Learnin' Blog

Things and Stuff

2011-01-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Trying to figure out Toonboom inking. This is just a throwaway doodle I inked pretty quickly. Is it just me or is it hard to see exactly what you're doing? I guess I'm just not accustomed to the interface yet.

inking some of John's drawings

2011-01-09T22:07:00.000-08:00

all original drawings are by the inimitable John K. Will probably do some revisions later.

oh what the hey

2011-01-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

hello, cartoon fans! I have a full-time job, now... for a while I had 3 jobs, actually! It was very tiring.

Here is a quick self-portrait to blow off some steam

oh, heck, why not in color?

Where have I been?

2010-08-30T03:27:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last couple of months with, for the most part, very little internet access and almost no scanner access (like a fool I updated to Windows 7, which was not compatible with my scanner, so I need to get a new one). Somewhere in there I moved twice-- once to my new roommate's old apartment, and then to a totally new apartment. I now have two jobs (one of them is a paid internship at a toy company, which is cool). I am thinking of quitting my weekend joe job so that I can practice and pursue my own projects again-- the days in which I have my internship I am up at 6AM and home at around 7 PM (sometimes later), so it's kind of impossible to do much and still be in high spirits for my actual commitment. I'd rather be deeper in poverty than unable to keep myself sharp, frankly.

Hopefully I'll be back by the end of September. I sorely miss updating this thing, it was really my baby and I found it very helpful!

P.S. Does anyone out in cartoon land know what the deal is with the Wacom Cintiq 21ux? After like 5 years of pining and saving, I finally have enough to buy one, and they have been on backorder since April. Why?! Do they hate making money or something?

Two new Fagan poses

2010-06-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

I decided to extend upon this panel, because it'd be easiest to work with this scenery (and the pose is so broad that I was hoping it'd get me thinking broadly.

So, Fagan kicks the dog down the well. What does he do next? Like any cartoon jerk, he listens for that whistle and plop:

I feel like I am getting a better knack for line of action. It takes... planning. It's kind of counterintuitive to me for effortless poses to have a lot of messy attempts before you get it right. Maybe that'll go away with time. Or maybe I've just been overestimating the human capacity of good cartoonists, I don't know.
That left foot doesn't look right... I think I may have made his legs too short, because the detail of the pant cuff messes up the silhouette that I had come to like.
The details on the pants were bad ideas, they lose the form underneath. However, I did come to like the hand on the right.

Anyway, so, next, Fagan runs away, breaking the fourth wall, like good cartoons do.

I don't think the closest hand jibes with the line of action. It seems almost broken-wristed. I was trying to emulate the way Eisenberg does Fagan's (and I think I recognize it from some Tom's) hands held up in a cute, paw-like way. I think if I were to redo it I'd rotate the hand about -45º. In fact, I just might.

Anyway, for context...

Here's panel 1, the copy and jumping point:

Here are my two poses edited in:

Hmm... I drew them out of scale, and the shrinkage does it no justice! Woops... maybe I should have done the lines thicker to match.

EDIT: I played around in Photoshop to reduce some of the problems.

It's better, the forms make more sense now, but it's a bit pinchy on that leg to the left still. Anyone got any tips?Complete with less-broken wrist.

Polite Porky Lamp

2010-06-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

Gonna study another one of these sometime. It's kind of hard capturing the nuances of a toy with lines, but fun. I'm working mostly from black-and-white prints, so I noticed that on the bow tie I went by the curve, not where the red ends.

Like I said, I was pretty unsure on the nose. Maybe on the next angle, I'll try a different, more detailed way of capturing it.

Ahh, I totally didn't make the vest dimensional enough on the right.

Last of this page

2010-06-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

The dog's face is framed by the door to the coop. Within that, the carefully-placed highlight also hugs the face. Fagan's framed by the coop's wall. Nice details like the tree and the sack also embellish but frame the interaction between these two.

The characters are making eye contact. The dog's line of action is straighter than Fagan's, and it's related to it, but they aren't parallel. They almost form a "D".

The boards on the left, back side of the coop are totally mismatched from the closer side. It breaks the shape down into something more organic (much like the shingles on the well from a few posts ago). I had to resist the temptation to line them up. I think it's funny this way-- this coop was built by hand. I should bear this in mind when I do my own backgrounds. Man-made stuff can be misaligned and asymmetrical (organic!) just like natural stuff. Especially if it's made of wood, and probably by somebody's grandpa.

The board that is atop the coop's door that stretches all the way across was messed up in my final lines. I made it way too small on the far side, so it sort of clips awkwardly. I need to be more careful about preserving shapes like that.

I accidentally made Fagan squeeze himself too much-- to the point where I skinnied up his abdomen! ;)

I think the hardest part about studying Eisenberg is his treatment of eyes. They're so tiny that they're very easy to mess up-- even a few specks of poorly-considered graphite change the directionality.

Some last Fagans

2010-06-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

I was called into my job just a few moments ago, so I'm short on time.

Did I ever post this whole page? Even if I did, here it is again.

Here's my go at the 4th, silhouette panel. It wasn't a bad copy but the line quality turned out really badly so I'm not posting a version that isn't simply overlayed for comparison. You can see my errors.

Here's my start on panel 3. Sorry the scans like this are such a mess. I'm using very light col-erases. I love these useful pencils, but they're my only col-erases. I could use some other colors (regular blue, mostly). Here's what the scan looks like normally.
Squinty squint.

The dog's cranium dividing line is off.

More cute Porkys

2010-05-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

Now that I've uploaded this, I see a huge problem with this second one: the bottom right foot. I made it a stump! I totally missed that defining line on the inside of the leg. He's supposed to be slightly pidgeon-toed, and instead I made him have a deformed half-foot thing. Yikes!!

Man, the meds they put me on for my tooth really packed a whallop. I tried to go into work yesterday and wound up getting so sick I upchucked. Which kind of sucks, because I really need the hours.

Speaking of capitalism, if you're awesome, there's a shiny orange button to your right, now!

Speaking of shiny orange buttons, my birthday is in a mere 3 days (May 31). ;)

cute porky

2010-05-27T00:45:00.000-07:00

ugh, i feel really awful! (i forgot to mention, painkillers also make me nauseous). lots of mistakes. oh well. good night!

i didn't see no fox

2010-05-26T23:06:00.000-07:00

today I got that tooth pulled. I am either really feelin' a gigantic bloody crater in my mouth or drowsy off of painkillers. I did this study during a sort of in-between moment this evening:

I might do a drawing or two before bed since my sleep is all messed up from today, but I also just might crash. It's hard to tell.

Just a minute bub!

2010-05-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Old cartoonists can pull off improper English in the best ways. No one else has license to language like these guys.

I did this in someone else's basement tonight, and I feel like I'm committing a faux pas if I stay on here for too long. I took a few little liberties in this one though, especially on Fagan's hands. Not sure if it worked out or not. The dog's arm/hand aren't perfect, looks sort of squished and wimpy. I also evened out some of that lovely asymmetry on the cheeks. No bueno. I feel like the face is clearer than in yesterday's panel, though.

Tomorrow I get a tooth pulled!

THERE!

2010-05-24T23:19:00.001-07:00

I love this page of Eisenberg's. This is actually the last panel of the page (you will see more as I study them) but I loved it so well that I had to draw it first.

Thoughts:

The detail is handled masterfully and reigned in by sensible hierarchy. The shingles and wood grain on the well are controlled by keeping them wrapping the form, but are full of life because they're asymmetrical, organic. They are not in equal rows; notice the extra shingle on the bottom left! I wonder if he drew the shingle to the right of it too small and needed to fill a space. Either way, it's great and works just fine. The wood is also organic, and has some lovely little details, but it's never distracting.

Things made of brick and stone are usually intimidating, but Eisenberg handles it like a pro-- not every stone needs to be drawn. They're the smooth, well-worn, old, and organic types of rocks people used to build things instead of ugly fake bricks. It looks worn and fun to touch. They hug the outside, and of course wrap around the form.

The bucket is a nice touch, and works as part of the well's overall form. It really contrasts nicely with the delicate tree that frames the left side and adds interest. The tree's in silhouette, too, so white it's very delicate, it's nowhere even resembling distracting.

Fagan himself is a beautiful pose! I was attracted to it immediately. I love how he sits in the middle of that perfect circle of a motion line. It's a pose you're not terribly prone to seeing in newer cartoons. It's so round and exaggerated. No one ever kicks back that far. You can tell exactly what has just occurred.

Even Eisenberg's speech bubbles are great. I love how they're cloudy, just for the sake of fluorish. It's also nice since it's in the sky, it almost doubles as a cloud at first blush. The composition has a lot of yummy places for your eye to travel to.
I wound up rounding out some of Foxy. His hand is the most noticeable. His upper body also seems evened out, puffed a bit, even. I dug the details in too far, mostly because I had to erase them a few times when I was struggling with the face. At first I missed the angle of his brow. I rounded out some of the contrasts, and ate up some of the space. Hopefully I can focus more on that in the closer compositions of the page in the future.

I just noticed, too, that the right side of the well tapers off in the wrong way. It should have more mass leaning to the upper right.

ALSO: I discovered a 5B pencil. I'm used to working with harder ones. Anyway, it's fun and you don't need to press as hard (something I need to force myself out of doing). I'm gonna look into getting even softer pencils, soon, if I can scrape together the cash.

The Star Fell with a Crash

2010-05-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

A very nice coloring book page! I have no idea who the artist was, though. If any of you experts out there could tell me, I'd be grateful. Anyway, so I had a print of this image, and decided to take it on. I'm out of practice, but it was fun to balance all of the elements. I decided to use this page to practice for some more Eisenberg drawings I want to do-- Eisenberg's backgrounds are wonderful, and I wanted to feel more confident before taking them on.

I like studying these coloring pages and comic covers because they're so clear, big, and appealing. I imagine that the originals were larger than their actual prints, as I do for a lot of comic drawings, which makes detailed areas tend to get murked up in my copies-- places like faces, in particular. Bugs' face here is a little distorted, but I had to eventually just settle for some decreased contrast and shifted angle (namely the cheek on the right side) because eventually it just gets too muddy to keep erasing/redrawing.

When I really get into these, I get very obsessive... and by the end I'm too tired to talk about them much, without a bit of distance!

