June 29th Sketch

I finally finished unpacking everything that I needed to unpack. Therefore, I figured that I would get back to doing some artwork. My supplies and references are back where I can get to them and not tucked away in some box somewhere. As for this picture, I drew it in non-photo blue pencil, inked it with a small size copic brush pen, and colored it with GIMP. The coloring took the longest to do, but it was the pretty fun. I wanted to do something different with color than I normally do. Once again, I attempted to figure out how to do the coloring technique by splitting the coloring layer away from the ink work layer, but I couldn't figure it out. Anyway, now the scanner is unpacked and available for use again, I will try to post on a more usual schedule. Comments of any kind are more than welcome!

Funk Classics of the 70's

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Whew, all of the things I own are now one and half hours north of where they used to be, which is a long way of saying I moved. I drew this comic early last week shortly before I packed the scanner away. I wonder if anyone gets the essential "joke" of this particular comic. There were a couple of other ways I thought about doing, but I wanted to limit myself to four panels for readability, and therefore I had to pack as much information as I could into a small space. The result of my problem solving is what you see above. As always, comments are more than welcome.

A Hand

This will count as the official update for this week because I am in the process of moving. I need to spend the next four days packing straight. There is an off-chance that I might post something later this week, and of course I will be sketching, but realistically, this might be it until next Monday or Tuesday.

This was a study of a hand that I did a few days ago. I tried to manipulate the image in a lot of different ways with the GIMP program, and somehow, I managed to delete the interior of the black lined ink pens to create this weird double line effect. Actually, I think it looks pretty cool, but I am not sure I would be able to repeat it if I tried. Until next time.

Technology Gap

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As you can see, I experimented again with this comic. I had a lot of fun doing all of the computer stuff. And there was a lot of computer stuff to do this time, maybe even too much. Of course, the coloring was all done on computer. But, there was more digital manipulation left to do. For example, each panel was drawn on separate sketch book pages at about eight inches square. After scanning them into the computer, I scaled them down to size, drew the large black borders, and stitched them together in a single comic. (All of this, by the way, was done with GIMP.) I also used the ames guide to do the lettering, which was both a little frustrating because it kept slipping off the ruler, but also fun to use.

I regret not planning out the background when I doing the initial sketch, but oh well. I think I did pretty good on the character construction. Overall, I've been sketching a lot, practicing when I am not busy packing up for my upcoming move. I've got some of these sketches uploaded into the computer, but they're nothing special. I may or may not post them later.

EDIT: If I am going to use this format again, I am going to have to use the largest setting on the ames guide. It looks like the eight setting isn't going to show up in the initial blog post. Therefore, please click the comic to see it in its proper size. Any feedback is more than welcome, and I do mean "any!"

Two Figures

Today's project was to draw two figures: male and female. This was a challenge insofar as I tend to draw people from the neck up. My proportions for the whole body are a little off, so I need to practice. I need to practice on another thing too, drawing hands and feet. The final challenge for this particular sketch was to draw something within an indoor setting and not just floating in space.

I've discovered (duh!) that it is one thing to draw things like hands and feet while you are looking at a reference. It is quite another thing to rely solely on your imagination to draw things like hands and feet when you're not looking right at it. I guess the ability to draw on my imagination in a cartoon style is the art muscle I am working on right now. I've been thinking how I would really like to take more figure drawing classes. I am sure that would help me out in this regard.

As for the technical aspects of this drawing, I used a .08 micron pen, a medium (BM) and a small brush (BS) pen. I think for a consistent style I need to either become more steady when inking, or just use a single size pen. I colored the whole thing in GIMP again. The neon color schemes I tend to favor are easy to achieve with GIMP, but I wonder if Adobe Photoshop would help me vary my colors more and get a little more complex. Anyhow, it's fun to play around with. If you have a moment, tell me what you think.

Cooking

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Cooking

I hate to cook, but I try to give it my best shot every time I have to do it. This comic is more auto-biographical than I care to admit. While I don't usually set food on fire, I have been known to burn things that are rather hard to burn sometimes: spaghetti, ice cream, water, etc. Okay, so I exaggerate, but only slightly.

I put a lot of work into this comic tonight. I drew the borders with a ruler. I used an Ames Guide to do the lettering, a handy little tool that was only $2.50. (I still need a cheapo T-square.) And, I also put in the blacks before coloring the comic on the computer. You can tell there is a visual difference to this comic as a result of all of these changes, but I wonder if it was worth it. I am not sure how I feel about them yet. One thing that hasn't changed: I need to continue to practice, practice, practice. The positive thing is that I seem to be learning something new about the whole process just about every day.

Some Guy

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Some Guy

Last night, I went to see the movie Art School Confidential. Overall, I liked the movie, but I thought the ending was a little weird. It was a left turn that was sort of unneccessary. The end seemed like it didn't fit the beginning which was really pretty funny. Back in my undergrad days, I thought I would minor in Art, so I took the required art classes in college and had a chance to see the typical art school characters. And to be honest, I was one. But, unlike the movie seems to suggest, I really did get something out of art classes, and I don't think artistry is something you either have or don't. I do think one can learn art like any other skill: cooking, languages, auto repair, etc.

Today's sketch was okay, loosely based on someone I saw on television (can anyone guess who?), but I think I don't like the shape of the nose. It's hard to draw someone from television because even when your subjects are sitting still, they're constantly moving. So, you have little time other than to get the feel of the drawing, and then for the elements that you miss, you fill in as best you can. I couldn't really see this person's nose, so therefore--blah. But, oh well. Better luck in the future, right?