human head...

i guess the reality is that everyone is busy, so not posting because of that is just an excuse.  especially for me, given that i've been doing a lot more drawing on paper these days than i typically do.  this is good.  i AM busy, so here is my post.

taffi -- 2013...

the results are in!  great weekend and great festival.  if you haven't been to TAFFI yet, i suggest you go next june.  i saw some great animated film screenings from both professionals, filmmakers and students, plus attended a slough of great workshops and panels from state of the industry addresses to how to take an idea from a napkin sketch to a fully produced series...i also ended up doing a run for some proper cigars for one david silverman, director of the simpsons for the last 24 years.  i'll tell that story another time..

one of the workshops that i attended over the weekend was an environmental drawing workshop from layout and design veteran, scott caple.  i was fortunate enough to speak at length with scott and i learned that not only is he a hell of an environmental artist, but a friendly person willing to make new friends in the industry.  seeing as i was at the festival partly to meet some new folks in my industry, it was nice for me to have been able to meet and chat with someone who's work i greatly admire...

here's a few scratches i did during the environments for animation workshop..

scratches for the sake of them..

this is a fairly recent sketch that relates to no one specific.  he does, however, feel a little like a washed up early-mid eighties punk/post punk icon--sorta like iggy pop, tom verlaine and richard hell all rolled into one...

a..

this is how i see the beginning of the alphabet in the future...

morestache..

i wasn't gonna post this yet cause it's not finished -- or anywhere near finished for that matter.  truth is, it takes me sooo friggin' long to get through these, i thought i'd throw it up and maybe someone will offer something constructive.  i've never been a good painter, but i'm trying to improve that skill.  it's a long road for me...

chinois...

 the thumbnails were drawn the old fashioned way, then scanned in later for reference to what in blazes i was attempting to do...

started to rough things out a bit...

continued to hash things out a little more--this ended here though, the overall direction changed completely after this and it was abandoned for lack of time.  one of these days i will revisit this for fun though--i liked where it was going.

as you may or may not be able to tell, i drew this in flash.  mistake.  i should have anticipated that the file would get very large very fast...got very slow in a hurry.  when i come back to this i will most likely finish it up with sketchbook pro.  at the very least--if it must be 'flashified'--save the final linework for flash.

scheister...

quick sketch using sketchbook pro--more of a warm up drawing, i guess--sleazeball...

shut your moustache...

an unfinished sketch using sketchbook pro--which is a program i'm really starting to like, btw...i figured it was time i started posting more sketches to keep myself challenged and inspired, so here y'are..

first play with sketchbook pro...

so i finally pulled myself out of the dark ages and got myself a copy of sketchbook pro.  i kinda like that it's a very simple and easy to use without all sorts of bells and whistles.  chances are i'll use it a lot for sketching until i get a little deeper into the program...

who will move into this neighborhood...

a sketch i did recently.  i'll work it up some more eventually--maybe finish it a few different ways to force myself to experiment a little...

funny how that works...

interesting--i've been here 2 times in the last year or so and both times i brought a tree.  figures...

tree...

this is a drawing that i did a while back when i used to draw with ink a lot.  having worked digitally for the last several years, i realize that it's something i miss more and more.  i think it's time to embark on a phase of drawing on paper some more..

is this thing on...

i'd be lying to you if i told you things weren't absolute madness around here.  been super busy with work, and some other projects i've been working on that'll have to remain under the covers for a little while longer..

the show that i just finished working on is airing now, so you should check it out.

a couple from a show i've been working on...

these are probably safe to post now, given that the episodes that they appeared in have aired.  this was a really fun show to work on.  the style is modelled slightly after comic book genius charles burns' work.

duck...

happy new year!

this is the most recent thing i've been practicing with.  it's taken quite a lot of fuss to get it to this state--but not surprising given my first attempt at painting an animal/furry/feathery type of character.  i think it has a few tweaks necessary to 'finish' it, but i'm pleased with it so far.  i'm starting to really dig this digital painting racket...

more colouring...

here's the coloured version of an earlier post.  i realize that this painting still has a ways to go yet, but i feel as though it's on the right track.  any suggestions?  remember, i'm pretty new to the digital paint realm, so go easy...

colour...

alright.  as promised, here's the coloured version of an earlier post.  i tightened up the value study quite a lot before adding any colour--and very glad that i did.  it made the colour stage much easier to navigate.  remember, this is my first real attempt at digital colouring (beyond the ol' 'click and fill') so go easy...

domo origato, mrs. roboto...

still tryin' to wield the ol' digital paintbrush.  gettin' there...

le paint...

i finally decided to delve into the wonderful world of digital paint.  given that i've only made three half assed attempts at using a digital painting program before and only a handful of attempts using traditional methods i'm fairly content with this value study.  i'll post the colour version when it's done....

this is old, but i'm posting it anyway...

a while back, i made a couple half-assed attempts at painting digitally.  this was one of them.  although i'm happy with the result for now, i have no clue as to how i really got there--i mean, i was working blindly in photoshop.  i think there's a lot more happy accident here than there is painting...

i'm looking forward to learning the intricacies of painter.  i'm looking forward to being able to understand (even in part) the digital process..

almost two years...

it's official--i've been absent from blogging for far too long.  it's time for a renewed focus on a lot of things in my life, including regular posting on my blog (mostly for my own sanity).  that said, it'll give me another thing to manage, but hopefully provide some fun, feedback and inspiration at the same time.

