Dare to Believe

Sydney Sketchmeet January 2012

2012-01-19T19:31:00.001+11:00

Hey peeps, happy new year to one and all, hope everyone got started with their best foot forward.

Onto the first Sketchmeet of year and it is rather late notice i am afraid!

Where: Meet at the cannon sculpture in Hyde Park, on the corner of Liverpool and College st.
When: 10am, Jan 21, Saturday
About: We'll be doing a sculpture run down Hyde park and then onto Macquarie st ending at the Opera House where we'll find some cafe to end the rest of the afternoon, as suggested by one of our regulars Mike! :D
What to bring: Sketchbooks. pens, pencils, rubbers, charcoal, pastel. ipads. virgins. whatever you can draw and sketch with. (don't ask :D :D)
Contact: 0404 35 35 89
Wet weather alternative: Closest cafe to the cannon sculpture, whatever that may be! :D (there are some showers predicted, Mike bring your brolly)

Catch you guys and gals on saturday!

Inspiration Thursday - Pascal Campion

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000+11:00

I signed up to his Sketch Of The Day google groups immediately. Pretty much exactly how i feel about my art and storytelling. Kindred spirit right here. :D

Inspirational Artists: Pascal Campion from Onyx Cinema, Inc. on Vimeo.

Thanks to Sidebar Nation for this one.

Inspiration Thursday - Vivian Maier

2011-12-22T12:56:00.001+11:00

I don't remember now where i followed this story from (i am sure from one of the many art blogs i check everyday) but i think i just found my new favourite photographer: Vivian Maier.

Not just a nanny nor just a housekeeper (not that i think anyone is 'just' anything) but a brilliant photographer with no formal training just a love for the medium. And who told nobody she had a gift and simply did it for the love.

Can you imagine, she took so many rolls of film and developed so few of them? Never saw them, did not know if they were good or bad, had no critique on her work one way or another and not a single fan. Just love for the medium. And obviously an adventuring spirit. :D

Go check out some of her photo on the link and if you happen to come across some of her work let me know.

Vivian Maier - street photographer

Hope you guys are all having a great end of year and making plans for the an awesome start to the new one. Stay safe and festive, do not let the stress of this time of year override the opportunity to feel and share love with the ones you care the most about. :

Money Tree trailer

2011-12-10T23:51:00.001+11:00

I got to work on my first animation project not long ago and we get to see it on the big screen at the Metro Screen Festival on Monday. Here is the trailer. I did main character painting and mouth animation. :) It was lots of work for everyone and great work by the whole team. It turned out really cool!

Monstereum - modern monster given life!

2011-12-09T09:29:00.001+11:00

Fellow Aussie illustrator Matt Huynh has a great idea for a project over at Monstereum. To turn modern ailments and problems into a single character that allows you to fight against it and possibly conquer it sounds like an awesome brief.

Go take a peek and see if it does not get your ideas rolling.

Inspiration Thursday - The art of Brett Bean

2011-12-08T16:26:00.001+11:00

Every once in a while i find an artist that just makes you want to pick up the pencil and sketch. I get a buzz through the eyes all the way down to my finger tips and they almost want to move of their own volition.

Brett Bean is such an artist. I love his characters, his creatures, his colours, his design, his verve, his storytelling, his energy... I could go on, so don't tempt me. :D Go check out his website and blog - sweet sweet awesome stuff. And then go draw! :D

Inspiration Thursday - PoseBook by Stephen Silver

2011-12-01T13:06:00.001+11:00

PoseBook by Stephen Silver from stephen silver on Vimeo.

I got wind of this pretty close to its initial release and got the male one straight away but for some reason it was reaaally slow on my iPhone (3G). Yesterday i got some kind of update to the app and it is AWESOME! Great poses and great inspiration for an idea starter when you get stuck or just for some studies.

Pirate boy gets coloured!

2011-11-30T20:27:00.001+11:00

I had a lot of fun playing with this guy. I like the feeling that this little tike exudes and who knows, maybe i really was channeling something from the inside! :D

Pirate boy inked up

2011-11-30T09:46:00.001+11:00

It looked like too much fun so i gave in and attacked it with real brush and real ink. Fun. Always remember how good it feels to ink.

I think i shall colour him next! Even thinking about giving him a crew to terrorise the backyard with.

Portrait photo study 09

2011-11-29T19:20:00.001+11:00

Had fun with another one. :D

First moleskine sketch

2011-11-28T22:23:00.001+11:00

I think of this little guy ass some one who will always be a free spirit. :D

Thought of him while out on the town in Adelaide, started him on the bus and had to finish him off when we got back to the apartment even though it was late.

Inspiration Thursday - Smile

2011-11-24T22:20:00.001+11:00

You would be surprised how powerful and inspirational it can be. And how it can just basically brighten someone's day.

Been spending most of this week in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia (for those of you who don't know where it is :D) and it's been great and it's mostly because of smiles. I mean the city is great with beautiful architecture and some great sites and things to see but it's always the people and their disposition that makes it all worth it.

Went to see Simon and Helen and the rest of the New Internationalist Magazine gang here in Adelaide and they were very kind to let me intrude in their busy schedule. They were also very kind to share their smiles with me.