I forgot to draw Porky's shadow, woops! It was a nice detail, because it grounded him (which is relevant for the image's narrative).

It's interesting to see where the artist breaks/distorts perspective. Note also that the vertical fenceposts are askew, adding some good ol' wabi-sabi to the image, preventing it from being deadened by perspective.

Perspective is interesting. It's beautiful, adds solidity and structure, but taking thoughtful license to it can really make an image feel more organic, cartoony, fun. If that gate to the left had all been in perfect perspective, it would look much more... well, wooden.

I de-fluffed Bugs' tail. I also drew myself into a bit of a corner with Porky's hand that is touching the star, possibly because, in retrospect, I too greatly exaggerated portion of the star that frames it. The artist did exaggerate perspective a bit on the bottom of the star, but I let it get a little out of control.

Tom running

2010-05-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

I was attracted to this image because of its line of action. I printed it to copy at some point, and just studied it tonight.

The line of action was a little bit muddled. I attempted to exaggerate it by making his head a little lower, but I think that threw off the proportions a little (note the foot and... musketeer-poncho-thing). It also resulted in a less flowy pose. I want to grasp lines of action better, mine always seem to get lost.

I reduced his chin, and his eye makes no sense, really. I also ballooned out the top of his musketeer-poncho-thing.

I want to do more drawings tonight, and then after my optometrist's appointment tomorrow. I need to learn how to structure my days off, now, so that they are full of disciplined study.

Preston Blair sailor bulldog man

2010-05-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

I feel as if the pelvis is too high-up, and I softened the angles on the feet so that they aren't as firmly planted. I reduced the contrast by enlarging his bottom quadrant, I think.

Goal: Do a bunch of studies. ASAP.

Graduatin'

2010-05-07T22:48:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,

My graduation ceremony is tomorrow. I didn't really want to do the ceremony thing, but it's important to my mom, and she's a good lady. Anyway, just posting to say I will be busy for the next several days, visiting my grandmother in Virginia.

Then, when I get back, I have no idea what's goin' on. I want to devote myself to slavishly practicing, while keeping my part-time job and hopefully digging for freelance work.

I've decided to start practicing and portfolio-building for Disney's talent development program. I figure, why not? My stylistic interests aren't really very well suited for contemporary Disney, but after three years of work I will certainly be good enough for something. It's a goal, and it's a goal that doesn't require me to go to school any more (yuck). Besides, I can't start changing the industry unless I weasel my way inside of it (right?)

I also would really like to set up a nice, devoted workspace. I'm saving for a Cintiq, which would really make animation practice a heck of a lot easier. If you want to help me reach this lofty goal, feel free to get in touch for any work you might have for me. Commissions are fun.

Anyway, I want to be back in a week, and then get on the ball with this again. No dopey school to get in the way, this time.

2010-04-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get more specific about Shan's eyes. I also more clearly made the jaw and cranium two separate forms:

Again, trying to make Shaniqua's eyes less rounded-out, and trying to adjust her mouth/cheek area to be more loyal to the original.

I think I could have made the hands more solid, and I think there was some loss incurred in Shaniqua's facial region. It looks to me like her cranium got a little mushy. I think I should have placed Shaniqua just a bit more to the left so that Roxie's hair didn't come quite so close to her sleeve.

Also, helloooo allergy season in Northwest Ohio! It has been hard to look at my computer screen as a result.

2010-04-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

I tried to think about that Shan needs to be behind Roxie. I wanted a little bit of perspective. I wanted to make sure it was clear that Shan was looking at Roxie (though I think Roxie, in my drawing, is not convincingly enough looking straight, right past poor Shan). I wanted to put a bit more space between the hair and the cheek. I feel like I watered down the lines of action.

Roxie angry 2

2010-04-16T13:21:00.001-07:00

Why didn't I have this posted forever ago? Ugh... Anyway, I don't like the closest foot too much. I didn't get the right shape on the rim of the moccasin. I also think that in general it could be more contrasty.

Oh, I'm doing some paid work right now, by the way. Hooray!

Roxie angry 1

2010-03-04T22:24:00.000-08:00

John K rough

My start

I moved the arm to the right out a bit, so that the negative space between her body and her arm was more clear. However, I pulled the top of the body shape too much to the right/made it too thick. Will fix tomorrow.

The legs don't feel right; they aren't solid enough. since this scan I've rounded off her knees more, but the perspective on the feet and the leg to the right seem weird.

More soon!

Poodle again

2010-03-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

John's original drawing

My study. I feel a little weird about the left foot in particular.

Color schemes, headaches, etc

2010-02-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some (really zoomed in, compared to their print size) backgrounds for a comic I'm doing for school... mostly interested in practicing with color, and digital painting.

I don't like digital painting anymore (it's so much easier to make stuff look good with paint, I think), but it's very cost-effective and there's no loss of luster through a scanning process. Took a lot of cues from Anne in terms of digital application of spongey looks. She's pretty clearly more advanced than I am, but I can't catch up if I don't start! Anyway, it is fun and educational.

More Curly Fuzz Poodle

2010-02-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

Another Curly Fuzz Poodle drawing by John.

Round 1: Eek!
I spent quite a while trying for this-- I started a couple of days ago, tried a few times to pick it up again, but I couldn't get it to look right. I didn't bother doing details or cleaning it up because something just seemed wrong about it. I squished it together. Upon closer inspection, I just ATE UP the spaces horizontally. I decided since so much of it was wrong, as a result, to just start on a new piece of paper.
So I started a meticulous do-over, this time checking more frequently how I was doing...
Lots of checking and squishing and fixing.
Finally, it started to look closer to correct.
I don't like the way his ears look. The details are not handled elegantly and the thicknesses of the ears vary. They're also a bit rounded out.

Later edit--
JOHN'S COMMENT:

put perspective in the feet

the one that's closest to us should be bigger than the one that's farther away

be careful of the silhouette while fixing my mistake
So I tried to tweak some things-- I drew the closer foot again on a new piece of paper and Photoshopped it on in (pretty much the same idea as taking an X-acto and taping it in, only less involved with dangerous blades), and also made it so you could kinda see the old foot. Also tweaked the ears while I was at it.

CFP cot'd

2010-02-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

I think I should have made the pad a little bit more "straight" and working in perspective better... hmm. I'm not wholly satisfied with his eyes., particularly the one on the right.

Got another in the works. I want to do many.

Curly Fleece Poodle

2010-02-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

(I am drawing from the second image, both of these drawings are John's)

My roughest, first attempt at this drawing got deleted, but I still have the overlay (I try to only overlay now during very early stages so as to ensure that I'm seeing the basic proportions correctly).

Couple corrections...

More to come, I'd like to make more corrections before I clean it up. I really like drawing this character a lot. Funny animals are my favorite.

I feel like I misread the cranium, now that I look at it. I should have corrected it when I fixed the eye the first time around... His head is tilted to the left.

Because I want to get in the habit:

- Curly Fleece Poodle has one eye REALLY WIDE and one eye quite narrowed
- He is looking directly at what he's writing... he's really concentrating, because he is a stuffed animal
- His ass is so up in the air that it is coming forward, toward his head
- His big feet are supporting his butt weight

New toy studies: Tub back

2010-01-28T22:38:00.001-08:00

I believe this toy belongs to the indestructible Kali Fontecchio! I am drawing a few of her toys that she's posted, and this is the first of three I started yesterday. I finished this one today.
My first shot turned out pretty slumpy and yucky, so I won't even post it.

So I straightened him out a bit. That head shape is a lot harder than it looks.
The hardest part, however, is that darned hat. It was kind of hard to see in my print-out, and it STILL isn't right. However, my paper was getting worn down from erasing and re-drawing. It is a learning experience.
So, I love listening to podcasts (preferably drawing/cartoon-related or boring informative ones) while I do my studies. Any recommendations?

Nicer lines

2010-01-27T07:17:00.001-08:00

I would have posted this last night when I finished it, but my internet is down... so, good morning internet!

Most of my problems with this drawing are in the feet area. The sole on the left looks too gummy, and the right ankle seems too flimsy, to me.

I told you I'd post more

2010-01-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

I want to adjust some things. I want to make the arms flow a bit more, push out his fanny, figure out how to make his hands better-looking, and of course add details...

Time to clean up while making a couple more corrections.

Returning from the Dead

2010-01-25T09:52:00.001-08:00

FOOT STILL LOOKS STUMPY
FORGOT TO FIX CHEEK

Okay, I've wasted a lot of time, lately. Well, I guess it hasn't been wasted totally; I've lost like 8 lbs and did some other stuff that was good for me. But time now to stop dinkin' around on things that aren't cartoons.

MORE SOOOOOOOON

Quickdraw painting practice

2009-10-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

More painting practice... more errors, but I think only because it's more complicated than the MLA. It was based off of an HB storyboard picture, but I really strayed from the source because I was also looking at another painting of Quickdraw for color reference. Woops.

My Little Ass painting practice

2009-10-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

I've never considered myself much of a painter, but I'd really like to learn... so here's a My Little Ass doodle originally drawn by John, copied, and then painted for practice (not traced, so there are inconsistencies, many of which were way increased by the fact that paint sort of tells you "you are making this change, like it or not" if you're inexperienced with it)... I'd compare it to the original, but... John K Stuff appears to be private? Shock and intrigue!

Also, now the purple ass has a freckle, because I spilled a bit on her ear.

Also also, I'm sorry for inactivity. Regular school has been bogging me down something awful.

Kaspar and bee

2009-10-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Trying to preserve shapes better... Evening some stuff out and softening angles, though.

I said to myself "Kaspar is perturbed about the bee's presence" and I think it changed his facial expression, subtlely. Perhaps I misinterpreted it?

More Kaspar practice

2009-10-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Tried to fix some things... There are still some issues. I have A.D.D. when it comes to talking on the internet lately. Gonna do another Kaspar tonight that I will probably post this weekend.

More Kaspar studying

2009-10-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

I notice that I flattened the bottom shape a bit, woops.

No, still not right. There are some pretty big problems, here, particularly with the arm/hand being too big. Throws the whole thing right off. Oh well, gonna call this one a wash and just keep makin' more. I find it facilitates learning better to acknowledge and analyze my mistakes more than it does to repair them (in terms of raw practice).

