The Making of an Amateur Portfolio

2010-08-22T21:03:00.001-07:00

Last minute emergency post...

The unnamed...

2009-03-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

Heya', everyone. So, I'm sick. I've been distracted by this and today Mike reminded me to keep workin' on my test inks. "Why would I do that?", I thought, "I've already finished 'em? Huh, that' Mike's a weird one." Needless to say, it was me who was out to lunch on a mix of various cold-suppressing items. 'Kay, by variety I mean two.

Anyway, on to the comic.

I don't know what to call this comic. In its original form it was called "Metaphor", which eventually turned into "The Island" over a four year period of fine-tuning. I liked the title "The Island". Turns out some people made this movie by the same name. Whatev. Jerks, taking a perfectly good name and...stuff. My next move was to change the title to "An Island". Sooooo, here I am, with my newest plan for a name: Let the readers decide. :D I'm going to be leaving the naming of this comic up to you, the readers. I'll keep posting pages and at the release of the 5-6 page splash (four weeks hence) I'll ask you to submit your suggestions. If they're silly, that's fine. Just so long as you're submitting, that's great.

Alrighty, here we go with the first page of "The Unnamed"...

New weekly comic...

2009-02-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

Heya', folks. Once more, I've got a promise. I've got a new comic coming out called "The Island" or possibly "The Island Metaphor" or something else if anyone's got a cooler name (hard to imagine, I know) and it'll be a weekly. This is the rebirth of that project from, like, six months ago. I've now got a regular place in my life that allows and encourages this weekly event. :) I'm very happy about that. Talk to y'all soon.
-Dave

2008-10-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

So, after ages of not posting, I'm now on a roll of...roll? role? Meh, anyway, I've been drawing more and more lately and I've got some stuff worth posting and that'll get posted this weekend. Things have been...interesting lately. Kinda'...meh, I don't know. Opportunities are sorta' popping up and I'm trying to not get hopeful about them and just keeping my head down at the drawing table and getting the next thing done.
Talk to y'all this weekend with some fancy, fancy posts.
Much care,
-Dave

Makin' some decisions...

2008-04-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Heya', folks. 'Kay, after lots of deciding and hemming and hawing, a zine will be coming soon. That's pretty much what I've been working on for the last forever. Thing is, after, like, two months of trying to tweak this and change that, I handed the story over to a writer and he got it all done in just a few days. Guh. What's more is that he got all this great stuff done with a manner of naturalness that took my by surprise. I thought there'd be more thinkin' going on, but I guess if a brain's made for something, it's made for that something. I suppose it's possible that my drawing goggles some people. Anyway, I'll be posting it on Drunk Duck, but I'll post a link here, in case anyone wants to check it out. I'll be posting in five page bundles, with the exception of the fourth instalment in each issue, which will be seven pages. I'd start looking here in one week. That's about it for now, folks. Talk to y'all soon. -Dave :)

Learnin' a lesson from Mike...

2008-03-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

I've learned that it's just because something has been abandoned doesn't mean it can't be taken back up at a later time.

Life, now, has me going in another direction, still art related, but storyboarding rather than fine art. Hmm...does "fine art" mean, like...finely rendered stuff like painting, pencil renderings and sculpting? *Can* it be applied to something else? I have no idea. Maybe it's wiki wiki time.

Anyhow, here's a couple drawings I've done lately and I intend to push myself to update at least once a week now. Even if I have some fancy, fancy jazz to put up, I'm going to wait, for a month or so at least, until the next Monday comes along.

The first piece is a Wolverine pictured someone had me do. You should see this guy. He's from France and loved Canada so much he moved here. He also loves Wolverine. Guess what his hair loooks like. Neat guy, though, and I was happy to get this picture done for him. He was super appreciative, too. That's always nice to hear. I have no idea what the second piece I'm going to post is so I can't tell you anything about it for now. ;)

Talk to y'all in a week.

-Dave

Forgot the lightning 'bot...

2007-09-05T02:27:00.000-07:00

Oops. :)

Some scans! :D

2007-09-05T02:14:00.000-07:00

Heya', everybody!

