'Ey Oy! It's Me Drawrings Page!

Friday Night Lifedrawing Spring Studio

2012-01-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

Final Kubert Assignment

2011-12-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

The fifth assignment was to do a page of sequential art. You could use the script provided or you could do something of your own. I decided I wanted to do a Spiderman page.

Still an amateur. But I'm getting better.

mini buscema figure studies

2011-11-14T15:46:00.001-08:00

these are on 18x24" paper

Kubert Assignment 4

2011-11-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

breakdown and tones.

Arm studies

2011-10-20T14:21:00.001-07:00

Leg Studies

2011-10-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

hellboy sketch

2011-09-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

Deisgn work for next Assignment

2011-09-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

Working on the designs for the next Joe Kubert Penciling assignment. This one has a space theme.

blind contour w/ shading

2011-09-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

I did a bunch of blind contour drawings a la Nicolaides during life drawing. No looking at the page while the pencil was moving. I loved the folds on the woman's pantaloons so I had to add some shading.

Batman warm-up

2011-09-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

Joe Kubert Assignment 3 w/critique

2011-08-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

Assignment: Divide board into half. On left half show a jungle hero leaping through the tree tops. On the right, a costumed superhero climbing the side of a building.

drawing and inking attempt

2011-08-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Shanna

2011-05-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Scratched this one out at Iggy's in the LES. Bigups to Eric.

Kubert Penciling Assignment 2 w/ Critique

2011-05-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

The assignment was to design a cover for a comic book showing a cavewoman falling through the air and a caveman sitting on the back of a flying pterodactyl.

SPiDeY!!!

2011-03-10T12:13:00.001-08:00

KUBERT Penciling Assignment 1 AND CRITIQUE

2011-02-17T12:11:00.000-08:00

I'm doing the Joe Kubert School Penciling correspondence course. This is my completed first assignment.

The instructions were to devote the upper two-thirds of the board to the design of the hero. Then do three panels:
1. A panorama of a western town with a small dust cloud approaching.
2. The dust cloud turns out to be a cowboy on horseback.
3. Angle from inside wrecked shack as the villain takes aim at the unsuspecting cowboy.

t-shirt design

2010-11-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

this is for my friend james' fabrication shop

recent work

2010-09-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

On Mount Lu there is misty rain,
And the River Zhe is at high tide.
When you have not been there,
your heart is filled with longing;

But when you have been there and come back,
it was nothing special.
Misty rain on Mount Lu,
The River Zhe at high tide.

Sotoba, Chinese Poet (1036~1101)

Prospect Park

2010-06-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

Did some outdoor sketching, 'cause that's what I'm most intimidated by.

Crown Heights

2010-06-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my kitchen window. That hulking monstrosity on the left with all the windows is the apartment complex they built on Ebbets Field, where the Brooklyn Dodgers used to have their stadium.

School Days, Fool Days

2010-04-25T18:17:00.001-07:00

Ok so this blog had to go unnerground for a bit 'cause of how surreal my life became over the past five months but i am back for those several pairs of eyes that come here and I THANK YOU for your PATRONAGE and PATIENCE.

good lord - life is a trip. ANYWAY! HEY!

so I took some classes at the Art Students League in NYC over the past few months and here are the fruits of that venture:

(The "notes" on the left hand side of these two life drawings are by Frank Porcu, anatomy instructor at ASL.)

life drawing?

2010-02-19T12:53:00.001-08:00

So - you know I lead a double life? Crime fighter by day, artist by night.

Actually, I fight crime at night. But never mind.

Well the JOB held me hostage at an undisclosed location in Long Island for most of the month of January.

It was somewhere along a stretch of highway in the Hamptons.

This was the snowy view out my window:

I had the privilege to meet many fine and gentle individuals while I was there. (And I mean that).

So now I am back in New York City.

Sometimes this place takes my breath away. There are so many beautiful strange and sad things here.

I just started taking some ART classes at a CLASSICAL ACADEMY. The students in my life drawing class spend hours, even days, drawing the model in the same damn pose.

I'm not sure what the purpose of it is. I've never done it before so I guess its worth a try.

warmups and jen

2009-12-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some studio sketches to warm-up.

Motor City Bar Sketches

2009-11-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

Halloween A-go-go

2009-11-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

I spent Friday night and Halloween morning at Motor City bar sketching while Anna Copa Cabanna tore it up on the go-go stage in a sexy Ace Frehley costume.

Is there anything better than drinking, listening to rock n' roll, and sketching a beautiful dancing girl all at the same time? Maybe one or two things.

