Yeti chase

Just for kicks, this was a piece I started out ages ago to play around with the layers in Photoshop. Is it where I want it? Not really but I thought it was a valid attempt to have some fun, tweak some things and blend old school with digital.

#56

Shriners and other offbeat civic organizations. Always an interesting subject to me. So wonderfully kitschy and yet who doesn't want to try on a fez for once in their lives?

#55

Maybe it's the warm weather. Maybe it's just the sun coming out. Not sure what it is but there are definitely some distracted drivers out there on the road at times.

All nighters

Every now and then I have to pull an all-nighter just to beat a client's deadline. My students don't know how I do it and quite frankly I'm not so sure how I do it. It's physically exhausting, mentally draining, and a pressure cooker. But after the job is delivered and the client is satisfied, the euphoria (and the eventual paycheck) is pretty good. A few weeks back after pulling an all nighter, I still had just enough energy to scratch out this little gem that sort of encapsulates the feeling of the morning after.

#54

I finally managed to get a new case of sketchbooks in and I've been filling them up pretty regularly. I'm actually juggling two at the moment and this was just one of the more fun filled images I decided to pull out of one for the blog.

#53

Just messing with the new Utrecht Design Markers here. Kinda liking the flexible nib- almost brush like but with just enough of a snap back to them. Not the world's greatest assortment of colors but dirt cheap, nice tip and great for quick inking so far.

Photoshop inking

Just playing around with Photoshop and the Wacom tablet here. It's something I did freehand just to get more and more familiar with the brush sensitivity when it comes to a traditional inking look.

Midterm grading

A few weeks back it was midterms for a lot of us who teach. My friend and fellow Ask the Professor panelist, Beth Oljar actually had to go into seclusion and take time away from our weekly show taping to handle her grades. This is what she gets for teaching a popular class at the University of Detroit-Mercy!

Rest in peace, Martin.

A few weeks back at the local pet shop where I frequent, one of the regular inhabitants there- Martin the Tortoise passed away. He was anywhere from 18-20 years old, about three feet in length, weighed more than I care to talk about, and had free reign of the store. Martin was by far one of the most gentlest creatures there. He was often the marvel of kids young and old there. We had often joked how he was going to outlive us all. Sadly his demise came far too soon and he will be missed by all.

This is my tribute to the bug lug who would often come to me for food and offer me a less than gentle nudge upon my shins.

#52

Based upon a premise that all car designs should be geared towards an individual personality.

#51

No particular inspiration. No particular purpose other than to see where and what the pen could create. It's like I tell people- "there are certain times when the pen does all the work and all I do is hang on tight"!

#50

G'Lord. It's been awhile since I've posted. It's not like I haven't probably carved through a half dozen sketchbooks since I last posted- it's just that the advertising aspect of my career's gotten busy again (no complaints there). Here's just a sampling of some of the stuff I've been doing.

Baby minotaur (#49)

One of my favorite mythological creatures, the minotaur- in adorable baby form. Just another sketchbook submission.

Digital pinhead

Just for kicks, I've been doing more and more digital drawings in what little spare time I manage to sneak in. Here's a quick pinhead sketch I did for fun. Admittedly the more I do it, it just becomes that much more natural of a transition from pen & paper to pixels.

#48

Inspiration comes from all over. This image was inspired during a recent trip to California. We were on the flight back and the in-flight TV monitors were showing some tennis tournament. I couldn't help but think about some of the serves that the players were making in the match. Fortunately there wasn't much turbulence on the flight and I could go to town on this.