Will Varner's Blog

New For Next

willvarnerart — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:02:36 +0000

I did this portrait of the adorable Cheyenne Jackson (who was gearing up for a 60′s themed performance with the New York Pops) a couple weeks ago for Charlie Piazza at Next Magazine. He was a pleasure to work with and I got to watch the actual performance at Carnegie Hall last Friday thanks to my quick thinking friend John Mok. It is a new more vector-based look for me. I hope you LUV it!

Green Lantern

willvarnerart — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:48:00 +0000

Gee Whiz, this is one nerdy summer at the box office! With at least four big budget super hero movies vying for space between now and the Fall I feel like I’m twelve again! (Crap! Is that a pimple?) There’s nothing I like more than a great big summer blockbuster, especially if its a great big superhero summer blockbuster! Since I loved the comic book as a kid I was especially excited to see the Green Lantern movie.

While it didn’t live up to all my expectations I did love getting back to some of the great characters that helped me imagine my way through the deathmarch that was junior high P.E. With so many other geek-worthy summer movies out and soon to be released I’ll be doing some more movie portraits soon!

A sketch that helped me work out some of color and line decisions:

…and the final, complete with lots of summer-appropriate special effects:

Ran-Dumb.

willvarnerart — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:48:59 +0000

So it is time to clean out the old school studio and move out into the BIG BAD REAL WORLD!!! As I fight back the icy hand of terror that clutches at my gullet I’ve been going through my old files and I found this really random and kinda terrifying ode to spring! I drew it in Adobe Flash for Matthew Richmond’s digital media class in our first year at SVA and well ..it’s weird.

Battle For Breakfast!

willvarnerart — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:31:31 +0000

Recycling is better for the earth right? Recently I wanted to make a new piece for my portfolio that had 1) A lot of different figures. A good ol’fashion crowd scene. 2) Humor. My editorial portfolio was starting to feel a little too serious. I am the FUN illustrator! 3) Lots of solid drawing and less special effects. So as I was determining how to do that I remembered that early on at SVA I made this for a class assignment:

I liked this one because it made me laugh and had some personality but the drawing was a little hmmm..insecure. I knew I could definitely do a more dynamic version that would accomplish what I wanted to do for my portfolio.

So I recycled the old art and ran it through my brain and brush to make the NEW BATTLE FOR BREAKFAST!!! The DEADLIEST meal of the day!!!

Dear Japan

willvarnerart — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:11:49 +0000

This is the drawing I made for the Dear Japan Show. I was honored to be invited by Aya Kakeda to participate in this heartfelt effort. Over 170 renowned and emerging artists from around the world are donating one piece of their art and writing messages of hope on the back. This artwork will be on sale at the one night benefit party held at Art Connects New York (ACNY) in the SOHO gallery on June 4th, 2011. All the proceeds from this benefit event will go to help the people of Japan who were most effected by the March 11th earthquake and ensuing disasters.

My drawing comes from my love for the great works of Japanese imagination that were a part of my childhood through toys, cartoons, and comics. I spent so many daydreams wishing I was friends with a giant robot that could easily defeat any bad thing that real life could send my way.

If you are in the NYC area on June 4th please come out and support what will be an inspiring evening of great art reflecting the human bonds that unite us all.

In Comm Arts Annual 52

willvarnerart — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 10:30:53 +0000

I’m thrilled to be included in Communication Arts 52nd Illustration Annual. My self promotional piece Surveillance 2010 was selected for this year’s book and is printed right below a great piece by the amazing Chris Buzelli! I grew up looking at CA and hoping that someday I’d get in. it feels great! I guess I’ll keep drawing stuff..

Tennis Magazine

willvarnerart — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 19:18:24 +0000

Here’s the finished illustration I did for Tennis magazine. It’s in the April issue on page 66. I really enjoyed working with the art director Dennis Huynh who gave great feedback and helped me make the finish much stronger than the original sketches. Also thanks to my friend Chi Birmingham for lending me his great eyes for design.

MOCCA time again!

willvarnerart — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 04:47:48 +0000

Hey, is it too early in the year for independent comics? Heck no! That’s why this weekend (April 9-10) I’ll be at The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Arts (MoCCA ) annual festival sharing some brand new books, old favorites, silk screen prints , and a sneak peek at upcoming projects. Stop by booth C-19 and say hi! I’ll be there both Saturday and Sunday and I’d love to meet lots of new folks! (especially new folks who bring me delicious food treats.)

Tennis Stresses

willvarnerart — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:50:49 +0000

So this week I had the great opportunity to work with Dennis Huynh the art director at Tennis Magazine. He had me do a piece for their psychology column. I’ll detail more about the development of the finished piece in a future post but for now I wanted to show some of what did not make it to the final illustration. These were small drawings of “stressors” that could influence someone’s game. I liked these (especially the dog!) and was sad to see them go. So here they are: gone but not forgotten!

Portrait Time!

willvarnerart — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 00:19:19 +0000

Here’s a portrait I just finished of my SVA classmate Ryan Peltier. I’m a huge fan of his moody, atmospheric illustrations. If you haven’t seen his stuff check out rpeli.com Ryan is a big fan of the late Edward Gorey like me so I gave him a furry collar in tribute to Mr. Gorey. Each member of our class drew someone else in our class and each portrait will be featured on the invitation for our thesis show. I’ll post more details for the show as the day gets closer.