IGUANADONATHON

I saw this picture of an iguana and wanted to draw it. The first step was to laid it out in HB pencil. I used my trusty Bic 0.5 mechanical pencil available at most dollar stores! This iguana is about 5 head units long, I used the head as the unit of all the relationships of scale. It was not gridded but drawn freehand using the same technique used to create my starter self-portrait.

The next step is inking. I didn't refer too much to the original photocopy by this point but generalized the tonality with my inking. I used a new Uni-ball Vision Needle. I found the ink a little runny with this tooth of paper, so I had to move quickly and not let the tip sit too long or the paper would soak up excess ink.

 Here I use small dots and cross hatching to create the line work. I also thickened the outline to give it more PuNcH!!!

I still have to add the shadow. However here is a scanned version with the whites, nice and sparkling white, with my website address.

LOST and FOUND

This is the first sketch I did on page one of my new sketchbook.  At first it seemed really inspired by where the wild things are although, I didn't look at any reference material. I had seen the movie a few days prior to getting the sketchbook. The sun and moon were drawn while watching a Koko the clown cartoon, I really like how the Fleischer brothers stylized their characters back in the pre-sound sync era of animation.

Hopefully if this sketchbook ever gets lost it will be returned;)

Let it SNOW. snowy owl.

First I sketched this in HB, followed by inking. I really liked the squashed/squat shape an how this makes him appear more surly. I filled it in with prismacolour warm grey and colored in the eyes and tail with some random pencil crayons.  I hope you like it, a HOOT HOOT goes out to my lovely Owl fried, it brings me JOY;)

Cobra Commander

For my next drawing I decided to draw a Mustang Cobra decal and added the ribbon coming out of his mouth to also add a forked tongue element. I really like how it turned out with the shaded scales and the flash tattoo like graphic style.

Snow days are here again

I am still setting my baseline.

In Betty Edwards, Drawing on the right side of the brain, she suggests doing a  drawing of the corner of a room, probably to see how realistic one can render the perspective of a corner.

I was sitting in my big red bean bag chair while my roomies watched Police Academy.

Here is my corner. I took out a few things an added my name to the metal piece around the penguin's (with a mexican wrestling mask and ball cap with a trophy on it) neck.

Here is my corner sketch done with HB mechanical pencil on December 3, 2009.

The Hand is not as quick as the eye

So my next task was to draw my hand.

Before I began I did a quick 5 min blind contour drawing as a warm up. I used my kitchen timer to make sure I didn't go over. I love Blind contour drawings. They are always fun and interesting. I was completely turned the other way when I drew this and I knocked the sketchbook from my hand hence the big space between the two main areas of line. I really like the quality of line and it looks to me like a potential starting off place for building up the layers into a fantasy landscape.

My Hand 

I decided to "rock it out" with a "Hail Satan" with my left hand as my right did all the dirty work.  This was drawn with a 0.5 mechanical HB pencil.

I am really happy with what an hour produced. I felt like the shadow seems more graphic and the work sits fairly flat.  The dark outline may also be adding to this and lack of depth due to few really deep darks in the shadow areas. I want to create more mass and dimension in future drawings.

DRAWING RESTRAINT

I'm teaching animation again. The creative spark has hit me again. I feel like I did when I entered art school. I am fascinated by drawing again. I repeat three words in my head; Draw, Draw, Draw.  The only way to learn to draw is by doing it.

 In order to see where I am at today and to chart my progress overtime I decided to sit down for a few and do a self portrait. Yes, the dreaded self portrait.  Besides, maybe you'd like to see what I look like...yesterday.

This was drawn with a 0.5 mechanical HB pencil. 

RE-LEARNING TO DRAW. SELF PORTRAIT.