monsters 'n stuff

Weekend Monster! 07...update

2012-01-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

This one is taking me a little longer than I want...but, that's just the way it goes sometime. Plus I started a new excercise program that takes up all my time and energy. Still shooting for 52/52 total.
Here's a progress shot...

Sketches...

2012-01-22T19:56:00.001-08:00

Haven't uploaded any sketchbook pages in a while. Here's a couple new ones.

There are some concept sketches for a new paper toy I'm working on here. Should be pretty awesome when I'm done.

Weekend Monster! 07...sketch...

2012-01-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

I've got some progress on this one but it ain't done...so here's the rough illustrator sketch. Should be up soon and pretty awesome too.

Weekend Monster! 06...

2012-01-09T00:27:00.001-08:00

Okay I'll admit the car is a little weak on this one. It's supposed to be a Hemi Cuda...but it's late and I need to get it posted. I spent too much time sleeping and doing laundry this weekend. Blurgh...

I can't tell if I'm getting better at drawing cars. Ha ha.

Weekend Monster! 05...

2012-01-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

Weekend Monster! is back (although I'm battling an awesome cold right now) and this weeks Weekend Monster! is dedicated to a certain birthday boy who's birthday was in December. The monster is of course Chris (as teenwolf) and the car is his little go-kart Honda Fit. I drove it the other night and I was impressed that it had so much juice under the hood.

Happy Birthday Oldmanwolfdude!

Holiday cards for kids...

2011-12-22T20:59:00.001-08:00

Last week at work we took some time to hand make cards for kids who were hospitalized over the holidays. They were supposed to be holiday (not christmas) themed and we had all sorts of paper, glitter, markers, all that jazz. You can see one of my four snowmen in the upper center. Hopefully they make some little guy or girl's holiday a little brighter.

Most of them said something along the lines of "Hope you have a cool holiday!" Cause he's a snowman, see? Cool...snow...cold.

YEAH!

Weekend Monster! 04...

2011-12-18T22:43:00.000-08:00

This week I did a little double duty. Creating a Weekend Monster! and participating in my friends over at Paper Bicycle's new holiday challenge.

For the monster I am paying homage to my favorite holiday monster, the abominable "Bumble" snowman from the Rankin/Bass classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I used the teardrop ornament dieline from the PB blog for the monster. For the car I thought the Bumble would probably cruise around in a big ol' snow cat...with flames and I used the christmas car dieline...sort of. I altered it to suit my snow cat needs.

Download here.

I added a second page for arms and legs. Download here.

Download here.

Here they are all nice and put together!!

*Update. You can download them now!!

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Weekend Monster! 03...

2011-12-12T00:30:00.000-08:00

I gotta stop waiting till 6pm on Sunday to start these!! Here is Weekend Monster! number 3 as finished as I can afford to finish it. The car in this piece is the amazing Lamborghini Countach. The one and only car I ever had a poster of as a kid. Also, I found this image which was the inspiration for my slime monster. Enjoy.

Weekend Monster! 03 Sketches...

2011-12-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

Man oh man! This one has been brutal. It hasn't been the car this time, it's the monster. I just couldn't get it right! (Although I didn't try too hard on the car. Ha.) I'm working on the finals as we speak. Check the sketches below.

Weekend Monster! 02...

2011-12-04T22:20:00.001-08:00

Here it is. Weekend Monster! number two. Have I mentioned that I really don't like drawing cars yet?! In other news, go see The Muppets. Is it the best film ever? No. Is it a pretty fun, feel good movie that you'll enjoy? Yes. So go see it.

Sketches...

Weekend Monster! 01 Sketches...

2011-11-28T21:47:00.001-08:00

It was requested I throw my sketches for of my Weekend Monster!s on here. Here's WM_01.

New Project: Weekend Monster!...

2011-11-27T22:12:00.000-08:00

I'm getting a jumpstart on my New Year's resolutions.

