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Showing posts from 2014

Season's Greetings 2014!

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"Santa Claus" I drew this not long ago, and I digitally colored it today. The background is a patterned fill from the paint shop program I worked on this in. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Christmas Time

My family and I finished up watching The Santa Clause trilogy last night. It's great. I've imagined making a Santa Clause comic before that takes place after the movies. If I get ambitious enough, I might try to do that some time. I changed the background on my blog to a Christmas background. I'm thinking of changing it to an all-new background in the new year. I'm also thinking about blogging a Christmas-themed artwork soon.

Arrow/The Flash Sketches

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"Arrow/The Flash Sketches" I'm a major comic book geek, and I've been into the new comic book shows on TV, and the ones that have been around a season or two, or three. I recently did these sketches. Clockwise from the top, there's the Flash, Arrow, the chest of the Flash's costume, and Captain Boomerang. The shows Arrow and The Flash are great. I especially like The Flash . That show is lighter in tone. I like gritty, but sometimes lighter is refreshing. Barry Allen, a.k.a. the Flash, is kind of a funny character, but not so funny that he's a joke. Arrow is a gritty character and his show has a more serious tone. Other super heroes are appearing on these shows. Firestorm appeared on the mid-season finale of The Flash . Ray Palmer is appearing on Arrow , and he will eventually become The Atom. There are almost enough comic book shows for every day of the week. There's The Flash and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Tuesdays, Arrow on Wednesdays, and

Dad Figure

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"Dad Figure" I did this around the holidays in 2012 and 2013. I got a blank cartoon figure for Christmas that I had wanted. They make these things so you can draw whatever you want on them. You can make them look like whatever character, made up or pre-existing, you want. I decided to make this one look like my dad. I first drew the features with a black marker that came with the figure. Then, I painted it with acrylic paint. I also used one of the stickers. It's a sticker of a watch. I think it turned out really cool, and if I had three more I'd make ones of my mom and sister and I. And if there was a dog figure, I'd make one of our Yorkie puppy, Ginger. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Christmas Movies (Updated)

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"Clark Griswold"  Update: I added a 15th movie to the list. It's actually more like a TV special. Here are some Christmas movies I recommend: 1. It's a Wonderful Life 2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 3. Home Alone 4. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 5. Home Alone 3 6. Ernest Saves Christmas 7. Claymation Christmas Celebration (technically a TV special) 8. The Santa Clause 9. The Santa Clause 2 10. The Santa Clause 3 11. Christmas with the Kranks 12. I'll be Home for Christmas 13. Scrooged 14. Batman Returns (it is set at Christmas time) 15. Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Ghosts of Christmas Eve (TV special) Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

The Librarian

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"The Librarian" This cartoon character is inspired by a librarian I met. I think I thought about redrawing it but I never got around to it. If I do, I might color it. The hair would be blond. The under shirt would of course be black, and the over shirt might be something like pink. The pants would be blue, and the shoes might be white, or pink like the shirt.

Grandma's Butterfly Decoration

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Grandma's Butterfly Decoration I touched up this butterfly for my grandma last year. I think it's concrete like the boot I painted for my sister. The paint on the butterfly was faded, so my grandma asked that I touch it up. I went over the orange parts and the dots. I brightened them up, and I added some darker orange shading to the orange parts, besides putting some light orange on there. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Boot Painting In Progress

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Boot Painting in Progress I painted a concrete boot for my sister last year. The picture above is of the boot painting in progress. I used acrylic paints. I started out painting the whole boot white, then I went over it with the other colors.  My dad clear coated it after I painted it. My sister chose the colors, which I think look good on the boot. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

"Ginger" Artwork In Progress

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"Ginger" Artwork in Progress Here's a picture of an early stage of my "Ginger" artwork. To the left is the reference photo, a picture taken by my dad. To the right, of course, is my oil pastel picture based on the reference photo. I think that was pretty much the beginning of the artwork. I started out with the white parts of Ginger's hair. I did this artwork on paper like they used to make paper shopping bags out of. I'm not sure if they still do. I taped the oil pastel work and the photo to my drawing desk. We now have the finished artwork hanging up in the living room. It's a large artwork. I'm very proud of it. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

The Holidays

It's the start of a new month...the month of Christmas! It's also the month of Hannukah and Kwanzaa. I'm going to try to get busier on my art, and maybe post more art on here. I had a great Thanksgiving with my family. I love the holidays. I might do some Christmas art this month. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Turkey Day

Everyone who celebrates it, have a happy and thankful Thanksgiving!

