Tuesday, August 30, 2005

That is one fat cat.


Here's a little painting that I did for my girlfriend during my lunch hour on Friday. It's watercolour and white gouache, which I guess just makes it a gouache painting... but maybe not.

I have been dying to do some character paintings and just get back to painting in general, so this was a nice little treat. I actually have a series of these rock figures that I want to finish as well. I did one before I moved, but I have 4 more that I would like to do. I'll just have to make the time to do them, or create some sort of temporal rift machine that can create some sort of time pocket, where time ceases and I can get a little extra work done. The problem with this of course is designing a machine that can do this without destroying the universe at the same time. So far I have failed. Let me know if you come up with any solutions.

Monday, August 29, 2005

Sketchcrawl 4 and my first!



Well, it was a GREAT weekend. I went on my 1st Sketchcrawl, and it was a blast. I've been following them since #1, but living in Phoenix at the time, there was NO WAY that I was going to go do my own as I probably would have died from heat stroke. Now that I live in Northern California though, I can join in on the fun.

It was a really fun day and I got to see another chunk of San Francisco that I haven't been able to explore yet. Even more surprising, I managed to get some decent drawings out of the day. The outdoor sketching muscles are ones that I haven't stretched in a while so the fact that I got anything that wasn't embarrassing, was a real plus. This has inspired me to try and do more stuff like this instead of just drawing out of my head all of the time...





It was great meeting everyone there. I think Enrico said there were around 60 of us this time. Can't wait for the next one!

A little montage of photos to remember the day by...

Friday, August 26, 2005

Why green hair?


So, I finally opened up the girl sketchbook today and did a new drawing. I haven't drawn in that since May.

I have this book that I only draw girls in. The idea is that by the end of it, I should see this real timeline of progress. So far, it isn't very full, but hopefully, that will change.

Note the strong Ronnie Del Carmen influence in the face. I think I screwed up the levels in photoshop, now that I look at this again, it looks very "electric" and the colours are much hotter than the actual drawing. Hmmm, technology is not my strong suit...

Thursday, August 25, 2005

ANother weird one


This time, her head is giant and I think she may have dislocated her shoulder. I lost track of what I was trying to with the hands and the whole thing became a mess. At least the head was intentional... Next post will be better.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

And they get weirder


Um yeah, I don't know where this one came from or what the deal is with her teeth...

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Different?


So, today I thought I would try for something different. I tried to use different shapes and proportions than I normally use. I think she has a little more character to her, a little more individuality... compared to what I usually do any ways. There are still problems with the drawing, I'm not used to my new pen so the inking is a bit "blech" but, there's something there that I'm happy with. We'll see what the next drawing brings...

Monday, August 22, 2005

The ever elusive girls



Girls, something I have never been good at drawing. Now yes, in the last year or so, I have definitely made some decent progress. Occasionally, I even get a good drawing, but girls are tricky. Like the one above for example, a classic drawing of mixed success. Some stuff I like, and some I think is some what disastrous, perhaps even bordering on atrocity.

For me, women are far more tricky than drawing guys... well, appealing women any ways. I could do some seriously ugly drawings of women with relative ease I think. It leads me to believe that I have too many "tricks" that I resort to when I draw, too many formulas. Girls have curves, and their forms are much more complex (and attractive) than a man's. How do you simplify the forms when posing a girl? How do you keep the subtle curves of a women, yet incorporate them into an overall appealing design and thus, an appealing drawing? We certainly don't want a lumpy and bumpy drawing that brakes the line of action of the pose, but at the same time, you want the drawing to look feminine and appealing. Balance between what to show and what not to show is the key (isn't it always?), but everytime I get on that high wire, I still feel shakey. I do know this, I'm tired of the cliche design rules I learned in college, from my old job, and books. Not everyone's feet look the same, nor do their hands or anything else. I guess what I'm saying is that there is a generic look to the girls that I draw, and I need to incorporate more character into the drawings of them, something that makes them a little more unique. These are the things that keep me awake at night... well that and the thing with the spiked tail and glowing eyes that lives in my closet.

Friday, August 19, 2005

The hunchback of San Rafael

For some reason, I like to draw at a flat table instead of the usual tilted "drafting table." One of my co-workers commented that I would end up with a hunchback, and looking like Abe Vigoda (Fish on Barney Miller) from hunching over and drawing all day. Soon after, this drawing was born...

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Morning Sickness

Even though I don't live in Phoenix any more, I still do the occasional drawing for Holmberg and his Morning Sickness show, the BEST morning show ever on radio. I miss these guys and the show, not only because they were cool guys to hang out with, but also because radio up here sucks. KUPD was one of the best stations I've ever heard, if you like the rock and/or roll.

This one I did for Holmberg's birthday back in July...



Since I don't really get to listen to them any more, I can't base my gags on material from the show, so I have to make stuff up. You would think since I'm making it up, there would be less inside jokes and the comic would actually makes sense. Well, if you did think that, you'd be wrong...

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

The first monkey...

Alrighty, I got a new sketchbook as well as a new pen. It's one of those cheap fountain pens, but it seems to work pretty nicely, although the ink isn't waterproof... this could lead to some fun disasters (we'll see.)

This is the first drawing I did in my new book.



I don't know what is more amazing, that he's the first monkey ever knighted, or what he did to get knighted...

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

1st time for everything

Well, I haven't gotten my act together as far as making a website so, I thought I would jump onto the BLOG Bandwagon and see what happens.

In theory, I'll be posting drawings, photos, stories, and whatever else I want. Hopefully some links to artists and work that I find inspirational as well.

Here's a drawing that I posted a while ago on the drawing board, think of it as a test for posting images. I'll post something new soon.



Sweater Girl. I still haven't quite figured out who she is yet, but she's been running around in my head with a few other characters for a while now. I'm hoping that my brain will give birth to the story they're involved with soon.