First Digital Sketch

I downloaded a free sketch program called Sketch Book X Mobile to my iPhone the other day and was playing around with it. Once I figured out how to use it, I sketched up a quick eye. Not bad for a first try using my finger as a stylus. I'll play around with it some more to see if I want to buy the full version to get other brushes and whatnot.

Warm-up Sketch - 10/19/11

Here's a quick 5-minute sketch I did last night before I began working on more Super Cute strips. Its kind of manga-esque, which is odd since I'm not that into Japanese comics. Like the previous day's Ninja Turtle sketch, I put pencil to paper, shut my mind off, and this is what came out.

Ninja Turtle sketch

I was at the drawing board last night working on some Super Cute strips and I kept getting distracted. This usually happens when I'm not happy with how my drawings are turning out. I didn't have a chance you loosen up beforehand, so that could be why things weren't clicking. Anyway, I still wanted to draw, and since the strip wasn't working, I set it aside and grabbed a blank piece of paper and let my hand do it's thing. This is what came out:

Wonder Woman

A friend of mine and my wife's asked me to draw a picture of Wonder Woman for her a month or so ago. She's a pretty good artist herself, so I was kind of flattered that she asked me to do it. She told me that she's not much of a superhero comic book reader, but the iconic nature of Wonder Woman helped her get through a difficult time when she was younger. She offered to pay me, but I told her that she'd get the "friend discount", which means "free". (A quick aside: If you want me to draw something for you, it helps to befriend me as I'd probably do it free of charge--within reason, of course!)

As far as the the art itself, she requested that Wonder Woman be in silhouette, which presented some fun challenges, like how to convey that the woman in the drawing is a very specific Amazonian Princess. I decided to keep certain aspects of her costume white to make it identifiable and visually interesting. I knew that I pulled it off when I asked my wife, who has no interest or knowledge of Wonder Woman, who the figure was and she identified her immediately. Success!

So to the person that this is intended for: I hope you like it at least half as much as I enjoyed making it!

Yoda: Not so great at grammar...

Full disclosure: I'm not into Star Wars. I know, I should have my Nerd Card revoked. It's nothing personal. I see why people like it, but it's just not my thing. That said, I really like the designs of some of the characters (Boba Fett, Chewbacca, anyone with "Darth" in their name, and Yoda). They're just so classic. Anyway, one day while working on a Super Cute strip, I came up with an idea for a 3-panel gag with Yoda in a classroom setting. The following strip is what I came up with. I gotta say, the hardest part of the strip wasn't the drawing or coloring, but the lettering. Big ups to my pal David Hopkins who does all of the lettering for Super Cute. He makes it look so effortless!

(By the way, I realize it's a cartoony depiction of Yoda, but it took me forever to figure out how to draw him. I kept making him look like Pikachu. It's the first time I've ever tried to draw him, but I think it came out fairly decent in the end.)

Rex Thunder: Dinosaur Accountant

Here's a drawing I did a couple years ago on the back of some important work documents during a meeting (I'm a horrible employee). Sometimes I don't know know what to draw and just let my hand do what it wants. Evidently, it really wanted to draw a dinosaur accountant.

(Oh, and this was done with ballpoint pen, by the way.)

New Spidey!

This is my first drawing at the sweeeeet new Spider-Man costume worn by Miles Morales. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out (for a first try, anyway). The webbing is a pain to draw, but after filling in the black behind them, it's super fulfilling to look at.

(Fun Fact: This image was done while listening to the Hideous Energy interview with Sam Humpries. I always listen to something while drawing. Usually podcasts, but sometimes music. This fact was more boring than fun. Sorry about that.)