Well, I finally figured out what was wrong with my scanner; it was plugged into the wrong USB port. I have no idea how it got to be this way as I tend to shy away from moving things around on my computer, at least insofar as the hardware goes. I figure, if it's working, I have no business trying to change its mind as to how to do things.

I've scanned a few things that are works in progress, a final for a friend of mine and a rough for a t-shirt for a team of walkers in the upcoming Ottawa Walk for AIDS. Mr. Mike, if you could let me know what you think, that'd be great and I'll make changes or go right to inking, once the likenesses have been finalised in pencil.

The Stargirl pic was something that someone had commissioned from City of Heroes but once I had reminded them that you aren't allowed to reproduce copywritten characters on the game service I heard no more from the initially interested part. I'm going to finish it up by adding the rest of her legs where previously her logo was to appear and I'm going to try and her dad in the robot suit behind. He's a big lad and won't fit in the frame, but I think that sort of makes for a good background. Plus, I could use some practice doing metal skins. Or just metal in general. The shiny, reflective kind.

The girl in the shortiest-shorts was just me trying to draw something female and human. I'm still not entirely pleased with the consistency of my work drawing women but I'm making progress. :)

The lightning-watching robot is something that I thought of after having watched a thunder storm. The thing is, one of the guys who comes in semi-regularily asked, "Is he wondering about his origin?" Damn, I wish I'd thought of that. Oh well. To me it was just a neat image that I wanted to put down on paper. It has taught me that broad expanses of darkness are a pain in the posterior.

That's about it for now, folks. I'll have more updates soon.

-Dave (a.k.a. - Superbad)

Holy frejoles!

2007-08-27T09:59:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's, been, what, two, three days since I last posted? ;)
Oy. Well, anyway, I'm working on my second portfolio and it's been interesting. I now hate the shade of black and near-black. Grr.
I'm also mystified by something. Well, a few things, but all having to do with computers.
Firstly, when one "puts a picture down" in a computer, it isn't the sort of thing that is likely to wander about, get blown behind the dresser, or otherwise move in any way. So, I went and looked for a picture to post on the Lemmingbook and turns out the picture isn't there. I have managed to lose something on my computer. I'll do a search for it later but I have no idea what I called it. Maybe some day there'll be, like, a visual description type search tool. I don't even want to know about the kind of complicated things involved with writing a program like that, unless you could somehow limit it to, "well, it was mostly red".
Anyway...
I can't remember what the second of the various things was that mystifies me about computers. Oh, wait! Yeah, how does a piece of hardware work, like, a month ago, but now doesn't? The only thing that has happened between then and now is that I've turned it on, like, a dozen times. So, the piece of hardware in question is my scanner, which means I won't be having any updates of pictures or anything. Sorry. Maybe I'll be able to fix it or something. I don't want to buy a new scanner but it's looking like this might be a necessary option. Oy, again.
The response to my last batch of portfolios, by the way, has been non-existent. I'm not terribly surprised by this, but, and I *may* have mentioned this previously, I'll be pelting the same companies with portfolios rather than spread the word around to every company under the sun.
That's about it for now, y'all.
-Superbad

Not sure you wanted this either...

2007-03-23T21:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so at work it was a little slow and I had an extra piece of art board in my drawer and I thought, "it might be nice to do a drawing of my friend's character's familiar" (this is the one I play D&D with, whose character is a magic person of some sort who has a pet cat who shares her...erm...*his* mind...type thing)...I think that's it. Anyway, here it is, with extra word bubble, added using the magic of an illustrationing programme.

Have a marvelous day filled with splendid griddle-cakes. And possibly some syrup. And berries.

-Dave

I'm makin' a new post alright already!

2007-03-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a nearly a month (oy) since I've made a post, so here I am to show I'm still alive, though I fear this post may not be what you're looking for. This is a mini-comic I promised a friend of mine I'd do as a reminder to bring this ultra-cool K-9 figure in. Ah, my life is one more step toward being complete. Enjoy! -Dave

Shazam and Wormbrain-man...

2007-02-22T16:52:00.000-08:00

Heya', y'all.

Here's the next installation for Shazam and the other dude.

Dat's it!

-Dave

Shazam!

2007-02-20T15:52:00.001-08:00

Well, I've been not-so-good at updating here on the old blog, but, to be fair, I haven't done much work lately.

