Kali Ciesemier

Kali, how do you use color??

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:51:50 -0400

So, in the past I’ve promised a writeup about my color process…which I still plan on posting when I get some more free time! Since I don’t have any teaching lined up yet, maybe I’ll post some instructables on here instead!

But, since I’ve gotten some more color questions recently, I’ll just try to give some quick advice. The 2 most helpful color-things for me are:

Making Grayscale Sketches!
It really helped me to get in the habit of making a toned grayscale sketch before going to color. Instead of figuring out your contrast and color all at once, separating the steps makes both easier (especially for pieces with complicated lighting!) You can check the readability of your piece and you’ll know which areas need to have a darker color or a lighter color.
(Oftentimes I end up making a ton of color sketches too!)

In Photoshop, you can easily change a grayscale sketch to color, while keeping the same or similar contrast, by using Adjustments or Adjustment layers like Curves, Hue/Saturation (click the “Colorize” box), and Selective Color.

Keeping a Color Inspiration Folder!
Color, for me, is something that I’ve learned a lot through doing, and looking at what other people do. Anytime I see an illustration/photo/image online that has an interesting color palette, I’ll put a copy in my color inspirationfolder. Especially if it’s a palette I wouldn’t normally think of using—I tend to be pretty heavy on the brights, so I try to include some more neutral palettes too.

If I need some inspiration when I’m trying to figure out color, I’ll browse through the folder & pick out pieces that seem appropriate. That can be enough to give me a palette idea or help me consider colors I wouldn’t normally think of.

If I’m really stumped, I’ll eyedropper colors from some of those inspiration images onto my piece in Photoshop. Usually by the time I’m done tweaking and adjusting, my colors have changed from the pieces I took as inspiration. You never want to copy someone else’s palette verbatim, but it’s an easy way to jumpstart a piece and spark ideas!

Like all things, the more you use color, the more comfortable you get with it!

Editorial grab-bag! Some illustrations from various...

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:07:46 -0400

Editorial grab-bag! Some illustrations from various times/publications this year that I’ve been slow in posting…
A. Essay about different forms of beer snobbery for the Boston Globe!
B. A grocery store check-out lane ‘teachable moment’ from Family Circle!
C. College grads are having a hard time finding employment, often thanks to older CEO’s being skeptical of their value/abilities, for the New York Times!
Sketches on my blog!

Today was my last day teaching at MICA. I feel incredibly...

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:00:41 -0400

My students & their artwork!

Mother hen and/or crowdsurfing

Good ol' Fox building

My great TA Noelle aka gingerhaze.tumblr.com!

Clearly my Advanced Digital illustration students are the best

Today was my last day teaching at MICA.
I feel incredibly privileged to have gotten to know so many talented young artists here, whether its just been one semester or all 4 years. Becoming a teacher is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, both as a person and as an illustrator, and I’m so grateful to the MICA faculty and students that have supported me along the way. It’s a truly amazing school, I’m gonna miss you all!! (Stay in touch, guys! Come visit me in Brooklyn!)

Thanks for all the happy memories. Let’s all draw awesome stuff!

(And thanks to my Advanced Digital Illustration class & my TA Noelle for indulging me in taking lots of silly photos on the last day!)

sbosma: sbosma: Space Paladin Prints Archival inks on 100%...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:02:25 -0400

sbosma:

sbosma:

Space Paladin Prints

Archival inks on 100% cotton rag paper. Printed with the help of the fine folks from INPRNT.com

-Open edition (4/21-4/28)

-12x18 - $30

-18x24 -$50

http://sbosma.bigcartel.com/

Print sale ends this after this weekend!

Order one of these babes while you still can, folks!

I usually work on images in RGB, and then if the client needs a...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:47:00 -0400

I usually work on images in RGB, and then if the client needs a CMYK image I’ll just change the mode at the end.
Never post a CMYK image online though—CMYK is meant for printers, not browsers. That means that many browsers have a hard time actually reading what the CMYK colors mean, which is why the colors looked all crazy when you posted it! Just switch it back to RGB before you make a post.

RGB includes some colors that CMYK does not—typically super bright, saturated colors that can show up on your computer screen, but can’t actually be printed with ink colors. The nice thing about Photoshop is that you can just do Command-Y (edit: or Control-Y for PCs), which will toggle a CMYK proofing view on and off so you can preview the color differences as you work!

