Nope. Still not dead.

I've been keeping up with the drawing every day...peppered with a couple "fails" in there. My interest is waning, but I've kept with it. Once we get some things in order at home, I'll have the time to scan all these little doodles and drop them in. Damn. That really takes a long time.

So, in the meantime, here are a couple book cover illustrations I did a years ago for freelance jobs (2005 and 2008). They are both acrylic paintings and were done actual size (about 10" x 8"). I also did the text designs, and the second one with the new Pope is much better. Maybe I'll throw up a few other things until I get the time to scan in the doodles. Enjoy.

October 12, 2010

Caricature

***So, this is interesting. I was just asked to take this image off of my blog by my company. Wow. I was not expecting that. Funny that I just put this up and practically NOBODY even saw it. I understand what they are saying, but I am so disappointed. I don't think that it was anything damaging, but whatever. It was pretty neat looking.***

So, I was given the opportunity to create an illustration for a project at work. That does not happen too often, but when it does, it's always a refreshing break and tons of fun. This project called for a caricature of the president from a division of my company in a suit giving thumbs up. They did not want it too "cartoony" or offensive looking, and they wanted it as Vector Art. Initially, I started to draw the caricature, but after finding out it needed to be created in Adobe Illustrator, I scrapped the drawing and did it all in the program. Working from a photo reference of the guy and a separate one of a skewed business person giving thumbs up, I created all the shapes for the illustration. It's a long process that takes a few hours (all today) since there are hundreds of points and shapes, but in the end, the result is what I desired. I like the whole "cell shaded" look, and now that this is done as vector art, this will print perfectly, whether it is 100 feet tall or 1 inch tall. And, that is the benefit of that kind of artwork. This was fun. Hopefully, everyone will enjoy it.

Finished Size: about 3" x 10" (but it can be resized to any size, perfectly)

August 12, 2010

M and Jessie

Last night, M asked me to draw a picture of her and Jessie together. I could not let her down. I am very pleased with this drawing, which is very rare for me as I tend to be too critical of my art. I used the Bic round stic Grip pen (fine point) to do this entire drawing. That gives me more control for delicate shading. It is always more difficult to draw women and children because they tend to have softer features. It's easy to screw up and make them look too harsh.

But, this one turned out pretty well, even with the black ink shading. I took a recent shot of M and combined it with the reference that I used for Jessie yesterday. Patrizzia took a couple pictures of M with her toy Jessie, and although they were cute, this shot of her is just too sweet. They'll be friends forever, and it's the sweetest thing to see.

You can also click on the image to see it full size. Enjoy.

Finished Size: about 7" x 5"

July 26, 2010

Son of Svengoolie

So, way back in December, I hosted a contest. Mary won. And, I owed her a new drawing of her favorite doodle in a frame. So...needless to say...I'm obviously a lazy ass. Anyhow, I gave her the new drawing today, and as you'll see, it's a step above the one I originally did on the 9th day of this Doodle Blog. You can see that HERE.

I apologize for the delay, Mary. But, better late than never, right? So, maybe I'll do another contest soon..and this time, I'll be a little quicker in handing out the prize.

Finished Size: about 2" x 3"

July 15, 2010

Dr. Mantis Toboggan

Do yourself a favor and watch "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" on FX and on Comedy Central. Last season, we were blessed with the very awesome Danny Devito introducing his new alter ego, Dr. Mantis Toboggan. I don't want to spoil anything because I laughed so friggin' hard. I love that show so damn much.

Now, Dr. Mantis has nothing to do with a praying mantis. But, I just thought it would be funny to see. I can't wait for the next season to start. I hope Dr. Mantis and his "Monster Dong" make an appearance.

Finished Size: about 3.5" x 4.5"

June 30, 2010

Artiefact: Warehouse 13

So, last summer, my good friend, Kirk, turned my wife and me onto a great show on SyFy called Warehouse 13. We were instantly hooked. And, we would talk about each show every week. A huge part of the storyline is the search for "artifacts" that hold special powers.

And, one of the main characters, "Artie," (played by Saul Rubinek) runs the Warehouse and everything that encompasses the finding and storing of the artifacts. Kirk started referring to the artifacts as "Artiefacts," and that just stuck with us. And, we can't recall if that was ever used in the show...especially by the awesome wisecracking Pete (played by Eddie McClintock).

So, we hope that they will fit that in sometime because it is just perfect. In honor of that, I decided to sketch my own "Artiefact." What does it do, you ask? Well, I couldn't say. Maybe it causes all cats in its vicinity to get instant vertigo. Or, perhaps it turns creamy peanut butter into crunchy. Or hell, maybe it's the reason the Cubs have not won the World Series in 102 years. Who knows?

Either way, it's there. And next week, Warehouse 13 makes its way back for a 2nd season, and we can't wait. Check it out. I guarantee you'll laugh.

Finished Size: about 2.5" x 2.5"

June 9, 2010

Happy Birthday Baby!

My sweet baby boy was born today at 8:05 pm (7 lbs 8 oz and 19 inches). This has been a whirlwind of a day, but I just wanted to make a little sketch of him in these final minutes of the day in the hospital. Exhausted, but very happy.

Finished Size: about 2" x 2"

May 24, 2010

24

It's a sad day for me and Patrizzia. Our favorite show is ending. We have been hardcore 24 fans from the beginning, and we only missed one episode in 8 seasons. It's been a staple in our marriage every year. Oh, how we will miss Jack Bauer and the 266 people he has killed in 194 hours of awesomeness. It looks like Fox will make a 24 movie (or more), and we will wait anxiously for that to come to fruition. We love you, 24!

