Amish Christmas Musical

Well, I am getting real close to being able to say "there is nothing that I haven't drawn" with this last illustration that I completed today. I got this job through a friend of mine who suggested to his friend that he use me to illustrate a poster for a musical that he was producing. And not just any musical, but an Amish Musical. When I first talked to the gentleman who hired me I thought he was kidding me but turns out thankfully he was for real. I never knew there was such a thing as an Amish Musical. Long story short, I got the call on Sunday afternoon and had the job finished by Thursday afternoon and that even included doing the graphic design for the poster as well. It has been a hectic week finding models, doing photo shoots, and pulling this off but when the client says he needs it by Friday you do what you gotta do.

The Gift of Thanks

Recently my wife and I and our kids were invited to go on vacation with two other families who just happen to be our best friends. It was a fantastic and long overdue getaway for us. What made it even more special is the place we stayed. It was by far the most beautiful beach home I had ever stayed in. To top that off the owners are friends of our friends who we went with and they let us stay there for free. I was overwhelmed with their kindness and generosity and I wanted to give them something special as a thanks. This is one of the best perks of being an artist. I found a pic of their beautiful daughter on Facebook and I painted this to surprise them.

It started with a simple sketch scanned in and then finished in Photoshop. The final art is 8x10. I now have to decide if I want to print it on canvas or watercolor paper.

Viking (final art)

The Making of Viking

I love the TV Show "Vikings" and always thought the characters were so well created. I wanted to create a new portfolio piece so I thought "paint what you love". I have a vision in my head of a collage I wanted to depict. So, I searched the web for the images to combine and I came up with these 3 below. After that it was just a matter of putting them together to bring out the best of the main character. 

I start as usual by doing a rough drawing for placement and to get a general tone for where I want to take it. I scan that sketch into Photoshop and then it is off to the races. As you can see I start by setting my drawing to multiply in Photoshop layers so that it is transparent. I then do a rough layer underneath that drawing mainly to just block in basic colors and shading. After that I add another layer on top of the drawing and start the process of slowly building up opaque colors, strokes, dots, and swashes using about a dozen different brushes for different effects.

Devo (Whippet)

I have always loved Greyhounds and their smaller twin the Whippet. This happens to be a beautiful example of a Whippet. I titled this one "Devo" since that is the name of the 80s punk rock band that had the mega hit "Whippet Good". I think they are beautiful and regal and have such a dignity about them. I decided to do this one just because I thought it was just a beautiful shot and I was intrigued with his gaze. I also was drawn to the beautiful muted colors of his coat so I chose to paint a simple muted background to compliment it.  The final size is 16x16

Pug #2

It never ceases to amaze me the power of advertising on the web. I posted my demo of the other pug I did on my FB page and wouldn't you know it, one of my FB friends saw it and decided to commission me to do this one for him. This poor dog had died so he was giving it to the owner to help with the grief. If you have ever had a dog that has lived with you for years then you know that they are truly a part of the family and the loss of one is devastating. I can tell by his eyes he was a gentle soul.

Pugsy the Pug

I found this pic on a stock photo website and just feel in love with it. I have always loved dogs and love painting them even more. Each one has such great personality and kindness in their eyes. I wanted the final pick to be ultra realistic in this case so I went all out with the details especially in the face. Sometimes especially in Photoshop you can go too far with making it look so real that people don't believe that is is actually a digital painting. That is why a good friend of mine suggested that it might be kinda cool and different if you offered the client a version showing the different steps it took to create it.  On top of that you could even add his or her name to it. I personally love it. Thanks Gina for the suggestion!

Coal Miners daughter (Loretta Lynn)

I couldn't very well do Conway Twitty without doing an illustration of Loretta Lynn now could I? That would be like country music sacrilege or something. I kinda had bad reference to go by on this one so it was kind of a test for myself to even see if I could pull it off. I got the picture off the web and of course if was small and fuzzy, so I guess it came out ok considering.
I have great memories of Loretta as a kid. Because my dad toured with Conway I was able to meet Loretta several times and see her concert hundreds of times. When I was 12 I got to go on tour with Conway and Loretta to California for 2 weeks. I got to sell their albums and tour books in the audience to make money. I fell in love with the drums and Loretta's drummer allowed me to play his drums on stage before every concert. He was even nice enough to give me my very first pair of drum sticks. A 12 year old never forgets stuff like that. I was able to make enough money to come home and buy my very first set of drums.

It's Only Make Believe (Conway Twitty) process

Some steps to show you how I work in Photoshop. Here I'm just showing 4 phases but in reality there are probably a dozen layers of building up colors, shapes, and textures.

It's Only make Believe (Conway Twitty)

Well, I had so much fun doing Conway from the 70s I thought I'd just do another. This time it's Conway from his rock and roll days in the 50s. One of his biggest #1 hits from that period was a song called "It's Only Make Believe" which was a huge hit for him and kinda put him on the map.

