Ideas-in-progress
What are YOU looking at? The idea was originally to have this crab poking out from behind something to peer at you with those stalky eyes. In the end it didn’t end up quite behind anything far enough to work that way. But I kind of like it anyway.
This was supposed to be a black and white ink drawing, but these crabs come in such crazy colors that I really had to do a color version as well.
Lately I’ve been fascinated by the crazy plants and alien landscape of Socotra Island. It is a real place that looks like it can’t possibly be. These trees are just a small example. So cool.
I usually avoid “fan art”. Some of it can be really cool, but it seems creatively lazy to start with something that has already been designed and refined for you. Maybe lazy isn’t the right word; but there does seem to be less room to bring something new and fresh into the world within the constraints of an established character.
That said, I do like me some Mario.
This fun sketch was based on a photo of an actual treehouse someone built. I don’t know if it is up to code, but I want one anyway. You can come up… if you know the password!
Yep. It is a squid. You know, for INKtober…
I originally intended to do a quick drawing with thick graphic lines. Instead I spend way too much time doing this scribbly stippling. What do you think, did it get too fiddly?
Here’s to drawing things and actually getting it out in the world. Good bad or ugly, at least practice makes perfect…er. Right?
I found this old ironwood carving and decided it deserved a sketch. This is good old pencil on paper. Nothing fancy.
I’ve been experimenting with ways to streamline my workflow and get the most out of digital and analog tools. This is a warm-up sketch of a boat house that was inspired by/stolen from Mike’s work over at Creative Mints. If you want to see some good artwork, you should really be looking over there instead. For my purposes, I was going for something that looks finished, and has some visual presence to it, but wasn’t over-worked and crowded with detail.
I find that digital line work is slow and tends to look stiff. Good ol’ paper and pencil is far more flexible. Color, however, is far faster and easier to tune on a computer than on paper. So in this case, I used a fine point sharpie over the top of rough pencil work. Then scanned and colored in photoshop using a wacom tablet.
This is a pencil sketch I did a while ago exploring some character ideas. Then on a whim I did a color study with it in photoshop. Typically I draw on white paper, so I’m intrigued by how a bold color in the background can influence and permeate the whole color palette as I work. I’m afraid all this digital manipulation is a creative crutch for me when it comes to color, but hopefully I am actually learning somethings along the way. Maybe. Read More …
I just drew a fruit stand in an open air market. How much more summertime can your get? I must be getting tired of winter already! This sketch was done with a fine point sharpie and shaded in photoshop.