I am thrilled and terrified to announce my Space Art Academy. Thrilled because I enjoy teaching art and design. We are going to have a great time drawing starships, or painting a galaxy. The terror is only in my own mind, as any new venture risks failure.
The Space Art Academy is where I will offer a range of courses on all aspects what I like to call Space Art. I’m relaxed with the term Space Art. To me it encompasses both astronomical space of the real variety, for there is great beauty in space both near and far. It also includes the wild fantasy side, science fiction, and realms of the unbelievable. All require the same skills – drawing, light and shadow, color, composition, and that extra magic that only a human can bring to a great painting.
Why Now?
I want to teach everything I have learned about drawing, design, illustration, color, and fine art. This is the culmination of decades of personal and professional experience based on a core foundation of Industrial Design illustration. My confidence is high when it comes to discussing the principles and practices of drawing and illustration. I might even go so far as to say I have an angle on fine art as well. I’ll leave it to you to decide if I can be so bold.
As much as these courses are for you, or anyone who wishes to learn Space Art, they will be a watershed for myself. It’s making me analyze my own work with great scrutiny.
Who Could Use These Courses?
Anyone with the skill to find this blog post and read it will be more than qualified for the material in these classes. Complete novices will get years of practical knowledge, and they can keep all the material for reference later. Seasoned artists will also find gems.
How Will This Work?
Each course will be broken into individual video chapters. Some of these chapters will have reference material or worksheets (varies depending on the course). The materials can be downloaded upon purchase (and subsequent release). I will be available for questions via a dedicated Discord channel, the link will be provided with the course materials.
PREVIEW CLASSES ON PATREON
Patreon members have already seen some of the materials I’ve prepared for the first course, How to Draw Starships 101. With their input, I’ve adjusted the scope of these courses and I’m very happy with the final direction. If you want in on developing future courses, or if you’d like to see them early, consider signing up over on my Patreon. You’ll also receive additional discounts on all courses as a Patreon member.
How to Draw Starships 101
Starships are the human conveyances in our favorite science fiction stories. They have a soul, like sailing ships in our own past. In our debut course I will start with a foundation of drawing skills, which we will use to explore different types of starships.
How to Draw Starships 101 will release in early July. I will then turn my attention on the next course, an exploration of color theory. Our first semester will end with a course on constructing a complete Space Art scene.
These courses will never cover all aspects their respective subjects. I will expand each line, and add more as necessary. Personally I can’t wait until I can start sharing the work of all of our Space Art Academy students.
We’ve finished our move. It wasn’t a normal relocation, it took a bit longer than usual. We weren’t under the typical pressures of moving. I had no job waiting for me. I had no job I was leaving. In fact, I am beholding to nobody. Now we have our new home with its great new studio, and more space than I could’ve dreamed back in Bothell. Better yet, we outright own it. The silence ends now.
Space Art is back, but the flavor is altered. Much of what I’ve created over the last dozen years or so has served dual purposes. On the one hand, I am painting the things I have always wanted to paint. More importantly, I’ve used this time to refine my skills and techniques. I’ve explored different mediums, different styles, different materials. Each project, big or small, was a learning experience.
The goal was never to be a great space and science fiction artist. My goal has been to become the best artist I can be given the time that I have left. Even now I am nowhere near that goal. I’m making progress, but the reality is I have maybe twenty good years or so left (barring accidents or fascist uprisings that target artists and anyone with at least a half-working brain cell).
We will still be having fun, great fun. But in the transition process of the move I have neglected making the kinds of paintings that I feel need to exist. Some of them will still be space and science fiction themed. But I feel the allure of abstraction, and painting nature with the beautiful scenes I’ve witnessed in my limited travel.
It’s funny to me how many times I’m treated as flippant and shallow by those who have completed Fine Art degrees, or have otherwise once explored life as an artist. Especially by those I’ve encountered in the corporate tech world – the ones who turned their backs on their fine art backgrounds in favor of a big paycheck and a perceived notion of security. I can say this with great authority, because it’s exactly what I did for nearly 20 years as a professional UX Designer and PM. It doesn’t matter to them that my own studies included a full-on Fine Art core curriculum. I merely traded their studio time for more direct focus on Industrial Design (for which I remain grateful as it’s served me very well as an artist and as a corporate stooge).
The Artist Life is difficult. The Artist Life is, in many ways, insane. It’s very easy to walk away and seek simpler means to keep food in your cupboards. But I found the simpler path to be just as tenuous, just as perilous as whatever it is that I’m doing now. I cannot count on a weekly or bi-weekly salary with a 401K, but I will also never live in the fear of them disappearing at a moment’s notice. Being broke for a while goes a long way to getting you over the fear of living as a wage slave. My only real regret is not taking this on sooner.
