Not Quite A Tutorial: The Beach With Sugar

One of these days I want to try my hand at doing some type of drawing tutorial. I have a deep desire to pass on some of the knowledge I've picked up over the years, but sadly, I really am a horrible teacher. I hope to overcome that in 2010, so for the time being, this little series of sketches will have to do, as a precursor to the big ol' festival of drawing knowledge yet to come.
Last Friday, my girlfriend, Sugar, and I celebrated the 2 year anniversary of our first date (Woo-Hoo!) and I wanted to make her a card. After running through a number of design possibilities in my head, and then sketching a few rough and quick thumbnails, I decided on one that I had tried to do the year before that hadn't turned out too well. The concept was sound, because we both love the Oregon Coast and make it over there as often as possible, unfortunately the execution was the best. For example, you'll notice that the characters came out okay, most of the background is all blotchy to the point of a full blown buggers-muddle.




One thing I've noticed is that my style has evolved quite a bit over the last year, although it is not as obvious in this quick rough version, seen below.

In this next version, you can see some of the style change I mentioned, it has become looser and more fun, at least in my opinion. Not too long ago I rediscovered the joy of drawing with colored pencils, a light color to start off with, and then I go over the lines that I like with black. By way of disclaimer, this technique looks a lot better in person, so yes, all of these images have been digitally manipulated.

Being that I'm a bit of a knothead from time to time, I forgot to scan the finished version before I gave it to, Sugar, but the version below is pretty much the pose I finally went with. I'm really looking forward to the coming year and this new style I'm developing, very retro, with a fair amount of contemporary snarkiness, if you know what I mean.

So, there you have it, thanks for stopping by.
Cheers!

Seascape in Walnut Ink

Seascape in Walnut Ink #1

I think I may have mentioned last week that lately I have been working on taxes and other unpleasantries, well things are coming along okay on that front, nevertheless, I am way past due for an excursion to one of my favorite places, the Oregon Coast. Sadly, I don't think it is in the cards, at least not for a little while. Anyway, to help dull the edge of my beach craving I did this serene little seascape with a walnut ink wash. Not perfect, but overall, I'm happy with it, and best of all it takes me on back to where I wish I could be.

Cheers!

Knoxville Skull & Coffee Boots

I've been thinking about my childhood lately, and it has recently occurred to me that while I didn't know it at the time, one of my fondest memories was time spent at my Aunt June's beach cabin, near Yachats on the Oregon Coast. Technically she was my great-aunt, but we always just called her Aunt June. Located on a flag lot, it was a cozy one bedroom bungalow with a driveway lined on one side by a row of huckleberries, in what can best be described as a mini-hamlet by the name of Knoxville. Essentially just a small neighborhood of similar cabins on three or four unpaved streets, nestled between Highway 101 and the Pacific Ocean with a small patch of gnarled woods to the South, and a nondescript thicket to the North. When I was very young, probably 4 or so, Aunt June took me for a walk to the market on the other side of the woods, a fascinating adventure at the time, with a tinge of danger, as I was assaulted by a chipmunk. Well, actually, there was a chipmunk in one of the trees chattering at us as we passed by, and at that very instant something sharp poked through the sole of my flip-flop and jabbed my foot a little bit. I was thoroughly convinced that somehow the angry chipmunk had thrown something at me, or was otherwise responsible for the poking of my foot. The rest of the journey is rather hazy, except that she—Aunt June, not the chipmunk—bought me a butterscotch Rocky Road candy bar, a flavor which I don't believe they even make anymore.

See? This is why I don't write very often, because I'm easily side tracked by things like surly chipmunks and extinct candy bars. What I started to say, was that on the corner of 101 and Aunt June's street, there was a sagging two-story house, sided with weather beaten shingles and on the Southeast corner, a big blue sign with red lettering and white outlines that read vertically: Knoxville, and this is a sketch of it from memory. I believe the house is still standing but the sign is gone, and sadly, the house has been refurbished to the point that all of its character is gone. The rest of the sketches are just stuff that floated into my head, and the bottom one is of some lady with unpleasant boots who was waiting for coffee.

Knoxville Skull.

Coffee Boots.

The Shy Little Butterfly

Hey kids! It has been far too long since my last post, I'm still trying to get a schedule worked out, so bear with me if you will. It's looking like it might be a weekly thing, at least for a while. I got a bunch of new projects in the works, which are keeping me otherwise occupied. For example, I'm revamping the Vintage 66 Graphics website.

Today's sketch is something I did about a year ago, Valentine's Day as I recall. It was for a little story called, The Shy Little Butterfly, that I was working on for my girlfriend, Ace. Anyway, I was testing out the walnut ink, and for the most part this came out pretty good, but unfortunately, I got the idea to try and work some red into it. So, that's why there is some red towards the bottom.

Walnut Ink & Art Pen on Watercolor Paper

© 2008 Robert Wiles. All Rights reserved.

Stubby Lighthouse

This one captures all the rustic, dilapidated charm of the beach trips to the Oregon Coast I remember as a kid. It evokes the smell of damp smoke (from both bonfires and fireplaces) in the salty air, which is one of my fondest childhood memories. Pretty short for a lighthouse, but I'm quite pleased with it just the same. Hmmm. I might just have to revisit this one. Walnut ink & brush and pen on watercolor paper.