While most of us complain about a lack of time for our hobbies due to work, Patrick Hines managed to spend ten years mastering the little-known and highly pixelated digital painting program MS Paint. In June 2013, he even began work on his first comic, a 15-page story, which he completed and published on Amazon on May 8, 2017. As he himself put it, Hines worked on each of his illustrations "pixel by pixel," spending one to two hours a day on meticulous planning and execution. Below, you'll find more information about Patrick Hines and his illustrations created in MS Paint.
Hines's introduction to MS Paint began in 1995, when his aunt bought their family their first computer, a Compaq Presario. He found the program interesting, and he began drawing the Terminator's infrared screen from the film. «Terminator 2: Judgment Day» .
Hines says he's always loved drawing and was largely self-taught. However, after experimenting with MS Paint, he became somewhat disillusioned with its shortcomings. Here's what he said:
«"I loved drawing in Paint (and promptly used it to create a now-sadly long-lost drawing of the Terminator's infrared screen from Terminator 2), but even at a young age I recognized its glaring flaws; even to this day, a straight diagonal line disgusts me. So I ignored it for a while, as I did drawing in general, to my detriment.".
While working the night shift as a security guard at a hospice, Hines wanted to keep himself busy. Not a fan of video games, he soon began experimenting with MS Paint. Not very computer savvy, he found Photoshop, the most common digital painting tool, too difficult to use.
«"Since then, I've been trying to use MS Paint to its full potential. I don't like Photoshop because, frankly, I'm not very computer savvy. All those options drive me crazy. I've tried going back to traditional drawing, but my work never turns out the way I want it to, unlike Paint, where everything usually works out, for reasons I can't explain.".
Hines completed his comic «"Camp Red Blood and Inherent Vengeance"» , working two to three hours a day and spending almost a week or two on each illustration.
The comic tells the story of a conflict between two groups of teenagers vacationing at a camp, "Camp Red Blood" and "Camp Eagle", who come up with complex and intricate plans for revenge on each other.
During their journey, they encounter enchanted forests, treacherous paths, terrible monsters and villainous tyrants.
The detailed fictional map of Camp Hawkeye was later converted into Camp Redblood with many details changed.
Another scene from the comic «"Red Blood Camp and Inevitable Vengeance"» .
Another cover.
Another page from the comic, where the characters climb a mountain, like the heroes of the film. «The Lord of the Rings» .
Hines has also created several fan works inspired by «The Lord of the Rings» , «Harry Potter» and superhero characters.
One of the first illustrations Hines created when he started using MS Paint was this unfinished painting of Lady Galadriel from «The Lord of the Rings, written by in 2004. Being a big Tolkien fan, he used a Google image of the character as a reference and, to his surprise, found that it turned out quite well in MS Paint.
An incredibly beautiful illustration of a scene from the film «Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in which a Patronus appears in the form of a silver doe and leads Harry to the sword of Godric Gryffindor.
Another scene from the book where Harry and Hermione visit the graveyard in Godric's Hollow.
An illustration of the Death Eaters' attack on the seven Potters heading to the Burrow. Hines depicted Voldemort and Mad-Eye Moody in a furious airborne melee.
A wonderfully detailed movie poster «Star Wars: The Force Awakens» .
Fan art titled "Fantasy Alliance" shows Professor Bruttenholm from Hellboy, Indiana Jones, and Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter ready to fight Nazis and the dark wizard Grindelwald.
Cherry Hill is one of Hines' favorite spots in Boston, where he went sledding as a child.
This hauntingly beautiful painting, titled "Arnold Arboretum Gate," depicts another of his favorite Boston neighborhoods.
You can see his work on his Facebook page , and also read more information about his work in his diaries at DeviantArt .