Journal 2/4/2010
Last week I had some fun with my new Tachikawa School-G Nib fountain pen. It’s a nice compromise between dip pens and fountain pens. I’m still getting used to it and often forget that it’s fountain pen ink and needs to dry before I wipe my hand across the page!
The first drawing was totally random and straight from the pen. The elephant drawing was a little more planned out. I really like the expression on his face and may develop his character further into something specifically for children.
Category Archives: Journal
Journal 2/4/2010
Journal 1-28-2010
Journal 1/28/2008
So, I just rounded off a series of very busy and exhausting weeks! Aside from my day job and my personal life I’ve been hard at work on a couple of client projects as well as my digital painting class. Yesterday I finished off the client projects so now I can concentrate on my class and on creating more personal work. The freedom feels great for now! I’m also gearing up for a larger project I can’t talk about, but I can say that it is a fantastic opportunity and I want to make sure my plate is cleared so I can really focus on it.
You can read my ramblings above and see that I’m doing a bit of experimenting with markers and Posca paint markers. As I’ve said before, I’m working on developing a style that will be directed towards the children’s market because I think that is where I would ultimately like to end up.
IF: Clumsy & Journal 1-27-2010
Journal 1/27/2010
I loved the Illustration Friday topic this week: Clumsy. It sounded like so much fun! Unfortunately I didn’t have the time I would have liked to devote to this topic. I did, however, find the time to do this little sketch. I took a page out of Pascal Campion’s book and tried to add some anticipation.
This was a case of a bad choice of materials. I used a Faber-Castell brush pen, which just isn’t the best pen for me. I also used it on a previous Illustration Friday piece. Every time I’ve used the brush pen, I’m just not happy with it. I need something with a finer line and a little more control. I’ve ordered a Tachikawa pen that I’m very excited to try out. I love using dip pens, but they can be a bit inconvenient for sketching and they aren’t very portable. Hopefully this pen will give me the line quality I want with the portability and ease of a regular felt tip pen.
ANGRY CARROTS!
Journal 1-20-10
This is a carrot. A very angry carrot. I’m not totally sure where he came from, but here he is. I thought of this at work when someone used the phrase “the carrot pant” (I have no idea what they mean by that) and then he appeared in my Moleskine. The color was done with some Tombow art markers, but they don’t work that well on Moleskine paper. Even though the color came out a little weird, I still like the drawing. I’m also starting to loosen up with my sketchbook stuff and just let strange ideas flow. I need to experiment more when I get new art materials in order to find what works best for me, so this is only the beginning of weird, strangely colored drawings!
Journal 1-19-10 and IF: Wilderness
Journal 1-19-10
This drawing is really just the seed of an idea for this week’s Illustration Friday. I had imagined a kid sneaking through the dark wilderness of a messy bedroom. I drew this very quickly and I may do a finished version of this some time in the future. I may also do some experimenting with the color and shading digitally which is why I didn’t do the cross-hatching that I would normally do. I’m envisioning the entire room being very dark except for a sliver of light coming in from the bedroom door (notice the faint pencil marks).
Happy New Year!
It’s December 31st already and I’m not entirely sure how that happened. It’s been a busy year for me and I’m looking forward to an even crazier year in 2010. Some highlights from my year:
Getting engaged and moving in with my fiance!
Moving again thanks to crazy upstairs neighbors and finding a new, amazing place.
Making the decision to kick-start an illustration career and getting a few real jobs.
My Christmas miracle: Somehow getting bumped above the 23 people on the last standby flight to Omaha on Christmas Eve, that flight actually taking off despite snow in Minneapolis and freezing fog in Omaha, and getting to my brother’s house safely.
All in all it was a great year. I have a lot to look forward to next year including my wedding (and honeymoon, of course!) and the possibility of moving to another state. I have also set a couple of goals for myself like finishing my portfolio and having my work appear in a publication.
What goals have you set for yourself in 2010?
Below are a few sketches I did in my Moleskine over the holiday. I received a set of Posca Uni-Paint markers that I’ve started playing with. I love the way they look and they are so easy to use. Unfortunately, they do bleed through Moleskine pages a bit … The baby chicken in army gear was a detailed study for a larger piece I’m doing based on the Illustration Friday topic “Hatch” from about 2 weeks ago.
12/24/2009
Journal 12/12/09
12/12/2009
Have you ever noticed that the more you draw, the more you want to draw? That has been my experience over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been working on a few things for clients and when I was ready to stop for the evening, I wasn’t ready to stop drawing. It was a very productive weekend. This drawing that just sort of happened without a lot of thought behind it. The fact that our apartment was frigid and ‘March of the Penguins’ was on may have had something to do with it!
Winter really snuck up on me this year. It may have something to do with the fact that this summer in New York was rainy and really not summer at all and Fall was very short-lived. The only solace is that it is the holiday season and I’m looking forward to traveling home next week to Nebraska to spend time with my family.
Journal 12/3
12/3/2009
It seems that I haven’t been in the mood to do much writing lately. This was a drawing inspired by how I was feeling at work this week. Just trudging through. Since then I’ve managed to snag a genuine illustration gig (or two)! I don’t feel like my portfolio is ready to be promoted to art directors yet, but I do feel like I’m ready for a few tiny little jobs to get my feet wet. Now I have to quickly learn as much as I can about the business of illustration so that I don’t get taken advantage of.
Journal 11-21
11/21/2009
A couple of weeks ago there were no trains running in my neighborhood so the MTA was running a shuttle bus to replace the trains. Needless to say it made running my errands in the city much more time consuming. At least I had some time to do this little drawing. I didn’t write anything at the time and after the fact I decided that it would be nice to let the drawing have a little breathing room.
Journal 11-15
11-15-2009
11-15-2009
First, I would like to thank all of the people who commented on my “Unbalanced” illustration – the support was much appreciated. It also really clarified some things for me in terms of my own work and what I would like to be doing.
Here are a couple more journal pages. I haven’t been drawing in it as much as I had planned, but I’m still drawing almost everyday. I have a tendency to keep several sketchbooks and sometimes I have an idea for sketch that will turn into a final piece so I don’t start it in my Moleskine. Hope you enjoy them – I turned the second page on its side so you can check out the drawing without having to turn your head.