I have started work on the final of Mr. Mind vs. Captain Marvel, though, and here's the first peek at what it will look like.

It took ages for me to come up with posing I was happy with. It's inspired by a drawing done by Tom Fowler (various DC and Dark Horse comics, but currently doing work for MAD magazine) I found in the basement of the store. I threw in a space ship for Mr. Mind and gave the posing my personal tweek.

That's it for now, y'all.

-Dave

Quick up date...

2007-02-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

This will be a quick update inthat I've gotta' run. I'm coming close to being late for new comic day. The last time that happened I received a call an hour after I should have been there and I had to wake up to answer it. Not good. 'Course, that was, like, four years ago. Anyway, I'm done with Sister Psyke. Here's the scan. Remain your most excellent selves. -Dave

Almost there...

2007-02-01T05:53:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest on Sister Psyke. I've still got some touching up to do on the wing but I've started on the statue of Atlas. For the life of me I couldn't remember any of the details concerning the style he was sculpted in, if he had a hat or belt or what have you and I stayed late at work trying to squeeze it out of my heat like some variety of over-ripe pimple. Needless to say, this was entirely ineffective. So, I came back here and did something that has likely occurred to everyone reading this; I went on to City of Heroes. While I was there I blew up some bad guys with my fancy new character; Slap Leather Nancy. She's a healer and...dark miasmist. Who said research couldn't be fun? :) I really, really want to get this done today so that I can send it off and finish up the orc. Or possibly ogre. I've forgotten. Oh, and by...well, let's say Saturday, now, I'll be sending this jazz off. Very excited! :) Talk to y'all soon. -Dave

Update on Sister Psyke...

2007-01-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

Heya', folks. Here's a further update on Sister Psyke. I've got most of it down to a formula now which is nice as all I can think of is getting this and the ogre done for Friday. My thumb's still pretty sore but this won't stop me! :) Now, as for keeping you all up to date on my method, when it comes to doing repetitive work, I typically break a small part of it down to four steps and then a final, overall touch up. Firstly with the feathers I get the layout done. I do a line drawing of where all the bits line up. Then I do the detailed structure of the feathers. It could also be bricks or...some other type of repeating object. I then shade it from a standard, basically illuminated point of view. Second to last I take into account where the light is coming from so that the highlights and deeper shadows are in the right places. This last bit is sort of the base coat for giving an illustration depth. The overall final once-over is to make doubly certain that everything is being lit from the same source/s of light. The stuff like boots and other one-offs is very different in that it lacks the repetitive structure. The line drawings and such remain the same but after that I jump right into deepest blacks and leaving highlights blank. Then I do the second to last shading and it all gets touched up during the final once-over. I hope you're all enjoying this and I would also like to apologise for my lengthy absence. I will also be posting a drawing of a robot/swampthing hybrid I drew for the store where I work. Talk to y'all soon. -Dave

Benched...

2007-01-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated for a couple weeks, I think. There *is* a good reason for this. Two reasons, actually. Firstly, I was sick. Every time I catch a cold or strep or somesuch I think, "hey, some time to sit down and get some artwork done." This is a silly thought but it bubbles up in my head every time. Once I'd gotten better, or better enough to draw again, I started working on a model kit at work and proceded to slice the pad of my thumb wide open. I probably should have gotten stitches but instead I wrapped it up in tissue and duct tape (I have an alergy to the glue on bandages) and once again I seem to be fighting fit. Thus the update. I've gotten absolutely nowhere on the Shazam vs. Mr. Mind drawing but I'll post the sketches I've done as well as a bit of an update on the ogre. I'm also going to throw in a few of the pen-and-ink drawings I've done which I'll be including in my portfolio to show I can work in that medium as well. Other than that, I expect to get two more drawings done this week which means I should have something worth submitting to companies by early next week. I've got my fingers crossed. I have submitted work previously but got no response. Maybe with a beefier portfolio editors will take notice. Time will tell. :) Talk to y'all soon. -Dave

Git' 'er done!