Stavros at the Eros restaurant on Rundle St, made a very tired, hungry, completely under dressed and slightly blue guy at his door and made him feel very welcome and at home with is warm and welcoming smile.

Same can be said for the lady at the Migration Museum who smiled when she told me that map i was trying to walk away with without paying (unknowingly of course, although i really should have know better than assume it was free :D). She made it all good with just a simple gesture.

Basically, just smile. It takes less muscles than frowning and you never know what good it can do to those you decide to share it with.

And here is Gerry practicing one of his special smiles LOL:

Portrait photo study 08

2011-11-18T13:39:00.001+11:00

Ok so this one totally kicked my butt yesterday so i needed to extend it to today. Still not quite there but waaaay past time to move on. :D

"Keep Drawing" - First post for regular 'Inspiration Thursday'

2011-11-17T10:32:00.001+11:00

keep drawing from studio shelter on Vimeo.

Portrait photo study 07

2011-11-16T15:11:00.001+11:00

Not as happy with this one as the previous ones.

But maybe i am just getting pickier, which is not necessarily a bad thing. :D

Portrait photo study 06

2011-11-15T12:21:00.001+11:00

I am enjoying these and they get my day going off to a productive start!

portrait study 05

2011-11-14T13:59:00.001+11:00

Hey peeps,

I know it has been awhile but thanks for hanging in there. Regular posts are forthcoming. Today just a little study.

Sorry for the absence

2011-08-24T15:49:00.003+10:00

Quite a few things going on at the same time. Need to start using my new Uncalendar to manage it all.

In the meantime, this may be doing the rounds and you may have seen it already but if not check out this Korean web comic. It is all in Korean but you get the gyst of the story and you jut have to scroll down.

Enjoy. (oh you may want your speakers fairly loud but not too much).

Webcomic

Final colours

2011-06-21T17:12:00.001+10:00

Had fun with this one. :D Nice to have some colours on the banner finally.

This part always takes so long.

2011-06-10T19:18:00.003+10:00

One day i will figure out how to do flats a lot faster. :( On the other hand the Fate of the Jedi audiobooks are really good company, so all good! :)

Sydney Sketchmeet 16

2011-06-09T11:52:00.003+10:00

Sydney Sketchmeet 16 - A cool character

When: 11th of June, saturday (2nd sat of every month)
Where: Town Hall steps, cbd
Time: 10am - 4 pm
Task: To draw the coolest character of the day (we shall start posting our drawings up on a blog from here on). We get to see lots of people around the city so it can either be someone you've seen, either with lots of flair and personality or with a little twist, or just something brand new. Just make it cool! :)
What to bring: Sketchbook, stuff to draw with (anything you want), maybe some sun protection, a kilt (commando style), clown shoes, gas mas.... ok ok, just testing to see if you are actually reading this.

Sorry it's so late but been rather busy. Next month we may go to a cemetery, watcha think?

Inspiration is a weird thing.

2011-06-08T14:03:00.011+10:00

Not just the idea of it and how we get it, as that tends to be something that is asked by people who probably do not consider themselves very creative.

I mean the actual process of feeling it and going through it. Whenever i come up with something that i consider being a good story i always imagine that, somewhere or some-when it actually happened and the story is being told to me by someone. :D Yes i know all very vague and mysterious.

When it's a character or any other particular drawing i am not sure i actually feel the same until it has some background or history attached to it.

A little drawing in my sketchbook that i drew while doing some children's book concept art had something "popping out of it" that i had not put there nor noticed it while drawing, only after.

While i liked the sketch well enough it was the idea that this little girl might be going exploring not so much for herself but to show that little guy the world. Thinking that i really needed to see this in colour to make him/her/it stand out and be part of the story made me want to ink this up.

Then is just begged to be bigger! :D

There are a few things that i might chance digitally that i was not completely happy with but here you.

From the drawing table

2011-06-06T12:32:00.001+10:00

Another little guy whom decided to pop in one day to say hi.

Go Vote for Munchkin!

2011-06-02T16:45:00.002+10:00

Hey guys, that contest for the web comic is now up. Go vote and help the lucky winner choose a charity to give money to.

http://www.sjgames.com/ill/a/2011-06-02 (had to change the link for anyone that tried already - since i had already voted it would not let me in to the right page so ths will have to do).

May the best Munchkin win! :D

Munchkin web comic contest!

2011-06-01T13:56:00.005+10:00

Here is my entry for the contest. Tell you more about it and the game itself when i get some sleep.

"Munchkin is a trademark of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, and the art and unique card titles from Munchkin are copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights are reserved by SJ Games."

Plutonium Dragon, Chainmail Bikini and other items worn by the characters are based on the cards in the game Munchkin Quest, with art by John Kovalic.

Building character

2011-05-24T12:59:00.004+10:00

Finally decided to give one of the many children's books ideas we have floating around our place a try and see how much fun i can have with it. So been playing around with some character design for these little adventurous people that i will be drawing.

