24:00.005-05:00

I did this piece for a friend that was about to embark on a new voyage to the concrete jungle. This was the first time I used scratchboard, and I believe I was successful in getting the style she had envisioned. I am probably going to explore this medium more and create line work similar to my printmaking.

Splish Splash

2009-10-14T22:09:00.004-04:00

Hoorah for the spontaneous effects of watercolors and napkins!

Here's How To Order!

2009-07-21T16:52:00.007-04:00

I know it's been awhile. I've been working on a few new projects and trying to fix my scanner. A digital camera is only as good as it's light source. Just a quick sketchbook dump off, a few animals, a sketch of a obama esquire mag cover, tf2 spy, mad hatter, and a billy mays rip quick sketch. Michael Jackson sketch inevitable. Cheers!

Hops

2009-03-16T20:20:00.003-04:00

Tribute to Ed Hopper. 12'' x 18'' cold press illustration board. pastels.

Hopper 2.0

2009-02-08T21:39:00.004-05:00

Here's some quick snap shots of my current work in progress. It's my rendition of an Edward Hopper self portrait. His attention to geometrical design through light and shadow, and the ability to capture a common day in America are what I enjoy most about his paintings. The composition has been broken down into 5 different parts based on the brim of the hat. Each part will contain different color schemes of warm, cool, complementary, analogous, etc. Cheers!

Shakin' never Stirred

2008-11-11T23:51:00.008-05:00

Bond. James Bond.

Watchout for the Boogyman!!!

2008-10-30T23:22:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween! What's Halloween without good ol' Michael Myers?! Decided to dedicate this year's pumpkin carving to him. I really like how it turned out once in the dark.

Into the Archives We Go!

2008-10-19T18:42:00.006-04:00

Ok here's some works I did a ways back, and finally archiving. The first is a collage commentating on the cause and effect of the steroid scandal that occurred in Major League Baseball. I enjoyed creating this piece and I believe that any baseball fan could relate the hidden refs throughout the work. The second was a sculpture that reflected the same theme. The combination of a toy bat and drug pills refers to how using performance enhancers allows "athletes" to gain an unfair edge on their opponents like a man among boys. Since we're talking baseball...Go Rays! CHEERS!

Back to the Future

2008-09-18T00:34:00.003-04:00

Busy...Busy...Busy....it's been a while since my last post...The vector self-portrait was done in illustrator over a quick sketch. The second was a movie poster I did a few months ago, and recently touched up and took out the text to allow the image to take over the composition. I'm working on a few new pieces for the upcoming CMYK call for entries in October, props to my pal Dustin for getting into the current issue on stands right now. Other than that I'm working on my new sketchbook, first time I've used a moleskine one, very nice quality and size. Hopefully I can start posting those weekly. And I'm currently updating and touching up my website, adding more works along with the sketchbook section. CHEERS!

Stayin' Sharp

2008-07-11T21:29:00.004-04:00

While the jump hunt continues, I've been keeping myself busy with some personal projects along with expanding my knowledge and skills of the digital art world. Now that I have entered the realm of Apple with a macbook, I can play around with the Adobe Creative Suite when I please. These two projects above were tutorials completed in Photoshop with the help of a UK mag called Advanced Photoshop (www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk). It's a really helpful tool to use to practice new techniques. I plan on applying these techniques toward my own work. The question I have is why are all the decent art magazines coming from across the pond? It isn't fun paying 15$ per mag. Also my website (www.matthewgayle.com) is now featured on illustrationmundo ,(www.illustrationmundo.com), which is a site that is dedicated to promoting illustrators.

It is time!

2008-06-06T23:42:00.003-04:00

My professional portfolio website is now up and running. The url is http://www.matthewgayle.com/. This was my first go with dreamweaver so updates and modifications will arise from time to time. If you have any comments or suggestions that would improve the site, by all means let me know. The advertising on the top header is only temporary as I search for a secure web host.

EXTRA EXTRA

2008-05-10T18:09:00.003-04:00

Well this is it, closing time, crunch time, whatever you want to call it. Only three more weeks left in my collegiate career. Then it's time for reality to kick in. This is the artwork for what my promotional postcard will be. I'm finishing up the design of this card along with my biz card and stationary letterhead. Then it is off to making my own professional site.