let's start, then...

what does radio have to do with it...

k, it's been a while since i've been here...and i'm on the radio now.

goto: www.cklu.ca and click on the streaming option every tuesday at 8pm EST. i play all of the music that inspired/inspires secks streetwear. you'll like it.

dig it.

molly...

hopefully, this explains why i haven't been around much lately...io think i'll be back to gettin some more drawrin's up over the holidays.

happy festivus!

there's no place like home...

i gotta get to this a lot more often than i do. working in flash has robbed me of all my pencils, but i stole one back. take that, flash!

profile...

i did this drawing the other day at a drawing session organized by some work mates. good ol' fashioned graphite on newsprint. felt good. it's nice to draw from life again...

a couple more...

here's a couple more layouts for the show i'm currently working on that i built in flash...

five at once, baby...

so...i guess that's what happens when you don't post in a while. nothin' for a while, then -- boom. whole bunch at once...

this is a sequence of background images that i built for the show i am currently working on. they are done completely using flash. i figured i'd throw them up for fun. enjoy...

excuse me, miss, 1983 called...they'd like their hoop earrings back...

i can't beleive how busy everything has been lately (insert tiny violin playing just for me here). now that i've moved from animation over to location design things seem to be non stop. it's great though. i'm happy to have been given the opportunity to do both anim and design...it gives me a more detailed appreciation for the production, and how important it is to be thorough for the sake of the person after you in the 'assembly line'...

rest -- words of wisdom...

this is a tee i screen printed for my friend, jon izen. he gave me one of his drawings, i made up the screen, and then he went haywire...printed shoes, shirts for his son isaac, he printed the pants he was wearing for christ's sake...

i'm very happy how the tee's turned out. i think they look great. he has a pile of them, so if you want one check him out at www.jonizen.blogspot.com and leave him a message. check him out anyway...it's brilliant stuff...

delovely...

these sketches aren't without their flaws, but i guess that's what you get. interesting what happens after looking at some wonderful and inspiring drawings and photos of the notorious betti page -- even if my sketches bare absolutely no resemlbance at all to her. man, she's delightful...

yuk it up...

funny what comes out when you're waiting around...or where you're waiting, in this particular case. i heart happy...

uh oh...

still tryin' to figure out what the hell is going on with photoshop...as you can see, we're gettin' some speed wobble on the ol' shopping cart here...

ol' swirly eyes....

it's been forever and a day, it seems, since my last post. the usual excuses apply here as well...busy at work, busy at home, busy, period. no rest for the wicked, i always say...

this is a scribble i did during a recent meeting (yes, i was still paying attention). lately, i find myself using this 'continuous line' approach to drawing...i guess that's not such a bad thing...

ahhh, le visage...

this is another attempt at digital painting...well, a digital chalk drawing if you want to get technical. i'm getting more familiar with ps as time goes on, but ctrl + z is still a very close friend of mine.

seeing as i never saw myself as much of a painter, i'm happy with this result. now i just need to put more miles behind the brush so this program can start to feel like less of a shopping cart...maybe more like one of those smart cars...they handle ok, i think...

lines and flowers and squares, oh my...

is this thing on?

first, happy new year! it's been a hectic few weeks, which i suppose is par for the course for the holidays. now that my belly's full of turkey and chocolate, i plan on getting here to post, and to visit everybody a lot more often. here's a doodle i did during the holidays. my nephew did the first 4 or 5 groupings of arcs in the bottom right hand corner and then abandoned the drawing...got bored i suppose. the rest materialized after he left his lonely lines to die...i guess i saw an end to his beginning...

now that i'm having fun with lines again, maybe it's time to get a bit more ambitious...

ye olde mudpuddle...

i haven't drawn with ink in a long time...i think it shows. this doodle got a bit muddy in places, but it was nice to try and get some confidence back with the pen...although, i have a ways to go. the way i figure it -- the more unnecessary lines or mistakes i make now, means more necessary lines and less mistakes later, nuh?

i think i may use this as a starting point to practice some more digital paining too...what the hell...maybe i'll be able to punch this up a bit...you never know...i'm full of surprises..

trees, eh...

i doodled this tree after having perused the lovely pen and ink work of franklin booth -- and of course did it zero justice, which is fine by me...dude can draw...

my sketckbook ate my 3B pencil...

this mess manifested itself over the last 2 evenings of television watching. interestingly enough, nothing that i watched related anywhere even close to a large mushroom, a forest, a house...oh wait...i did watch house...damn you, dr. house...

where in sam's hell is this...

it's been over a week since i was last here...been pretty busy. i came across this sketckbook drawing i did a very long time ago, and immediately remembered having had a lot of fun doing it. just good ol' fashioned pen to paper without having planned anything ahead of time--and working out the mistakes as you go along...you know...back before ctrl+z was your friend. thought i'd throw it up for fun.

again, with the girl...

well...after a little more practice it seems that photoshop seems to be handling better than a shopping cart for me after all. who knew? i'm having a lot of fun experimenting with digital painting, cause i'm brand spankin' new to it...as you may have guessed by some of my previous posts.

so here's another update on the image i am practicing on. sorry that it's the same image over and over and over, but that's what you get from a guy who is practicing...i reckon there'll be some fresh stuff coming now that i'm feeling a little more comfortable...i reckon...