Just plain cool - Adrian 'OZ' Osborne

2011-05-18T12:52:00.003+10:00

I was on an unplanned trip through country NSW and Victoria last year (the heroes of which were the ladies and gents that work and volunteer their time at the various information centres) when we stopped by the city of Beechworth. Now lots and lots of stuff are very cool about Beechworth (they have an awesome bakery, now a chain store that dictated which towns we visited thereafter and it made me interested in Ned Kelly for the first time in my life) but I wanted to talk about probably the coolest, which just happens to be a fellow Aussie illustrator.

Adrian Osborne saw me come into his shop like any other customer, looking around and checking out his work. He was cheery and not pushy at all as he told me what he did and he might be able to help me if i chose to let him draw something for me.

However when i told him i was a fellow illustrator and was more interested in hoping to probe him with questions about his business and background, he promptly came around the counter and introduced himself, and his young daughter that was around at the time, with a warm handshake and friendly smile.

Without a second thought i had gone from being a potential customer to a 'fellow' artist and he was only to happy to answer my questions and offer some very good advice, about sketchbooks, traveling and taxes.

He then took what should have been a paid job and offered to draw up a caricature of me right there and then, working on his cintiq qhich was connected to a monitor allowing other people, in this case Lisa, to see him as he worked.
You can never speak highly enough of people like Adrian that without thinking are genuinely cool and awesome. If you happen to be around Beechworth, Victoria make sure you pop in to say hi at his Splatoons Studio.

Sydney Sketchmeet 15 - reminder

2011-05-10T09:51:00.002+10:00

Hey there art lovers,

Sorry for leaving this reminder about this weeks sketchmeet so late. The details for the Iron Fest idea are below but i have only had 3 interested people so i don't think it's happening. Unfortunately i happen to be going anyway which means you guys will have to go about Sydney without me.

So the alternate plan is:

Sketchmeet 15 - The Church and The Gallery

When: 14th May, 2011

Where: The Art Gallery of NSW and St. Mary's Cathedral

Time: Meet at the steps of St. Mary's Cathedral at 10am for a couple of hours of architecture drawing. I love the look of this building and it has some very nice features both outside and inside and there are plenty of other cool buildings around.

Between 12pm and 1pm start heading off to the gallery (you may want to grab something to eat or drink before) and go do some master studies, check out the Archibald, draw some of the sculptures from different angles and basically immerse yourself in art.

If someone who knows they are going to be there wants to put their hand up to leave their details so they can be the 'base camp' person for a day then please. These things always work best when someone can always be reached to so that late comers can get some info.

If by any chance there is a late rush of people wanting to go to Iron Fest let me know. We are driving up but, if there is a large group of people i am still willing to train it up. Otherwise i can take up to four people with me.

If you ARE coming, do not forget your warm clothes and your digital camera with lots of memory space. It is a perfect opportunity to build up your reference library.

Sydney Sketchmeet 15 - IRON FEST
When: 14th May, 2011
http://www.ironfest.com.au/

Where: Lithgow Showground
http://www.ironfest.net/getting-here

How: Well i thought we could all take the train together :) From Central station to Lithgow is 3 hrs, with a half hr walk to the Showground.
Plenty of time for chatting and doing some drawing on the train of people (ie each other) :D
Tickets from Central Station are: http://www.cityrail.info/tickets/fare_calculator.htm

Why: I for one have had fun there in the past 2 years but as an artist the amount of reference that you just never have a chance to come across in any other day, in real life and in person, is crazy. Jousting, sword fighting, archery, batles, armour, costumes...
http://www.ironfest.net/program-2011
http://www.ironfest.com.au/images2010.html

Plus it's just plain different than what we have done before and it's a great way to hang out with other artists.

Time: Considering the time it takes to get there and back, and the money that it costs to get in as well as transport, it would only be worth it to do a whole day of it. So we would have to leave central station really early (like, REALLY early), sometime before 7am to get there and have time to walk and get the most out of the show. The show starts at around 10am i think.

some quick inks

2011-05-04T10:01:00.002+10:00

Just some quick inks in photoshop over that little sketch from the other day. Needed to warm up for the day.

Finally have a scanner again

2011-04-29T14:01:00.002+10:00

So i can start sharing little guys like this one that just pop into the middle of work without being very polite about it.

a wip

2011-04-08T22:59:00.007+10:00

Just a little peek at my entry for the latest ArtOrder challenge the ultimate fighter. Gonna be cutting this one close but i will get there. :D

Bamboo Bitmap

2011-04-07T09:47:00.003+10:00

Waiting for it to happen to you is never a good idea.

That's basically what brought Bamboo Bitmap around. As up and comers on the art scene, we check out plenty of blogs and sites on a daily basis that are just full of experience and knowledge and inspiration. Some of us think it's awesome and some of us wish we could be part of such groups. But we need time to prove ourselves, time to gain that experience, time to get good enough to inspire, time to join the top ranks.

And time is something we just don't have. It is not on our side and you can never get it back. So why wait? :)

We have proved it to ourselves time and again that this is what we want to do with our professional lives. Whether it's the challenge, the art, the storytelling, the colours, something makes us want to do it. And like Bliss 'N' Eso say "never listen to the dream-doubters and the bean-counters".

