Sarah's Sketches

Another quickie for a drawergeeks. Never was much of a Strawberry Shortcake fan when I was little, but she makes for a fun topic.

So most of my daughter's naptimes have been devoted to working on my comic, but that leaves the blog abandoned. So today, here is a quick take on the joker... which also happens to be the drawergeeks topic right now.

So... I may not be posting for a while. But I can't think of a better distraction than a brand new little daughter. I'll be back though!

Here is a sketch I did yesterday. The colors make me think of a 70's rock poster. I have noticed lately that when I don't color things several of the comments tend to be "but what about the color?" Initially I found it odd (why does everything need color to be considered finished?), but then I realized I've made similar comments on other people's blogs. I'm guilty of really loving color too, and quite honestly, if I had the time, I'd love to fully paint and render everything I draw. I wonder what the universal appeal of a fully fleshed out painting is compared to a simple line drawing? Here also is a recent design I've done for the graphic novel. I'll post more novel stuff in the coming months as I complete the final art for the opening sequences. For this street scape, I wanted to develop a "language" of repeating shapes and architectural details that would help identify the city every time the story brings us here. I want all my maj...

The new Drawergeeks topic is triplets. At first I wasn't all that inspired, but I then I realized this morning that these monster-slaying-Townsville-saving ladies are triplets.

Someday I would like to do a fancier painting of Stephen. I did another initially that was more painterly/detailed, but somewhere along the way it lost it's Stephen-ness. Also, if you are interested in reading Fablewood , the latest anthology I've been published in, it is now available online! Check it out at Ape and Amazon . I'm told it's best to order from the Ape Entertainment store, as they currently have it in stock.

I'm procrastinating. Really I should be finishing up some comic design stuff, but instead I ended up drawing something for the next drawergeeks topic, samurai. I'm tempted to keep tweaking this, but I should probably get some other work done. Click for a bigger version.

When I start sketching for fun lately, mermaids tend to appear. Also, check out this cool tattoo Jenn Wallin got of one of my sketches , done by the talented Danielle Distefano at 13 Roses Tattoo Parlor in Atlanta! Thanks Jenn for letting me post it. :)

To be honest, I find model sheets kind of boring to do, but I'm also the first person to argue when working in a studio that they are absolutely necessary. So although I've been dragging my heels regarding my graphic novel characters, sets and props, I decided this week it was time to bite the bullet and get going. To keep myself from being overwhelmed (there is a lot to design), I've decided to focus on the first three sequences. This character is in all three sequences and requires a different costume for each. Lucky for me, these three outfits show up frequently in the book (particularly the central robes as they are worn by various characters), so it's a great jumping off point. I also thought I'd include a few thoughts/notes on how I approach character model sheets. -I use animation paper for rotations, drawing each angle in the center of the page. That way I can flip the images and ensure that proportions are accurate. Good animation paper is also a bit trans...

Finished my drawergeeks entry early. I'm pretty happy with this painting and it came together much quicker than usual too. Yay! As I worked on this, I started wondering why Tarzan is so often depicted as clean-shaven. I guess I could have thrown in a moustache, chest hair etc. too, but why is that? Thank you also to everyone who has been stopping by the blog lately.

I decided to paint a sketch I did a few weeks ago. Click on the image for a larger version. I had thought I might colour it, but I think I like it black and white. Or maybe I just like it black and white because I know I should probably work on some other projects today. Apparently Fablewood will be out in comic stores very soon, if not now. Exciting!

So the theme for Toon Club is Robot and the theme for Drawergeeks is Monsters Under the Bed AND today is Valentines, so here you go. The monster drawing makes me think of Scott Campbell's funny Flight comic . I think it's the little people on the head thing. I've now officially finished my graphic novel roughs, which means I can move onto actually working on finished art. This has me VERY excited. I also hope to now spend some time updating my website and maybe even setting up the print shop I've long promised. At the very least, I hope this means more blogging. :) I'm also giving a "how to" talk about comics at the DFW Writing Conference at the end of the month, so if you're in Texas, come check it out!

Just a little post to tide the blog over while I'm busy wrangling graphic novel roughs and getting ready for the new family member. I would love to do finished art for The Dindle . Here are some character design ideas for the dindle and his friend... the cats are from a separate story.

I know... yet another mermaid. But I was doodling for fun the other day and mermaids are fun. The last mermaid I posted here is actually becoming a neat sculpture by Cleveland, a Blue Sky modeler, check it out . And as promised, here is the art from page one of The Changeling, my comic for Flight 5 . I think half the fun of working on anthologies is challenging myself to try out different styles of art and storytelling.

Drew this today while Stephen was getting his hair cut. I'll be sure to post some Flight art this coming week so stay tuned. (Stephen's hair looks better than hers.)

Did some more sketching during writing group last night, mostly random stuff, although the hick is for the next drawergeeks topic. Hope everyone has a great holiday! I plan to eat lots of food. :)

I've been very busy trying to complete my Flight 5 story before my parents arrive for Christmas, but here are some random drawings I did while waiting for the monster Flight page files to open or save on my computer. I saw The Golden Compass several weekends ago and thought it was much better than the critics made it out to be. The little girl who played Lyra did a fantastic job. It's too bad though that books somehow don't 'count' to the public unless they are made into films. I'm reading The Golden Compass now, and although the film is an admirable attempt to capture a very complex story, there are just some things better read than seen in a theater.

Two posts in one week! Hurrah! Toon Club topic this week is Elves. I think I might paint the chubby one to post. Maybe though I'll just end up posting these sketches. Click for a bigger version. Drawergeeks this week is "Star Belly," completely open for interpretation. Since I have baby bellies on the brain... er belly, I drew the girl below. But then I realized that Drawergeeks is not the place for nudity, no matter how tame and rolly-poly the nudity, so I tried to come up with something else last night. I'm not sure what I'll end up sending in, but here are the sketches. I kind of like the cat and bunny.

I was watching The Aristocats a couple mornings ago and decided I should try drawing more cats. Some of these are my attempts to draw cats without reference, others are sketches of my two cats. Click on the image for a bigger version. I've been working hard lately painting the artwork for my Flight 5 story. I'll be sure to post a sample of a finished page or panel when I'm done. Hopefully that will be in the next week or so. Also, here's a quick drawing of my sister who is in Africa. I miss you Laura. :)

When I was a younger I drew tons of princesses but had little interest in drawing unicorns. The time to remedy that was apparently tonight. Somehow a magical pegasus sneaked onto this page too.