MICHELLE RODES
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Sea Dragon Illustration

5/2/2022

 
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Sea Dragon Illustration
In this illustration I used  my usual technique of playing with black and white notans. I then worked with 5 values to develope value studies as a a guide for how light and dark to work with the paint. I painted the finished illustration with watercolor and sumi-brush pen along with some white ink marks to give the illusion of splashes of water! What is the story? Well, the kids went fishing and caught a rather large scaled friend. I love watercolor for the looseness of the paint! The clouds were exploding with moisture and about to rain!
- Michelle Rodes
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Hand painted logo

4/2/2022

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​I had fun creating this Logo Illustration for the WellnessAlchemy Healing Center in Hawaii. It is hand painted in gouache paint show and depicts a naturalistic caduseus form with leaves and vines that spiral up the chakra system to a gold sun. Green-gold healing vibration energy is mixed into the leaves and vines. We took the inspiration from the traditional caduseus form from Greek Mythology and used in medicine, but adapted it to a more natural imagery and adaptation of the WellnessAlchemy discipline. 

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

12/31/2021

 
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RINGINING IN 2022

This month's illustration is inspired by the New York Times Square countdown to the new year. Confetti, streamers, balloons all help celebrate the birth of a new year and all the possibilities that come with it. A stork stops to let the new year baby lion unwrap and swing the cowbell that chimes the start of 2022. Goodbye 2021, hello 2022!
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outdoor sketching

8/23/2021

 
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One of my favorite things to do is take a sketching break outside. It only takes 20-30 minutes to set up, with a morning cup of coffee, my sketchbook, some water, and my little palette. Put it on a breakfast tray and go find a comfy spot to linger for a while. Pick a happy flower or vegetable. Draw lightly with pencil. Then try to make a sketch that has some emotion.  A peaceful way to start the day.

COBALT VIOLET

7/27/2021

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I had fun with this sketch of a flower. I used Holbein Watercolor Series Cobalt Violet. The pigment has a lot of texture. I added some cobalt blue at the tips of the pedals. It was meditative to paint, like a mandala!
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CHARACTERS!

7/23/2021

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I had a blast with this way of making characters! I made a shape for each head. Then started drawing around it to see who would come out. The characters each piped up with their name. And then revealed their little buddy! I learned this in a class with illustrator Sarah McIntyre at Curtis Brown Creative. 
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FINAL PAINTING

4/28/2021

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​The finished illustration is the sum total of all the steps that came before! 

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FINISH DRAWING

4/19/2021

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Finish Drawing
After I have my color and values figured out, I do a final detailed drawing that I will use underneath the final art. ​

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COLOR ROUGHS

4/15/2021

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Values & Color 
Once I have the Notan figured out, I can move on to the value rough. In this piece I used 7 shades from white to black. From there, I can translate the values into color. This is where it gets really fun!

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NOTANS

4/12/2021

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Notans - Fairies in the Boot
Once I have the thumbnail sketch, I can launch into notans. This is a black and white rendition of how the overall value pattern of the illustration might play out. I did four variations for this piece. Can you guess which one I choose for the final art?

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Michelle Rodes, 2022
  • HOME
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