New Year, New Sketchbook...

"Country Bear Gin-bor-ee"

Pencil & marker, 12 x 24"

I realize it's not the new year yet, but I'm really excited about a recent discovery, "CinemaScopic Sketchbooks"!  Strathmore has these super-wide sketchbooks available.  Okay, I don't know the exact ratio or how long they've been available, but they're really great!

I love to draw, but often hit that wall commonly known as the I-hate-everything-I-draw-phase. So, I'm going to mix it up a bit.

I usually draw digitally (with Adobe Illustrator), but lately I've been missing the grit and smudge of paper.  I also miss getting high on markers. This sketchbook was a timely discovery.

I've been enjoying blocking in solid, basic shapes with marker, then using a Prismacolor pencil to play with various line and shape textures.  When I start drawing, I have no idea what I'll end up with (hence the drunken bear).

I'm really excited about this format for sketching.  I think I will explore random elements for a while.  You know, get the rust out.

It may even get weird.  Who knows?

My Juno...

 

Nothing rings in the holidays like a digitally controlled oscillator.

I decided to break out and dust off my old polyphonic synthesizer, a Roland JUNO-106.

It's a poor man's JUPITER-8, but the 106 does have some nice textures and sounds.

The last time I used this instrument was in college to compose some student film scores for friends, but I got the most use out of it the year after high school when I played in a Top 40 band called, "Off The Wall".  (The lead singer named the group).  That was 1986.

(Clippings: courtesy of Rose Kuras, my grandmother)

Steven A. MacLeod...

Sketch drawn at the table by Steve MacLeod.

Clockwise from top left:  Bob L, Mike Lester, Aurian Redson, and Will Mata.

Sketch by Steve MacLeod.

Clockwise from the top:  Aurian Redson (w/ dark cloud), Steve M,

Will Mata, Bob L, and Mike Lester.

I had to post some of the amazing quick sketches of DreamWorks' story artist, Steve MacLeod.  A few of us enjoy playing foosball.  We even have our own "rules", meaning no rules!

Steve wonderfully captured the insanity of our game in these loose, gestural drawings. Check out his blog to view his amazing work.  When you see the sketches in person, you think they are right out of The New Yorker.

Sea Of Bath: Sketches!

These are early pencil sketches of some of the characters for the book...

Sea Of Bath: Toys!

Before I started my book, I shot pictures of a bunch of toys floating around in a bathtub for reference...

(Images were taken with a Nikon D90)

Spongebob Squarepants served as the perfect "double" for my main character.

Thousand Oaks, California...

I had my camera with me and caught this beautiful morning after a night of rain.

Sighhhh... [cue birds].

Lumos!

Harry Potter has hit the Logan household in a big way.  I've been reading the series to my son and he's hooked!  We are currently on Year 5:  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

It's been a pleasure experiencing the journey again, this time with my son. "A Day at Hogwarts" became the favored-theme of a recent birthday party in our home.  We had to take some creative liberties, but hopefully the spirit of the books was retained.

The Sorting Hat awaits!

We started the party off by having the birthday boy "act" the role of the Sorting Hat by sorting the students into their proper houses.  Then... a day of classes began that included, the "Quidditch Snitch Toss", "Care of Magical Creatures Balloon Toss", "Transfiguration Charades", and a "Potions Scavenger Hunt".  

Professor Snape demands perfection when it comes to potions.
Luckily, he was kind enough to provide the first clue!

Once the students found all of the proper ingredients for their potion, added them in the correct order, and spoke the funniest chant they could think of, they were amazed and astonished to find that they indeed created gold coins worthy of Gringotts to be spent at none other than the Honeydukes Candy Bar and Zonko's Joke Shop!

  

Dumbledore's Favorite Lemondrops!

"Mad-Eye" Moody Rubber Balls

Old Disney Chalkboard…

When I went to visit Mrs. Nelson’s Toy & Book Shop a while back, I walked around the historic area of San Dimas.  It was really charming.  I wandered into an antique store and found this old chalkboard lined with Walt Disney’s characters.  It was an impulse buy.  It didn’t cost much and it had someone’s name written in the corner in ink that I was able to remove.  I figured it might come in handy should I ever want to draw up plans for building a space station or something.

I found a similar one on eBay.  They were dating theirs back to the 40’s or 50’s, but Professor Ludwig von Drake (one of my favorite characters) didn’t arrive until the early 60’s.  It feels like it’s from the 60’s, maybe the early 70’s.

I like the color green they used in the chalkboard area.  The characters are screened on there really well.  The slightly off-model Mickey is pretty cool too!

Arrrrgh, Pirates!

"Pirates"

Sharpie & graphite, 14 x 17"