Christmas Sketch Dump

Merry Christmas everyone...and welcome to my blog post.  These are some sketches that I did for family and friends between freelance jobs.  I really like doing these sorts of things the most, as they are the most personal to me.  As an artist, it is my duty as well as my pleasure to be drawing as much as I can, so it is always best when I can draw things that I care about.  I hope to draw all my friends at some point, so if I didn't make it to you in time for Christmas, perhaps in the near future I will.  I have been drawing every day for about 3-4 hours each night (sometimes more).  Some nights yield more productive sketches, while others offer mindless, throwaway doodles.  It's all good.

I would like to say something about the last to images.  These are my aunt, uncle, and cousins.  The first sketch was done from random photos.  I was fairly happy with the drawing, but it felt a bit generic to me.  A couple days later, I came across their Christmas card and realized that I needed to redo the drawing.  It is sometimes hard as an artist to redo things...you want to move on to other things, people, etc.  I had to sacrifice a bit to redo this, but I am really glad that I did.  I am still not completely satisfied with how my aunt and uncle turned out, but I think it looks much closer/better overall, and it might be my favorite piece of this Christmas collection.

Anyway...cheers to all, have a happy holiday season, and enjoy!

Ita in Feathers

Done in pencil, col-erase, and ballpoint pen on regular paper.  As always, I didn't quite match the proportions correctly...but I still like it for what it is.  Also...the ink really warped the paper, so this scan is kind of wavy in the hair from the sheen of the ink wrinkles.  I guess next time I am going to have to use some illustration board for this type of process.

Otis

Here is another picture of Otis.  I drew this in graphite and col-erase on printer paper.  I am not too happy with some of the fur texture...but the drawing is decent.  Here is a link to the previous finished drawing I did of Otis.

This is going to be a gift for my brother for Christmas this year...he has no choice but to like it because he is my brother.

Earthlings

 

Did this little diddy of an illustration for the old portfolio.  I was trying to use a different color scheme than I am used to.  It was inspired by this art.

I must admit...I am not totally understanding color, but I am gaining a better intuition for it.  By using multiply layers in Photoshop, I have been able to somewhat fake my general understanding of color.  I hope to take a class in the near future that deals with Corel Painter to further better my understanding.  For now, it's off to the next illustrations!

Coach Hines and Yamanashi

Happy Thanks Giving.  Here is a finished piece from the Mad TV skit of characters Coach Hines and Yamanashi.  This show had a few pretty decent sketches, and this is my personal favorite.  Here is a random compilation of the best Coach Hines quotes.

Enjoy!

The Legend

Happy early birthday Andreita!  Hopefully you will not see this until your birthday, but I had to post...it's been too long, and there is more art to come soon...so I wanted to space it out.  There is a finished charcoal study at the top...and then some individual studies below.  I think I need to use bigger paper for a full body view like this.  Either that, or finer tools.

Hope you enjoy!

Halloween Movie Monsters

I Managed to do this page of sketches based on the Universal Studios monsters from the silver screen era.  Been pretty busy with freelance and school, so nothing too special, but I hope you enjoy, and have a happy Halloween!

More Struggle

Here are a couple of charcoal drawings.  I still feel like I struggle quite a bit with realism...the time and execution doesn't feel as natural or effortless as I have observed them to be in the great artists and illustrators I have learned from.  It is very frustrating to still not have that kind of control, and I would really like to reach that point.  Until then, I will continue working towards that goal...and asking people who are there for advice.

These are just random photos that I have found while being on the Internet.  I see photos that I think I might like to translate into a drawing and file them away...the file is quite large now...I think I have serious problems.

Also, while typing this, I didn't realize that the word "Internet" is meant to be capitalized.  I never thought of it as a proper noun...does anyone else feel that way?  I guess it is pretty important and one of a kind.

Enjoy!

Fun Faces

Here are some studies I did using a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and some Tombow Ink Brush pens.  Some were influenced studies by other artists (indicated in the text), the rest are from imagination.

Also, the study of the old woman with the tea kettle is from the work of Leyendecker, not Lyendecker like I have it on the picture.

Enjoy!

Honeythorn Gump

So here is another scene from the movie Legend with characters from left to right, Honeythorn Gump, Brown Tom, Jack, and Screwball.  David Bennent, the actor who played Gump, is very captivating.  Unfortunately for this film, the editors decided to dub his voice over because his Austrian accent was too characteristic of Nazi Germany.  I was listening/watching his other academy award winning film, Tin Drum, and his voice sounded great; this is sort of ironic racism, and I don't know if the original dialog still exists because of it. 

Anyway, this illustration became much more laborious than I wanted it to, but I guess the good part is that I learned quite a bit from working on it...which is my prime objective in each personal illustration I do.  With everything, there are things I like, and things I don't, but it's time to move on and start another one.  Hope you enjoy and check out the scene for it here.

Meg Mucklebones

This is one of my favorite movies, Legend.  It was Directed by Ridley Scott, and whenever I am feeling uninspired, I turn it on and watch/listen while I am working on an illustration.  This is one of the most memorable scenes for me.  There are plenty to choose in this film, but the character Megmucklebones is just great.  The even greater thing is that the character is played by a dude, Robert Picardo.  So click on the link to watch the scene of Meg Mucklebones for yourself!

