Castin' Spells

Same technique as the previous post. I am using a Col-Erase colored pencil and a red Bic pen. I think it looks a bit stronger when it is done completely in pen, but I also like this...mainly because the large, even tones (such as her jacket) are much easier to achieve.

There is a large empty space in the upper left side...I might go in and put some text or something to give more balance...I don't really mind it though.

KC

This is a redraw I did of a talented artist/co-worker pal by the name of Casey. The first drawing I did was live at the park, after a slew of descent park drawings. I always freeze up when I draw people I know live...I freakin' hate that. Anyway, the drawing turned out horrible...I mean really horrible. What's even worse is that she went to be drawn by Tom Richmond probably 5 minutes after that (she must've been on a mission that day). So not only did he see the drawing, but he also did a flippin' sweet drawing of her. Then she brought them both back...to look at them side by side made me feel like dirt. She was really polite about it though.

Anyway, I figured I would do this one in my "real" style, as opposed to my park style...in order to feel a little better about myself? I don't know why I can't figure out a way to draw more like this when I am live, even in a shorthand version...oh well.

What have I done?

I've lost my only friend, that's what I've done. ~Hoggle

Self Portrait

Alright...so it has been a while since I have done a self portrait. This one took about 3 hours, so fairly quickly. I used the same technique, starting with vine, smearing it out, redrawing it in Derwent Charcoal Pencil (dark), smearing it, and then I used a Wolfcarbon 4B for the finishing touches this time (instead of conte). Before the finishing stages, I went back in with a kneaded eraser to bring some lightness back in...I think the next time I use this approach; I will do another wipe out phase using a white pastel pencil of some sort. For the smearing and wiping, I used a napkin, and also a crafted piece of foam rubber material that I cut out from the sole of a sandal. I borrowed this idea from Mau Kun, a master from China. Check out his art at http://www.yimaukun.com/ and prepare to be blown away (there is music, so be aware).

I think the mouth could use some work...and I could have embellished things more, and made some things a bit more subtle...but given the time it took and the overall quality and effectiveness of the drawing...this was a pretty fun one to do!

Fierce Hoop Warrior

Dear Diary...

Alright, so, I give this a 7 out of 10. Q: Why such an easy going score? A: I challenged myself.

I like the challenge, but I think the positions of the hands became a bit skewed, and that is why the hoop looks a bit deformed yet again. One of these days, I am going to get it. I actually stayed pretty true to the distorted nature of the photo, which is what I liked...and I actually think I may do another piece from this reference with a more exaggerated approach.

For now though, I am going to break from the rigidity of portraiture with some sketches, but in the same scale and tools. This particular portrait has been staring at me since February, and the psychological burden seems to have risen with each new portrait. This is good, but I would like to be looser. The style in which this is done seems to be a bit looser and thus livelier...but it was actually quite labored over...which may be evident in many areas.

Either way...I am glad that I finished it, and can move on to the next phase of self-knowledge.

Easter Bunny

Here is a piece I did for easter. It is very inspired by a painting of one of my favorite illustrators ever, J.C. Leyendecker (top image).

My initial sketch looked more like a deer with rabbit ears (middle image), so I tried again and came up with the design you see here (bottom image). I was going to add more texture to the fur, but once I started to put down the strokes...I realized that would take me more time than I wanted to spend on this particular piece, and decided to save that for another illustration.