2006-12-31T19:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't finished Sister Psyke yet, but I'm making decent progress. I was going to fiddle with the face more 'cause I didn't think I had it just right, and I remembered the words of someone I work with being, "you make the faces too muscular." I decided it was then that I ought to move on to other things, like...uhm...boobies. Anyway, I'll talk to y'all soon. -Dave

No more gyp from Sister Psyke

2006-12-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased with my current progress on Sister Psyke. I've learned a couple things and that's always important on a project where one is trying new things. I've gotten a handle on how to do feathers. At least, I've got a handle on how *I* do feathers. It took me a little while but now I'm cruising along. The next time I do feathers, though, I will employ a mechanical pencil with a thin lead for the first part and then go to a pencil of appropriate softness/hardness for the shading. I also know I'll have to skip most of the mechanical pencil part for white or light toned feathers. I *love* the belt/ribbon on her. Thing is, that took me all of five minutes. I hope I'll enjoy doing the shading for the Atlas statue as well. Time will tell. :) Talk to y'all soon. Oh, also, I've got a couple of pages of roughs for the Captain Marvel vs. Mr. Mind challenge which I'll scan up and post tomorrow along with whatever progress I've made on Sister Psyke. -Dave

Sister Psyke is giving me gyp...

2006-12-27T05:24:00.000-08:00

Heya', everyone. Well, I've been poking along with Sister Psyke and after a great deal of banging my head against the wall, I believe I finally have a handle on this drawing. Actually, that isn't entirely fair. I've been tremendously busy this last little while and I never really had the two or three hours to string together a formal assault on this drawing idea. Thing is, the concept sounded pretty easy at the beginning but as I went on I wanted this to be bigger or that to be smaller or something else to be something other than it was, but these are not within the ability of the artist to change. Thusly, we enter this week's lesson...or journal entry, possibly. So, once I've got a grip on the details of the subject, I try mussing about with roughs and layout. With Sister Psyke I tried having her swooping up and over the statue of Atlas and the drawing being of her caught at the apex of her arc, so she could be all laid back and...other things that mean laid back but aren't spelled the same way due to being different words. Relaxed, possibly. :) Anyway, I was doing this when another drawing idea hit me for another character so I scribbled it in the bottom corner. This pose did not please me so I went on to another page with a more straight-forward take on the idea of her in front of the statue. After a couple pages and many interruptions I ended up with the second pose. Satisfied with this result I moved on to the statue of Atlas. I wanted to understand how the statue worked in terms of load bearing and ballance before I got involved with the final drawing, so I drew it from one angle, wasn't pleased with it so moved to doing a skeleton, then another skeleton which I bulked up with "muscles". Once more I felt satisfied with this and moved on to doing the final drawing. To start with, I drew a box around the rough which had the same proportions as the final drawing surface and then I drew a double cross hairs on both the rough and the final workspace. Like a '+' and an 'X' meeting at the crosspoint. This is a little trick I discovered (though I'm sure this is an *ancient* trick; I lay no claim nor do I wish to plant a flag here) and it helps to keep the picture ballanced as well as make sure the translation from rough to final is faithful. Now I have started the final and I'm working on the dark feathers of Sister Psyke's wings and will procede, top-left to bottom-right. I'll do the statue of Atlas later, possibly with a harder pencil in to order to keep the tones lighter, giving the illusion of distance. I hope. If anyone has any ideas, comments or suggestions (help is good) please feel free to drop a line. Talk to y'all soon. -Dave

Oh, as an afterthought, I really *must* thank Sonia for being both patient and such an easy volunteer to work with. She dutifully pointed at various body parts so that I knew where they were. This might sound silly for someone who has taken many years of life drawing, but I've been drawing comic bood women for the last six or seven years, which means I have a slightly skewed vision of where certain bones are on your standard, everyday woman. For those who haven't heard this dozens of times already, it's so very important to know how things work in reality if you're going to draw them in *un*reality. Remain your most excellent selves. -Dave

The start of a new project...