So a few of us got together and formed a little group (that we hope will grow) and called it Bamboo Bitmap. It takes direct inspiration from awesome blogs and sites like Muddy Colors, Gorilla ArtFare and Ninja Mountain Scrolls.

The hope is that as we grow as artists and friends, BB will also grow to be an inspiration for others to take their own fate into their hands as well. Go after what you want and love, everything else is just details to be worked out later. :D

So go have a look and become a follower and then check out the individual artist pages. Let us know how we are doing.

Locus

2011-03-25T17:40:00.004+11:00

Here i shall present my very first official fan art (any other possible candidates do not count before this one).

Locus is a web comic by Adam Black and it kicks arse in all kinds of manner. She does not usually have abs though :) but i guess she is such an active and badass chick that i just thought she needed some.

I have not seen a comic book writer/artist that knows his world and character so well inside out like Adam does. Any questions his attentive fans can possibly have, he has the answer ready. And with loads of history already planed out ready to be explored.

If that wasn't a big enough reason to be a fan he has an amazing work ethic and updates his webcomic 3 times a week without fail. I have even seen times when he has had the page done and ready to be posted automatically on the right day, when he has been on the road.

Please go take a look and tell him i said hi.

Morning sketch

2011-03-09T11:27:00.001+11:00

Just a morning sketch in PS just to get me going this morning. Letting the pen wander and the bringing something out of it. Fun. :)

Sydney Sketchmeet 13 - The Luna Park Experience

2011-03-05T15:20:00.003+11:00

Sydney Sketchmeet 13 - The Luna Park Experience

Where: Luna Park Sydney

When: March 12, Saturday (that's next week)

Time: Meet at the entrance between 10am - 11am (which is when the park opens).

http://www.lunaparksydney.com/index.php/visitor-information/how-to-get-there

Wet weather alternative: Closest mcdonalds (sorry never been there before so i am just hoping there is one).

New Wet Weather meeting place: Pub in front of Milson's Point Train station.

Contact: PJ on 0404 35 35 89 (leave an sms as last resort because i've had problems before, keep trying i check at regular intervals and if you leave a message with a number i will call you back).

What to bring: Something to sketch on and something to sketch with.

Finally the itch has been scratched, or, the dwarf is done!

2011-02-25T00:35:00.004+11:00

As ever, something could always be better. Some things did not come out exactly how i wanted but nonetheless it is done. I can finally put it to bed and move on! :)

I had to really push on to get this done since there were so many things in here that i just had never tried before. As a reward, as it tends to happen with things like this, i learnt a heap of things. To make the most out of it i'll actually make myself write down what those things are in my sketchbook or something. A huge thanks to Nick Robles very kindly gave of his time to give me a great critique on it when i was lost and helped me kick it up to the next level. Cheers Nick. :)

Phew....

Ok: NEXT! Bring it.

I know, i know but just wait.

2011-02-23T17:05:00.001+11:00

Sorry about missing my post from yesterday. I am scratching an itch and i will share it soon. :)

In the meantime, go watch some animation will ya?

The Backwater Gospel from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.

Sketches

2011-02-17T14:22:00.002+11:00

I had to change from 5 minutes to 2 minutes to do these quick sketches because doing 20 of them was taking too long. But man is it hard to finish one in 2 minutes.

got the line wrong

2011-02-17T12:15:00.001+11:00

Did some inks on that sketch. Forgive the photo quality.

A little tongue in cheek

2011-02-16T21:04:00.003+11:00

Or that is how i am hoping this commission will be taken. Friends being friends this could go either way. :D For now it's just a sketch and a bad photo. I'll hopefully get a chance to ink it soon.

BD adventures 02

2011-02-15T23:33:00.003+11:00

I know i have missed a few Tue since i first started this thread, but i did not want to let a power shortage to our apartment (and only ours) and a lack of scanner stop me from getting back on the bike, as it were.

Forgive the bad quality of the pics.

This is Glan, Lars friend. Or at least he will be once i 'find him'. I have a definite personality to him in my head and so i am trying to find the way to show that in his head structure with features that i already know i want in there.

A reminder and a restart... of sorts! :D

2011-02-10T13:40:00.003+11:00

Hey peeps, don't forget about the Sketchmeet this Sat. Slip, slop, slap and all of that, and you sketchbook as well! :D

Sorry for the absence but life and blah, blah, blah. You know how it goes, do the best you can and move on, ever higher. :)

So, i found this great tool not long ago for people who never know which on of their growing reference (or is it 'reference'? hmmmm) pics to draw as warms ups (raise your hand, come on, i know i am not alone). And by found i mean i heard it on the Drawn Today podcast.

The people over at Pixelovely.com have a great tool for drawing from some very awesome photos taken by some talented people with great models (make sure you follow the links on the pics and tell them how cool they are).

The gesture drawing tool is similar to the posemaniacs one but with real people.

I have been trying to do some everyday and here is what i got so far.