Looks like I leaned him forward a bit. The claws don't look very good. Looks as if I enlarged his facial features.

Couldn't find my blues, so these are a little "rougher" than usual. I'm not sold on some of the details, they seem shakey.

2009-10-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

More of what I'm sure will be many Kaspar drawings. These are just quickish studies of some John doodles. They aren't very good but I feel like it's sort of easier to learn from them.

It really gets to the meat and potatoes with what I'm perceiving wrong. On the left one, I stretched out Kaspar's body vertically, a bit. I took away some of the thrust to the right. I stretched out the legs. I evened out and toned down the faces on both, and on the left I inflated his muzzle. To the right, I lost some mass on his back and pushed his face down.

Going to be working on this stuff all night this evening.

Humble beginnings of Kaspar stuff

2009-10-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

Man! This has been a year of a lot of artistic firsts for me.
While firsts are exciting, they're frustrating. It's like walking on new legs; awkward, scary, embarrassing.
(These first two are just warm-up doodles, based on John's drawings.)

This is a doodle John did. I like it a lot, so I picked it to flesh out. It was harder than I expected, but very fun.

But also weird. I want to constantly ask questions about the drawing and its intentions. What was meant? What can I push further? So I kept this pretty rough until I have some of those questions answered.

I'm guessing that as time goes on and I get more experience working like this, I'll need less feedback. But for now... ack! Am I doin' this right?

I feel like some things changed.

The hand looks misplaced
The legs look strange... I didn't want to tone them down, but they don't feel right, either
Elbow bends in a different place
Eyes don't wrap well enough
Unsure about mouth area construction
I don't feel totally sure of Kaspar's construction in general. I'm doing a bunch of practice drawings to start understanding it better...

2009-10-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

Man, what a weird drawing of Bugs!

I will likely talk about this stuff tomorrow. Now that these are done, gonna move on to trying to make solid drawings out of John's quick doodles of Kaspar.

Another magician

2009-09-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

Shrunk spaces, ruined some angling... Man, John's right, spaces are very easy to shrink. I will try to be more conscientious about this as I continue these studies.

The next half of this post, I need to emphasize that
I DID NOT DRAW THE FOLLOWING IMAGES! I am just practicing inking with a brush! Basically tracing!

I am only uploading these so I can keep track of my progress.

So I've always had sort of a weakness for inking. I mean real, physical inking. I can do digital stuff just fine because I feel pretty good about understanding the rules for it, but I have somewhat of a shakey hand. When I draw I kind of press hard, so using a brush sort runs counter to what I'm comfortable with.

But real, brush-and-pen ink has always been so beautiful and special and organic to me. And I want to get good at handling real, more delicate mediums. I figure, well, why not now, and why not just use rote practice until I feel confident? It's almost 100% technical skill that I have trouble with, so just inking really good drawings should be a step in the right direction. I've done probably about 20 of these print-out studies in the last couple of days and I'm finally seeing some very meager beginnings of getting comfortable with the stuff. I'm just using a brush pen for now, for training wheels.

As a note, isn't this Ed Benedict drawing of Ricochet one of the most beautiful drawings you've ever seen??

I'm sorry, Mr. Benedict, for sullying such a nice drawing. I'm still so shakey. The hands don't describe their forms at all, and the feet are also very jittery. Lots of mistakes, but almost all of them are out of complete inexperience with this stuff.

Another beautiful Benedict drawing

Me trying to ink again. I screwed up the tail pretty badly. This is really hard, but I think it'll be worth it once I get better.

I think I may have done Snagglepuss before Ricochet, if it matters. Anyway, so, this is the first time I've ink-practiced that I haven't been TOTALLY humiliated to show (I started intentionally practicing yesterday). Hopefully there will be more, and there will be visible improvement as I get more familiar with using a brush to make lines.

3 day's break and I get rusty!

2009-09-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

Problems...

The center line on the cranium off (too far to the left)
Mallet too wide on near end
Trunk of body too small, not solid enough
The hat and carrot are off, but I did not notice this at the time (woops)

tried to fix them for the next step.

Man, I can't let myself go so long without rigorous practice. Stiff and yucky. I'm off to do another that will be better.

Asking for real world advice, basically

2009-09-27T18:38:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd confess publicly that the reality of graduating college this May is slowly creeping up on me, and I'm a little concerned. I figure it'd be a good idea to move out to southern California if I expect to get a job making cartoons (in any form), but southern California is too expensive to just scoot on over and hope for the best. However, if I wait more than 6 months to move out, I will have to move out while paying for student loans.

...Does anyone know about how, exactly, to go about this? Really I just want a job that will pay my bills, give me some sort of experience with a studio, and allow me to learn and grow as a cartoonist. Unfortunately, I can't really see that happening with anyone but John (perhaps I've become a purist already). So, basically, I guess I'd be trying to pay my bills, get experience, and going home and studying (similar to how I'm doing now, only I'm taking classes and working as a barista instead of just having a real job).

Anyway, I'm free from school in May, free from my lease in August (I'd be ok breaking it if there was some extremely grand opportunity). I have to start paying off my loans in November.

I suppose I should be building a portfolio, but that cuts into my cartoon studies. Maybe I could spend some time after graduating building a portfolio? Would any place care about my studies? Ach.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that even if I had a portfolio prepared, I don't know of any cartoon studios that are making anything I actually like!

I guess I'm just posting out loud, but I thought I'd ask if anyone had any sort of advice on getting my career started.

A tree

2009-09-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

No relationship to the faint rough of another tree behind it.

The details above the root don't wrap tightly and look awkward.

Anthony's dad again again

2009-09-22T20:21:00.001-07:00

Edit, big problem: I made the inside of his mouth all wrong. It should be pushed far back. It makes no sense as it is and I'm a little embarrassed that slipped by.

More problems, but this one turned out clearer and more successfully than the last. I wanted to make sure the facial structure made sense.

Stimpy's eyes look off. Some of the details pinch too hard, are too big. I shrunk Anthony's dad's cranium.

I think I'm gonna go back to trees for a while, but I think these exercises were helpful. I wish I could improve faster!

Anthony's dad again

2009-09-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Notice that I changed how far back the smile stretched in the finish. Why did I do that? I'm a yutz.

Ren doesn't hold together very well. I accidentally made the folds of skin underneath the pectoral muscle way too dark and big and attention-grabbing.

Not my best. These are tough, but I figure the more I do, the easier drawing will be (whether or not I can immediately perceive it).

More Anthony's dad

2009-09-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

This one was more complicated, but less successful.

Clumsy beginnings... as the picture progressed I kept skootching Ren and Stimpy themselves closer (as they are supposed to be) but I did not skootch them enough, ultimately.

Finish is a bit too thick and dark... this one is actually drawn smaller than the other Anthony's dad study I did, which was a mistake because it's obviously a bigger picture...

Angles, angles, angles!!

because he was DEAD

2009-09-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

First rough... scanned for problems, fixed some issues.
Got a rough that felt good, solid, somewhat accurate.
Added details, solidified lines.

Finish

Left arm should be thicker and more manly
Right hand should be smaller (namely the palm-shape less elongated)
Details should wrap tighter on gut
Pec muscle should be larger
I made his chin too big, which stretched out his face; I compensated some cranium details to match. woops.
Long story short, watch proportions.

Walt Kelly tree

2009-09-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

I decided that since I'm behind (I really want to be up to speed with assignments from John) that I'd just focus on doing the tree here. I actually really love drawing trees, so this felt good.

The rough is very hard to see... I overlayed, looked for issues before I moved on.

Reached satisfaction with basic forms, started on some details.

Nearly done... didn't do the tiny details in this because it wouldn't have really been worth it.

I am really happy with my finishes lately. Wow, pencils. Who'da thunk.

Also, I forgot, uh, the rest of the ground on the right, haha.

I want to draw some of my own trees soon, but right now I want to do some MAN DRAWINGS.

Post tree post before bed

2009-09-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

I keep falling asleep during my usual Monday-Wednesday drawing slot... I guess I need to sleep more at night, I can't stand wasting my time like that.

Rough of last Mickey (for now)

2009-09-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

And so, the week and a half of a thousand Mickeys comes to a close (for now).

I think this is some of my best! I love drawing!

This weekend: trees!

Yucky-Headed Mickey

2009-09-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

I think it's some sort of law of the universe that one hand always has to present a problem... haha. Anyway, I wanted to try for something a little looser, with more emphasis on asymmetry.
So I made a different sort of error: the head's lopsided. REALLY lopsided. I wanted it to be asymmetrical, not melting. If I were to do this over again, I'd pull in the viewer's right side of the face, wrapping it much more tightly into perspective (the ear would go with it). I'd also try to make it clearer that the hand on the right is supposed to be coming forward in space (you'd be able to see in the sleeve more, etc).

Also, I think I'd round out the right foot on the bottom, more. It needs to be more volumous.

These are coming out a lot more easily and I'm really happy with that. As you might have noticed, I'm sort of trying to use different elements from both the Little Whirlwind Mickey and the Mickey Mouse Club opening Mickeys. Been having a lot of fun and it's exciting to think of these as a little more of my own than the straight-up referenced studies (I feel less silly showing them to people who ask at school).

Improvement

2009-09-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

Finally, the finish doesn't feel like a complete downgrade.

However, the arms really don't make a lot of sense and the eyes are up too high on his skull. I don't think there's enough sense of weight on his foot to the right, even if he is tiptoeing. Also, the sock cloth on the end of the toe to the left doesn't look like it's totally logical. It should be pointed more downward, at an angle.

I got the idea to draw this from Jory. Both he and I love the old cartoon trope of bedtime getup, cap and candle included. He draws it on top of a lot of my doodles when we have a class together, so of course he put one of the bazillion Mickeys I've drawn this past week. So, I decided to draw one, myself.

A dapper chap

2009-09-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

I didn't have the model sheet for reference in the finish, and it shows in where it's less confident (I'm looking at you, pants). You can see where I changed some stuff in the red; before the arm felt too long and sort of awkward, so I brought it in, but the hand wasn't as good. I just gotta keep reminding myself this is a learning process...

dammit

2009-09-05T01:40:00.001-07:00

Here's a Photoshop color study of a BG I liked... This isn't my first attempt, but the one I tried a few days ago failed miserably. This one is considerably simpler, so I had an easier time with it, though I kind of wanted to call it quits on that gray.

