Sketch-a-day Vol 2 009

Here is a quick color test for what I have in store for an upcoming conquistador illustration. This is maybe 30-45 minutes in class today with some limited reference. The goal of this illustration is just to use color more adventurously, and so far Im having some fun with it.

Sketch-a-day Vol. 2 008

Stewart - Age 10

In the town of Goosebury lives Stewart Appleton, a small boy whose misadventures in sailing his miniature boat changed him into a hideous remnant of a human being. On a pond positioned in front of a chemical overflow pipe from the Lexico Lead Stripper plant, little Stewart Appleton sailed his boat, and unfortunately for him this was the day that a bird flew through and open window and into the vat, clogging a very special pipe. In an emergency they flushed the vats to keep the cleaner from turning flammable as machines sparked and workers scattered. So Stewart sailed his boat unaware, when suddenly he was nearly drowned by 10 tons of Lexico Lead Stripper chemicals. He awoke blurry eyed, and severely disfigured. His boat was lost.

Stewart is still making his way in the world many years after losing his boat as a high school janitor, where his appearance has never once been questioned. Although, it is suspected that he is currently building a ray gun that can shrink boats down to petite sizes, he lives happily in the attic of his grandparent's house where he can often be seen peeking out from behind a small curtain in a small window.

(My entry to the now alive again Sketch-to-death blog)

Sketch-a-day Vol. 2 007

Possible pirate piece in the pipeline. I did this sketch as a sort of warm-up to get excited for it. I may come back and paint this one up like yesterday's. Not sure if I want to make it a lighting study, or just to move on.

I said possible though, because I also want to do a conquistador piece. It has to be a brighter looking piece, but i can't get away from the burial of a conquistador with his gold.

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Oh man, I am super behind. While I have done a good 10 or so new sketchbook pages, it's all a bit crap. It's not terrible, but in trying to get my drawings more dynamic and correct, I've been experimenting, so while there may be success on a page, right next to it will be a drawing I wouldn't show to the blind.

But I feel like I'm so close to clearing that next checkpoint drawing and really being able to knock these things out 10 times easier and really being able to push it.

Sketch-a-day Vol. 2 005

New sketch a day thanks to Melisa Des Rosiers who threw out the idea of basing a sketch-a-day on a television, a tree, and desperation. Thanks.

So last night I finally got to watch Inglorious Basterds. I'm not sure if I'll be all that excited to see the next Tarantino movie. I mean, talk about packing a movie so full of references to other movies and an era of filmmaking that your own film loses it's way. It had a few story lines, but literally none of them had the chance to be complex. It was just a bunch of static characters all around, talking far too much. He had that tense feel he always is able to get, but at this point it's so expected from him, he needs to learn a new trick, or at least ditch a few "trademarks" to make more room for story.

But, it's still full of inspiring wwII imagery, and now I feel like I need to draw some.

Sketch-a-day Vol. 2 004

Just a super quick head study tonight before going to bed. 15-2o minutes

Sketch-a-day Vol. 2 003

Well...

... about that resolution. I was hoping for another strong start to the year with these sketch-a-days like last year. I couldn't figure out why it was such a chore to do this time. I mean, I love to draw, always have a decent sketch book, including a beautiful new 8.5x11 moleskine courtesy of my super talented girlfriend (her blog here), and I have quite a few sitting here right in front of me. I have a few reasons why I failed so miserably at this task: The free time I usually use to do a sketch-a-day has been competing with some heavy hitters such as all of "lost" on hulu, a new computer that can run s.t.a.l.k.e.r. in all it's beauty, and a morning coffee addiction where I get sucked into hours of news and tech articles. That last one has to be my favorite. Nothing like a cup of coffee in the morning that is just hot enough to lightly scald your mouth and force you into sipping, and some entertaining reads. I'm living the good life right now. The best life I could have really, and this winter break is so hard to fight.

I guess that is what I should be doing before embarking on my last hectic semester at CCAD. What I'm trying to say here, is I got ahead of myself, because I was really excited about getting back into this and getting some motivation. I'm not quitting though. Gonna stick to my resolution of 3-4- updates a week. Just can't believe I slipped up so early. Cause once you are behind on sketch-a-day... man, does that guilt and pressure build up everyday you miss.

I did a few sketches today, on paper, and a few digital ones. This one was my favorite. I'm in a bit of an artist slump right now, so I'm gladly taking requests from people on here as far as stuff you want. Keep em fun and I may wind up doing you a custom sketch. Cause I'm getting rusty and I gotta keep up the work.

Sketch-a-day Vol. 2 002

Well, I didn't make midnight because I had a full day at my girlfriend's house, and I spent a vast majority of the day on a wii fit. Man, I will never ever make fun of yoga again.

So, this is a eyeball spider thing. It came about because when I went over to her house her little sister was doing a project for a contest and she had to draw some eyes. And she made the comment that some of them were just looking hairy once the eyelashes were em. So I made a hairy eyeball, and added legs for good measure in a quick pen sketch while I was sitting with them. Color job is a bit rushed but eh, I still like it.

A New Year, A New Sketch-a-day

It's time to start the new year. As far as new years go, this is sort of a big one I would think. School will officially end and I'm gonna have to grow up or some such nonsense, and hopefully, I'll be able to make something out of this hobby turned career called "Illustration". But that's not a for a few months. So besides that, and realizing that all the little kids I knew have entered high school which weirds me out, things are gonna be normal for a bit. So I thought, this is the perfect time to revamp sketch-a-day.

I used to be pretty on the ball about sketch-a-day. If you check out my back logs over there you can see I was doing alright. Then once last summer hit it's been spiraling downward. So I made a resolution this year: to update this blog four or more times a week. I have some ideas ranging from using it to develop a universe of sorts, or to turn it into an ongoing comic for at least an "issue". But my hopes are high that this is one resolution I won't break.

2009 was a good year though.I made a bunch of break throughs as far as art goes, and met a lot of artists I've always respected. Got in my first book, won my first art contest, and made a few pictures I actually like quite a bit.

In 2010, look forward to a limited offerings of prints, and I'm hoping to do some sketch trades or something with a few people on here if they will have it.

To kick it off I'm going to update everyday for two weeks straight. Keep on checking back.

Sketch-a-day Vol. 2 001