Digital Overload!

2008-03-13T23:01:00.003-04:00

These are a few of the works I've done in my electronic class. The Halo illustration was done for a magazine cover assignment. The artwork was done in painter while the magazine layout was done in illustrator. Next was just a quick character concept done in painter. I chose to do an adaption of the rock'em sock'em robots with a robot in the boxing ring. The last one is a logo that was done in illustrator as a tutorial to get used to the program.

Global Warming Series Continued...

2008-03-13T22:42:00.005-04:00

These are the other two in the global warming series that I am doing. They were both done in nupastels. The first one is depicting the problem that is facing penguins. Their food source of krill is swimming to colder water since water temperature is increasing. This is decreasing the penguins food supply and ends with several starving. So this illustration is showing the adult penguin trying to feed the baby but the krill is swimming away in the current while the water is warming. The second is more straight forward showing the drying environment of the painted turtle. I went more with an abstract and simplified approach for this one. The dried out land shapes are repeated in the shell while the turtle is disappearing into the shadows.

Takeover

2008-02-28T12:58:00.004-05:00

The series continues with the arctic fox. The warming climate is allowing the red fox to migrate north into the arctic fox's territory. Since the red fox is twice the size, it is easily taking over the arctic fox habitat. So the illustration is depicting the arctic fox looking back at it's home while the red fox is looking from above. The medium is nupastels.

Quick Render in Painter

2008-02-24T19:37:00.004-05:00

This was a speed painting of Gimli from LOTR in Corel Painter 10. This was my first attempt in painter and I enjoy the possibilities that this program offers.

Preliminary work

2008-02-23T15:26:00.003-05:00

These are some of the preliminary work for two more illustrations in the global warming series that I am doing. I'll post the finished works once I can get around to scanning them in.

Melting Away

2008-02-10T15:20:00.002-05:00

For my portfolio class I'm doing a series of 4 posters that show how animals are being affected by global warming. This one is showing how the polar bear is affected. Polar bears usually swim long distances to catch their food. They depend on ice bergs as a bridge back to their homes, yet they are melting away. This forces polar bears to swim until exhaustion with no rest and risks their chance of drowning. This illustration shows the polar bear sitting on top of the earth while it is melting away from the pollution that is rising. The northern lights in the top background represent the purity of this planet that is fading away. The medium was nupastels.

I challenge you to a duel!

2008-02-05T23:27:00.003-05:00

-Experimenting in Adobe Illustrator with live trace and the brush tool. This was a banner done for the 2008 Olympic games being held in Beijing, China. I chose to illustrate the sport of fencing with a technique similar to Martin French.

ABCs Sing with me!

2007-11-15T14:15:00.002-05:00

Well here it is...the illustrations for my Wildlife Portraits for an ABC animal book. Overall I'm glad with how they turned out. We were only required to have 4 color spreads but I would like to down the road have the entire book in color. The medium was nupastels. The layout of the book has the alphabet on the left page and the illustration on the right page. So the left page would be Aa alligator with the alligator drawing on the right page. I printed a hard copy that does it justice and the feeling you get when holding it in your hands is overwhelming. Let me what you think!

Sneek Peek

2007-11-01T14:35:00.002-04:00

These are some color comps for my Animal ABC book that I will be completing in the coming weeks. Each letter in the alphabet has a portrait of an animal that will represent it. So these are obviously for T and F. In the final book the border will be white with the letter being placed in the left of right corner depending on the page placement in the
book. The entire book is being done in nupastles to allow the vivid color to catch the viewer's eye. It's getting a little stressful with the shadow of the deadline looming but I know the final edition of the book will be a success. I'll post a copy of the final when all is well.

Public Service Poster

2007-10-30T16:30:00.001-04:00

This was a public service announcement poster against smoking. The concept was based around a smoking character from the 1950's that was a carton of cigarettes with women's legs dancing. I took this character and drew a body outline around her as if it was part of a crime scene. The text at the bottom is a play on words that would headline that smoking character. The placement is meant to resemble that of a surgeon general warning on a cigarette pack. The medium was nupastels on pastel card and was then touched up in photoshop.