I hate doing studies digitally because when I am allowed to, I check for errors compulsively and end up taking a hundred million years for accuracy no one cares about.

Anyway, here's mine:

I did this in the spirit of the talented Anne Bush, who is phenomenal and fast at these studies. I, uhh... struggled a bit. I know it'll improve with time. Like Anne, I did use the eyedropper tool. Unlike her, though, my painting is mushier and not as tight in many places. A good exercise, though.

More Mickeys on the way, been doing them, but it's almost 5am and I'm a dingus for staying up this late.

Meh, it's a start

2009-09-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

It drives me nuts when I, while trying to finish a picture, notice problems... then when I look at the finish I notice that I like the original more. The eyes don't work right in space, either.

It Happens in the Best Bathrooms

2009-09-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some more off-the-sheet Mickeys...

Note: He's holding something. At least, that's how I read it. I have no idea what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not his hand in the original, so I didn't draw it as if it was. He's carrying some sort of bundle, I think.

I'm noticing that my biggest issues are...

Toning down contrasts (as always; good example-- the bottom-most drawing's hands. Notice that both of the fists needed to be tighter and angled more in opposition to each other than I drew them).
Enlarging the cranium. It throws off everything else and makes it hard later to place features. I struggled a lot with the face in the second image posted, and when I overlayed it and realize the problem, I felt like slapping myself).
When I am not being EXTREMELY careful about it, and sometimes when I am, I make Mickey's muzzle way too large. I think I'm going to do some quick facial studies tonight, but other than that I feel pretty comfortable with Mickey. Gonna do my own poses quite soon.

2009-08-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

The one on the right I had the hardest time on, today. I couldn't make heads or tails of the way his face worked, and my results are less than stunning because of it.

In this one I was trying to push the line of action further again. The more experimental studies usually end up far yuckier than the conservative ones, but I think that's just part of growth. When I have more time I'll overlay and self-crit, but right now I am up past my bedtime.

Mickeymickeymickey

2009-08-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

Getting better and faster as I get used to these (they're off the same sheets I posted yesterday). They're really fun, I think I wanna try to draw all of them. Will probably draw more tonight, but right now I'm off to lunch.

Trying to loosen up / more Mickeys

2009-08-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Warning: this post is loaded with yucky drawings! Sadly, this is only a chunk of what I've done trying to figure out these very appealing Mickey drawings.

Early on I was trying to do a lot of quick ones in a little time, to loosen up and get used to it... Not stunning results but it helped to get going. Not really worth critting the early ones, though.

As time progressed I started to slow up a little and investigate more and more carefully.

Here's one a few drawings in, but still not good yet. I toned down the contrasts a lot and misread some perspective. Also, I noticed I have a natural habit of drawing HUGE HEADS that I need to be more conscientious about.

Here, I'm starting to get more warmed up. It feels more cohesive than the other drawings but still has a lot of toning down. Also, I REALLY messed up the perspective on those hands.

Cranium placement quite off. Hat not solid enough.

Getting better. The angle on the legs/feet was softened, though. There were other problems... I tried to exaggerate the angles (it's most noticeable on the top half of his body), but I don't think I did it very successfully. The arm is practically straight horizontal. The hand should be more solid.

This one was the most recent one I did. I feel like I'm getting the hang of doing these more quickly and loosely, but I still have a looong way to go. I hope to keep drawing Mickeys all weekend and maybe getting some of my own poses in this week. Wish me luck!

P.S. the overlay was sort of hard to see on this one, so here are my marks removed from it:

P.S. I like regular pencils a lot and it is a lot easier to do quickly and smoothly. I'm gonna buy some softer ones soon.

Finished Mickey

2009-08-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

I really like this picture of Mickey. John's posted a few on his blog that are obviously from the same source, and they're all so fantastically cute. I am interested in figuring out this cute trickery and stealing it for my own questionable purposes.

I don't think I did too bad of a job! I checked my errors just the right amount of times, drew LARGE, drew with a regular pencil, had a really clear b/w print of the reference.

Of course, there are still some errors... the cane is at a slightly wrong angle, the viewer's left leg is too thin, there are some small accuracy issues with the hands, and I stretched the bow tie a bit. I didn't push the mouth shape far enough-- it just needs to be "more." More back, slightly wider open, etc.

There are some wrinkle inaccuracies in the main curtain shape, and I only noticed this upon scanning but I ACCIDENTALLY MADE EVERY CURTAIN FOLD VEER TOO FAR TO THE RIGHT. I am such a shmuck. I have no idea how that happened.

Also, pianos, particularly when they are submerged in darkness, are really hard to draw. I misinterpreted some angles again, there, but I was surprised how much easier the shapes were to handle with some good ol' hierarchy.

Maybe one day I'll learn to see angles correctly. Haha.

More Mickey

2009-08-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

I got some more work done on Mickey between classes today! It was actually pretty quick, I didn't realize how much I had gotten done last night by placing everything so carefully. For the most part, not too many errors.

Of course, there are always SOME issues. The stool needs to be scooted up, I accidentally made Mickey's jacket too long, there are problems on both hands, and Mickey's eye needs to come out in space a bit more.

I thought earlier that the hat was probably off, but I couldn't see how. I now see that it was the piano that was placed somewhat improperly.

More to come today.

Edit: I feel like I'm cheating if I make too many posts in a day, so I'll just post this here:

EDIT/Important note because it's driving me crazy: The cheek is really messed up. I think I accidentally darkened the wrong line, or something. Ugh, either way, it is not right.

This was really... hard. Haha. I completely broke the perspective lines on the floor. They looked fine in my initial sketch, but I somehow messed up the angles during clean up... big-time. Urgh. I should have re-drawn the lines all the way through the TV when cleaning it up.

I find something about the overlay really jarring. I'm surprised how decently the puppets turned out, actually. I was really afraid of Beany, but he doesn't look too awful aside from some confusion in the mouth area; I don't think I made a good decision by representing his upper lip with that harsh line. Also, I think I misread Cecil's cranium alignment, because his eye didn't go where it was supposed to. It should probably tilt more to the viewer's right. Obviously the top of the TV isn't tight or correct on the right side, yuck.

I struggled a lot with this one. So many straight lines. Makes my head spin to do this sorta thing, which I guess made me set my mind out to do it. If I do enough it'll be less scary (and bad), is the hope.

Mickey WIP

2009-08-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna try to start beginnings of studies at night when I'm at home and I can check things, and then finishing them throughout the day, on the go. Anyway, this is probably stage 2, I did the background rough first and then did some tests to place the character right.

This one has some errors.

The hands, feet, jaw, ears, and cane needed some adjusting. I made some quick marks on my paper, and now I'm way past ready for sleep. I've got to get up at 8 tomorrow, but it's darn hard to get to sleep when I'm ready to draw.

Last two days' studies revisited

2009-08-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

TOM PUNCH

Whew. Drawing bigger was a very good idea. I'm drawing on niiice, big bristol with a regular stupid mechanical pencil and I love it. It's just easier to get out a gutsy, sensible drawing quickly. I'm also working on bringing my line quality back to something appealing and smoother. I'm no Chloe Cumming, but it's getting better.

Anyway, I started this while waiting for my exercise class to start (Yeah, I needed an extra credit hour or two, and I need to work to stay in decent shape). I could tell while drawing it that the arm was elongated, but I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong, exactly. I erased and redid it a few times and fixed some related problems, but I wound up not totally getting it.

I was pleased to notice in an overlay that I pushed his chest out higher. I did pretty decently with the line of action, which is good. I still end up with a lot of observational problems, though (some rotated angles, some proportions, some placement). Also, as mentioned, I don't know what I was thinking with the punching bag.

The overlay wound up working seperately, which tells me that, if I were able to, I should have double-checked the placement of the initial big forms before going into detail. That wasn't an option at the time, but I gotta be more aware before I go into detail. Because Jerry's head was off, so were all of his details, and I think that's also the cause of (or perhaps an effect of) Tom's head being expanded toward him, so his eye mass could meet his Jerry's little fist. The arm was just an observational error. It isn't as gutsy as the original.

As I mentioned, Tom's face is puffed out to meet Jerry's fist, probably a result of me trying to make sense of the negative space. I'm thinking Tom's face was the actual issue, and it pushed Jerry back in space. It just throws off a TON, even though it's a relatively small mistake, having the cranium extend slightly leftward! Wow.

RED RABBIT

I started this one the night prior. I sketched it up REALLY quickly. It was one of those beautiful moments where things just come out of your pencil just right. It has some accuracy issues, but I was really proud of how darn fast I sketched this one out and made sense of the space. I think this is a good sign.

Overall, this one was more successful than the Tom study in terms of relative placement. Lots of issues with particulars, though-- I fancied the ground higher up than it actually is in the image. Everything that should be planted firmly on the ground is firmly planted on some imaginary surface a few inches above the grass.

Actually, the whole thing has weird stretching issues. The cactus, all the legs, Red's pants, and especially Red's head are squished vertically and, in the case of Red's head, stretched horizontally.

I'm going to do my best to get two done in the next two days, as well. I'm happy with this rate of productivity, I feel like I am genuinely getting back into the swing of it. I also feel a lot better-prepared for my own poses, so I'll be revisiting Tom soon. I don't even know if I'll use the old ones beyond the general idea, it might be easier just to start over.

I need to destroy my own stuff AFTER I'm done with it with a critique (and try to be more conscientious the next time around) rather than belabor over it and take a hundred zillion years to get stuff done. It's gonna take a hell of a lot of work to catch up to these other cartoon college students and I can't do it if I don't just bite my lip and worry about every study. So I've just gotta do. Do do do. Doo-doo.

Again quick

2009-08-25T14:19:00.000-07:00

It's easy to sneak in time away from the computer... I'm happy to say that probably school has made me more aware of nooks and crannies in my time, so I am getting studying done (bit by bit), which is cool. However, my computer time is much more limited and frantic... I hope tonight I can come back and critique this and yesterday's drawings.

I can tell you right now that poor Red's head has been ballooned.