Anxiety

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"Anxiety" This is a work in progress. I plan on coloring it later on. Anxiety is a serious problem. I've covered it in some of my recent artworks. I think it's an interesting topic for art.

Stressed

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"Stressed" This is a stressed man. I might go back and color this some time. I think I've got many drawings that could use some coloring. It would be an opportunity for me to do some digital coloring.

Jagrafess Rough Sketch

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"Jagrafess Rough Sketch" This is a rough sketch of an alien character from series one of Doctor Who, post revival. This is one of the villains that the Ninth Doctor had to deal with. The adventure that this creature appeared in was set in the future on a space station.

Rumination Brain

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"Rumination Brain" Rumination can be a headache! You go over and over and over something in your mind. Often what you go over is a problem that doesn't need solving. It's tough to get over, but there are ways to overcome it. If you do ruminate, you need to take action to get over it because it can lead to serious conditions, like depression. Find out what you can do to overcome it. Talk to your doctor if you need to.

Woman

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"Woman" Here's a drawing I started on not long ago. I haven't finished it yet. I might start over and redraw it.

Sister Of Plenitude

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"Sister of Plenitude" This is a member of the Sisters of Plenitude. They appeared in some episodes of Doctor Who . One in particular called on the Tenth Doctor when the Face of Boe was dying. The Face of Boe had a secret to tell the Doctor before he passed away. I believe the first episode they appeared in was the Tenth Doctor episode with the then body-swapping Cassandra. The sisters are cat-like humanoids. This is one of my latest Doctor Who sketches.

Gelth

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"Gelth" This is a Gelth, a character from the first series of Doctor Who , post revival. There is an episode where the ninth incarnation of the Doctor, and Rose, travel back in time to Cardiff and meet Charles Dickens. They end up encountering these creatures of fire, the Gelth. It's a cool episode. I like drawing these Doctor Who characters.

The Face Of Boe

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"The Face of Boe" This is another Doctor Who character I sketched. It's been said that Captain Jack Harness may at some point become the Face of Boe. I thought this was a good exercise in texture. The Face of Boe has a very textured face. I'm not sure if you'd call it scaly or rocky looking, or what. I used cross hatching for some of the less darker areas on his face. I decided with these sketches that I want to do cross hatching for some more or less dark areas. I want to leave other dark areas for possible digital coloring. I might decide to do that at some point with these Doctor Who sketches.

Adipose, Take 2

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"Adipose, Take 2" I decided to redo that adipose drawing I did awhile back. Over the weekend, I thought about doing sketches of all the Doctor Who characters in my Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia . I might do that. I'll keep drawing the characters and see how far I go with that. I thought I'd start with the redrawing of the adipose. I don't yet know what Doctor Who character I'll draw next. I'm thinking of doing hatching and crosshatching for the shadowy areas from now on. I might do these sketches like comic book drawings. Doing daily Doctor Who sketches might be fun, so, like I said, I'll see how far I go with it.

Sketches

Happy Yom Kippur! I'm thinking of doing daily sketches or something like that. If I can figure out what to draw, I might do daily sketches and blog, and journal on deviantART, ones for some days of the week. I would like to do some kind of drawings to blog and maybe upload to my deviantART gallery. I'll see what happens.

Happy Pizza Month!

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"I Love Pizza"  It's October now. Apparently, not only is Oktoberfest and Halloween this month, but also it's Pizza Month! And apparently pizza is so awesome that it needs more than one day of celebration. Speaking of pizza, Little Caesar's has a great pretzel pizza. It's got cheese sauce instead of marinara.

