Jab Jab Whammo, now available at Amazon.com

So before I get into some shameless self promotion, I wanna take the time out to share some awesome tutorials by the very talented Anthony Jones. If your not familiar with his work, do yourself a favor and check it out here. I first heard of Anthony Jones through a 9-week Creature Design course that I signed up for over at the Schoolism site a few years ago. The course was awesome, I learned tons and have been following Anthony's work ever since. Anthony has put together a series of very affordable tutorials , and from the sounds of it he intends on adding a bunch more. I picked up Designing with confidence, Painting with confidence, Zbrush to Photoshop workflow, And Kitbashing your own Paintings. They are all awesome, so head on over there and pick them up. You won't be disappointed. You can check out the Videos Here. I forgot to mention he includes all the files, tools etc. that he uses. Now for some self love :) My art book Jab, Jab, Whammo is now available through the Amazon marketplace. You can check that out here. Good father's Day gift I must say, perfect for toilet reading :) So feel free to help spread the word about Anthony's tutorials and my book of course. Sharing is caring you know. You can preview a sample of the book below, and I also added a nifty little animated Gif of some progress shots of a painting of Italian Actress Gina Lollobrigida that I am working on. I'll be posting the finished piece soon, so be sure and check back. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

jab, jab, WHAMMO!!! by Rafael Rivera | Make Your Own Book

Some more studies

The art journey continues.  Here a few more painterly studies from photo references.  These were done in Corel Painter X3 using the oil brushes and Photoshop cs6 using various custom brushes that have canvas textures applied to them.  Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

Birmingham Police Department

So this was sort of a unique commission. I got to design some patches and logos for a special unit at The Birmingham Police Dept here in Alabama. I had a good time working on the job, and I hope they approve the designs. It would be cool to know the men in blue are sporting my design while bustin' the bad guys. As with many art jobs, not everything you work on gets the green light, so fingers crossed. Special thanks to my good friend Officer Joshua Phillips for hooking me up with the gig. It's been awhile since I did a more graphic art, logo design type job. art, logo design type job.

Painterly Studies

My good friend and art Mentor, Carlos Huante has been working with me on a few art techniques to get my animal and human anatomy up to par. Mostly going back to basics and working traditionally as often as possible. He also put me on to a bunch of artist I had never heard of before and some that I knew of, but I am studying a lot closer lately. Carlos referred me to The New Masters Academy and in particular one of their instructors, an artist by the name of Steve Huston. Steve's work is just beautiful. He quickly became a favorite of mine. I love watching his painting and figure drawing lectures on The New Masters Academy site. Below are a couple of Paint studies based on some of Steve's work. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

The Wizard Of Oz

Actress Judy Garland as Dorothy, with her faithful companion Toto, In The Wizard Of Oz. Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!

The Walking Dead

Some super quick sketches from screen grabs of The Walking Dead. Warming up the hands before painting and why not, The walking Dead is Awesome. Lol Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy!!!!

Marilyn Monroe

From Wikipedia: Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer, who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s. After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946 with Twentieth Century-Fox. Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950), drew attention. By 1952 she had her first leading role in Don't Bother to Knock and 1953 brought a lead in Niagara, a melodramatic film noir that dwelt on her seductiveness. Her "dumb blonde" persona was used to comic effect in subsequent films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). Limited by typecasting, Monroe studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range. Her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics and garnered a Golden Globe nomination. Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David di Donatello award. She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959). Monroe's last completed film was The Misfits (1961), co-starring Clark Gable, with a screenplay written by her then-husband, Arthur Miller. The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for unreliability and being difficult to work with. The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture. Though officially classified as a "probable suicide", the possibilities of an accidental overdose or a homicide have not been ruled out. In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth-greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute. In the decades following her death, she has often been cited as both a pop and a cultural icon as well as the quintessential American sex symbol. In 2009, TV Guide Network named her No. 1 in Film's Sexiest Women of All Time.