2009-10-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

2009-10-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

Rabbit running with shirt on backwards

John K's Kaspar

2009-09-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Construction Practice

2009-08-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

10/08/09
Lower body way too small. Head too wide.

10/05/09

10/2/09

09/28/09

09/27/09

9/16/09

9/14/09

09/10/09

08/21/09
Chest still not pushed out enough. Figure still too long. Better solidity and line weight.

08/20/09
Need to watch height and width. Do not flatten curves. Elmer's line of action is too shallow, so figure is too long and not wide enough, less energy.

Resume for John K

2009-08-18T12:38:00.001-07:00

Drinkin' and Drawin'

2009-08-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

I did these last night at Motor City Bar in NYC. The colors are garish, but then again I was coloring by candlelight.

Spaces are hard!

2009-08-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Studio corner w/ instruments

2009-07-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

Spiderman with whiteout blunder

2009-06-25T00:18:00.000-07:00

Go, Conan, Go!

2009-06-16T09:53:00.001-07:00

Studio, Opposite Corner

2009-06-07T09:09:00.001-07:00

New Studio Arrangement

2009-05-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Thank God for Gay Porn

2009-05-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

I have to go to a lot of gay porn sites to study male anatomy.

2009-05-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

Thunder! Thunder!

2009-05-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

The Foot, the Fist, the Shield

2009-05-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

ba-man!

2009-05-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Green Goblin

2009-05-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

swimmer value studies

2009-04-17T00:40:00.000-07:00

supergirl

2009-04-02T21:17:00.001-07:00

wonder woman

2009-03-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

Females

2009-03-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

javelin thrower

2009-03-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

trying to do a hogarth with the 3/4 shadow.

hellboy sketch

2009-02-16T17:34:00.001-08:00

Trixie Little and Evil Hate Monkey

2009-02-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

Dr. Sketchy - Aprella and Veronica Varlow

2009-02-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

Studio space

2009-01-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

Working up an orthographic projection of my studio.

From L to R: Rough map of room with measurements; floor plan with elevations; floor plan with projection.

Trying to learn how to draw

2008-12-03T09:50:00.001-08:00

My drawing skills need some work, so I am going out to the woodshed for a while.

Started doing some technical drawings of interiors to strengthen my sense of perspective.

My rendering is for sh$t so that's up next.

the narcissist

2008-09-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

front-gabled classical italianate er something

2008-09-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

I scaled down the windows and chimney and got rid of the porch entirely. I think it looks much cleaner.

I like the right side of the house although the windows are too big. The front side is way to cluttered. I am liking the way the pieces are fitting together.

good lord i can't nail this image down..

Saltbox house

2008-08-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

JK's notes:
I would throw away the rulers though - lines are too straight-that makes things look mechanical and cold - give the house some weight and make it a bit more organic

and you still are filling up negative spaces

your tree in the bg has nice second level leaf clumps, but the tree iis filling up the space between the house and the fg tree

the bush to the right of the house is eating the house silhouette - if you moved it a bity to the right and left space between it and the house, it would make a better overall composition

look at some of the comic examples I post for less mechanical lines and forms

House and Yard

2008-08-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

JK's notes (ouch):
way too flat and wonky

the opposite of what I've been asking for

look at the millions of examples I put up for ya

2008-08-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

2008-08-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

took a break from practicing background design today.

Chaos!

2008-08-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

2008-08-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

my scanner broke... dammit...

Blah!!!

2008-07-29T14:36:00.001-07:00

trying to find some way out of this stale, stiff rut I'm in...

Church Bench Tree

2008-07-28T20:54:00.001-07:00

Church composition steps

2008-07-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

basic shapes

ROUGH value study

at this point i see that the right side of the tree has moved over and diminished the negative space in the center of the picture. also the shapes of the leaves are overlapping and not as clear.
i am having trouble settling on a shape for the bench. i dropped and bowed the eaves of the church to make it slightly more cartoony.

Now I am playing around with the scale of the church and the shape of the tree. there are a million possibilities for everything.

which is better? i think the smaller one is. it makes the composition less symmetrical.

Experimenting with different church shapes. Trying to make it cartoony but not wonky or cramped or too grafic.

The drawing has strayed considerably from the original shape design without really improving the composition. So I crop off the top and straighten the tree to bring it back to that first idea. I still like the more classical, less cartoony church so I am going to stay with that.

There. That is the basic design. It looks a little stiff to me so I am going to have to make the details look fun and spontaneous without being unclear or scribbly. This is the part that scares me. I'd be the first to admit that I am not great when it comes down to details. I don't yet have that caligraphic touch that makes cartoons so beautiful.

