I like old Video Games.

    Many times when I sketch or have a long project I'll either listen to music.  Or, I'll hop onto Youtube and find an old video game (be it a playthrough/walkthrough (or whatever you call it) because I find the music can be very good, and you don't always need to play the game to kinda enjoy the sounds of game play.

    Recently I watched a old NES play through while I happen to have my big Photoshop file open (It's a large workspace I keep open for mucking about with process/sketches/color experimentation) and I fiddled this out based on a cut scene... Something about Ninja Gaiden and its cinematic style of storytelling between game play has always stuck with me.  Hard game, memorable music, really nice graphics in the cinematics.

Hope you dig.
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Eat Your Art Out 6!

I'll have some work on display tonight, out on the west coast in sunny L.A.

This will be my second year showing with the Angel City Derby Girls, and the theme for this year was Creature Feature at the Drive-In.  The subject has made for some fun artwork based on what I've seen thus far. 

Personally, I struggled a bit to figure out what I wanted to do for the show.  A lot of back and forth with varied Ideas and executions.  When all was said and done I opted to draw a blob sort of character.  Perhaps I'll attach some of my other sketch ideas in the coming weeks. 
Come to think of it, I might just haul off and make some of the other art ideas I had for this show just to practice some new techniques.  Practice is a good thing right?

"Maybe We Could Talk to the Projectionist?"
Pen, Marker, Pencil on Vellum 2013.

So if you find yourself looking for something to do in L.A. tonight go check out the show.
See info at the AngelCity Derby Girls Site.
 

Hope you dig.
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NoisyROBOT

He hopped around on his metal feet, while passing down a quiet street.
The buildings all echoed, while his vocal cords rang.
"CLING, CLANG, CLANG-A-DANG!"

Another fun time robot drawing, with some quickie Photoshop treatment, to keep myself loose.  Lately my plan for doing digital color has been changing a bit..  I try to spend more time knocking out quick compositions and focusing on color selection verses a lot of time spent rendering.

I'm rather happy with the outcome, right now.  It lets me incorporation a simple pen drawing I've done with some digital stuff.  Simply and effective.

Hope you dig,
P

ENCHANTED BOTTLE!

I seem to draw lots of cartoon figures lately, and they're often running somewhere.

It's not really a bear, or a beer for that matter.  But, this little fella is chasing after some liquid refreshment.  I imagine that come Friday night I'll probably do the same.

Hope you dig,
P

It's a Mouse.

"I just wanted to know if you have a snack for me."

Here be a little rodent.  I sure do like mice.
Hope you dig,

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Flowpacity

Hey All,

It's been a smaller delay this time while I sorted out some gallery work and began to ramp up to the March Modok Madness for 2013.  I've still been drawing a fair amount too, just sluggish to post much of anything up.  To rectify that I'm gonna post up these studies I painted in photoshop. 

Yep, I've become closer and more cordial with Photoshop in the past few years.  There was a time when I wouldn't have dared to render something from scratch (mainly because I like the feel of having some manner of hand drawn or scanned element to play with) for fear that it would look too rigid, and awful.  The passage of time however, has called on me to do Photoshop paints that were quick and pretty... So, I adapted.

Probably the biggest epiphanies came from that first set of Ryan Church paint demos I saw.  Granted he was painting in Painter (not Photoshop) but, his approach to the process was revolutionary for me to look at and implement.  From then on I watched (and rewatched) samples of Seiler, Chiu, Bluhm, Zhu, and countless others just looking at how people paint and digitally.  Picking up habits that worked along the way, and trying new things.

Both of these lines were made with the same brush, using Black.

However, It wasn't until about a week ago that I'd read an online tutorial about resetting the FLOW of a brush as opposed to changing its OPACITY.  I'd always dinked around with opacity settings knew the hot keys right off the top of my head.  But, something new clicked in my brain this time.  I found a new way of approaching my work in photoshop.  By monkeying with the flow settings now I feel like the paints are more lively, flexible and I've had fun incorporating it into my workflow.

• So manage those layers while trying to keep them at a minimum.
• You CAN do a whole lot with that basic round brush.
• It's much easier on your eyes to interface with a workspace that is midtone.
• Check your values, and remember that you can always add color later.

Will shoot to share more soon!

Hope you dig,
P

Finley Ferrumfanny...

Here is a friendly little rusted out ROBOT pal I sketched... He was drawn with markers and some pen and I tinkered with him in the photoshops..   The stuff he's saying has no meaning,  but when I drew him I imagined he was just saying Hello in his native robot language...

Other then that, I'm still sketching. Working with the newly acquired Copic maker set I'm putting together.  Putting together a showpiece and cooking korean food a the moment.
Just trying to keep busy.

Hope you dig.
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Little Marker Studies.

I've been doing some more playing about with markers of late.  Making a small set of COPIC markers that I can work with in the coming weeks and months..  I've been doing these small little characters to practice blending and color mixing so that maybe Everything I post on the blog isn't just me working in PHOTOSHOP.  I'm also trying to familiarize myself with the limited palette that I'm trying to set up.

My favorite scribble here is the whacky looking wolf.  And the strange dude in the pink pants.

Hope you dig.
P