Coming Storm

I've been a bit slow in my sketches recently, and I've had almost NO ideas for new sketches. Thankfully, Manelle happens to carry around a sketch generator with her, so I was able to mooch an idea off her.

The keywords I've got were "worried," "woman," and "snow." Turns out I can't draw falling snow.

This is actually the second rendition of the sketch. The first one I botched by trying to draw whirling snow spiralling out from the cloud. Sadly, that didn't quite work out, so I replaced falling snow with lightning. Lightning's easier to draw.

A Sky Full of Heroes

Man, this one took a lot of work.

I've never been more convinced that a ruler is super important in drawing. A lot of the hatching on the buildings would have turned out a bit better than it did. Oh, and there's NO WAY I could have done that perspective on the buildings without a little straight edge assistance.

The perspective was the point here - I've never been too dedicated to perspective drawing. I WAS watching a lot of Superman cartoons when I started this sketch, though, so that probably had SOME influence on the final product.

Enter Gachnar the Computer Demon!

As long as it's been since the last time I posted any of my artwork, you'd think I'd have more to show for it... Oh, well. Here's what I've got:


Some of you may have missed the Jesters' fantastic 80s Night show a couple weeks ago. Well, never fear! Here we have a quick doodle of Blake in his authentic 1987 mullet and wife beater combo. The man has never looked finer...

...except for, like, every day of his life. Blake is much more handsome than this picture would imply.


I think I meant to take more time on this particular picture than I did... Some of the proportions are all off, and I'm not quite sure with how the menacing man in the poncho turned out. Actually, what's with his ensemble as a whole? It's kind of a mix of genres there.

The guy in the front, though, turned out pretty well.

***

Now for the main event.

I was "commissioned" a while back to make a drawing specifically for a friend of mine. My price was a bowl of ice cream (what can I say? I'm a sellout). Here's the description of what my friend wanted me to draw:

I need a picture of the little demon monster that lives in my computer. His name is Gachnar and he is little and evil and mean and sneaky and has horns and likes to play pranks and pinch ankles. Do you think you can do it? Puh-lease?

So here we have Gachnar, the computer demon that lives in Jenn's computer and pinches her ankles.


He's made himself quite at home.


I read somewhere recently that people prefer cartoons with lots of little details rather than lots of white space. It's like they think they're actually paying for the ink the artist uses, so they want their money's worth. While I don't know if that's ALWAYS the case, I'm certainly grateful for the extra time I was able to put into this second Gachnar sketch. It came out a LOT better for those little details.

More Monsters - Hunchbacks, Zombies, Gorgons, and Robots

I've had some fun drawing monsters in the past, so I decided to try with a different breed of beastie.

Never again. Medusae are TOUGH to doodle. Took for-bloody-ever.


"And ooouut there, living in the sun..."


Still more monster sketches... The leaping zombie in the back is my favorite.

I've been focusing a lot on these "big-headed" character models recently. It's been fun, but something about some of the hairstyles feels a bit off (in drawing hair on these guys, I treat the hair more like a helmet, or like the hair on a Lego figure). Then again, I've never been great at hair.

Also, there's a (not so subtle) hidden literature joke in this sketch. I like slipping those in sometimes.


I hadn't drawn my little robot buddy in a while. This time, conveniently, all the little chains in his arms were obscured, and, since I've changed his feet from those absurd little wheels into actual feet, this was about the easiest drawing ever to whip out.

Daily Sketches: Fanart Edition?

I've been giving a couple of other drawing utensils a go recently - most notably a sizable number of Faber Castell brush markers and a set of Copic multiliner pens. As much as I like these new tools, I have to say that I very much prefer my old Sakura pen set... Not sure why.


Above is actually the second draft of this particular face-punching composition. The first draft didn't work for me, because I couldn't get the face-punchee's hair quite right. This is an improvement, but... Actually, I'll just leave it at that.


I decided to try my hand at drawing some "fan art," for a change. We're starting off with one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite books.

Sadly, while working on the checkerboard configuration on the floor, my pen leaked a little bit. Probably why the whole thing's a little half-@##ed. Still had a lot of fun with this one, though. I may try to do some more Alice sketches coming up.


I've never read Pinocchio before, and I haven't seen the Disney film in YEARS, so I don't know exactly why I felt so compelled to draw a sketch of Gepetto (whose name, sadly, is misspelled on the poster there).

I've always thought that Gepetto's defining characteristic is his loneliness, so I really tried to capture someone who's completely washed up and past his prime. In that regard, I think this one turned out well.