September's Coming To An End

As I was trying to think of a title for this post, I remembered that Green Day song. I think it's titled "Wake Me Up When September Ends." September is just about over. I'm excited about it because of two things. The first thing is that I get to change my Doctor Who calendar to the Tenth Doctor. The second thing is that October is the start of the holidays. It would be a good time to do some drawings of werewolves and things like that. It would also be a good time to read some scary books and watch scary movies. Watching horror movies is how I celebrate Halloween. I go more for the classic type of horror movies like The Wolf Man . As far as books, I've read a book by Stephen King titled Cycle of the Werewolf . It's a short book, but it's great. It's got art by Bernie Wrightson in it. I believe Wrightson has also illustrated a Frankenstein story. I'm trying to think of other artists who have done horror art. I checked out a book before, about drawi

Art Studies

I think it was the year before last that I studied Vincent Van Gogh. I read a book about him. I also watched a DVD about letters from him, I think to his brother. It was narrated by John Hurt, who played the War Doctor in last year's Doctor Who: the Day of the Doctor. I have a book my sister bought for me, I think last year, about Vincent Van Gogh. I think I might read that soon. I've been interested in John Mellencamp's paintings. I've got a book about them titled Mellencamp: Paintings and Reflections . He's done some interesting artworks. I think I might continue to study different artists and types of art.

Getting Back Into The Groove

I haven't done a lot of art lately, but I'm trying to get back into the groove. I've been working on some art for a friend. I did a colored pencil drawing on black paper recently. I haven't done that in awhile. I think you have to have the right paper and colored pencils for that. The better the materials, the more the art will show up on the paper. I'd like to get really busy on my art soon. In the meantime, here's a link to comic book artist Terry Dodson's awesome blog, The Bomb Shelter.

Artists can be Their Own Worst Critics

Some artists can be their own worst critics. They may see flaws in their art, whereas viewers are enthralled by it. I think one reason why some artists are their own worst critics is because it's kind of difficult for them to be objective about it. They spend so much time on the art, looking at it, that they need to step away from it for awhile and come back later to see it with fresh eyes. I think if you do that you can at least be somewhat more objective about your art as an artist. You either need to step away and come back, or have someone else look at it. Christopher Hart talked about being your own critic in a post on Facebook. I think he basically said you need to think more positively when critiquing your own art. It's good to critique your own art so you can do what needs to be done, if anything, to improve it. But, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself.

UFO at Night

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"UFO at Night" This is a rough drawing I drew awhile back. I've been watching Unsealed: Alien Files on TV for awhile now. I like to watch TV shows about UFOs and things like that. The History Channel and/or H2 seem to be famous now for airing shows about UFOs and aliens. One of their best known shows on the subject is Ancient Aliens . Now there's a show titled In Search of Aliens . It's hosted by Giorgio Tsoukalos of Ancient Aliens . UFOs and aliens are interesting subjects. There have been a lot of sightings. I've never seen an alien or UFO on Earth firsthand, but I believe there is life elsewhere in the universe. It's an interesting topic to think about.

Pencil Types

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Left to right: standard wooden pencil, lead holder, mechanical pencil, and sketch stick  Here's a question for artists: when it comes to drawing, what kind of pencil do you use? There are various types of pencils, including the ones pictured above. I've been using a mechanical pencil a lot lately. However, I think wooden pencils feel more natural. But, pencils without wood are probably better for the environment. Besides wood, there's also graphite or lead types to consider. What type(s) do you need for your drawing? There are 8B, F, H, and so on. Each type of lead gives a different lightness or darkness to drawings. I figure if I'm doing a basic drawing, like a cartoon drawing then I don't necessarily need a specific type of lead. But, if I'm doing a realistic portrait, I may want to use various types of lead. So, those are some things to consider when you're getting ready to draw.

Pencil Tips, or Rather Tips of Pencils

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D'oh! Here's a problem I'm sure artists, and really anyone who uses a pencil, faces. It's about pencil tips. I don't mean tipping a pencil like you do a waiter. I mean the tips of pencils. You sharpen your pencil, and the way it's sharpened, the wood goes down one side of the tip to the end. It seems like it can make it difficult to use. And, I think when it's like that, it'll keep doing that every time you sharpen it. You have to scrape the wood off of that side of the tip. I've occasionally had this problem with some of my pencils.

Seven Years on Blogger

I looked back into the archives of my blog. My first post was Thursday, October 16, 2008. It's been about seven years since I started blogging on Blogger. A blog is a great tool for an artist. I think I read somewhere that you could have a blog to have potential employers look at. I like Blogger. For one thing, they have a stats page where you can see how many people are viewing your blog. I've gotten a lot of views on my blog. It also allows for easy redesigning of the look of your blog. There are templates you can customize. Blogger is a great site for an artist.

