TJ's Projects: Get in touch with your alter ego!

Hey everyone!

How are you doing? Enjoying the weather so far?

Today I shall tell you about a project that I've done a while ago. Whenever it's possible I shall tell you bits and pieces of the things that I'm doing. Sometimes I can only tell you more when the project is finished as things need to be kept a secret ;). For this project I collaborated with Blogcatalog and created a bunch of avatars for you to choose from when you create an account. I personally like it when you have different types of avatars to choose from, especially since I often wander around my imaginative world and pretend to be a superhero hehe. So if I can switch things up when I want, I am happy.

Here are the currently available avatars:

Let me just tell you, I could have created a whole lot more! You can easily choose a personality that suits you. I added some snapshots for you to see, plus a few avatars in a bigger size. I hope you like them as much as I do.

 

I figured circling them with red circles or squares worked better...hehe. It is funny to see them pop up on the forum! Sorry for the blurriness of the screen shots though. Here are a few of them in a larger size! I hope you clicked to enlarge the images.

Ooh so curious what you think of them as well! It was a fun opportunity. So a huge - Thank You - to Blogcatalog! Also it is possible to commission me if you want to have yourself turned into an avatar! You can email at tjlubrano@live.com. You can also use this email if you want to commission me for other illustrations or want to know the prices. I will add an estimate of prices on my blog soon, so you have an idea what I charge. However, it's always fun to receive email from you guys ;).

And lastly, I have my first Facebook Giveaway! I passed the 100 likes. Thanks to everyone who joined! If you want to join, you have to leave a comment on the note on my page. If you comment here, it doesn’t count ;).

Till next time everyone & Remember to Smile!

Ciao!

Another Year Has Passed! (closed)

Hey Everyone!

I am back and it is...my second Blogoversary today! Hooray!! So yes. This means another giveaway. But first, I just wanted to start with a BIG thank you to all again for the lovely support you gave me on my previous post. I read every single comment when I was feeling down and your lovely words cheered me up quite a lot. I couldn't thank you enough. No need to worry, I'm doing okay ^_^.

 

Sneak peek at a larger painting I did for my friend Tony Berkman.
It's one of my faves. Fishies everywhere!

So the moment all of you have been waiting for (probably not, but okay haha). The winner of the previous giveaway is.............
 

Congratulations Hanis! I believe you choose an underwater theme. I shall contact you or if you read this and you haven't gotten an email yet, feel free to send an email.

Now! Let's go to the other giveaway ;) 

2nd Blogoversary Doodle Giveaway  (closed)

I can't believe another year has passed. So much happened in one year, from quitting my studies, being a official artist, meeting lots of new friends. Are you guys ready for the next year???

- Feel free to subscribe to my blog, like my Facebook page or both. 

- The winner can decide what theme he/ she wants. Illustration will be around A5 size.

- The winner shall be announced on June 21th, 2011! So check back if you join the giveaway.

If you want to join, just let me know in the comments below. Also, when I reach 100 likes on my page, there will be a giveaway as well. There are quite a few ways to obtain an original a la TJ! Fun stuff ahead :D.

This post won't be filled with updates or ramblings just yet. I need to reorganize a lot of stuff haha. Oh before I go! Have I showed you below illustration? I can't recall now. It was for a giveaway over at the Self Exams Doodles page! A little boy who loves pirates :D. He has it hanging proudly on his door now!

See yer here, there & everywhere! Arrrghhh...

Ciao!

Shopping Spree!

Tweet

Yes Ladies & Gentlemen: Finally it is here!

First of all! A big - Thank You - to all the readers who commented on my previous post and shared their thoughts. I thought it was really cool!

Now the topic of today!! I have opened...a Zazzle shop! The theme is Halloween for now. It's not that big, but I've got a few pieces up. Remember Halloween will be here soon, so browse around & feel the Halloween spirit! Do let me know if you like it and if you have suggestions/questions.

Reason for working with Zazzle, is that I heard lots of great stories from it and the quality is good as well. I can't work with a big stock just yet and since I can't sit still, I decided to make the first start with Zazzle. An Etsy will here pretty soon too and here I will also put up original illustrations. This way everyone who likes my art can purchase it in an easy way. You can already see some examples in the sidebar and in the slide show below. I shall work in themes, because I don't want to put random products in my shop.


Create a personalized gift at Zazzle.

Tada!!  So so soooo what do you think? I'm really curious.

Well let's see, what else. Oh I shall make some changes to my 'Open for Business' page. You can always email me at tjlubrano@live.com for personal commissions or other designs. The information on that page shall change as well, but you shall get a proper post about it. Yes. There will be some changes on this blog again soon.

Please tell everyone who might be interested in it & Happy Shopping!