The puppets could have used a bit more work.

A Smattering of Sketches

I whipped this one out in a church meeting a while back. I decided I wanted to start putting together more character ideas in case I ever get one of those comic stories I wanna do off the ground.

Angelo here turned out pretty well, despite some... questionable... wardrobe choices (one of those little notes says "Long sleeves? No." Technically, I think that's supposed to be a wife-beater under the jacket).

I do have to say, though, that I'm fond of that hair.


More experimentation... I picked up a set of markers in different shades of gray, thinking I could use them to do some pseudo-coloring. So, yeah, the above picture is supposed to look like that. I'm not sure how well I like it.

Once I finished with the picture, though, I got a better idea of how I'd want to do the layout - a bit less traditional. I think I'll try it again.


While inking this one, I shook out one of my markers to get a bit more "oomph" out of it... only to completely fill the lid up with ink. Whoops. Silhouettes aren't as easy to draw as I expected. The naked old guy turned out pretty well.

Maybe I shouldn't have pointed out that he's naked...


One more experiment, this time with some sepia colored markers I'd picked up. For better results in the future, I may use these on a tan-colored paper, rather than the plain white. Also, I think I'll have to be more adventurous with the shading to really take advantage of this set.

I'd totally buy that poster, though.

Muchas Smoochas!

I have GOT to find a better way to color in those large, black areas.

This scene's a bit reminiscent of something from Scott Pilgrim, but the characters (such as they are) are pretty much my own.

Can I NOT Call This "Monster Mash"

No, by the way, I can't... not... call it "Monster Mash."

I recently read the Marvel comics adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, wherein artist Skottie Young commented on the importance of using shapes in character design... which is why the Frankenstein guy has a cylindrical head.

Again, I did some experimenting with different kinds of shading, especially on the mummy guy's skin and on the moon in the background. I got so caught up in that... I forgot about adding table legs.

Whoops.


Here, we have just a fun little experiment in surreality. I wish I'd taken it a bit further with stretchier character designs. Still, I think it came out fine.

Maybe He's Just a Better Dancer...

Someone asked me if this is how I'm feeling right now. I said, "No... Maybe."

(For the record, it's not.)

Again, I've been experimenting with different line thicknesses and shading/hatching techniques. I'm pretty pleased with how the girl turned out.

If I could go back and do this again, I'd put the girl and the robot (who, by the way, got a bit of a redesign, if you hadn't noticed) further in the background, and I'd bring the boy more forward. That way, his little shadow would probably have a bit more significance.

Daily Sketches: A New Frontier

I went to a church dodgeball activity, thinking it'd be a good opportunity to draw people in action. I wound up getting caught up in the game myself, so I didn't quite get the picture I wanted.

That said, I'm actually pretty pleased with how the girl in the picture above turned out - the pose, the face, even the clothes I think work pretty well. However, by the time I got over to drawing the guy, I pretty much gave up.


There's not a whole lot to say about this particular picture. I thought I'd try to draw something showcasing a sense of isolation. I'm not sure how well I succeeded...

Now here's something I've never tried before:


When I first started learning to draw, I turned to Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain to pick up the basics. I pretty much glossed over the chapter that dealt with light and shadow, though. Now I've decided it's time to go back and learn about tones and shading so that I can add some depth to the pictures I draw.

I mean, I don't MIND that everything I do looks like a page from a coloring book, but still... time to branch out.

Brawls, Brides, Bloodshed, and... Teddy Bears?

MORE SKETCHES!!!

There's... not much of a story behind this one. Somebody at improv used the phrase "Fedora Fight" and I just got... inspired... or something.


I'm sure weddings are wonderful for the people getting married. For the rest of us... well, I know some people enjoy them. Me? Not so much.

The last reception I went to featured the above scene. For just a split second as the bride greeted all her guests, I swear I saw the groom roll his eyes and completely zone out. Which, to me, seems the more authentic wedding day experience.

I mean, seriously, after the wedding ceremony itself is over, does anyone REALLY want to hang out with the bride and groom THAT much?


Again, not much of a reason WHY I drew this picture... but there's a bit of a story that goes with it.

I was actually at a church activity when I started working on this scene, talking to some friends, when the conversation turned, as it does, back to dating. As soon as the conversation reached that point, I immediately buried my face back in my sketchbook and said, "No dating for me. I'ma just draw two guys stabbing each other."

I'm sure Freud would have a field day with that.


