Doodles of the Day -- 06.28.2006

I recently upgraded my free version to the full version of ArtRage 2. I thought it was very cool before and thought I would give the full version a try since it was only $19.95.

I must say that I was not disappointed. I played around with it and my tablet and came up with the follow drawings.

"Paint on Wood" started out as three bugs on the canvas and quickly became paint smears on a brown background and then finally this.


"Blackboard Doodles" is just a compilation of different drawing tools on a black canvas.

Meme -- Fake Past

I am not a meme person, but when I saw this over at Tit's List, I thought it was hilarious and would give it a try. So, all you creative people out there, refresh my memory on some things we did in the past. My mind is a little hazy right now and need all the help you can give me.

If you read this, please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me.

It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE.

When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you.

Illustration Friday -- Rain

I was originally going to do something with a line from my favorite movie for this week's Illustration Friday's theme, "Rain." The quote, "It can't rain all the time," is from the movie 'The Crow.' There is just something about that movie that I still enjoy to this day. However, I could not think of anything that would do the movie or quote justice.

Then I read Cathie's recent post "Confetti" and instantly knew this is what I would draw. Below is a snippet of our back yard after a recent rain storm. Branches, leaves and daisy petals "littered" the back patio.

BTW, sorry I haven't been around much. Work has become very busy. Also, working on some "art" projects at home. I've been painting our bedroom and getting ready to paint the boys bedrooms in August when they are away at their Grandparents. I should also apologize if I am not around much in the future as well. Classes start Monday, so, I'll have yet another thing on my plate to keep me busy.

Here is something that I worked on this morning while playing around with my tablet. This one goes back some to my original concept somewhat.

Illustration Friday -- Jungle

Skyscraper: A Haiku

Our concrete mountains
scaled by pressing a button.
Crowded peak, then sky.

This week's drawing for Illustration Friday's theme "Jungle" was inspired by Cathie's current submission to One Deep Breath.

Illustration Friday -- (Self) Portrait

From the moment I saw the topic, I knew that I wanted to do a self-portrait. I have not done one since high school. I took the picture of me from the family photo that Cathie posted on her site and did the head shot.


I did it in my 11x14 sketch book, so this is the digital photo versus a direct digital scan.

Doodle of the Day -- 6-6-2006

"Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom: let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number. Its number is six threescore six" -- Revelation 13:16-18

The marking on the Beast's right hand is the Greek symbol for six hundred sixty-six (666).

New Books

Cathie went to NYC with her mother this past weekend. In her adventures there, she picked me up a couple of really cool books while at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"The Art Book" is a list of 500 artists and describes one of their typical works. The work ranges from early medieval to modern times. It is alphabetical order so it makes finding an artist easy since you do not need to know what period his/her work is from. Very educational.

"The Wisdom of the Buddha" seems to be more of a historical book than any philosophical teachings. I am not a practicing Buddhist, but I do enjoy reading and learning about the religion. This book certainly looks interesting and looks like it adds a lot of additional information that I was not aware of from other reading I have done on the subject.

I think both books are great and cannot wait to read them.

Hopefully, I will have my IF drawing up later this week. It is taking me longer then expected.

Doodle of the Day -- 6-1-2006

These four doodles came while on a conference call for work. The bottom one with the mohawk is based off of the Microsoft MSN Messenger icon. I just added my twist to it. The bug with the leaf started out like the scene from Dr. Strangelove but turned it this instead. The other two were just random doodles.


Cathie bought me a Boyd's Bear for Christmas one year. The figurine is of a bear working on a laptop with a bunch of computer books around him. While sitting at my desk, I doodled the head of the figurine with my new pencils.

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.