Ideally I would like the finish to look something like this harvey eisenberg panel:

cabin interior pan

2008-07-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

JK's notes:
same notes as always

too busy
too filled
everything is evenly spaced
details too messy and indistinct
needs to be more cartoony

every shape should be a distinct design

chair perspective is not working

the right side should be bigger from that angle

More cartoony version

2008-07-21T13:17:00.001-07:00

Church Tree and Bench

2008-07-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

...and just a fun doodle:

More thumbnails

2008-07-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Foliage Studies

2008-07-08T12:31:00.001-07:00

Thumbnails

2008-07-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

John K's Notes

2008-07-07T07:50:00.001-07:00

1) details follow the forms-no scribbling

2) Negative areas to surround the filled shapes

3) Avoid even spacing of similar objects (trees, houses, etc.)

4) Every shape distinct, no wobbly accidents (like the shape of the hill in your top church pic and the shapeless bushes)

Divide your picture into few major forms.

Use Negative space to make your positive major forms read clearly.

Do not completely cover your objects with details, and wrap the details around the form of the objects.

Just don't try to make a picture by starting with the details. Get an overall graphic statement first that tells the viewer what he's looking at easily, then break it up into careful sub-structures and textures.

More Church Ideas

2008-07-02T09:05:00.001-07:00

Not a big fan of this next one. Not cartoony. Boring symmetrical design. But I do like that the statue of Mary at the left somehow became the Gorton's Fisherman.

Third BG based on thumbnails

2008-06-26T12:59:00.001-07:00

Cabin Scene from Thumbnail #2

2008-06-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

A melancholy idiot watches the sunset.

Hey look what happens when I just erase all the clutter from the background. It becomes a much better drawing! I am slow to catch on. Is it too much open space?

Cabin Scenes based on thumbnails

2008-06-19T10:19:00.001-07:00

#1 Well the shapes aren't terribly interesting and the textures are pretty cliche, but at least there's more negative space around everything.

Cabin Scene Thumbnails

2008-06-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

I did these cabin scenes trying to channel Gribbroek. I like Nos. 4, 6 and 7.

Robert Gribbroek BG Layout Trace Exercise

2008-06-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

On his blog John K suggested tracing these layouts. Even in 3"x 4" thumbnails Gribbroek's designs read extraordinarily well. Simple and clear!

Church

2008-06-11T11:53:00.001-07:00

Two more versions. Per John's comments, more cartoony I hope. I'm trying to leave out everything except the church, the ground plane and a wave of trees in the background. How come that goddamn bench keeps popping up?

Trying for a clean composition with few basic shapes and lots of negative space.

Cabin ideas

2008-06-06T19:20:00.001-07:00

House ideas

2008-06-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

House and Yard BG

2008-06-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

Cabin at Night BG

2008-05-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sitting Stump BG line and render

2008-05-27T13:03:00.001-07:00

GL's Neighborhood

2008-05-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

George Liquor Home Background Concept

2008-05-23T12:36:00.001-07:00

warmup drawings (all copies)

2008-05-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

George IIXIXVCM (copies)

2008-05-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Drawing thick thin lines with a pencil is HARD.

George Liquor's Rambler

2008-05-16T01:30:00.001-07:00

Rambler Studies

2008-05-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

60 Rambler

58 Rambler

58 Rambler Sedan

59 Rambler Six

George's Car

2008-05-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

More George (copies)

2008-05-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

John K's George Liquor (copies)

2008-05-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

Copies

Jack Kirby rip-off

2008-03-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

I swiped stuff from a few different Kirby pieces and put them together. No originality here, just trying to absorb something of his style.

hellboy sketch

2008-03-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

marker girl

2008-03-20T18:13:00.001-07:00

More Dr. Sketchiness

2008-03-20T01:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend our model was burlesque dancer Pandora in a tribute to state control.

Dr. Sketchy

2008-03-01T22:04:00.001-08:00

I went to my first Dr. Sketchy in Williamsburg, BK. The scheduled model didn't show up, which turned out to be a blessing because the lovely Molly Crabapple herself took the stage in a sequined teddy. grrrrrrowl.

The theme of the day was David Bowie, hence the Union Jack.

breaking in my new drawing table in brooklyn

2008-01-31T21:07:00.001-08:00

11

2007-05-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend John K. and Bill Plympton hosted a mini-animation festival at the Portage theater in Chicago.

John was doing caricatures after the shows. Watching him draw is like watching porn. He uses felt tip marker and makes these strong, quick lines.

