Raffy B. Explore Logs

Visual explorations and notes by Raffy Borromeo

[raffyexplores]

Peachtober 2023

Illustration Notes App: Procreate Brushes used: 1) Procreate: Vine Charcoal, Mike Tool: Spatter Organic 2) Zac Retz's 2023 brushes 3) Sampler Max Pack 4) Zac Retz + Greg Rutkowski brushes Time: 1) 2.5 hrs 2) 3.75 hrs 3) 16 hrs 4) 11 hrs Dimension: 2048x2048 px; 4) 4000x4000 px I only reached up until 4 pieces but I feel each piece I have a lot of love and effort in them. I used varying brushes for this project and challenged myself to add perspective for the last one. It was quite tricky but I found the end out put satisfying!

These are relatively slow but I recall asking myself to practice patience in order to achieve the output I imagined. I've also learned that professional artists also take a long time to draw! So with that in mind, I trusted the process.

[raffyexplores]

Drinky drinks of the week!

Illustration notes App: Procreate Brushes used: MaxU Gouache Retro 1, MaxU Grainstorm Smudge (for London Fog, and Horoyoi only) Time: Around 1.5-4.5 hrs per illustration Dimension: 4x6 inches

I loved drinks and I wanted to try and build on the previous style from the soda pop girl. I really liked how the drink came out there too thus a further exploration.

References were used for each drink, most of them my own photos. To help me exaggerate and to make the drinks more vibrant when I start to color I would saturate the photo so that those colors then become my base. No color-picking was done in order to practice colors better. The colors in the illustration are still pushed a bit more so that it has more contrast within itself.

e.g.

The frame design was added to make the background less boring but I had no aim in really making them detailed. Despite being low effort, it is something I am interested in trying out again but with more purpose. I wonder if drawing intricate frame embellishments has been around for a long time. I wonder who or what are some possible inspirations for this.

Overall, I like how they look however I can't quite imagine where these could be applied easily. Is it for editorial, is it for merch, or is it for entertainment? Is there a story, a use, or a form of entertainment in the illustration itself? I'm not sure but I might have relied on the caption for their stories too much.

I'm still glad to have gone through this process because how else can you learn? Also, just proud of myself for completing some sort of consistency for a bit. Hehe

[raffyexplores]

 Keep cool everyone, here’s a soda pop!

Illustration notes Brush used: MaxU Gouache Retro 1 Time: Around 13 hrs Dimension: 1080x1920

I used a reference when I had drawn this (my own photo). I tried to stylize this as much as I could while also keeping the color values and lighting similar.

I love Impressionist paintings and I was experimenting to achieve a "rough" painterly-like style inspired by it. It's not exactly Impressionist, but I think it came out well here! Even though it took a while to finish, it didn't feel excruciating to work on. It was as if I knew what I was going for in this exploration!

Overall, I think the style looks good with compositions that emphasize lighting. Other applications, I have yet to see!

[raffyexplores]

A tribute to creating without fear and learning without giving up

To creative explorations, messes, curiosities, and whatever else that makes you feel okay. p.s. the outfit is an homage to Lewis from Meet the Robinsons because of how much that movie inspired me to always keep moving forward.