Puppy drawing evolution

I thought I'd draw the poochies in the style of Sanrio characters (you know, Hello Kitty). As with most things, it was a process. Third try was what worked...or rather, I gave up after the third try.

It's amazing...I live with these dudes and see them everyday, but I'm still not sure what their coloring looks like. I can tell you that Louie is black and tan, but I'm not sure where all of his spots are. And Dexter is a whole other story. That dog is like 10 ridiculous shades of brown.

I've been drawing a lot of "cute" stuff lately. I think perhaps my limited, bright color palette is having an effect on my subject matter (I've been strictly using Copic markers and since they're so expensive, I'm stuck with what I have). That, or I'm turning into a big softy. I used to love to make more quietly menacing & subversive work. Now, it's all puppies and flowers...odd.

projects

I've been keeping busy outside of blogging with life. Work, projects, and my little furry boyfriend, Louie. Been picking up some new hobbies (like teaching myself HTML/CSS very slowly and running) that have been eating into project time, but hey, diversifying is a good thing.

Here are some snippets of projects that are in the works.

Been working on creating some stylized portraits of people I know. I'm struggling with figuring out a 'style' for them. I don't want them to be too Disney-ish.

Finally getting around to creating some groom portraits based on strangers' wedding photos (perusing wedding photography is a guilty pleasure of mine). I love seeing what the grooms are up to. The brides all look the same to me. I mean, really, how much can you change up the concept of a white dress and an updo? In the limited realm of men's fashion, the grooms have more wiggle room outside a white dress and can do bow ties or vests or linen shirts, etc. I like to see how emotional their faces can (or cannot) get.

Been working on some actual non-illustration design work. I haven't really done any layouts/type design work since school last summer. At work, there isn't a lot of flexibility to concept a design from scratch, so I thought I should keep my skills up. This is a snippet of a website design (the very early stages of creation via a Photoshop mock up).

Also been working on some calligraphy/script work. But that is for another post.

Work in Progress

Work in Progress.  Practicing painting digitally.

The Politician

The Politician (sketchbook drawing before the painting below)

Inspiration drawn from {{ here }}.  Everyone should love Jerry Yoon.