Feeling blue.

Today I went with something that I find I waste a lot of time on, Mass Effect. I know EA screwed us fans over with the finale but it is still one of the most interesting and compelling sci-fi adventures in the gaming world. So I did a sketch of one of the most overlooked aliens in Citadel space (at least that is what they think) the Volus. I love the mystery underneath their enviro-suits, their ball like shape that makes you feel he would start rolling down a hill if you nudged him and they are greedy little pigs too.

Of course, I ended up turning to standard pose. Just draw a guy standing in empty space with little narrative. If this were a toy I would be a little disappointed that it didn't come with anything extra. I fail at adding extra little details to sketches, so something to think about for next time then.

Tribal Cat Warrior

I was having a hard time coming up with an idea for today's sketch so went with something random and did a cat warrior. Not the most original of ideas but it was amusing to draw.

Doodles and oodles

A sketch I found that I did in Romania of Thunder. I had recently at that point read Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of Richard Stark's novel 'The Score' and liked the use of negative space when the main character confronted a stalker which I tried out using my character. Looking at it anew the attacker looks smaller than he ought to in the foreground and should be much bigger and the lightning could have been better to make it more coherent. Little lessons to learn for next time.

These pages are sketches that me and Diana did whilst at an evening service. The cat wizard is a character I have in mind for a graphic novel and appeared briefly in the 24 hour comic. Diana sketched Harold who plays the keyboard for the songs at the service.

Finally a sample of my poor attempt at life drawing. Though it was challenging to draw them in my illustrative style rather than the usual academic way I would normally go about drawing from life. I hope that if I continue to try and do this it may inform my visual style to be coherent and anatomically correct.

Dangerous streets

Today's sketch was originally just this nice young lady and then the background and the shadowy guy came later. I felt I haven't done a gangster/film noir image in a good while so it was nice to come back to it. Also I think the time has come to try a different colour now...orange has been used enough.

I see you!

I seem to have gone back to Tolkien again this time with the tower of Barad Dur. I have to say my pens were dying whilst making this image so the orange gets a little faded round the eye of Sauron. Other than that it was incredibly fun to create my own rendition of something from Tolkien's work and not be based on the Peter Jackson visual which has tainted the imagination of how we perceive Middle Earth.

Tell your friends we're coming for you!

Started doing some daily sketches just to keep the flow of drawing going. And today I started off with a mass effect showdown on Rannoch. With this piece I experimented using 'Kirby spots' for the Reaper laser making it all crazy, but I feel that makes it visually unclear. Saying that though I had fun making Shepard sweat trying to take out a Reaper.

Go back to the shadow...

I found a couple more sketches from Romania, this one here depicting the epic confrontation with the Fellowship and Durin's Bane. This composition is based off a sketch from artist Skottie Young but my own take of it, so it's not an original sketch in that sense. By trying to draw a little like him I found a way of drawing subjects in the fantastical context which is easier or more natural.