He made this caricature of me. I love it! Everybody got a little Ren or Stimpy at the bottom of their drawing. I had an idea that he was using them to reflect what he perceived to be the personality of the sitter. If so, what is he saying about me, I wonder???!

I was inspired and did a whole bunch of caricatures when I got home on Saturday. Here are some:

Interlude: Old Crap, getting serious, and my first stab at animation

2007-05-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

Fits and Starts.

This was my first real commission, a cover for a book published by a law firm here in Chicago. I asked for $600 bucks and expected them to come back with half that. But they agreed! It never hurts to ask.

I didn't really think I could draw back then (still don't, sometimes.) I wasn't drawing consistently which is very bad for confidence. I sweated over every damn pen line and was so nervous about screwing something up that I did the figures separately and photoshopped them together. It's not a very good way to work.

Later I did drawings for a flash animated music video. It was a good excuse to work out some depth and composition problems.

Afterwards we decided to come up with an idea for an animated cartoon. I tried my hand at character design. This is me trying to be Alex Toth and failing. The lines are dead dead DEAD!

I put a lot of work and time into this project. I came up with script ideas and everything. It wasn't a very original concept but I felt like I was doing some real work! I'm, like, a production designer dood!

Unfortunately the people I was working with had terrible follow through. All that time and hard work down the shitter. This made me very very angry.

Ok, maybe not THAT angry. But I was disappointed and this fed into my overall feelings of alienation and gloominess. Nobody likes hand drawn stuff anymore. Nobody seems to care very deeply about craftsmanship. Nobody takes projects seriously unless they're getting paid or laid or both. Blah blah blah.

So I left for India, land of a thousand religions. Maybe there I would find some sort of answer to my vexing spiritual problems!

God, what a beautiful country.

And HOT!

One really good thing about taking extended trips in foreign lands is that you learn what you miss and what you don't. Old habits and ways of thinking that dull routine have cemented in place fall away, and given the whole day from sun-up to sun-down to do what you will, without any sense of obligation, it's very easy to see where your natural impulses lie. I did not have any major spiritual revelations in India, but I did learn two things:

1. I have this weird compulsion to put marks on paper.

2. I really missed the Great American Sense of Humor

When I got back to the States last August I discoved John K. and Eddie Fitzgerald had started these amazing blogs about cartooning. There is a whole community of people out there who LOVE and MISS the old days of goofy hand-drawn 2D cartooning. There's an underground revolution going on! I want to be part of it!

It's time to get serious. Drawing is hard work!

Ok here's the first piece of real animation I ever did from a couple years ago.

'Ey Oy! It's Me Drawrings Page!

Friday Night Lifedrawing Spring Studio

Final Kubert Assignment

mini buscema figure studies

Kubert Assignment 4

Arm studies

Leg Studies

hellboy sketch

Deisgn work for next Assignment

blind contour w/ shading

Batman warm-up

Joe Kubert Assignment 3 w/critique

drawing and inking attempt

Shanna

Kubert Penciling Assignment 2 w/ Critique

SPiDeY!!!

KUBERT Penciling Assignment 1 **AND CRITIQUE**

t-shirt design

recent work

Prospect Park

Crown Heights

School Days, Fool Days

life drawing?

warmups and jen

Motor City Bar Sketches

Halloween A-go-go

John K's Kaspar

Construction Practice

Resume for John K

Drinkin' and Drawin'

Spaces are hard!

Studio corner w/ instruments

Spiderman with whiteout blunder

Go, Conan, Go!

Studio, Opposite Corner

New Studio Arrangement

Thank God for Gay Porn

Thunder! Thunder!

The Foot, the Fist, the Shield

ba-man!

Green Goblin

swimmer value studies

supergirl

wonder woman

Females

javelin thrower

hellboy sketch

Trixie Little and Evil Hate Monkey

Dr. Sketchy - Aprella and Veronica Varlow

Studio space

Trying to learn how to draw

the narcissist

front-gabled classical italianate er something

Saltbox house

House and Yard

Chaos!

Blah!!!

Church Bench Tree

Church composition steps

cabin interior pan

More cartoony version

Church Tree and Bench

More thumbnails

Foliage Studies

Thumbnails

John K's Notes

More Church Ideas

Third BG based on thumbnails

Cabin Scene from Thumbnail #2

Cabin Scenes based on thumbnails

Cabin Scene Thumbnails

Robert Gribbroek BG Layout Trace Exercise

Church

Cabin ideas

House ideas

House and Yard BG

Cabin at Night BG

Sitting Stump BG line and render

GL's Neighborhood

George Liquor Home Background Concept

KUBERT Penciling Assignment 1 AND CRITIQUE