Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Quick Update and Mild Obituary

Hello Hello,

So, this blog has been pretty much dead for a while now. When I had a smaller audience I tried to get this whole thing going and it became a lot to manage with little return to me and the other artists that gave their time and energy to the Hitote Project.

I am going to leave this up because the work that was put forth is awesome and the support was great. I don't know if this will ever kick back up again (I really hope it will someday) but that doesn't mean what's done should be removed.

I hope every digs going through this stuff. Someday I hope to bring it back!

For now, you can see my work on Deviant Art as well as a ton of the other artists on here.

Bye for now, goons!

M!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Interview Catch Up!

Hey everyone!

I have been slacking on my HP updating and in order to catch up I am going to link all the HP Interviews we have had on the DA page. Swing by all these links for some awesome insight from some amazing artists!

Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz Interview


"Light Bomb" Mike Jungbluth Interview

More updates soon to come!

HP

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

The Fourteenth Hand


Today I am proud to bring you guys the Fourteenth Hand by the brilliant Dacosta Bayley. You can check out more Dacosta-stuff at http://chocolatesoop.blogspot.com/ . I first came to notice his work when he designed the amazing DCTO vinyl Daruma ( http://www.dctoproject.com/ ). Talk about a sense of design.. yowza!

Hope you enjoy this entry. Happy Holidays!

HP

Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Thirteenth Hand


We have hit the thirteenth hand! This comes to us from Will Wurth http://deadxiii.deviantart.com . Will is a modeler who works on a lot of low poly/low res texture work. Here is what he had to say about his submission:

"Here's my submission. Severed zombie hand FTW. Lysol Jones beat me to the punch with the drawing so I decided to do a 3d version instead. I went with a very graphic style on this one and I really like the way it turned out. Got a couple color variations that I might throw up on my page eventually. 492 tris (double that for the cel-shade)/ 512*1024 diffuse."

I love the colors on this. Great work Will!

HP

Sunday, November 18, 2007

The Twelfth Hand


It's taken a bit of time for us to get another one up but I think I speak for most when I say it was worth the wait. The Twelfth Hand is from Matias Hannecke (http://mhannecke.deviantart.com) !

Most of you may recognize Matias from his recent Daily Deviation [LINK] or you are lucky enough to have watched him for a long time and see all the kick-ass work he has been producing.

I love this piece... now it's your turn!

HP

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

The Eleventh Hand



I was out of town all weekend and came home to this brilliant submission. Lightbomb Mike dropped this little piece of awesome in my inbox the other day. Check out all of Mike's super-cool work on his DA page (http://lightbombmike.deviantart.com/) as well as the uber-rockin' Sketch Tavern (http://www.sketchtavern.com)!!!

Thanks Mike! Great work!

HP

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Interview with HP artist Matt Synowicz

Hey everyone!

Today I have an interview with Hitote Project artist Matt Synowicz (http://spaghetti016.deviantart.com) . Matt was one of the early participants. His entry can be seen here:



Let's get on with the questions!

..::Introductions::..

Hitote Project: Thanks for letting us thoroughly grill you. Let’s start slow before the truly hard-hitting questions start. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Matt Synowicz: Hi! My name is Matt. I'm originally from Wisconsin, but I now reside outside of the Chicago land area. During the day I'm a fire protection engineer (I design fire sprinkler systems in AutoCAD), and at night...I draw. I'm kind of like a superhero in that manner.

HP: When fighting crime in the art world what is your superhero name?

MS: "The Col-Erase Kid". It's my primary tool for making art, so there's no reason I shouldn't be named after it.

..::Art::..

HP: When did you know you wanted to do art professionally?

MS: Ever since I was a kid drawing on my parent's walls with crayons. Throughout all of school you'd find doodles on my notebooks, on the back of tests, and everywhere else. Some people want to be Veterinarians, others want to be Chefs, but I wanted to do art.

HP: Are you self-taught or institution-educated in the ways of art?

MS: I went to the Illinois Institute of Art, Schaumburg for 4 years, and I graduated with a bachelor in fine arts. Before that I was like everyone else. I had my sketch books that I would draw in, and I'd try to emulate things that I saw in the world on to the pages.

HP: What are your major influences? In that same vein, what really inspires you to hit the drawing board?

MS: My major influences are rather cliché (I think they are anyways). I'm really into comics, games and movies, and thats what really gets me going. I see something cool, and I have to draw. The same goes for other artists. I attend Wizard World Chicago annually, and one of the highlights is the "Artist's Alley". I see the artists showcasing their art and immediately I'm inspired to do some art.



