Eglantyne Jebb - Founder of Save The Children

It was an honor to have collaborated with Save the Children International to celebrate their founder for International Womens Month.


The Woman Who Started Save the Children

Eglantyne Jebb – the woman who founded Save the Children over 100 years ago in 1919 – was one of the world’s most influential champions of children’s rights. It began when Jebb saw something she knew wasn’t right. She saw photos in a newspaper – exploitative, tragic photos showing children starving because Allied troops’ blockades wouldn’t let supplies through to Germany and Austria.

Visit their site to learn more: savethechildren.org

Magazine Cover for Topo Revue #38

Here’s a cover illustration I did for Topo Revue (France). They gave me full creative direction as they don’t make cover images related to specific articles but rather the theme of the magazine issue. I included the number 38 as a graphical element. They also requested if I could integrate the title with the illustration and I did as you see squiggles, shapes an egg, etc. I really enjoyed it!

Digital Art In Physical Spaces

Size: 3’x3’
Medium: Digital Print on Canvas.
Year: 2022.
Description: Originally Illustrated Digitally, a portrait of Connor Rivera. commissioned by his Father, Erny Rivera.

Recently I was asked to make a portrait of my client’s son. I’m always grateful to portray people’s loved ones but this piece in particular was a personal milestone because I had the opportunity to make what I would normally hand paint as a digital artwork. 

The goal for this piece was to eventually hang it at the collector’s home, and I was able to do so through large-scale digital printing. This isn’t anything new in the world, but I haven’t had examples of my own artwork to show using this process. Relative to the length of my career, I’m still sort of new to digital art. I came from the time when the medium was in its infancy so a lot of my practice and training were through traditional media.

I've done plenty of smaller digital prints and publishing assignments but this was more in the realm of Murals, Interior Design Space, and Galleries where the art is more of a public display piece. What I like about the final result is that my intentions and the soul of the work don’t feel lost. My preference is the end result over the medium. I am more concerned with my ideas and concepts rather than which tools I use, so making a project like this illustrates how we can still be the same artists across various mediums.

For years I hesitated to ‘go digital’ and when I finally embraced the process I actually began to prefer it. I’m grateful that I still get my fair share of assignments, but one area that dropped off for me was making art for interior and exterior spaces. I’ve offered the option to people but without an example, it’s hard to envision a digital piece as something that can be used effectively in a physical space. I can’t wait to explore this further.

+ Click Images To Enlarge +

View Drawing Process Videos for this piece Below.

Marbelized

Played around with some new colors and Marbelized textures within the environment. The figure reminds me of a Hapa Audrey Hepburn. I actually started this piece a couple years ago but wasn’t satisfied with how the portrait turned out and finally after two more attempts it’s resolved.

Sam Rodriguez Art | Illustration | Abstract Portrait

Drawing Famous People (Not As Fan Art)

Recently I decided to start a series of illustrations about famous people. My intent is not to explore the vanity of fame but rather to take on the challenge of documenting current events through the visual study of public figures. My art recipe is an amalgamation of two elements, a Portrait, and Story-Telling through Visual Cues with a pinch of abstraction. So I’ll be researching and implementing visual elements into the canvas of the person being portrayed.

What prompted me to share this is to make a clear distinction between what is Fan Art versus an Illustrated Study. There have been times when I made and posted depictions of famous people. Reactions vary from criticizing the celebrity that I was portraying and implying that I support them or assuming that I am making Fan Art. What’s funny is that some of these pieces are made for editorial publications that negatively criticize the person being featured.

In short, I do sometimes portray those who I’m inspired by, but I rarely make Fan Art. Instead my approach is similar to a Writer/Journalist in that I am observing, collecting and presenting feature materials but in my art style. I think the assumption is that artists only create pieces based on personal interests. It comes from the romantic notion of us being motivated by a muse, a person or personified force who is our source of inspiration.

This can be an approach for some, but we can also make art as observers or to highlight relevant topics and current events.

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Here’s an In Progress Drawing Video of one that I’m working on during the time of this blog post. This does not yet have narrative elements…it's the first half of the illustration where I get familiar with the face.

Some definitions to consider:

FAN ART:
Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction and derived from a series character or other aspect of that work. They are usually done by amateur artists, semi-professionals or professionals. As fan labor, fan art refers to artworks that are neither created nor (normally) commissioned or endorsed by the creators of the work from which the fan art derives.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_art

*I would also apply this definition to celebrities, since they represent a persona or character and do not commission or endorse artworks we make of them.

ILLUSTRATION:
- the action or fact of illustrating something, either pictorially or by exemplification.
"by way of illustration, I refer to the following case"

- an example serving to clarify or prove something.

"this accident is a graphic illustration of the disaster that's waiting to happen"

- a picture illustrating a book, newspaper, etc.

"an illustration of a yacht"

Source: Google

JOURNALISM:
Journalism, the collection, preparation, and distribution of news and related commentary and feature materials through such print and electronic media as newspapers, magazines, books, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, social networking and social media sites, and e-mail as well as through radio, motion pictures, and television. The word journalism was originally applied to the reportage of current events in printed form, specifically newspapers, but with the advent of radio, television, and the Internet in the 20th century the use of the term broadened to include all printed and electronic communication dealing with current affairs.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/journalism

Detail + Process for an Upcoming Book Release

Here are some process shots and details for the Cover of a Book I worked on with Big Picture Press and author Patrick Kane. It was my first time illustrating an entire book! The release date is this year and is in the process of being printed at the time of this post. It will be a celebration of all that technology has achieved in prosthetics and implants. We were very intent on showing that humanity comes first in regards to these advancements. Can’t wait to share the cover and entire book with you!

