Sketchez

Sketches

Some caricature studies...the second from the bottom is a quick one of me from memory...the rest are celebs from photos

Aren't you gonna sign it!?

So this is the last of all 8 of my cousins to finally graduate from high school...I officially feel really old.

This is for his grad party. Congrats Wilson!

Pope

Little sketch I did...not sure if this is going to be the final background.
Enjoy!

Fishin' kid...

Alright...so this is one that I had done a rough sketch of a while back...I have had it at this stage for a while...but am still wondering where I want to take the narrative. I am kind of working in reverse order...which is my favorite way to create.

Grandma's quite the quilter

Here is a project that I was working on a couple months ago for a company called Urban Threads. They are an embroidery company who house a bunch of illustrators who make vector illustrations that are later translated into stiched patterns. I worked with an in-house illustrator who ended up taking the first design of the six samples you see on the bottom, and digitizing it in illustrator to the specified requirements of their machines. Then they sent me this bag with my design on it...check it out!

http://www.urbanthreads.com/pages?id=571

And also check out Taylor Smith's blog in my inspiration links...he works there, and is a very talented artist...thanks for the opportunity Taylor!

Sophia

Stuff

Alright...so the top page is more studies of Labyrinth, and then the rest are self explanatory. I draw heads a lot...and I like to keep the hair off until the end. I believe if you can draw a strong design without the hair, then the design of the hair will accentuate that well. I am trying to use more reference photos, as it is clear that my approach is at a stand-still. That is the best thing about art, you will learn forever.

Richard Pryor

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.

Stuff 'n Junk

Some color practice. Did this while watching the Tina Turner story on VH1.

Junk 'n Stuff

Hands and, my favorite...edge work. The first page is a bunch of studies of Milt Kahl from Disney's "Sword in the Stone." The rest is just me trying to figure out hands from my own. It is cool how much studying animation teaches you about anatomy...even more so than realism. Probably because realism is all about slight and subtle indication...where cartoon is a heightened exaggeration of that subtle indication, and thus more indicitive of that emotion...damn, that shit is deep.

Think McFly...think

Alright...so this is something that I was working on for our annual St. Patty's Day party that is hosted at my partents house...there have been invitations for each year. This is the second invitation that I have done...since I have no freelance at all.

The final illustration is pretty sellable, but I like my initial sketches more (as usual). As it turns out...even my parents had requests to look younger. I really thought that there was much more character and interest in the earlier sketches, but hey, they are my parents and I love them...so I reduced the jowels and shaved off some of the turkey waddle...and there you have it.

There are some things that I would do differently, but that will have to wait until the next time. I may add some detail to my mom's hair, and perhaps post the final card once my dad does the graphic design for it. Maybe I can dig up some old invitations as a comparison?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well...here are some conceptual stages leading to a finished work.

Sketch Dumperoo

Some things in the works...lots of editing still needed. It is hard for me to finish things after this stage. As an artist, sketching represents much more insight than a finished piece does...so I am always interested in looking at other artist creations.