Number One; stop eating sooo much garbage. I know that eight cheese macaroni and cheese with bacon looks amazing but I don't want to have a heart attack before I'm forty.
Number Two; I am going to set a new art project for myself called Weekend Monster! I wanted to challenge myself to practice something I hate to draw...cars. I balanced this out with something I like to draw...monsters. So the challenge is to post a monster and his/her vehicle of choice, every weekend, for a year. That make 52 monsters and 52 cars total. We'll see how it goes as I am pretty infamous for never, ever finishing art projects...ever.

I kick this project off with my very own MnS blog mascot and his sweet ride.

It's going to be a busy year...O_O

Sketches...

2011-11-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

Sketches...

2011-10-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook...

2011-09-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ninja stuff?! Sweet!

Just bought a bunch of new colored Faber-Castell brush pens. I was very excited.

That's more like it...

2011-09-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

If anybody out there follows my blog they'll know I always have several pieces that I tinker away on for years. Kind of like a mechanic with the old broken down car in the garage. This piece I began for the S.A.A.C. a billion years ago has gone through several changes.
Here is the original sketch and color study.

I started this piece by cleaning all my line work. I didn't like it. It felt too clean and the colors are really drab.

A while later I got back into it reworking the line work and pushing the color. Also adding a single layer of shading.

Recently I realized I hated the line work and was always more interested in the color. Here is my latest attempt to breath some life into this piece. More like the energy in the original sketch. If I ever finish it I think this is the way to go.

Practice 09/18/11...

2011-09-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

Nib over "Tinkerbell"

Pentel Artist Brush Pen over "Toy Story"
I tried this pen as a recommendation by several other artists. I can't say I really have the hang of it. I think I prefer a real brush for the time being.

FOOTI KOOTI...

2011-09-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

So it's cold outside, late, and I wanted to get some color on the 'ol blog. Popped open Illustrator and cranked out a quick Kanti from FLCL in about an hour and a half. I love me some Gainax fo sho! Now time for bed.

Practice 09/13/11...

2011-09-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Winsor-Newton Series 7 over "Tangled"

Sketchbook...

2011-09-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

That's the furniture from the office I was waiting in while my car was being fixed. Pretty exciting.

Practice 09/10/11...

2011-09-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

Winsor Newton Series 7 over Larry

Nib over "Tinkerbell"

I need to get some color on this blog soon!!

Daily Monster...

2011-09-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

I recently had my students do a Daily Monster for warm-up practice. When I got home I did one too. Very fun!

Practice 9/07/11...

2011-09-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Faber-Castell and other brush pen over Plankton

Practice 9/06/11...

2011-09-08T19:57:00.001-07:00

Nib on Toy Story

Practice for 09/04/11...

2011-09-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

Faber-Castell PITT artist pen over "Tangled"

Winsor Newton Series 7 over "SpongeBob"

Practice 09/03/11...

2011-09-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Just one the other night. It was getting late.

Nib over Tinkerbell

Practice 09/01/11...

2011-09-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

Why use coloring books? Well because they give me a quick and very clean drawing to work from and the art is usually pretty simple. It allows a lot of room to play and explore new techniques, textures, lighting and also makes me draw stuff I might not normally thought of myself. I would probably never draw fairies or flowers but here you go...

Nib over Tinkerbell

Winser Newton Series 7 over Toy Story

Faber-Castell PITT artist pen over Tangled

Practice makes perfect...

2011-09-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

I recently started teaching and the one thing it's made me realize is you have to keep practicing to keep your skills sharp. One thing I never spent too much time on when I was in school was working with ink, nib and brush. So as I dish out my assignments to my students I am going to brush up on my own skills as well. The quickest way to do that is photcopy a bunch of coloring books and work over top. Saves me the time of having to fuss over a bunch of new drawings.

Practice for 08/30/11:

Nib over Tangled

Brush (Winsor Newton Series 7) over Squidward

Faber-Castell PITT artist pen over Toy Story

Sketches again...

2011-08-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

More sketches from the 'ol Moleskin.

More great doodles from my buddy Van.

I kept falling asleep while trying to draw that post-it note. I don't know what it is supposed to be. An alligator with a party hat, horrible teeth, iron belly...no clue.

I had an allergy attack. Suck.

