Some t-shirt ad somewhere caught my eye and I wondered 'What would that guy look like with a universe on his head?' A fun little distraction!

Just experimenting with some things I've played around with in the past. It's fun to just draw for me again!

Pentel Sign Pen, Microns, Photoshop

Labels: ink, Pentel, Photoshop

I've been doing a lot of personal sketching and whatnot, just not posting it anywhere. I thought I'd try out some of those techniques on this week's Illustration Friday topic, "Magic". It's been a long time since I'd participated, but with bowing out of Inktober, I figured I should try to get some art out in October. Feedback is always appreciated.

Labels: brush pen, faerie, Illustration Fridays, ink, Magic, pen and ink

I've started the process of colouring my Inktober drawings, or at least some of the ones I enjoyed. The intent is to get some of these up in my store and hopefully drum up some interest for them.

As always, you can find the store over at society 6

Here are the first two, respectively.

Labels: hearts, Illustration, ink, Inktober, Inktober 2017, Photoshop

The sum total of my Inktober 2017 contributions. I was actually pretty busy this month with the day job, plus a few impromptu illustration gigs so I just didn't have time to commit to the full 31 days. That being said I was happy to have kept with it and at least put some more personal work out there. I have some plans for some of these drawings, so hopefully this won't be the last you see of them.

Labels: brush pen, hearts, Illustration, ink, Inktober, Inktober 2017

One downside to working on paid illustrations is not being able to show the work you've done, and I suppose not having the time to do more personal work. So then the blog suffers a bit because I'm posting less and less here even though I'm still busy drawing.

At any rate, I finally got around to scanning some better resolution versions of illustrations that have made it onto instagram or my twitter. Feel free to hit me up there if you want!

Labels: brush pen, Copic, ink, ink wash, sewer, soldier, white ink

I picked up a set of Copic markers on sale, after some failed attempts at other brands. I have to say the hype around these markers is very justified. I didn't worry too much about fantastic, finished pieces. I just wanted something I could lay down some marker practice on. Life has been incredibly hectic with two awesome girls at home, and increased duties at work. Creating art has been difficult. I hope to change that soon, and will do my best to participate once again in Inktober this year, if anything on a weekly basis.

Here's my marker practice so far. My apologies for not having nice scanned pieces; pictures from my phone will have to do for now.

Labels: bunny, Copic, dragon, ink, markers, Nautical

Dusting off the tablet and colouring up some of my Inktober drawings from Inktober 2014. My original plan had been to colour all the pieces I created for Inktober, but some of them just don't hold up after looking at them again. I'll probably colour a select few, and hopefully get back on track to producing new art soon. The beginning of 2015 has both both heart-breaking and amazing, but none of it conducive to art or free time.

The colour scheme was not what I thought I was starting out to use. I am trying to stay away from the 'safe' scheme I end up defaulting too. This has a bit of that, but I think I pushed myself out of my comfort zone at least a little bit. Just need to keep pushing it further.

Labels: Ghost King, ghosts, ink, Inktober

More than likely, I'm not going to make it to 31 drawings by this Friday. That being said, I'm currently at 20 drawings of varying success and quality, and if I had to stop today (I don't plan to, but you never know what life will throw you), I'd call this Inktober a success! My art output has been very light as of late, so producing 20 drawings in 28 days is a win in my book, especially considering I am proud of (most of) them.

This October, I've also finished some concept work I can't show you, for a project I can't tell you about. I will say that I am extremely proud of what I accomplished, I felt like I really pushed myself, and if/when I can show it I will. I think there may be some more art in that universe done soon, but we'll see. Really wish I could share!

Ok, back to Inktober and over-analyzing. Here's what I learned from week 4.

What I've Learned So Far

• I like a clean-ish line (a la Inktober 15 below). I've experimented with really varied lines, and unvaried lines and I feel that my personal preference is somewhere in the middle. I think I've gravitated there most of the time anyhow, but it's good to reassess every now and again.
• I need to stop 'cheating out' on faces and expressions. I think I'm more capable than I give myself credit for, and I need to just try and produce the best work I can without the shortcuts.
• I can draw cute and pretty women! I've been accused of drawing boxy, ugly women which, hey 'beauty in the eye of the beholder' and 'if it's good enough for Katsuhiro Otomo', but it's nice to know I have it in me. I'm never gonna draw pinups, but that's more so because I find that a bit gross and misogynistic more than anything else.
• I need to draw really terrible pictures every once in a while. I tend to think that every one has to be a winner, and if I don't feel like I'm going to put down a winner, I freeze up and don't move forward. It's almost like exercising demons in a way. Draw the terrible pictures so the good ones can be free.
• I find drawing details therapeutic. I need to find a fine line, but it can be a very zen experience drawing every ringlet of chainmail on a goblin. I can itchy sometimes if there's not enough detail in a drawing. Pros and cons to that I'm sure.

Here's the output for week four.

Labels: brush pen, goblins, ink, Inktober, Johnny Arcade, robots, video games, whales

So technically today would mark the end of Inktober week three, but I currently only have two weeks worth of drawings. A few busy weekends, a Canadian Thanksgiving, and a paying illustration gig have all conspired against my best intentions. I have not given up though, and this still remains my most successful Inktober to date.