The Man… Garth Brooks

I have always loved Garth Brooks. Been to see him in concert twice. The first time I went 2 girls standing in front of me decided that they could sing better than him so they proceeded to yell out every word of every song. Let's just say it was a long night.

Hello Darlin (Conway Twitty)

Well, I knew I had to do it eventually… Illustrate Conway Twitty that is. I say that because Conway had a lot to do with my family's success in life. My father Velton Lang was his road manager for 25 years and I knew him well. He was a good friend to our entire family not to mention a pretty good singer to boot. He started off as a rock and roll singer in the fifties but later converted to country music for good and we are all better off for it. His drummer Tommy Markham better known as "Porkchop" would introduce Conway onto the stage every night by proclaiming "And now, the best friend a song ever had… Con…way…Twitty!!! I would say that fit him.
My family still misses him and I hope I did him justice.

Man in Black

I had a friend suggested that I do Johnny Cash as the headless horseman as a caricature piece. At first I laughed at the idea because I thought if he is headless how will anybody know that it is Johnny Cash,,, Lol.
I had a hankering to do Johnny but I was also in the mood to do not a caricature but rather a realistic approach to it. I did a rough sketch with a 6B pencil. I scanned it into Photoshop where I proceeded to do it all in black and white and grey tones. I then wanted to see if I could take that into a cool color piece by basically just colorizing the existing b&w art already done. I think it turned out pretty cool.

Kanye as the Devil

Again, I asked my friends to throw out some suggestions of celebrities dressed up for Halloween. Kanye West as the Devil was just too much fun to pass up. I actually wanted to do another one of him holding a Jack-O-lantern in a more vintage costume. Maybe later!

Adam Levine

I like to ask my friends on Facebook who they would like me to illustrate, who is current and famous for one reason or another. Of all the celebrities that day that were mentioned, I chose to do Adam Levine if for no other reason I thought his tattoo might be a good challenge and I was right. I wanted to make up my own background. Not sure if I like it or not. When I see it reduced I felt like the white horizontal stripes might look like a white board fence. Maybe he is at an outside concert! Oh well.

And the Winner Is…. Ellen!

I have always liked Ellen. She is Joy wrapped in a human body. I found a couple of picks off the ole web and went to town on this one today. Fun stuff!

Newt

Newt Gingrich illustration I did a few years ago. He is always fun to do.

Penny

I was recently asked to submit a character design for a children's book character named Penny. This is what I came up with. I liked it and the writer did too. However, He decided to go with another artist for the book because he decided he wanted an Illustrator vector style. Oh well, you win some you lose some.

Head in the Clouds rough sketch

This is the rough sketch I did for the "Head in the Clouds" final art. As you can see it is very rough. All I am looking for is just key shapes, shadow breaks, and highlight areas. I adjust a lot on the final color art so I don't want to get too bogged down with too many details at this stage.

Head in the Clouds

While the world seems to be burning down around us President Obama always seems to have his head in the clouds and a big grin on his face. I actually admire that quality. I wish I had that care free trait sometimes.
Done in my typical fashion… Rough sketch scanned in. Taken into Photoshop and set to multiply. I then do a layer underneath with basic colors and a layer on top for highlights and details.

President Hillary

I chose t do this one because I love doing hair and Hillary's hair just seemed comical to me for some reason. 

The Trouble with Russia

I spent today listening to the news around the world and Obama and Russia kept coming up. So, I thought I'd illustrate my take on it. 

Worked out the rough idea with photos of the ole web. Worked out a rough sketch, scanned it and proceeded to do the final art in Photoshop layers.

Welcome to My New Blog!

   Welcome to my new blog! I thought I'd start off by introducing myself and explaining what I do and what plans I have for this blog. I hope I can do that without boring you too much.
I am an artist, plain and simple. I have been an artist professionally for 30 years now. However, in my my mind I have been an artist since I was 5 years old. Drawing, scribbling, and painting have been a part of me my entire life.
   Over the years I have tried many techniques and styles in order to "find" my own style. I have done everything and then some. Watercolor, gauche, oil, acrylic, pen and ink, pastel, airbrush, etc,etc,etc… However, I always seem to come back to my true love and that is simply drawing. I have always found that I like my drawings much more than I do my final paintings. That was until I learned Photoshop and I was introduced to the "Cintiq" which is basically a monitor that you can use a stylus pen to work directly on the screen. Although I still have all my paints and easels ready at any time I rarely use them anymore once I realized the joy of digital illustration. Most of the illustrations you will see on this blog are done by scanning in my finished drawing and finishing up the color and details in Photoshop. My plan is to show some of my art in rough sketch thumbnail stages as well as mid stages showing my progression and onto the final art so you will see my creative process.
   I have always admired artist that share their techniques and secrets so I have decided to do the same.
   I hope you enjoy this blog and lets enjoy the ride together!

Thanks,
Mike Lang

Charlie Horse

I am working on a children's book that I have titled "Charlie Horse". This is my first color sketch to show what he might look like. It is the story of a quirky english boy who leaves England to go live with the Plains Indians in the 1870s.