Best cat high five ever.

Panda Candy...?

2011-08-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Crazy sketch full of randomness. Sometimes it just has to be done.

Sketchbook...

2011-08-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

More sketchbook stuff. Sometimes I go back in to old pages and doodle on top of them. There will probably be more of that in the future posts.

Love the whale cowboy and root beer

Tardis and killer burger. Awesome.

The shark was drawn by my friend Mike. We were excited about watching "Mega Shark Vs. Crocosaurus".

I actually drew those hands a long time ago, but I found them in a pile of old papers when cleaning my desk and had to stick them in my sketchbook.

One Inch, One Octo...

2011-08-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I'm supposed to show this but what the heck. Here is my entry for the One Inch, One Night Stand art show.

Octo Sushi: 1" x 1"
I haven't found out if I got in but hopefully I did beacuase it sounds like a fun show. Check it out:
"One inch one night stand is a one night only art show featuring original artwork by 50 local artists printed on one inch buttons. The buttons will be displayed on a gallery wall. The featured artists and guests attending the show are encouraged to purchase a bag of five randomly chosen buttons for $5. If you don't get the buttons you want after viewing the show, trade with others to get your favorites."
I'll keep you posted if I got in. Check out the show even if I don't. Good times.

Sketchbook...

2011-08-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted any sketchbook for a while so here we go. For anybody who's interested, I use Faber-Castell PITT artist brush pens and Pilot FriXion ball point pens...and a lot of post-it notes.

Don't eat the popcorn...it's drugged...

I think the only doodles I like are the pizza and ladybug Pillow Pet.

Cookie Monster round two...

Daily Pattern: Dot Party...

2011-08-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

Another pattern for Paper Bicycle's Daily Pattern blog. This time the theme was "Dot". At first when I heard the challenge was "dot" I thought "Sounds dumb..." and all I could think of was Dot Matrix from the movie Spaceballs (which I watched last weekend). Then I remembered that nasty candy that you have to peel off the paper and eat. That still seemed too simple so I thought to myself "Self, how do I make candy more exciting?" Then it came to me, make it a dance party!

Here are the inked sketches of all the little guys.

Mel got served...!

2011-08-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

So I drew my good buddy Mud!, so now it's time for Melitia to get hers! Blam!

Boo-ya!

Plushies...

2011-07-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

So my buds Melitia and Mud! have been working on some plush for the Chicago Comic Con. I got all inspired to doodle up some concepts of my own. Here is a sketch of a Hulk concept. I would probably do video game characters instead of super heroes but I thought this was fun.

Sniz-acks!...

2011-07-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

Slow day at work today so I drew a quick doodle of my bud and fellow artist Mud!.

His comment, "I don't have a shirt that looks like that".

Deer Mom...

2011-07-20T16:00:00.001-07:00

So here's a little progress for the SAAC challenge for July, Mom Tattoo. I'm doing different animals/creatures and I'm teaming up with my buddy Lindsay who will do the tattoos. Here is my deer sketch and color sketch which will soon be sporting a sweet "Doe" tattoo. I hope to have the final posted soon.

Project Ben 10...Diamondhead Final...

2011-07-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Not gonna lie, this one took me a really long time. Then I got bored and stopped working on it for a long time. Picked it back up and finished over the last couple days.
Painting in Illustrator is so time consuming. I think when I started this project a billion years ago I thought it was going to be fun, and while it is rewarding to see the results these characters take a long time and I get bored and want to do other pieces. We'll see if I ever complete the remaining 7 aliens from the original Ben 10. Seems kind of pointless since there is a new series and like a trillion new monsters. Still, I like the original aliens and I may get to them eventually. If I do, next up will probably be Four Arms.

Daily Pattern: Beboppin' Blue Birds...

2011-07-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

Another pattern for Paper Bicycle's Daily Pattern Challenge. This piece is kind of an ode to Jim Flora and Disney back in the Saludos Amigos days. My friend Francesca did a pattern with blue birds in it and it made me want to make a blue bird pattern too.

Here is a detail shot.

Couple sketches...

