Settling on a name

So now he/it has a name:

"BEAM"

For reasons that may or may not be obvious, this is the name I have settled on for this little guy. I've been filling up a Moleskine with random doodles of him/it, just so I can get down his capabilities, eccentricities, and form. I'll post these as I finish them. Comments welcome.

If you're worried about what's become of Astrogirl, don't fret. You'll be seeing more of her (also with a new name) soon enough!

We had a really productive drawing session today. I'll post my figure drawings in the morning.

Cheers,

Ed

Gestures from last Sunday

Just remembered that I had forgotten to post these.

Friday's syndicate cartoon

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but I liked it none-the-less. Enjoy.

-E

Another Astrogirl

Here's another Astrogirl illustration taken from a sketch that I did in figure drawing class.

Cheers,

Ed

One more Sunday Sketch Post

Here's a couple more. I left them rough so that you can see them before color is added.

The little x's represent shaded areas that I will fill in later.

-E

Sunday Sketch II

Here's another one. Enjoy, and let me hear from you.

Cheers,

Ed

Sunday Sketch

I'll post these as I clean them up in Photoshop. Here's the first one. Today's model was Ashley, one of our favorites. Classic figure - great structure.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the new followers of the blog.

Please feel free to sign up at the bottom of this page if you'd like to get instant notifications when I update.

Cheers,

Ed

The Model "O"

For some reason, Obama's adoption of the US Auto Industry put me in a nostalgic mood. I guess it's because if we just continue down the same road, with the same mindset, and don't push forward hard enough with alternative fuels and innovations in design we will just be throwing money at the same problem. In reality I guess this is connected to education in some way; as we move forward, we need to be funding education with as much zeal as we fund the car companies. Otherwise, we'll just continue to be nostalgic, and not really get anything done.

A Quickie Dickie

Here's a Dick Cheney sketch I worked up this morning for a cartoon. We've got drawing class on Sunday, so look for some figurative work on Monday. Have a great weekend.

-Ed

Figure Drawing Workshop

I will be teaching a figure drawing workshop here in Jacksonville through the month of July. If you live in town and are interested in participating, please feel free to contact me.

Here are the specifics:

Figure Drawing Workshop
Featured Instructor: Ed Hall
MFA, University of Florida

Where:
The Art Center Cooperative, 111 E. Bay Street (Upstairs), Jacksonville, Florida

When:
July 6 to August 3, 2009 - (5) three hour sessions over five weeks (each Monday in July & one Monday in August from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm)

Class Structure:
Week One:
-Skeletal relationships to the figure
Week Two:
-Structure & proportion
Week Three:
-Space and spacial relationships (negative space, picture plane, composition)
Week Four:
-Value, contrast, shadows
Week Five:
-Final analysis - rethinking the figure, creative/experimental images

Cost:
$250.00 per student - (all fees due up-front)

Contact:
Ed Hall via email at halltoons@aol.com or by phone at, (904) 858-1700

Materials:
Bring materials for a typical figure drawing session. At the minimum have: charcoal (vine and compressed), kneaded & hard erasers, and a new, large pad of Canson Biggie Sketch 18" x 24". You will be using a lot of paper.

Another one from a gesture

Here's another figure sketch I worked up today from a gesture drawing I did in class on Tuesday. And yes, she was a very "Rubenesque" model.

Look for a syndicate cartoon later today or tomorrow. I think I'm going to do something on the so-called credit card "crisis.." Stay tooned.

-E

This was a pretty rough gesture drawing - took about three minutes.

Here's the finished drawing rendered in Photoshop. I really like the way the feet and hands came out.

From an old gesture drawing

I've been holding on to this gesture drawing for quite some time now. Just getting around to working it up as a finished illustration. I'll post both the gesture and the finished rendering (more process!). Hope you enjoy it. Let me hear from you!

Cheers,

Ed

Here's the 3 minute gesture.

And here's the two hour illustration. Had to invent the face, and I made some modifications to the proportions of the figure. All in all I'm pretty happy with it.

Process

Someone asked, so here it is. I usually start with a VERY light rough under everything. During a figure drawing pose, things are happening very quickly, so I've had to train myself to make changes (i.e. layers) on the fly in Photoshop (not easy BTW, when you're also trying to concentrate on anatomy and color). Anyway, I included the rough sketch, and then the ink lines over the rough sketch, then the addition of color, and finally the resolution of cast shadows, and surrounding colors. Hope this helps, or is even the least bit interesting.

