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.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Artist Trading Cards

(From left to right; Splinter, April, Shredder, Michelangelo,Casey Jones, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Krang, Slash, the Rat King and Foot Soldiers).

This was a personal project and labor of love that started about a year ago in an effort to go back to a time when I really enjoyed drawing. I still enjoy it, but something (at the time) felt "lost" and I wanted to go back to that time as a kid, sitting at the dinner table in the evening and not worrying about what a client wanted. Plain and simple; drawing for the fun of it.

I'm finding that there are many benefits to creative side projects. I learned a lot along the way; about art and about myself. I would also like to say a big THANK YOU to my awesome girlfriend, Heidi for her honesty and encouragement. Her thoughts, feedback and just listening to me talk (and blab) about how much I love the Turtles means a lot.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you're Holiday season is a great one.

Cartoon Monster Designs

This was an embroidery design assignment from work and I wanted to share a little bit of my process. The top image is the sew out of the design after being digitized, the middle image is the vector art and the bottom image is the pencil rough. My job is making the drawings and the vector art. You can find the machine and hand embroidery files at Urbanthreads.

I usually start with a pencil sketch to get approved before going on to Adobe Illustrator and drawing it again on the computer. The process seams to change depending on my confidence with the subject. Sometimes I use thumbnails, sometimes it's really loose and gestural drawings. In this case I stayed pretty tight and clean and also tried to keep each monster unique. I get so much inspiration from animation and character design artists and am always looking for ways to plug that into my drawings at work.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out the art. And thank you everyone out there for making your own creations and sharing them with the world! Cooking, quilting, designing, crafting... everything. It's a treat to share art on this blog and a treat to experience what everyone else it making in the world.

:)