J.P. Targete is a man of many hats these days … don’t take my word for it; Google his name and you’ll get an eye full of wonderful concept art. As an art director, he has contributed to recent successes by leading vidgame developer NCSoft, as a freelance artist his works appear in magazines and on book covers, but he has also found the time to author a new three-part DVD series called “Imaginative Illustration with J.P. Targete” that has just been released by The Gnomon Workshop. The series’ approach is to take the viewer through the step-by-step process that Targete uses to complete an illustration. The techniques he teaches help anyone from novice to pro to create an illustration purely from scratch, using only the artistic tools of the trade (marker pens, oil paints, and of course, digital art tools like Photoshop) and the imagination. Such instruction applies to nearly everyone, regardless of whether they’re working in games, film, or commercial illustration.

In more than two hours of lecture, the first volume, subtitled, “Thumbnailing and Final Color Sketch” begins the journey toward creating a finished painting called “Dark Riders.” The earliest stages include creating three thumbnail sketches that encapsulate the composition and dramatic action that will be required as the project moves forward. Targete discusses how to maximize this stage by investing character with personality, designing imaginative costumes, cool weaponry, and poses that convey action.

Topics covered include: final drawing layout; importance of tonal painting, value and lighting; character and creature detailing and storytelling; using pre-made original imagery; and texture and detail.

What differentiates Targete’s DVDs from others in the field is his enthusiasm for the topic and his ability to translate what he is doing on the screen into something that even the Average Joe might think he himself can do. His technique is smooth and his voiceover dialogue is disarming to the degree that even someone with no prior experience could say, “If I apply myself and do what he says, I can be like J.P., too!”

And isn’t that the purpose of one of these DVDs?

I thought so.

During the lecture, Targete explores using marker, acrylic paint, and oil paint to obtain the best possible sketch and color sketch. He emphasizes creating a series of dramatic shapes that will then be refined into a narrative story told in picture. His goal is to make a painting that is not finished, but that contains all the basic elements of the finished piece.

And when he is done and the DVD is finished (and the viewer has practiced for a whole bunch of hours), he or she will be ready to go on to Volume 2: Tonal Underpainting and Detailing.

Stay tuned, true believer!