David and Goliath Drawing

One of my favorite stories from the Old Testament, David Vs. Goliath. Basically, David was the underdog in the fight and Goliath was used to being the champion. Even though Goliath was much stronger, David put is faith in the Lord and boldly defeated his enemy with a single stone. 

A really great Bible resource online, Bible Gateway, has the full story here. 

Thank you for stopping by and hope you have a wonderful Christmas this season. :)

Christmas Dogs and Cats

 

Here are a couple new embroidery designs at Embroidery Library (search "Christmas Cats Meow" and "Christmas Canines"). Not exactly an "off the clock" project, but these where pretty fun to work on and I wanted to share them on the blog. I love drawing in this style. I did a lot of gestures and quick sketches before tightening up like the b/w drawings shown here. Just playing with each character and trying to come up with a fun pose, silhouette, personality, etc. 

Chibi Jesus

The Good Shepherd.

Fall in Minnesota

 

Between work, church, family events and planning the wedding, Heidi and I have been keeping busy the last few months. A couple of weeks ago we bundled up and went for a walk. We really enjoy getting outdoors together. It helps us keep the stress levels down, get some exercise and have some good talks together.

The Lord is my Rock

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.   Psalm 18:2

I was listening to the Christian radio station on the way to work the other week and was inspired to draw this image. It reminded me of how the waves of the sea get pretty rough sometimes but God remains still. He gives us a foundation to stand confidently upon as we patiently wait for our deliverance.

This was a quick sketch done with pencil, pen and marker on cardboard. I've been really getting into the Bible lately, particularly stories and wisdom from the Old Testament. It would be fun to do some more scripture based drawings like this in the future.

Mariachi Robot

Just having some fun in the old sketchbook.

Creative Time

To help us get into the season, my fiance and I decided to make a paper collage with a Halloween theme. We didn't know what we wanted to create at first and we sort of made it up as we went along. All we knew was that we wanted to make a piece of art and be creative together.

It started out with a black piece of illustration board and some pieces of neon construction paper. Half the fun of this project was not having a plan and just making it up as we went along. So we grabbed our glue stick and hobby knife and began putting pieces together. This was really fun for both of us and we look forward to more projects like this in the future. :)

Autumn Animals

Chibi Superhero Sketch Cards

For fun, I've been drawing fan art the last couple months. These are some new sketch cards sized at 2.5" x 3.5". Making these cards has been really great for several reasons. First, they're not a huge time commitment. Second, it's rewarding after doing several of these in the sense that you're creating a collection. Third, I really enjoy drawing super heros and cute/anime cartoon characters lately. These little guys where drawn on 11" x 14" bristle board with markers and pencils. I thought it would be easier to draw them all on one big sheet of paper instead of cutting the cards out separately and then drawing on them. Working this way helped me frame the characters more easily. It also gave me space to do some color studies next each hero as well. I look forward to doing more and have all ready started another batch! Any requests? :)

New Beginnings

Really happy to share the good news. Last month I proposed to my girlfriend (now fiance) Heidi and we plan to marry next year in the Spring. This is a sketch I did of us and my cat Stimpy. Our first family portrait. :)

I am blessed.

She's my best friend and I am grateful God has brought us together.

Victorian Cat Designs

A couple embroidery designs from work (UrbanThreads). The guy cat on the left was drawn a year or so ago and his new feline friend was added last month to our collection. It was a good challenge trying to make the two look like they go together, even though it had been some time since the first cat was created. In hindsight, I think I would give the guy cat a neck. That might help the proportions of the two cats to look more equal. It was fun researching the Steampunk/Victorian themes for costumes and attire. It was also fun to flex the character design muscles a little bit. I really tried to nail a cool silhouette with each of their poses and give them a little attitude.

Owl Lineup

This was a design idea at work that didn't get approved but I liked how it came out. I thought they would be cool as stickers or maybe on a t-shirt. Anyways, they were a lot of fun to draw/design and even though we didn't go ahead with the idea, I wanted to give them an appearance on the blog.

Cyclonus Sketch

From the sketchbook, this is drawing of Cyclonus the evil Decepticon Transformer. When I was a kid, most of my drawings were of Transformers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's still just as much fun today as it was then! This was done with Prisma Pencils and Markers on tone paper. I think I'll do some more of these Transformer drawings... just brings back so many good memories of growing up. :)

Cartoon Robot Designs

Here are some robot designs and sketches I did for Urban Threads recently. The top drawing was a little detailed and we decided on going for a more "chunky and blocky" look. The design is geared (pun intended) for kids so I think it was a good call.

I enjoy seeing into the process of some one's thoughts and love looking at artist's sketchbooks. It's sort of like the bonus footage on a DVD you enjoy. They show you behind the scenes of the film or commentary from the director about their thoughts, budget, location, etc. I love that stuff.

X-Men Post-it Notes

A few post-it note drawings from home and on my lunch breaks at work. I really enjoy playing with shapes and design, and every now and then it's fun to draw my favorite super heroes. There's a bit of nostalgia mixed with this. Growing up, I loved playing the X-Men video games for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Those games hooked me for life (in a good way) and are part of the reason I love to draw.

Thank you for visiting!

Cats in a Scarf

Happy Valentine's Day :)

Art Podcasts

Over the last few years I've been fortunate to stumble upon some great podcast shows related to illustration, comics, animation and art. It has been an education listening to these, and best of all they are free!

I feel an enormous amount of gratitude while writing this and thinking about all the people that so generously gave their time and energy into creating these. To keep it short, here is a list of my three favorite art related podcasts. They are the ones that I've learned the most from and check regularly. 

Chris Oatley's Artcast: http://chrisoatley.com/category/podcasts/

Hosted by Chris Oatley, a wealth of knowledge is shared in the areas of animation, digital painting, time management, goals and good old fashioned inspiration.

Paper Wings Podcast: http://www.paperwingspodcast.com/

Hosted by Loura Innes and Chris Oatley, the PaperWings Podcast is a community geared towards comic books and story telling.

Sidebar Nation: http://www.sidebarnation.com/

Hosted by Dwight, Adrian and Swain, Sidebar is a podcast on the topics of comic books, art and pop culture. The guests on the show are artists working in the industry (comics, film, illustration, ect.) and always have plenty of wisdom and inspiration to share.