Jaime Gervais - Sketchbook Blog

A New Face...

2012-03-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

This is a digital self portrait done for an assignment in illustration class. I call it: Serenity. The two eagles signify my wishes and prayers being sent to the Great Creator. The wolves on my shoulders represent family and teachings. The two faces in the collar represent the Grandfathers and my own duality. The white cheek design is that of bear claws (healing) and the circles represent the Moon.

I have also given this blog a facelift and changed up the background and fallen in love with my new font in the banner up top. Yea, my hair is really purple and I am part Cree native aboriginal. I also have a new-found love for BattleStar Galactica and I'm currently waiting eagerly for the new Mass Effect 3 Xbox game to come out. I love sci-fi.... always and forever. <3

p.s. - my BattleStar Galactica patch just arrived and I can't wait to stitch it to my backpack of growing patches of things I love!

Cheers, J

It's Tea Time!

2012-02-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

This is my info graphic on How to Brew a Perfect Pot of Black Tea in 10 Easy Steps! I had a lot of fun with this one since I'm such a huge fan of tea (I only drink water and tea - nothing else really). School is proving to be very useful in teaching design theory.

On another note:
Things have been quite crazy lately with school and work and buttons! I am currently enjoying our Spring Break "Reading Week" at home with my amazing family and puppies. I plan to spend it chilling, reading, writing, painting and catching up on my new favorite addiction: Battlestar Galactica (TV series). Need some time to touchdown and land for a little bit before things pick up again and I find myself swimming in assignments for school!

Published:
My painting (soon to be shown on my website) has been chosen to appear in the annual Capilano University Reflections 2013 Calendar and also on gift cards for the BC Children's Hospital. I will post more about it when I know more.

Bought and Paid for:
I just recently purchased Corel's Painter 12 program and I can't wait for it to arrive! I have loved that program for so long and now it's mine! Photoshop will always be my number one fave but when it comes to digital painting, Painter has it beat although PS has come a long way and is starting to catch up.

Please feel free to comment as I love to hear feedback from you!
Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Sincerely, J

Officially Published in Imagine FX Magazine...

2012-01-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

I am officially PUBLISHED in this month's copy (issue #78) of IMAGINE FX MAGAZINE!!! I have my own personal little art gallery in the DVD contents of the magazine. This is a huge dream come true for me as it is my favorite international magazine in the world! I have been collecting it for years and learning so much from it. It's on news stands now! (Jan-Feb 2012).

See my little thumbnail of Morgan Freeman? (below)

This is my personal little gallery on the DVD!!! :D

This is the current copy (Canada) of Imagine FX issue #78 that features my works!!!

Thanks to all for your continuing love and support as I journey on into my career as an illustrator! School is making it official and this is amazing icing on the cake for me. Happy Day!!! :D xo

Cheers! Jaime

One Good Dog - A book jacket

2012-01-11T03:06:00.000-08:00

This is a book jacket mock-up design for Typography class. The actual book "One Good Dog" is current and available in stores. Typography is like a second language to me so I find it quite challenging in the way of layout. This was a fun exercise.

I'm back in school and having a great time seeing my fantastic classmates and their works. Life has been incredibly good to me over the holidays as they were spent with working part time and relaxing with myself and family. New year was brought in quiet and comfortable and my first week back in school has been nothing but chilled and interesting. It's good to be back. :D

Happy New Year!

-Jaime

New Design - Fruit Drinks

2011-12-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

This is a new design piece I made for Digital Applications class. The artworks are digitally painted by myself and the company and product are entire fictional.

NEW DIGITAL PAINTING...

2011-11-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

This is my latest piece called, "Augmented Reality" and was painted entirely in photoshop. I have learned much from my Imagine FX magazines and I am incredibly excited to do more. Total time spent : Approx 35hrs or so. She was painted from a digital sketch that i had in the back of my mind.