2011-07-10T19:52:00.001-07:00

Aside from my Moleskin I have another bigger sketchbook. Most of the sketches in it turn into final pieces but here are a couple doodles that were just for fun.

This little guy keeps popping up in my sketchbook.

This was a begining sketch for something but I decided I didn't like it at all so I scribbled another sketch on top of it to save the page.

Only a couple...

2011-07-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

Only a couple pages this time but I was tired of looking at that Band-Aid pattern.

The bottom sketch is of me and how I sled down hills.

Okay this is my absolute least favorite page in my sketchbook so far. I drew this on a flight to L.A. and hated it so much I redrew over it months later. Still looks awful. They get better from here on. :)

Daily Pattern: Band-Aid...

2011-06-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Here's another entry for Daily Pattern. This topic was Band-Aid. Kind of a gross topic, but it reminded me of when my brother and I were younger we once got on this kick of seeing who could have the most band-aids on at once. The challenge was it had to be for an actual cut. So like the intelligent kid I was I immediately ran out and started doing all kinds of dangerous things that would cut my hands up. I think I got up to 7 band-aids before my mom caught on to what we were doing and made us stop.

Daily Pattern: Sad but true...

2011-06-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

Here is another entry for Daily Pattern. The theme was "Date Night". It's been quite a while since I've been on a date. Most of my date nights are like this these days.

Just to clarify...these are the messages I get, not that I send. Time to go eat all the ice cream. O_O

Wakka wakka wakka...

2011-06-22T23:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some simple little Pac-Man ghosts I drew to go along with the simple Pac-Man doodle already gracing the front of my Moleskin. Now to cut them out and tape them up! Woot!

OMG! Could it be?!...

2011-06-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

So every now and then I start working on a piece that just becomes an epic labor of love. Monster Time was one such piece where I drew, redrew, colored, recolored, redrew, forgot about, remembered, so on and so forth. I puttered around with it over the course of almost three years. Well, introducing my new gigantic labor of love piece. This was a sketch I started working on for the second S.A.A.C. challenge of "Yeti Spaghetti". I drew and redrew and recently drew a little more. Here is the result of the hopefully soon to be finished "Yeti Spaghetti" piece.
Close to complete sketch...

Basic color blocking...

Just playin...

2011-06-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

I was playing around in Photoshop CS5 today. Experimenting with the different brushes. I drew this...

Then I drew this...

Then I started doing this...but realized the drawing was really bad and stopped.

I need a lot of practice painting in the computer. I've seen some amazing stuff by some super talented people and it's made me want to learn. So time to teach this old dog a new trick.

Bad sketches...

2011-06-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

They can't all be awesome but like I said I am trying to post all the pages from my Moleskin. This is a grouping of not so great sketches.

I was kinda having a rough day. This was all that I felt needed to go in this page.

Not really having a rough day, just thought it was a nice juxtaposition from the previous page.

This is probably my least second least favorite page in my sketchbook so far. I put a little sketch my buddy Van drew on there just to try to make it better. :P

More sketches...

2011-06-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of these yet?! Me either!

This page is really weird. Why do I post these four at a time? I guess it just keeps me on my toes to draw more.

Daily Pattern: Bear...

2011-06-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

Here is my pattern for the Paper Bicycle Daily Pattern theme of "Bear". This was pretty much the first thing that popped into my head...although I didn't think to make it Yogi until I started doodling. I couldn't stop laughing at the thought of what if Yogi was just a regular bear wearing a hat and tie.

A close up swatch...

Sketches...

More doodles...

2011-06-05T19:26:00.001-07:00

Pencil jet...

I was explaining some One Piece stuff to a friend...

There's a sketch of my cat Bella's arm when she was a kitten on the left, and what she looks like now on the right. Also Tremors!!!

Think I drew this during some training.

Daily Pattern: Treasure Hunt...

2011-05-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

So I wasn't going to do this one but my buddy Francesca was all "I would be super happy if Adam did a One Piece pattern". Now I love me some One Piece and I couldn't let Francesca down so here it is!!

Here is the repeat...

So for all you non-nerds out there the pattern is made up of the Straw Hat Pirates own personal treasures. Luffy's straw hat he recieved from Shanks and a piece of Ace's Vivre Card (I think that's what it's called). Zorro's sword he recieved from Kuina. An orange for Nami for Bellemere's orange grove. The Go Merry for Usopp. A mermaid for Sanji (he loves the ladies). The mushroom Chopper found to cure Hiluluk's illness. A book of knowledge from the Island of Scholars for Nico Robin. The plans for the Pluton for Frankie. Lastly, Laboon the whale for Brook. (I'll admit I had to look up a lot of those names...)

More doodles...

2011-05-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more pages from my sketchbook. It blew my mind when I visited the art store (my most favorite place ever...now that I think of it, I don't really like coffee but I love the art store. They need to make an art store with couches and tables and music and sandwiches and soups and gross tea/coffee drinks. I would hang out there all the time!) Anyway...I was at the art store and found COLORED Faber-Castell brush pens. The best pens in the world. As you can see I celebrated as any artist would, I drew a picture of Godzilla.

Dino-Rabies!! Heh heh.

"REEEE-AAUUUUUURR-AAUUGGHHH-UUUUUUGGHHRGG!!"

I was drawing this right in front of my boss while we were having a meeting. Sometimes I'm a really bad employee...

I don't really like anything on this page but I'm posting all the pages so here ya go.

Daily Pattern: Writing Utensil...

2011-05-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

Another pattern for my buddies over at Paper Bicycle with the theme of "Writing Utensil". The idea just popped in to my head. I wanted to show how any writing/drawing utensil becomes a living, breathing thing in the hands of someone creative...or I just wanted to draw a sea dragon.

Daily Pattern...

2011-05-26T23:08:00.001-07:00

Another daily pattern topic for the amazing team at Paper Bicycle. This one was "Easter Egg" I think.

X (Minute) Men: Ice Man...

2011-05-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

Again another doodle of a classic X-Man and again I went way over ten minutes. A little over an hour to finish this guy...again.

Detail shot...
...and the ten(actually more like fifteen) minute sketch looked something like this...

I liked how jagged the sketch looked so the body didn't get much more detailed for the final. Peace OUT!!

More sweet doodles...

2011-05-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

Few more fun doodles...doodled here and there.

...I love the key-tar shooting flames. Ha ha.

...That dog is a drawing of my parents stupid dog Te-ah, also love the sexy lips saying "toot"...

...a particularly proud moment for an artist...failing miserably to draw Hello Kitty...twice...

...I think this was supposed to be Cookie Monster. Then I drew cupcakes instead and I don't know what the "CC" on the hat stands for...

Patterns?!?!

2011-05-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

So I don't normally do pattern stuff for fun but I was recently hanging out with my buddies at Paper Bicycle Studio and they are doing this thing called "Daily Pattern". The topic was "lamp" so I sat down and cranked this out.

You can check out all their other sweet work here.

X (minute) Men: Cyclops

2011-05-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

So I was just goofing around tonight. I said "I'm gonna do a drawing of an X-Man in ten minutes! Get it..."X"...10...anyway. An hour later I finished this...

Detail shot...
Had I actually stopped at 10 minutes it probably would have looked something like this...

Also updated...

2011-05-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

I updated my banner for the first time since I began this blog in 2007!! In preparation for hopefully having a super sweet website soon...but I'm not promising anything. :P I also closed down my "H Life +" website because it was dumb and I never posted anything there.

Sketchbooooook!...

2011-05-08T20:57:00.001-07:00

I'll post some other art someday...in the mean time more doodles.

Probably one of my favorite sketches so far!!

Again a few more great doodles from my buddy Van thrown in the mix...

I think this page is super hilarious! I drew it during thanksgiving. Everything is so excited about eating amazing food. My favorite part is the whip cream is shooting whip cream out of his head and the pumpkin pie is really weirded out by that.

More sketchbook...

2011-04-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

So many doodles. I thought I would also add that all this stuff is pretty much me grabbing a pen ang going. No real planning, just straight up brain-dump.