Instead of grinding my teeth in frustration, I’ve used my time in the studio to pursue my own path. It was immediately apparent to me which areas I needed to improve as an artist. Some of it was a refresher – 20 years ignoring art altogether while slowly dying in a cubicle made me a little rusty. In other cases I could fairly easily identify which specific areas I needed to improve. And I’ve slowly tackled these along the way – Oil paint and mediums, color theory, approaches to realism and abstraction. I’m sure my most ardent followers have noticed along the way, especially those following the livestream.
Perhaps my timing was better than I’d anticipated. Right now, after the move and setting up a new studio, I have all the time and materials I need to let my brain explode on hundreds of canvases.
So welcome aboard the Phoenix Rising phase of Space Art by Christopher Doll. I promise I’ll be breaking a few eggs along the way, and it’ll be fun. Great fun.
Big plans are underway here at Space Art by Christopher Doll. As I write this we have begun the process of selling our house here in the Pacific Northwest. We will be traveling across the country to Northern Michigan for a few months after the sale while we sort out where to land. The timetable isn’t entirely set but we anticipate leaving here in June 2023.
In preparation for the move, we are offering all Original Artwork and Prints in our store for 25% Off until the end of May 2023. Use coupon code VOYAGE in checkout to receive your discount. If there is anything you’d like from the store, we would appreciate all the help we can get while we go through this process.
During the move the online store will be closed until we can set up shipping operations at our new location. Keep an eye out for further updates.
Why the Move?
While Space Art by Christopher Doll has been growing as a business, it is still not sufficient to support us properly. We will be shedding a good deal of overhead which has held us back for the last few years. It’s a radical move but one that we felt was the best choice at this time. Given the current real estate conditions, we will likely be able to purchase a new home entirely at our new location. Right now we are location scouting for properties in Northern Michigan and Pennsylvania, but are open to just about anything. I am confident that with this change we will vastly improve our situation.
There are a few options we are considering for a new home, but at this time it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where that will be. It’s unlikely we will be returning to the Pacific Northwest permanently – at least not in the immediate future.
What About the Livestream?
The livestream will continue from here until the end of May when we have to pack the office. There may be a break in the schedule while we are on the road, but our destination has excellent internet service. I’ll be picking up the livestream from there once we settle in. I am also investigating options for running the livestream remotely, while we are on the road. At the very least, I’m planning updates through our YouTube Channel and we hope to have some fun with the journey.
About the Journey
Our Fleetwood Bounder
After we pack up the house we will be driving back to Michigan in our old, trusty Fleetwood Bounder. It’s going to need some cleanup and a few fixes before the trip, but it’ll be our home away from home for a while. We’ve made this trip a couple of times, the last in 2015. With luck we will be able to stop at a few fun locations on the way, which will give us a chance to relax during a long trip and maybe get in some painting.
We’ve talked about taking the art business on the road for a while, and this will give us a chance to try it out before settling in. As usual, these plans should be considered tentative at best. It’s hard to say what will happen along the way. In our experience, road trips in the motorhome usually have a few surprises.
To be honest I am not entirely happy about leaving the Pacific Northwest. I love living here and we are leaving over 20 years of great memories in this house alone. However, I know that this move is going to open up doors that were otherwise closed to us.
Thank you all again for your support. Stay tuned for updates here and on social media. Let the Voyage begin!
I can’t believe it’s been 3 years! This started as an experiment of “what can I do, with what I have?”. I am thrilled to see how the community has grown since this all started. Typically I do a larger painting on the anniversary livestreams, and this will be no different. Plus, one lucky viewer will win the painting of the evening!
The livestream has given me a chance to share my art with the world. These are quick paintings, and sometimes they’re not the best. But sometimes they’re pretty darn cool! I’ve turned some of the livestream paintings into more finished pieces, and others have inspired work in different directions. My primary goal was to force myself to do a painting a week, regardless of the outcome. This is a great exercise for any artist, and I have managed to use these paintings to try out new things – new materials, layouts, techniques, etc. In the end, the real underlying mission is to just have fun – and have fun with everyone who arrives to watch me fling paint on the canvas.
I am grateful to everyone who has supported me and the livestream since I started, and I look forward to continuing well past this 3 year mark. Thank you, and I hope to see you all there!
Back in December 2012, Stephanie used a Groupon Coupon for a new paint and sip shop nearby. We were the only couple to show up that evening, but the owners Justin and Janelle were happy to have us hang out and paint. They showed us a wall of paintings they were prepared to walk us through. Stephanie picked one while we both enjoyed a few libations. Being the science fiction and space enthusiast, I decided I’d take advantage of the paint and canvas in front of me and go rogue with my own painting.