3 New paintings for the upcoming Anonymous Art Show

2011-11-19T14:44:00.000-08:00

The Anonymous Art Show

November 25 - December 17, 2011
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 24, 7:00-9:30pm
The “Anonymous Art Show” is a group exhibition and fundraising event that includes two-dimensional art work by both established and emerging artists on unframed 8” x 8” x 1 ½” back stapled canvas.
Buy art work right off the wall! The paintings will be sold anonymously as the artists sign only the back of their work. Each artwork is priced at $100. Fifty percent will go to the artist and the balance will remain with the Arts Council. This event helps the Arts Council fund many of our valuable programmes including free community events, art classes and youth programmes. It also enables the community to support emerging artists and provides an opportunity to purchase an established artist’s work at a reasonable price.
All artwork is sold right off the wall from the opening reception on Thursday, Nov 24, 7-9:30pm until Saturday, Dec 17.
This is a great opportunity to purchase original art in time for Christmas! (We’ll even wrap it for you.)
(check back for more information about opening night festivities, to be posted soon...)

(info from www.nvartscouncil.ca )

These are my three pieces:

The Quality of your Oil Colour

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what the little bits of information on your tube of Oil Colour really means? Here's a great example from Winsor Newton's website www.winsornewton.com

It's so important when searching for the right colour that the label reads as well as it does inform. Opacity rating is one of my most important factors to look for as well as the permanence. When like to paint with a lot of opaque colours so I tend to favor the Cadmiums. When I need some beautifully rich and dark blues or greens I head over to the Pthalos or Idanthrene.

Permanence is also a factor when you want your colours to stay rich and have archival longevity, especially when painting for a collector of your works. Nobody wants a colour that will fade or change colour over time so buying artist grade paints and reading the label accordingly is a surefire way to keep your paintings archival as well as looking sharp over the years.

Winsor Newton also has a great monthly email magazine called "Painting Matters" which gives fantasic updates on new product, techniqes, articles, demonstrations, technical advice and more. Check it out and sign up for the email!

-Jaime

That Goddam Pen Tool....

2011-09-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

School has begun. Year 2 of 3. Digital ........... glorious digital. Sporting brand new 27" iMacs and wacoms to boot, we are learning the uses of Adobe's Indesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. Photoshop, being my 'doer of all things' is still my favorite but the other two are incredibly useful for layout and illustration.

At the very beginning, the bane of my existance was in fact - the pen tool. Good Christ, we did not get along. I wanted one thing, the pen tool wanted another and everything always fell apart. One day, I sat down in class and had a quiet conversation with the pen tool. I said, " ok....we aren't communicating effectively here... so I am going to watch what you want and try to work WITH you instead of against you."

After some question-asking, demo-watching and some annoyances.... it all came together. Almost as though the clouds had opened up and vector-angels came out of the sky and endowed me with the understanding of the almighty pen tool. Sigh...what I wouldn't give for just a quick dowload of knowledge like in the Matrix but for now I'll just have to settle for analog learning instead of digital.

So now after much battling, swearing and frustration - my world has become a better place and now with a sharp little tool under my belt - The pen tool. Make no mistake, I am incredibly self-aware of my nerdiness and pettiness with this little clusterfuck of digitally intangible pixels but when I need something to work for me, I have to negotiate some sort of peace treaty or there is hell to pay.

I can now relax fully after handing in my kickass 'trace this dolphin with the pen tool' assignment as it looks remarkable well done for a noob.

And now for something completely different.

PAX, school jitters and CUPCAKES!!!

2011-08-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

School's just a week away and PAX (Penny Arcade Exhibition "Video Games Expo") is in 4 days! Have to say , i haven't been the slightest bit artsy in the past month of August...and some of July also. I did a major painting (Hades & Persephone) in June and I took the rest of the time off to work and spend time with family. I have that little voice in the back of my head that's always saying: " You should be sketching every day. You should be painting. You should never stop doing art. " Funny thing is...that little voice sounds very much like my current instructor : Kiff Holland. Huh.

