Valley of the Shadow

"Her hungry yellow eyes examined his mousey frame - measured the distance between them.

He stood defiant." 

THANKSGIVING 2010

 

Don't worry, fella.  You made it.

Happy Halloween!

I bust my hump all weekend on this report, and she can't even look me in the eye.  What am I to her?  Just a pair of feet?

I should report her, but then I may never get the promotion.  What can I do?

Harassment in the workplace is a complex issue.  

Just ask Bigfoot.

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"Take me!" the buzzard longingly whispered in the alligator's ear.

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Is it the pinnacle of nerdiness or the zenith of dweebery?  Whichever it may be, I was it last night.  On Thursday, Septermber 9th, from 7 until 10 p.m. I sat alone in my room and drew a dragon.

LIGHTNING BOLT!

I began by sketching out my beastly friend very roughly using a Photoshop airbrush and my Wacom tablet.  After my evil eyed Eragon was generally laid out, I switched to the dodge and burn tools.  This allowed me to focus solely on the lights and darks of this malevolently mouthed menace.  I have found that using the dodge and burn tools can sometimes create a shiny, almost slimy affect.  Perfect for creeping creepers and dripping drool.

LIGHTNING BOLT!

Click to Enlarge and Check out that Drool

Once I was satisfied, I set my lascivious lizard layer into multiply mode.  This let the white parts of my gray-scale gargoyle become transparent, essentially making my dastardly drawing into a 21ist century coloring book page.  I began digitally painting with absolute freedom, knowing that my black and white rendering was solid and would hold the picture together despite any ham-handed coloring.  One thing to watch out for when working in multiply mode, is that your highlights will dull out as you fill in those glowing whites with color.  To counteract this problem, I simply added another layer on top called highlights, and airbrushed those shiny moments back into existence.  This was especially important in the eye, teeth, and all that glorious drool.

*Doesn't my dragon look like the long lost child of a buzzard and an alligator?  That must have been quite the romance.

Turn on the Blue Light

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I worked up a quick digital painting of a kid in some sort of mysterious glow.  No real concept.  I was just playing with the blue light from below. 

All in all, this isn't terrible for an experiment.  I like some of the forms (particularly around the brows) and some of the lighting effects.  This could serve as a nice preliminary sketch that could be taken much further with a little pre-painting research.

A Quick Watercolor Sketch

As it so often seems to do, life intercedes (or is it interferes?).  I have been, and will continue to be incredibly busy for the foreseeable future.  While I have to acknowledge that my art output and ambitions will be slowing down due to some important obligations, I will not be giving in or up.  I will continue to post on this blog while working my way toward the life I have always wanted and have been working for since I could hold a pencil.  There are no roadblocks insurmountable, only detours.

That said, I suspect that my posts will be briefer and my artwork more of the sketch variety.  My hope is that the new "quick and dirty" Made of Lines will prove to be even more fruitful and satisfying moving forward.

This weekend I worked up this quick watercolor sketch.  Clearly I was thinking of my Despereaux digital painting.  I have been looking at this sketch all weekend, reminded of the wonderful vitality of the watercolor medium, and its storytelling potential.

Onward...

Heroes on the Half Shell

Pencil w/digital color - Click to Enlarge

Between the ages of 8 and 11, I drew very little that wasn't some sort of mutated animal sporting a non projectile weapon.  Ninja monkeys being the most common.  A few weeks ago, when visiting with my co-conspirator in the creation of a martial menagerie, we reflected on those ninja monkeys, even proving to each other that we still knew how to draw the battle ready beasties.

In honor of of various ninja animals covering the worksheets of third graders around the globe I present to you...Raphael of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - muse of pre-adolescent boys.

 
I wish I could find some original monkey drawings.  They would be proof positive that anyone can learn to draw.

I'm an ordinary guy...

Digital Paint - Click to Enlarge

Watch out!  You might get what you're after.
Cool baby!  Strange but not a stranger.
I'm an ordinary guy 
Burning down the house

Burning Down the House

Talking Heads

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Digital Paint - Click to Enlarge

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

                                                                       Robert Frost
                                                                       New Hampshire
                                                                       1923

The Tale of Despereaux

Digital Paint - Click to Enlarge

The world is dark, and light is precious.

Come closer, dear reader.

You must trust me.

I am telling you a story.

A quick digital painting inspired by Kate DiCamillo's amazing book, The Tale of Despereaux.

If there were books this good around when I was a kid, I may have learned to love reading much earlier.


*Of course there were great books when I was a kid.  Sadly, I had no interest in reading them.

Should I call you Logan, Weapon X?

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I suspect anyone who draws is somewhat idiosyncratic in his/her subject matter.  I am certainly no exception.  I have found that my most frequent visitor in my less thought out mark-making trips to planet Blankpage is none other than Wolverine of the X-Men.  He visits often, spilling out of my pencil as though he was already inside.

This watercolor drawing was put to paper in about 30 minutes this afternoon.  No purpose other than the satisfaction of process. 

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I found this unfinished sketch from at least four years ago on the back of some work papers.  It just goes to show you - no matter how you beat the man down, the Wolverine just keeps coming back for more.  I have no doubt that I will still be scratching out doodles of the hairy Canadian when I am old and gray. 

I can hear the grandchildren already.
"Grandpa draws funny hair."

What do you always find yourself drawing?

A Brief Interview With Batman

Kevin: You have trained under the deadliest martial artists on the planet. Your wealth and resources dwarf those of some small nations. You are the world's greatest detective, vigilante and overall bad-ass, going toe to toe with the most hardened criminals and demented maniacs in Gotham City. Well Batman, what is missing from this picture?

Batman: Well, I could use a little kid in daisy dukes for some back-up.

Kevin: (gasp) Excuse me.

Batman: You know. I'll dress him up in bright colors to draw the fire of all my enemies, giving me a chance to strike.

Kevin: Batman! What the Hell?

Batman: Nah, dude! It's cool. We'll find an orphan. That way if the Joker beats him to death...well, he was just an orphan.

Please take a few seconds to click on the link above, vote for my design and leave a nice comment. :)  Thanks everyone!

Inked w/ W&D series 7

8 colors on light blue tee