2006-12-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

As promised, I am now posting *every* step in the creation of a drawing. This particular project is for someone who would like their City of Heroes character drawn. The specified pose is of their character flying in front of the Atlas statue. If you haven't played City of Heroes, that's not tremendously important to following the process, though I must admit I've dabbled in this metropolis riddled with doofus villains. The very first step has been completed; finding out what the drawing is of and any specifics the client wants. *Always* important because it happens, from time to time, that one must restart an entire project due to incomplete or a complete lack of instructions from the client. This can be the fault of either the artist or the client, so I don't want anyone to think I'm placing blame on any one part of the market. I have learned, through experience, that it is *very* important to be sure I have all the details before I finish a final product. Even then, though, I have had to re-do minor and some major parts of drawings. That's the biz. Tonight I will be posting the preliminary character detail sketches I've made of the character "Sister Psyke". Tomorrow, most likely, I will post the rough sketches of the final product, though not the sketch that will be drawn over for the final. That's about it. If anyone has questions or advice, drop me a line. I'm happy to reply to both. Oh, and there's another thing that probably is worth mentioning; I, perhaps foolishly, challenged another fine artist to a draw-off. The subject is Captain Marvel (Shazam!) vs. Mr. Mind. I didn't even think of the possible following effort that would be needed and Mike caught me with my pants down. I must now work on two projects simultaneously to get this done in time. I stipulated that this drawing be done by mid January. This *does* give me ample time, but I'm feeling the pressure already. To check out how he's doing, just check here: http://escaperisms.blogspot.com/ I'll talk to y'all soon. -Dave

Today is not Monday...

2006-12-13T16:11:00.000-08:00

Heya', folks.

I know today isn't Monday and on top of that I don't have all that much to show y'all. I've done some work on the orc, though which will accompany this update. I wanted so very much to show the axe the orc is weilding but it just never made any sense, so I've decided it will hang behind his head/back. I'm trying to show there's some kind of special, radiant feature and I think that's going to look decent when it's a fait-a-complis...complit? Hmm...I'll have to break out my becherelle (sp?) and see how it ought to be spelled. Or possibly wiki it. Anyway, the sky is giving me grief. Serves me right for thinking, in the early stages of this drawing, "boy, the sky sure is going swell!" Indeed. I *think* I've done some work on the cat-woman as well, but it's been a while, so I'm unsure. I guess I could take the sketch pad out and compare it to the latest scan I have, but...*fine*, I'll do that now. While I'm off comparing things imagine the tune to Sheryl Crow's "Home" playing in an adult/contemporary muzak style. Okay, turns out I've done squat on that one, but I *shall* update it soon. Tomorrow, after all, is another day. :) Oh, and speaking of...wacky space adventures, I read a surprisingly enjoyable comic today titled "Outer Orbit". I think the artist is inspired by Walt Simonson (who I think was inspired by Jack Kirby, but don't quote me on that. Or the part about the Outer Orbit artist being inspired by Simonson) and I *looooooove* Walt Simonson's work. I'm also looking forward to the following issues of Outer Orbit not just for the art, though. The comedy reminds me of Next Wave but it's got higher highs but less eventful lows. Still, I'll be hitting the racks on a monthly basis looking for this little gem. Talk to y'all soon. -Dave Oh, before I forget, here's a link to the Outer Orbit page from Dark Horse. http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=13-948 Hmm...there *must* be a page for the artist and writer somewhere... http://www.seangordonmurphy.com/home.shtml

Another small post...

2006-12-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

I didn't get much done and I'm starting to think thath as more to do with wanting to get the details right on stuff like fur and how the dress ought to look and whatnot rather than being able to devote hours to this. I *love* learning how to render things I've never tried before and it was really neat to show some fine folks today how you can trace my progress, which is pretty easy to see when one looks at the chainmail on the orc picture. I'll be posting more but likely not until Monday. I your weekends all go very, very well. Talk to y'all soon. -Dave

As big an update as yesterday...

2006-12-07T17:19:00.000-08:00

I'm picking away at the picture of the cat-lady and I figure that as long as I'm moving forward all is wellness. Still nothing to share insofar as the orc one goes. I'd better hustle, though, as I want to be doing the other superhero stuff soon. :) I'll talk to y'all soon. -Dave

Just a smidge of an update on the cat-woman...