P.S. everyone in the cartoon college blog totally obliterates me. It simultaneously motivates and petrifies me. Good lord, do I feel like the runt.

Real quick

2009-08-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

Biggest problem I can see right away: I botched the shape of the punching bag! What the heck? It's pushing totally the opposite way. I don't know how I overlooked that.

I know I'm late to the game with this one, but I had fun... Drew it between classes today and finished it this evening. I actually have a second cover study that I'm about halfway done with, maybe I can finish it tonight. Wish me luck, will talk more later.

Also, I am not only back to studying off of prints, but I am back to using just plain ol' pencil. It's messy but I missed its easy line.

Definitely

2009-08-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

I think I absolutely do better when I draw from paper. From the screen I end up with too many opportunities to zoom in too far (figuratively, not in Photoshop) and I end up focusing way too much on accuracy rather than good drawing. Sooo, yesterday and today I drew this more complicated Eisenberg character/BG study.

It's also much easier to critique it, because the mistakes are more "mine." Does that make any sense? Anyway, it comes out more organic.

Anyway, so I saw the angle of the image all wrong. What's interesting, though, is that the drawing makes sense on this new angle. It's still wrong, though. It's too sharp of an incline to the right. I have trouble in general making long straight lines, so this sort of stuff is tricky to me. Take note of the odd lumpiness of the sill. I'm trying to learn to get better at this sort of stuff without using straight-edges, because I don't like the look of that. However, neither does lumpy perspective.

There is also some off-ness on the details of the blinds. The doo-dad that holds them together and pulls them up (I have no idea what it is called) is too wide and not as tight as Eisenberg drew it.

The characters took me an aggravatingly long time to draw! I hate poor drawings of licensed characters. Whenever I draw one that looks somewhat off, it bothers me in the same way illegal bootleg T-shirts of Warner characters bothered me as a kid. You know, the types you find at flea markets and carnivals. Nothing irked me more, and when characters I know don't look right come out of my pencil, I have a tough time forgiving myself.

Anyway, I digress; Jerry's got a little bit of wonkiness going on. He doesn't feel as firmly planted on the ground as he should. His foot should be more forward in space, I think. As for Tuffy, he is actually seated further back in my drawing than he is in the actual image, and that throws his arm off. I had a hard time with that particular part of the drawing, too. His arm looks sort of like it's just floating stiff, not actually planted on the sill behind him.

Tuffy's face also looks incorrect; the details are too large, his ear isn't streamlined enough, he's looking in a different direction. Also, I misread the printout and made his tail a shadow. Sort of a dumb error, woops.

Some of the construction should have been more visible.

Hopefully I'll do another tomorrow. I have a few images I really liked printed out, and I'm collecting them in a folder so that I always have something to study handy.

2009-08-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a simpler Eisenberg panel, with a character and background elements. I'll do a more complicated one soon. I thought it made sense to draw a Tom, seeing as I'm working with him already.

I made some unscanned adjustments to this (the most obvious being the shape of the couch and the awful mistakes I made on the wall corner). Truth be told, I think my mistake one looks pretty ok, but it was inaccurate in describing the actual shape of the couch.

Wobbly lines... I think my lines are more confident than they were last winter, but I gotta stop being so jittery.

Argh!! I gotta stop getting frustrated, but I'm not doin' this right, lately. I've slowed down and started obsessing over detail accuracy, and it's making my stuff worse. I need to get back in the groove, I guess. Part of the problem might be that I've been doing the last few studies off of the monitor instead off off of a print-out. It's uncomfortable and more difficult to concentrate. Since school's starting up again, I'll have access to free printing, so hopefully that'll be fixed soon.

Howie Post composition

2009-08-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

There is some general offness (the hat, there are some proportion issues on Nightmare [and some facial construction misreading] and the hat), but this is a lot better than it was when I first roughed it out. Next time I am going to make a point of scanning earlier levels of hierarchy before continuing, though. You can't really see a lot of my earlier marks, and what you can see is mixed with a bunch of lines I didn't use. Hm.

Thinkin' 'bout Tom's digits

2009-08-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

I'm working on my Toms. First, today, I went through and sillo'd yesterdays drawings, made some marks, took a couple of notes after considering John's input.

After doing this, I started looking at some Eisenberg Toms-- tracing over the hands and feet and making observations, then doing some quick little studies of the hands and feet.

Observational traces-- what makes these different? What makes them appealing?

Things to note:

The fingers are much skinnier and more articulated.
They wrinkle more and do not bulge as much, though they do thicken out from their point of origin slightly in some images (see the drawing below)
No visible claws most of the time (though I might still keep them out on the middle 2 of my Tom's poses).
Both the hands and feet are significantly more streamlined, and the bottoms of his feet are less apparent.
There is a slight indentation on the bottom of Tom's feet sometimes-- it sort of cups, but other times it a convex surface. This is interesting because it's totally cartoon logic-- it's aesthetically appealing and interesting, but feet don't work that way. I imagine it is only used to caricature a foot that is being pulled back and slightly cupped (relevant to what I'm doing).
The feet are, again, more streamlined-- the toes are much less individual, they more strictly follow the overall shape of the foot much more than I've been drawing. The foot shape isn't really a seperate shape, but rather a slightly hinged part of the foot that can only deviate from the foot shape so much. It reminds me of a sock shape-- if Tom were wearing socks with a different-colored toe part, his toes would fit in them perfectly.
Eisenberg always draws Tom's feet with an obvious heel.

So, here are some quick studies-- they aren't perfect but they helped me get acquainted with the shapes better.

I botched the hand, here-- I was confused by the contour of the middle finger. Now that I look at it, I don't think the dividing line on the fingers-shape is correct. I think I may have followed the line too far and was thrown off of the shape. I think it's a much more streamlined shape, now that I look at it.

Hmm, well, I'm learning. I'm glad I took the time to do all this. Now to draw the new stuff into my Toms...

Don't think I've forgotten about the composition image! I'm sort of going back and forth between Toms and newer studies, I guess.

Early start

2009-08-17T23:28:00.001-07:00

I got a little start on a quick Howie Post composition exercise...

Things just need to be... more. I need more contrasts. I'll fix these (oh so professionally marked) errors tomorrow, before I go over it with regular pencil.

I need to start drawing bigger.

Tom poses - further along!

2009-08-17T19:54:00.001-07:00

So, jeez, I finally "finished" these poses. I put that in quotation marks because, uh, they aren't perfect by any measure and could still use work. But I brought them to a point at which they resemble complete drawings.

Also note: These drawings are NOT this dark in real life!! I just upped the contrast so that some of the blue lines might be visible... kind of in vain, because so much of it just wasn't picked up by the scanner. But you guys saw most of my construction progress, you know I used it.

I had a lot of doubts about pose 1 because I couldn't think of a way to make the silhouette more clear, but I actually think this one's face turned out the best. It's cute, though I don't know how satisfied I am with the eyebrows. Tom has spotted something appetizing, presumably Jerry.

Did I mention that I started this exercise trying to draw Jerry, and then I realized after a few days of frustration that, duh, I don't like Jerry. I've never liked Jerry. I always wanted him to get eaten. Probably because I like cats.

By the way, I used mostly Preston Blair's Tom for reference, with a teeny bit of Eisenberg to make sense of the muzzle. I like the big hands and feet, though despite my efforts to thin them up, they at places (particularly where the foot is curved) look too bulbous, still. John told me to watch for it, and I tried, but I think curled toes are too cute. I might go over them later...

I like this one's nearer hand. It wound up being a nicer form than my original silhouette idea was. The face, here, though, is the worst of these. It's too squished and lacks appeal in the eye area. I need to do some more hierarchy studies of squished, wrinkly faces... The eyes/eyebrows look bad in a way I don't know how to articulate aside from "ugly" and "amateurish." Yuck. #2 has slightly less bad, but still present, versions of these problems. Like I said, more facial studies needed.

This pose definitely came the farthest, I think. It's a lot better than my first version. Wowee, a functional silhouette!

It's not exactly radical or crazy what I did with his face here, but it was the hardest of the 4 expressions to pull off (which is sad because it's pretty simple), but it turned out halfway decent. I like the nearer half of the muzzle-- it's really defined. The mouth looks clear. I wish I could say the same things about the eye area, though, again. It just looks a mess, and the more you struggle with areas like that, the messier the paper gets, and the harder it is to get a finer point.

Also, the upper hand looks like it's being supported by an invisible mound of some sort. I think I just put the arm that leads up to it too far down, so it doesn't make spatial sense.

Well, I've got an awful lot of work ahead of me, but I'm glad I finally "finished" these. I need to do more. Many more, until this is all second nature.

NEXT: A fun Howie Post composition drawing John posted!!

Why, it's you!

2009-08-12T14:41:00.001-07:00

Book perspective is wrong and Spooky's head weight is balanced incorrectly in mine... but I really like Howie Post.

I saw a book of Casper comics at the comic book store last month with some nice Howie Post drawings, but they messed up all the colors with digital poo poo. It made me sad.

P.S. I changed Spooky's hand a bit... I don't know if it was an inking problem or what, but in the original, it sorta looked like his hand was on backwards. I tried to make that more clear without losing the original drawing too badly.

More Tom

2009-08-06T22:37:00.001-07:00

Dental work was awful!

I've been roughy trying to figure out how to improve the silhouettes on the poses in the last post... Do they read more clearly now? I can't figure out how to work on the first pose's silhouette anymore and still get what I want across, but I worked on these 3. I'm still pretty unhappy with the last pose, but I think the other two look better now. More to come.

You're a doll!

2009-08-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

Howie Post is really good at cute stuff. I love cute stuff.

Try to bear with all the extra marks that are sort of nonsense. Colored pencil doesn't erase well and col-erase pencil does not scan well. Spooky's cheek isn't as tight and streamlined as it should be.

This was fun to do. Hey, I have some free time again! Tomorrow, I'll have some reworking on Tom done (provided my morning dental work doesn't hurt too awfully bad).

Tom poses, phase 1

2009-07-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a little nervous about this post!

Firstly because I finally am doing some of my own poses and while I've been doing my own goony cartoons my whole life, they've been relatively flat and didn't really strive for anything in particular but my own gratification. I'm trying for 100% constructed poses, informed by principles.