I'm finding in this last batch of drawings that I've rushed a bit more, and as such I think the drawings might be a little weaker.

What I've Learned So Far

• I think I like the style that comes with some varied brush lines combined with pens. It's as close to my digital set up as I've been able to come. I like a good mix of varied and steady lines.
• I think I solved my issues scanning marker/ink wash files! I'll have to try it out going forward, but the last marker file I scanned came out noticeably improved.
• I still really struggle with brush pens. I'd take the plunge and try out a full brush and ink setup, but I'd be afraid that the issue is not the brush pen, but my skill level with it. I think I'm a bit too accustom to the ham-fisted approach I have digitally, and I struggle to scale it back in the analog world.
• I'm not a fan of the more 'scratchy' style of inking. Or rather, I'm not a fan of the way I'm capable of doing it. Years spent drawing clean, readable lines has conditioned me to perhaps not take the chances I should when it comes to that style.

Here's the output from weeks two and three. Here's hoping I can still catch up by the end of the month!

Labels: ink, Inktober

Another year, another Inktober! If you're not familiar you can read all about Inktober over at the creator Jake Parker's site. This isn't the first time I've attempted Inktober, but it is currently the longest I've survived. I always felt like I wasn't doing important work when I tried, but felt that with my art output being very minimal these days I needed to set a schedule and commit. I really wanted to follow a theme, but didn't have a chance to decide on one, and wanted to try and push myself by experimenting, which might not have fit a theme that well. I'm happy that I've stuck with it this past week, even if the results in my eyes have been mixed.

I thought I'd collect all the Inktober posts I've done so far into one place. I've been posting them individually over at my tumblr, on twitter, Facebook and instagram (if any of those are what you're in to), but figured it would be great to collect them here week to week and reflect on what worked, what didn't etc.

What I've Learned So Far

• I have a hard time committing to a particular inking style and/or tool. Be it ligne claire with pens, brush, markers/washes. I like them all for different reasons, and while I think a change in style can be just another tool in the toolbox, I find it can sometimes be divisive for people trying to follow along with your work. They may like one style, but not the other.
• Right along with the first point, I have a hard time sticking to a particular style in the drawings themselves. I dance between somewhat realistic to more cartoony and whimsical. Again, this is fine, but I do personally feel like the realistic style is my weaker style, and those pieces tend to never turn out how I want them.
• References are your friend! For the longest time I thought that as an artist I had to be able to render everything I'd ever draw from memory. While I'm sure it's possible for some artists to do so, for me if I want to draw a bike, I need to look at some pictures of bikes to get it right. Sounds simple, but I keep needing to remind myself.
• I like markers & washes, but struggle to scan them in properly in order to add some colour. I know it's possible, but I'd have to spend some more time with it to be able to get it right.
• I am not yet competent enough with a brush to be able to do what I want. I have much more success with pens than I currently do with brushes/brush pens. I may be the only one who notices this.

I'm hoping to learn a lot more in the coming weeks. At any rate, here are the Inktober pieces from Week 1.

Labels: ink, Inktober

I once read a really great critique of the artistic process that spoke of an artist's tastes versus their sense of their own abilities. The idea is that your taste peaks far before your talent does. So when you look at your own artwork, you do so with great taste, and therefore critique it harshly. The biggest struggle an artist has then is the ability to work through this phase to the point where their own ability reaches this level of taste (or as close as they can come). A lot of artists give up at this point.

For me, I think I'm reaching that point where my tastes have peaked. I know exactly what I enjoy in art, what I don't, and recognize the ins and outs of why I enjoy something. This isn't to say I'm not constantly surprised by art; I'm able to find new artists and artwork more readily by knowing what I'm looking for.

I am of course, not at the point where I believe my ability has peaked. I have a lot to learn, but it can sometimes seem insurmountable. This may be partially due to unrealistic expectations. I of course want my art to be as good as the art I love. I will say though, that I can more readily identify when I feel a piece of my own art has failed.

I will present the following as an example of that. This was originally done for the topic "Scary". For me, it fails. There's aspects I'm pleased with, but the piece as a whole falls short of what I wanted it to be. The biggest thing that stands out to me? It's too much like I'm trying to realistically render it. All the art I love, that gets me really excited, contains an element of whimsy. You can picture the artist with their tongues out to one side, smirking to themselves the whole time they drew it. Just pure joy. That's the type of art I want to make. I think this effort to render it realistically also made me not focus on the composition as much, so it's a bit weak as well. That being said, I think it's not terrible, and that's progress.



Next up is some ink work that's been sitting in my sketchbook for a bit, waiting to be scanned in. I won't say too much, as I think I may still colour some if not all of these pieces, and can speak to them then. Still mostly working with the Pentel Brush Pen, and still mostly enjoying it.

Deciding which plug to pull:

Victorian Zombie Portrait:

Chamber, from the X-Men:

Labels: Chamber, ink, Photoshop, scary, Victorian, X-Men, Zombies