Sam the Historian

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"Sam the Historian" I've been looking through Christopher Hart's book, Modern Cartooning , again lately. He shows different head shapes you can use for cartoon characters that you draw. I tried a round head shape for this drawing. This character looked to me like he could be a historian. At first I thought of naming him Abraham, but I then I thought Sam might sound better. I gave him facial hair similar to Tom Selleck in the film Quigley Down Under . I imagine Sam's specialty may be the old west. He's really into stuff about cowboys saloons and things like that. He also loves old trains. Sam is really enthusiastic about history.

Blah

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"Blah" People are in a blah or dull mood sometimes. I have been. I hadn't done much with dA muro on deviantART in awhile, so I did this artwork. I should probably practice drawing more on dA muro. I draw very well on my paint shop programs on my computer, but I haven't had much experience doing that on dA muro. Usually when I use dA muro, I do something like abstract art on it. I don't usually go for any kind of realism. But I may give that a try on dA muro some time. I think, however, it can be fun to just mess around with the brushes and do something kind of spontaneous.

The Penguin Face/Two-Face Face

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"Two-Face Face" "Penguin Face" Here are a couple of pictures I drew back in 2012. I drew the Two-Face picture on the back of the paper that I drew the Penguin picture on. I drew these in kind of my cartoon style. I also did one of the Joker, which I colored: "Joker Face" I used Sharpies to color the Joker drawing. I'm sure I've blogged my "Joker Face" drawing before, but it doesn't seem to be in my posts as far as I can tell. But, here it is. I drew these three artworks around the same time. I think they turned out pretty cool. 

Yawn!

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"Yawn" I have yawning fits sometimes where I yawn till my eyes water. As far as I know, it's a mystery why we yawn. The Mythbusters once tested the myth that yawning is contagious. I don't remember if they proved it true, or if they busted it. I think my yawning fits are what caused me to draw this drawing. I drew the character yawning the way Charlie Brown shouts something like "AAARG!!!" The top of his head goes back so you can't see it. I wonder if doctors or scientists have ever tried to discover why we yawn.

Greg

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"Greg" I drew this based on some of what I've learned from Christopher Hart's book Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy . I named the character Greg. Greg seems to be a popular name. There's Greg Proops, Greg House, Greg or Dharma and Greg . Humany Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy is a great book!

Scott Pilgrim Gets Drawn

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"Scott Pilgrim Gets Drawn" I drew this on some scratch paper I got for Christmas some years ago. I got into Scott Pilgrim back then and I got the first book in the series for Christmas. I think I may have gotten the other five in the series with a Christmas gift card. I have the whole set now. Scott Pilgrim is awesome! those books have action, adventure, fantasy, comedy. They're drawn in a style that I think is considered manga. Bryan Lee O'Malley is the creator of Scott Pilgrim. He wrote the books and was the main artist on the books. The books were published by Oni Press. I saw the movie later on and it was cool. I think the books are the best though. Scott Pilgrim has to fight seven evil ex-boyfriends of Ramona Flowers before they can be boyfriend and girlfriend. The book starts out very real and becomes very surreal the more you get into it. Basically, the world becomes a video game. I recommend reading the Scott Pilgrim books, and watching the movie, Scot

Dave

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"Dave" I've done some studying of Christopher Hart's book, Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy . I intend to do more studying of it. I think I have the part about drawing a human head memorized pretty well. I drew this picture from my memory of what Christopher Hart teaches in the book. I might go back and darken the shading on the neck later. I think either I didn't shade it dark enough, or it faded when I enhanced it in paint shop. Christopher Hart's book, Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy , is great!

Jack Miller Thinks Of Pizza

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"Jack Miller Thinks Of Pizza" With this drawing, I tried out an expression that Christopher Hart teaches in his book titled Modern Cartooning . I added the thought about pizza so he wouldn't just be standing there. I also added some vertical lines to his collar. Usually I don't draw any lines on the collars of the cartoon characters I draw. Modern Cartooning is a great book!

Happy 4th Of July!

I hope everybody who celebrates it is having a safe and happy 4th of July. If you don't celebrate the 4th of July, I hope you're having a great day.