Unfortunately, since that's a lot to balance, it not only took me several weeks of trying to get comfortable with the idea, but I also had to compromise some ideas. I tried to do much harder stuff but I figured that I'm not letting myself off too easy if I try to make very conservative drawings at first. I need to understand, and it's more important that I do that than try to wow the world with anything faux-original.

Anyway, so here goes. I'm imagining they'll get reworked before I put any sort of finish on them, but here's the basic construction.

ASLO: aren't empty eyes so creepy? I figured I'd draw the sockets in clearly so that I could wrap the eyelids around them in a way that made sense, but right now he just looks so wide-eyed and strange. Haha.

That eye on the right doesn't wrap quite right. Will fix in the next versions...

(Ignore the weird scaling/blurriness on this one. Blogger shrunk up the thumbnail, and I stretched it a bit so it wouldn't look so ridiculous with the others)
Last one is probably the weakest. It has some problems I can't quite articulate. The fact that it doesn't have wrinkly details also sorta might be lending itself to some feeling of woodiness. I dunno.

Next: More work on these, possibly some Howie Post practices.

And now for a total waste of your time and mine

2009-07-14T20:37:00.001-07:00

So I was grocery shopping at an expensive yuppie organic-type store like a good art student does on a small budget, and my boyfriend, Jory, noticed a bright, fetching box!

Here is a recreation of the scene, only totally without Jory. He had teeth pulled a couple of days ago.

Wowzers! I want to buy this just because it doesn't make my head spin with nonsense by looking at it!

I don't even really like corn type cereals, but hey! I like a good impulse purchase as much as the next under-budgeted art student!

Ooh, wait! What's this?

I-I-- Wait! This fun-time cartoon looks... familiar!

Well, boy howdy! You couldn't steal $3 away from me faster than this!

I apologize for the "Myspace" nature of these photos. Know that neither my head nor bust are as large as implied. I initially enlisted the help of my roommate for documentation, but it was a frustrating mess. You can actually see me getting angrier and angrier in the reject photos. In fact...

DELETED SCENE!:

Hierarchy bric-a-brac

2009-07-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

John told me that I should articulate some of my thoughts on what I've been learning about hierarchy! So pardon some image reposting, here.

When I start out doing a construction/hierarchy study, I start by printing a couple of black and white copies of the image I want. Not only does it make the work portable (and easier on the eyes), but it allows me to doodle ALL OVER the original image! I don't really do this for reference, but to get acquainted with the image. You can't really see the marks too terribly well on the cheapo prints I get at the library, but it helps me understand the basic shapes to draw over my reference picture. I can tell what fits, I get a decent sense of proportion, and I can make notes about where relationships in the image are. Usually the biggest musts are the line of action, the cranium, the body shapes, etc.

With the basic shapes well understood, I take out a fresh print of the reference image and start my own drawing! Line of action, pears and spheres to start. After I feel like I've gotten the major shapes in (mitts for the hands, limbs, etc) I scan the image for the first time and compare it with the original. Does it all fit in? Only when the bare bones fit do I let myself move onto the next level of hierarchy, with things like the hair mass.

I am going to admit that my early drawings are very messy. I can understand what's going on in them, but I know I need to keep things cleaner. Be a better student than I am and make your drawings neat and orderly!

Anyawy, so, with everything larger in place, I start building the next level down-- larger details. In this drawing's case, the shape of the hair curls are a good example-- that strange tube-like shape that falls, connected around the main hair mass. Here is about where I start checking, rechecking, and correcting myself over and over again! There still aren't the smallest details, though. No things like individual hairs until VERY LAST!

I spend the most time here, like I said, because I check and correct, etc. The first drawing is obviously different from the rest because it's the messiest. I was more concerned with figuring out the hair shape, first, I guess. Do not let yourself get away with mushy drawings like that!

Anyway, when I started out doing the obsessive checking/rechecking stuff, I was scanning my drawing seriously dozens of times. I'm now down to about 5 for this stage, and I need it less with each new study. Not letting myself get away with errors, insisting that they are fixed before I move on, I think has allowed me to become more of an acute observer. With these four drawings above, you probably can't see much of a difference, but I can see where I am pushing and pulling the hair curl and other larger details.

I want to explain, here, though, that I don't just overlay my drawings when I check them. What I like to do is line the drawing and the ref up in photoshop, put keep my drawing, the top layer, on full opacity. I hit that little layer eye over and over again, checking to see the way the difference moves. It lets me see the mistakes better. This is why when I have drawings riddled with correction arrows, they are more "directional thrust" corrections than anything-- if moving from my drawing to the original makes a finger shrink, for example, I tend to draw a little arrow that "pulls" the finger outward, indicating that I need to take it further out. I don't know if that makes a lot of sense to write out, but thinking about it like a movement works better for me than just overlaying. Maybe I will make an animated gif some time of what I mean.

Well, anyway, after I feel satisfied with the basic structure of the drawing, putting the details in is just like draping a cloth over a table I just made. Everything fits pretty snugly over top. The once-complicated-looking curls of hair? They are just details that wrap neatly around that strange and complicated shape I took great pains to reconstruct! They just follow along the preexisting contours and if you haven't cheated, details are the EASIEST part, even if they look complicated.

After all the details are in, I go over my blue lines with a regular pencil. I correct any tiny errors I've just then noticed and I'm done!

TABLE:

Shapes like the abdomen, legs, arms, hands. No clothing, no hair. The hair right now is just a mass as far as we're concerned!

Then TABLE CLOTH:
Smaller details. Clothing (gloves, frills, sleeves with wrinkles), hair.

Tada!

Took me long enough

2009-07-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yikes! The second job is still going, but it is definitely done after this week. Just in time for me to have to run back to Illinois for my family reunion next weekend.

The feet are too small, and the one on the right isn't so great in general. It does not seem solidly constructed. The finish is less gratuitously thick on this one, too. Not perfect, but closer to decent. I also left out a couple of small details in the hair because I didn't understand how they wrapped. Am I missing something? How do those little strands work? Should I have drawn them, only making sense to me? I dunno, I just omitted them instead.

I also just noticed that I botched a detail on the left side of the hair, right above the curls. I think I may have just forgotten to correct it. It doesn't wrap at all, it's just a dumb, stray line as it is.

I also went over some of the construction lines rendered invisible.

I want to practice painting real soon. I also am looking to try doing some poses of my own for characters, but I must admit I am a little intimidated! It's so weird, I used to do it all the time as a kid (of course badly, back then). Anyone have any requests of favorite classic, cute characters that I can try or poses they could be doing? No promises, but I'd love suggestions to get me thinking.

Probably tomorrow

2009-07-01T22:54:00.001-07:00

Eatin' on the Cuff - first of many studies

2009-06-29T18:30:00.001-07:00

Look! Look at how delighted this spider spinster is. This was my face when I found out that Eatin' on the Cuff was public domain, so I could watch it very easily! Watch it, if you don't mind the low quality-- it's still funny!

Anyway, so I did a study of it. Some things are quite off, but at least the proportions are pretty in tact. I noticed that the teeth aren't perfectly obeying hierarchy. You can tell better on the overlay:

I goofed in particular by making the neck too long and to one side, and had some issues with the lip on the right side. The eyelashes and antennae are off on the left side-- it seems like I rounded out the place of the antenna to make the set closer to identical to the other pair. I think I could have taken the right cheek further than I did-- stretching it a bit. Small details aside, I think this is one of my better ones.

Trying to redeem myself

2009-06-24T21:00:00.001-07:00

I was drawn to do this study because it is so ridiculously constructed. And it's big and relatively easy to read.

It looks like his cranium is stretched, pulled forward. Fattened, I guess.
I am trying to hammer it into my skull not to tone down contrasts. I think I'm getting better, but not quickly. It's like my brain knows, but my hand and eyes forget. Maybe I'm just being too impatient... Oh, woops, I forgot to give him his other pair of whiskers. Haha.

BONUS CRAP:
I want to slowly bring in more non-study stuff to this blog, as I am slowly integrating new, learned stuff into my outside work. This is a really painful process because, frankly, I'm embarrassed. I need to stop being so shy about it and face the music when my art sucks.

So here's some nonsense I did for job #2, the library gig. First thing is just a silly little banner-comic and a follow-up comic; the idea of the 'research fairy' bringing bad results vs. the individual research appointment was given, but I did my own thing with it. It's sorta fun, I like the buck-toothed girl.

I also kinda wanted to show these to maybe get some feedback on the colors? Colors are really the focus of the rest of the stuff posted here (aside from the sketches, obviously). Not so much construction because that really isn't the look I was hired for with this stuff.

This is other stuff for the same gig. This is just stuff for a little sequence for the curriculum resource center (place with lesson plans, kid's books, and other teachery stuff).

I like the drawing of the fox guy. Believe it or not, I was sketching a lot messier a year ago. Hopefully this continues to clean up with time.

Trying to figure out colors. I work really disastrously and then spend time refining. Is that a decent process? How do professionals work?

More refined version of the color/compositon test for one of the drawings... Some things I could do without. I don't know. But I'm mostly asking for color feedback. How can I make my colors more warm, appealing, candy-like? It's mostly the bunny I'm taking issue with. I kinda want to make her not gray, but there's already too much brown, too.

Tonight is a night of self-doubt, apparently!

ANOTHER BONUS:

I forgot to upload this one ages ago!

Hep Cat dog study

2009-06-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

When I did the overlay, most of it actually turned out pretty good, with some exceptions (the negative space between the arm and chest, the foot on the right, some aspects of the bird's positioning). I am trying to figure out the trick behind nailing the contrasts. I feel like the dog's face looks good (though his chin a bit large), but the hands and feet have been stretched, evened out, watered down.

I also appear to have thinned out the left leg.

My tablet is still not at home, so I apologize for no on-the-image notes.

Working two jobs is, uh, more time consuming than I figured. Luckily the second job is very nice so I am not completely drained of energy after my shifts there!

However, I have to get up in 6 hours to go to the dreaded job! Have a good night, friends. I am gonna try to have a new Clampett study done this weekend.

P.S. Hello, new followers! You folks sure are nice.

Tweety and Piggies

2009-06-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

I am trying to be mindful of not toning down contrasts. I think I just gotta, well, produce.