Event Poster

2007-10-14T23:47:00.002-04:00

This was an event poster and I decided to illustrate a seafood festival that is held in south Florida. I went with the concept of seafood market chalkboards that show sales. The claws are more of a surreal combination of lobster and stone crab claws, along with shrimp boarding the sides of the text. The medium was nupastels on pastel card.

Movie Poster

2007-09-29T22:32:00.001-04:00

Well this is it senior year...crunch time. This is a piece from my poster design class. The theme was movie posters and I picked the British crime movie "layer cake." If you haven't seen it then check it out, it's by the same guys that made "Snatch. " The illustration is pretty self explanatory, with a cake that is bleeding. The title is a metaphor for the levels of crime, starting from the bottom and working to the top as in layers of cake. It was done in nupastels. I'm also making my own kid's book in another class. It is going to be a Animal ABC book. I'll keep you updated with how that process goes but I'm excited about how it will turn out.

Oil Pastels Tech

2007-05-31T12:26:00.000-04:00

This was still life illustration with a mixed media technique. I started off with priming the illustration board with gesso and added toliet paper to create a surface texture. Then I blocked in the still life with acrylic paint and spray fixed it. I added detail and color with oil pastels.

The Nutcracker

2007-05-30T11:40:00.002-04:00

This assignment was to illustrate a theater poster so I decided to depict 'the Nutcracker.' At first I was going to incorporate the mouse king and the toy soldier but resulted in a cropped image of the soldier's face. I think this image works the best because it will gain the viewer's attention quickly and the toy soldier image has become iconic. I used a wash out technique with gouache and ink to create the line work and then painted with watercolor.

The Wave

2007-05-30T11:31:00.001-04:00

This was an alter ego self portrait project. I decided to chose my hair since it has a mind of its own. I brought the 'wave' to life with the influence of the Johnny Bravo character. I used gouache and watercolor along with a pull out technique. It is still a work in progress for I still need to pull more lights in the cheeks.

Landscapes

2007-05-30T11:26:00.001-04:00

These are some watercolor paintings of the Savannah skyline.

Testing 1 2 3

2007-05-25T12:55:00.001-04:00

Here I was just playing around with pastels some more and then tested it out with some filters in photshop.

Surfs Up

2007-05-07T10:31:00.000-04:00

The theme was to do a 'Kid magazine' illustration showing how fruits and vegs can be fun for childern. I made a character out of olives, a pineapple, and a watermelon. Then put him in the action of surfing a big wave. The media is watercolor.

We're gonna need a bigger boat!

2007-05-03T12:59:00.001-04:00

Warm color scheme depiction of a great white shark in pastels.

Death of Frosty

2007-04-17T14:45:00.000-04:00

This was a cool color scheme assignment for my pastels class. The theme was frosty being run over by a car. I decided to illustrate the after effects of the crash with frosty separated between the tire tracks.

Wanna Play a Game?!

2007-03-15T22:13:00.000-04:00

Stamp illustration with a horror theme. Jigsaw puppet from "SAW" in watercolor.

I. C. U. variations

2007-03-15T22:09:00.000-04:00

Self-portraits in traditional(ink) and digital (photoshop) mediums.

Posters

2007-03-15T22:04:00.000-04:00

These are some illustrations I did for two eye care poster concepts. I'll post up the final posters that include copy once I get ahold of them.

Tarot Cards

2007-02-28T04:46:00.000-05:00

These are from a Safari themed Tarot card set that I created in Photoshop. I'm now beginning to become comfortable painting digitally.

Logo

2007-02-23T22:28:00.000-05:00

Toys and Wine

2007-02-18T21:02:00.000-05:00

These works are from my advertising class. The first two are a point of purchase for the Zebra Hall toy company. The characters are from their "Ugly Doll collection" and were meant to be placed on a toy can with the slide and top art. The third work was for a PAPIO wine label. Their label is based on monkeys and music.
Both works were done with watercolors and digital.