I was doing them on paper but have no way of scanning the at the moment so i decided to try my hand at using the wacom for these. I knew i had a hard time drawing straight on to the tablet from the beginning so these are a great way of learning to improve. Plus you can never do too much anatomy. :)

Sydney Sketchmeet 12

2011-01-27T11:58:00.002+11:00

Alright, alright, alright all you art fiends, hope you all had a nice holiday and that you are enjoying your time back at work.

Now it's time to get the Sydney Sketchmeet Group back together and to make it a regular thing. So, for this year all sketchmeets are scheduled for the 2nd Saturday of every month. Each month will hopefully be a different place and i am going to try my best to see how many different things we can attempt, like possibly doing a life drawing day, maybe even a day out of sydney at places like the blue mountains or something - who knows, it's a new year, new attitude and it's all fun and games. :)

To re-iterate: Sketchmeets every 2nd Saturday of the month. How does that sound?

First up is The Rocks on the 12th of February, since it seems to be a favourite for people (if memory serves me right). We'll meet at the Museum of Contemporary Art, At Circular Quay (that's I9 on the map) between 9.30 - 10am

Link to the map (that hopefully works).

People please remember to slip, slop, slap with this heat around and bring water and money to buy more.

Don't forget you sketchbooks and your favourite medium and let's kick this year off to some great drawing shall we?

PS:
For those interested later in the day/night there is a gathering of comic creators at Strattons Hotel, corner of Liverpool and Castlereigh st in the city, from 8pm - 11pm.

Sydney, Australia

Cheers,

A nice surprise in the mail.

2010-12-08T20:50:00.003+11:00

Had a package waiting for me since monday and today i went to get it. It was the next issue of the YUTI Magazine, a kids magazine from Sri Lanka.

I am always happy to get the next issue in the mail because it is incredibly well done. Very professional, lots of colours and it's fun. Plus it's about solidarity, so you really can't go wrong with it.

This issue is just peppered full of my illustrations for lots of "Did you know?" fun fact boxes (even i learned something) and a double page spread comic. :D

Which is really really cool for me because one of my childhood's fondest memories was reading the little fun facts about nature in the middle pages of the massive Disney adventures, Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge and other Disney titles. Nobody was ever able to con me into believing you never learned anything in comics because of those tomes.

Fun times. :D

BD adventures 01

2010-12-07T21:54:00.000+11:00

YUP!
Been a while - sorry for the absence folks.
Lots to do and just not enough time to do them all in. That's not my truth but it is a truth. :D

I have decided to give a very old thorn on my side a good long look and maybe a couple of tugs at it. Ever since i was young my 2 favourite things have been comic books and cartoons. And i have made very little attempt at doing either of these.

So for the foreseeable future every tuesday will be dedicated to developing a comic story, or bd, i have had running around my brain for too long. The idea is to design the characters, environment, story, history and look of the bd and then draw it and publish it.

It will be one heck of an adventure i am sure and one that will, hopefully, teach me a lot about a medium that is very dear to me. Hopefully i will learn enough (and love it even more) to do it over and over.

That's the plan anyway. :D

I have a sneaking suspicion (ie i am pretty sure) that you have seen the 2 main characters in one form or another on this blog before. No matter. We start from scratch from now on.

Here's some scribblings for Lars. More about him as the design develops.

Tiefling vs Drow

2010-10-29T00:21:00.002+11:00

Some progression on a picture i have been working on recently. Not really there yet i think but it's been a good learning experience with plenty of frustration as well.

Critiques welcomed and appreciated.

Final Elf pencils

2010-10-13T21:01:00.004+11:00

Here you go peeps! watcha think?

Scanner and the only comp that can use it at the moment are both not working properly so i did the best clean up i could, but sorry about all the remaining smudges. Tracing paper is really hard to keep clean.

Tanis Half-Elven has always been one of my favourite fantasy characters and this very much influenced this pic. I did look at Jon Schindehette's post on the style guide for elves and did my best to follow it for this.

Let me know how i did guys.

Another go at the elf

2010-10-12T03:48:00.003+11:00

Tried to take peoples critiques and have another go and make it better. Forgive bad photo, will change it later.

Archer composition study

2010-10-09T13:42:00.003+11:00

Just seeing how a composition along these lines might look. Critiques welcome as i've already had some good ones especially regarding some tangents and the arrow head.

Sydney Sketchmeet 11

2010-09-24T14:44:00.001+10:00

Ok so it's time to get back on this beautiful horse of ours and flog it until it's dead! This is my first 'official' Sydney Sketchmeet as organiser so you better all show up and make it a good one.

Time and date: Saturday, 2nd of October 2010 - from 10am - 4pm

Place to meet: Hyde Park, Sydney CBD at the Archibald Fountain (please see map).

What to bring; A sketchbook and something to doodle with.

Goal for the day: to Sketch (i have high goals).

Contact: PJ 0404 35 35 89

The idea here is the same as always to get out of the house see other artists and get to know each other and at the same time sketch. We all need the fresh air (me more than some :D) and we are all doodlers. Come, say hi to everyone, give us your name and start chatting and sketching away. I will do my best to make sure that everyone feels included, so sit close (no closer, closeeeeeeeeeeer) and feel free to start a conversation. Better yet ask to see people's sketchbooks and share yours.