Of course I believe these words to be correct however, school is 8 classes a week normally and I NEVER get to spend time with my family once the ball is rolling for at least 3.5 months before Christmas and then 4 months after until summer. I needed some serious down time and I know that once school hits, it will be a force of bloody nature and unstoppable in its path. So, with that in mind I have spent the summer reading ( 2 books of the Halo Series by Eric Nylund "First Strike/Ghosts of Onyx" ), some minor sketching, cleaning house, working full time, not leaving the house due to funds being totally depleted with a $1000 purchase on software for school, and playing a world of video games (Fable 2/Fable 3/Batman Arkham Asylum). All said video games knocked my goddam socks off too. :D

If you are looking for a good sci-fi read, I suggest reading the Halo series (the xbox 360 game). The books are a world of fun to read and the stories are brilliant. If you like being a fantasy character and like going on quests, collecting powers, weapons, eventually becoming king/queen of your own kingdom, being ridiculously rich and killing all sorts of bad things then pick up a copy of Fable 2 and Fable 3. If you feel like being badass with killer moves, amazing dark story and interesting as he** gameplay then get Batman: Arkham Asylum NOW!!!

Now I am reading Halo: Contact Harvest ( all about Seargent Avery Johnson - Badass extraordinaire and amazing marine ) and making cupcakes with Dave (who now works as an Apprenticing Pastry Chef in a Hotel in Vancouver BC!!! ) :D I make the chocolate brownie cupcake (family recipe) and Dave makes the dreamy creamy butter cream and pipes it on for me! Now I take them to the girls at my work for a feast of sugar and chocolate! Yay!!! :D

- Jaime xo

Moonbows in Waterfalls.... (Gurney Journey)

2011-08-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Not all rainbows occur on rainy days. Rainbows can also form in the mist at the base of waterfalls, such as those at Yosemite Park in California. They occur not only in the daytime, but also at night, with a full moon at your back.

Nocturnal rainbows form in the same way as daytime rainbows: by means of light reflecting and refracting in droplets of water. At night they’re sometimes called “lunar rainbows” or “moonbows.” In this time lapse video, look for the reversed secondary rainbows at 2:40 and 3:00.

*posted from James Gurney's blog here.

-Jaime

School's coming....

2011-08-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack in posts lately. I have been working and taking care of my home and family this past summer and haven't been on the computer very much. School is coming up and I will be seeing all my wonderful classmates for another year of crazy artistic challenges. Since my last painting, " Hades and Persephone " I have been taking a creative break from art and enjoying the art of 'reading' again. I am currently in the middle of the 'Halo' series (Xbox 360) and they are a trememdously entertaining set of sci-fi stories based in the Halo Universe. Eric Nylund has proven to be one of my very favorite writers in a long time (since I fell in love with Anne Rice). Nylund wrote 3 of the books in the series.

I am also completely in love with the series " The Big Bang Theory " . It can now be considered an addiction due to our late-night marathons lately. Can't get enough of those guys and I love Sheldon Cooper to death.

School is going to take up my life until Christmas so I am enjoying my time with my family away from the computer. I apologize again for my lack of appearances lately. In the meantime, I would like to share with you some interesting links that I follow daily in regards to the art world.

MUDDY COLORS - an online art blog kept by the amazingly famous and illustration big fish : Donato Giancola, Petar Mezeldja, Dan DosSantos, Justin Gerard, Eric Fortune, Jesper Esjing, Greg Manchess, Arnie Fenner, John Jude Palencar and Justin Sweet.

GURNEY JOURNEY - the blog of the incredible James Gurney ( Dinotopia Series ) .

Use them wisely and absorb as much as possible for you fellow artists out there! May we all learn together and uniquely bring something new to the table for all to see!

Until next time, "Same Jam-time, Same Jam-channel!"

-Jaime <3

Hades & Persephone Illustration...

2011-06-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

Oils on Illustration board 20" x 30"

Persephone, daughter of Demeter, lived a peaceful life until Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, fell in love with her. She was innocently picking flowers with some nymphs in a field when Hades came to abduct her, bursting through a cleft in the earth. Upon hearing of the abduction , Demeter forbade the earth to produce and from her despair she caused nothing to grow. Finally, Zeus, pressed by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities who also heard their anguish, forced Hades to return Persephone. However, it was a rule of the Fates that whoever consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there.

Before Persephone was released to Hermes, who had been sent to retrieve her, Hades tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds, (four or six according to the telling) which forced her to return to the underworld for a period each year. The seeds correspond to the dry summer months in Greece, usually one third of the year (four months) when Persephone is absent. When Demeter and her daughter were reunited, the Earth flourished with vegetation and color, but for some months each year, when Persephone returned to the underworld, the earth once again became a barren realm.

