Haven’t blogged much recently. Mainly because I’ve been busy, and drawing little bits and pieces of things as I learn my new tool, the Wacom Intuous Tablet. But there are some exciting projects happening in the new year, and I hope lots of interesting stuff to draw and put up.
This is a watercolour man with an odd photoshop background. Compelling, for sure. I’m working on more ambitious things, when the cats don’t throw up on them.
Tags: digital, men, watercolour
Sorry for the absence, but I’ve been playing with a new toy. A Wacom Intuous 4 stylus. Still working with it. I’ve used a Bamboo Pen stylus for a while, but though i liked it, the lines were jiggly and I couldn’t really draw with it the way I could with pencils, pens and brushes. This device is much smoother, but it still has a learning curve. I love gadgets, but also love my pen and paper, which I’m more used to. Stil, it’s interesting experimenting with this, and seeing all that it can do.
Here, it seems to be able to do everything my dip pen can do, plus be erasable:
This feels slightly less demented than most of my offerings, but I’m probably kidding myself. All the same, I feel more control of my medium and the effects it creates, and also my drawing. Hooray!
Tags: colour, planes, sketches, watercolour
Still painting random faces, from DVDs, and my squirming imagination. Kind of enjoying it at the moment.
Some bonus kitty-cats as well.
Tags: Animals, cats, men, Nora the cat, sketches, watercolour, women
I suppose this counts as fan art for this comic here, but I’ve never read the comic. Not that I’m not into French comics. This was another experiment in comic colouring, and I did everything wrong, technically speaking. Still, I’m getting the hang of it. Live and learn!
Tags: sketches
I wanted to put this cartoon up before some internet low-life steals the idea! That’s because I mentioned it on Twitter. @AJKandy thought that the birds would file nuisance complaints with the city until the pigs move away, while @MrBillyBones said that “You launch them at things, but they just bounce off …and then pout.”
Went to a chat today by Peggy Burns, who is the marketing person for Drawn and Quarterly Books in Montreal, speaking at the Atwater Library. She talked about the history of Drawn and Quarterly, some of their artists such as Chester Brown, Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine, and Lynda Barry. Also got into a little of what it takes to get a graphic project published with their press. Very inspiring, actually. Even though webcomics are becoming more important as a way to get your work seen, it’s still good to have something paper such as a zine to be able to send, which they can hold in their hands.
They also like productions from a single artist, rather than the assembly-line or collaboration mode that many more mainstream comics are created with. Something slightly dismaying for yours truly was the idea that “funny” does not go along with graphic novels in North America. Still, I’m not going to change the sorts of things that I like to do, but do more of it, hoping that people like it.
I’m leaving the little notes I jotted here along with my sketches; samples of my horrible handwriting. That’s Peggy up above, and the rest are faces in the crowd. Look at all the arty people! It’s pleasant to draw them while they are paying attention to something. Thanks to ALEAQ for hosting the event.
Tags: ballpoint pen, comics, current events, montreal, sketches
Charlize Theron, from the cover of a movie mag.
I’ve been neglecting my blogging. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been drawing. Working on female faces here, trying to catch what’s special in a face that makes it a particular person. Easier to draw a generic face. But when you can’t get out to sketch real people, which is the best, there are always photographs. The problem with those is they’re static, and essentially someone else’s (the photographer’s) image you’re copying. Still, I feel like I’m increasing in accuracy, while keeping the drawings personal.
One thing that’s interesting is to watch documentaries, and freeze the image. It still belongs to the film, but you’re choosing it. The people below are from a short film about the late director Ken Russell:
Star Wars fans know who this is supposed to be:
Tags: black and white, pencil, sketches, women
This weekend is the 10th edition of Expozine, the Montreal zine and independent comics fair. It’s a big weekend for me, as it seems that most of the people I know in my scene are there. I’ve done little roving reporter visits with my camera, interviewing people in the past. With all of these comics and sketches I’ve done, I really should have put together some kind of book and tried to sell it, or offer to draw people for $10 a pop, that sort of thing. But I didn’t reserve a table.
Still some kind of work by Yours Truly will be on offer. Above is the cover for Le Beau Pourri, a fanzine set up by my pals with the Montreal Comic Jam, said zine which will be on offer at the fair. The cover is designed and executed by Rick Gagnon.
Below is my contribution to the mag (outside of panels done in various jams over the months, which might pop up here and there). You’ll have to pick up the zine to see the whole story.
Rick Gagnon did the French translation and lettered the balloons. I could post the original English here, but what fun would that be?
[UPDATE: Check my rough for the story, which includes the translation: link]
Anyhow, I’ll be at Expozine on Sunday, Nov. 27. Probably put up more stuff then. Say hi if you see me there!
Tags: books, collaboration, comics, Expozine, Montreal Comic Jam, Richard Gagnon
Drawing things from DVDs. Freezing it this time, rather than just going on impressions as the movie plays. A lot of work filling things in with pencil! This and the below are based on Sharon Stone from the beginning of Total Recall.
And some random, imaginary profiles with my fine-line roller pen:
Good night, all!
Tags: ballpoint pen, black and white, pencil, sketches, women
That’s where these drawings are from. When winter sets in it’s less practicable to draw things out on the street. So I sit around looking at books, watching DVDs, also drawing anything that tickles my fancy. Hate drawing directly from photographs, but those give you different ideas, and also keeps one closer to reality. So here are imagined pictures I was drawing last night, mainly while watching episodes of “Star Trek Enterprise” on youtube via the computer.
Tags: Animals, ballpoint pen, black and white, Brush Pen, horses, men, sketches, women
