A boy and his bear

I like drawing bears and I imagine it would be fun to ride one but the truth is that bears probably don't like to be ridden. They would most likely want to have you for a snack if you tried getting on their back. But this bear is a nice bear and only eats berries and fish, no children.

Jousting Knight

I went to a Renaissance festival a few months ago where they had a jousting tournament and ever since I wanted to do a knight jousting.

Black and white sketch.

Black and white painting.

And the final with a little color.

I wanted to maintain the appearance of brushstrokes and not have that plastic digital look that haunts my nightmares. 

Owl sketch

I tried abstracting the shape of the head and body just a little bit to give it a more cartoony appearance. I think it still looks like pretty proportionate owl. I also made the eyes looking to the side to give it some character.

I like drawing on toned paper with graphite and white pencil.

It's cold outside

It now feels like winter outside and I wish I had a hat with ear flaps and a the ability to grow a big beard to keep me warm.

More dragons

I like drawing dragons, it's fun to play with different shapes in the beginning stages to see how the final drawing will turn out.

I did this as a warm up sketch for the day. Now, back to work!

Rhino Knight

Viking Turtle

Dragon Sketch

Old guy sketch

Thursday Painting

Practice head painting for thursday's post.

Frog Painting

Study of a frog from a picture I took at the aquarium. Kind of a slimy little fella.

Thursday Painting

I am trying something that will hopefully keep this blog updated on a somewhat more normal schedule than what I have been previously doing.

I have been experimenting with photoshop doing quick, gestural paintings and I will try and post them here every Thursday. This is my first attempt to keep this blog updated on a regular basis..

Here is St. Pietro Church in Rome. I went to Italy on a study abroad last year and this was one of many great buildings that I saw. 

Painting in this style is somewhat new for me. I enjoy laying down thick layers of paint and being able to correct mistakes by simply painting over it. Although, it is easy to get caught up in tiny details. I have to frequently zoom out of my image to make sure the composition is looking ok. 

Trying something a little different.

A couple paintings I did last week in photoshop. Most of the illustrations I've done have a specific style with strong outlines and light use of paint and color. I thought it would be fun to try something a little different, so I layed the paint down pretty thick. Photoshop makes it easy to paint in many different styles. I will most likely try this style again in the future.

Pet Dragon

This image started out as me wanting do a character design of an evil wizard and then grew into him having a pet dragon. I wanted to do something similar to the wizard from a very cool lego set that actually comes with a lego dragon as well. 

(The beard is probably my favorite part)

The drawing was done on my iPad using Procreate. It is incredibly easy to import images from that app into photoshop where I do the painting. As I start the painting I will usually do a few multiply layers to build up the values and start the colors and then do some overlay layers for highlights and making certain areas brighter. 

Tree Guy

Tree guy sketch that I did on my iPad using the Procreate app. I have just started using procreate to draw with and I am beginning to really like it. Although the name is a little odd this drawing app is one of the best on the market. I am contemplating switching from traditional pencil and paper to just drawing on my iPad. 

And you can record video of your drawings in the app, an awesome added bonus.

This is my first video of a time lapse drawing and the first video I ever uploaded to YouTube. 

Roger the Dragon

Roger the Dragon waits for unsuspecting passersby, on which he undoubtedly will feast upon until he is nice and fat. Oh to be a dragon.. The ability to cook your meal with the slightest breath and enjoy an afternoon flight around the local snow-capped peaks.

Queen Annie

Queen Annabelle-Gwen-Rhonda-Janelle-Frank (yes Frank)-Thelma-Beverly III

Fetch!

Troll

Ahoy!

Sad Narwhal

I don't think narwhals are particularly good at playing beach volleyball.

Cowboy Crocodile

Royal Guard

The royal guard consists of only the finest men with all manner of fighting skills and mustache grooming skills.

Dog Sketch

Hulk Riding a Bike

Never let the Hulk ride your bike. 

Boba Fett

Initial sketch. Boba Fett is probably the awesomest character in the Star Wars universe. He was fun to draw. 

Final Drawing. I want a jet pack.

Final Illustration.