We shall try and make it a one place sort of event for each sketchmeet. That gives stragglers the chance to know where we are no matter what time they show up. I like Hyde Park and particularly the area around the Archibald Fountain so from now on (or until it starts not really working for people) that will be our meeting place. If we decide to go somewhere else i will try out the idea of walking from there as a group but we can leave that for the next one (which i am hoping will be on the 6th of November).

There are plenty of cafes around and other interesting places for people to explore. Lots of people to draw and always plenty of interesting characters.

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=Fountain&fb=1&gl=au&hq=Fountain&hnear=Hyde+Park,+Sydney+New+South+Wales+2000&ei=wBucTOadPIeCvgOU5JH8DA&ved=0CDEQtgMwAA&hl=en&oi=georefine&ct=clnk&cd=1&geocode=FeYb-_0d3UsDCQ

Extras: It might be cool if we can give the idea of coming up with a logo for the group another try. The more people the merrier so bring your friends.

Any questions, queries, suggestions don't hesitate to call me or email me.

Hope to see everyone there.

Welcome to new subscribers! :)

2010-09-09T12:23:00.003+10:00

Thanks for taking a look guys, new and old.

Been doing some really good mornings of sketches and getting my days off to a great start. A couple from today.

Dwarf Mage WIP colours - still pluggin away

2010-09-08T15:22:00.003+10:00

I am learning a lot from this - HEAPS!

Dwarf Mage WIP colours

2010-08-31T14:09:00.001+10:00

I think i am getting stuck at this time. :(

some more WIPing

2010-08-20T14:59:00.002+10:00

Still early stages but having fun. Now some battlecat me thinks. :)

Dwarf Mage WIP colours

2010-08-18T10:32:00.002+10:00

Dwarf Mage

2010-08-16T15:36:00.002+10:00

Honestly my very first fantasy illustration i have ever remember doing. Had a lot of fun doing the inks for this sketch and i am thinking of taking it further.

Morning study - lips

2010-08-16T11:24:00.002+10:00

Thank you to everyone who is been watching here and in Facebook and hitting that like button. I am going to try really hard to get back to you on all those comments. :) cheers,

Chiu Stream Contest

2010-08-12T09:37:00.002+10:00

Unfortunately i missed the 1hr mark to upload it but it was still heaps of fun! And done more or less in an hr! :D

Runaway sketch

2010-08-10T17:08:00.002+10:00

Working on the inks next.

Hand studies.

2010-08-06T13:23:00.003+10:00

Going on with the search for a nice look to the blog, i thought i would also give a try at presenting my work a little better.

Morning study

2010-08-05T12:04:00.002+10:00

A quick colour and anatomy study this morning.

We should get awards just for making it to the table!

2010-07-30T11:24:00.003+10:00

Man it's just been one of those mornings. I have bee working on this acrylic painting and at the end of everyday i have been really happy with the outcome and what i have learned. And yet the next day it's just one insecurity after another and just making yourself sit down is the biggest struggle. As you can probably guess not quite made it there yet. Needed something to take take my mind away so i can sneak up onto the table while it is busy doing something else. :D

Still not happy with the look of the blog but, dammit, i just needed to see some change on it. Plus that freaking mountain is this mornings metaphor. :D

Morning Sketch

2010-07-15T11:39:00.003+10:00

My best friend, lover, soul mate, partner in life and adventures. Picnic breakfast on the balcony this morning. What more could anyone possibly want, seriously?

A humming quadruped

2010-07-14T20:24:00.005+10:00

(edit: changed to a cleaner pic)

Man i just bought myself a new lightbox and it's awesome. 2 cm thick and just sits on my drafting table for when needed. This little guy is the first of many inks i hope to make now that it is so easy to turn my pencils to inks. No more back pain - sweeeeeeeeeet!
(sorry about the bad photo, i'll try scanning it later)

Sliding along

2010-07-11T20:07:00.003+10:00

Went to dinner the other night and this little guy came out onto the table top during the course of the night. I had fun letting it go wherever he wanted to, she he ended up being some kind of wandering desert slug. :D

Pit stop colours

2010-07-07T16:46:00.003+10:00

Not really sure how successful this one is but i still had fun with it! :D

Colours for the cricket cartoon

2010-07-02T17:33:00.002+10:00

Thanks for looking guys and gals! :)

Cricket linework

2010-07-01T17:19:00.002+10:00

This one was cool just for the simple fact that i got to learn about women's cricketing history. :)

All you need is love!

2010-07-01T09:39:00.006+10:00

Really that is the message behind this very important film but you have to watch it all the way to the end to understand how powerful love can really be - that is if you did not know it already. :D

I would love to talk to anyone who reads this or knows me about this, at anytime. Approach me, question me, try to convince me otherwise, anything as long as we are discussing it and spreading the film.

Let's see what we can do together. :)

(hmmmm never tried embedding a video and it does not seem to work so here is the link

Fun box - Olympics

2010-06-29T11:52:00.002+10:00

Final colours.:)

Fun box - Sportsmanship

2010-06-28T16:23:00.003+10:00

The final colours on the sportsmanship fun box.