Me at The Drunken Easel, putting down some lines
I had learned to paint during my time at Kendall College of Art & Design, back in Michigan. Even though I went through their Industrial Design program (and got the degree), we had many core Fine Art classes. Sixteen years had passed since the last time I picked up a paint brush, I wasn’t sure if I’d forgotten everything. But there was no pressure, and I had the confidence of a couple of good stouts so I just started moving the brush.
“It looks like this could be a nebula”
I felt comfortable with the paint and brush, and a blank canvas. A picture started forming as I painted, and I forced myself to just keep going. Don’t stop, don’t deliberate, just go with the flow. It was liberating. No art direction, no internal dialog. Just the canvas, paint, some good music, a chill atmosphere, and decent beer.
The spaceship started taking form with dark shapes. I blocked in the overall silhouette and added highlights, details, windows. I put on a few “hero stars” with a brush then spattered a bunch of smaller stars to finish it off. By the end of the evening, this was staring back at me:
Spaceship And Nebula #1
I surprised myself. Painting tapped into a part of my brain that was dormant for many years. I left feeling like I had ignored a base instinct my entire life. It was different than the 3D work I had done as a game designer, or even on my own as a digital artist. And as much as I enjoyed building and painting models of spaceships, this offered something more – an energy and context that was missing from my other hobbies.
I Went Back to Work on Monday
The next week I went back to my dismal job as a User Experience Designer. I loved being a User Experience Designer, don’t get me wrong. But I was working in the middle of a series of garbage corporations, many that you’d know by name, in an industry that still to this day remains stagnant and miserable for designers. I decided that if I were to remain sane and not die sitting in a cubicle or standing desk, I needed to sort out how to make a living as an artist on my own terms.
This was an insane idea. I’ve known many artists, and even in my circle of friends I knew people with Fine Art Degrees that shoved them aside to work in the more practical technology and business fields. My peers would laugh at me, and with good reason. I wouldn’t make nearly the money I was making in tech. Artists my age already had 20 years on me. I was just a guy who had a few beers and threw a spaceship on a canvas.
I was already beginning to realize my career was killing me. That isn’t hyperbole. I was beginning to hit the wall with several health issues related to stress and anxiety. And maybe I would’ve hit that wall anyway, but I knew after sixteen years I wasn’t built for the industry. Even with my comfortable salary I hadn’t accumulated enough money to just walk away and start painting. We’d lose the house within months, and I knew it.
One of my last work badges (company name modified to protect the jerks)
So, Get On With It
It took me a few weeks to build a plan, and I started slowly. I dusted off my Wacom tablet and began working with my digital tools. With a recently purchased iPad, I put a lot of miles on an early version of Procreate. And I began buying paint, brushes, and canvases to work on painting at home. The only way I could pull this off was if I put myself on the equivalent of a Master’s Degree program for Fine Art, while working as a UX Designer. This meant more than just painting nebulae and spaceships, I wanted to tackle it all – landscapes, abstracts, figurative art. I had to get good at many levels if I ever wanted to step up and call myself an Artist.
I still feel I’m an Imposter as an Artist, ten years later. But in that time a lot of good things happened. I left my career as a UX Designer and joined my wife Stephanie with her baking business Doll House Baked Goods. This helped us keep the house and I was still able to learn new painting techniques, new media, and I started landing commissions. I also learned how to make a mean batch of chocolate chip cookies, sourdough, pies, and other baked goods. More importantly, we got a crash course in running a small business and this was a tremendous advantage for my own art business.
For an imposter, I’ve had a few successes – I’ve painted the covers for many science fiction novels, including a series that won the Hugo Award for “Best Science Fiction Series” in 2019. My work has been on album covers, model kits, and is now in the homes of many collectors. This year I completed a HUGE commission for a Science Museum (more on that when I can reveal the project). And I’ve been running a weekly livestream on Twitch.TV where I paint a new science fiction or space painting every week, Bob Ross style. I remain hopeful that I can grow this business and career for the rest of my remaining days.
There are many artists who, like me, left their careers to become successful space and science fiction artists – and in less time than it’s taken me. But I wouldn’t trade my own experience as it’s been both frustrating and incredibly rewarding.
I am Grateful
I am thankful to Stephanie for arranging this event, and for being such an amazing supporter of my art for the last ten years. I had no idea going into this evening that it would switch my brain onto a completely different course. And my thanks also go out to Justin and Janelle for being so great to their lone patrons that evening, and letting me paint something that was quite literally “off the wall”. I am also grateful for the many followers that have found me on social media, and more recently through my livestream. You’ve all helped make this possible.