(rebloggable by request)

Hi Kali! I have a technical question that I thought an awesome illustrator with your expertise could answer. I am an illustrator as well and I usually work in RGB mode in Photoshop. I recently got a job that requires the drawing to be in CMYK. When I completed the drawing in CMYK mode and posted it online... the colors came out saturated and scary looking. When people ask you to create an image for print/magazine how do you approach it? Any thoughts/ suggestions would be most appreciated! ^__^

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:56:00 -0400

Update: rebloggable post here!

roxievizcarra: This 2nd edition run of the Women Warriors...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:02:57 -0400

roxievizcarra:

This 2nd edition run of the Women Warriors zine/art book is a whopping 8.5 x 11 magazine size and boasts 52 pages of BLACK, WHITE, and MAGENTA artwork by the following 35 insanely awesome artists:

Domitille Collardey

Courtney Bernard

Jen Lee

Shannon May

Disa Wallander

Joanna Krótka

Nicole Miles

Nick Iluzada

Heather Danforth

Rachel E. Morris

Cathy G. Johnson

Jimmy Giegerich

Anthony Macbain

Kyla Vanderklugt

Christina Barrera

Kyle Fewell

Julia Scott

Andrea Kalfas

Sloane Leong

Zach Hazard Vaupen

Daniel Krall

Sam Bosma

Roxie Vizcarra

Hannah K. Lee

Chris Visions

Daniel “Locus” Allen

Kali Ciesemier

Abby Boeh

Nick Sumida

Richie Pope

Coleman Engle

Babs Tarr

Katie Turner

Kris Mukai

Mike Bear

WOW THAT’S A LOT OF AWESOME PEOPLE.

Also, the first 50 people who pre-order the zine will get a little surprise gift for freeeee!

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER ON STORENVY:

WOMENWARRIORS.STORENVY.COM

Now you can order the Women Warriors zine online!! And if you’ll be headed to SPX, Sam & I should have some copies available there too! (plus I’ll likely be making screenprints of my own moto mace lady!)

Ivy League Confidential: Secrets Bared! Here’s my quickie...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:55:34 -0400

Ivy League Confidential: Secrets Bared!

Here’s my quickie illustration (& sketches) for today’s New York Times Letters section! (it’s less than 2.5 in tall in print! Eee, so cute) You can read the letters online as well!

The letters are all in response to the Op-Ed article “The Secrets of Princeton”, which argues that in elite universities, the old saying “It’s not what you know, but who you know” is far more important to graduates’ success than is generally acknowledged.

Thanks to my AD Alexandra Zsigmond for the chance to draw some secrets!

TAXES FOR FREELANCERS, 101

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:21:00 -0400

In the past, I’ve gotten some questions about the business of illustration & about how taxes work. Filing taxes is a bummer, but it sucks even more when you have no idea what you’re doing. After progressing from Completely Clueless to Somewhat Experienced* during the past 5 years of doing my own taxes, I thought i’d write (& illustrate!) a generalized rundown. Here’s hoping it might provide some insight for the curious!

*This info is from my own experience and I am by NO means a tax professional! I’m simplifying a lot of the info here, so please don’t take my word as law—check out the specifics on the IRS website instead.

First, the basics:
If you earn an income, you have to pay income taxes, and Uncle Sam has a “pay as you go” system. If you want to avoid a pricey penalty, you are expected to pay taxes throughout the year as you earn income, not all at once when you file your income tax return. There are 2 ways this happens:

1. For people who receive regular paychecks from an employer, your employer will withhold a certain amount from your paycheck to pay for federal (and state) income taxes—you fill out a W-4 form when you’re hired, which determines how much they withhold for you. Easy-peasy!

2. If you’re a freelancer, you don’t have a regular paycheck or a regular employer to withhold your taxes for you, so you have to pay quarterly Estimated Taxes yourself. Estimated taxes cover your income tax and self employment tax*, for both the federal gov’t and your state gov’t (if applicable).

*Yes—as a freelancer, you not only have to pay income tax, but you also pay self employment tax! (basically, a tax that goes to Social Security/Medicare)

I’m just going to focus on federal estimated taxes first:

If you’re a freelancer, the trick is to make sure you pay enough in estimated taxes throughout the year to avoid the underpayment penalty.
You will avoid the penalty if you:

Owe less than $1000 in taxes after subtracting withholding and credits
OR
(A)Have paid at least 90% of the tax amount owed for the current year, or (B) have paid at least 100% of the tax shown on last year’s return — whichever is smaller.

So let’s break down these scenarios a bit:
If you’re a student just graduating from school and you haven’t done many freelance jobs (i.e. probably making less than $8,000 in taxable income from freelance), it’s likely that you don’t have to pay estimated taxes, because you’ll probably owe less than $1000 in federal taxes from your freelance work. So don’t sweat it!