Theme Park Cleansing

Alright...so here are some studies that I have been working on.  The red sketches are most recently done from Burne Hogarth's "Dynamic Anatomy", and Ron Lemen's article in Imagine FX's special issue "How to Draw and Paint:Anatomy Volume 2."  I had mentioned this issue a few posts back, but had not really had the time or energy to give it some proper study until recently.  I labeled the drawings according to who I was studying from, and any drawings not labeled were a product of my own creation based off what I am trying to learn from their teachings.  I think the greatest lesson I learned from these studies is that I still have a lot to learn.  It's a good feeling to have.

Speaking of which, it feels great to not be working 10 hours a day 6 days a week for a bit.  The break is nice, but it has also been a struggle for me.  I always feel like I need to cleanse myself of "theme park drawing" and get back to exploring a larger range of possibilities in what I am interested in as an artist.  I would say that the month just before the beginning of this work season was a great peak for myself.  I hope to return there and beyond soon.

It is really tough to balance drawing for a job, and making art for pleasure.  More often than not, it is all or nothing when it comes to being a freelance illustrator.  I will complain about this in another post (wink).

Purple is a Fruit

Here are a couple more pages of mindless cartoons.  After 10-12 hours of drawing caricatures live, it is hard to come home and draw anything...so I settled for these.

Enjoy!

Hulk

Some Hulk sketches for an upcoming illustration project I am working on.  I am really liking using an ink brush for the value...it is loose and quick, and the swatching/painterly use feels more connected to planar thinking.

Anyway...enjoy!

Here are some more random drawings from Valleyfair downtime.  Done with Crayola black marker, 30% warm grey/french grey, and airbrush color.  I have become very inspired by a bunch of French comic book artists I have stumbled upon via Facebook.  To quote the Mad TV character Coach Hines, "These don't even come..CLOSE!" (while kicking leg out).

Anyway, these are a fun departure from what I normally do, and I look forward to exploring this more in the near future.

Enjoy!

Boring

Here is some more art created during the down times at Valleyfair using a crayola and a Faber Castel Pitt Brush Pen (Grey 30).

More soon!

More of the Same

Here are some figure sketches I did a while ago...they are either studies of other various artists, photographs, books, or my own creation...I am too lazy and tired to point out which is which, so please forgive me.  I love to do these sorts of sketches, and I always feel like I am growing as an artist when I do them.  I have not done them in a while though...I need to, and I will.  I just picked up a copy of "Imagin FX How to Draw and Paint Anatomy: Volume 2.  There is a feature length article/tutorial from one of my teachers, Ron Lemen.  I highly recommend getting a copy if you like to draw, and want to learn how to improve as an artist.

I have been having a lot of breathing problems lately, and had to go to the emergency room last Sunday.  It has something to do with the heat that pushes my body over the edge, and causes my lungs to muffle up.  The good news is, I am apparently getting enough oxygen...the bad news is, there are still no answers as to why I feel like this.  I have an appointment with the allergist on the 11th.  Now all I have to do is work 4 days of 100+ degree weather...it will be fun sitting in that heat, feeling like my brain is literally boiling, while breathing through what feels like one of those tiny coffee stir straws all day.  I really feel like my brain is going to have a seizure or something...it sucks.

Anyway, I hope I don't die out there tomorrow...I have a lot of things I want to post still.

Internet Troll

Here is a sketch I managed to pump out during the relentless, heat-stroked day of work today.  I have many more I will be posting soon.  They are done with Crayola marker (black), Faber Castel Pit Brush pen (Grey 30), and Prisma Color (French Grey 30).

More soon...enjoy!

More of Ita

It's been a while.  Hello there...I have been gone from this blog, working my ass off day and night on an illustration project that I actually like, my day job doing caricatures, graduation parties until the wee hours of the morning, and then everything else in life.  It seems as though I have developed a style of art that I feel pretty comfortable with (as you see here, and in previous posts).  While this is good and great and all...I am working on other avenues, approaches, styles, etc...to keep things interesting and fresh and to also keep growing.

I hope to have some more time off to explore these things, as well as the energy.  There will be more soon...much more.

Enjoy.

Clarence Feeds a Man

Here is a final illustration of my step Grandpa, Clarence.  My real grandpa died long before I was even born, so I never had the chance to know him.

Clarence and my grandma, Irene have now been married longer than she and my real grandpa, Dolphe (a.k.a. Doc).  It has been a bit of a curve to be used to that, but I am pretty content with it now.  I still hope to meet my real grandpa one day, but in the mean time, this is a small token of my appreciation to Clarence for filling in.

Enjoy!

Me?

This is Beetle, he's as bad as can...
Here are some caricature studies of Lester Green, also known as "Beetlejuice" from the Howard Stern Show.

Enjoy!

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

Here is a commission of my doctor, Anthony Spagnolo.  I found out during my last visit that he is going to be retiring, and his wonderful nurse, Dee, asked if I would do a caricature of him.  I am more than honored.  He has been my doctor for my entire life, and I have to admit I was pretty choked up when I heard he was retiring, because that probably means I will never know him again.  It is somewhat sad, and a bit of a shock, because you never think how relationships will come to an end, and I (amongst many others) will truly miss the dude; but I also hope his retirement is great, as it is definitely well deserved.

Enjoy it Spagnolo!

The Great Satchmo

Here is my attempt at Louis Armstrong...Enjoy!