Our Paintings from the Drunken Easel
Post Script
I’m approaching the third anniversary of my livestream on Twitch and two weeks ago I wanted to try painting my “spaceship and nebula” again, just like I did at The Drunken Easel ten years ago. This was a two-hour live painting, with no initial preparation. Just me, the paint, the camera, a fine audience of viewers (thank you to all of my subscribers, followers, and Patreon supporters). I still enjoy the visceral throwing of paint that happens with a spontaneous painting session:
I’ve been trying out a new format for the livestream – daytime streams. It’s allowing more people to drop in and watch, although many admit they’re watching while at work on another monitor. Good for them, and I’m glad to give them a diversion. But I’ve also been trying a new format too. Instead of a painting in a session, I’m working on longer-format paintings. These are larger, and far more finished than the usual painting in a night session.
The Voyager painting I’ve previously shared was the first of these. And so far it’s been a great success. The second is this scene of the USS Excelsior. At the same size, 24″ x 36″ it’s a great way to work on the ship detail with a fun scene. This one is in the last stages, so the photo is after my last livestream.
Livestream Progress Shot – Excelsior
While it’s been fun to watch the entire progress live, I find that final details are a bit more consuming and it’s much more efficient for me to work on them alone. Then it allows for a fun reveal live on the show.
Which brings me to a subject that I’m finally returning to paint, the Rigel 7 Fortress. I’ve been promising a return to this painting for some time. This week I started back in on it and I’ll be working on it live over the next couple of weeks.
Return to Rigel 7
In this photo you see the first stages of the painting. There’s an initial drawing, and then a light layer of shading. The basic color fields were then laid down – sky, planet, building, etc. All of these will need to be detailed and refined. The painting is being made entirely in acrylic (as of this writing that is the plan, but I may switch to oils if necessary).
In short, this is a larger painting than my previous Rigel 7, which is now in the hands of a collector. It’s also a wider crop of the original painting. I received wonderful images from “BirdoftheGalaxy” over on Flickr, and it’s helped me produce a very accurate drawing. The canvas is 20″ x 30″ and roughly the same size (we think) as the original painting. There will be differences of course. The color palette I’ve chosen is closer to what’s seen in the TOS digital remaster. Brighter and more vibrant than some of the original photos. The original was also painted on glass. With my painting there will be a slight texture from the canvas, which is its nature of course. On close inspection of the above image the texture is apparent. But there are many more layers of paint to go before this is finished so I expect it to be less of an issue.
When finished, all of these will be available in the store – both the originals, and limited edition signed prints made in-house. Although the Rigel 7 original painting should be consider on hold until I contact an individual that has first-rights to purchase. If they decline then it will also be available in the store.
I have accumulated far more spaceship model kits than I have time to build in my lifetime. At least given my current pace of zero-to-one each year. Even if that improves, and I hope to get back to a few of my model projects, I have more than I can build. So I am now adding them to my store, you can find them in my Models and Kits Category.
Many of these are resin garage kits, and require a bit of experience to build and paint. They’re not impossible for beginners either, but be aware that they’re not quite as simple as your standard polystyrene model that you’re familiar with.
A somewhat typical garage kit with resin parts, and vacuum-formed shells
I’ve kept the prices on these fairly low, compared to what I bought them for years ago. But if you see something you like, feel free to snatch it up because once they’re gone they will be hard to find. Most of these were limited-run items and remain rare to this day.
I will be adding more as I go, so check back often!
My first public show since the pandemic! The wonderful people at the Port Gardener Bay Winery and Art Gallery in Everett, Washington have invited me to showcase my Space Art from December through February. My thanks to everyone there for the invitation, I am thrilled to be in such a cool place.
Setting Up The Show
Opening night is Thursday, December 16th from 5pm to 9pm – which coincides with the Everett Art Walk. Many locations have their doors open with local artists from the area.
The Port Gardener Bay Winery has a range of fantastic wine, and offers music along with a great atmosphere. They rotate artists every few months and I was thrilled to be invited. For the event I’ve selected a range of finished artwork – including some favorites from my livestream.
Admission is free. Come on out and hang out with me and see some Space Art!
It snuck up on me – the one year anniversary of my Space Art Livestream on Twitch. Started as merely a test last March 10, 2020, right at the start of the COVID pandemic, I looked around and noticed that I had everything I needed to paint space art live on Twitch.
I grabbed my webcam for the stream and hooked up my iPhone so I could have a 2-camera setup. Even though my aging workstation PC is probably nearing the end of its useful life, it has more than enough horsepower to run everything through OBS. And my studio space had plenty of lights. There was no good reason to NOT try a livestream.