HP: Who do you look up to as an artist? Is there someone you are dying to work with?

MS: I really look up to Doug Tennapel. His art blows me away no matter what it is. Every comic he's put out has such a great story combined with fantastic art. They always leave you feeling good at the end. To meet him would be a phenomenal experience.

HP: What would you do if you weren’t an artist? What is #2 on the “what I wanna be when I grow up” list?

MS: Honestly, I never thought about it. Being an artist was always high on the list. I never wanted to be anything else.

HP: What is your dream job?

MS: Character design for cartoons, or video games. I think I would be really good at it. I can draw all day, and I enjoy drawing people and objects. For lack of a better word, I think it would be rather fun and a great challenge.



..::The Process::..

HP: What tools (materials, mediums, programs) are you most comfortable with? Which ones do you want to learn? Which ones do you hate?

MS: I'm very comfortable with Colerase Pencils (red), Micron inking pens, and Photoshop. I can honestly say that I despise Illustrator. I've made many attempts at using it, and for some reason I don't get along with it.

HP: Can you describe your process?

MS: It starts with a flicker in the 'ol noggin. I get an idea in my head and if I continue to think about it, it generally has to be put on paper. I start off very sketchy and loose with the Col-Erase choosing the page placement and the shapes that I want to use for the character. I keep putting more lines down, and as I get more comfortable with the subject at hand, I tighten up those lines. I'm never too concerned with mistakes because those can always be fixed up later with Photoshop. After a few minutes, or hours (depending on the complexity of the piece), I'll either call it quits, or throw it on the scanner so I can give it some nifty inks/colors. Or, if I want the extremely clean look, I'll just grab a light box and carefully trace over my sketchy lines.



HP: What was the idea behind your Hitote Project submission?

MS: I just wanted to convey the main tools that I use to create my art. I used my own red pencil as a model (imperfections and all). I also used Photoshop. It's what I usually use to finish a piece, and that's the same program I used to finish up my Hitote Project submission.

..::The Important Questions::..

HP: Now for the big three…

What is your favorite a) Movie? B) Videogame? C) Television Program?

MS: A) It's a cross between Transformers: The Movie (1986), and Bruce Campbell Vs. The Army of Darkness. I've been watching both of those movies for a long, long time, and they just hold a huge place in my heart as the greatest movies of all time.

B) Metal Gear Solid, hands down. I've been in love with it since 1987 with the first Metal Gear on NES. I'm extremely excited for MGS 4, but I have to get a PS3 first.

C) I really enjoy the Venture Bros. There's just something about it that just pulls me in. I was lucky enough last year to make it on Adult Swim with some of my Venture Bros fan art during one of the bumps. Best night of my life!



HP: If you were trapped in a city decimated by a Zombie attack and had to choose three people to help you get out alive (no friends or family), who would they be?

MS: Woo, this one is tough. I think I'll choose characters from zombie flicks/games.
-Ben (Tony Todd) from Night of the Living Dead (1990).
-Kenneth Rhodes (Ving Rhames) from Dawn of the Dead (2004)
-Leon S. Kennedy (Paul Haddad) from Resident Evil 2 (1998).
I really can't think of anyone in real life that would be able to help as successfully.



..::Closing Words::..

HP: What do you feel is the most important element in your art?

MS: The most important element is keeping it mine. I have influences in the art world, but I try very hard to stick to my style. It's something personal that I like to share with the world, but I still want people to look at it and say, "Hey, I recognize that style!".

HP: How do you feel your art is relevant in the current world?

MS: I can't really say it's relevant in the current world. I'm not a political person. I don't try to convey a message in my art. I'm not using my art to change how things are. I do it to make me happy. I do it to make others happy. I want people to feel familiar with the way I draw, and I want them to remember things from way back. I think that's why I do a lot of fan art. I remember characters from my childhood, and I attempt to draw them in my style. If anything I suppose it's relevant to keeping nostalgia alive.



HP: Any advice for up and coming artists trying to hone their craft?

MS: This is going to be very cliché, but PRACTICE! Draw something every day. It doesn't matter if it's a stick figure, or the Sistine chapel. Getting something down on paper will make you more comfortable with your craft. Eventually you'll increase in speed, and you'll have better, more confident lines.

We want to thank Matt for talking to us. It was a blast to hear the things he as to say about his work and the art world.

Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoyed the first of many interviews here at the Hitote Project.

I'd like everyone to post any additional questions you may have for Matt.
I will assemble some of them and post a small follow-up... if he is up to it, hehe.

Thanks again everyone!