Toucan

I was wanting to draw a parrot, but when I was doing an image search, I ran across a photo of a toucan. He looked more interesting.

Blessed Easter to you!

More iPad painting

I stayed up too late the other night painting these. Too much fun to go to sleep!

Back in the Real world...

Today, I enjoyed breaking out my watercolors again to splash some color on these pen & ink drawings I did last night.

Drawing on the iPad

For the past few weeks, all the sketches I've been posting here have been drawn with real pens and pencils on real paper. With all the technical advances that I also use on a daily basis, it's still my favorite way to work.

Currently, I draw all my storyboards on a Cintiq tablet, but there's a new development I'm keeping a close eye on: drawing storyboards on an iPad.

I just got one and it seems to be working out. I'm still learning the software right now, and haven't actually used it in any production yet. But hopefully, it will be a good tool.

Currently, I am using Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro for the iPad. It's a little different than the PC version, but still pretty easy to navigate. I've attached a drawing I did last night. I am using a Griffin stylus ($20 at Target).

So far, here are the technical drawbacks:

- Resolution. I haven't been able to create an image over 72dpi. Most studios want 300dpi. So I plan to rough out a first pass on the iPad, then import the panels to my Mac Pro to increase the resolution and clean them up.

- Panel ratio. Again, Sketchbook has a default document size that's approximately 3:4. I'll just have to create a script in Photoshop to crop and resize all my panels.

- The iPad doesn't store documents in the same way as a PC. They have to be stored in the photo album (or Sketchbook Pro gallery). Not a huge deal, but it affects my standard pipeline of delivering art to a client. Just means a couple of extra steps.

Even with these drawbacks, I am enjoying it. It has freed me from my computer desk, which is nice when I need a change of environment. Especially when I want to just do some thumbnails or doodle some ideas. I can draw in the den, or at Starbuck's or on my back porch.

Plus, this is much cheaper than a Cintiq.... though there are limitations.

I still prefer drawing on paper, but this is getting very close to that!

If any of you have gotten an iPad, I'd like to hear your feedback, too!

Film Noir

I've watched a couple of old film noir movies recently. Love the film style, love the clothing style, love the quick-paced dialog.

Stayin' Groovy

Aside from "The Jungle Book" and "Lady and the Tramp", "Billy Jack" was also an influence on my childhood.

I've been enjoying throwing some watercolor on these recent sketches. It warps the paper a little bit, so I have to keep it like a wash, and not build up too much color. But that's okay. It's a sketchbook, and not a finished illustration.

Groovy Bear

Jogging Moose

I had a fun time sketching today. Just drawing whatever popped into my head. I'll post more of them over the next few days. Here's some wildlife to start.

As I look at these sketches, I can see some influence from some of my favorite illustrators. But I still have a long way to go.

Gorillas are back

I was thumbing through a magazine, and was struck by a Samsung ad that featured a photo of a gorilla.

Such a soulful look in her eyes. I don't think I captured it, but it was fun trying.

Another Thank-you note

This is a drawing of my son's friend. His family just gave me a birthday present of some great art supplies, so I used them to create this image.

He's a great artist himself and has been accepted into a couple of reputable art schools that the big animation studios draft from. I'm looking forward to seeing where he ends up.

I was thinking about painting with coffee to create the tones, but the brush they gave me was sable and I didn't want to ruin it on the first time out. I'm still unsure how caffeine affects natural fibers.