Some more...

2011-04-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of these so I'm kind of spacing them out.

I have to blot some stuff out as it is confidential sketch work

Sometimes my friend Van leaves post its on my desk...they're always pretty funny.

Moleskin sketches and stuff...

2011-04-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

So occasionally I'll start a Moleskin because I'm always envious of other artist's cool Moleskin sketchbooks. The only problem is they all draw beautiful portraiture and life drawings and stuff...I carry mine around to meetings at work when I'm bored and glue post-it note drawings in it.

So after some prompting from my buds Lindsay and Francesca I finally decided to post it here.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

...more to come.

Teeth art!

2011-02-06T22:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a late piece from the Super Awesome Art Challenge. The topic was Teeth.

Teeth: 13"x19"
I finally buckled down and finished it up.I'm kind of digging this simpler style I've been working with a lot lately. I should try to see where and how I can push it.
Here are a few close up shots.

Hope you enjoy.

Buttonface process

2011-01-12T00:34:00.000-08:00

Here is my piece for the December Super Awesome Art Challenge Buttonface. I've been working with this style a lot more recently. I designed a few brushes in illustrator that help me add a little texture to the work. I also work in paintings I've done for additional texture. It's a fun way to add some character to something I don't want to be too graphic and I don't feel I need to overly render.

Buttonface: 16.5" x 11"

A few close up shots:

Here's to ten-fifteen minute pen sketch for the layout. The detail was added as I went.

More Chopper...

2010-12-31T00:57:00.000-08:00

Heavy Point...

Just for fun...

2010-12-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I just get these silly ideas in my head and I just have to doodle them out. This is just such an idea. This is the first of a series of rumble cards starring everyone's favorite little reindeer pirate Toni Toni Chopper from the comic One Piece.

Chopper is the coolest!

New art!! New art!!...

2010-11-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

So this little beauty has been done in my head for about a year. I finally just decided to sit down and put pen to paper...well, mouse to monitor. It's actually for one of the S.A.A.C. challenges "Boo Boo". I originally painted a Dunny with this same concept...but since I don't have a camera I never posted it. Someday I'll show it to the world. In the mean time, here is the illustration inspired by the Dunny.

Check out the bare bones sketch I drew up for the final piece. Like I said, this piece has been done in my head for a long time.

Rust buckets!!

2010-09-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

So I jumped in the 'ol computer tonight to clean up my teeth sketch and I just couldn't do it. Maybe I'm just not motivated to spend 400 hours doing line art in illustrator recently. So anyway I threw down some vellum and inked the drawing by hand. Inking was never a strong talent of mine but check out the result below.

I don't know...might still do it in illustrator...

Teeth Color study

2010-08-02T18:31:00.001-07:00

Color study for my teeth piece.

I'll probably be doing a little post composition editing in illustrator. Hmm...I wonder if I was crazy enough with the colors.

Something silly...

2010-08-01T21:18:00.001-07:00

Here's my working sketch for the S.A.A.C. challenge for July "Teeth".

I haven't really made anything super silly for a while and this just kind of popped into my head. I'm thinking of keeping the color pretty simple...but I think I always say that. Then 3 years later I'm finished with the piece.

Gomu Gomu No Sketch

2010-07-15T20:49:00.001-07:00

...a little fan art for checca.

FINALLY DONE!!!!

2010-03-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

OMG!! I'm finally done with this piece! I started this piece 3 years ago and recently decided it HAD TO be completed. NOw it is. Enjoy!

Biggie size here...

I probably could have messed around with this for a whole lot longer but I just decided to call it done at this point. On to the next project.

SAAC Challenge: Dancin King

2010-02-07T14:54:00.001-08:00

This is my submission for the Super Awesome Art Challenge for January. I did two versions. My original intent was to not use lines and just stick with color. That version is posted here.
As always though, I got wrapped up in the line work so I am showing that version here.

Click here to biggie-size.

Little Vector Practice...

2009-11-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

So I don't usually drawl girls...but here's a little piece of a little piece I've been messing around with. It is 100% computer generated all in Adobe Illustrator from sketch to paint. Anyway, maybe I'll finish it and maybe I won't.

