Viva Las Sketchy!

I just got back from a jaunt out to Vegas to hang with friends and take in a little Dr. Sketchy. Here's the evidence:

Ellie Reads Comics

This is a poster I designed for KIDS READING COMICS, a gallery show at Green Brain Comics and inspired by the Kids Read Comics convention at the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Michigan. The exhibit will hang at Green Brain until Friday June 11th.

Homework

I recently finished up an online course in animation character design with the illustrious Stephen Silver. You may (or may not) know him from the work he's done on the Clerks animated series, or Kim Possible and Danny Phantom. I've been studying his work for some time - I love his clean lines and shapes - so when I saw he was offering courses I naturally hemmed and hawed for months before plunking down my cash. Nothing against Mr. Silver, I just work myself up into a ball of nerves when spending a lot of moolah on something others might view as frivolous. And my generation has a tendancy to view frivolous online art courses as the equivalent of "Draw Tippy".

But frivolous this was not. I'm making a concerted effort in improving my abilities. Time to put my dough where my pie hole is. I'm not looking into entering the animation field, but I want to be able to improve on drawing characters the same from different angles, and also constructing them in a logical and clear way. Mr. Silver's class helped with just that.

He uses videos to hand us the tools to improve our artwork with in-depth lessons and personal critiques that are hand drawn over our own assignments. We get to see where we've succeeded in applying his lessons, but more importantly where we've strayed so we can learn from our mistakes. I can't say that all of his lessons have sunk in yet, but I've already noticed an improvement in my artwork. And I have more confidence in my abilities too!

Here are a few of my assignments. The first is a character we had to draw based on a description. Merely an assignment so he could see where our drawing ability stood.

Aside from many, many, many drawing exercises, another assignment included creating a version of Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde. I invented my own version of a 19th century paleontologist who accidentally ingests some dino DNA.

It was a great course that was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Now to make it pay off!

Sketchbook stuff

Just some recent sketchbook drawings.

Hatchback and Sketchy

Last weekend was the fourth annual HATCHback show in good ol' Hamtramck. Our evening began with a round of Dr. Sketchy featuring Chicago's own Red Hot Annie. Below are my sketches, along with a few drawings of fellow Cafe 1923 denizens, plus a few blurry pics of my entries, Annie herself, and the night's entertainment!

Jiggle Show

Last week's Dr. Sketchy featured Lana of Detroit Bellydance, who posed and performed for us a few times before. For those interested, there's an interview she did with WDET earlier in the week. Listen here.

My pencils were giving me trouble so most of what I drew was all cablooie out of proportion (that's my way of saying that I just couldn't draw worth crap). Here's stuff that kinda worked, along with a sketch on my tablet that I did at home based on a one minute gesture drawing from earlier in the evening.

 

  

 

More recycling - this time it's art.

It's time for Hamtramck's art collective HATCH to put on it's annual juried art exhibit. These are the pieces I've culled from my vast archives to enter into the race. For whatever reason I thought I'd stick with a musician theme. Don't know why - just 'cause. We'll see if any of them make it in. Featured below are Erin McKeown with Jill Sobule; Chris Isaak; Lily Allen; She & Him; Hall & Oates; Aimee Mann; and Nellie McKay.

UPDATE: Chris Isaak, Hall and Oates, and She and Him made it in!

Men, men, men, men...

These are some sketches for another goofy-large project I conjured up. I won't give up any details, but it could keep me drawing for millennia.

Recycle your recyclables

Just a l'il spot illustration for a recycling activity book I worked on.

Something to post

It's Irwin and Ellie, fresh from my sketchbook.

Recycle Kids!

Make new phonebooks from old phonebooks!

Bri's Birthday Cavalcade!

Birthday Girl Brianne requested Ellie and her peeps to grace the top of her cake this year. Here they are in their current incarnation - until I get bored and change their looks again. I think we decided to call that Seussian-style instrument the Saxotrombaphone.

Inside design

Here's a logo design in the running to represent our in-house graphic design group (hence the name). I'm happy with it but on reflection the inside of the "h" so wants to be a doorway now. Well, we'll see what happens.

Happy Holidays!

I assume everybody got theirs? It's okay to post this now? Okay, here's this year's Holiday Card:

Sketchy-mas

The last Detroit Dr. Sketchy of the year was held last night at the Historic Scarab Club. Lushes LaMoan and Rokzi Sokzov (best name ever) spread a little Christmas spirit with some excellent posing and some mighty fine burlesquing. Find them both at the Dizzy Dames burlesque troupe!