I don't have my tablet right now, so the lines are ridiculous. Anyway, I think my inaccuracies are becoming less, but heck if I can shake subtle mistakes in thrust. Notice that the fingers are not to the right enough (not enough pushing), but where I tried to exaggerate the contrast, the forefinger is way too far back. I just really messed up Tweety's little hand-- like I was just making up what it looked like instead of actually observing. Maybe I'm going brain-dead.

My new job is very good. I hope that I can keep at it there and quit my awful job, where I'm dead for the night after my shifts. It'd be very good for my productivity (and wallet).

I won't have a scanner over the weekend, though (visiting home), but I will start several studies. I already have two (aside from this Tweety one I just finished). I think I'm going to start having a lot of studies going at once from now on.

Here are some hilarious Tweety images for those who love to have their eyes bleed:

I call this one "the Mom e-mail forward" model.

When did Tweety become a girl, anyway?

My personal favorite. Words fail.

Lost in the Andes!

2009-06-05T15:25:00.001-07:00

The strawberry stain is the focal point. Woops.

There are a dozen little problems with this, I felt them as I was making them, but I think I'd rather go exercise than belabor over it. Most of the problems are proportional, and I toned down the contrasts. I'm gonna learn how to avoid doing that if it kills me.

A million excuses, minimal results. But a big entry!

2009-06-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

I have been a busy gal, lately. It seems like hitch after hitch is coming my way. So, uh, here is a big ol' post for the month of May.

I vowed to myself to keep on a regimen of six hours of practice every day I don't work, and, well, so far this summer it hasn't been successful. I am changing it to two hours of practice every day, whether or not I work. I read in a book about practice and talent that it's more effective to keep practice deep, meaningful, and focused for a short amount of time than to stretch it out. Apparently people get burned out after more than an hour and a half or so. I can make it the full 2 every day, I know I can.

Anyway, so here is a laundry list of all the junk that has prevented me from doing a lot:
Food poisoning
Finals
Vacation
Losing my pencil box
My entire Adobe suite being spontaneously dysfunctional
Really bad malware/virus on my computer
My birthday weekend (last Sunday, the 31st)! I am now 22!

Here are some fun photos of me pestering some funny animals at the zoo. I got to pet the kangaroo and the trained kitty because my friend trains animals for the show!

The Columbus zoo also has a really great Lorikeet exhibit, wherein you can feed them juice in cups so that zoo patrons are deceived into thinking the birds actually like them!

Kangaroos feel like microfleece. And they poop pellets, too.

Apparently I kiss at every other animal I'm allowed to get close to! (Thanks to Jory for such a wonderful day!)

Also I just want to show off my new dress.

Okay, so, now what I'm sure most people are here for: studies!

I'm gonna start with the bigger, slower ones. First, here's a study of Bugs.

This is my most recent, done mostly two days ago, but finished today. Boy, can you tell I am rusty!! Shame on me, big time. However, I finally got some new blue pencils. You can't see the construction as easily, but it sure did make it less of a greasy affair than the stuff later in this post.

I forgot to say: TOO MUCH NEGATIVE SPACE ON BUGS' HEAD!

Tons of nitpicks. I really messed up that head's angle and evened out some features. Also, notice that I lost my custom font based on my handwriting because of the malware issues... oh dear. Hopefully I can find it in the files I managed to save.

Here is a comic cover study. I liked this drawing of Fox and Crow on John's blog:

What a charming drawing. I notice, however, that I made some proportional errors. I think, however, what's more pressing are the errors I made with the directional thrust of the characters. The fact that Fox's head is too big is not helped by the fact that his line of action is off. See, here's what it should be:

Compared with what it is....

Woops! See! Again, toned down. Grr.

Well, anyway, here's a hodgepodge of selected Preston Blair studies. They have almost no regard for finish. I was trying to get quicker. I also didn't have a good choice of pencils because some of them were done on vacation (during the horrible era of the Lost Pencil Box) so you can see me dealing with lots of greasy lead and erasers. Yuck...

These are from pretty much all throughout May. I have more, but believe it or not, they are even messier and quicker. So this is just a chunk of them. This month I will be much more diligent.

Oh, speaking of this month, I have a second, temporary, job, which is gonna suck away 20 more hours of my week. Yikes. I am going to stick to my guns as much as I can on the 2 hours a day thing, but it might be hard on days I have to work both jobs. We'll see!

Bad weekend

2009-04-26T16:50:00.001-07:00

Jerry is a Neanderthal in my drawing. Check out his lunging cranium.

I got food poisoning! I actually did this before the last one I posted, but I don't have anything else to do, so here it is. I think I barfed so hard that I got some acid in my brain, because I can't focus too well.

Hope everyone out there readin' had a better weekend, with less vomit!

Eisenberg study 2

2009-04-22T22:06:00.000-07:00

Left hand looks ridiculous, arms are too low, Tom's tummy is too fat (there's more emphasis on his chest in the original), some problems with the background (the pipe is the wrong shape, the top of the mantle has angle problems... and, for some reason, I messed up the straight vertical line on the left side of the fire place... but I am getting faster at these. I don't know about better, per se, right now. It's frustrating, because I can see all the problems. I'm happy I am at least better at that part.

I think I'm just not as focused because of school stuff. I will be back on track and on top of things when the semester's done.

Probably won't be many more for the next couple of weeks, things are getting to that end-of-semester crunch time.

Eisenberg quickie

2009-04-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

I started this when I had a headache last night, and finished it today on lunch break. Lots of mistakes, but I don't have much energy to crit tonight. Rest assured that I see that the head is too big and his line of action angle is wrong, legs and a few other features are too small, the eye on the right doesn't wrap too well, etc.

I just wanna pull his foot out so that his leg is anywhere near as extended as it's supposed to be.

Haha, I don't even know why I am showing this. Maybe just because I find the arms so hilariously big and awkwardly attached. The next one will be better. I am sorry, Eisenberg. I hope I have not angered you and all the other cartooning gods.

Another spare-time study

2009-04-01T11:14:00.001-07:00

Isn't this picture beautiful?

Holy crap, I just look at it and I want to draw!

So, that's what I did. Couple breaks at work, and a work day one of my classes.

I was pleased with how much easier crazy, seemingly complex drawing is when you start to practice construction and hierarchy! It felt good. BUT...

I dulled down the pose! Which is sad because Bugs' face is just full of life and spunk. Tisk tisk. It should stretch, commit more. I made the base of his neck too thick. You can't really see it too well but I have the shape drawn underneath. It sort of got lost under a patina of pencil and eraser. Rest assured that it's there and it's too fat at the base, where it attaches to the body.

There's too much of a gap between the far left tooth and where his mouth starts!

I also think that I assumed his muzzle protruded more.

The angle of Bugs' body and the arch of his back are a little off. Also his tits don't sit right. My red-line is wrong on the bottom of his right boob. It doesn't show the crease on his bra right. Also they're further down on his body than they are in the cartoon.

The top of the head is a little extreme. I didn't make the cranium shape large enough and I don't think his head-fat fits on as tightly. It also doesn't connect as well to the cheek fat in my drawing.

Next time in line: Eisenberg drawings, another coloring book image, continuing to get my ass kicked by animation.

Notes for myself

2009-03-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

John told me to rearrange the walk so that I could see it in a cycle.

Link

(It's kind of fun to watch the peg holes go by, haha).

Anyway, looking at it this way makes it easier to see some problems. The biggest issues of concern:

- The head. It tilts too severely. The original looks strange, but still smooth-- my study should match that
- The extreme on the far arm is jumpy. That should be easy to fix, but the arm itself looks weird and wooden, like it's just a puppet's arm moving out! Maybe I should make the fist move a bit more?
- The near arm is very jumpy. It's a little twitchy in the original but it's too much so on this one. I think part of this could be fixed by making the hands on frames 9 and 10 fit in more with the others.
- The tail. No flow.
- The eyes are still weird, of course. Need to tweak them still.
- John said the hair overlap is too mathematical. I don't know exactly how to fix that, but I'm willing to experiment!

Next time: I need to perfect the animation in its rougher stages.

Also: To those of you who have been leaving comments, I appreciate it! You are nice folks.

UPDATE!: I have an exam on Monday and some other school stuff to do, so I won't be able to put in as much time straight up as I'd like to. So I will be updating this post with my progression on fixing this.

HERE is the first update. I am redoing the head and neck, making sure that moves smoothly. Specific feedback VERY appreciated! When you back away it looks fairly smooth but I don't think I'm satisfied. It loses some of the original's bounce but I think I want to focus on just making it work smoothly rather than complete fidelity. I need to learn to crawl before I can walk. Or, I guess, walk before I can walk interestingly.

I have also been informed that I misinterpreted his head shape! It is upside-down! I'm such a dork. It also tilts even less than this!

Second Woody study

2009-03-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

Wow! This took... a week and a half longer to finish than I had planned. Seems like everything conspires to get in the way (ranging from no calls/no shows at work, resulting in scrambling for coverage, to huge deadlines sneaking up on me at school). So, I resolved to finish this this weekend. I guess I was technically about an hour and a half late, but I would have made it had my computer not gotten a virus today. Yeesh! If it were up to me this would be my only school, but I guess I need that piece of paper.

So I put everything aside to finish this tonight. It's not really "finished," per se, though, because I want to fix a few things.

Anyway, so here's the clip off of which my study is based. It's from "Solid Ivory," also. I really like this cartoon!

And HERE is my study!

I need to go to bed pronto, though. Tomorrow I need to whip up a research paper for art history, so I may not be around much (if I am, sock me, because I need to get that done).

Without going into too much depth:

The original was not very well constructed. But it was spunky and interesting. It has charm and energy. His eyes aren't in perspective in the original, but the asymmetry is charming. To make it more solid, I chose to make his eyelids asymmetrical over his eyes. I liked embellishing on the brow, but I don't know how well that worked. I think I went with the pupils being way too huge (they shift during the original) and they don't wrap very well. I think I may go over each frame and make the eyes work better. I also think that shading them in was a bad, short-sighted idea because it flattens them out.

The tail doesn't react to the movement as much as I think it should.

Most disappointing, though, is that it doesn't have the same vigor that the original does. Hmm. That's something a little less tangible, less easy to articulate and specifically fix.

