Workers

Customer Service

Good Cop, Worse Cop.

Weary Waitress

I'm really having trouble finding and sticking to a so-called "signature style". I guess variablility is valuable, but I do wish I could more consistently do what I want to do and when. But hey, who doesn't? In Animation Preston Blair says that nobody gets so much as a skeleton right every time, so I guess I'm in good company. The purple cop of the right just isn't up to par with his partner's range of expression, though.

Lob and Barry

I saw a post on John K's blog about caricaturing cartoon characters, and then was inspired by a Veggie Tales CD we had lying around. Larry always was a bit of an idiot, and Bob does seem to have some anger issues.

Opera Fan

A lot of these sketches start off without any real direction, which has it's advantages and disadvantages. I like Mr. Opera Fan here, but I can't say he's what I was going for.

Rappa

Great exercise: Listening to talk radio and drawing the characters you hear. Rapper and then Angry Rapper.

Newfoundland

Street sketches from our trip to Newfoundland.

Cartoony Goodness

Doodles!

Who doesn't love doodles? I think there's a lot to be learned from our absent-minded scribblings. Some are great (imho), others are crap. But I've learned from each and every one! Keep an eye open for Yoda and a LOT of Nicky Gumble.

A quick sketch of the Family (aren't we so cute!)

Squash and stretch techniques




This is a self portrait, and I LOVE it. Specifically i love giving all my characters big ears, because it makes me feel better about myself.




This last one features some character designs for an animation I've been planning (specfically the lower right-hand side). Keep a head's up for that one.

More of Preston

Some Character designs

And some new colours that I did of Biker Dude, done back in Sept.

Serious Problems

My computer has been having some serious problems. Sorry all.

Exercises

Some fun stuff to come out of my Drawing class down at Red River College.

Not Yours

A quick self-portrait for the front of my class sketch book. (Did I mention that I've been taking a drawing tech class at the local college? Great practice) I had a lot of fun with this. Not only did I make myself super slim and trim, but I love the jump suit and the classic Looney Tunes era "way-too-conveniently-and-suddenly-present" wooden sign. Using gesture line to create a base to draw up from has become essential to me these days.

Found!

I found my lost sketch book! (and drew this to commemorate). I love the face--I think it was influenced by the copy of the Simpsons models sheets I was checking out. I hate the hands. Gotta practice.

Biker Dude

Now this guys was just fun to do. I combined the head construction with the facial expression and a little ol' fashioned rediculousness and came out with a Bad-Ass Hardcore tricyclist. Awesome.

Hands Again

Man, I feel like I ruin so many good drawings with bad hands!

Here's two drawings, one of me copying "famous" hands, and one trying to build my own based on form.
In case the print is illegible, the hands are (clockwise from top): Dexter from Dexter's Labratory, Johnny Bravo, Robin from Teen Titans, Pinky, and Tom (as in , And Jerry). I tried to take some hints from both the Preston book and from some online tutorials. Thank you YouTube.

Familiar Faces (Edited)

Every once in a while it's helpful to try my own take on a familiar face, rather than starting from scratch. Toad was tons of fun to draw, as far as form goes.
Stewie was taken straight from an online "How to Draw Stewie" from Fox.

The following are the result of watching every Harry Potter movie in the course of a few days. I really like the full body Hagrid, because he just looks so kind. I even tried my hand at tracing and inking with the Ron on the bottom. Man, that guy has the most distinctive face, and it's not easy to capture.






EDIT: I've since fed the drawing of Ron through a live trace and colour, and while it's not exactly pro, I like the results. Hey, at least I'm learning.

Emotions

One part of animation and illustration that fascinates me in seeing character express such subtly of emotion (and sometimes a complete lack of subtlety!). Here's some practice:
I was really going for a furrowed brow, but my knowledge of anatomy fails me. I really do need those life drawing classes.

Others Heads and Rotations

One of the hardest parts of drawing for me has always been drawing the same thing twice (in fact, it's tough because I get frustrated when it doesn't come out the same). So the idea of drawing a framework and building on that really appeals to me. Plus I think it makes my drawings more interesting to look at. Hey, is it me or does this guy look like he could fit in as a Jetson or on Yogi?
I love these three, and hey, colour is fun! A lot of my designs start off bald and I have to add hair later, but the woman (blue) looked way better bald so I added the razor for a laugh.

I should also mention that I've always hated drawing females (human or otherwise). Mainly it's I feel that not all women have long lashes and big lips. That, and I'm generally uncomfortable drawing boobs.

Preston Blair

Over at John K's blog, he offers what he calls the $100,000 Animation course free on his site. Basically it just scans from Preston Blair's book, teaching drawing from basic forms and geometric shapes to construct characters from the inside out. It's tougher than hell at times to follow along but it certainly has had some interesting results in my work.
It starts with basic head construction, using a 3D Egg for a head, adding guide lines, then drawing features according to those lines. It seems really forced at first but I've never been able to rotate a head as successfully as this before.


I love the old lady here (straight from the book) but that crazy punk/Fudd creeps me out.