Learning the Ways

2007-02-12T15:12:00.000-05:00

Photoshop

Line work

Right now I'm working on learning the ways of photoshop in electronic illustration. The assignment was to illustrate a Darwin award with line work and coloring it digitally. I chose to illustrate this story http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2002-04.html. I decided to depict the event of him cheering and just about to hit the power lines. It is still a work in progress and I welcome any comments or suggestions.

Techniques Galor part 2

2006-12-13T16:26:00.000-05:00

Fallin' Apart
mixed media

This was another mixed media technique that used aging and cracking varnishes. The line work was done in pen and ink then layered with watercolor. Then you apply the aging varnish which creates a yellowish tone. Once that is semi-dry you apply the cracking varnish. In order to see the cracks you apply a wash of oil and then buff it down. Then add the finishing touches with some gouache. I chose to illustrate the University of Miami mascot with this cracking technique to show how their football program had fallen apart and lost their winning ways this past season.

Techniques Galor!

2006-12-03T00:42:00.000-05:00

Blondie,
nupastels with mineral spirits

Round in Sound,
acrlyic

Protect & Serve,
mixed media

Test patch in mix media

These works were all from a class that explored new matierals and techniques. Blondie was a speed drawing(30min) done in a stlye favored by Mark English. He used the combination of nupastels and mineral spirits to create a quick and effective way to make a painterly and gestural drawing.
Round in Sound used the technique of acrylic under and overpaintings while using the Fletcher's color scheme of a soloist and chorus. Protect and Serve was done in the C.F. Payne technique which involved a process of several layers (gesso, acrylic, watercolor, oil, and color pencil). The test patch was done first to get comfortable with the technique before moving on to the final.
****These works were digital photographed, so the resolution and color are some what lacking. Once I get near a scanner I'll repost those.

Litho- Part 2

2006-12-03T00:04:00.000-05:00

Good Mornin'
Litho-proofs

I.C.U.
Litho-proofs

Good Mornin' has more of a stylistic meaning rather than conceptual. The various features of a rooster allowed me to render with vaule and line. The closeup gives a more keen example of this. These were proofs, which are newsprint layers that allow you to slowly ink up to full strength. Once at full strenght you print on rag paper. The final print of this is in circulation through the SCAD Atlanta and Savannah campus.
I.C.U. was made through the waterless lithography process. This technique allows you to print in color with each layer being a seperate color. This piece was made in three layers divided by the orange background, red stippling background, and blue ink work in the foreground. These two proofs show how I was experimenting with composition.

World of Printmaking-Lithography

2006-12-02T23:41:00.000-05:00

Samurai Series
Lithography Prints

This series was an introduction on how to make lithographs and how to rework them. The first print was litho pencil on stone. The second used counter etching with an xacto blade to give added depth and texture. The third used the stencil approach which isolated certain areas to acid and gum. This made more clear and sharper whites.

Life 'n Death Series

2006-08-25T21:03:00.000-04:00

Crossroads of Life
concentrated dyes

Ouch

concentrated dyes

Something Smells

concentrated dyes

2nd YR @ SCAD

2006-08-25T16:41:00.000-04:00

Emotions of Death, inspired by Calvin and Hobbes

pen and ink with concentrated dyes

Breakfast

concentrated dyes and colored pencil

Penny Man series

Oil in expanded and limited palette

Folio Hunt

2006-05-25T21:10:00.000-04:00

Hopper in Oil

Self Portrait Close-up

Colored Pencil and Chalk Pastels

Still Life in Charcoal

G.I. Bunny

colored pencil

Master Copy

Sanguine

Catch in Charcoal

Summer Days in marker stippling

Summer Days (closeup)
marker stippling

Work from freshmen year at SCAD.

Artwork Conti...

2006-05-21T15:31:00.000-04:00

American Idiot

colored pencil & concentrated dyes

Jurassic Park

gouache

Keys

silver point

Woody Guthrie

pen and ink

05-06 artwork

2006-05-21T14:40:00.000-04:00

Film Festival Poster

markers & colored pencil

Card Set in Adobe Illustrator

SideWalk Arts Festival '05

Blue Jay in colored pencil

Sean Connery in colored pencil