email: john@johndrago.com
That’s the signpost up ahead – your next stop?
Let me first say that I have been working on and off on this piece for nearly 2 years. I finally had to get it off my plate – and although it has a few flaws, mistakes and anomalies – I’m finally [Read more]
He’s just a sub-demon, always getting kicked around by the higher up demons, getting yelled at by the boss (Lucifer) for coming in late and leaving early. No respect from his demon-wife or love from his demon kids. His life is a living hell – until one [Read more]
A portrait done of Keira Knightley. One of my favorite movies of all time is Wristcutters. Needless to say – she starred in it. Done in Photoshop. I wanted to stay away from little details and stay a bit looser. This one kind of flowed. Took only about 10 hours.
The werewolf was my favorite classic horror movie monster. I was pretty disappointed with the remake. Done in Photoshop. I purchased a 3D model of a Lycanthrope and used Poser to setup the reference image of the anatomy. I googled [Read more]
Digital Paintings
Although I grew up doing traditional art, using traditional tools- pencils, acrylics, oils and pastels - my love of computers has led me to the digital realm. With digital you have access to any brush you need, any color you desire, any kind of canvas, lighting - whatever - and you won't have to clean a thing when you are finished.Pencil Drawings
Pencils is what I started out with. I can remember my very first pencil sketch. It was in my kindergarten class at Church Street School in White Plains. I used to cry everyday when my parents would leave me in the class. I would run up to the door and cry through the glass side panels as I watched my mother and father walk away. One day as I was crying, my teacher - a Mrs. Wagner took me by the hand, led me to a table, sat me down and put a piece of paper and pencil in front of me and asked me to draw something. I drew an elephant - and for a 5 year old - I drew it well. And from that point I was hooked.Photography
I use a lot of reference photos when I do my digital work. Some people look at this as "cheating" - that a true artist doesn't need to look at photos. Well, if that's the case then I'm in good company. Even Norman Rockwell used photos as reference. Michaelangelo drew from life and used those sketches as reference for his paintings.