I’ve been thinking about a few tweets I read a couple days ago that politely detracted Inktober, and why I think Inktober is a good idea. Inktober 2014: I spent 31 days reacquainting myself with my pen nibs and getting back into the habit of drawing regularly again. Inktober 2015: I decided to do 31 finished, simple illustrations and use the best ones in my portfolio. This year, Inktober 2016: I decided to improve my familiarity … Read More
I try to draw something, anything, every day. Unfortunately, there are times when I just don’t get to. Everyone has things get in the way. Even if they’re minor. Maybe it’s hobby, a class you’re taking, a meeting, or a friend’s birthday. Sometimes you’ve got a bunch of errands and chores to do. Family obligations. Other times, you’re just way, way, way too tired to physically do anything. I mean, you could make yourself get up … Read More
A good representational artist (one who illustrations something that represents something in real life, despite whatever style it is drawn in) is always looking to improve their craft, whether by improving their fundamentals, studying new techniques, exploring different mediums, etc. Figure drawing is a basic fundamental that illustrators are always trying to improve upon. We study proportion, structure of the form, and anatomy. But ultimately, drawing a live, human body posing right in front of us … Read More
On 2-26-2016, I took a last-minute trip to Yosemite National Park with a couple of friends. I took some pens, a sketchbook, and my iPhone. Yosemite. I had never been there before. And it was great. I love cliffs, and I love trees. The only thing missing was the ocean, cliff-side, but that’s okay: there were plenty of rivers, creeks, and waterfalls. I was sketching with my new Pentel Pocketbrush brushpen. It’s pretty nice, but it … Read More
This past Monday night (the 15th), I had a portfolio consultation with Penguin Books Art Director, Giuseppe Castellano, via his online school, The Illustration Department. I’ve learned there are other art education sites that offer similar consultations, such as Society Of Visual Storytelling (group setting) and Schoolism (one-on-one, limited spots). I went with Mr. Castellano for a few different reasons: 1) the consultation was very affordable; 2) it’s a one-on-one consultation, so it was going to … Read More
What I thought I was going to write about for today’s post got pre-empted by another subject. Thanks to Twitter. I went to high school with a few guys that liked to draw. A couple of them, one or two years younger than me, were obviously very, very good. You could see they had talent, and these were the guys I “competed” with, making sure my stuff was better than theirs. Looking back with an objective … Read More
I’m issuing a challenge. To myself. It can be difficult for a busy person to draw everyday, but if one wants to get better, one should do it. I’m no exception. And there are many things I need to improve upon. Remembering standard architectural details of a building’s facade; a person’s posture during a certain mood; how a muscle flexes during a certain action. I could go on, but I won’t. I don’t need to divulge … Read More
This is a “warm-up” sketch I did on 1-13-2015: The goal was to limit the time spent doing the sketch. This time I chose to work on larger paper. My sketch from the previous day was done in a 5×7 sketchbook, which somehow made me want to work meticulously. It’s probably due to the page space being small enough to sketch fairly freely, but not so small that I was forced to go into “thumbnail mode”, … Read More
I have very rarely done warm-up sketches. I understand the value of warm-up sketches. I admit, when I was younger, I thought, “Why do I need to warm up my drawing muscles? Why can’t I just draw?” Of course it helps to loosen up the fingers, the hand, and the arm before doing any drawing that is meant to end up as a finished piece. But when you have a limited amount of time to spend … Read More