-Ed

Tuesday sketch class

We had a mid-week figure study class last night. I'll post these as I work them up in Photoshop. Here's the first two. Enjoy.

-Ed

Boston Globe - Ted Kennedy History Piece

The Boston Globe did a piece last month on Ted Kennedy and his life/legacy. I was fortunate enough to be included in the editorial cartoon section along with 30 other really excellent cartoons from several other artists. I'm really happy that it was an education reform cartoon too, as that is something near and dear to my heart (if the St. Augustine Record understood that, I'd probably still be working for them). Anyway, here's the link. I encourage you to view all of the cartoons for a really interesting stroll through Kennedy's history, and for a good laugh.

Here's the link: Kennedy It takes a full minute for all of the images to load, so be patient.

Cheers,

Ed

Another cartoon

Just realized that I had forgotten to post this one last week. It got some press, so I figured I better let all of you see it as well. I liked this Cheney caricature. Sometimes I think his finger is perpetually held in that position! Anyway, enjoy. -E

Sunday Sketches Posted!

Hello everyone. As promised, here's my work from this past weekend. I'll be participating in another class tomorrow night, and I might go back and try traditional pen and paper for a change. We'll see. In the meantime, here they are, in no particular order. Enjoy, and, as always, LET ME HEAR FROM YOU (I know you're out there...).

This last drawing might be my favorite digital figure drawing that I've ever done. It incorporates color in a way that I think is fresh and new, and has a "feel" somewhere between digital and traditional - exactly what I'm going for.

Yowza!

Another in the Astrogirl series. I'm enjoying picking interesting, over-the-top perspectives for these now. Also, I'm exaggerating the "features" as much as possible. The more dramatic the better! The robot is also becoming as interesting to me as the girl. I like the way her fleshiness contrasts the hard metallic surfaces.

We'll probably go to figure drawing class this Sunday, so look for a new batch of digital sketches on Monday.

Happy weekend.

-E

Friday's syndicate cartoon

I really liked this metaphor, so I used it. The GOP is really in terrible straights. Hopefully they can find someone with a modicum of common sense to lead the party out of the wilderness. Until then, it's every man and woman (and deckhand) for themselves.

Screw scanning

Sometimes (and I hope I'm not giving away any industry secrets here) it's easier to just take a photo of your hand drawn image, and work it up in Photoshop. You get nice little surprises when you do that. In this case, I was working on a piece of onion skin paper, so I slipped a piece of randomly marked up copy paper underneath. See that little squiggle coming off his left elbow? The one that looks like a loose wire? That was a total accident, but I left it in because I liked how it looked. You have to be able to recognize these little "mistakes" though. Otherwise it looks like you're trying too hard.

-Ed

As promised...Astrogirl 5

More cartoons coming soon!

Cheers,

Ed

Robot Boy minus Astrogirl

I need a name for this guy...

I was up tonight sketching him on my laptop, so I decided to post the results. I know I haven't been as current as usual with the blog of late, but I should have another cartoon and another Astrogirl illustration to post over the next couple of days. Stay tooned.


-Ed

PS - Many thanks to all new followers of the blog!

The return of Astrogirl!

And her little friend.

Another digital figure sketch

Here's another one from last Sunday's class. I worked it up in Photoshop, and I'm pretty happy with the results. This is a proud and statuesque model. I really enjoy drawing her.

Syndicate toon!

Here's one that will run in my local paper on Thursday, and on my syndicate today. I looooove going after these bozos.

Sunday Sketch - a day or 2 late

We did have our Sunday sketch class this past weekend. It's just with the hectic beginning to this week, I have not been able to post until now. I'm working these up a bit in Photoshop, and will post them as I finish each one. Here's the first one. This model has a statuesque physique. We've drawn her before, but this is the first time I've sketched her digitally.

-E.

Well, what do you know? - a cartoon!

Finally getting around to posting a syndicate cartoon this week. I had a very busy beginning to my week, with an illustration for The Washington Post (more on that later). Have a GREAT weekend everybody!

Cheers,

Ed