Thursday, November 15, 2012

Sweet Squares November 8th-14th

Well that last week went fast! Turkey day is coming up, I can almost smell those mashed potatoes. So here's week 2 of my Sweet Squares. It was a fun doing these, I played around with more color and loosened up a bit. Enjoy!


Nov. 8th - November wouldn't be complete with out putting a moustache on something. Here's a cat for Movember , complete with moustache and top hat. I think he lost his monocle. This one was quickly done in watercolor pencil. I dipped the tip in water so the pencils had a soft feel to them, almost like pastels crayons. Probably the wrong way to use them, but I really liked how this turned out. Don't be surprised if you see something else with a moustache later this month.


Nov. 9th - Here's my attempt at a self portrait cartoon style. It need some work to say the least. Talk about helmet head…

Nov. 10th - After reading runaway bunny I had this vision of a bunny in his den after the carrot harvest. Totally stuffed, he had to take a little nap. He'd sleep in his bed, but it's covered in carrots!

Nov. 11th - Bunny theme continued, this is a pattern idea for a sleeper, or a tee. I colored it digitally in photoshop. Quick, fun, and easy! Will definitely try this method again.

Nov.12th - A study of a polar bear for my christmas cards this year. It might be a little early, but if I don't do it now no one will get their cards until January. Bring on the snow!

Nov.13th - I need a background for my website and twitter accounts. I thought bubbles would tie in nicely with bits n baubles.

Nov. 14th - Another sketch study of a polar bear for the Christmas card. This is the one I'm going with. I'm going to add couple of penguins and color it in. Not sure what medium yet.

Well there you have it! Week 2 of Sweet Squares. Are you doing sweet squares this month or SkADaMo ? Post your link for me, I'd love to see everyone's work!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Sweet Squares November 2nd-7th

Well the first week of this project went fast. Christmas will be here before we know it. Not very colorful this week. It's been easier drawing at the end of the day than the beginning, so most of these were drawn while I was in my jammies.

Nov. 2nd - Eeek! I didn't want to post this one. It's not really finished. We have all these great Prismacolor markers lying around the office from the yesteryear of catalog design. Most of them still work too! Found out that soft graphite pencils tend to smear when the marker is applied so it looks a little muddy. Do you believe they used to give all the employees here milk and cookies everyday every afternoon?? Add a nap in there and now you're talking!


Nov. 3rd - I love coffee. Nuff said.

Nov. 4th -Can this squirrel possibly fit another seed in his mouth?? Yep, he's going to try...

Nov. 5th - Contour lines...what else can I say about contour lines?

Nov. 6th - I voted for President...Barak Obama won. I'm not into politics so I'm not going to say who I voted for.


Nov. 7th - A little bit of character work. I keep wondering if my characters have enough depth to them. These were fun to do, so I might keep trying some more.

So that's that for the first week of Sweet Squares. Feel free to drop a line, I'd love to hear about your own sweet square experiment. Just leave your blog or web address. Onward to week 2...

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Artisans' Hands Debut

A couple of months ago I designed a logo for a local store in Buffalo, NY called Artisans' Hands. Last week was their debut! They have a wonderful selection from 10,000 Villages and will eventually sell local handcrafted goods in the future. Perhaps I found a vehicle to sell some prints?? So If you live in the the Buffalo region stop by and check it out!
  



Thursday, November 1, 2012

30 Day Challenge - Sweet Squares

So it's been 2 months since I decided to get back into the habit of putting pencil to paper. But I still don't do it everyday. I heard about a project from one of the ladies in my illustrator critique group, Kelli Brooks who was inspired by Diandra Mae (who was inspired by Melissa Sweet). The idea is to produce a little something in a 3x3 square and experiment using a different medium or technique each day for 30 days. I've decided to start my own "Sweet Squares" and who knows maybe I'll find MY style.

Day 1 -
Funky Mushroom Trees, Graphite on Paper