Update

The red book kicked the bucket a couple of months ago and now I am working my way through the blue book. (picture eventually)  I have also stumbled across a hord of canvus that I completly forgot about. (10 or so various sizes)  I have slowly been working my way through those.  once the oil has dried I will take a picture or scan them.

Not dead just hibernating.

aug 17

Oh how I wish I could draw monsters . .. . . . .

aug 10

aug 3

This weeks offerings include character design trials.  Im thinking of writing a short story set in space with a three person cast.  Drawing the characters out is just one way I try to get a handle on who they are, their motivations, and what trials I plan at throwing at them.  Two men, one girl, two pilots one mechanic. They are basically space truckers on a long haul mission to drop off supplies on a distant settlement.  Still working out the details (and trying to get a handle on timing, pacing, not being melodramatic, using real speech and not flowery text. also lets not forget about spelling, grammar, and proper sentences.  On second thought I will hire a friend to worry about the last three for me.)  This project will not see the light of day anytime soon but hopefully it will help me work out a few story problems I seem to keep repeating.

july 27

It seems that the hardest part of this challenge is not the drawings.  The hardest part of this project is consistently updating the blog.  It takes more effort to scan, format, post, and attempt not to self censor all of the work I think is utter crap.  Also can you tell what TV shows I watch?

july 4th

On ideas and the design process

A Month ago I decided to do an entry for Ravelrys bag logo contest.  Due to some email errors my entry was never received and the contest came and went without my submission.  I love the winning entry but Im not going to lie, it would have been nice to see how far mine might have gone.  On the bright side I have this lovely picture to share with you all!  In addition I have some preliminary sketches and ideas drawn out.  Anyone who is interested in intuitive non linear design processes take a gander.  Not promising you will learn anything but you should be amused.

 Alright so lets break the first image down for those not in the know.  The top layer is my initial thumbnail designs.  As you can see none of the initial drawings look anything like the finished project.  This is the part of my design process where I throw out any idea I can think of.  At this point I dont care if its corny, cheezy, stupid, offensive, poorly composed or designed.  I just pump out as many ideas as I can think of.
The second row consisnts of design elements I was concidering useing but had no idea how to draw. Ravelry is a kitting site so I was trying to draw yarn, stiches, and cable knits.
The third row was my first attempts to create a finished product from the thumbnails.  This step requires me to think about the subject(customer, client, event, ect.) that the project is for and try to figure out what they would like.  I assumed that the majority of site users where female knitters with cats apparently.  This didn't get very far as I decided this was a limiting demographic and would kill my chances of winning

So back to the drawing bord.

Eurika!

Male or female who dosnt like cupcakes?  A few more designs and I was confident enough to start the computer graphic end of the design.


Ideas are funny things.  Sometimes they come all at once and you cant keep up so you just start throwing them around dropping more than you keep.  Other times they don't come at all and you become frustrated with yourself and your ability.  Most of the time I suffer from the first.  Too many ideas not enough time to refine them all.  Its nice when you have a chance to sit down and figure out what will work and what will not work for yourself without outside input.  That may be why I like drawing.  Its a little piece of freedom in my life.  The blank page is full of endless possibilities.

This was a fun project to attempt and I'm glad I did even if I didn't win or even get it shown on the site.  I hope this article was helpful to anyone confused or frustrated by their own design process.

June 12

 Oh perspective you cruel cruel mistress. Obviously I need more serious practice in this.

totoro prints and shop

Hey I have finally gotten around to posting some prints for sale on my etsy shop!  Just some old Totoro peices I did Check them out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/melonsky

June 5

Cute animals and random objects this week.

may 29

 Well this is the first project update for the project.  I pulled out some of my dusty anatomy books and did some doodles.  Mashed the pages together in Photoshop. New skill acquired! Resizing massive files and making them smaller.  Drop a line if the images look weird.  There may still be some bugs to figure out in the process.

red book

Tomorrow I plan on scanning my first weeks work for this project.  I'm using the red book to start this project.  Its an old sketch book with around 100-200 pages.  It has been half used up and carried around in my shoulder bag.  It is full of coffee stains.  That just means its well loved right?

first post of project pile of paper

Hello internet.  Last week while cleaning house I realized that I hoard drawing supplies.  While organizing my closet I found  3 mid sized sketchbooks, 4 large, 6 tiny, and 6 nice paper pads.  Some of these sketch books only have a third or less of the pages filled!  I think I have a compulsive need to buy more books in the hopes of becoming a better artist.  Of course that can only happen if I actually make art right?  My current goal is to not buy any new sketch books or art paper until I have used this stash.  The plan is to draw on one page a day until I can throw them in the recycling bin with a clear conscience.  At this point quality is secondary to quantity.  Life studies, anatomy, cartoons, thumb nailing, subject does not matter what matters is the act of putting pen to paper at least once a day.  This blog will be used to keep myself accountable to this goal.  Once a week or once a day I will post my progress.