Started on the Train... 11-30-05

... and noodled around with a bit at home..... :)

Train Sketch 11-28-05

Inspired by the latest Harry Potter film (which was AAAAWWWWWSSOOOOMMMEE!!!!).

I'm just starting to come out of my turkey and pumpkin pie high, and desperately want to stay in it for a few more weeks..... :)

Yours Truly,
Sir Geeks-A-Lot

Train Sketch 11-23-05

... tightened up a bit at home.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!!!

Those who know me know I love to eat, and Thanksgiving dinner is my absolute favorite! I could eat it every night: turkey, homemade mashed potatoes (yep, I can make 'em), homemade biscuits (those too), gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and to end top it off homemade pumpkin pie with some cool-whip on top (my sister-in-law makes the p.p..... yummy!).

p.s. I just thought of something...... pizza (vegetarian if possible) runs neck and neck with a turkey dinner.... :)

Started on the Train....

...but finished up at home. Wanted to put a lil' more into this one.

Special thanks to Kirk Wescom for letting me know about his 7 day sketch completion!!!! Please have a look-see at some cool art, as well as some interesting observations Kirk has made over the 7 days.

Speaking of daily posts... ahem.... I really must change my heading from "daily doodle" to "frequent doodle" due to some much needed attention with some really cool projects in the works. I'll still be posting "regularly", just not daily as I had originally hoped.

Thanks to everybody who has been stopping by..... :)

G

...oooops, I forgot 'F'...

E

:)

D

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C

:)

Train Sketch 11-16-05

....I apologize for the cuteness ahead of time..... *_*


"The reproduction of things is but the idle industry of one who does not value his sensations, and who was done with his imaginings when he passed out of childhood and consented that the prancing horse he had bestrode in those happy days had only been a broken broomstick."

Robert Henri The Art Spirit

Train Sketch 11-15-05

:)

Train Sketch 11-14-05

:)

B

:)

And Future Guest Artist... Jarek Young

My other 'lil nephew can't quite reach the drawing board yet, so I'll have to take his turn for now. But I guarantee many lazy days are ahead for him too..... and art related presents ;)

Love,
Uncle Darryl

p.s. I really enjoyed doing this birth announcement for my brother and sister-in-law. It's not often that I can use my powers for good.

Special Guest Artist....RJ Machacon

This masterpiece was drawn a couple years ago by my nephew, and future cartoonist, RJ Machacon. I had it hanging at work for a couple years for inspiration, but have since brought it home (for inspiration). RJ drew this totally from memory after one of our "lazy days": cartoons, snacks, and comfy couches with lots of pillows. I always look forward to his visits and all the good times we have, even if all he wants to do is stay at home ;)

Love,
Uncle Darryl

p.s. If you're reading this RJ, please laugh like Sponge Bob for at least 10 minutes straight for Auntie Laurie (she likes when you do that).

The 7 Day Sketch....

Here's a thought....

Starting this Monday, and for the following consecutive 6 days (7 days total), try to draw, paint, sketch, or create something. It doesn't have to be a finished piece, and should only take a minimum of time, maybe 5 minutes to an 1 hour. Try not to think of what it is you're going to do for the day, until you sit down to do it. Try not to overthink it, just jump in and start. A pencil sketch, a non-representational color study in Photoshop, a marker study of shape relationships, or even a small composition on a post-it note will do. The idea is to get into the habit of just creating and letting go. Don't tell anybody what you're going to do ahead of time, as a matter of fact.... don't discuss it with anybody at all. Just do it Monday-Sunday and post the results each day on your blog (if you have one). No pre-conceived notions, or judgments, just try it. If you do decide to do it, next Sunday let me know, but not ahead of time. Thanks.

-D

Magically Delicious

I don't normally like to mix business with pleasure, but I thought I'd post some of my commercial work for a change. These were done for a Chicago animation studio in a proposed re-design of everybody's favorite lil' leprechaun. The idea didn't go through, so here they are.... and there's a couple more right....... over...............here (if you're interested).

Perfection

Joe Merideth's comment about going with one's "gut feeling" is something he, B.J. Crawford, and I have discussed at lunch many a time. My "gut feeling", was to hunt this down... in hopes it would relate. Thanks j-dog :)

"The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of worked they produced, all those on the right solely on the quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the "quantity" group: fifty pounds of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B", and so on. Those being graded on "quality", however, needed to produced only one pot- albeit a perfect one - to get an "A". Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was busily churning out piles of work - and learning from their mistakes - the "quality" group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay."