Backlog...

2009-09-07T00:12:00.000-07:00

Hey!! I've been working to get some S.A.A.C stuff put together because I'm WAY behind on the topics. Here is some of my progress for my Hula Ghoula and RETROBOT pieces.

Hula Ghoula color study of this sketch.

Sketch and very rough color study for RETROBOT.

I should have these done someday...

Tornado Inspiration...

2009-08-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

So the other day we got a tornado in downtown Minneapolis. We were all shuffled into a room with no windows where I found a tiny pencil laying on the table.

"Wow" I thought, "I should grab that tiny pencil!"

Then I found a tiny scrap of paper on the table. "This is no accident!" I thought.

Say we had been hit by the tornado and I was killed. When the rescuers found my lifeless corpse they would notice me clutching a tiny piece of paper in my hand.

"Amazing!" they would think. "He knew he was doomed and quickly wrote down his last thoughts about life and his loved ones."

As they reached down with tear soaked cheeks to pull my deeply personal last respects of my last moments of life out of my once warm, soft hands they would have found this...

Hawaiian ghosts wearing leis.

Another CMYKupid...

2009-04-30T21:37:00.001-07:00

I did two entries for the SAAC for February. This was my other CMYKupid. I like this one a lot better since it took me longer than thirty minutes to do...

Real cupids don't wear no silly togas...and they mean business...

SAAC Post...

2009-03-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here's my recent post for the Super Awesome Art Challenge. This one was actually a fake submission I did in about 30 minutes but everyone really liked it. I'm working on another one that I'll probably have up one of these days.

Project: Ben 10...Diamondhead Sketch

2009-02-22T21:58:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would pontificate a bit. This is a difficult project I've given myself. Doing my drawing in the computer with the pen tool is really challenging. So I thought I would show a little example of my mistakes and explain my challenges.

So here is my first pass at Diamondhead. What I've found is it's really challenging to get into the flow of action when sketching in the computer. My first image here doesn't look bad but the body language and flow of action are boring.

Take a look here where I've traced the flow. The drawing's flow is merely letting the eye slide from top to bottom. "Boring and tired" says this drawing.

So here I pushed the flow of the sketch to create a more dynamic path for the eye to follow. There's a real nice contrasting arc between the left arm and the center of the chest. Plus I've pushed the head and left foot a little more forward creating better tension in the pose.

Here's the flow outlined. Notice how the arc on the left arm, if continued would almost create a full circle with the feet. This helps the eye to continue to travel up to the shoulders, then down to the feet and back up again.

I guess that's the end of my lesson for today. Now on to the final.

Cowboy Christmas post...

2009-01-01T14:25:00.000-08:00

I took a quick break from the Ben 10 Project to finish up a piece for the Super Awesome Art Challenge blog I started in December. Check it out and all the other incredible art on there. Click here for a larger size.

Project: Ben 10...Wildmutt final

2008-12-16T19:17:00.000-08:00

K...here's the final Wildmutt. I worked a little more detail into this one. I didn't quite feel I put enough into Heatblast. Next up is Diamondhead.

"Nice dog...cute little pooch...maybe I got a milkbone or somethin'..."

Project: Ben10...Wildmutt sketch

2008-12-08T20:31:00.000-08:00

One thing I forgot to mention is that I am also not allowed to use outlines. Once again...drawing with the pen tool...not fun. Why do I do this to myself?!

Project: Ben 10...Heatblast Final

2008-12-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

Allright, one down. Heatblast is done. Next up is Wildmutt.

Project: Ben 10...Heatblast Sketch

2008-12-03T22:31:00.000-08:00

So throw that whole "taking one hour" concept out the door!! I should have known better than that. Also, sketching in Illustrator with the pen tool is awful!! I miss paper...:(

Anyway, first up is Heatblast. Check out my sketch below...

Project: Ben 10...

2008-12-03T22:19:00.000-08:00

Holy crud!! Long time since I posted.

I didn't win the contest from the post below...s'okay, I really like my design.

