30 min sketch - the Grinch

Here is another drawing that was recorded. It is a mixed media piece: acrylic, watercolor, markers and pen.
The finished work:

and the video is here on my YouTube channel:

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Here is a Santa sketch I drew and also recorded.

You can watch the video here: http://youtu.be/82q6mwlBZFY

Destro sketch

a 30min watercolor and pen sketch.

Prospector and Mules

Here is todays lunch doodle. We are trying to take on more complicated arrangements by adding in more figures to our sessions. Here are the models:

And a shot of it at the restaurant while I was still working on  it thanks to Graham Toms:

And a better shot of the finished sketch:

On horseback

another lunch doodle watercolor and pen.

Elephants

Another doodle on toned paper at Rock San.

Deer and baby elephant lunch sketch

watercolor and gel pen on toned paper.

Sketchgroup catch-up Conan and a Goth Girl

Been busy getting things ready for the webcomic but put some time in this weekend to practice with conte crayons and to catch up on some of the topics in the Sketch Saturday group I am part of.
Here is a rendition of Conan the Barbarian and a random Goth girl.

Ostriches

Trying the toned paper again today at lunch. Our figures this time were a pair of Ostriches.

Lunch Critter

watercolor at lunch, been trying to focus on the shape of things lately. It is a fun and different way of thinking. I know it will be more important when I play with acrylics and oils later.

Dracula

Bram Stoker's

Samara from the Ring and Powergirl

Samara was part of a daily challenge and Powergirl...just because :)

Slimer and Scary Godmother

Some watecolor sketches done recently

The 24hr Comic Challenge- A learning experience

So like many others around the world I took on the 24hr challenge. I learned a good bit from the attempt, and plan to finish up what I started. Hopefully building a better "fast" style along the way.
In the end I managed to write up an outline for all 24 pages and even managed some simple storyboards. Given the time it happened in this was an awesome achievement and it made all the advice I read before make more sense.
Advice I should have followed better and I will the next time I sit down and try such a feat. Such as:

• Not spending too much time prepping , which I did sinking so much time into making a story and short-hand sketching all the pages. 
• Sticking to one tool- which I DID NOT do infact at one point I wanted to try brush and nib on the whole thing. At the last minute I made my self stick to a pencil, a gel-pen, and two sharpies. If I had done this at the beginning and treated all the pages like embellished over-sized storyboards then I probably gotten more done.

Trying to blog it might have also been a bad idea and it was the first time I tried using digital screentones, in fact it was the first time I used the Pattern tools in Photoshop!
Since I am getting ready to start building up for my webcomics this was a good exercise in crazy short deadlines, the kind where you throw alot of luxury out the window and make every cheap-shot count. Like I said I do plan on finishing it and using the process to refine a fast style. What has been done can be found here:
24hr Comic Challenge October 2102

Some of the good is finding out I can crank and idea into being, get a reasonable outline and storyboards done inside 24hrs. At least one character created in the process may see further adventures in my other projects.
Knowing that by habit I can get stuck over-thinking and planning the "get it done" aspect totally put me outside my element, which was good. I had the same feeling after finishing my first NaNoWriMo a few years back.
Once my current projects are in full swing I may find a place to do this once a month or maybe every other month just to keep flexing those muscles.

Kudu

Today's lunch doodle done in pen and watercolor while eating at Rock San.

Pen and Ink

Broke out the nibs, brush and a bottle of Black Star for my lunch doodles today. It gave me a very different line and slower than I get with the prismacolor pens I normally work with. I liked the end result and found the slower process very relaxing :)

October Commission CLOSED

These are character only sketches drawn on 9 X 12 inch Bristol. I will be taking up to 50 commissions between now and Oct 31.

PRICING:

OPTION 1 - Traditional Colors (or grayscale washes) and Original mailed to you : $25 US (includes shipping)

OPTION 2 – Traditional Colors (or grayscale washes) finished file e-mailed to you: $20 US – NOTE THIS IS DIGITAL FILE ONLY!

