From the Molskine #5 / Daily Study Update

Here's some new sketches from my Moleskine notebook. Some fun stuff in here, might try and work these into illustrations at some point.

-----

As for the daily studies I was posting, the holidays REALLY bogged me down and I've also been working a lot so I haven't had a lot of chances to keep up with the studies, however I have been making sure to do some form of artwork everyday and I've been keeping up with that. The studies were a big help in getting my confidence back up and getting me pumped to create. I'll get back to studies soon but right now I've been focusing a lot on work. It stinks I haven't been able to keep up with the studies, but I'm still producing a lot of work.

5th week of studies

It gets tough doing studies every single day. Sometimes I don't have the energy to really polish them enough to sparkle, sometimes I'm busy, other times I restart a couple of times in order to get something I like and sometimes I wind up copping out after 3 or 4 tries *cough* (like the sword) *cough*. So if you see any images that stand out as "Really? That's it?" just remember we all have rough days. I'm not really doing this for anyone but myself anyways so it's not like I'm hurting anyone else if I do become lazy. I just feel like I should explain what I'm trying to accomplish since I've decided to share the progress. I always try to find some way to make up the work no matter what the situation is. My main goal is to do something art related EVERY SINGLE DAY and that's exactly what I've been doing no matter how much or how or little. One day I didn't do a study because I wound up spending 10+ hours finishing an illustration and I just did not have the energy to do a study (and I doubt it would've been all that great either) but you can't really feel bad for not painting because you were busy painting you know? Makes sense to me. Anyways if I ever do fall behind I'll be sure to bear the shame and fall on my badly painted sword. Maybe the humility will push me to try even harder. No more delay, here's the goods...

3rd week of studies

I'm really happy with a lot of the stuff in this batch, particularly 15, 16, and 17. These studies are turning out to be a lot of fun and I feel like my work is already improving from them. I'm going to give a warning ahead of time, the start of the next batch was a little rough due to the holidays and some traveling, and some aren't so much studies as much as me staying productive. I'm still making the effort though so that's the most important thing to me. Anyways, enjoy the new batch!

From the Moleskine #4

Lots of dragons this time around. I think I'll wind up using the first image as a sketch for a finish sometime.

From the Moleskine #3

I went to a party recently and brought the ole Mole with me. Here's some of the stuff I did. As you can see, not everything is a gem. Honestly, most of the stuff I sketch is pretty awful, but once I do draw something I like it makes it that much better.

From the Moleskine #2

Here's another post showing spreads from my other Moleskine. To be honest I kinda prefer having the lines go across...it makes it easier when I'm writing notes down and it gives me something to measure with when I'm drawing.

I draw in the Moleskines with ballpoint pen, which often give a really scratchy, crude look, but sometimes I think that can work to an advantage if you do it right. All the blotches of ink and light line-work can give the sketch a different kind of feel. Drawing with ballpoint pen feels different because the pen glides across the page more easily, and sometimes is the reason why I prefer drawing in ballpoint pen over pencil (sometimes).

From the Moleskine #1

A friend gave me a tiny, pocket-sized Moleskine notebook a while back and from time to time I like to bring it with me on lectures to take notes and doodle if I get bored. I also take it on trips and sketch in it when there's not enough room to draw in my regular sketchbook, or if I'm in the mood for something different. I wanted to share some of those sketches, so here they are...

I approach things a little differently in my Moleskine, as you can probably tell from the spread in the top left, I like to do really warped drawings from time to time, they are just as fun as anything else. I try not to worry about rules or showing anyone when drawing in the Moleskine so sometimes things look a lot more crude than anything else I'll show people.

I hope you enjoyed this peek inside my Moleskine. I'll make another post in the future