Inspirations: Character Ideas

I'm always on the lookout for characters that I can riff off of and whatnot, but it can be kind of awkward if they realize you're sketching them, especially if it is unflattering and they want to see your work. Anyway, I recently stumbled on this treasure trove of ready-made characters from the real world over at the Poorly Dressed Blog. I've put up some examples here, but if you want to see more head on over.

Here's a lovely little charmer.


Nice dog, Tough Guy, and the white wine is a nice touch.


Jumping Jehoshaphat!

Sketches: Character Studies

I've been working on some character sketches of myself for an informational project, basically, I'm going to be using sequential art (comic book format) in a series of essays on my Vintage 66 Graphics Blog, about the basics of  graphics and will be geared for the small business owner. The goal is to keep it really simple and entertaining, but at the same time passing along some useful information. I think it's important to keep the graphics simple in this project, because I don't want them to overshadow the information. I still haven't found the final charcter, but here are some sketches that I have worked out so far. I may end up using an animal of some kind rather than myself, but we'll see. I know the last one isn't going to work, I've only seen one full episode of Star Trek, but still I know what happens to red shirts.

Shaking Things Up

I've been thinking some things over lately, and I believe the time has come to shake some things up here at A Walk on the Wiles Side. This began as my sketch blog, but more and more I'm realizing that there are so many other elements that influence and contribute to my art. Music is certainly a big one, and so is literature, but even other artists, both past and present leave their mark. It's really just a big distillation process. So, I want to try an experiment and expand things here a bit to include some of those influences. 


Way back in 1977, before my girlfriend was even born, I went to my first rock concert, which featured KISS with Cheap Trick opening. I was eleven years old, and it truly changed my life forever. It opened up a whole new world of passion and excitement and the thrill of live rock-n-roll. Anyway, I stumbled across this clip of them performing one of their classic tunes with their current lineup. It's good to see that more than thirty years later they've still got it. 
Enjoy!


[And yes, I do realize that the video box has crossed over into my sidebar, but that is something I'll need to figure out a little later].


Watch KISS playing Black Diamond (with a cool Whole Lotta Love interlude) live in Budapest

Beer Sweater Guy

Just kind of a dorky guy in sweater holding a beer.

100th Post: Happy Easter !

Yes, indeed it took far longer to get here than I had hoped, nevertheless, I've made it. Welcome to the 100th post here at A Walk on the Wiles Side. Oh, but that's not all, it is also the Happy Easter post, as well as marking the one year anniversary of me not smoking, Yeah, exactly 365 days ago, right about this time of day in fact, was the last time I smoked a cigarette. I still miss it nearly every fucking day, if you're interested, but I have done it. At some point I will probably have to smoke one to prove to myself that I really have quit, and yes I do realize the risk of becoming hooked again, but it is something I'll need to do.

I had hoped to do a little synopsis on the future of my sketchblog, but it is Easter, and nearly dinner time with the family, so I think I'll have to let it slide for now, and bring you up to date real soon. Besides, I see it as important enough that it should have its own post. So until then, I wish you and yours a very Happy Easter, and I'll see you soon.

Cheers!

The Real Post #99: Octopus Barista

Jumping Jehoshaphat! I've been sitting on this one for quite awhile. I was looking through some piles of loose sketches and what not, when lo and behold I found this one. It's dated 2007, and I don't recall why I never posted it. I probably wasn't pleased with it at the time. There really isn't a deep story behind the inspiration, but I think it was simply an image that came into my head one day in a super busy coffee shop.

Just a reminder that this will be the last post before the big ol' milestone 100th post. I've got a couple of projects going right now, so it may take a while, because the idea I have in mind for it will be a lot more involved than a typical post. I'm just sayin'.

See you soon.

Post # 100? . . . Not so fast, Monty!

Jeepers! Here I was all set to celebrate my 100th blog post on A Walk on the Wiles Side, but fortunately I decided to double check my math, in other words, I seem to be a few posts short. The funny thing about Blogger is that it counts the drafts as actual posts, even though they have ever been published. I'm actually okay with this situation because it offers me a chance to do something spectacular in the near future, although I'm not ready to divulge the details yet. Incidentally, I have a couple of projects to get done this week, and my motto is: Paying gigs come first. In the meantime this is the old version of the 100th post, but it is actually only post #98, so it kind of loses its luster. Anyway, I'll see you soon for the real post #100.

-Cheers!