A NOTE ON TRADITIONAL COLORS: These are done with a variety of tools primarily: watercolor, pen, ink, marker and compressed pastel.

Here is a sample of a color piece.

Here is a sample of a grayscale piece.

SUBJECT MATTER: I will draw pinups but NO PORN, so anything else is fair game.

HOW TO SUBMIT A REQUEST:

Send me a note or email me at: idol_shepherd@sbcglobal.net with (COMMISSION REQUEST) as the subject. Also include the following:

Name

Deviant Art Name ( if applicable)

Shipping Address ( if purchasing Original work)

PayPal address – I will send you an invoice

Description- Which option you want? What do you want drawn? Supply as much detail as possible and any references or links to references you think are important.

• Once I receive your request I will look it over to see if I feel it is something doable and send you an invoice.
• When you receive the invoice and send payment I will get a batch of 3 concept sketches based on your description, and references, done and emailed to you.
• You will then choose one of the 3 and make any final notes/changes in your reply.
• From there I will work on the final piece and let you now when it is done and sent off in the mail (if you purchased the original)

PAYMENTS:

Are accepted through Paypal only. Send me your Paypal address and I will send you an invoice.

Things to know:

• Work will not start until payment has been received.
• Unless you request otherwise your commission may end up in the gallery.
• I will send you 3 roughs to pick from, then go straight to work after you make your choice and any final notes made when picking from the 3 roughs.
• Can you make changes after picking from the roughs? Sorry not this time around I have a set amount of time to get this done. Any drives I do in the future will have the option for a $10 US charge.
• If you chose OPTION 1 I will email you when the finished work has been mailed off as well as a small digital version.
• You can add a character to the drawing for $10 US.
• Keep in mind the size of the work area (9 X 12 inches) when thinking of what you want drawn, more characters or full body will mean less space for details.
• I will be working these in blocks so it will take at least two weeks for me to get the work done.
• You can post the finished work as long as you give me credit.

new sketchbook

Bought a tan toned sketchbook and decided to break it in at lunch

pens, watercolor, brush, markers and crayons

Pennywise!

todays challenge from Stephen King's "IT"

Crypt Keeper

30 min, watecolor, pen and acrylic. pretty happy with this one :)

Elvira sketch 18 min

watercolor and ink

Pinhead

22min watercolor and ink

Jack the Pumpkin King

18 min watercolor and ink

October fun Lily Munster

Had a lot of fun working the grey on this one. Tried dabbing away paint and some smearing. I also kept the lines fairly loose and thin.

Sketchbook stuff

Doodles of characters from my web comics and a tree on a sketch card

Lunch sketch and prep for October short.

Playing with style and mixed media

Judge Death

30 min sketch done with watercolor, color pencil, pen and china marker

Invisible Woman Sketch

a quick 30 min watercolor and pen sketch

Maleficent

watercolor and pen, 30min sketch

More sketch challenges

Here are Ursula and the Queen from Snow White

Idea crunching

Working out details for my webcomic

Daily Sketch Cruella DeVille

A lunch request

One of those rare times someone asks for a sketch at lunch and I say yes.

Working towards goals

Alot of things are in flux right now, some from the creative end other things are just the mile markers and detours on the road of life.
Doing my timesheet at work today I realized I could take almost the last two months of the year with the unused hours I have built up.
This doesn't deter me from wanting to finish getting the September projects off the ground, but it does present the option of time I didn't consider before with an income still rolling in.
It is something for me to think about and discuss with the family.  I know what I will be pondering today whenever I have a free moment to think.

Quick lunch sketch

Here is a quick Cain and fairy done at lunch today

Grey studies at lunch

Trying something different I did some studies for chapter covers.

Goblin Deathknight

Watercolor and pen, for the daily sketch challenge over at Outcast Studios.

Rhino doodle

Lunch doodle fun

Rock San again :)

Ostrich doodle

Then and Now

Here is a quick comparison of the three cards I did recently and the ones I drew a year ago with the same characters. I think there has been a fair amount of progress made :)

Lunch at bigs

Here we have the model and the doodle