Thursday warmup

Just a quickie concept.

Random!

There's been a lot going on lately, so I'll just dive right into it:

I went to Sierra Madre on Saturday to visit "Beantown". Had breakfast there and had a relaxing morning. There's live music in the evenings, so I'll definitely be going back! Like my other cafe sketches, I'll be doing the tone work in Photoshop.



"Blues Guitarist" was the theme at Drawing Club last Thursday. The model was great and I was privileged to hear Led Zeppelin (mostly) non-stop. Some might call this torture, but only because I was singing along. These are my better sketches:






And finally, the last page of my "Summer 2007" sketchbook. It's filled up ALREADY! I figured a sunset would be appropriate.

Monday warmup

So followin' good advice, I relaxed a bit this weekend and finished watchin' Firefly.
Quite an entertainin' series and I'm a mite 'plexed as ta why they'd pull the old plug. I'm supposin' the show had a way 'a getting into a person's mindset.

Maybe more than a just a little.

March!

... and march quickly. February is spent.
I've been super busy lately with B-Movie Starlets, life drawing and extra classes. Here's a quick sampler of activity:

A lunchtime cafe sketch from two weeks ago. This is another visit to Romancing the Bean in downtown Burbank.



This is Java Joe's in Santa Barbara. The weather was gloomy, but there were people everywhere. ESPECIALLY in the coffee shops.



Tonal values pending on these. I want to give them a monochromatic Photoshop treatment.


Wednesday night life drawing at the Lynn Studio.
Eight bucks will get you three hours, coffee, and a very stiff drawing horse.
Mental note: Bring a cushion next time.





Cheers to another productive month!

Tuesday warmup

Ooh! Look out!
The suspense is so thick you can cut it with... uh...

...a quasi-futuristic bayonet?

Mileage

I put 300+ miles on the bike last weekend and there's more in store this Saturday! (Weather permitting)

This is a warmup sketch that went on for far too long:

Dr. Sketchy

I tried out a new life drawing venue on Sunday.

Quote: "Dr. Sketchy's is what happens when burlesque meets art school."

http://www.myspace.com/dr_sketchy_losangeles

The session started late because the time slot was double-booked, so everybody did one minute warm-up sketches in the parking lot outside. When I showed up and saw artists sketching a burlesque dancer posing on the curb, I had a newfound appreciation for artistic courage.
Once inside, we listened to hobo bluegrass music followed immediately by a Megadeth medley. Not sure if my drawings are better or worse for it.






I was feeling inspired Monday morning so I went cafe sketching.
My skillz are rusty, so I'm going to do at least one of these every weekend.



The family in the background was adorable. I understand why folks enjoy people-watching so much.
But it always bugs when people change their behavior because they know you're drawing them. This guy in the foreground knew exactly what I was up to.
(Maybe I shouldn't have asked him to hold still?)

Who's worried?

I try to do some warmup sketches every morning to shake the bad drawings out of the pencil (penmouse). This one's been ongoing for two days. Figured I'd call it done and put it up!

I think I'll join the Navy...

The Drawing Club's theme last week was "Sailor Girl"
Here's some sketches:







Here's Audrey in a hurry:


And Zorn in a tizzy:
(SOMEBODY had to work all weekend)

Quickie:

Took the bike for a cruise through Griffith Park last night. Guess I've got Ironhorse on the brain.
(But what's new about that?)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

1, 2, ...



...600!
I nabbed this monster last week and I've got ALL kinds of schemes lined up for two-wheeled mayhem!

Ah, mayhem. It's been too long.


And I'll toss in this quick sketch of Amber in the throes of musical ecstasy. There's nothing like listening to great songs while you're drawing!



By the way, 2 Starlets pages down... 113 to go. :P

Sexy nails

...I mean: sexy THUMBnails. I've finally finished (!) and the page count is 115.
This is the biggest project I've undertaken so far and it's pretty cool to just look at it in one shot.
Stare closely if you want to ruin the ending (and your vision).



Incidentally, all these thumbnail sheets are 11x17 Tabloid paper with 21 Comic size templates printed on them. A fine way to work for those who draw small:



On to the next hurdle!
Penciled pages on the way!

But first, a quick trip to Joshua Tree to celebrate:

A photographic update:

Not many people can claim that they get ink done at the laundromat unless they're extremely poor or they're comic book artists (in many cases, both are true). Here's yours truly inking the new Rankinstein.com index page. If the exploding monster head brought you here, then you've already seen the color version. If not, go to rankinstein.com and put your arrow over the fresh part. ...




I'm REALLY picky about my animal drawings, so I haven't got any that are post-worthy. But here's a picture from the LA Zoo of a fanged asian deer. (Yes, those are fangs.)




And finally, the project that's been eating up prime Starlets time: the Hard 8 Gallery show at Nickelodeon. I've been going through all my concept material and original artwork from volumes 1 and 2, wanting DESPERATELY to re-draw some pages. But that would be cheating. :P
On a side note, get to Aaron Brothers and pick up some frames! The sale ends soon!

Merry Christmas!

Behind the Starlets...

Even though the graphic novel has been taking up most of my spare time, I LOVE getting out and drawing from life.
There was another competition at the LA equestrian center 2 weeks ago. This one featured jumping and I discovered that it's REAL tough for horses to hold a pose in mid-air. Luckily, I brought my camera along so I could do homework later. Here are the sketches and their respective photographs:









These (blurry) shots were taken in the warm-up area. The competition jumps were held in the arena and were quite a bit higher than these. It's really amazing to see these horses jump so high.

This week, the Drawing Club featured The Replicant (Pris) from Blade Runner.
Unfortunately, my camera wasn't welcome there. :P








The B-Movie Starlets thumbs have reached page 101, with about 20 more to go! After I finish the home stretch, I'll put up more stuff.

Cheers!