Anyway, I wanted to give myself a fun new project. Something that would be challenging but that I wouldn't have to think too hard about. So here's the deal:

There's this show on Cartoon Network called Ben 10. I like it. Not so much for the story or because I think it's well animated, I just like it for the concept and the fun monsters. The basic plot of the show is this little kid, Ben Teneson, finds this alien watch thingy that can transform him into 10 different creatures.

The project I'm giving myself is simple enough...draw the 10 creatures, but since I can't resist a challenge, I've given myself a couple tricky guidelines. First and most tricky is that I'm restricting myself to doing the entire piece in Adobe Illustrator. That means sketching too. Second and less tricky is that it all has to fit in a square format. Lastly, and I doubt I'll be able to do it, I am gonna try to get each illustration done in an hour.

I'll post my progress as I go. Wish me luck.

Little Big Contest...

2008-09-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hey dudes!

Here is my entry to the LBP SackBoy cotsume contest.

They're Gryphon Pajamas (but SackBoy size), hence the cardboard hat, button tail and safety pin holding the little wings on. I wish I had me a pair!!

...really wish I had a pair...my cowboy jammies have a big hole in the bum...

WoW! It's been a while...

2008-09-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

So thanks to Jerk Face and Butt Lord I got all hooked on World of Warcraft. Here are my mighty warriors. Also, I don't normally do stuff all texturey and stuff but I do super cute graphic stuff at work all day so I was looking for a change.

...LF Enchanter to cast [Butt of Smelling] on Lindsay's head...pst...

Ken vs...my satisfaction...

2008-06-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

So I added all the "tweaks" to my "vs. Ken" piece from the Street Fighter Show in the Saint Paul Tea Garden. If you've seen the version there you might notice I actually made several tweaks. Oh well, I like this version better so that's all that matters.

By the way, prints of this and the Blanka piece are available for a mere $25 a pop. Let me know if you can't live without one and we'll see what we can do.

...sorry, so tiny...

...close up...

Raaaauugghhh-ooo, Raaaauugghhh-ooo...

2008-06-09T20:40:00.001-07:00

So here's a few images of my finished Blanka piece. I'm not quite happy with my Ken piece even though it's hanging in the show. As soon as I make a few tweaks I'll post it here.

Stupid head bite got me every time! Then he just laughs at you while your bleeding from the skull...

Super Fan Art II Turbo...

2008-05-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

Hey dudes,

Here's some color comps for a couple pieces I'm working on for an upcoming show, theme of "Street Fighter".

I hope no super geeks call me out at the show...Ken is actually left handed...whoops!

Two problems with this one:
1.) The crappy round thing at the bottom is a place holder for a sketch of the humiliating head bite technique.
2.) I'm retarded and wrote "Blaka" instead of Blanka. I'll fix that later.

Lucky you...

2008-05-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hey dudes, here's a couple sneak peeks at some upcoming projects. One of which you will see the final very soon, one of which you may never see.

OH THE SUSPENSE!!!

WHOA...Where have I been?!...

2008-05-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

That's right! Where have I been? Pretty much right here, just not posting obviously. Here's some corner doodles...

This week's corner doodles feature a singing monkey thing circa Shobiz Pizza, my World of Warcraft character, and an angry viking with a bad foot (indicated by the whoops).

Corner doodles 04...

2008-04-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

...i probably should be working...

Corner Doodles 03...

2008-02-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

Random Imagery...

2008-02-10T21:16:00.001-08:00

Oh...I love digging through the ol' archives and finding all the remnants of ideas long since forgotten.

This was the piece that inspired the original Punk Bubble series.

I had big plans for this one...

...someday...

Monster Time: So Close...

2008-02-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

I've been dragging this piece out a little too long but it's getting really close to being complete. Check out my wireframe work below.

Close Up...

I don't even want to know how many vectors are in there.

Coner Doodles 02...

2008-01-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when I get bored...
...
...
...CARD-bored

...I mean cardboard...

Fanboy Warm Up...

2007-12-09T15:22:00.000-08:00

So I drew Naruto...So what.

Coming next week...Goku!!