WIPs of the Moment

My works-in-progress folder on my desktop contains a mixture of pictures I am actively working on and pictures that have been gathering dust for months. Here are some previews of pictures that I'll probably finish, might finish, or won't finish-- but at any rate, they aren't finished yet.

Sketchdump IV

So many sketches... and yet, so few finished pieces! I have many projects in the works right now, but it causes me to move more slowly overall. -.- Sometimes creativity sweeps me along like a current, and sometimes I have to drag it around like an overstuffed suitcase. My muse has always been a mercurial beast.

Gingersnap

Too many things to draw today! This has resulted in me drawing none of those things, and instead doodling listlessly.

Slapdash

Slapped this together yesterday. Feels kind of stuck at this stage, but not like it's finished. Just stuck! Still, I quite like how their faces turned out.

Are they brothers? No one knows. They change their story every time they're asked.

Moleskine Initiation

Moleskines, huh? Expensive, elitist, beautiful. I've had one for over year and can barely bring myself to make a mark in it. If a sketchbook is too pretty, I always feel uncomfortable scribbling in it... but, that's a silly way to feel and I'm trying to get over it. So I've started drawing in my Moleskine finally. Here are a few doodles from it.

I've noticed a convention of minimal cropping among artists' Moleskine scans. Most people leave the rounded corners of the book visible, if not the entire scanner lid. It's like you're supposed to exhibit the sketchbook itself as well as whatever you've drawn in it. Look, I use a Moleskine. Observe its trademark rounded corners. This is not just any drawing, this is a drawing in a Moleskine.

And now, after that slightly derisive rant, I'm going to proceed to do sort of the same thing. >_>

Pointy dainty fairy face.

Mr. Strunz looking particularly like a super-villian.

Fun with hair.

Saturday Morning Trois

Some of you may know that my friends and I improv ridiculous action movies sometimes for fun. (If you read this blog, chances are good that you are one of those friends.) Then, Ben painstakingly edits them for weeks and they become kind of legitimately awesome (to us, anyway).

Here is the main trio + sidekick/fanatic from Trois, many years before the events of Trois: The Final Hour, rendered Saturday-morning cartoon style. I'm seriously considering doing some comics of Trois' early days. At the very least, I will complete this little collection of portraits with Throttlebark and the Receptionist sometime soon.

Sorry; I know all that only made sense to about 6 people.

Translation: here are some silly cartoons! I might draw more silly cartoons.

I'm still here!

Doodling activity has been low, but I mean to fix that! In the meantime, here is an androgynous, slightly ill-looking person.

Sculptris

A recent sudden interest in 3D modeling has prompted me to research a bunch of programs like Poser, DAZ Studio, Maya, and ZBrush. I don't have a good head for math and geometry, so I was looking for a program that was extremely intuitive and didn't require too much learning about things like vertices, splines, polygons, transparency maps, turbo encabulators, and other incomprehensible things. All I want to do is realize my characters three-dimensionally, not animate them or do anything fancy like that (yet)!

ZBrush seemed to fit the bill pretty well. You start with a ball of virtual clay, and gradually sculpt it by shoving it around with your mouse or tablet. The full program is insanely expensive, but there is a trial version available. Before I got as far as downloading that, though, I noticed that the developers of ZBrush also offer another program called Sculptris, which is targeted at beginners. AND IT IS TOTALLY FREE.

It's insane. Everyone should download this program. It is SUCH a fun toy, and really easy to get the hang of. I think it's easier than drawing in some ways, because all the tricky shading is automatically done for me. Yay! I cranked out these two heads in one evening. They're still pretty rough, but I'm very pleased with how they're developing.

A raisiny old man!

Breckendy, sans hair.

It's an exciting adventure into the 3rd dimension. I'm eager to explore further...

A splash of color

Vacation Doodles

Spent the last week in Independence with my family! It was wonderful to see everyone, even though I ended up contracting a wretched disease from my little brothers. It seems like I always get sick when I go back there! Oh, well. Plenty of rest and a hearty batch of veggie soup seems to have cured me.

Did a bit of sketching while relaxing at the homestead:

A studly specimen.

Breckendy, even shorter and more distrustful than usual.

Tending to a sick friend. But not all apples are good for you...

Vocab word of the day: digitigrade!

A picture I'm working on for my (big) little brother.  It was the only way I could bribe him into letting me trim his shaggy teen hair. =P A character from one of his numerous stories, a trickster god/demon who assumes the form of a six-tailed white fox, and is generally a dangerous fellow to be around, from what I understand.

After watching Tangled (for the second time),  was overcome with the need to draw some long locks.