2006-12-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

I really intended to get more done today but work was full of busy, bustling people needing to know this or that or just chat. It was a good day. :) Anyway, as I scribbled away on this picture I started feeling more and more excited about getting this lot together for submission time. I've decided that the next two pictures will be a superhero one and possibly something power-armored ala warhammer 40K. I've been focusing a little too much on the standard sword and sorcery genre. I know *why* that is but still, it feels a little short-sighted from where I'm sitting. What else am I looking forward to...there was *some*thing...things just seem to be fuzzy goodness all around, what with marriages, babies and all that sort, not to mention the warm holiday cheer. Oh, with the next drawing I'll be going through the entire process and explain exactly what's being done as well as what is going through my mind as I go through the meandering journey of creating one of these pictures. I've been asked to do this and I think it's quite the grand idea. Hopefully in the next week or so I'll start doing a series of drawings of superheroes for my brothers and dearly attached folks for Christmas/birthday presents. I haven't drawn a superhero in ages so this will be a nice return to type. Talk to y'all soon. -Dave

Officially done with Giselle...

2006-12-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I went back and tried to give Giselle a shave, but, well, now she has no neck. Or something. This drawing started on a whim and it now will be discarded on a whim. I think I've done pretty much everything I can with this item without some major reconstruction and that being the case, I'd rather start from scratch. Her final touch-up is below. Or beside. Somewhere in this post, at any rate. I'm also working on the feline...lady...thingy. I have learned a few things on this project. Firstly, I don't know how to draw cats. Secondly, I don't know how to draw cat hair. Thirdly, even something as cool as a skull can become monotonous to draw. Okay, that last one isn't exactly fair. I'm still having quite a bit of fun drawing the different skulls but I foresee that the skulls will become ho-hum after not too much longer. I...I really don't know what to say about the woman on the chair. I wanted it to look like one of those aristocratic portraits but...it somehow seems *too* stiff. I'll be sure to do more sketches for my next sortie. The orc picture languishes in non-worked-on-edness. I would like to get that one done before the weekend but that might not be possible. Time will tell. I hope all remain interested in that which I'm putting out. Oh, no updates on the actual development of the physical portfolio, so nothing to report there. I still figure six or eight pictures colour copied on card stock and mailed out to various editors and a follow-up e-mail, where possible, to remind them of the hopeful artist checking both his mailbox and e-mail. Remain your excellent selves. -Dave

Li'l update...

2006-12-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

I watched a bit of TV and did a little scribbling afterward so I feel I ought to post it as it will likely be worked on at least a little tomorrow. Enjoy! :) -Dave

Mondays...

2006-12-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

I don't usually work on Mondays but a co-worker is jammed up with studying for exams. I *so* don't envy her. Normally I'd have some extra time to do some scribbling on a nice, quiet Monday but this one was an exception so I didn't get *any*thing done. Still, I'm betting my day was better than my co-worker's. Studying is so much no fun. Anyway, I've got a couple things to post tonight. They're two of the same drawing but the first one I did in one session of gaming and a few weeks later I touched it up. I know the neck looks a little odd but our group decided that this particular character would be better off without a beard but this was after I had drawn it in, so a great deal of erasing and defining of the face was done. In the second post the legs are a little longer as I noticed her arms would go down nearly to her ankles and I remembered she was a dwarf, not an ape. Now that I look at it again, I think I'll return once more to fix that neck stuff up. It *really* looks like a beard. Oy. Talk to y'all soon. -Dave

Some progress on ye olde orc...

2006-12-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

I asked some friends when I had made my last update and they said Wednesday, which means I've been slack on my visits here. I've found some stuff that I'd like to post and some other work I'd abandoned back when I made the decision to switch to pencil rendering. I'll be posting a pencil update, a pencil introduction and something I want to continue with even though it's a colour pen cross-hatching bit. For some reason I just want to finish that one off. Anyway, I'm getting ever closer to having enough work to send off to companies and farther away at the same time. I've decided that the picture of Polly with her flaming wings is not representative of my best work and I won't be including that in my portfolio. I've also started another piece that, although not from the adventures of the Blaaarrrrrg group (our super secret D & D party's name) it's still of the fantasy genre and I'm considering pushing back some of the regular suggestions if some interesting image pops into my head. I think it will all be full of fun and goodness, though it *is* possible some of the fellow gamers won't be as excited. How fun is drawing? No words. Talk to y'all soon. -Dave

Back on the air...again!

