Sleepyhead

As well as doing sketches as a warm up exercise to engage the brain, I sometimes (oddly enough) also sketch to wind down at night when I don't feel tired enough to go to sleep. This probably works becouse I find drawing to be very calming... most of the time. Maybe it has something to do with focusing brain activity or something?

Whatever the reason, I didn't feel sufficiently sleepy tonight so I hit the pencils again. Hence the double post.

Edit: Oops. I forgot it's Friday already. ;-)

1930's Construction Workers

109

I'm digging out my graphics tablet tonight and doing some painting. I did this sketch as a warm up. Let's just leave it at that and say no more.

108

Oddities

Beggar

I was looking through a collection of travel photos from India and came across a rather interesting picture of a deformed begger. What drew my attention the most was his use of a flipflop to aid in movement. He also had the most amazing hair. I played with the reference a little and added more fantastical elements - particularly his stomach.

SP_018_Lemnos

A speedpaint from a photo of ruins on the Greek island of Lemnos.

I'm not sure about the purpose of the ruins, but Hephaestus seems to have been "givin' it large" on the island at some point in history, so maybe it is part of a temple in his honour. Whatever the subject, I was drawn to the photo becouse of the beautiful rusty colours and the dark brooding sky on the horizon. There's something magical about the rocky earth and gnarly windswept costal colours of the Greek Isles that I just go dizzy over.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I live in England where - despite most residents seeming to think this "green and pleasant land" is nothing more than a whimsical, nostalgic view of our country - there still seems to be vast tracts of quaint fields, hedgerows, tiny winding lanes and beautiful little villages built from local stone (Google Earth flyover anyone?). Okay, the "pleasant" bit might be pushing the boat out (so to speak) when it comes to numerous areas, but there still seems to be a preference for overtly lush greenery in many parts. I think that is why I love the look of more hardy, arid landscapes - and probably why I love the local heathers and gorse bushes the most.

DSG_1393

Another Daily Sketch Group (DSG) theme: Sci-Fi Sleek White Paramedic Hover-Bot. Partial fail due to the back end and not really putting across the idea that it is there to help... looks kinda nasty.

DSG_1391

Current topic for a daily sketch group: Creature • Hunched, Barrel-chested, Extra-limbed, Teeth-gnashing Abomination.

Telecom I

A quick speedie I managed to squeeze in. God, I can't wait for my holiday and some serious down time.

DS_033

DS_032

Bladerunner: The Inevitable Post!

Lack of recent posts has been due to my horrible ability of attracting mountainous workloads by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time... with the wrong sort of mentality! Never the less, I found myself waking up this morning with the destinct feeling that the day was all mine - to fritter away as I pleased - with a stiff two finger salute to anyone (even loved ones) who may try to incur on my self-indulgence! I spent my day, wisely I might add, watching Ridley Scott's Bladerunner (again) and finished off the afternoon with a few speedpaints and a long soak in the bath.

Anyway, here's a few speedies from my latest Bladerunner session. 'Twas inevitable that I turn to this film at some point in this sketch-blog.

Half-bake

I don't really like to post half finished... sorry, I mean half filled sketchbook pages, but I have had a rather busy few days and this is all I've managed to fit in. Usually I would forego a post altogether, but in this case I realised that this sketchbook page is one of the rare instances when I don't actually fill - or at least feel done with - a particular sheet in one sitting.

You can see evidence of mish-mash I obviously have going on the right and, to be honest, I decided to drop the putty rubber on the faint forms and throw something else down. Now I think I'll just make do with the scratches that are already present and finish off tomorrow. Maybe this way you readers can see a little bit of my messed up process.

The one good thing about posting this half filled page is that the sketch of the woman stands out a little more. This is (personally) good for a number of reasons...

Firstly, she only played small bit parts in 4 films (to my knowledge) which is a terrible shame becouse her dusky facial expressions are so damn good (I think she would have been typecast a little more if it wasn't for the fact that a certain Sophia Loren wasn't dominating the scene at the time).

Secondly, I think I might just be able to look on this sketch with objective eyes (a very hard thing to do) and honestly say I am pleased with the outcome (apart from the strange inclusion of foreshortened shoulders).

DS_031