Daily Quick Sketch: Teddy Bear

Just trying to get back into submitting stuff to the blog. This sketch was a simple teddy bear image I was doodling with a brush pen. No pencil sketching, just directly drawing on a pad with a brush pen.

Teddy Bear sketched with pen brush and colored with Copic Markers

Illustration Friday: Sparkle

Illustration Friday: Every Friday a word is given on the website, IllustrationFriday.com. Artists and illustrators then submit an image that represents that word all during the week.
This week's word: Sparkle

Thought Process: It's been some time since I did any sketches for Illustration Friday. The word sparkle immediately made me think of the comical effect of "sparkling teeth" often seen in cartoons, commercials and comedies.

Cartoon lion with a shiny tooth/fang -- hand inked and then scanned into Photoshop for coloring

I remembered doing a pencil sketch of this cartoon lion seen below, except he wasn't smiling -- in fact I drew him without a mouth at all. So I added a huge toothy grin -- exaggerating the smile. 

The original pencil sketch of the cartoony lion (sans mouth)

To add the "sparkle", I had to darken the entire image in order to visually show the white tooth shine. It helped to texture the image, creating a slightly darker tone to help emphasize the sparkle.

Doodles and sketches: Alien Critters

Here are a couple of creature doodles laying around my desk for the past year. Many of these were simply quick sketches, but then I started inking in details. I currently have no plan or intention to use any of these characters yet, but  I may one day look back and reconsider (or revise a character into something better.) Instead of having them get lost in a pile or just forgotten -- I'm tossing them up here.

Various alien characters sketched and inked over the past year

The name near each character was given when saving each image. I tend to name things on the spot without reason or meaning. (For example the creature in the lower right is named Space Cow, even though it has more fish-like features than a cow. But for some reason, Space Cow works for me.)

Creative block / 5-minute exercise: Mouse Skiing

This unfinished image was done a few years ago, I found I was having a creative block and needed to get out of that state of mind.  Many times when a project is not working, I'll stop what I'm doing and doodle. In this case, I set a 5-minute alarm to create a character.

Quick digital inking of a pencil sketch, unfinished due to a 5-minute limitation

The trouble with having a career as a designer is that you eventually burn out, especially when the work is repetitive, tedious and just not inspiring.  There are good days and very bad days when nothing seems to work. But taking a few minutes to create something you enjoy can sometimes do wonders.

Very loose pencil sketch of the inked drawing above

For this exercise I simply started penciling a character, not really focusing on any specifics. I usually start with the head and after adding big ears it was looking more mouse like. Once the head was made, the body's pose suggested a skiing posture. After adding the scarf I felt there was enough of the sketch to scan and ink in Art Rage Pro. Once the 5-minute alarm went off I stopped drawing the image.

(Just to note: This exercise turned out better than I expected . . . it doesn't always work out this way every time.)

Daily Quick Sketch: Running Gator

Testing out some new alcohol based markers. These aren't as good a Copic markers, but far cheaper. The brand is called Premiere, and they sell 2 for $5 in Michael's stores. Like Copics, they also have dual tips on both ends; one pointed and the other a broad flat tip.

Sketch made using new Premiere alcohol-based markers - then inked with a Jet pen

The colors are okay, but the ink doesn't spread out evenly the way Copic markers do. Instead, these markers clump up and cause streaks if you go over any area that's already been colored. In contrast, a Copic marker would allow you to build up and go over the same area many times to create deeper colors without causing streaks or clumping.

Image sans the pen/markers:
Note the unevenness of the ink, especially around the mid belly - causing a coffee stain effect

So I guess the bottom line here is: you get what you pay for. A marker for $2.50 doesn't come close to the high-quality marker that costs $7. Overall, I'd give the Premiere Markers a 3 out of a 5-star rating. I wouldn't want to do complete images using just these markers, but if needing a specific color for detail or highlights - this marker will do the job for a great price. I plan on buying more Premieres that are missing from my huge collection of Copic markers. (Especially the lighter shades of color.)