Recipe for murder...

2011-05-05T00:17:00.000-07:00

After planning and plotting
Jonas ventured abroad
To steal David’s secret recipe
Of cake fit for the Gods

After befriending dear David
With deceit and true lies
Jonas stole David’s recipe
And Jonas won first prize

David learned of Jonas’ ruse
And prepared his masterpiece
In a cake made with vengeance
Is where Jonas rests in peace.

Oils on Illustration Board 16"x 20".

My Sketchbook of Inspiration

2011-04-12T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is my sketchbook. I fashioned it a shiny new and inspirational cover by my favorite artists. The book itself is a Fabriano Multi-Coloured Sketchbook. They are hard to find these days. Please click the pic and take a closer look at the photo to check out the amazing artists that have either recently inspired me or have been a favourite for over 20 years. I love this book... I probably love it too much. It is a dream of mine to attend the Illustration Master Class in the US after my schooling is complete and Dan Dos Santos, Greg Manchess, Boris and Julie and Donato Giancola are all teachers there!

Websites:

Dan Dos Santos: http://www.dandossantos.com/news.htm
Donato Giancola : http://www.donatoart.com/
Greg Manchess: http://www.manchess.com/index.html
Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell: http://www.imaginistix.com/
Daniel Conway: http://danielconway.artworkfolio.com/
Marta Dahlig: http://blackeri.deviantart.com/gallery/
Bao Pham: http://thienbao.deviantart.com/gallery/
Heather Theurer: http://www.heathertheurer.com/

I hope to one day be half as good as these amazing artists. :D

-J

Peter and the Wolf

2011-03-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Today's class assignment is to illustrate a CD cover for the old Russian favourite, " Peter and the Wolf". We were asked to do something different, be loose with it and have fun. I will admit , this isn't what I would call a 'loose' illustration but it is different and definitely fun. One of my fave parts aside from the drawing was choosing the right font. I narrowed it down to four candidates and with the help of close friends we all agreed this was the winner. The font's name is "Lucidity".

This is a unique style that was borrowed from a very talented artist named: Elisabeth Timpone . Please visit her blog (click on her name) and see the wonders she can do with black ink. When I was looking for something to inspire me in Google for an illustrative style I was immediately drawn to hers and knew I would learn a lot from mimicking it. My style is more realistic and less illustrative so this was a welcome challenge.

I loved getting into all of the many little directional lines in the fur and playing with placement of the other designs. The duck in the wolf's belly was also a lot of fun. I really wanted a circular composition in this piece and definitely a looming quality to the wolf. I'm very pleased with the outcome and even more pleased that I managed to pull off a decent representation of Elisabeth's beautiful style.

Please visit Elisabeth Timpone and follow her blog!

Follow me too! :D

-Cheers, Jaime

New Oil Painting / Mock Book Cover....

2011-03-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! :)

This is my new oil piece that was created for a school assignment called, " The Route to...... ? " I'll admit that I chose to do the painting with little thought to the actual assignment. After getting approval from my instructor, I then photographed my beautiful friend so that I could use the photo as reference. Lighting and some sheet covers were manipulated in photoshop but the entirety of the photo was left untouched. The dagger belongs to my boyfriend and the key on her necklace chain was added in later.

It was an amazing feeling to be able to finally paint what I wanted to paint and in the style that I am eagerly trying to become professional at. My life goal is to become a successful fantasy/sci - fi book cover artist using oils and digital painting to accomplish what the client and myself need.

The last photo (above) is a mock cover for a fictional book bearing the assignment's title , " The Route to Keeping a Secret ". Please click on the photos for a closer look.

Oils on Illustration board - 16" x 20" .

-Jaime
The Art of Jaime Gervais : www.jaimegervais.com

Morgan Freeman....

2011-03-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

This is a painting of Morgan Freeman in watercolor for Kiff's class. It was a labor of love with the cat on his head. :D Painted on Arches Rough 140lb watercolour paper.

