Inktober 2015

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Artistically speaking, this is kind of a big time for me right now–not because I got a big break–not because my art career is taking off (I’m not even sure if that is a goal). It’s a big time because it was around this time last year that my friend Jeremy Dale passed away unexpectedly at the age of 34. Jeremy was a comic book guy. Not only did he live and breathe the comic book world, but he also had built himself a nice career there. When he passed away, it made me want to do art. I wanted to honor him in some way…carry on his legacy a bit. My goal in trying to get better isn’t really to “make it” like Jeremy had. My goal is to carry on the legacy…to just draw.

So, last year I started drawing, and over the past year I’ve filled up three notebooks. And more recently I participated in the annual Inktober–a tradition started a few years ago where folks are challenged to do an ink sketch every day in the month of October. Not only did I find some amazing artists sharing their work like Karl Kopinski and Artur Sadlos, but it also got me into ink–pushing my brush pen, dip pen, and traditional brush inking in ways I probably wouldn’t have on my own. Even though a lot of my work ended up being quick sketches inspired by the work of others, I was able to fit in a couple original pieces that I’m proud of:

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As well as a couple pieces I liked that were inspired by movie stills:

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Well, I’ve got three more notebooks sitting around that need to be filled, so I guess I better get back to it:)

 

The Longest Journey

 

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They say it takes at least 10,000 hours to become a master at your craft. A lot of the time this feels really daunting, especially when you feel like you are towards the front end of that journey. Other times, it is an encouragement. Anyone can do this…it just takes time.

I’ve been doing a lot of quick sketches this past week just trying to work on my drawing chops. It’s been one of those weeks where I feel like I’m so far away from the goal, but I’m trying to focus on enjoying the process. I’ve been sketching mostly in pen and tonight I picked up a pencil for the first time in awhile and I did this quick 5 minutes sketch of Mindy while she was lying on the floor. It felt good, even though I still kept myself from using an eraser. I’ve been trying to work fast, much like what I see in the sketchbooks of George Pratt (even attempting to incorporate some of his scumbling).

My next goal, in the midst of drawing sketches from life and continuing to practice my Photoshop painting skills (I would recommend these videos by Matt Kohr as a great online resource for learning to digitally paint), is to draw everything in this book: Bridgman’s Complete Guide to Drawing from Life

Enjoy the journey:)

More Beginner Photoshop Fun

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Colonist #87

I have left the Earth behind.

Pale blue dot, fading into darkness:

Home, all that I know, my Native Shore…

You still mean everything to me,

But I turn my back

And face the stars

While the vision of your sphere

Still fills the window.

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You will remain large in my memory,

And I will not watch you fade

Into insignificance

With tears on my face.

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No, I go forth willingly,

Boldly taking these first steps

As a child of Earth,

Ready for a brave new world.

–Andrea Gerig

 

I’m really enjoying this Photoshop business. I did another quick sketch today. It was, again,  an attempt to mimic the style of Guillaume Singelin who does some amazing space illustrations (like this one):

http://blackyjunkgallery.tumblr.com/page/7

I’m learning more and more about this digital medium everyday. I even ordered the 12×9 Monoprice drawing tablet today so I can begin attempting to learn (on a cheaper tablet) how to do some digital painting (link to the tablet is below).

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10841&cs_id=1084101&p_id=6815&seq=1&format=2

 

My First “Kind of” Comic

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Photoshop has always been one of my glaring weaknesses as an artist. Sure, I took the “intro” class on the Adobe Suite in college, but for the most part I’ve focused on traditional media.

So, today, I decided to take a low resolution cell phone picture of a quick sketch I had done a couple months back while hanging out in a coffee shop. I threw it in Photoshop, and with the help of a lot of Youtube videos and online tutorials, I attempted to color my line drawing in the style of Guillaume Singelin. You can see his coloring work I was mimicking–as well as the line drawing I used, below. I put some mysterious text on it just so I could post it as “sequential art”:).

http://blackyjunkgallery.tumblr.com/post/51960716418

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