If it does look like you will owe $1000 or more in taxes, you have 2 choices for calculating how much to pay in estimated taxes—the aforementioned (A) or (B).
(A) Make sure you pay at least 90% of the tax amount that will be owed for the current year.
OR
(B) Make sure you pay at least 100% of the tax shown on last year’s return.

There’s an estimated tax worksheet that you can use to help figure out either one.

Since my freelance income fluctuates and I’m lazy enough that I don’t like trying to predict how much tax I will owe for the upcoming year (and adjust quarterly payments if needed), I prefer to just use option (B).

That means that I can just pay an equal amount each quarter, and make sure all 4 estimated tax payments add up to the tax amount I paid for last year’s return (or more).
So, for instance, if I owed $7000 total in federal taxes for 2012, I won’t be penalized for underpayment if I pay at least $1750 each quarter ($7000 total) for my 2013 federal estimated taxes—regardless of whether I owe more taxes in 2013 or not. If I earned a higher income in 2013 than in 2012 and didn’t pay enough estimated taxes to cover it all, I’d still have to pay the difference at tax time, but at least I wouldn’t have to pay the underpayment penalty!
Not too difficult, so long as you have enough in your bank account, but tricky to figure out at first!

All of this information also generally applies to state estimated tax payments, though the specific numbers and percentages can change and a few states don’t charge income tax at all. In most states, you have to pay a state income tax as well as a federal income tax, so I pay quarterly estimated tax payments to the federal government, as well as quarterly estimated tax payments to Maryland, my state of residence.

Federal estimated taxes are handled on Federal Form 1040-ES, but you can fill out the form and schedule your payments online for free at https://www.eftps.gov/eftps/

Your state will also likely have a free online tax system you can use.

Some tax filing methods:
-Just use a tax professional! Seriously, especially if this is new to you and you don’t have any outside help. I know plenty of professional illustrators that use one. Better than messing things up and getting in trouble with the IRS.

-Use online tax software that helps to walk you through the tax experience and will do all the calculations for you, like TurboTax, TaxAct, etc. (I use TaxAct) They usually have a free version for your federal returns well as pay options, (which may include your state return as well). They will also let you schedule your federal estimated taxes, which I take advantage of. I recommend having a tax-savvy friend or relative you can call if you get stuck! I owe huge debts of gratitude to my own tax-savvy relatives that patiently answered questions & put me on the right track.

-Print out all the pertinent tax forms and worksheets, start to fill them out by hand, alone in your paper-strewn room, and then jump out the window in wild frustration when you can’t figure out all the jargon and your math skills aren’t as good as they used to be.

(not recommended)

“Happy” taxing, everyone!

Hey guys! 3 things: First, thank you for all the support &...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:50:55 -0400

Hey guys! 3 things:
First, thank you for all the support & good vibes on here! I really appreciate it, and I hope you’re all having a lovely day, respectively.

Second, I wanted to post my cover illo/design for an upcoming issue of Domestic Etch magazine! The theme was “The Past”, and of course I wanted to draw a medieval alternate reality! It was a while back, but I’m very happy to report that my cover was featured in the Society of Illustrators editorial show this year (along with this piece, and this one!)

Third, I updated my print store with a bunch of new pieces, including my Domestic Etch cover (minus the type), the rest of the images you see here, and more! Inprnt has seriously amazing print quality—the colors SUPER ACCURATE—so check ‘em out if you need to fill some wall space with lady space marines or floating donuts!

Mitzi, an American girl attending international school in Tokyo,...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 20:59:36 -0400

Mitzi, an American girl attending international school in Tokyo, discovers the mysterious Lost Property Office while searching for her friend Maki’s homework in the sprawling Tokyo subway system. Mitzi gets her own chance to become a Finder like Mr. Motomeru and his nephew Yuki, and she soon learns that there’s more to Finding than traveling through space-time!

My illustrations for The Lost Property Office, a two-part young adult short story by Marji Napper in the March and April issues of Cricket magazine. It was a lot of fun to research (Tokyo subway tunnels! Japanese houses! Tokyo Station in the 1930’s!) and I’m pleased with the results. I worked on both chunks of illustrations at different times, but I tried to keep the feel and colors relatively tied-together. (I also got to contribute to my long-term goal of inserting cats into illustrations whenever possible)

I'm really pumped about that Women Warriors zine!! I'm sorry if this has been asked already and I missed it but do you know if it will be available for order online later for those of us that can't make the con?