"If you think good work is somehow synonymous with perfect work, you are headed for big trouble. Art is human; error is human; ergo, art is error. Inevitably, your work (like, uh, the preceding syllogism...) will be flawed. Why? Because you're a human being, and only human beings, warts and all, make art. Without warts it is not clear what you would be, but clearly you wouldn't be one of us."

David Bayles and Ted Orland, pg. 29 Art & Fear


With that said, I'm going to issue a wee-challenge (or an "idea", if you prefer) to my blog buds on Friday.... :)

Also, I need to do some major link-age updates this weekend to spread the diddle love......

Concept Sketch 11-10-05

A friend and I are in the early brainstorming stages of developing a comic book story, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of monsters, ladies, and weird stuff for the next couple months. I love the brainstorming stage of any project: anything goes, don't say "no" to yourself, and the skys the limit. From this, you can whittle down, re-arange, or smooth out your ideas. Beginning with an open mind can help to keep the project fresh throughout, and allow for other possibilities somewhere down the line.

I've posted two versions of the same drawing in response to Greg and Dave's questions about how I do my sketches. I almost always start out with a blue pencil sketch, working very loosely and exploring shapes, lines of action, composition, etc. It's a visual brainstorm, just an idea or thought on paper. Like a writer jotting notes, or a musician humming or messing around with their instrument. After the blue sketch starts feeling like it's coming together, I go in with a pencil (2 pencils ideally, one sharpened for smaller areas and crisper lines, and one a bit blunter for bigger areas and a bit of side shading) and start bringing things together, always allowing for changes, and never working too long in one area. If I start noodling around too long in one area, I consciously make myself shift to another. This allows me to work on the picture as a whole, and discourages spending too much time focused on what could be un-important areas. After tightening things up I scan it into photoshop in grayscale mode, adjust levels, erase, and lasso tool delete things for a cleaner looking piece. So in other words... my original sketches can be quite messy :)

Five Words.....

All You Can Eat Sushi!!!!!!

Train Sketch 11-09-05

Two of my favorite things.....ice cream and hats with flowers.

I'd like to continue with some more thoughts on yesterday's post tomorrow, especially some things Joe (fellow chewblogger) mentioned. Also, I highly recommend Robert Henri's The Art Spirit. It's the type of book that doesn't need to be read from start to finish; but can be picked up at any point. Full of insightful, thoughtful, and at times piercing, statements and observations. I'm going to start posting regularly from the book.

I do however have to thank the Kirby comments here and now, for I will have sweet dreams of Devil Dinosaur dancing in my head tonight...... ;)

Train Sketch...

..... with an attempt at getting back to super-heroics ( did do some touch ups at home on this one).

Thanks to everybody who has been stopping by, and especially to those leaving comments. It's nice to know what people are thinking about a particular piece, for it often offers new, insightful perspectives. A fresh set of eyes and some constructive critism are always welcomed. Case in point, thanks to (Dazzlin') Dan Segarra and (Sassy) Samantha Aquino for your insights on pencil sketching in regards to yesterday's post. Retaining the energy, or personality, in a cleaned up piece can be difficult. Quick, focused sketches often contain a certain vibrance, or immediacy about them.

For all my bloggin' buddies out there, I highly recommend doing, and posting, some quick sketch studies. Letting go can be difficult at first, but extremely rewarding once discovered. The focus shouldn't be on the one finite piece, but the continuous , everchanging, everflowing body of work.

"The real study of an art student is more a development of that sensitive nature and appreciative imagination with which he was so fully endowed when a child, and which, unfortunately in almost all cases, the contact with the grown-ups shames out of him before he passes into what is understood as real life."
Robert Henri, The Art Spirit

Train Sketch

:)

A

A couple years ago, in an attempt to try something new, I did some illustrations for my own children's ABC book. Everything was penciled, inked, scanned, and colored, ...... then my Mac decided to die. Since then I've gone PC (no offense to anybody, I still like Mac) and the drawings have been sitting in the basement. Friend , and fellow cartoonist, Greg Scherrer, has been posting his own version of an ABC book on his blog, and this has inspired me to re-scan and color the musty drawings in the basement. It's fun to see the similar items we've used. I'll try posting one a week. Maybe someday it'll get published......:)

Sea Monkey Serenade.....

..... :)

Cry.....Of the Wolf Boy.....

Something silly after looking through a Shag book.....

.....and dedicated to my good bud and animator extrordinare, Joe Merideth.

Train Sketch

:)

Train Sketch...

...not an actual sketch of a train, but a sketch done while sitting on the train ride home.

Baddies

Brain storming....