Spain vs Portugal is playing soon, for the chance to go through to the quarter-finals in the world cup, and i guess my wish that it is a very fair and clean game found it's way into this little illustration. There is nothing more i hate than so called soccer players spoiling the game i love by shirt pulling, shin kicking, diving, play acting, hand balling and claiming goals and fouls when they knowingly have no right to.

Where the hell is the skill in hacking someone's legs? Play the damn ball and leave the players alone.

*Deep breaths PJ, deep breaths*

New linework 3

2010-06-25T16:12:00.003+10:00

I had fun with this one. :)

New linework 2

2010-06-25T14:18:00.001+10:00

Hmmm i may just lose this comp! :D

New linework 1

2010-06-24T13:58:00.002+10:00

Having a little comp with myself. So far, so so. :)

Everyone needs a cheerleader

2010-06-23T18:23:00.002+10:00

Another fun box, this time with a little fan thrown in. :D And the lines for the little guy too.

The inspiration for that little guy came directly from another great post by Vivienne To, a great girl and awesome illustrator. Go check out her stuff, pretty damn cool!

A couple of rabbits!

2010-06-23T17:36:00.001+10:00

Just a study of rabbits, from a couple of photos.

Wood toe done

2010-06-22T12:15:00.001+10:00

Pretty much what the title says really! :)

You stepped on my toe!

2010-06-18T17:45:00.002+10:00

A wip of the final drawing for the fun box about the prosthetic toe they found with a mummy.

A memo from Walt DIsney

2010-06-18T10:16:00.002+10:00

Over at Letters of Note there is a great post, transcribing and showing you a memo from Walt Disney to Don Graham that is just brilliant stuff to read. Gave me goosebumps. :D

My favourite paragraph both for what it says and how he says it:

The point must be made clear to the men that our study of the actual is not so that we may be able to accomplish the actual, but so that we may have a basis upon which to go into the fantastic, the unreal, the imaginative - and yet to let it have a foundation of fact, in order that it may more richly possess sincerity and contact with the public.

Where did he go?

2010-06-17T15:33:00.002+10:00

Another Fun Box for a children's magazine this time about how fast they have to be at the pit stop in formula one!

Sumo finished!

2010-06-16T11:38:00.001+10:00

Another Fun Box for a children's magazine this time about how much sumo wrestlers eat.

Gym Pretzel

2010-06-11T17:31:00.002+10:00

Another fun box. Hmmm, somebody better help her down i guess!

sumo wip

2010-06-08T17:12:00.001+10:00

Just a small one today.

galle fort jumper

2010-06-03T17:06:00.005+10:00

Some small changes to the final :)

Discover a muse

2010-06-01T17:26:00.002+10:00

Over at the ArtOrder blog the have the Discovering a Muse coming to a close. I got in too late to finish but it's gonna get done during the week. So here are a couple of wips.

Another fun one.

2010-05-27T11:35:00.001+10:00

I liked the movement in this sketch.

hmmmm....

2010-05-27T06:51:00.003+10:00

SO....

Lot's of health checks (not done yet) and lots of problems with laptops where i do my work (not resolved yet).

So trying to catch up on work.

This one was not liked :) (see what i did there?) so it's not going further but i liked it enough to post.

Website is back up!

2010-05-18T09:49:00.001+10:00

Sorry for the inconvenience folks but it is now all good... i think! :D Let me know if you come across any problems.
Cheers,

Love the soccer ball!

2010-05-05T23:54:00.003+10:00

Sketches and initial colours for a new little illustration.

morning sketchings

2010-04-21T21:29:00.004+10:00

The way my work place and Lisa's have worked out to be pretty damn close to each other, offers me the chance to go in to work with her in the mornings. For some people the fact that she basically starts work something like 2 hrs before i do, may have been a problem, but for me it offers the perfect opportunity to do some sketching. So hopefully i will be posting pages like this one on a regular basis. :)
Man that page just did not want to get from the sketchbook to the web. Crazy stuff, the amount of ways and times i had to try to get it up.

Back from hiatus with some thoughts. :)

2010-04-19T20:56:00.003+10:00

Ok let's make a deal not to do that again, ok? Ok! :)

Sorry about the long time away but believe it or not I got myself a job and it was a little hard to figure out how to rearrange my time. Working now for a place that seriously reminds me of my childhood stuff: lots of cartoons, toys all around, imagination abound with loads of energy and in particular, Jim Henson's The Storyteller. So I get to do some designing, some concept work and maybe even some building of puppets. :) Pretty damn sweet if you ask me.

I am starting to think this may turn out to be a little bit of a large post so here's a little summary of things and you may skip to the parts that sound interesting to you:

-do what works for you and time management

-copy, copy, copy, copy

-Art Order and Ninja Mountain and Sidebar Nation

-Bamboo Bitmap

-anything else that pops into my head that I have been meaning to write about for a while.

