Life has been a bit of a blur recently, so I'm not drawing as much as I should be. That being said I have a tendency to only want to post something here if it's a completed, colored to the nines piece. This only makes me look even less prolific than I already do. I think it's because if I didn't feel the need to finish it, I probably didn't like something about it once I completed the sketch/inks etc. I need to get over that a bit, and showcase the process more, warts and all.

All that being said, here are some brush pen drawings I've done in recent weeks, trying to get the hang of the medium a bit better. Just some characters sketches and whatnot. I'm also not quite ready to give up on the grey scale markers for shading.

Labels: brush pen, character design, goat man, third eye

At one point I was invited to be part of a charity anthology that for better or worse ended up dissolving. Anthologies are unfortunately notorious for falling apart before they begin. It's a dedicated process to coordinate so many different creative teams to meet deadlines etc., coupled with the fact that most anthologies are in the red financially, so publishers tend to shy away from them unless they're really stellar.

At any rate, these characters were part of my original story idea for that anthology. They were much younger, as the anthology was aimed at children, but the ideas were the same. They sort of morphed into their older counterparts in my mind, and this illustration was the result.

This illustration is also a bit of a personal pat on the back, because it was very challenging for me, and sat sadly taped to my drafting table for far too long. The colors also fought me most of the way, and while I still don't think I successfully captured everything I pictured, as a whole I think it's a solid piece. These characters have since found a place in a larger universe of stories, so hopefully you'll be seeing them again soon.

Labels: character design, ink, Photoshop, Tree Spirit

My head is all mucked up with cobwebs and glue these days. It's funny how life gets in the way of doing the things you love. I'm slowly trying to force myself back into a work pattern I find acceptable.

All of the periphery projects I've had on the go over the past few years have run their course or dried up, leaving me with just myself and my ideas. It's a daunting prospect, and can be debilitating at times; the idea that the only person depending on your creative output is yourself. It's easy to occupy yourself with projects when someone else is driving the deadline. The real challenge is driving yourself to finish something you could just as easily put off until another day.

All that being said, here's some sketching and ink work I've been chipping away at here and there. The first was a forest sketch I had tried, mainly to see the amount of time it would take for that level of detail. Final results are mixed. Second is an impromptu character design meant as a nemesis to an idea I've had in the vaults for a few years. Finally, another take on a character whose story always feels insurmountable, but who just won't leave me in peace. More soon.

Labels: character design, Forest, ink, pencil, robots

This is a character design I did for the "Design A Deity" blog. The idea is to throw a bunch of deities at each other, and see who would be left standing. Mine is named Akamushi, which means blood worm in Japanese. Here's my description: There's some great talents with more deities on the way, so check it out!

Labels: character design, Deity, pen and ink, Photoshop

Here are some of the things I've been working on. Character designs for a short story:





And a very quick color test for that same short story:


The last two Drawer Geeks, "Lone Ranger" and "Dinosaurs":

Labels: character design, colour, comics, Dinosaurs, Drawer Geeks, goat, Illustrator, Lone Ranger, pen and ink, Photoshop

This week at Drawer Geeks the theme was "Star Belly" with an open interpretation. This is what I came up with. I tried to use this as an opportunity to try out new things and new methods (such as using a brush pen, spot blacks and speeding up rendering). All in all I was pretty pleased with the results. Let me know what you think!

Labels: brush pen, character design, colour, Drawer Geeks, Star Belly

This week at Drawer Geeks, the theme was design your own Sith Lord. I'm not a big Star Wars fan myself (I'm of the widely accepted opinion that the last three movies totally stunk), but I did know Darth Vader was fashioned after Samurai armor. So I sort of ran with that and went for another age, sort of an Arthurian era meets Akira type vibe. I was actually pretty pleased with the way this one turned out.

Labels: character design, colour, Drawer Geeks, Sith

Working on character sketches and the like for my next sequential project. This one's in grayscale, so it's a bit new to me.

Labels: character design, grayscale

Here's a little colour experiment on this one. Just trying to get a little more prolific in my coloring techniques. Trying not to be such a perfectionist. Comments welcome!

Labels: character design, colour, pen and ink

Not exactly sure where this one came from. Just trying out a few things. Done in pen and ink. I'll try to add some colour to this later on if I have time.

Labels: character design, pen and ink, sketch

Another character sketch. I'm toying with the idea of entering a submission for a fantasy comic anthology, so I'm trying to get my head in that mindset. Comments and criticisms welcome!

Labels: character design, comics, fantasy

This character design felt like it had a little bit of life in it, so I decided to expand upon the idea in case I wanted to do anything with it at some point.

Labels: character design, robots, rocket

I wasn't happy with my first attempt at this character design, so I took a second stab at it. Let me know what you think!

Labels: Cassie, character design

I wanted to put up some sketches I did last week.

Labels: character design, pencils, sketch

I'm starting to put all the ideas I've had together into a more coherent storyline in my head. Hopefully I'll have some time to work on that soon.

Labels: character design, snow field, story ideas

Labels: character design, Elder, goat

Labels: character design, science fiction

Labels: character design, goat

This one's been a bit of an uphill battle. I really wanted to push myself and try to learn new techniques and new ways of doing things. I tried a combination of different tricks and hopefully the end results pay off.

I've included the original digital line work, as well as a more traditional colour scheme (minus the fancy multiply layers and extra bells and whistles), and finally the finished product. As always, feel free to leave any comments.

Labels: character design, colour, giant robots, Mannequin, Photoshop