Typical post-stream scene at my table
While working on projects I watched a number of livestreamers on Twitch, usually playing World of Warships or PUBG. To me it’s a great background, I don’t have to pay attention too hard to it and the streamers often have music. It’s a good diversion too when I need a moment to clear my mind. Some streamers handled their content better than others, and I had a lot of good examples to draw on as I put together my own stream.
Painting while running a livestream was a difficult experience at first. There’s a lot to keep in mind at the same time – managing the stream technical details, the chat (when I started to actually have people interacting), and of course conducting a painting from start to finish. The first streams were exhausting. Some gamers can go eight hours at a time, but for me I max out at about 3 to 4 hours. With practice it’s gotten better, but I still find I need a long cool-down afterwards.
My other inspiration was the brilliant and legendary Bob Ross. Instead of “happy little trees”, I’m painting “happy little spaceships and galaxies”. Bob Ross would rehearse his paintings ahead of time, and managed to complete them in about 20 minutes to fit in the PBS episodes. He had developed a wet-on-wet technique in oils that suits his landscapes and I wanted to follow his example.
In my case I wasn’t constrained by PBS or the time frame, so to me I felt I needed to be more concerned with the average attention span of people watching a livestream. With few exceptions I’ve managed to finish a whole painting in each session. To do this I’ve relied mainly on acrylic and casein paints, which help for a faster painting time. Both are water-based, and both allow me to go beyond a wet-on-wet landscape style and explore more of an illustration process, similar to some of my favorite artists like John Berkey.
To be 100% honest I do not consider these paintings to be GREAT, or even high art, but I do try to make them beautiful to look at and when I can, inspiring. These are scenes from my own mind, and extension of the kinds of drawings that would fill all corners of my notebooks over the years. Except they’re not drawn with a pen or pencil, I’ve gone full color and have a completed image at the end of the day.
So far I am thrilled at the response I have received from these live streams. The community is growing and each week I see new people joining in. To everyone who has followed along and helped support the stream I thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you and I look forward to expanding the stream in the next year.
I will leave you now with a fun mosaic of all the paintings from last year’s livestream, and some stats. Cheers!
Mosaic – Livestream Paintings from March 2020-2021
47 paintings in total
3 sessions didn’t have a final painting, or they weren’t anything I’d like to share
I missed ONE week, but had several weeks where I streamed multiple days
Becky Chambers’ new book, and the last of her Hugo Award Winning Wayfarer’s series – The Galaxy and the Ground Within, by HarperCollinsUS. This is the cover art I created for her final book in the series:
The Galaxy And The Ground Within by Becky Chambers
This piece was entirely digital and spans the front and back of the book. I was asked to show a series of spaceships in orbit above a small airless world, the main location of the book. The ships were to look as though they were each from a different species, similar to how Star Trek handles the look of their ships.
Layout and text was handled by Richard Aquan of HarperCollinsUS. My thanks go out to Richard, HarperCollinsUS, and Becky Chambers for the privilege of making the covers for these great books.
I now have a pretty big backlog of Twitch Livestream videos, and since Twitch only saves them for 30 days I’ve wanted to upload them to YouTube. And now the first is available on my channel:
Painting a Spaceship in a Purple Nebula
Most of my livestreams run from 2 to 3 hours, and to be honest it’s quite a task to cut them down for YouTube. It’s not difficult, I’m am familiar with video editing, but it is time consuming. As part of my shift going into 2021, I’m scheduling time to get these up on YouTube. If all goes well, it will be one per week.
The video above is a shortened version, and I have a longer one with more details on the painting. I am reserving the longer version for my Patreons, so if you are so inclined, and wish to support Space Art by Christopher Doll, consider subscribing there:
I am thrilled to announce that I am now offering classes. Many of you have asked if I teach painting and space art during my livestreams, and I have put a lot of thought into how I can go about teaching art.
About the Class
Starting this January I am offering my introductory course, Painting Space Art. This is a four-class series where we will be painting a scene each session via ZOOM. This will be similar to the kinds of painting classes you may have seen in a paint-and-sip shop locally. Classes will last roughly 2 hours, or maybe a bit longer depending on how things are going.
You don’t have to have any real experience painting, but it will definitely help. This is intended to be a fun introduction to painting and at the end I believe you’ll have something fun to begin working on your own.
You can purchase all four courses, or select individual classes. For this particular series, each class is a stand-alone offering however we will likely be discussing concepts as we go.
Supplies are available via Blick.com, and I’ve created a list of items necessary for the classes (roughly $60 USD). In addition, you will need a Zoom-capable computer with camera.
Seating is limited, so sign up soon!
