Week 2 of Inktober

Inktober sketching week number 2

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Ethan's FT-Mig3 Scratch Build

Almost finished and ready to fly, still need battery, receiver and extra propellers and wheels. Flying with the local RC club on Wednesday nights.  Summer is half over and he has been focused.  He is doing a great job.  My trooper!

Sketching In Public

I have always been interested in sketching on site.  But I have never felt very comfortable. Now there seems to be more and more people involved in this on line. "Urban sketchers" is a great site to see the rough and loose style of capturing the moment.  I love the level of indication and quick gestures.  I LOVE THAT IT'S BEAUTY COMES FROM NOT BEING PERFECT.  I used a fine line marker for initial sketches, then a brush pen for the darks. I blended with a simple water brush pen all on a moleskin pad.  

I did these with my son at the local library and later at our coffee shop on the way home. We had a really good time together.  Away from TV and Computers just sharing some food and talking. Listening to others around us, and paying attention to our surroundings. Just focusing on the moment...very nice.  Well time for bed. Hope you like these.

Ethan in his coat, as I tried to ask him about school or reading...conversation with a 7th grader can be challenging :)

Some of the students at the library were learning about the legal system from our neighbor. She is a lawyer and works with high school students.  So busy with Ethan and sketching I didn't even notice her until she came over to say hello.  Later at the coffee house a guy in headphones and a women with long dark hair on their computers.  Each sketch was only a few minutes but I am loving the ink brush pens and simple lines.

Painting in Clip Studio Paint

Swoop the hawk is a character in an upcoming story I am planning

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A second try

Trying to figure out a coloring style for me...

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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

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.

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... 

drawing on Cintq

#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...

Scary Clown

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...

cartoon animals

First bike ride

Remembering the early days and his first bike ride...Actually Natalie rode first and he came along a few weeks later.  

Gesture sketches

A few sketches with a brush pen...

Natalie in a Dress

Not that my girl would wear a dress but, here is a little sketch on a Sunday afternoon.

Maple's "Real World" Advice

We picked out Maple 4 months ago from the rescue.  Like my nephew Steven, Maple is also a summer Graduate and would like to share what she has learned over his many hours of higher education.

homework

Just a quick sketch while the boy was busy with math homework.  Done in Magna studio on my tablet. l am considering a new Surface pro or Ipad Pro.  Took the Ipad out for a test drive with its new pencil. It was nice but without Manga studio to test I was a little skeptical.  Surface pro seemed better to me as the pencil had more of a textured drag or resistance on the screen.  The apple felt like drawing on slick glass instead of paper. 

Source: https://www.google.com/_/chrome/newtab?rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS660US660&espv=2&ie=UTF-8

InkTober

Looking at a fun tall guy pirate for another Pager on body types for Oct 20th and the Pirate sketchbook

Source: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl