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| Image inked with a Kuretake black pen brush on Canson marker Paper and colored with Copic markers. |
Jim Romer’s blog: character designs, writing picture books, and random thoughts!
Friday, October 5, 2018
Inktober 2018 - Day 05 CHICKEN
It was obvious Hector was going to be a problem as soon as he hatched.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Inktober 2018 - Day 04: SPELL
Inktober 2018 - Day 04 SPELL.
I like really stepping out of the norm, and here's a great example.
(Don't think you're going to find many other dancing vampires for today's Inktober.)
I was originally going to submit only my hand-drawn images for Inktober 2018. But now, several days into this, I'm going to go back to the digital format that I used for the past few Inktobers.
I'm basically using a font to help create a cleaner and consistent look instead of my handwriting. To me, it looks and reads better.
I like really stepping out of the norm, and here's a great example.
(Don't think you're going to find many other dancing vampires for today's Inktober.)
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| Full digital color version of today's Inktober |
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| Inked with brush pen and then added type and background in Photoshop |
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| Full color sans Text |
I'm basically using a font to help create a cleaner and consistent look instead of my handwriting. To me, it looks and reads better.
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| Original pencil sketch |
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| The original inspiration for this image was from an envelope with my doodles on the back |
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Inktober 2018 - Day 03: Roasted
My quickie image for Inktober2018 for Day03 for prompted word: ROASTED
Thought Process: I'm cheating a little. The prompt word immediately made me think of an image I did several months ago of a coffee mug design for my wife.
I wasn't happy with the way the mug came out, and my wife would often ask, "Is that supposed to be me?" I believe it was the way I drew it, and google eyes, and the blank stare that didn't make me completely thrilled with the original final image. So here's a revision of that image.
Thought Process: I'm cheating a little. The prompt word immediately made me think of an image I did several months ago of a coffee mug design for my wife.
I wasn't happy with the way the mug came out, and my wife would often ask, "Is that supposed to be me?" I believe it was the way I drew it, and google eyes, and the blank stare that didn't make me completely thrilled with the original final image. So here's a revision of that image.
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| Revision of the coffee mug design I did for my wife. LINK HERE |
Monday, October 1, 2018
Inktober 2018 - Day 01: Poison
My quickie image for Inktober2018 for Day 01 for prompted word: Poison.
Thought Process: I basically thought of a poison bottle. That's it.
Also posted a real-time video of drawing this image on IGTV. About 6+ minutes long. LINK
Thought Process: I basically thought of a poison bottle. That's it.
Also posted a real-time video of drawing this image on IGTV. About 6+ minutes long. LINK
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| The first ink sketch for #Inktober2018 (following the prompt list of daily words.) |
How different pens create different images
Someone wrote to me asking why I sometimes mention what pens I'm using for different illustrations. What you use often makes a significant difference in how your final image will look.
Below the middle image shows the original pencil sketch for my Day 01 Inktober 2018 entry. Note the difference of the outer two images on the left and right.
The left image is more detailed with finer lines because there was a harder point on that brush pen. So that inspires adding more tighter lines for shading and details. The image on the right was drawn with a softer brush tip, which makes it easier to create the flowing and thicker lines. That pen inspired me to use fewer lines and a simpler iconic look. The end results are quite different even though they were both based on the same pencil sketch.
The quick answer to that original question above:
By mentioning the items used to create an image, allows others to know how they could get similar results by using the same product(s).
Below the middle image shows the original pencil sketch for my Day 01 Inktober 2018 entry. Note the difference of the outer two images on the left and right.
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| Showing how different brush pens can change the look of a drawing. Click on the image to see a larger version. |
The left image is more detailed with finer lines because there was a harder point on that brush pen. So that inspires adding more tighter lines for shading and details. The image on the right was drawn with a softer brush tip, which makes it easier to create the flowing and thicker lines. That pen inspired me to use fewer lines and a simpler iconic look. The end results are quite different even though they were both based on the same pencil sketch.
The quick answer to that original question above:
By mentioning the items used to create an image, allows others to know how they could get similar results by using the same product(s).
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Daily Quick Sketch: Burrito VS Taco! (1 of 2)
Funny how inspiration works. One of my favorite Facebook people is Jason Curtis, a cartoonist with a true sense of humor, original wit, and a fantastic simple style. I dislike Facebook, but Jason is one of the few reasons I check in once in a while.
Long story short: Jason did a cartoon one day that had the punch-line asking who would win in a match between a Burrito and a Taco. Somehow that cartoon was in my head when I was trying to sleep, I pictured what that match would look like. So, since I was awake, I drew the two characters.
Here's the link for Taco.
Long story short: Jason did a cartoon one day that had the punch-line asking who would win in a match between a Burrito and a Taco. Somehow that cartoon was in my head when I was trying to sleep, I pictured what that match would look like. So, since I was awake, I drew the two characters.
| In this corner, wearing red trucks that are WAY too high up his body -- The Beefy Burrito! |
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| The original inking of the Burrito character, using a Kuretake ZIG brush pen. |
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| The original pencil sketch |
Friday, September 14, 2018
Daily Quick Sketch: Burrito VS Taco! (2 of 2)
Here is the Taco character. I felt burrito would be a heavyweight boxer, while poor old Taco would a more frail character.
Here's the link to Burrito.
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| And in this corner, a simple shell of a man, it is --The Crisp and Breakable Taco! |
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| The original inking of the Taco character, using a Kuretake ZIG brush pen. |
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| The original pencil sketch |
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Daily Sketch: Bug
New concept sketch of a character I'm developing for my latest picture book manuscript, Bug. His name is Allen, a character with an extreme identity crisis.
Swipe to see the original sketch, inking, and color breakdown images.
Sidenote: I used an inking brush setting which resembles a leaky pen. I really like how fluid and random the line becomes.
Swipe to see the original sketch, inking, and color breakdown images.
Sidenote: I used an inking brush setting which resembles a leaky pen. I really like how fluid and random the line becomes.
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| Final color version |
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| Original pencil sketch |
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| Inking with some shading |
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| Alternative image with color background |
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Throwback Thursday: Golf Dad Mug Design
REPOST DUE TO SO CORRUPT AND/OR LOST IMAGE FILE WITH BLOGGER:
Originally posted on 2/4/16
This one goes back many years ago when I worked for a giftware company designing novelty products. They wanted a humorous Father's Day mug related to golf. Iwrote as many insults and oddities about a typical Dad playing golf.
The mug sold well on the market, so someone asked me to create 3 more for the following year. I remember the three follow-up mugs were, Fisherman, BBQ Chef and Couch Potato -- but this original Golf mug outsold the other mugs combined.
One thing I remember while creating this design was that I did a spotless vector version, which looked very polished with solid clean lines. But this rough and loose style seemed to work much better with the text humor.
Originally posted on 2/4/16
This one goes back many years ago when I worked for a giftware company designing novelty products. They wanted a humorous Father's Day mug related to golf. I
The mug sold well on the market, so someone asked me to create 3 more for the following year. I remember the three follow-up mugs were, Fisherman, BBQ Chef and Couch Potato -- but this original Golf mug outsold the other mugs combined.
One thing I remember while creating this design was that I did a spotless vector version, which looked very polished with solid clean lines. But this rough and loose style seemed to work much better with the text humor.
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