Monty Python Reunion!

Monty Python are back for a reunion tour, in the UK I believe. I got into Monty Python awhile back. I've watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Monty Python's the Meaning of Life. I've done some drawings of Monty Python. They're very funny. I like their wild, unpredictable humor. I hope they'll release a DVD of the reunion tour. I wonder if there's a chance of a new movie at some point. It's too bad that Graham Chapman is no longer with us to be part of the reunion tour. I would have understood if they didn't want to reunite without him. But since they have, it's cool that they're back together. Monty Python has a site for their live tour at MontyPythonLive.com . I recommend that, if you're in the area of the tour, that you check them out. They're great!

UFO

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"UFO" UFOs are an interesting, and mysterious, phenomenon. I've watched TV shows and read books about UFOs and aliens. I only know that they say what they say. I try to keep an open mind. I don't know if aliens have visited Earth, but I do believe that there has to be life elsewhere in the universe.

Rick

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"Rick" I was thinking about guys' hairdos nowadays, and I drew this. Popular hairstyles change over the years and decades. One current hairstyle is where the bangs are combed off to one side, and over the forehead, I think. I drew this drawing with that particular style in mind.

Blank

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"Blank" This is inspired by artist's block. You may have heard of writer's block. This is the artist's version. Sometimes you want to draw something, but you're mind goes blank. You don't know what to draw. I've had times when I couldn't think of anything to do for an artwork. It can be frustrating. Whenever that happens, you need to look for inspiration wherever you can.

Witty Writers

A friend started a blog with a friend of hers. It's titled Witty Writers, and you can check out the latest blog post here . That blog post explains the purpose of the blog. So, if you're interested, check out the blog at that link. I think it seems like an interesting idea for a blog.

Talenthouse

If you're an artist, I recommend checking out Talenthouse.com . It's a great site to try to get your art recognized. They have contests where you can submit artworks for things, like promotional art for bands, and other stuff. Entering in one of those contests could get you major exposure for your art. So, if you're interested, sign up at Talenthouse and get in on the action.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my dad, and all the other dads out there! You're a kid's first and biggest hero.

Peter Capaldi

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"Peter Capaldi" Here's a picture I drew of Peter Capaldi recently. I did it as a line drawing. I think it turned out pretty well, but I'm considering redrawing it. Doctor Who 's new season, the eighth one, starts I think in two or three months. I think it will be cool to see Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor. I'm curious to see how it will all look. They'll no doubt have a new opening credits sequence. The previous one had Matt Smith's face in it. I'll miss Matt Smith as the Doctor, but it will be cool to see how Peter Capaldi does.

Art Books

I'm currently reading and studying the book titled  Sketching Masterclass , by Ruzaimi Mat Rani and Ezihaslinda Ngah. It's got a lot of helpful stuff in it. I recommend checking it out. I'm also plan to continue reading and studying  Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy , by Christopher Hart. And I may continue studying  Anatomy for Fantasy Artists , by Glenn Fabry, soon. One thing I recommend when practicing or studying drawing is to focus especially on the parts that are most challenging for you. If you're studying a book about drawing, focus especially on the parts that are the biggest challenges, and maybe focus on them first.

Adipose

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"Adipose" This is an adipose, a creature from Doctor Who . In an episode of Doctor Who , people take a pill made by Adipose Industries, and these little creatures grow inside their bodies and absorb their fat. Then, they burst out of their bodies ( Doctor Who  10). I recently thought about drawing a Doctor Who character, and I drew this. Adipose have a very simple appearance. They look like marshmallows. Works Cited Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia . Great Britain: Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2013. Print.

Movie Review - X-Men: Days Of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past is an excellent movie! It's an epic film with an ensemble cast. In my opinion, X-Men is always awesome. Add to that time travel, and it's beyond awesome! It's cool to see some of the cast from X-Men First Class , and some of the cast from the other X-Men movies, come together. It's exciting! It's all about the fate of mutant, and even human kind. Mystique plays a very important part in this movie, and I think that's cool. There has never been much focus on her in the movies. Jennifer Lawrence's performance as Mystique is really phenomenal. Wolverine also plays a big part in this movie and I think it's always cool to see him. Hugh Jackman has done a fantastic job of translating Wolverine to film over the years. James McAvoy gives a very dramatic portrayal of Professor Xavier. I could go on and on. There are lots of characters in this movie, and they're portrayed greatly by their actors. Omar Sy as Bishop, Halle Berry as S

