Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman!

I've been slowing making my way through this crazy oddball soap from the 1970s.

To start 2014

A couple of new ink pieces to start 2014. 

Pod Loves Me

After learning Simulation 2 will be available next week, I can’t help but sit and daydream about my POD.

www.bodymindchange.ca

Happy Halloween!

NERDS!

I'm haunted by the movie Revenge of the Nerds.  I've seen it a few times since I was a kid.  It was the first movie I saw in 2011, January 1st to be exact.  Since then I've seen it at least 5 more times, either in full or in parts.  If it's on I'll watch it from any point.  Now the soundtrack keeps popping up on the internet radio station I listen to.  I couldn't even find this song on iTunes (I know right!?) so I had to record it from youtube for myself.



Plus a few other references to it here and there.  And now it's part of the TOGA festival at the TIFF.  I think it's becoming one of my favourite movies and I just can't put my finger on WHY.  Also, there's a lot more nudity in it than I ever remembered since I always watched it on regular tv, so there's that.

A Posh Deep One

Inspired by Andrew's monsters I tried my hand at Deep One.  He turned out kind of fancy.

More Women & Hats

Sketch Cards

I thought I'd post some sketch cards I've done.  I've sent a few of these out with things people have bought from Etsy.  Which is good because that's what I said I would do.

Professor Carstairs, I presume?

I've found a new podcast I've become slightly obsessed with called Illusionoid.  It's Canadian (like me, eh) and it's improvised sci-fi in an old-timey kind of radio show way.  I had to try my hand at Prof. Brambleberry and Prof. Carstairs from The Lucifer Device episode.

Then I tried Prof. Carstairs on his own.  I seem to have a thing with drawing huge heads and hands.  I can adjust that when I colour things in vectors but no such luck when inking by hand!  Ha!  Big heads.

Women & Hats

Since I can't seem to find a book that has those amazing black and white photos of people from the 1950s posing for what has to be advertising, I bought myself a book called Women & Hats to draw from.  I bought myself a nice little sketchbook with cream coloured paper, some sepia colour ink and a new brush to go with it too.

These two ladies are the first I've managed to capture.  Trust me when I say the women don't look this shocked and confused in the book.  Bored, maybe.  These two just turned out like deer in the headlights.  Maybe that's telling of my state of mind when I drew them?

The Glow Cloud

Looks like the local Glow Cloud wants in on this one's photo.

I think I kind of effed up the glow cloud.  But ink has no Command Z feature to undo the last 50 moves I made so what's done is done.  On to the next!

And note to self: less outline, more ink wash on the next idea, eh?

They brought their moon.

Another Night Vale student.  Looks like he, uh, she?  Um, they brought their home made moon with them.

What am I talking about?  Listen: Welcome to Night Vale

Night Vale Student #2

Here's another student from Night Vale, maybe.  Looks like he's evilly, happily hiding something.

It's School Picture Day

Listening to the Welcome to Night Vale podcast I was inspired (finally!).  Thinking of the Night Vale Public school and what picture day might be like with those students.  I'm assuming some of them wouldn't be quite human at first glance.

Actual Ink on Paper!

Sitting at a one day con this past sunday I had some time to start a new little sketchbook I bought.  Of course, I default immediately to some girls

This one I drew in another sketchbook with the intention of inking it with some colour.  My brain is so trained to work in vectors that doing something freeform like working with flowing ink is damned hard.   I'm still thinking with hard edges.  My goal for this summer is to get out of that habit so I can produce some art that's not on the computer.  Just draw, ink (maybe) and forget it.  Then move onto the next one.

 This dude was inspired by the Brutal Legend video game art book.  He's not nearly as creative as some of the designs in that game but it's a start for me because HE'S NOT A GIRL!

Merry Christmas!

I was THIS (you can's see my hand, but I'm holding my thumb and finger about half and inch apart) close to doing my own Christmas cards this year.  But then I got busy with work and the weekends this month flew by filled with travel, shopping or visiting.  So instead I did some original art cards to enclose with a card.  The combo of my camera who didn't think a flash was needed and I couldn't convince it otherwise, and the light on my desk, the cards look more yellow than they are in real life but you get the point, I think.

Thanks to everyone who bought something from my Etsy store and my Cafepress store.  Boy, that sugar skull I did is really popular!

Thanks to everyone who started to follow my blog, my tumblr and my twitter.  I know I'm not terribly interesting by it makes me feel that way to know a few people want to know what I'm up to.

Thanks to those people who commissioned me this year.  I hope you still like what I've done for you!

And thanks to everyone (and everything) who has inspired my this year do to fanart or try out a new-ish medium to art in.  Yes, I use "art" as a verb.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Halloween Pumpkins

I never just sit and fool around with paper and ink.  Notchordamnachoz (take THAT spell check!) inspired me to try it out.  I found some big bristol paper and loosely sketched out some big head poses that turned into pumpkin dudes since, you know, it's Halloween month.  It took about a week of inking to finish it.  And by a week, I mean sitting down for 5 or 10 minutes at a time and flushing out one of the colours.

This one is my favourite.

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?"

"Halloween..."

And this is me playing with my new tablet, trying to figure out my new hot keys.

Livestock

This past Saturday I went to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair armed with a small sketchbook, a grey marker and a black pen.  It's been about a year since I tried drawing anything from life like this.  You always see art students there with their sketchbooks and I'm a little envious of them since they're drawing all day, every day while they're in school so they're already in the zone.  It took me a while to warm up but I'm happy with what I did.  I wanted to just relax and draw gesturally.


It's quite a spectacle being around so many large animals!  I was little freaked out being so close to such HUGE cows, like they're right THERE, no fencing.  Not like I was worried about being attacked by one but they're so BIG and HEAVY it's quite a sight when they suddenly decide to lay down or stand up.  Besides the cows there were the usual mix of sheep, goats, pigs and horses.  We missed the horses, again, this year since they're kept in a separate building and we always forget about them until we've already left.

It's also pretty neat seeing a whole industry that I know nothing about.  In the Exhibitors area there are a few hundred stalls selling horse and farm paraphernalia.  Saddles, crops, machinery, jumping posts.  I don't even know what half the stuff is called or what it's for.  There's also people selling local food and merchandise.  It's like a comic con for horsey people.

Here he is again!

Almost there...