Upcoming Courses
I am preparing several follow-up courses as well. These will continue to build on the basic concepts necessary to paint your own space art.
Drawing Spaceships, Vehicles and Scenes
Advanced Painting (4-part series to create one higher quality painting)
Painting with Oils
Illustrations with Casein
If these classes are popular, I will offer them again based on attendance.
Hello everyone, and I hope you are all doing well during our ongoing pandemic battle wherever you are. We have been making the most of our time in isolation, making improvements in the art studio so we can offer you more SPACE ART!
The Latest Addition to the Space Art by Christopher Doll Studios
Last October we found a great commercial-grade printer for the studio. We are now offering our own line of archival prints in-house. This is a capability I have wanted for a long time, and I am excited to now have the ability to run large prints on multiple mediums.
It’s also a fantastic tool to help me with my own artwork and illustrations.
The New Printer in the studio (please pardon the mess)
The printer is very large and it took us a bit more effort to physically move it into our studio space than we’d expected. Once in place, and after the expected fiddling with network settings and color profiles I manged to run the first test print.
Test Print – John Berkey’s The Visitors
Some of you may recognize the John Berkey painting, The Visitors. It’s long been one of my favorite paintings by John Berkey and I chose this one as the first test run. A while back I happened to find an excellent image of it and while it required a bit of careful up-sizing to match the original size, the print is phenomenal. I once saw the original on display at Paul Allen’s Science Fiction Museum in Seattle (around 2002 or so) and I always wanted to see it up close and at its original scale – for my own study only.
NOTE: Just to be clear, this is a test print for studio use only. I will not be printing or selling any other artists’ work, just my own.
I will be adding print options to many of my pieces in the Space Art Store. And if you are interested in a print of my work that isn’t posted, drop me a line!
Livestream Giveaways!
To celebrate the new printer I will be giving away a free full-size print of some of my artwork on my Twitch Livestream. To enter the giveaway, just join me this coming Wednesday 6pm PST. One of the lucky viewers will win a print of my painting, Approaching a Derelict.
Approaching a Derelict – 16″ x 20″
This painting was done live on my Twitch stream and was well received as one of the fan favorites. Click on the link below to go to my Livestream. Hit the Follow button for notification on when I go live.
Join me Live on Twitch, Wednesdays 6pm PST
No purchase is necessary, just join me on the stream.
It is free to sign up on Twitch, and once you have a Twitch account you can follow my channel there.
The print is roughly a $50 value and will be shipped in a tube.
Thank you all for your support and I hope to see you online!
Folksbier Brauerei just announced their upcoming Recurring Dreams #37. It’s a locally brewed IPA, from their brewery in Brooklyn, NY.
Recurring Dreams #37 “Dreadnought”
In keeping with my previous Recurring Dreams series, I tried to capture a dream-like, retro science fiction scene. Inspired by the artists Paul Lehr and John Harris, these pieces have been a fun exploration.
Welcome back to Space Art by Christopher Doll! Earlier this summer I switched hosting providers for the first time in almost ten years. This meant moving three sites – this one, Doll House Baked Goods, and Breaking Fitts’s Law. And now, after over two months, they are finally back to operating somewhat normally.
The new hosting provider has been superior but the move wasn’t entirely painless. For all of my sites I’ve had to rebuild the themes from the ground-up. Fortunately the core themes I used functioned just fine so it was merely a matter of remembering the changes I made years ago, and then implement them in a better fashion. This involved far more days of behind-the-scenes coding than I’d anticipated, which was irritating at best. Bit it was worth it, all of my sites now have full-on SSL security, unlike those on my previous server.
New in the store
I’ve added a lot of new paintings to the store, and improved the experience overall from my previous version. Mostly I’ve added recent works, and almost all of the paintings from my Livestream on Twitch. This Fall there will be a bunch of new things just in time for the holiday so stay tuned!
I’ve also added a separate gallery for all of my Folksbier Brauerie paintings. They feature a number of fun, dreamlike explorations and I felt they deserved their own corner.
Painting from “As Seen on Twitch.tv”
Painting from “Folksbier Brauerie”
Continuing Fixes
While the site has been updated I’ve noted that a lot of older pages have lost their image links. I am fixing these as I find them so if you run into a page that is just blank with some text, please bear with me. Mostly this seems to have occurred on my oldest entries. I will try to fix them as I find them.
Project Updates
While that pandemic has caused a lot of serious problems, and far too many unnecessary deaths, I have been fortunate to have seen my art business grow. To all of my clients and patrons, thank you so much for your support. I do hope to continue making fun paintings for book covers, personal commissions and more. Thank you.
