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Jokingly refers to himself as "The Drew Struzan" of television show art. Or is he...?
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Sakura Package Illustration: Koi Gray Tone Marker Set

December 29, 2014

About a year ago I was commissioned by Sakura (the fine folks who make the popular and awesome Pigma Micron pens) to do a new package illustration of their 6-piece gray tone watercolor brush pen set using--what else--those exact markers.

I was very excited to do this and submitted a few Photoshop roughs per their direction: something scenic (i.e., not my typical comic/cartoon style) that would showcase the entire range of the set's tones.  Here are the roughs I presented:

View fullsize Layout 1
View fullsize Layout 2
View fullsize Layout 3
View fullsize Layout 4

Ultimately they decided on Layout #2.  So onto the bristol board I went... Here is the progression of the final piece, which was then scanned and printed into what you see at the top of this blog:

View fullsize Step 1: Rough
View fullsize Step 2: Tighten
View fullsize Step 3: Lighten With Eraser
View fullsize Step 4: Light Values
View fullsize Step 5: Darker Values
View fullsize Step 6: Final Darks and Blending

I highly enjoyed using these markers for toning; they leave a nice slick stroke with some fine, unique texture.  I hope you have enjoyed another "behind-the-scenes" of another one of my freelance projects.  You can find these markers at (hopefully) your favorite art store, or you can find them at numerous online stores--like Amazon, for example.  It's probably easier to find this than to find an actual comic book store with my other works!  :P

BONUS: you can see a video Sakura created a while back of me using some of these markers here:

Koi Coloring Brushes-- another fun tool to add to your art arsenal! :)

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In Art Tags sakura, koi, marker, brush pens, gray tones
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