More technical, base stuff: It is a pain in the ass to split the scan into two. It also results in some weird seizure flashes when it animates. Next time, work smaller, and I will avoid going lower than what the scanner can take. I will also be sure not to end up going so high that my drawings ever touch the area near the peg holes! What an embarrassing beginner's mistake. Fortunately it should be easy to avoid in the future with better planning.

HOWEVER, the peg strip and animation paper made the process seem LOADS more intuitive and I am already addicted to the way it feels! It's so fun and I can't wait to do more!

Any feedback would be completely appreciated!

Ship ahoy! The boat leaked!

2009-03-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

When I was little I remember when I was nuts about the Looney Tunes characters, I'd get all excited to get coloring books featuring the characters... but so many of them were ugly! However, this one is just recklessly cute. Porky and Bugs always look adorable, but look at Bugs' gesture! I love his hand.
Anyway, so, I've been doing this study during very small increments of free time. It's a few shifts' worth of lunch breaks at work. Unfortunately, since I did it in several sessions, I think it lended itself to some disjointedness. It's like the drawing is on three different planes! It's hardly worth showing the overlay.

I just completely copied the angles wrong. I interpreted the ship as being more faced toward the viewer, so it's more opened-up looking in my version. And I put Bugs too high up compared to Porky. Since Bugs' arm area was warped (his hand should be closer to the viewer in space, and further out, rather than as bent inward).

Bugs' face was probably the biggest problem area:

Ugh, that cheek!! It seems ten times worse now that I have it scanned. Doesn't help that the head is overall too big.

His cranium should be leaned more forward in space. It needs to be at a more committed angle-- I seemed to have given it a wimpy treatment. Which stinks, because the original is so darned cute. Anyway, the angle problem lended itself to other issues-- the cheek on the right is too long and floppy. It is tighter to the face int he original. His teeth aren't at as extreme of an angle as in the original. I opened his mouth too wide, and I also puffed out his bottom lip too much.

I think Bugs' cranium has reverse perspective. The half nearer to the viewer is smaller than the one further away, I think. Does anyone out there have advice on beating this mistake? I seem to make it a lot, even though I'm conscious of it.

Porky's head looks better, in my opinion. His jaw is exaggerated in my version. The sphere within Porky's cranium confused me a bit because he has some meat padding his head. My version looks squished, to me. I stacked on too much meat on the right side.

I feel like I am getting better at understanding my mistakes. But I need to avoid making them in my new studies!

No, I am not done yet

2009-03-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

I have the roughest of roughs done on my next Woody cycle study. I unfortunately work after school tomorrow so getting it all done for real will take a few days.

HOWEVER, in addition to real learning, here's a fun thing I noticed about the footage I'm working off of.

Haha! I'm going to guess this was some time-pressed ink-and-paint worker's doing.

Somewhat related, I was wondering why clean-up and inbetweening doesn't happen in the states anymore at all. Is it really cheaper to do it overseas than it would be to get animation-anxious young chumps like me to do it cheap? I'd totally do clean-up for minimum wage.

Some touch-ups

2009-03-11T23:25:00.001-07:00

John told me to fix a few things. They're sorta subtle, but I think they made a difference!

Ink practice

2009-03-11T18:47:00.001-07:00

Drawing above is by Jim (I think) of Spumco.

EDIT: Fixed the sleeve thing.

Here's my first inking study. I'm actually surprised with the outcome. I should have pushed line width variation more, now that I see it from so far away. More thick lines holding together the larger forms. The noses and eyes have some uncertainty to them. I don't know if I should have inked Ernie's jaw under his arm, because I'm really not sure whether or not it's supposed to be there. The shape made sense, so I went with it, but it should be less visible, I think.

I see what John means when he says lots of artists have a tendency to round out the forms-- whenever I was presented with a form I didn't totally understand it was really tempting to just round it off into something that made more sense to me.

I actually enjoyed doing this... there were some things I messed up, but it was cool to actually enjoy the inking process. I've never really been a fan of it-- but hey, I'd never tried it with Illustrator before.

A lot of the mistakes I made were primarily from being so green with the program. I'm only somewhat familiar with it, and never for this purpose. I found myself a little frustrated by an apparent inability to tweak line width after I had placed the line/applied pressure. Does anyone who's more experienced with the program know if that's possible? In the meantime, well, I just gotta get more experienced with it. I'll do another some time.

I have like three John-related projects going (well, two now, but I may come back to this). I am so greedy. I want to learn how to do everything.

Jinx studies

2009-03-08T22:52:00.001-07:00

Midterms are finally done. It's spring break. Thank goodness. I find it so weird that I hate school for the first time since the middle school days. I'm getting extremely cynical about it. I'll make a post on why I want to unlearn art school some time in the next month or so... In the mean time, I'm happy as a clam actually having chunks of time to devote to studying.

I am itching to get going on animation studies again, but the stuff John told me to order still isn't here. I'm gonna guess it'll be here either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Anyway, I'm sort of a newcomer to John's blog. So here's an older exercise I've taken a stab at.

The photos of this toy were from John's blog.

It frustrates me that I'm still not totally good with construction lines. It's not second nature yet. I mean, I can use them as guidelines, sure, but I'm not understanding the form in space well enough. I want a series of egg-like, oval-like and circle-like shapes that are transparent and have the construction lines drawn on. I was actually snooping through Easter stuff at Meijer the other day hoping to find a totally transparent egg I could buy and marker up.

I spent the most time revising this one out of the three I did (I will probably do more).

Goddamn, he's cute.

The shape of his muzzle is more flat on top than I drew it. I sort of invented a bulk on the bridge of his nose that isn't there. I also notice that I misjudged where the horizontal construction line goes and stretched the eyes down to meet it a little. I really don't have much commentary besides that I apparently can't get a consistent grasp on head construction.

Poor Jinx looks like he was punched in the muzzle and everything on his head was pushed to the upper right.

I am giving myself lame critiques. I don't think I'm going to get better until I practice away my construction line issues.

Some landscape nonsense

2009-03-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to figure out gouache for a while. I got a set near Christmas-time and haven't had as many opportunities as I'd like to use it. So, for an open-ended landscape drawing assignment I decided I'd try using them.

This one is bigger, so I had to take a photo of it. Here it is in the context of a corner of my room. The colors are a bit off but I think you can get the gist of it.

I really like the left side of the painting, actually. The transition between the grass and the dirt looks interesting. The right half makes my time constraints more apparent. I don't like how big the texture gets. it messes up perspective. The brown, round bushes could use definition. They're indistinct and the one on the left has a weird dent in it.

Here's a cropped, closer version of the stuff I like. Unfortunately I don't have access to a great digital camera, but you get the idea.

This one was small enough to scan. I like the color of the sky (I took some cues from some awesome cartoon backgrounds for this one). There's a smudge above the trash can from where some of the paint reconstituted. I want to try acrylic-based gouache for this reason.

More again!

2009-02-28T21:07:00.001-08:00

Okay, here's an animated version with the previously missing frame and some adjustments to frames 2 and 14. I saved a 24 fps one (I think that's what it's supposed to be) and a 12 fps version so you can actually see what's going on. The 24 fps looks really frantic.

24 FPS
12 FPS

Does anyone know of a more efficient way of uploading these things? Should I make them into smallish .movs? Upload them to Youtube or Vimeo?

Anyway, thoughts:

The extreme on the left arm seems to jerk a little. It's preceded by some choppiness of the hand-- like it switches angles too many times in too awkward of ways in a really small amount of time. I see now why the original had sort of soft, bendy hands on those frames.
Some things shift shape/size (the beak, even with perspective and all that tilting taken into consideration, seems to change its proportions)
I think the jerking comes from when he shifts weight (and consequently the line of action snaps)-- it doesn't flow gracefully at all once he recovers from the step
The tail feathers have no idea what shape they are. I think it's because of weird inbetweening in the original animation. I was being conservative in terms of following the original because I know I'm new to it. I know part of the shifting is because they're moving back and forth into space away from the viewer, but it doesn't feel as sensible as it should. Should I take more liberties next time? They also shift length but that's my fault.
Also related to blind fidelity to the original-- the eyelids go down a little. I wasn't sure exactly why-- he doesn't fully blink. They just sort of go down with the step, like they have to catch up with his head when it pulls up. I kind of liked that notion so I stuck with it, but I don't know if I pulled it off. I also thought the pupils shifted around a lot in the original and I wasn't sure what to do with it. Again, should I try to keep it more consistent next time or trust the decisions the original artists made?
I like the feet and far hand most. Making sure I paid attention not to tone down the feet was a decent success. The far hand stays pretty solid.

Either way, an awesome exercise. Doing so many construction drawings one after another really got me into the swing of things. Little weird a-ha moments are more and more frequent. It's like staring at a magic eye and totally getting it for fleeting moments at a time, but not being able to cross my eyes hard enough to get it to stick. Or something.

If I could get a critique, some advice, etc., I'd appreciate it a lot! I think I wanna study another walk before I try making my own.

Quick post before work.

2009-02-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

Edit: I must have forgotten to put one of the frames on my flash drive yesterday before I left for work. Woops. I put the missing one in, working on fixing the other problems.

I finally finished drawing all of the frames from the Solid Ivory walk last night.

I think the head bobbing down on frame 2 doesn't look right. There's also some shifting of the hand size. Here's John's post containing the footage I'm studying. The original does look stompy and fast, but I can't help but feel like I missed something.

(this last frame is just frame 1 repeated)

Busy busy

2009-02-24T14:42:00.001-08:00

Preview of my walk cycle studies. I have about 1/3 of the frames done, but I'm revising all of them, too.

I think I'm going to request less hours at work soon. I am not drawing enough. Luckily I'm not scheduled for tonight, so I hope to get some decent work done.

Coming soon

2009-02-21T20:23:00.000-08:00

Been working on closely studying this walk cycle from Solid Ivory. Constructing each and every frame! However, I want to do it right, so it's taking time. I also have a big paleontology exam on Monday. I keep sneaking away from studying to... well... study.

Also: no weird stretching on this one. I think something was illegitimate about my roommate's dvd. Oh well, the new ones aren't stretched.

Have I mentioned that I've been ridiculously happy since working on studies daily? I haven't felt like this while drawing in years.