I am thrilled to see that my Livestream is taking off nicely as well. As of this writing I have been streaming for six months. Each week I see more followers and subscribers so I remain optimistic that I will be able to continue painting fun scenes for everyone. It’s been a lot of fun painting live, making up stories about these fantastic science fiction scenes. Thank you to everyone who has dropped by. If you’d like to see my next stream, follow me on Twitch.TV. New streams every Wednesday evening, and I will be adding new days this Fall. There’s an exciting big project, thanks to a new commission, that I will be painting live for everyone to see.
I bought a nice Logitech webcam last summer with the intention of live-streaming space art, Bob Ross style. We were on a post-bakery closing trajectory and I wanted to add some fun elements to my full-time art schedule. Our farmer’s markets continued to keep us busy so I didn’t get around to setting up my live-stream until last month – just in time for everybody to be stuck at home avoiding the spread of COVID19.
My first stream was on a Tuesday evening, two weeks prior to this writing, and I’ve since had two more. Was I nervous? Yes, I was very nervous, which surprised me because I don’t typically have an issue talking in front of strangers. I’ve had plenty of experience in the software world, and later in the three years that we had our bakery nearby. For some reason, once you know there’s a camera pointed at your face and the entire world has access to you, it becames a bit nerve-wracking. Added to the stress, a second camera pointed straight at a blank canvas awaiting either a masterpiece or a dreadful failure.
I am happy to report that everyone has been wonderful and it’s great to see so many familiar faces. Thank you to all who have joined so far, and I look forward to many more streams.
Typical View Live on Twitch – This is from my second stream
The Setup
I spent a good weekend setting up the cameras, the lights, my drawing table and OBS software to handle the stream. There’s no way to get everything 100% right on your first attempt, but I didn’t want to spend my entire first stream wrestling with lights, cameras, and switching scenes.
Art Table Under Lights – Purple Tape Marks my Video Boundaries
With my one webcam I was able to do a simple setup showing me, and my computer desktop for the times that I show digital art (drawing in Photoshop, Clip Studio etc.). But I wanted a second camera focused on my drawing surface for traditional painting. For now I’m using my iPhone6 connected to OBS and it’s worked out very well. I now have a two camera setup. It’s not so much that I wanted a camera on me to feed my ego. I’ve watched a lot of streams before I started this and art streams that show both the art and the artist to be a bit more interesting to watch. Even if it is just my goofy face wearing headphones.
Finished with my First Stream – Final painting with sketches and camera mount
My studio’s overhead lights are fantastic for painting. They’re powerful floodlights with daylight LED bulbs. But they cast terrible shadows on my art table when all the cameras were set up, so I ended up using tasklamps. I’ve made a few adjustments for each stream but for the most part this setup has worked well.
Making it a Fun Stream
I could have just fired off the camera as I bumble my way through a long painting, and add my own commentary along the way. And to be honest that’s when I’m doing anyway, but sometimes the business of making a painting can be filled with U-turns and experiments which aren’t always the most exciting.
For each session I’ve taken the time to do some practice sketches, and even practice paintings. This helps me isolate the colors and techniques I want to use live. My sketches and sketch paintings are always smaller than the finals that I paint live, and there’s more fun details that I add live during the stream that never showed up in my initial sketches.
Paint Sketches
It surprised me how distracting it can be to run a live-stream and paint at the same time. There’s a lot of multi-tasking going on, and after three streams (as of this writing) I have a newfound respect for everyone who runs a livestream, whether it’s art, or games, or anything else. There’s just a lot to manage. This isn’t a complaint really, and I’m sure it’s going to get easier with practice. But to those who’ve been doing this successfully for a while – kudos to you!
The Streams So Far
Each stream is inspired by an artist or technique that I’ve been fond of over the years and I feel this is a good place to start. For my first, I wanted to capture the look and feel of one of my favorite artists John Berkey, who painted beautiful, colorful science fiction scenes in casein and acrylic.
First Stream Painting – Berkey Style
Casein is a wonderful paint medium – it’s water soluble and it dries fast meaning you can work fast on camera. So I continued using casein for my second painting, which also had a bit of the John Berkey feel but I wanted this one to be more of a moody space scene inspired by artist John Harris.
Stream Two – John Harris Style
My latest stream (again, as of this writing) was a throwback to the 1950’s era of science fiction – chrome moon rockets lit by a solar eclipse from the Earth. To this day no spacecraft has yet capture a view of a solar eclipse from the moon (eclipsed by the Earth) so to a certain degree this remains a science fiction subject. For this painting I went with acrylic paint and I started with a black canvas.
