Weekly update: Random nonsense and brushes!

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Spontaneous sketchin’!
Clip Studio Paint new brushes!
Sketchbook random word generator

Hey there!

So last week I was working on two strips, and some basic illustrations (sold two! woot woot!)

The first example here is my usual spontaneous drawing in my daily book – just start with a line and see where it goes. Added a splosh of colour is Gimp as ever. I have spent years trying to reduce my linework to as simple as possible. My 12 year old self  may not have approved of shedding all that stippling!!!

Second up is some doodling I was doing in Clip Studio Paint. The package had a recent update and I think the brushes were rearranged. As a result I stumbled across a few brushes I hadn’t used before and they are great! I mostly draw traditionally but this is a great software package for a natural drawing feel.

Last up is another daily book page. An exercise I do occasionally is to go to an online random word generator and grab 6 random words, I then do spontaneous drawings based on each word. These were (in order): animal, entrance, crafty, sweet, horror, and justice. Happy as Larry!

Cheers for stoppin’ by! See you next week!

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Weekly update! Wot you been up to Nulshy boy?

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Sketchbook with stolen speech balloons.
Sketchbook spontanaeity!
Knuckles sans rude bits.

A damn good question. To be honest I am still trying to keep my activity up. I started two new strips, but both are just at the rough page stage – will look to post updates on those for next week.

The first of the drawings above is a sketchbook page, the main thing here is that I pinched Chris Baldie’s  speech balloons. I really like how he does them. Wishing I had done something similar years ago. I don’t close my balloon tails and I have had more than one editor/ colourist complain to me about it! I am just that used to doing it that way.

The second image here is an excerpt from a bunch of illustrations I have put together. They are a bit rude so I had to be selective as to what I was posting. I’ll get a clip round the ear from my mum!

Last image is the usual sketchbook malarkey – 100% spontaneous drawing with absolutely no thought. But I quite like the way it looks. I had planned to write a word on the wee critter but my phone went and totally forgot to add it. I am pretty sure is was a rude word.

It was a rude week.

Sorry mum!

 

Update on last week’s activity! Balaclava frenzy!

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Coffee Bun in his natural habitat.
Coffee Bun loses it!
Wee henchman with balaclava.

Had a busy week last week! Here’s some examples of what I was up to.

First up is a sketchbook page with our very own Coffee Bun enjoying an espresso – with Goggsy looking on in the background. I have so many story threads with these chaps – and now the waitress is getting in on it too.

It’s odd that random doodles can grow arms and legs and become so much more. The lesson there is DRAW ALL THE TIME!!! Doesn’t need to be masterpieces, just get the thoughts out yer’ head and on the page.

The second drawing is a panel from a ten page strip I just finished with Coffee Bun again! I haven’t done any strips for a few months and was a great feeling to complete it. Can’t wait to do more.

As ever, I used Gimp to colour my original ink pages – had to keep myself on track with a spreadsheet!

Last drawing is another exercise in Gimp from a sketchbook page. Thinking about using the technique for my next strip. This gent in the balaclava is one of two henchmen who first appeared in my story Witherton Smyte around 20 years ago!

See you next week!

28th Aug blog update: it’s all about the sketchbook!

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Excerpt from a sketchbook page.
Sketchbook warm up doodle.
Sketchbook trying out new watercolour markers.

I still feel odd calling my daily book a sketchbook – I don’t actually ‘sketch’ that much. I see it more as a means of jotting down ideas and spontaneous thoughts.

First up is exactly that – just started drawing with my trusty Staedtler pigment liner. Scanned it in and a quick colour in Gimp. I can do the scan and colour within ten minutes these days.

Next up was a ‘warm up doodle’ – the term ‘warm up’ pretty much dictated the two panel cartoon, so I could get a shirt on Coffee Bun – and I had a stain from the previous page, so I do drew the wee creature around it!

Last was based on a dream I’d just had – the images that were still in my head. Trying out a new Faber Castell watercolour pen to add a wee tone here and there. I am quite impressed with them.
I can’t use Promarkers anymore as the pages in my new books are too thin and the bleed goes right through.

21st August update, last week’s drawings. Drawing on mobile phone and games console.

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Mock up Header.
Seth the Poisoner on Samsung Galaxy Note.
Goggsie on Nintendo Switch.
Sketchbook pages.

Last week was busy working on a couple of strips which I am hoping to post samples of soon. They are taking longer than expected.

First up is a mock up header for one of my illustration sites. It uses two characters from the final image which is a from my sketchbook. Quite often I use a random word generator that gives me 6 random words, I then do immediate thumbnail drawings based on each of the words. It’s a good warm up exercise, and it stops all that fannying about when yer’ confronted with a blank page!

The next drawing is Seth the Poisoner which was drawn on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – I still love how nice it is to draw on this device. I can rough out illustrations, ideas, and strips on the go with it.

The next one is the black and white drawing I did on the Nintendo Switch. I miss the WiiU for drawing, but it’s still great to doodle on the Switch and I love to watch all the amazing ideas and artwork that the Splatoon crowd produce. One of the great things about Nintendo is their encouragement of creativity.  The face is Goggsie, a character from one of the strips I am working on.

Update 14th August. Drawings from last week and an embarrassing love of clipboards!

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Are you alright?!
New clipboard yass!
Sketchbook malarkey.
Detail from a recent illustration with colour tints removed.

So then, what we got?

First up, the rather sinister cat was an early morning doodle. I kinda’ like him (pretty sure it’s a him!). Possibly to be used in later stories.

Then there’s my new A3 clipboard I got from Japan! You won’t (want to) believe how excited I got when this arrived. It does allow me to work on drawings while I am at home (away from my studio).

Another sketchbook malarkey featuring Coffee Bun, who seems to be creeping up everywhere nowadays. Was listening to the new album by Bill Callahan. Been writing down song lyrics in my drawings since I was a boy.

And that last detail was from a drawing I did last week – I accidentally removed the red colour tints and I quite like how it looked. So I darn well posted it!

Ah’m aff ma’ heid!