Comics And Sequential Art By Will Eisner

I'm planning on reading   Comics and Sequential Art , by the late Will Eisner, some time soon. I have the edition that includes print and digital (Eisner cover). It's a great book for any aspiring artist. Will Eisner is a legend in the comics industry. The edition that I have has a quote by Neil Gaiman on the cover that I think sums up this book: "When I decided I wanted to write comics, I bought a copy of Will Eisner's COMICS AND SEQUENTIAL ART, and studied it. If I were starting out today, with all the books on comics and graphic novels out there, I'd still begin with this book." I've checked out this book many times from the library, and got my own copy some years ago as a present. It's a great book. It's got some very helpful information in it, and it's got great art by Will Eisner himself. Works Cited Eisner, Will. Comics and Sequential Art . Florida: Poorhouse Press, 2004. Print.

Jack Miller Goof Jeans Ad

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"Jack Miller Goof Jeans Ad" I did a Goof Jeans ad with my Drawing Board character Jennifer Kyle recently. I decided to one with another one of my Drawing Board characters. This is one with Jack Miller. I thought I'd make this one more humorous. You can see the "Jennifer Kyle Goof Jeans Ad' below: "Jennifer Kyle Goof Jeans Ad"

Christopher Hart

I recommend keeping up to date on Christopher Hart's work on ChristopherHartBooks.com . Christopher Hart is a professional artist and author. As I believe I've mentioned before, you can follow him on deviantART and Facebook. He posts some funny, wacky multiple choice questions, and he talks about making it as a professional artist. I've read some of his how-to books and they're very helpful to me as an artist. His latest book is How to Get Published as a Manga Artist . I recommend checking that out as well. It can be very helpful not only to manga artists, but other artists as well.

The Wisdom of Michael Avon Oeming

Here's another art quote: "Your sketchbook should be such a part of you your friends should expect to see it at all times- Draw them, draw life, draw food, draw draw!" - Michael Avon Oeming

Boris Vallejo And Julie Bell

If you haven't seen the art of Boris Vallejo and his wife Julie Bell, I recommend checking it out. They do fantasy art. They've done art that looks like what you would see in fantasy stories like with Conan the Barbarian or Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. They've also done comic book-related art. They have a site at  www.imaginistix.com . I recommend giving it a look(s).

Jack Throwing A Ball

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"Jack Throwing A Ball" Here's an old picture I drew of my character Jack Miller, from my comic strip titled The Drawing Board . I was practicing drawing Jack in motion.

Beware The Devil

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"Beware The Devil" Here's a picture I drew in 2012. I digitally colored it. I think it turned out really well. The highlights look good, and the fire in the background looks very realistic. I drew it in my cartoon style.

Jennifer Kyle Goof Jeans Ad

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"Jennifer Kyle Goof Jeans Ad" Here's my second drawing of Goof Jeans, a parody of jeans ads. This one features Jennifer Kyle from my comic strip titled The Drawing Board . I might do one with Jack Miller. I could have a comic book sticking out of his back pocket. I could do ad parodies or spoofs for other types of products as well. It's something for me to consider.

Movie Review - Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla is back, and bigger than ever! This time he's a hero. This movie is epic. There's a history behind the hero and the villains in this movie. There are epic battles that cause mass destruction. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays a very important part in this movie. He's the human hero in this. The cast also includes Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, and others. This movie is packed with action and moments of drama. Godzilla is HUGE! This is a very well-made movie. And it's different from the 1997 film. I personally liked that one, but this one is more sophisticated I think. Brian Cranston also stars in this movie, and I think you'll be surprised where his character ends up in the movie. To see Godzilla on the movie screen is an amazing experience. I think the fact that it's on the movie screen helps to make you feel like you're in the movie. This movie is epic, amazing, and thrilling! I very much recommend you check out Godzilla . It's definitely freaking

How To Draw Superhero Muscles, by Christopher Hart

I just saw a cool video on Christopher Hart's YouTube channel. He showed how to draw superhero muscles. I thought I'd share it here. You can see it and more videos like it on Christopher Hart's YouTube channel :

Jack Miller Portrait

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"Jack Miller Portrait" I practiced my line work with this earlier tonight. This is of course Jack Miller, from my comic strip titled The Drawing Board .  I'm working on improving my lines. One thing I did differently with this was that I didn't draw the lines below his eyes. I think it may have have made some of my characters look older than they were supposed to. I also left off the thick outline that I've been drawing cartoon characters with. I'm not sure which is better, a thick outline or a thin one. But anyway, I did this partly as practice, and partly just to have something to draw.