I think I will start with the blogs: Art Order, Sidebar Nation, Ninja Mountain

When I started to get into audiobooks while I was working, I quickly ran the libraries dry of most of the books I wanted to listen to and they were expensive to buy so I just had to wait until they got some more in. It was then that I started to get into podcasts. Sidebar Nation is really the first one I heard about that I also really liked and it was about comic books (as well as illustration in general) so it was sweet. I learned and continue to learn a lot about the industry that I love so much as well as broadening my world into other areas.

I don't quite remember now if it was through them that I heard about the Art Order blog but however it happened it was a good thing. Jon Schindehette has built a real indispensable site that now include forums and a community to learn from and to share with. His topics and challenges are always worth a try and listen. He makes you think. Hopefully once you are done thinking you can then act on it.

Together with another recently found podcast, Ninja Mountain Scrolls, they are my staple diet these days. Just to add another great source right here at the very end of the paragraph, that I know is full of knowledge and info but that I have yet to make a truly in depth diving into, I suggest you also check out James Gurney's blog, A Gurney Journey. All of them deserve a blog entry on their own right (ok maybe 2 or 3 is more like it) which I am sure I will get around to sometime.

Because of them and the need to improve and finding it hard to find people who like spending time critiquing each other's work on a regular basis, me and a small number of other artists ended up making a little blog and hopefully we will develop it into something that will make all of us involved much better artists. Head over to Bamboo Bitmap, make yourself a subscriber and join us in our journey.

Copy, copy, copy, copy and more copy.

Something that I got out of doing while I was in my formative years as an artist, mainly because of some bad advice, was to stop copying other people's work. These days when I am studying it is all about copying. Copy, copy copy is my advice to anyone that is starting out. Copy until you run out of things to copy, and since that is not likely to happen anytime soon, you will be doing it for a long time. Copy masters from centuries ago, copy masters from the last century, copy greats of the modern era, copy your favourite cartoons and copy last weeks strip. Copy copy copy. It teaches you a lot about drawing, form, line, perspective, composition and all those things you will later come to really understand. For now, if you are just starting, then copy. Yes this is all for learning purposes, no you should not be making money out of copies and never pass the work off as yours. Say it is a copy, be comfortable that it is a copy and learn from it. It is especially great when you have a blank but you should still be drawing. Pick a favourite and copy. Do your own research when it comes to copyright and homages, but you should be fine if you stick to just learning from copies. You will find your own original work improves because of it.

I think the last bit is probably the most important and personal of this little rant: time management and doing what works for you. Time management has been a bane in my side for most of my life. And only recently did I realise what the secret to it is (for me that is) and why I was not doing so well at it. You have to pay attention and study yourself. That's right, you have to become your own study subject. You have to pay attention to what you do and note it down – literally and physically note your habits down somewhere. Then try new things and also note these down. Every so often you will come across something that really works and you will become increasingly frustrated why it does not work. I have found that this is because you are not doing it how it worked last time. I have often found methods and times where things have worked, and I have never written it down. Until recently. Once you start finding one or two things that work, the hard part begins – sticking to it. :) you have to stick to it in order for it to work.

Once it becomes a habit it becomes a lot easier and you can tackle your next hurdle.

Anyway I think that this is enough to get me back on track, yes no? :)

YUTI cartoon -Animals - final

2010-03-08T01:02:00.003+11:00

Sorry for the absence guys. Finish this cartoon though - what do you guys reckon? (yeah i know i owe some replies, so it tomorrow :D)

ZBrush skull done

2010-02-22T09:25:00.002+11:00

I think i was getting a little bit too caught up in details for my first foray into zbrush so i am going to leave this skull as is. Down the line when i am much more comfortable with the program i'll come back and redo another and see the diff. :D

ZBrush skull continued

2010-02-19T13:36:00.003+11:00

And this is where i am up to this friday

Portrait WIP

2010-02-18T21:19:00.002+11:00

ZBrush skull continued

2010-02-17T10:30:00.003+11:00

Looking a bit better i would say, hmmmm? Did some sub-divisions, used the standard brush like the pinch brush and stuff like that. doing about an hr each day as the lessons progress, so we shall see how it looks by the end of next week.

Redesign - Alice in Wonderland - White rabbit

2010-02-16T16:06:00.004+11:00

Been playing around with some characters from Alice in Wonderland and redesigning them with a new story twist in mind.

Also i went ahead and purchased a Gnomon Workshop video - Intro to ZBrush, by Ryan Kingslien - and am gonna have some fun learning this program for real. This skull may not look like much as a starting point (it is still only a wip) but trust me it looked a lot worse at one point before i started getting the hang of it. :D

YUTI cartoon -Animals - wips

2010-02-16T12:43:00.004+11:00

This is the next cartoon for the YUTI Magazine, with an animal theme (although i have used animals for all of them). You can see the characters that i created before.

a couple more characters

2010-02-08T18:44:00.001+11:00

I will probably edit this post once all the characters are done.

Justy a litlle something before bed...

2010-02-04T23:48:00.002+11:00

The Naiitors - a sentient race of trees that live by the seas watching the marina animals swim by. As a consequence they are the greatest swimming teachers in all the lands, something they do with immense joy simply because they cannot swim themselves - oh how they wish they could- and so get pleasure out of teaching others.