A Brief Encounter with Death

I returned to a project Moleskine to do some work and found some sketches I'd forgotten about.

Draw Something; Creative Obstacles

I'll soon get round to posting some of the work I've been doing lately, but in the meantime here's something I drew on my phone's touch screen that I'd like to tackle in Photoshop one day. Not very original, but it'd be fun practice.

Incidentally, if you play Draw Something, add me, Mark_H_ - I got back into this game last night.

One of the thing that inspires me in this game is the limitations. I can't get accurate brush strokes, I'm limited by brush thickness and I've not that big a colour palette. I find I thrive with such restrictions; where it's a sort of do-what-you-can-with-what-you've-got situation. It frees you up. I used to love Biro pens, MS Paint and Adobe Flash for that sort of thing, where as if I'm using Photoshop there's just too much choice so I end up over-working things - which is definitely something I've encountered with the recent illustration work I've been doing. I wonder if I just need more practice at it because I'm straying outside my comfort zone, or if introducing some kind of restrictions before starting would be a better idea, such as a stricter time limit, or picking a colour palette before painting.

It's maybe not a good example, but compare the first Star Wars film, which was fraught with production problems, experimental effects and a tight budget, to the prequels where George Lucas could basically do anything he wanted. Finding creative solutions of obstacles often seems to produce better results than just having the power  to do everything exactly as you see it in your head.

As for my own work, I next want to experiment with bold, simple colour. I shy away from it too often when given the choice, but I really do like some of the stuff I do in Draw Something that reminds me of the limited palettes and primary colours of old video games, which I mentioned in this post.

Any other artists/illustrators have any thoughts on this subject?

Trooper's Helmet

I was always concerned that Trooper's backwards cap came across too retro. I don't know why I never tried giving her a colander before. Totally what an 8-year-kid playing space marines might do.

Morning on Another Planet

I haven't posted here in a while, so here's a little piece I made today. It's kind of an experiment for a technique that could be better used in the future.

The sun and sky were added digitally, and besides the green tint would you believe the rest is a macro photo of a pint of beer?

Elwood in Tree

Not so Creepy Crawlies

Some initial sketches and designs. Visual brain storming.

Elwood, Cow and More

Squirrel

I liked the squirrel I drew in a recent Elwood comic so I'm thinking of working him into another strip. These below were the first designs, I've since moved his eyes more to the sides of his head (as above and in the profile view below).

Old Elwood sketches

Some sketches for comic ideas I drew sometime last year, including some drama for Meche, and a hungry pigeon stealing blackcurrents.

I've airbrushed out some of the text to avoid spoilage, and there's a lot of smudging from being in my sketchbook for so long.

Concept Sketches

Some concept sketches for a project I've been thinking about for a while. There's an urban decay, run down, worn out, disused theme going on.
The one in the bottom-right isn't finished yet, I'll upload it again when I can be bothered rendering all that stonework.



I've now started taking photos of stuff like this... There's a subtle serenity to some abandoned, forgotten, worn out locations. Maybe it's because no-one ever goes there. Maybe it's the plant life in some of the places I've been. Maybe it's just me, what do you think?