I've been lazy...and a Merry Christmas to you, too

Oops.  I think I've been a little lazy concerning inkSwatch, it's been a crazy month.  Sorry it has been forever since I got on.  I am swamped at work and I have been working overtime, so I have had very little time to get outside projects completed.  Though I do have a decent amount of sketches and drawings in my sketchbook, I just haven't had time to scan them in to even show you guys the sketches, let alone colour them.

Here's my winter/Christmas sketch.  I made it the same time as the harvest sketch; same idea, basically. 

I will be gone for about two weeks—I'm going overseas—but when I come back, I hope to have some sketches and pictures of some of the things I saw while I was gone. 

Until then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I'll see you in 2014!

Sketch of a Captive

Here is one of those times when I don't plan what I am sketching, and it just makes it own way on the paper.  I had no plans on drawing her, I just wanted to draw the head and neck in this particular position and the rest of the drawing just sort of came out of the paper this way.

The sketch turned out really well, so I decided to colour it, too.  Not completely sure yet if the painting turned out just as well.  Not totally happy with it yet.

Gustaf 2.0

So, I wasn't completely happy with Gustaf (I think he was too chocolaty), so I decided to redo him.  I wanted him to look much grungier, like he was just ran through a patch of mud on his way to beg at your doorstep. 

Gustaf

This is Gustaf, an alley cat who has been in a couple fights too many.  And probably one or two dogs' mouths.  But that does not stop him from being at your door every morning, begging for a bowl or milk.  But he's not ungrateful.  Every now and then, he gifts you with a dead mouse he caught just for you...you see?  He's not selfish.

Fall

Happy November!  Okay, so I'm late, but I was out of town!  That should be a good excuse right? 

I don't know why, but in my mind it's not fall until November.  Probably because I live in Florida where summer is extended and it doesn't actually feel like fall until November.  If I saw leaves turning colours and everything, I might consider to change the beginning of fall to another date, say, September 21st, or some weird date like that.  But until the palm leaves begin turning red and gold and falling off the tree, I will keep believing fall begins in November.

Against the Kraken, part 4 (final)

Okay.  I think I'm done.  Well, as done as a picky, OCD, perfectionist artist can be.  But, I have to turn it in to the competition tonight, so I might as well be done with it.  For now.

I also just spent three hours trying to submit this thing to the competition on Gonomon Workshop Forum.  Finally got it to upload correctly.  Took way longer than I ever thought it would; maybe if I read the directions it wouldn't have taken so long.

 

Against the Kraken, part 3

Almost done.  Here's the almost finished piece.  I think the mermaid is pretty much finished.  I still need to work on the magical shark and fix up some of the tentacles, but that will be tomorrow before I submit it to the competition.

Against the Kraken, part 2

Wow, I'm tired.  This whole competition thing has been great at keeping me accountable, but I am really sleepy.  I have two more days to get it finished.  Must be completed by the 31st.  You may be getting a lot of whining from me the next two days.  Or I might just remain silent and ignore you until I finish.  Ha, knowing me, probably the whining. 

Here's some more done on the mermaid.  The kraken is also coming along, but it's not in a fit state to show you guys, just yet.  Sorry. 

Tired of Type

One of the things I have to deal with as a designer is an endless amount of type.  Whether it be the layout of a curriculum or a textbook or even a kid's book, there is type.  Curriculum = lots of type.  Guess what I work with the most?  Curriculum.

Now, here's the catch: I love type and I hate type.  I love to make the type perfect: getting rid of as many of those annoying little hyphens that spawn like rabbits throughout the type (without leaving too much white space behind); creating styles that automatically do most of the busy work; making each layout work within its spread.  All that is very enjoyable and I would do it all day long.  What I despise about type is that it is never-ending, it lives on like a cockroach after a nuclear holocaust.  Once I believe that it is beautiful and exactly the way I want it to be, someone adds or subtracts text, leaving a once beautiful layout dripping with blank spaces of imperfection.

When this happens, and I have this great desire to run away and work for Disney, I turn to the calming feel of a pencil in my hands and the enjoyable sensation of a graphite tip scratching the surface of paper (or a wacom pen on a tablet...same thing).

I made this poor guy during one of those times at work, and he has taken on some of my emotions.  He's just as tired of type as I am. 

Against the Kraken, part 1

College life was awesome.  It was crazy, hectic, and I am very glad it is over, but for my artwork, it was awesome.  I had deadlines and due dates and requirements for my pieces.  Which means, I had a massive weight on my shoulders the whole time, but at least I got my pieces completed at a decent hour.  Now I work as a graphic designer, and I have very few deadlines for my personal illustration work.  I have the free time, just not the motivation.  Instead, I fill my life up with a whole lot of crazy nonsense that has very little to do with the art that I spent so many years studying.

Now, after I have bored you to tears, I am finally going to explain what this post is for.

After trying and failing to get big pieces completed, I decided to enter a contest.  I have until the end of the month to finish this piece, but I figured I would give you some of my process.  The piece is going to be of a female mermaid spellcaster going up against the Kraken.  Here is the sketch of the mermaid.

Lisa

Finally got my blog up and running!  Took me long enough, I know.  However, I have no fans, which is a good thing for me because an angry mob at my door would not be fun. 

As a first post, I would like to introduce to you, Lisa, one of my coworkers.  She's probably about as insane as I am and this sketch does not do her justice.  But I promised her I would paint it, so here it is for all the world to see (and it's the only half-decent, completed painting on my new computer, and I don't want to deal with transferring my old files, just yet).