The Monster

Well, Halloween is tomorrow and one of the frequently portrayed characters is this guy. But, what do we call him. You and perhaps everyone you know will call him by the name Frankenstein and all would in fact be wrong. In Mary Shelly's book Frankenstein he is called the monster, the demon and even the devil but never Frankenstein. Frankenstein is in fact the man who created the monster. So when you say you are going to be Frankenstein for Halloween, next time dress up in a lab coat, wear a surgeons mask, don't eat, act real schizy and if you want a bit of Hollywood start yelling "it's alive"! You will confuse your friends but you will honor a fantastic piece of literature.

Day 15

Today in my staff meeting we had two guest speakers. One came from computer support to talk about preventing the spread of viruses through safe web browsing and the other came to answer questions about the rapidly spreading "swine" flu (H1N1). The IT guy informed us that the majority of virus attacks on campus are started through the use of applications, ads and games on facebook. So, I got this thought, what if facebook was the primary transmitter of human viruses. That would mean that facebook is responsible for the proliferation of H1N1 and the only hope was an injection of McAfee or total abstinence from facebook. I think I like the idea of the later. The drawing is nothing to speak of but the thought made laugh inside.

Day 14

Tonight my wife and I came home, after dinner and a game at our friends' house, and found and army of wasps hanging out in a corner on our front porch. So, I grabbed a fly swatter and some wasp spray and went to town. That spray is amazing. One solid hit and over 100 hundred wasps hit the ground dead.

Day 13

These week's theme is draw your pets as people. So, this evening I did a quick sketch of my dog Hank. This came shortly after watching him pounding his nose into the bottom of his bowel while vacuuming up two cups of food so fast that he nearly choked on the bottle-necked lump of kibble being rammed down his throat. I have often wondered what would happen if I tipped over our 100 pounds trash can of dog food and just let him at it. This picture is what I envision that looking like.

Day 12

Drew this one while watching the office. Could be a Dwight Jr.

Day 11

Jenna named this one Victor.

Day 10

I didn't have time to get my drawings posted this weekend. My wife named this one Ryan.

Day 9 & Illustration Friday: Pie-Rat

I figured a already did three literal pirates so why not enjoy a little play on words.

Day 8

This is Milton according to my wife. He's a little ticked because his twin brother got a more masculine name (Oscar), worthy of a pirate, while he was cursed with a softer more proper English name. Consequently Milton overcompensates by picking fights with anyone who chuckles or possibly infers inward amusement at the sound of his name. Though deep down he is a softy and has been known to occasionally cry after stealing lolly pops from babies.

Day 7

These pirates are enjoyable to draw because of the fun I can have with misshapen faces. My wife has named this one Oscar.

Day 6

Another late night addition. I made it though.

This one (One Leg Jack, as my wife calls him) falls in suit with the theme of this weeks Illustration Friday topic. I figure I will draw a handful of pirates this week. I had fun drawing this guy's hair.

Day 5

Today I revisited this character for little flyer I am working on for my office.

Day 4

This weekend my wife and I cleaned our house to Two Towers, the second film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. So I decided to draw a quick sketch of Treebeard. I think I am going to have to revisit this subject when I have more time. This fifteen minute sketch isn't really doing the character justice.

Day 3

Got this one in just in time. My wife named him Paul.

Illustration Friday: Sustainability

I dub this lanky feller, the CFL Ranger. He snipes incandescent light bulbs with astonishing ease.

This drawing is my first all Photoshop piece. Drawing on the Wacom is fun but different. I need to create some brushes that give a better graphite pencil look and I need to learn to paint better.

Day 2

My wife and I visited the OB this morning to listen to our babies heart. It is so cool listening to the sound of our little developing baby. The babies heart rate is at around 156, which is normal but it got me thinking, what if my heart rate was a constant 156. Then I was reminded, it's been there before and I'm usually gasping for air or complaining of a side cramp. Not the baby, it's just chill'n sucking its thumb or playing the drums on the walls of it's comfy liquid filled house.

This drawing was obviously inspired by the visit. My wife has named this one Marissa.

Day 1

My wife dubbed this character Marcus. She said he looks like he is standing in a long line at Space Mountain, regretting his failure to get a fast pass. So with that comment I added the balloon.

New Goals

I follow a blog by an illustrator named Mel Milton and about two months ago Mel challenged himself to an illustration a day for a month. Today he posted illustration number 61. When I saw this I was reminded of my lack of daily discipline, to grab the sketch pad and draw. I realized that I need challenges like these to stretch me and help revive the fundamental ability to draw by hand. Over the years I have become so accustomed to drawing with a mouse that I soon realized that the physical ability of picking up a pencil and drawing had atrophied.

So today I am making two art related goals:

1. I will submit a drawing a day for a month. Which is convenient because today is the first of the month.
2. I will also submit a drawing a week for Illustration Fridays.