Cross breeding animals

Facing Your Dragon

Sketching creatures is always fun. You can do almost anything and make it work because the subject matter is suppose to be unrealistic, fun and exaggerated.  This is a favorite topic for me to bring into the classroom.  The more outlandish the better, and it teaches the kids to use their own imagination, not just draw something they see on TV.  

This sketch started from thick line thumbnail sketches to just get an idea and gesture in place.  I like the inking and line work detail of the process.  With a flick of the wrist and a calligraphy pen you can get an evil grin, or expressive eyebrows.  The thick and thin is and randomness of the line is what I like about this style.  Some of my preliminary sketches are more expressive even in rough stages.  The trick is to add detail without losing the energy of the line in the early preliminary work.  Keep sketching!

The final image....

Initial color

Warm Up Sketches

Here are a few captured warm up sketches looking at simple shapes and gestures and a few faces.  Quick studies to loosen up your thoughts and get the juices going.  I used to doodle like this more often.  I kept a sketch pad by my desk at the office at all times.  Now I tend to do these during meetings or anytime I have a few spare moments.  These were all done before I went into to work in the morning.  Just let the pencil strokes take you where they may.  Something always comes from this if you give it a good 30 min. of play time.

Sketching Birds with simple shapes

Just a short tutorial of the type of work I bring into the classroom.   Visiting the K-5 level classes I try to encourage a quick sketch technique based on using simple shapes and line. I always start with a warm up session before we begin.  In these examples I am using Manga Studio and a calligraphy pen tool for thick and think lines. In class I will use a broad tip marker, or a brush pen, on newsprint .  For the under drawing I use a prismacolor blue pencil or any soft lead.  

The hardest concept to convey seems to be the rough experimentation.  I want the kids to fill the page with gestures, eyes or feather studies.  Often this is the hardest part, as they like to darken lines, erase and get detailed a little to soon.  I try to encourage small studies on a single page.  Often I will draw lightly and messy, just to show how I am playing with options before picking what I like and going back to darken the lines.  They really seem surprised to see me scribble over a drawing or draw an "x" over parts.  Then they see how the under drawing really disappears as the marker comes out and the dark lines become dominant. 

Have fun and keep sketching....

Simple studies on details.  

Break down the key elements of the character and practice a variety of options.  

Often your first idea can be improved upon and even simplified for a better effect.  

Just play with shapes and see where is leads. Have fun.

Drawing faces with simple shapes

When visiting classrooms I like to focus on simple shapes.  Drawing faces and expressions using variations of circles or ellipses. Students in K-5 classes like to see how quickly and effectively they can capture emotion and expression.  Start off with some quick warm up exercises like drawing circles or parallel lines.  The shape of the head can vary from circles to boxes to boxes with a pointy edge.  Eyes are easy as circles with a simple addition of eyebrows. The mouth can be a minimal curved line, or a big open mouth smile.  Lastly, the hair can give a great deal of character and diversity.  I like to encourage experimentation with the class, showing a number of different ways to experiment.  Most importantly they need to relax and draw with their shoulder for loose flowing lines...(the mouse sketches below are from a previous handout used in class)

Viking Inktober

A quick Inktober Viking sketch before bed....Thinking about creating a sketchbook - ebook of this type of content, maybe a coloring book?  We will see....

Inktober Selfi...

Well you probably don't look as fresh and lively as I do...but...

When and where do you do your most creative work?  

Draw a selfi for Inktober and share... 

#Inktober, #sketching, #Cintiq, #wacom

Scary Clowns

I just heard on the news today about Scary Clowns invading cities across the US...  Then I get an email from school followed by a robo call on the same subject.  I guess I just felt bad for all the hard working honest clowns out there...actually it is just past midnight so technically I missed my Oct 5th Inktober posting...and adding color isn't really ink only...well I did my best ....time for bed...

Feel the Bern...

Inktober: 

I guess I was sketching with the debates on my mind.  Actually I support Hillary, but thought it would be funny to hear Robin as the voice of the Mellennials ...I promise not to get political (on this site) after this....(Natalie wants to know who "Mellennial" is...how sweet)

Animal Mix Up

My 4th grader had a fun assignment for school.  She needed to draw animals that had adapted to their environment.  Her creative dad misinterpreted this obvious science project as a freestyle art assignment based on creativity.  Oh how confused her science teacher must have been to see her father's twisted view of evolution...