Finished Size: about 3" x 4"

May 17, 2010

Little Artist

I absolutely adore my daughter in every way. She is almost turning 4, and she has been really showing her artistic skills like I was at her age. My mother has confirmed this. If she takes on my artistic skills, I would be incredibly thrilled and so very proud. There is an image of her painting at a party (you can see the pics on Patrizzia's blog HERE...and she had just started painting...that blob of paint on there already was from a bunch of other little kids). I just love the determined look on her face, and the pouty lips...which is something I do when I draw or paint (Patrizzia made me aware of that). Plus, she is beautiful, and I love her profile. So, I really felt the need to sketch it. I used the Bic pen again as the shading options are so much better than the heavy ink of the Micron pens. This was fun.

***You can click on the photo (as always) to see it larger***

Finished Size: about 3" x 4"

March 24, 2010

Marilyn Manson

This is a sketch of his 1997 Rolling Stone magazine cover. I always thought it was cool. Again, I did this fast, so I screwed up the sizing of the face paint and makeup around his lips. It came out a little larger, but hey, who cares. It still looks cool. Initially, I was not a fan of him, but towards the end of college in 1999, I realized that the whole "anti-christ" thing was a schtick, and I was able to stop being so sensitive about it. I grew up a bit then, anyway. His music just really strikes a chord in me, and at times, I can't get enough of it.

Finished Size: about 3" x 4"

March 12, 2010

Eduard Khil

AKA: Edward Hil

So, here is the deal. I just got hooked on this clip from You Tube. The "song" is called "I am Very Glad, Because I'm Finally Going Home."

Well, watch it. And, try not to get it stuck in your head. If you are able to fight that off and not get it stuck in your head, then well...you are dead inside.

Sure. This will blow over. But, for the time being, my obsessiveness is winning, and this song (especially the video clip) just makes me laugh. I just can't help but smiling.

Anyway, I wanted to draw this guy. I drew one quick sketch a couple days ago, and it was terrible. I rushed it. For some reason, it's always easier for me to draw from a live model...I guess the energy is just different. Drawing from a screen-grab of a blurry 1976 clip on You Tube isn't exactly lively. So, this time, I grabbed the Bic fine ball point pen as it gives me more shading control and drew this tiny portrait. It's not perfect...just better than my previous attempt. It's always hard to draw a portrait (especially small) with a pen and get the face size and layout correct. Getting the likeness down is a pain sometimes. But, I think this one worked out a little. Either way, it was still fun to listen to this crazy song and sketch this guy from Russia...who is gaining fame one again. I'm sure he never would have seen that coming at 75 years old.

Finished Size: about 1.5" x 2.5"

February 19, 2010

Shutter Island

I don't know the last time I was this excited to see a movie. Maybe The Lord of the Rings. I'm a big fan of Leonardo Dicaprio and Martin Scorsese. And, when they team up...better yet. Patrizzia and I saw the preview of Shutter Island when we at the movies the last time, and we have been excited ever since.

So, for tomorrow...on my birthday...I get to see it with Patrizzia while my Mom babysits for a couple hours. Joy.

This was a quick sketch of the movie poster. I kinda fudged the actual island part because I lost a little interest in that section. But, you get the gist. I get more pumped doing portraits..trying to get the likeness correct. Not too easy to do all the time.

Anyway, I think we'll love it, and I can't wait.

On a side-note, the poster image that I used as a reference for this drawing was very high in contrast. Right after I finished this, I saw the ad in the newspaper, and that image was so much better. There was more of his face shown. This one was pretty dark. But, it works anyhow. Oh, and I also used Photoshop to paint in more of the black background...and make the gray bottom area. I just felt that it added more "pop" to the image.

Finished Size: about 4.5" x 5.5"

January 12, 2010

Conan the Barbarian.

When I was 5, I saw Conan the Barbarian in the theater with my brother. So, it has always held a special place in my heart. Should I have seen it at that age? Probably not. But, people are just too sensitive these days anyway.

It is my favorite movie...right down to the soundtrack. Is is the best movie ever made? Not a chance. But, for nostalgic reasons, it will always be my favorite. And, it introduced me to Arnold Schwarzenegger...my boyhood idol. He was just the coolest, and I loved all of his movies...right down to the cheesy dialog and bad acting. He will always be an icon that revolved around my life in the 80's.

And, I have done several pieces of artwork of Arnold over the years. Here is one Acrylic painting of him that I made in college(1998). It was just a fun one to do. It was about 11" x 14", and all I have is this crappy quality photo from 11 years ago (old school camera). I'll have to take some nicer digital photos later. I'm just too lazy to do that right now.

Finished Size: about 3.5" x 4.5" (for sketch above)

October 9, 2009

I grew up watching Son of Svengoolie on channel 32. It's a Chicago-thing. Anyhow, I went as him for Halloween a few years ago and got my picture on his show (the one that is my profile image). My co-worker was nice enough to get me an autographed picture of Svengoolie, and I felt like doing a quick 5-10 minute sketch of him today. I like the way it came out. I'm starting to really get the "feel" back of drawing from references.

Finished Size: about 3" x 4"

October 6, 2009

I used to draw and paint portraits quite often. It's one of the hardest things to do...regarding getting the likeness correct. It's been years since I have tried to just do a simple pencil portrait. So, I gave it a try today...only to find out that I am very rusty. I am about 75% pleased with this. The perfectionist I am would not let me just enjoy this. The mouth gave me a big problem, and it is much harder to draw children (in this case, my daughter) because of all the soft lines on their faces. So, I'm not totally happy, but it's a start on the right track. I'll keep this ball rolling. It feels good drawing again, though. Thank you again, Patrizzia...for getting me to do this.

Finished Size: about 5" x 7"