2006-11-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

I had *no* idea how long it takes to switch homes with an ISP thing. So, yes, I've been busy and I haven't had much time to get any work done, but I've got some things to put up here anyway. I've finally finished the Polly picture and I've started work on the Orc's Charge. I'll be including the roughs for this one in an attempt to take you all from the very beginning to the very end. The Polly picture didn't turn out as I'd hoped but I believe that's because it was never meant to be a fully rendered drawing anyway. Not sure. The Orc's Charge has given me a great deal of grief so far but I believe I've got a handle on it. I made a mistake in reading the description of the scene and after a few days I have come to this final...finality. I'll try to get more stuff up soon as I'd like to get this one done and move on to the commissions. I've got two weeks to get three done and with a full-time job it can be hard to fit it all into one schedule. No complaints, though. I love this *so* much! There's nothing like drawing for me. Talk to y'all soon.

Digging in the dirt...

2006-11-07T21:48:00.000-08:00

I found this picture of a poster I did last year for the store where I work. I thought it was neat at the time though now I can see oodles of mistakes. Still, it was fun and I think all the people involved were pleased. All the people depicted are staff members dressed as characters from a movie about some wars that happened among the stars.
I'll be back tomorrow.
-Dave

"Dorian Nuking the Dragon" approaches completion...

2006-11-07T16:39:00.000-08:00

I was hoping I'd have both Dorian and Polly done by last Sunday but with one thing and...well, just one thing, drawing-board time has been limited.
See you soon.
-Dave

Further "Dorian Nuking the Dragon"...

2006-11-05T22:32:00.000-08:00

I've done some more work on Dorian and he's nearly done. I still have a number of touch-ups for the fire, not to mention a few details I've forgotten insofar as a ring and other jazz. Still, things progress apace. Polly hasn't had any work done on her and I'm not sure anything will be done any time soon as I'm moving and there's the other picture that a friend has asked me for help with and...well, I guess that's about it. Still, that will likely be enough to put a temporary halt to production. I'll be posting some older stuff, though, to keep people interested.
Talk to y'all soon.
-Dave

Saetar and Death...

2006-11-04T05:56:00.000-08:00

I tought it might be neat to post a series of scans that show the development of one of my cross-hatching pictures.
The drawing is of one of the characters in the party sitting on a log and being consoled by Death. Saetar has come so close to death so many times that death has finally decided to have a near-Saetar experience. I thought th idea was cute and I l ike drawing skeletons. Especially skeletons wearing birkenstocks.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this. I've got a few others where I might be doing the same thing. Oh, there's also the tattoo, non-hairy arms and silver-streaked-with-black hair to finish up.

Touch up on "Polly's Preflight Check"...

2006-11-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

I scribbled away today and got some more work done and, hopefully, I will have Polly done by the end of Sunday. I'll have to dig up some reference photos of a co-worker for the face and basic body shape but I don't think that will hold things up too long.
Talk to y'all soon.
-Dave

Addendum to "One Week Later"...

2006-11-01T17:31:00.000-08:00

I shall now attmept to put some pictures up for the delight of all who have been starved of input from my corner of the arena.
Something I've noticed from working in pencil is that it goes far quicker as the work is done regularily which is good as it was taking waaaaaaay too long to be able to, in good conscience, market myself as a gaming artist. I now feel confident that I am able to meet deadlines and schedules. Very pleased with myself, I am. ;)
The pictures I'm putting up tonight will be the pictures of "Dorian Nuking the Dragon" and "Polly's Preflight Check".
Hopefully I will also be posting some roughs of "The Orc Trainwreck of Doom" either tomorrow or in the near future.
Enjoy, folks. I loved drawing them. Drawing is like...well, it's a little like flying, as I've told pretty much anyone who will listen.
Much care,
-Dave

One week later...