The Wisdom Of Andy Warhol

I thought I'd share this quote that I saw on Facebook: "Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol

Zentangle 8

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"Zentangle 8" Here's my eighth Zentangle. I think I'm going to try some more different Zentangles at some point. I think I'll read more of Joy of Zentangle when I get the chance.

Movie Review - The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a great follow-up to the first movie! It really captures the spirit of the comics. Spider-Man wearing a fireman’s helmet and using a fire hose is the kind of thing I would expect in the comics. The characters are great. Jamie Foxx did a great job as Electro. His portrayal of a nerdy Spider-Man fan turned super villain was fantastic. Dane Dehaan as Harry Osborn was great. He was sympathetic but also there was a mean streak to him. I thought Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich, a.k.a Rhino, was really cool. The mechanical suit is different from the comics, but it works. Returning cast members Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Sally Field once again gave great performances. There’s one character in particular that I think everyone should watch out for. Her name is Felicia, and if she’s who I think she is, she may return in future movies. There’s a lot of humor and drama and action in this movie. Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, is going through

Christopher Hart's Facebook Page

Christopher Hart, artist and author of many how-to drawing books, has a Facebook page. He posts funny statuses and helpful stuff for aspiring artists. Sometimes he does contests! If you're on Facebook, I recommend checking out Christopher Hart's Facebook page .

Zentangle 7

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"Zentangle 7" I did some different patterns with this one. They're kind of alien-looking. I really recommend looking into Zentangle to see what all you can do with Zentangles. I've seen some really creative ones. Some go beyond the typical format that I've been drawing myself. You can do some really interesting things with Zentangles.

Zentangle 6

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"Zentangle 6" This is my sixth Zentangle. The weave pattern is one of my favorite patterns to do. Maybe my favorite pattern of all to do. I also like to do that triangle pattern quite a bit.

Zentangle 5

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"Zentangle 5" This is my fifth Zentangle, as you can probably tell from the title. As usual, I drew random patterns. Zentangle is cool.

Zentangle 4

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"Zentangle 4" Here's my fourth Zentangle artwork. The weave pattern, in the lower right square, is one I've used before doing Zentangle. I think I've also done something like that patterns in the lower left square. I've done artworks similar to Zentangle in the past. I doodled random patterns and shapes. Zentangle is a cool type of art.

It's Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

Art Books

I was thinking about art books earlier. There are a lot of great how-to books on art. They cover drawing, painting, etc. Some that come to mind for comic book artists are Comics And Sequential Art by Will Eisner, How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema, and any book by Christopher Hart. You can learn a lot about how to draw comics from those books. Those guys are experts, and they know a lot about how to draw comics.

Zentangle 3

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"Zentangle 3" This is my third Zentangle. I think I do get a good feeling when I've completed one of these. Zentangle is basically mindfulness drawing.

Zentangle 2

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"Zentangle 2" This is my second Zentangle. I really like how it turned out. Zentagle is really cool. I feel like I've been doing something similar to it for some time. Zentangles are really enjoyable to do, and I plan to keep on doing them.

Beautiful Angel

I've been thinking about writing poetry lately. I talked to a friend about it, and I decided to go ahead and go to it. I haven't written poetry since high school, I think. I decided to get back into it as another way to be creative. Last night, I wrote a poem inspired by actress Eliza Dushku. Here it is: Beautiful Angel By Josh Ralls Beautiful angel With silky brown hair Beautiful brown eyes And skin so fair Beautiful soul kind and caring Courageous spirit Beautiful being, so daring Lovely is she Beautifully talented A chameleon of sorts Beautifully skillful An artist of sorts She’s a credit to humankind She’s beautiful in every way She’s got a peaceful way, I find God bless her if He may