Apr 28, 2012

Robofish 2.0

A while back I'd illustrated a robotic angler fish for a friend and detailed the whole process on this blog. I wanted to use that piece in my recent C2E2 show, but I could see it was in need of an update. I'd learned a few new tricks by then and my skills were generally sharper, so I dove back in. Here's that original one again...




It was just looking a little...flat. It needed some more rendering in some key areas, and I thought a secondary light source could really bring out his dimensionality. Plus, I threw in some new little odds and ends to give the machinery another level of intricacy. Here's the latest...





This one just feels more fully-realized to me, and it felt good that I could sharpen an older piece without sacrificing the spirit of the original.




Until Next Time.

Apr 23, 2012

Regular Show, Regular Update

Shortly after finishing the Adventure Time commission sketch at C2E2, I was approached by a guy that wanted a sketch for his son, featuring the son's favorite characters from the Cartoon Network cartoon Regular Show.

The guy had a cool idea; he carried around a sketchbook to different conventions and had each page filled by a different artist. The whole book was a gift for his son, and each page had a different character his son loved. I was happy, and a little nervous, to contribute. Just like the Adventure Time sketch, I was handed a reference image:


This guy actually wanted a pretty specific scene with these characters, which I preferred. That way I can focus more on getting the characters to look good and set the scene in an appealing way without spending time thinking about what they should be doing on top of that.

I did a few practice sketches and felt good about their direction. Just like the Adventure Time sketch, these guys' designs were accessible and fun. And again with the noodly arms and legs!





Anyways, I set to work in the sketchbook. He had a friend standing by to do ink and color, so once the final lines were in place I handed it off. I snapped a pic before it migrated to another artist's table:









Until Next Time.

Apr 21, 2012

Adventure of the Adventure Time Commission

At C2E2 last weekend I was approached by someone to do an Adventure Time pencil sketch. Man, I had no idea how popular that show was, what with the cosplayers and the stuffed animals and the ricketa racketa. Oh, and he handed me an image for reference...





I was given free reign to do whatever I wanted, as long as it was a drawing of the show's two leads, Jake (the dog) and Finn (not the dog). So I set about with some practice sketches, just to see what would stick.


 
















I like the way these characters are designed; their style was easy to adapt. It got me out of my comfort zone a little and forced me to draw some really noodly limbs. In the end, I settled on a combination of a few poses I'd sketched. I liked the idea of Finn bending down to talk to Jake, so I bend his noodle legs really far down into frame. I snapped a pic of the final sketch before it was handed over.









Until Next Time.

Apr 19, 2012

See Two Eee Two Doodles

So I did my very first art table at a convention last weekend, and it was a blast. Got to meet a lot of cool people and see some great stuff. It was encouraging enough to make me wanna do it again...at some point...

I had my trusty sketchbook with me the whole time, and I had time to draw a few things.










I also did a couple commission pieces, which I'll show soon.





Until next time.