Kitten Day!

Kitten Day: Taffy
9x12 Prismacolor marker, Sharpie, and Staedtler Lumocolor on Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media paper

Sketchbook page.

Tracing paper transfer. 

Prismacolor marker outlines.

DONE!

My friend, Heather - Daily Cat Drawings on Tumblr - hosted a Kitten Day reblog-a-thon today as a means of calming anxieties over the results of the election. I know little Taffy doesn't have the power to heal the hurt that so many feel right now, but I hope she managed to bring smiles to the hurting.

Taffy was inspired, in part, by my late cat, Gimpy. While not actually three-legged, Gimpy earned his name for his gimpy foreleg. He passed away July 2015. Although sorely missed, he brightened my life, and my brother and parents' lives, in more ways than I can count. 

INKvember 2016, #2: You Know Who Forever Belong To

INKvember 2016, #2: You Know Who Forever Belong To
9x12 technical pen, white gel pen, and gouache on Canson XL watercolor paper

Digital draft drawn December 6th, 2012.

Rough pencil sketch made to 'feel' the composition.

Poorly-lit reference selfies GO.

Fixed both Paranoid and Human Paranoid's faces.

Fixed Human Paranoid's legs using photos of people and sculptures as reference. 

Inking always begins with eyes and faces.

I wasn't satisfied with Human Paranoid's hand. Cut out faulty line with an X-Acto knife and lifted it from paper surface. One of the advantages of working on watercolor paper!

Hand looks better, though now it's too large.

DONE!

This illustration is inspired by the song "I Against I" by Massive Attack featuring Mos Def. It's long been a part of Paranoid's inspiration playlist.

I love using my technical pens on watercolor paper; its absorbency ensures rich, solid inks and high detail retention. After the craziness of Inktober, it was nice to spend four days finishing this piece!

INKvember 2016, #1!

INKvember #1: Epic Mount
9x12 Derwent Inkstense and watercolor pencil on Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media paper

"Placemat" doodle on a sheet of bristol I taped to my desk.

Sketched in Staedtler Ergosoft watercolor pencil and Mars Lumograph HB pencil.

Outlining and filling with Derwent Inktense.

DONE! I colored my caricature with Prismacolor markers; outlined with Pentel Color Brush.

Obligatory skewed angle shot.

November 1st was National Self-Portrait Day and the first day of Draw Dinovember. I combined the two for silly wish-fulfillment. How awesome would it be to have a pet hummingbird raptor? :D

I was going to devote November to Draw Dinovember entirely, but it's better for me to focus on my own characters. I can spend more time developing my other stories!

INKtober 2016, Day 31!

INKtober 2016, Day 31: Grumpy Unicorn
5x7 brush pen on Utrecht American Master's Multicolor printmaking paper

Last Inktober drawing: a grumpy unicorn. Always feels nice to finish a drawing challenge with something silly! Inked using a Staedtler Mars Graphic 3000 duo brush pen.

INKtober 2016, Day 30!

INKtober 2016, Day 30: Barn Owl Linocuts
5x7 linocut prints on Utrecht American Master's Multicolor printmaking paper

Speedball brand Speedy-Carve block. It's even better than Blick's version!

Test print at left; inked linoleum on inking plate.

Obligatory desk shot!

Another series of linocut prints I made to celebrate one of my favorite birds: the barn owl!