Retro Science Fiction Moon Rocket – Stream 3
Things I’ve learned So Far
For starters, I would really like to upgrade my microphone setup. I have an excellent pair of Razer Headphones with a microphone and it does pretty well overall. But I’m starting to shop for a dedicated microphone and that Shure SM7B is looking very attractive (and expensive). I’m putting that one on the “buy later when I’m a wealthy artist” list.
The lights are just okay so far. They look decent on the stream, but I’m looking at a couple of solutions which will give me better control and avoid shadows and hotspots.
I’ve originally scheduled four hour livestream sessions, but the paintings are somewhat small and it’s going a lot faster than I’d anticipated. In my latest stream I added a section of just drawing, which seems to have helped with the time. Down the road I may make the paintings a bit more complicated so that they take longer, we’ll see. But the last thing I want to have people see is a lot of fiddling about and navel gazing without much art taking place.
Drop In For Live Space Art!
I’ll keep my schedule posted on my Twitch.TV page, which you can find by clicking on the image below or by visiting BlackBirdCD’s Twitch.TV channel.
I am getting close to reaching Affiliate status, which means people can then subscribe to my streams and I might start bringing in a bit of income. Any little bit helps, so if you have a Twitch Account and would like to support my channel, please add me as a Follower (following is free!).
If you would like to own one of these paintings, I have added the originals to the shop! Of course this goes a long way to help support me and my family, so thank you for visiting and I’ll see you on the next stream!
I’ve been threatening to try live streaming art and the time is finally here. For the last week I’ve been putting together the webcams, lights and getting the software ready to go.
I’m 1000% terrified about it all, not going to lie. But it’s going to be a fun time.
BlackBirdCD on Twitch.TV (click on image for link)
I’m going to be painting some spaceships and scenes. Four hours is a long time but I suspect it’ll go by quickly. Small paintings can take as much as four hours.
For future streams I am set up to broadcast work in Photoshop, and I have enough room to pull out my big easel for more of a Bob Ross effect.
Intro Video
I had to put together a number of graphics for my Twitch.TV channel – banners, cover images, background images for the stream starting/ending/on break, etc. What better than to make a rolling intro video?
BlackBirdCD Starting Soon Intro Video
Music by Andrew Allen. This is the finished version that I’ll be running as a pre-roll to my stream.
The Nebula and Galaxy is an image I painted in 2014 in Procreate on an iPad. It was ported to Photoshop, then After Effects, which preserved the layers. This made it relatively easy to animate them in After Effects. I added the text, logo and two starfields in After Effects.
I will definitely look at doing more of these after this exercise. It showed me the ropes a bit in After Effects, which I do not use regularly but I understand the base concepts of animation.
Why BlackBirdCD?
BlackBirdCD was a name I picked ages ago when I worked at Microsoft. The employees were encouraged to make new email accounts under their new HOTMAIL service, to try it out. That’s a long time ago, please don’t look up the years.
I tried to grab just “BlackBird”, but it was already taken. So I went for BlackBird with the CD and it was available.
To keep matters simple, I started using BLACKBIRDCD for every account that needed a name. So there it is. Not too much more than that.
I did however have a black Pontiac Firebird and BlackBird was a bit of a callout to that. Regrettably the car is no longer driveable.
For several years I’ve been threatening to return to my comic strip, Breaking Fitts’s Law. It was a fun opportunity to rail against the many oddities and incongruities of office life in the tech world, from the perspective of a “User Experience Designer” (UX). This is all something that was close to my own experience for many years. Fortunately, I captured many of them in the corners of Moleskin notebooks and sketchbooks that I always had on hand through countless (and mostly boring) meetings.
Congratulations! Get Out – Opening new strip
The strip ran in the Fall of 2014 and shortly into 2015. It was enjoyable, and cathartic, but it took a lot of my time. Unfortunately, events in my life conspired to make it difficult to keep up the pace so I had to walk away. With starting a small business, there just wasn’t enough time to devote to my strip. But I always wanted to come back to it.
Sneak Peek at the return of Breaking Fitts’s Law
The first of my return strips are up already, and in an effort to shore up my efforts I’ve opened a Patreon page. This is purely optional for those who wish to support Breaking Fitts’s Law. All of the comic strips will be posted for free on Breaking Fitts’s Law site itself. Patreon subscribers will get early access to the strips – approximately one week before they are posted in the clear. And there are a number of other side benefits I’m adding like behind the scenes info, live Q&A sessions, and for some, the ability to suggest comics.
Breaking Fitts’s Law on Patreon
I’m going to make every effort to keep this going on a regular basis, and will certainly let everyone know if I run into issues. Given all of the other art-related projects going on at the moment, Breaking Fitts’s Law would seem to be a perfect fit. And I might have a bit of material to draw from:
