NEW Print Available today "Runner": a tale of robot esacpe

For Motor-Monday we're rolling out the brand new limited edition prints of "Runner": a tale of robot escape. Originally done using inks, markers & acrylics on marker paper, the artwork aims to capture Robot Number 3 mid escape- But from what? Well... we may never know. Or, will a future piece shed more light on the story...hmmm. These guys are signed & numbered out of 100 and available in paper or stretched canvas at pinstripechris.com/runner

Thanks for looking!

"Bot-Rods": A New Addition to the Art Line Up

Well hello, blog friends! Let me start by saying I know it's been a while since the last post, but there was indeed a good reason for it; it seems for the last 4 months any attempt to create a post with photos didn't seem to work. I have no idea why, despite doing research on the issue, and then all the sudden it works. That's cool, I'll take it!

Alright, to the purpose of today's post:

Although we have a lot of catching up to do from... February?? Seriously! I'd like to start with something recent and fun. I've been starting to include my robot character artwork in to more artwork this past year and in the past few weeks had experimented with a new approach to that inclusion. Where previously I had been doing the Robot Artwork as it's own thing using a separate color palette, tools, and styles, recently I decided to re-approach it from my traditional illustration format using the tools, techniques & style that I am most familiar and comfortable. To my surprise, it went quite well! I mean, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, but it felt like a refreshing way to combine the way I do illustrative car renderings with the Robot artwork that I enjoy so much. And so a traditional mix of Markers, Inks, Acrylics, and Airbrushing make up the examples shown here- some of my most favorite tools. The result of using the more familiar techniques allows me to get my concepts down quicker and cleaner as well as appease both my Hot Rod loving fans an
d my want to cross over in to the more 'story telling' side of things (which I generally feel is stronger with a character). This crossover lets me explore both the Car Design side of things in a traditional way, as well as add some flair to the artwork in a story telling way. I've got lots more to learn and explore in this method to really find a strong effective balance, but I look forward to sharing lots more "Bot-Rods"!

www.PinstripeChris.com

#hotrod #botrod #robot #scifi #artwork #pinstripechris #chrisdunlop

The Refreshening: New Robot Art and an even Fresher Perspective

This past week was a bit of a change up for me- my wife and I got home from a full week off and it gave both of us a lot of time to think about direction, specifically for me- Artwork. Clearly a lot of what I do is automotive artwork & design, but behind the scenes of our daily lives is a lot of cartoon, comic book, and graphic novel, and video game enthusiasm that originally had a lot more influence on my early ink work. Somewhere along the line I got involved with more clean, straight laced artwork for the sake of keeping the automotive artwork straight to the point (as builders rarely want to see anything but reality). Eventually, clean artwork took over- which wasn't an issue, just not what I thought would happen. So here and there on the side (behind the cameras watchful eyes) I would sketch characters on scraps, doodle robots, sci fi snip bits, futurism- all the bits that I didnt know I was missing. As part of my daily routine I sketch something with coffee every morning to get warmed up- with the week off I left my routine to try and feel like I wasnt truly working (which was challenging) and it opened my eyes quite a bit. Now this didnt change my love for cars, it just gave me clarity on the habits I had developed. Of course on our first day back I drew and illustrated a beautiful black Kustom Merc, and that wasn't out of habit- it was out of want to create after having been away from the studio a week. As soon as I cleaned up from the Merc piece I grabbed one of our traveling sketchbooks and started sketching a character I call Robot Number 3 and it quickly took shape with what I was missing. Im not new to character drawing, but what I am new to is sharing that side of my artwork with people. There's a lot more revealed about yourself in artwork like that I think, so you're putting yourself out there more then ever. I wasnt sure I was going to share the 1st piece (Robot in the Rain), but went for it anyways since I felt there was a better connection with the artwork and maybe more people could relate to it. I was immediately taken back by the responses I got and the connection people had with the Robot, and I knew I didnt have to be shy about it anymore. I alternated Robot artwork and Hot Rod artwork throughout the week and did a Robot & Hot Rod piece to finish out the week (a fine culmination if I do say so myself). Although what I do is not dictated by what people respond the best to, it is a nice feeling to put yourself out there and get a positive response. And again- this isnt me saying goodbye to clean automotive artwork, this is just me finally introducing the real me to the world. So look out for a whole new set of artwork based on Robot Number 3, sci fi, futurism, hot rods- and we're even talking about a storybook, graphic novel and some animation! Really excited for things to come, and I look forward to sharing it all.

The moral of todays story is:
1- Take a REAL vacation and clear your mind of work long enough to see it from all sides clearly. This vacation doesnt have to be long, far, expensive (heck, we vacationed at home mostly)- just give yourself some mental distance from your routine.
2- Stop censoring yourself (like I did)- Be who you are and be the best you you know how to be. If you limit who you are and what you share, people are only going to get a glimpse of you.
3- Most Important: Do what makes you Happy.

Oh yea- all of the new artwork will be available once professionally matted and framed and we will be doing canvas & paper prints as well! When the prints are ready I will write posts that explain the story behind each piece (because of course there is one).

Have a great weekend!

1st Drawing of the Day- Camaro Under Hood Version 2

1st drawing of the day is this Camaro under hood layout version 2- The builder made some design changes from the previous version and wanted a fresh render. Since I wasn't allowed to fling paint at this one I got extra carried away with lights instead to give it some action. Markers/Airbrush/Acrylics on Marker Paper. On to the next one!
www.PinstripeChris.com

Planet Express Ship for my Weekend Travels

Happy Friday everyone! I'm getting on a plane today for some cross country travels which inspired this drawing. As a big cartoon fanatic I wondered "If I were to travel by any means of my choice, what would it be?" Planet Express Ship- Oh yes. Markers/Acrylics on Marker Paper.

www.PinstripeChris.com

NEW Sharpie Lettering Piece "Artist"

Last week I got started on a flier design for an upcoming event-  Stumblefoot Artist Night. Each time one of these events takes place, one of the featured artist designs the flier for the event based on their artistic style. This time it was my turn! I decided I wanted one of the words in the flier to also be part of the artwork of the flier. So I whipped this up. It was originally intended to be used just for this, but I liked the way it came out so much that I went ahead and finished it out as a full on piece. Sharpies, Acrylic, and Enamel make this a truly mixed media piece. This is the 1st time I outlined anything Sharpie with 1-Shot Enamel-  I like it much better this way for a number of reasons. The quality of the color really pops, the paint has a high opacity so it covers over the black easily, there's much more control over line width... its just better! All the shading, shadowing, and course stipple were done with acrylic through an airbrush. The original piece is a panoramic- 31"x15" and looks really really cool. I photo edited this close up of the lettering to be print ready without getting into too many bizarre sizes. This was a lot of fun to try and figure out how to have all the letters interact with each other organically and still reflect some of my style. I hope to be doing more like this in the future!

Prints Available on 8.5"x11" Card Stock (signed, dated, numbered) for $20

Thanks for looking!