Illustration Friday -- Cake (and Edith, Too)

This weeks topic for Illustration Friday is Cake. Instead of doing the traditional drawing of a cake, I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. While in Edinboro this weekend, I drew this and titled it, "Cake and Edith, Too."

Not sure if I'll color it or not. Maybe coloring it will be a Photoshop project for me one day.

Doodle of the Day -- 5-24-2006

Well, this will probably be my last post until next week. We are all off to Edinboro, PA for Memorial Day weekend. I plan on packing up my art pads, pencils, and pens. Hopefully, I will be inspired by the trees and animals around Cathie's parents house and I will have lots of things to share upon my return.

With that said, I leave you with three things I have done in the last few days.

This first one I call "Shadow Lady." I wanted to try out my new pencils (Prismacolor Turquoise 7B, 4B, 2B, and 2H) that I just bought. They were on clearance at JoAnn's. How could I resist. So, this little lady appeared.






















The next thing I drew was "King Doodle." I guess it is a character inspired by a deck of cards. He, or she, was done using a .45mm Micron pen. I started with an oval and the rest just happened.






















This last one is called "RFP Doodle." I did this as my eyes started to glaze over from reading this RFP for work. The words and letters started to "lift" off the page. I grabbed my .45mm Micron pen again and went to work. My eyes are better now.

Weekly Photoshop Challenge -- Fixer Upper

Since I used to be in the construction field when I was younger, this theme really excited me. It also pushed my knowledge of Photoshop and helped me with learning new things that it could do.

The house that I chose to use is right around the corner from ours. We live in the Historic District of the city, so you cannot use "new" products to remodel. Windows, doors, roofing all has to be authentic to the year of the house. As you can see, one side of this building has been remodeled and is currently being lived in, the other half... well, it needs help.

I decided to make this duplex into a single family home. I converted the roof into a common color. I removed the second door and replaced it with a window. I also removed the window air conditioner unit. The last thing I did was remove the neighbor and gave them some more yard.


For more Fixer Uppers or to participate, visit the Weekly Photoshop Challenge hosted by TXArtcGal.

Illustration Friday -- Sorry

Wasn't sure at first how I was going to accomplish this week's theme. Usually, I like action words versus emotion words. However, I thought of my dogs and how they look when they get in the garbage or have an accident in the house. Although, my dogs have never broke a vase, they have done their share of damage. Their eyes have that "I'm sorry" look to them and you instantly forget your anger.

This one's for all you pet owners out there. 

Illustration Friday -- Angels and Devils

Before Photoshop work





















After Photoshop work

WOW! Can you believe that we got another tough topic this week?

I don't think it was tough because of the lack of potential subject matter, but instead the vast amount of ways this could be taken. I had so many thoughts going through my head -- Dan Brown's book of a similar title, kids trick-or-treating, or an angel and devil fighting over good and evil to name a few.

In the end, I chose to do a rendition of the Tao, aka, Yin Yang, which is a Chinese symbol for unity and universal harmony. It shows the compliments between dark and light, good and evil.

I'm extremely disappointed in the way it scanned, so I had to take a digital photo of it. However, this photo still doesn't come close to how this looks in person.

The side which represents "Angels" has a light blue background with clouds, a sun which resembles the Compass Rose, a symbol for guidance, and purple flowers. All of these items have a light, soothing feeling.

The "Devil" side has a Pentagram, which often represents occult or satanic beliefs, a dark ground, with a glowing magma represented between the cracks, and a saw blade tooth pattern that could represent torture. All of these have very dark feeling.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day.

UPDATE: Here is the scanned version after some Photoshop work.

Weekly Photoshop Challenge -- Colorization

TXArtcGal started the Weekly Photoshop Challenge over at http://weeklyphotoshopchallenge.blogspot.com/. I am very new at all of the different "tricks" that can be done with Photoshop. I am hoping these challenges will help me learn what can be done with this program.

The above photo is a black and white photo of Cathie's dad when he was a young boy. I added color to the trailer and the ground.

Doodle of the Day -- 5-9-2006

Here are some of my superheroes, villians and aliens I doodled today. I liked the guy in the middle so much I just had to add color. Not sure where the bug listening to music came from. Maybe he is a superhero in training. 

Doodle of the Day -- 5-8-2006

Sorry for the horrible scan job, but its tough getting an 11x14 sketchbook scanned on one intended for 8x11 documents.

Anyway, these are some doodles of heads that I did. I was trying for different looks and emotions. 

Illustration Friday -- Fat

I'll be honest. When I saw this week's theme, I was not inspired in the least. I was actually a little offended by the topic.

"Fat" is such an ugly word. The thought of becoming "fat" causes both young boys and girls to do abnormal things to themselves. They can either starve themselves, make themselves throw-up after they eat, or worse get addicted to diet pills. None of these are good for a healthy body and a healthy mind.

People also look at those who are overweight and immediately come to the assumption that they are lazy, uninspired, or just a below average individual. They never get a second glance. Or worse yet, they become the butt of a joke. This saddens me.

I tried to take a comical approach with this using a dog. This is how I feel after eating a large meal.

Doodle of the Day -- 5-3-2006 aka IF -- Under the "C"

This was one that I wanted to do where I played with the Illustration Friday theme "Under the Sea." 

Need buttons?

I was playing around in Illustrator and Photoshop to come up with these two buttons. They can be used on your site if you have a desire to link to me. All I would ask is that you let me know that you have them on your site.

If you need a custom size or color scheme, I am willing to modify them somewhat.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Doodle of the Day -- 5-2-2006

Since I'm under the weather, I'm going to post some work that I did not too long ago.

About a month and a half ago, I was approached by another blogger, Cubicle Reverend, about submitting some of my work to him in order for him to display it on his web site. Since then, it seems that he has taken a slight break from the blogging world.

I have not heard from him in a while and I'm not sure if he plans on doing any more "Gallery Showings," but I thought I would use them for today's doodles. If he does plan on using them in the future, then for those who visit him, you will have double the pleasure of seeing them.

The first is a colored pencil design of a tulip. It actually started out as a flower pot that we used to have. I say "used to" because I left it outside one winter and it cracked during the thawing process. The coloring of the flower came from an African Violet, which just happens to be one of Cathie's favorite flowers.

This next little guy is a mad scientist. Although he resembles Cubicles avatar, he just happened to look like the little monkey. I have since gone back and inked him and added color, but I like the original 2H pencil version best. And no, the mouse does not currently have a name. Any suggestions?
My last guy was taken from an infomercial that just happened to be on while I was doing some late night sketching. I cannot remember the product name, but I feel this is intended for the most lazy people ever (hope I do not offend anyone who has this product due to serious back problems). This was from the opening scenes where a person was having difficulties getting out of their chair. The product that they were selling was a chair that leaned forward so you would not have to move any muscles to get into a standing position.

I'll also let you in on a little secret. This had started out as another drawing before this commercial began. Can you see the fruit?

Doodle of the Day -- 5-1-2006

Played with the Wacom and Corel Painter Essentials today. I chose the Acrylic Brush and just tried different widths to get this done. Round flowers are much easier than the tulips.