Drawn to Draw
And here is another one I pulled from my sketch folder. I drew him a month or two ago. A lot of my weird alien-monster doodles are concepts for my personal project. I’ve been calling the project “Trichoplax” for about 8 years now. I had a point-n-click game finished almost 2 years ago now. I could release it right now, except that I’ve had to change some of the story since then. I should be able to salvage some of the puzzles and stuff, so I’ll come back to it when I can.
Inspired by my 2.5 year old. My wife just emailed me a picture. As you can tell, brownies are being made. This sketch was made using the real2B tool. I have a variation of the brush saved. I’ve dubbed it my sketcher. I gave it a quick shade using a larger smudgier version of the real2B tool. I think it funny that I’m talking about using a “real” tool that isn’t in fact real. Painter also has a Real Watercolor tool.
I was asking around for something to draw. The first request was for a monkey. This is what I drew:
I like the pencil sketch enough to show it too. I used a liquid ink layer for the lines, and the real2B tool to colour it in. I’m trying expand my painting style from just resorting to the smear/smudge tools. I used that for everything in the Jack art.
Well, I couldn’t leave him alone. Here is a second iteration of the fat ladybug. He’s done completely in Painter12 using my intuos4. I started with a line sketch, then shaded him in using the rough conte tool. Then I added colour using the real 2B pencil tool. I’m still tinkering with the brush settings, so I can’t say what settings I used on all of these.
I felt he needed some ears. He’s not actually a ladybug, just inspired by one. The characters are more alien/monster sort of things. I want to avoid actual humans for this project. (not that I have anything against you humans out there) I thought about giving him suspenders to keep up his jeans, but I felt they got in the way of his spots and folds. That’s the same reason I didn’t give him a shirt.
I’ve got a project that I’ve been tinkering with since 2005. I’ve doodled this as a concept for one of the characters. She doesn’t have a name or even a personality yet. But I wanted a playful athletic look. I wanted a mane to hint at an inner ferocity, and yet be able to show as a feminine hairdo. Plus I liked how it framed her face. The sketch came first. A few days later I used the mane as an excuse to practice digital painting. Next time I come back to this character I’ll figure out what style of clothes she wears. The story requires that she shows up in a space-suit. I’m pretty sure she and her companion(s) will get down to their regular clothes once they know the atmosphere is safe. The Fat Ladybug was a concept I liked for one of the companions.
As I’m looking through my sketch folder, these eyes remind me of something my wife pointed out. She commented that I tend to only sketch half of what I am drawing. one hand, one leg/foot (not always on the same side of the body) sometimes only half the face. The rest is only shape and suggestion; no details. She asked why. I told her that sometimes the sketch is only to get a thought on paper. If you do a full character then you’re basically getting the thought down twice. Instead of spending time doing one particular aspect twice I move onto another part of the character. This sort of explains why I only draw half. Bun in all honesty it’s just something I tend to do.
I’ve been doodling for an hour now, playing around with various character concepts. This guy made me chuckle. He came from an idea for a squishy/chubby ladybug. That idea came from one of the other doodles, which started out as more of an owl/squid thing. That one came from another doodle… It’s a fun process. I may come back to this guy another day. Perhaps he’ll sing yet.