When given a blank page and two hours to draw on a Sunday afternoon, I couldn't think of anything better than a boy frolicking through the woods with a plastic bowl on his head and a giant, stuffed bear at his side.

And you say I'm not a gangster.

Believe it or not, this sketch actually ties in to my NaNoWriMo project from 2010. The boy's name is Mattie Burke. The bear... is unnamed as of yet, but I was thinking of calling him Ted D. Bear, because I'm tired and ice-cream deprived.

Bar Fights, Comics, and Shadows

So I was in church on Sunday, listening to a talk about tithing, and I broke out my sketchbook to doodle. I came up with this - a free-for-all in a bar. Y'know, cuz booze-fueled battles and Bibles go hand in hand.

(Actually, that's probably a topic for another post)

Anyway, after drawing the scene, I decided to experiment with different methods of shading and "coloring," in an attempt to add a bit of value variety to a strictly black-and-white scene. I'm pretty pleased with what I came up with. If the techniques aren't 100% the best, at least I learned something.



Here's a golden oldy - I did this sketch a while back. I like the style of the new one a little better. It's still not perfect - the characters don't even look the same from panel to panel. But I say it's an improvement.


I was just about to say that this is my new favorite picture that I've ever drawn. I mean, I AM pretty proud of it. The kneeling girl took me an hour to draw, just so I could make sure she looked right.

Then I spoke to my sister-in-law, who told me it looks like something from the New Era, and that just made me sad.

A Season of Joy, a Season of Anger

In case you can't read it, the guy's shirt says "My Top Comes Off" with a picture of a convertible.

Get it? It's funny cuz it's not.


Okay, there has GOT to be a better way to create a black background. I think I nearly dried out my pen doing this picture.

The Trials of Songwriting

I'm In the Band

I'm working on a couple of different story projects right now, including a comic involving musicians. Here's my first attempt at giving the characters a bit of a life. I had a lot of fun with this drawing but found it WAY too time consuming for my deadlines (the drums alone took me about an hour), so I decided to simplify things a little bit.

The story I'm planning takes inspiration from/draws heavilyfrom/blatantly mimics Scott Pilgrim, so I figured:


Let's just make them all LOOK like Scott Pilgrim a bit.

Introducing the Dead Poets' Sorority:

June on lead guitar and vocals grew up in a household where the classic poets were more important than the daily cartoons (that's her picture of Robert Frost up on the wall), so she decided to share her love of poetry through the irresistable power of crappy garage rock.

Samantha on bass would be perfectly content to just sit on the front porch and play music all day. In fact, that's what she was doing when June asked her to join the band. She's probably still playing right now. Seriously, someone needs to encourage that woman to get a hobby.

Kenny plays the drums. He's very obviously not a girl, but June didn't know any girls that could play the drums. So she picked Kenny. She also picked the name of the band. So Kenny is the drummer for the Dead Poets' Sorority. But he's not a girl. He's 100% man, baby, and he wants YOU to know it.

Look out, world, here comes Dead Poets' Sorority, ready to pound culture into your skulls with hits like, "Rocking By Woods on a Snowy Evening," "Because I Could Not Rock For Death," and, of course, "O Captain! My Captain! (Of Rock)."

BONUS

Because someone out there asked for it (no, really):

A Nice Night for Detecting

I've been watching a lot of Sherlock recently, which probably explains where this sketch came from.

Also would explain why the guy on the left looks a bit like Benedict Cumberbatch.

BONUS

I actually had a friend ask me to do a sketch of her, so I pulled her picture up on Facebook and copied it. So, yeah, that's where this came from.

A Night for Dancing

One year later, and I STILL have trouble with drawing women...

The Book Club

Y'know, after all this time drawing these guys, I'm still not sure whether or not that robot actually WORKS or not.

The Last Daily Sketch

12.31.10 - And there it is - the last of 2010's drawings. I've got some ideas for activities for 2011, and I'm pretty stoked about it!

One Year Later...

So here we are - three days from the end of 2010, or, as I'm calling it, "The Year of the Daily Sketch." And, yeah, I've done it - I've completed one sketch per day for the last year. And, boy, what a difference it's made.

So let's start at the beginning: here's the first sketch I did in 2010:


Fantastic, no?

Well, it's one year later, and now I've got a sketch that looks like this:


Pretty marked improvement, if I do say so myself.

The above sketch took me about seven hours over two days to complete (if I hadn't been watching cartoons at the same time, I'd have gotten it done in about half the time). I obviously have a lot to learn about lines and coloring and not putting shirtless men in purple pants, but I've come a long way since last year.