Heads up notice: There will be an interesting post up this Thursday...well I do hope it's interesting to you haha. So stay tuned lovely readers!

Ciao!

4. FAQ

 Have a seat & a drink please. Here I will discuss several topics and I really advice you to read it, so you know how everything works and that there’s no delay in your order. 

But first of all: Thank You for taking your time to read this.

Who is TJ Lubrano?
Oh. Do visit the 'Who is TJ' page for more insight in who I am.

What information do you need?
When you commission me, it speeds up the process if you are as clear & detailed as possible. Please visit check the 'Commission Me' tab, to read what you need to send me if you want to order something from me

How do you work?
Everything you see is created on high quality (HQ) watercolor paper with watercolor and ink pens. After this, I’ll make a HQ scan and edit it in Photoshop. I keep you posted on the progress. I elaborated more on this question here: How To Order? Just have a read there and hopefully it answers all your questions.

How do you breathe life in your illustrations?
To see how an illustration comes to life, you can visit the WIP page. Here you can see how I kept track of the creative process of several illustrations. Enjoy! I wish there was a secret in how I do this, but I just add layers of paint in it haha.

Are there Original artwork a la TJ for sale?
Ooh yes! There are original paintings for sale. I will add everything in my Etsy Shop.

I keep HQ scans and pictures of all my illustrations, so I rather have my art hung up on a wall then stuffed away in a portfolio folder. They are ready to travel to their new homes. But keep in mind that they are unframed as this will reduce the shipping costs and the risk of broken glass while it’s traveling to you.

So what type of occasions can I think of?
Let your imagination run wild (but don’t let it get too far hehe)! You can think of e.g. baby showers, nursery rooms, bridal parties, bachelor/bachelorette party, children parties and gifts for your department at your office. The options are endless, but one thing is for sure: This will make a truly wonderful gift. For themes you can think of, please visit this link: What To Order?

When do I have to pay?
Payment is due up front. If it's a higher amount, payment in installments is possible, but this shall be discussed when it's necessary. As soon as I receive your payment (or 1st installment) & design information, I’ll notify you. After payment I will start with the creative process of creating awesome designs for you.

Shipping & Handling
Once your order is shipped, I’ll let you know and provide you with a tracking code if there is one. I’ve had no troubles so far sending out packages without tracking code, but if you don’t want to take any risks; insured shipping is possible. Express delivery is optional as well. Contact me, if you want to know the specific costs.

The client is responsible for any extra duties and custom charges that may occur when the package is shipped. Also, double check your address when you send it to me as I copy that exactly.

How long will it take?
It will take around approximately 4 to 8 weeks for the order to be ready and safely shipped to your home. Of course it depends on what you order, the quantity and the complexity of it. Please keep this in mind if you want to have illustrations on time.

Hope I answered all your questions, feel free to browse around and if you still have questions, I’m just an email away!

1. What to Order

2. How to Order

3. The Buzz on TJ


Email: tjlubrano@live.com



Last updated on February 17th, 2012 by TJ Lubrano

* Regarding TNT delivery service: I say quite fast as I can’t control developments in the world. Things like strikes, death of wanted criminals *ahem*, well they can influence the time of delivery. I’ll always check if there’s something happening that may hinder the delivery, if so, I’ll let you know straight away!

1. How to Order

I thought it might be easy for you to explain step by step how you commission me and what you can expect after you commissioned me.

You want to commission me:

Awesome! Prepare for a creative journey. Please email me with answers on the following questions:

1. What is the occasion? And do you have a budget to stick to?

2. Size of painting(s)and your rough idea.

3. Who is it for? 
A. Do you want an illustration with this person transformed into a character; give me specifics like hobbies, favorite colors, instruments and quotes etc. - basically just elements that really describe the person who it’s for. A picture of the person is recommended. Remember, I can’t create an exact copy of the person, but will do my best to add as much characteristics as possible.

B. Or you can go for a more general route and pick a theme that really fits the receiver of this gift. Like for e.g. the receiver really love the circus so a circus themed painting would be created.

Don’t forget, you can combine A + B as well of course. Example: The receiver sitting on a zebra in a circus outfit/surroundings.

4. Deadline? Do you need it before a certain date? There will be a rush fee involved if you need an illustration on short notice.

The process after you agreed with the price and send the payment is as follow:

1. I sketch out all the ideas and send scans to you for approval or maybe you want to be completely surprised? Let me know what you prefer.

2. If you agree with everything, I'll draft up an agreement and once I get the agreement and payment, I'll start creating the final illustration. It'll be transferred on correct paper and painted for you. If there are changes to be made, I’ll correct it as soon as I can. You have two changes for revisions. After this I'll charge a revision fee.