Sam Rodriguez Illustration Book Cover Process for Big Picture Press

10 Instagram Reels and TikTok ideas for Artists with Examples

Many artists seem frustrated that instagram is prioritizing short videos over static images or that they even have to use an app like TikTok to market their work. I get it, you already did a ton of work just to make a visual art piece and now you have to figure out how to be a videographer. However there are ways to make this work for us without adding too much to our already busy schedules.

After some adaptation into my own work flow, I have to say that I’m very excited about using short videos and documenting my work in general. I now have so many records of my process that I can reflect and improve on.

A big plus is that my pieces have a longer shelf life. In the past, my posting process was something like this: I would spend all this time creating a piece, then post a static image of it and then it would be done with a very short viewing window. This made me feel anxious to generate more pieces, (which I didn’t), but is not good because if someone went in that direction it could degrade the quality of their work. For example, with each illustration I would make around 1-2 posts. However with the added streams such as Reels, and TikToks I can yield up to 5 posts per project without feeling like I’m being too repetitive. This is because video has the potential to offer multiple perspectives on each piece, such as detailed pan shots, time lapse recordings, how-to demonstrations and artist talks.

It does what static images can’t, which is to provide a virtual studio visit. It makes us feel like we’re going through the creative journey with our favorite artists. On top of that, they show our work to a wider audience due to the fact that some people prefer these kind of platforms over others. Within instagram itself, some users only scroll Reels, and those are people who might have otherwise not seen my work that was posted as a static image. Here are some easy ways to make them flow with your work process.

 

1. PAN SHOT

One way to share your art through a Reel or TikTok is a pan shot. What Is a Pan Shot? In cinematography, a pan shot is a horizontal camera movement where the camera pivots left or right while its base remains in a fixed location. This shows viewers a detailed view of all the hard work you did! Here’s an example. VIEW >>

If your work is hand made, you simply pan over it with the camera but if it’s digital this could be challenging because of screen glare. In this case I suggest video editing software which I recommend below. See #4 How To Edit Your Videos.

2. SCREEN RECORDING

If you work digitally like I do, then you have the option to time lapse record all of the art making process on your screen. I use an app called Procreate to draw my illustrations and on there is an option to record a time lapse of my progression. It even gives you the option to download a shortened 30 second version which is great for converting into a Reel or TikTok. Here’s an example. VIEW >>

3. TIME LAPSE RECORDING

A time-lapse video is a video captured over a period of hours, days, weeks or even months and then sped up into minutes or seconds in order to show how quickly things change. If you work by hand or digital, you can record a video of yourself drawing or painting and then later edit it down to short time lapse clips. These can be videos of the entire process or just key moments while something is still in progress. Here’s an example. VIEW >> To make a one with a smart phone, there is a time lapse recording function built in, so find something to hold up your phone and make sure this mode is selected, press play and start!

4. HOW TO EDIT YOUR VIDEOS

I have a video, what is editing and how do I do it? Editing is required in order to make sure your reels and tiktoks are short and concise. When we record there is a lot of information that people don’t need to see, so we will need to cut it out and also speed up what we keep. Shortening the video to 10-30 seconds seems to be the preference (shorter is better). I use an editing software on my ipad called lumafusion. I am by no means a video expert which is why I landed on this easy to use app. It allows you to cut or speed up video content, add descriptions, and upload static photos to show final pieces. It is not the most extensive video editing software but good for what we do.

5. SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE AS AN ARTIST (OPTIONAL)

You definitely don’t have to do this but we enjoy when you do. Whether it’s a fan, collector, or fellow artist, we all want to check in to see how others approach creativity. Talk about life, the art industry, style, technique, and your studio setup/practice. This can be done with or without you in the video, just ask yourself how.

6. TAP INTO TRENDING EVENTS? (OPTIONAL)

I say this is optional because it’s not something that should be forced. If you have something to say with your art about a popular and relevant topic then you should! However if you’re work is not ordinarily representative of a certain subject then it could come off as being contrived so be careful with this. Try not to follow trends, instead try to create them!

7. DON’T BE AFRAID

Trying out new things is uncomfortable but is very important in order to find the right fit. There’s no set template for creating a reel or tiktok which is a great opportunity to figure out what’s best for you. You may see someone else’s method gaining many views and think that their approach must be the reason. What we don’t usually see is how many attempts it took them to build that popularity and how their style emerged during that process. Again, try not to follow trends, instead try to create them.

8. SHOOT VERTICAL

Reels and TikToks are a vertical format, so be sure to shoot 9:16 to make them immersive.

9. NO WATERMARKS

Don’t post a tiktok made video on instagram and vice versa. One example of this is seeing a ‘Reel’ on Instagram with a TikTok watermark logo. I often share the same content across many different social media platforms and this is fine as long as you’re not lazy about it. Don’t just post on one app and auto re-share it across multiple others. You should make content within your own device independent of in-app tools and then proceed to upload one by one as new posts rather than re-shares. This takes time but will help you since algorithms can detect recycled media.

10. FILM YOURSELF (OPTIONAL)

If you do this be genuine, approachable and look into the lens as if you and the viewer are chatting in person. We can all detect when someone is being insincere. With that being said, I choose not to film myself because I want to focus solely on displaying my art. Some people are natural public figures or teachers, but i’m not.

I hope these helped, and remember to make these work for you and not the other way around. Leave a comment or question below.

Illustration of Drew Barrymore for New Yorker Magazine

It’s funny because when NY Mag asks me to do illustrations for them they’re always for articles that criticize the person. Then I share these on social media and many people think i’m making ‘Fan Art’. Anyway here’s a fun one I did about Drew Barrymore. If you want to read the article here’s the LINK.

Timelapse Process video. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for weekly videos.