Todays Drawing

Working more on character design and just having fun drawing.

A New Project

I started preliminary studies for my next project. The book is set in Cambodia and will be featuring elephants as the main characters. As part of the process of designing the characters, I am studying how to draw realistic elephants first. Even though I have done many many studies of elephants in the past, I still feel this is necessary. Even though I have drawn numerous elephants in the past, I am consistently amazed at the new aspects of the elephant that I see.

Bow Tie Guy of the Day: Kangaraffe

Kangaraffe (ˈkaŋgəˈraf)

The kangaraff, sometimes regard to as the giraffaroo, is a large rare created found in the very remote areas of Austrailia, They travel in towering troops. These docile, plant eating creatures are a little smaller than the average giraffe.  If they cannot reach vegetation with their long necks they have the added advantage of being able to jump to reach the highest trees. 

This creature has been jumping around in my head for some time. I am grateful I was finally able to get it out of my head and onto paper.

Summer Sketching At VINS

Last week, as part of my Animal Studies Drawing class, we went to VINS (Vermont Institute of Natural Science) to draw the raptors they had there. Aside from educating individuals about the environment, VINS is an avian wildlife rehabilitation center. They take in wounded birds and help them, if possible, get back into the wild.  It is an incredible place to visit. I scheduled time to draw some of their birds one on one with the students. This allowed us an opportunity to draw the birds up close and in motion, which is a challenge. I found that through this level of observation, I gained a much greater understanding of how to draw the birds we saw. It was nothing short of incredible. I struggled and struggled to capture the birds in motion. It was wonderfully frustrating.  When I went to draw after we left, I could draw the bird better without looking at references. It was imbedded into my memory more effectively. 

Above is my sketch of one of the turkey vultures. The first is my original sketch, the second is my digital painting and the last is my first attempt at watercolors in a long time.

Summer Sketching Softball

Summer is a wonderful time to sketch. As I have mentioned before, I try to always have my sketch book with me. This is my youngest son up to bat.