2006-10-30T17:15:00.000-08:00

I really haven't been as good about posting as I had hoped to be. But, here I am! And I've got some new stuff to post, as well, which is good as that really is the whole point of all this. What I'll be posting tonight is the beginning of the final for a character named "Dorian". I know he has a last name but for the life of me I can't remember what it is. Y'see, I'm very supportive of the notion of giving characters names that are...easy...to remember. I mean, I have a hard enough time with regular, everyday names without getting into otherworldly combinations of of syllables and titles involving more names than I have fingers and toes. Take my character for example; Polly Goodbarrel. Simple 'nuff, right?
Anyway, this is starting to turn into a whinefest, so I'll get back to the posting of things.
Yeah, so there's a great deal of fire in this drawing and you'd think that after my last trouble with the extended source of light that I'd have learned my lesson. Turns out I'm a glutton for punishment.
As well, while I let me mind rest from the ordeal that is "Dorian Nuking the Dragon" I will be working on an old drawing of Polly sprouting wings which, also, has a whole bunch of fire. If I'm not comfortable with drawing fire after these two pics are done, I believe I shall stick to watery things. No more ideas involving fire will be accepted here. :)
I shall away, now, to...possibly sleep or somesuch.
Much care to you all.
-Dave

Last picture of the day...

2006-10-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Picture four...

2006-10-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

Picture three...

2006-10-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

Picture two...

2006-10-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

This, as you may have guessed, is picture two.

Trying to add a picture again...

2006-10-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Not so sure I followed the instructions correctly as I can see no pictures. I'll try one at a time now.

An entry with some pictures...

2006-10-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, here are some pictures that I've been working on. I had some trouble working out how to post pictures which is why nothing appeared with my first post and after two friends told me pretty much the same thing, I am confident I now know how to do this. Here's hoping.
The first picture is really how all of this started. It's a picture of my D&D character, Polly Goodbarrel. Y'see, there's this little square on the character sheet where you get to do your character's portrait or whatever, which, usually, remains blank. Me, forever filling blank spaces with doodles, did a little scribble. The other people playing commented and said it was decent. This encouraged me to go a little further and on to a number of follow-up pictures in my gaming notebook, of which only one will be posted today.
Picture number two is of one of the other players' characters embracing my character after a long, in-game dispute was resolved. I was hoping to practice my cross-hatching and used our roughly weekly adventures as inspiration. Again, the group made encouraging comments.
Something I noticed was that it didn't really matter what I had decided to draw, the other players were very interested in seeing what was being put on paper.
Flash to three weeks ago: The decision to attempt at making some pictures that would be acceptable in terms of submitting them to a gaming company in hopes of picking up some work on the side was made. I started with an idea for a shot that took much longer than I had initially hoped. I thought doing one picture a week would be not too steep a schedule to keep and the first one took me two weeks.
The third picture is a scan of the first drawing and an important lesson had not been learned yet. That would come last night as I finished the last drawing.
What I learned from the first pencil rendering was that I really must think out my time alotted first and fit what could possibly fit in there.
The last two pictures are the rough of one of the characters at a forge, all dressed up in protective gear, one piece of which is inappropriate and another of which is unnecessary in a fantasy setting.
In the final Saetar (the super-macho, tough-skinned barbarian) is scartastic and riddled with tattoos.
I was bursting with pride when the player saw the final product and said various things having to do with being very pleased. I could not be more encouraged.
What I learned from this last drawing is that I must absolutely start doing these drawings on good illustration paper, though I will likely make the jump to illustration board at a later time.
I know there are more lessons out there waiting for me and I hope to see some visitors comments as well on the dharma of my portfolio creation.

First entry

2006-10-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

After much encouragement from a friend I have decided to finally post a blog that shows not only the various works in progress but my success with the developing portfolio as well as my state of mind.
This means a few things, I guess; I'm going to have to be open about my thoughts, which isn't usually a problem, it's just that the stage is much larger than I'm used to. It also means I'm opening myself up to criticism in so far as my artwork goes. My decision here is that I'm taking all the criticism as...not a challenge but people trying to help me out. Possibly.
Y'see, there's the rub: Not everyone is nice about letting you know you've made a mistake. Well, I guess I'll have to figure out some way of dealing with stuff like that, starting with getting over myself.
I will be posting scans of my artwork at least once a week though it will likely end up being more often as I'm trying to get an entire pencil rendering done every six days with one day off to play games and generally mellow out.
I'm not sure how often I'll post a comment, though. I've read through a few and what I'm worried about is that this will degrade into me complaining, which...well, I can get that anywhere. This blog will be about my development and any kinds of new tricks I've learned or discovered either by chance or through reading stuff.
I guess that's it for today. Talk to y'all soon.
-Dave