Last night I attended a Figure Drawing group for the first time. I'd been wanting to draw from nude models for a while now (it's been about ten yrs since I've done so) but I thought my only option would be to take a course at the local community college. I didn't like that I idea because it ain't cheap and I also didn't want to feel beholden to a class schedule due to my odd working habits. It would suck to pay all that money and only attend half of the classes. Anyway, this group is perfect for me, they meet twice a week, it's six dollars a session, and they meet just a mile from my apartment. The group is sponsored by the St. Louis Artist's Guild and their building is this small mansion that's almost 200 years old set in a park. The third floor studio is the perfect environ for this kid of work.
I was surprised to see the group as full as it was. There were about 20 folks there and you can come and go as you please. I was afraid that it'd be, like, me and two old women in a room with a naked model--Im very glad it wasn't that intimate.
I didn't bring any newsprint or charcaol in case I did feel a need to make a hasty retreat. So, I just had my sketchbook and a bag of pens and pencils. None of the tools were ideal but it was fun, while doing my pen sketches, to try and deal with light and shadow using hatching. I'l probably try that again sometime but right now I'm real anxious to get back in there and push some charcoal around. If there's anyway I can scan those large images when done then I'll be sure to post them here.
This session was also interesting because there were two models instead of just one. Apparently, it was the female models first time. I found that fascinating--how do you get to the age of 40 or so and decide that you would like to pose in the nude in front of a bunch of strangers? I couldn't help but let my mind wander during the session and think about what might be going on in her life, what path she was walking, that brought her there that night. I spent the whole of that session creating little stories for her.
This piece is a commission I just recently finished (approx. 10"x15"--Sumi ink on Bristol). I don't believe I would have ever drawn either the Predators or Aliens had it not been for this commission, so I really had a fun time doing this.
This is an illustration for a chapbook my friend Cullen Bunn wrote.
Here it is, the final colored version of Queen & Country #30. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I always love working with the guys at Oni because the give the artist all kinds of room to do what feels right to them. I gave them one sketch and they said "Do it!", and that was it. If only all jobs were that easy.
2) Pencils done on a sheet of copy paper (8 1/2"x 11")
3) Then I blow up the pencils to apprx. 8"x 12" (still, smaller than many artists work at) and lightbox them onto Bristol (in this case Smooth but I usually prefer Vellum finish for interiors). I don't have a scan of just the tight pencils, but, the next closest thing is the above image, which shows the part of the image that I used Sakura's Pigma Micron Pens on.
4) The rest was done with a #2 round sable brush and Sumi Ink.
5) Here's the final inked version of the cover (I filled the blacks in Photoshop).
I just bought a new sketchbook yesterday and I'm starting to break it in. The previous post is a colored version of a sketch from the first page. This is the second page of the sketchbook. I'm just starting to flesh out a world and a skeleton of an idea for a story--that's what you're seeing here and in this previous post. It may not seem like much but when I draw and think about story it creates a sense memory for me so that every time I look at said drawing it conjures back the ideas I had while creating it. Does that make sense? I've had other artists tell me similar things before.
This session was also interesting because there were two models instead of just one. Apparently, it was the female models first time. I found that fascinating--how do you get to the age of 40 or so and decide that you would like to pose in the nude in front of a bunch of strangers? I couldn't help but let my mind wander during the session and think about what might be going on in her life, what path she was walking, that brought her there that night. I spent the whole of that session creating little stories for her. 
Yesterday I saw the trailer for the movie Silent Hill. I loved it! I also have to say that I have never felt so strongly that something had leaped right out of my brain onto a movie screen. There were several images that could've come directly from my sketchbook. Kudos to whoever the director is and the art department. I've never played the video game before--I'll have to check it out one of these days.
Monsters, animals, and otherwise freaky lookin' guys in suits and hats have long appealed to me. The above sketch is indicative of that. It's a long ways off yet, but in October of this year I'll be doing a book for Oni Press with my friend Cullen Bunn called The Damned. It's genesis is due in great part to my need to scratch that monster-in-a-suit itch. More on that project in the coming months.
About 90% of the people pictured here are based on people I was observing today at the coffee shop. It's not vey often that I draw people I see in public--I'm usually just making up faces. I felt like I was really getting on a roll here but I had to stop so that I can clean up and get to my friend's Super Bowl party. Why can't inspiration and motivation come at more convenient times?
This is just a page I was sketching on today while at the local coffee establishment. Wasn't feeling particularly inspired and it shows. Unfortunately, I was trying to be inspired and that is something that is very hard to orchestrate. Usually, a mocha, a comfy chair, and a sketchbook are a winning combo for me but not today. Probably should've put on my headphones.
I ran across this sketch I'd done on a notecard a while back and decided to scan and color it. I think this would make a really great painting or fully realized illustration.