3. Once it's done, I’ll wrap it up nicely and ship it to you.

4. Please let me know as soon as you get the package, so I know it arrives safe and sound at your home. There a small questionnaire that I love you to fill in after you received the package. That way I can ensure that my services stay perfect for my customers!

1. What to Order

3. The Buzz on TJ

4. FAQ


Email: tjlubrano@live.com



Last updated on February 17th, 2012 by TJ Lubrano

1. What to Order

To get the process started and to ensure that there are not that many little in between steps for editing or sketching, I'll state the steps for you. Yes. I'm trying to make it all as easy as possible for you guys hehe. 

What products & occasions can I think of?
The options for illustration themes are endless, so just to help you get started I listed several for you below. Use them as reference and create your own perfect theme. You can combine several themes as well.

You can think of Weddings - Birthdays - Children parties - Baby showers - Nursery rooms - Wedding – Engagement - Bachelor/bachelorette parties – Christmas – Halloween - New Years Eve etc.

- Paintings can add a magical touch and really brighten up a nursery or children room.

- For weddings, you can give little cute illustrations with your favors for e.g. bridesmaids.

- Get unique designs for e.g. birthday invitations, thank you cards to compliment favors, door signs, invitation cards, birthday cards, wedding cards, baby showers, engagement/bachelor/bachelorette cards.

As you can see, you can think up a design for almost anything and make it just the way you would want it to be.

What themes can I think of?
Examples are sea animals, pirates, Halloween, mermaids, mythical animals, vampires, music, pin up, geishas, cultural influences, Pin up ladies –Underwater – Mermaids – Pirates - Sea animals – Vampires – Zombies – Circus – Fairies – Butterflies – Birds - Native American – Tropical – fashion illustrations – anime etc.

You can also think ahead for the holidays and let me design something for you as well.

The beauty of personalized gifts is that you can be sure that no one else will have the same design. Just send an email and don’t be afraid to let me know what you love to see. I love to get a sneak peek of your thoughts. It's always a challenge to see if I can match it with my drawing and create an end result that you will love.

2. How to Order

3. The Buzz on TJ

4. FAQ



Email: tjlubrano@live.com



Last updated on February 17th, 2012 by TJ Lubrano

TJ's WIP: Tropical Fluffiness

Welcome to another WIP! Have something to eat & drink and I hope you enjoy this little sneak peek in my brain!

Step 1: Brainstorming & sketching.
Let me just say, this illustration started out on a much smaller scale. I was already toying with the idea to draw fun & colorful birds for my next header. So first sketches I did; were just about the birds. I kept toying with how I wanted to draw them and how I would place them.   

After figuring this out, something was still off. It wasn’t complete. The birds were all facing into one direction, well almost all of them hehe. So it made me wonder, what were they looking at? Then I knew it! There had to be a Tropical Lady in it as well.

Okay, in the end the illustration is still in pieces. Reason for this is that at first I was a bit too lazy to redraw it on a larger sheet of paper. Then I realized that it would be a huge pain the #$%^&% to get a good scan of it as my scanner is a piece of #$%^&amp (sorry for the swearing). Lastly, I added an extra branch as well.

Step 2: Final Sketch & Inking
I suppose, this stage speaks for itself. I just retrace the lines with black fine pens, waterproof ink of course.

Step 3: Paint, paint & paint!
Painting time!  Okay, I don’t have like a special moment where I choose my colors or brainstorm about it. All I knew at this point, that it has to have a rain forest type of feel, with colorful birds. So I started with the background and this had to be…green of course. I always start with a light wash for everything and then I build it up till I have what I want. Painting with watercolors, is just adding layers to create depth. I won’t ramble a lot, but let the pictures do most the talking.

 

After adding the first layer, I went over the ink lines again. I do this to emphasize certain parts of the drawing, like the branches. For some reason, I can determine better what I have to ink again after I painted it a bit.

I thought it would be cool to see the differences between the brances. The branch below only has one wash, the branch above I think 1 wash more, maybe 2. But the colour deepens a lot with a second wash. I just keep on adding washes of brown. Slightly make it a bit darker and waiting for each layer to dry. When the branches are finished, I worked on the background again. When the tree branches and the background are completely dry, I continue with the characters. I have to wait till it’s completely dry now, otherwise the background colour will flow into the birds or the other way around. So for the birds, I just go through the same process and try to add almost the same colours in them.

 

We are almost done!! Final steps are scanning and a bit of editing in Photoshop and then it looks like this:

While layers were drying I worked on other illustrations. I gotta use my time wisely haha. And now…we are done! The drawing in real life looks much better. Too bad the camera doesn't pick this up!  Hope you liked it and feel free to leave question, suggestions, ideas or tips.

As always lovely readers, thanks for reading!
Xx

Other Work in Progress posts:

WIP Sing, My Pumpkins, Sing.