Art Nouveau style Soap box packaging

2011-03-04T22:44:00.000-08:00

This is my soap box design for our Art Nouveau packaging assignment. We each had to design and make a themed package that could potentially carry soap on store shelves. I made mine an homage to Alphonse Mucha - the iconic artist of the Art Nouveau era ( the late 1800's to early 1900's ). This package can hold 3 bars of soap. The title is : Mucha Soap and its flavor is coconut. Full ingredients from the actual soap were listed on the back as well as a barcode and a company name and address of the supposed Distributor.

The three clear windows with 'Mucha-like stained glass' are illustrated with none other than his own beautiful works. The top flower closure is also graced with one of his most famous works : Zodiac. I had a world of fun making this package design.

-J

I love drawing portraits!

2011-03-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

Some quick 20-25 minute drawings with pastel on Canson Mi-Teintes paper. We are learning about the many subtle colours in flesh tones in dark and light skin. I really enjoyed drawing these two pieces out. We are also encouraged to leave white space out. I can get a little carried away and draw them back in with a lighter colour which then takes on a different look than if I had left it. I will do some more of these i the future for some nice practice work. I love painting/drawing people! :D

What I learned:

1. Leave more white space
2. Extremities should be warm tones (including the area around the eyes)
3. Dark flesh tones can use more blues and greens in the shadows than one might think.

-J

3 Life Drawings

2011-03-02T23:34:00.000-08:00

Here are some life drawings done in the past few weeks. The first two were drawn after an amazingly beautiful model with incredibly graceful poses. I asked if she was ballet or jazz dancer.
She simply replied , " I'm a cyclist. I ride all over the city.".

20 minute sketches on brown kraft paper with charcoal and white pastel.

Restaurant Menu Design - Divine Decadence

2011-03-02T00:24:00.000-08:00

This is a menu design for a fictional dessert restaurant. I really wanted to impress the idea of a Heavenly and Hellishly Sinful feel and experience in the menu items and its design. This restaurant would be located in central Yale Town, Vancouver, B.C. near career-driven clients who have disposable incomes.

Prices reflect a fine dining atmosphere, complete with black granite galaxy table tops, black semi-gloss painted rectilinear styled chairs, Magenta and Turmeric sheer window treatments, votive table candles and silver (chrome) accents in cutlery and decor. Smooth electronic chill out and lounge beats would echo throughout the room with the sounds of Thievery Corporation, Conjure One, Sleetpthief and Dj Talvin Singh.

Would you consider visiting a place like this - at least once?

-Jaime

Blog re-vamp and new works...

2011-03-02T00:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for visiting! I will be updating this blog frequently to reflect new ideas, drawings, paintings and sketches of mine. I also have an online website where my professional works reside: http://wwwjaimegervais.com . Here is a recent painting:

12" x 16" Watercolour on Illustration Board : Chris

This is a recent painting done for a class assignment of my close personal friend, Chris. It was painted in watercolour on illustration board. I was really experimenting with colours as a part of the class assignment and I am very happy with the outcome. Some elements were painted very heavily with opaque watercolour paint (Titanium white + colour) in layers which made this more of an 'oil painting' instead of a watercolour. I had fun with the hairs in his beard, the fur on his lapel and and the shading of his face.

Life Drawings - Male. Live Model.

2010-05-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

Some life drawing with pastel pencils on Canson MiTientes paper.

I really enjoy foreshortening. I love the challenge. Really makes me draw what I see and not what I think. I find myself sometimes starting to take over the drawing and when it doesn't look right - probably because I thought too much. I'm learning to allow myself to lose control.

:D -J

More Life Drawings...

2010-05-13T00:26:00.000-07:00

Some more life drawings using charcoal on Canson Classic Cream Drawing paper.

-Jaime

Life Drawings from live models

2010-05-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some life drawings that I sketched in April.

I really wanted to play with light and color for these ones so I used Derwent Pastel Pencils on Canson MiTeintes Paper. Gorgeous pencils on this paper! :D

-J

Welcome to my Sketch Blog...

2010-05-12T23:27:00.000-07:00

This is where I'm going to post some ideas and sketches that won't be found on my website: http://www.jaimegervais.com . Meet my puppy - Xena. :D

Anyhow...on with the blogging!