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Art n’ words by Rich Terdoslavich (C) 2025

July 9th. Air conditioners on, keepin’ cool. Hot out there, eh? Yeh, been inside my home since maybe the 6th, getting a lot done and just rolling with the summer haze flow. Grateful for the a/cs, so I ain’t gripin’. I remember the days working as a visual arts instructor for summer educational programs, teaching kids how to draw comic books or doing murals up in Harlem. Had to make sure I always had an air conditioned classroom and if I was working outside on a mural project, I could feel the heat sapping my energy, if the sun was blazing hot. Put on that sunscreen. Swampy, humid air on rainy days, and cooling off in subway cars, heading home after a long day of teaching kids the nuts and bolts of drawing and visual storytelling. Another time, another era. Recent, a few years ago, but it could have been a thousand years past.

Anyway, back to the present. I just published my newsletter, where I wrote about the concept art job I did for a client, the same artwork that is above the words, in this blog. Here is part two of more words on the the same job, maybe digging deep into more reflections/thoughts about it, riffing about the creative process.

Reflections/thoughts. Okay with it, I think, regarding the illustration itself, the rendering. Really had to fine tune any small details, i.e, proportions of the figures, perspective/vanishing point, but had some visual ideas. I wrote about it in the newsletter, how to take out the background. You don’t see any lines/outlines that indicate that the minivan is parked on a street with part of the sidewalk on the upper left corner of the illustration. Usually, you would draw some partial background -part of a sidewalk or its curb- to ground the visual elements in the foreground, give it a foundation, a sense of believability, of realism. Just chucked it out plus added a light blue color as the background as oppose to gray, dark black colors to represent the pavement. Was trying to aim for design, not realism. Even the rendering of the people have a more of a cartoonish style.

The colors of the clothes, the cameras and the van are black and white, maybe some gray. Some red. Against that light blue background, there lies the contrast. The artwork doesn’t get lost or muddy. Once the background is out, it gives it a somewhat minimal feel, I think.

Had to look at a lot of reference photos to make sure that the cameras were accurate, as well as the clothes, physical features etc. You need references when you are working on an illustration. If a scene calls for something, you have to draw it as accurately as you can, based on the description of the job from the client or based on a scene from a script. Each job is different, each client is different. For example, a script may have a general scene, so you have some leeway in terms of adding your own creative take on the job, i.e. setting up the scene, composing the scene, arranging all the visual elements of the scene. But if there is an accurate specific description of that particular scene- the streets of Paris, London, New York City, let’s say- you need reference shots. It has to look believable. Sometimes you can combine various reference shots to make something similar. Have been doing that on a separate project, looking at old photos of a particular city and mashing up the visuals. Taking visual bits and pieces of various exterior city scenes and making it my own. Being creative.

Anythin’ going on? You’re good? No complaints here. Guess I’ll just wrap this up with some advice and other riffs. If you’re into art and you have the knack to draw, draw every day. Learn structure and perspective. That should be a good start, a good foundation. Films to watch? Will recommend THE LONG GOODBYE by Altman and almost done watching Eggers version of NOSFERATU. Highly recommend that too. Have seen Murnau’s version-the first, the classic-and Herzog’s version with Klaus Kinski in the title role. All three versions are great. And also THE BLUE ANGEL, directed by Josef Von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich. 1930s German Expressionism. Best of the best.

Regarding art, have been looking at the work of Mel Ramos, one of the great pop artists of all time and also the work of graphic/title designer Saul Bass. As I mentioned before, he did some great posters and title designs for great filmmakers such as Preminger, Hitchcock and Kubrick. Regarding music, some Chet Atkins, picking up some guitar licks with the thumb pick, working on alternating a bass line while playing intervals on top of it. Highly recommend the Billy Joel doc on HBO. Listening to some jazz n’ post punk. Regarding comic books, haven’t been reading much lately, but hope to get back into it soon. The first art form that inspired me. Before fine arts.

Well folks, gotta run. Stay cool, everyone. Hot out there. August is around the corner and the next thing you know, the Halloween season will be upon us. Talk to you soon!