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 04:13:07 -0400

Good news! It looks like there mayyyy be plans for online orders later on—both Roxie and Abby have put up posts with tentative plans to that effect, so stay tuned to their tumblrs for updates! (my fingers are crossed!)

I am a really big fan of your work! I love your clean lines and crisp colors, and I think you stage pictures really well. I suppose I have two questions. First, how/when did you develop your artistic style? I'm desperate to get mine. Second of all, if you use computer graphic programs/tablets, which one do you recommend for a beginner?

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:38:51 -0400

Hi there, thank you!
I think style is something that continues to develop—my work now looks different from the work I had when I graduated (and the work I had as a senior was different from the work I had as a sophomore), but that’s not a bad thing, it’s only natural.
The best advice I got style-wise was not to worry about it! If you keep drawing in a way that you enjoy, over time, all the pictures you create will start to naturally form your style—like figuring out the mean from a sum of numbers. Be patient with yourself.

I don’t know if I have any beginner-specific recs, but I use a wacom intuos tablet, which has always worked for me, and I’ve heard good things about the Monoprice tablets too (which are cheaper, and seem to have better sensitivity than the Bamboo). Program-wise, Photoshop may not be super easy to start off with, but it’s probably the most important graphic program you should know, and the only one I use!

So psyched to be in the Lady Knights//Women Warriors zine, all...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:54:29 -0400

So psyched to be in the Lady Knights//Women Warriors zine, all the contributions look RAD. Thanks to Abby, Julia, and Roxie for putting it all together—they’ll be selling at MoCCA!

I’ve always had a thing for mysterious heroes, and my recent love affair with motorcycle ladies continues. (this one is a bosozoku bike!) When I was asked to be in the zine, I was already thinking about making a book of my own women warriors…I’m even more excited now, so we’ll see!

Before spring swings into full bloom, I wanted to share a...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:49:18 -0500

Before spring swings into full bloom, I wanted to share a postcard I created for french fashion designer Anne Fontaine! I previously drew a Bastille Day postcard and it was fun to work with them again on a holiday-season mailer! This time the postcard features one of their new winter coats and bags, frolicking around a snowy Arc de Triomphe. More process on my blog!

HI-FIVES I’m on Vine now, you guys!

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:56:30 -0500

HI-FIVES

I’m on Vine now, you guys!

supersonicelectronic: Jose Guizar. Windows of New York by Jose...

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:49:57 -0500

supersonicelectronic:

Jose Guizar.

Windows of New York by Jose Guizar:

Read More

Check all these out, they are gorgeous!! (and strangely satisfying to me)

A fun one for MentalFloss magazine’s Jan/Feb issue! 50...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:12:20 -0500

A fun one for MentalFloss magazine’s Jan/Feb issue! 50 Berkeley Square is a London townhouse believed to be haunted as far back as the mid 1800’s—the reclusive owner at the time let the place fall apart, and there are tales of ghosts there that have frightened visitors to death!

The article is about whether the mysterious owner, Mr. Myers, was actually the inspiration for Dickens’ Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. My AD wanted an image of a modern person exploring a decayed & spooky Georgian style townhouse, so here you have it! More on my blog.

I love the pieces you've made using informal subdivision! I was just wondering, is there any incorrect way to divide your page? I have only read the basic theory about the golden spiral and compositional errors (your tutorial on composition has been especially useful!), but I was just wondering if you use some type of planned method to create the subdivisions? Or is it totally random? Thanks!

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:57:35 -0500

Aw, thank you, I’m happy to hear that! And yes, there is a certain way to make an informal subdivision—it was developed by Andrew Loomis, and he included instructions on how to do it in his Creative Illustration book (newly reprinted!) I included a scan of his instruction page in my first i.s. post—check it out here and make one yourself!

supersonicelectronic: Supersonic Visits: Kali Ciesemier &...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:31:25 -0500

supersonicelectronic:

Supersonic Visits:

Kali Ciesemier & Sam Bosma.

Supersonic recently had the chance to visit the awesome joint studio of Kali Ciesemier and Sam Bosma. Sam and Kali are both graduates of the excellent art school MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) and live in Baltimore (And teach at MICA - I wish I had had them as my teachers). The two artists explore a broad range of different ideas and themes throughout their bodies of work. Kali works exclusively digitally while Sam goes through a thumbnail and sketch process, sometimes coloring with traditional paint and sometimes painting with Photoshop to finish his work. Check out a multitude of images of their studio after the jump:

Read More

Hey, look! It’s our living room/studio! (and my inscrutable Norwegian pin, after the jump!) Big thanks to Steve Kim for stopping by!