Orange

Needed to just do nothing after all those distraught animals, ha ha!

Small Horrors, Part 2

Brushy

No reason whatsoever for this thing - I just thought I'd play. With the brushes, and, uhm, the subject matter.

Some of these techniques really didn't work well. So muddy. But I didn't have the wherewithal to fix it.

Bruna

Brazilian model Bruna Tenorio (at least I think she's Brazilian) has the most doll-like face, with its heart shape, small lips and almond eyes. Her look is not exactly trendy, but I find myself really drawn to her - she looks almost Asian, and she reminds me of one of the most popular mannequin faces my old company, D.G.Williams, had ("Ricco" was actually based on Talisa Soto, and I don't think it looked like her but it was nevertheless really popular). She always looks so ethereal on the runway. This drawing is a change of pace, although the color styling is a continuation of my panda drawing from yesterday, albeit in pastels (I like popping in odd colors in the linework). It's part Pater Sato, part Way Bandy makeup illustration (haha!).

Small Horrors

Team Fierce, Part Two

Team Fierce, study

I was kinda overwhelmed with yesterday's response to the Project Runway strip. I had imagined several strips actually, so I figured, enh, might as well do thm while they're fresh in my mind. Chris and Christian are such natural comic strip characters, it's kind of fun to try and imagine what else we could get them into, based on the show. This is a study for one of the ideas I had...

The Secret Life of Models: What You Didn't See

This is based on the Project:Runway episode asking them to make an avante garde couture outfit. I got the idea and started drawing it last night. I showed it to my friend Tom at Project:Rungay, and apparently he had the exact same idea coming up in a strip that Alex is doing for them. Haha, great minds think alike. Can't wait to see what Alex cooks up.

This focuses on contestants Christian and Chris March, or Team Fierce, as they called it...

The Secret Life of Models

My friends over at Project Rungay have a comic strip made by another acquaintance of ours, about the rather cartoon-like characters on the current season of the hit show. I actually had a similar idea for a strip because the characters are so easy to lampoon, and tonight I had an idea that I thought I'd do. I'll be uploading it later when it's complete, but I did three panels tonight. This one here is the test sketches, to see how I'd do the caricatures. I miss doing strips. Hee.

Exploder

I've been obsessed with Rick Owens' Fall 2007 collection, Exploder, because the women's looks were so strong, I wanted so much to buy into it by getting the men's looks.. but I really wanted the women's stuff, which is just so amazing. I figured I should try and get it out of my system by drawing some of it.... the forms are so modern, yet incredibly ancient and gothic-looking at the same time.

Would Cut

A new acquaintance I've been emailing does lino and wood cut artwork, so I thought I'd do a bit of a reverse color scheme in emulation of that. Haven't done linocut in ages, but I remember loving it. Wasn't fun when I would cut myself with the carving tools, but you know, art hazards...

Hot Pink

Kind of going on yesterday's tangent... in a very early 80s vein.

Pink & Blue

This was an image that popped into my head maybe a week ago. Never got around to doing it, and it's different in pose and style from what I originally imagined, but sometimes you just have to go with what's happening with your hand. I do like it though.

Impasto

Who knew that the acrylic paintbrushes in Painter were 3D? I certainly didn't. After more than 13 years of using this program, I'm still learning new stuff. This drawing was getting uglier and uglier by the minute, which allowed me to just experiment because I didn't care about the outcome - it had nowhere to go but up! While it's not a great piece, I did like learning about the painterly effects. The face couldn't be saved, so I turned her into some 30s/70s style
image.

Robbed

Went to the Queer Man's drawing salon again because my friend Rob was posing tonight. Rob is an amazing model - not only do his proportions and build make him a joy to draw, but he also really gives it 100% and more - he holds a pose better than anyone else I know, and he really gets into the spirit of the sessions. Here are a few of the sketches from tonight, including my fave, which almost looks like he's seated on a surfboard, looking out for an incoming wave...

I think I've learned to just go with my linework, and draw. People at the salon have commented on my use of ballpoint pen as a medium - for some it's too controlled, for others it's confident, because there's no erasing a ballpoint line. I think working on the computer and believing that you can hit 'undo' has allowed me to just put lines down without fear, despite the fact that in natural media, there is no "Command Z" to step backward in your work. When I draw at these workshops, I just like to draw for drawing's sake, and not worry about creating pieces. Much like this blog.

Cherry

I can't post what I've been drawing for my client, so I'm using a part I can't use and I added... er... some fruit.

Lippy

More facial parts studies, using Painter's different brush settings...

Eye Try

Sample study for a simplified illustration I have to do for a potential job...

Skin Toning

Still tooling around with the Tat man - little details like blush tones added to the skin, as well as retooling the anatomy - I'm not the best at musculature. Always learning how things flow.

Side Line

Sometimes I just want a really simple line...

Androgyny

I was watching tv and thought I'd do drawing during the ad breaks. I started out drawing a girl but as I drew the lips, I liked how undefined they were and decided to make the face more androgynous.

Looking Into Techniques

Have a freelance job coming up to animate facial parts, and I'm experimenting with some brushes in Painter to see which ones might yield the best results.

Sale Frenzy

I'm obsessed with buying things on sale lately - I don't know why, it's stronger this year than in the past. I'm particularly besotted with interesting coats, like this high-collared Pejoski. I drew it on a woman but I found it for men in a men's store. I think I might get it.

Details, Details

Thank goodness for the modern conveniences of computer-aided illustration. I realize I drew TatMan at a weird angle, but instead of having to redraw him, I just rotated him in Photoshop. Then went to work cleaning up the details on his basic form, adding some shading. I realize that this is hardly the kind of guy I myself find attractive, but it's the 'look' I imagined - very 50s homoerotic physique model, methinks. I hadda fix his eyes and eyebrows, though - a bit too plucked for my liking.

Shaping Up

Went back to Tat Man because I had an idea how to finish the drawing. Not finish as in end it, but how to render it, stylewise. Going for a chunky outline that plays off the almost retro shading, kinda Gruau meets Russian poster art. Plus I had to redo his body - something about the last form didn't angle right. Now I need to figure out what to do with his hands....

American Eagle

I spent the past several days redesigning a website that I originally designed maybe 5 years ago, and the pressure to make it better than before was killing me. I ended up discarding 5 other directions and opting for a gut instinct at the last minute. Why is it I can't just summon up the designs I know I can make without having to go through days/weeks of rumination? Damn the creative process. It's so much easier to draw without thinking. Like, I din't want to continue Tat Man. Instead, I made this obese bald eagle chick.

Skin Painting

There's something very 50s about the way this guy is looking that just makes me want to paint it in an old-fashioned way. I have to finish up a website design but am procrastinating a little with this.

Blond Pompadour

For some reason, in the middle of a workout with my temp trainer, I had a vision of doing this guy up in a very painted manner. Then completely by accident I bought a magazine featuring the work of an artist whose style is pretty much the softness I wanted. Talk about serendipity! So tat man is evolving (why he's called Tat man will be evident soon enough, if I finish this drawing).

Arched

Just the beginnings of a new sketch idea I had earlier. He's just a cypher at this point. A cypher with an arched eyebrow.

Happy Blue Year

I have a thing for leather and fetish-y wear, except I don't like them in anything other than a visual sense. The colors in this drawing are very odd, but I was feeling this dead, offbeat combination.

Rinse, Repeat

End of the year, and I think I have 365 drawings (I was numbering them wrong so I can't be sure). This is an unfinished one, but I think a great way to end the year but maintain contintuity... knowing that I need to finish it this 2008.

Happy New Year, all!