More fun with freeze-frame aerobics

We attended an AIGA function last night here in Jacksonville, and it was very inspiring. I met a lot of really cool professionals, and it was nice to chat with people that actually have my same interests. One of the guys there took down my blog address and stopped by last night for a peek. He said that he really liked what I was doing with these, so here's a couple more. Thanks Joey! Anyway, I'm thinking about getting involved in this association. It's closer to home, there seem to be some really talented people at the events, and evidently they schedule a lot of really cool events throughout the year. Oh yeah, and there was beer. That might ice it for me! Thanks to everyone who took the time to talk with me; I really enjoyed meeting you all.

Cheers,

Ed

Push ups with a pencil...

That's what Glen Fabry calls it anyway.

Here are a couple more aerobic DVD freeze-frame sketches. I decided to throw a little color onto these, just to see how they'd look. We've got one of my favorite models posing for us this Sunday, so look for some interesting drawings come Monday. I think I'll continue to draw directly into the computer on my Wacom tablet during the life drawing class. I've got some idea now as to where I want those headed as well.

Also, look for an update on my new cartooning gig Monday. Hopefully it'll be good news!

Happy Weekend!

-Ed

Fresh off the Wacom Tablet

A new Illustration for today, done from a freeze-frame sketch. I'm pretty happy with this one. Let's just hope some of the galleries I'm sending these to feel the same. Anybody out there who knows of a gallery that might be interested in these types of works, PLEASE let me know.

Thanks in advance!

-Ed

More Aerobics Sketches & some vague news...

I discovered that one of my Aerobics DVDs sucks. There's not much jumping or gyrating posing it; just a lot of boring stretches. Not good for dynamic poses. I'm going to return that one this weekend for some Tybo Tapes or DVDs. That should get the 'ol pencil dancing!

Anyway, here's a couple more freeze-frame sketches from the good DVD.

I've also got several big projects underway right now. No too much I can say about them yet. Two of them are art projects - one here in Jax. and another in Atlanta. I'll post more about these as we get closer to March. It also looks like I may have picked up a new weekly cartooning gig here in Jax. I'll post more about that, and my first cartoon for the paper next week, but suffice it to say, I'm happy to have found at least one publication to make up for the (4) I lost in December.

Stay tooned!

-Ed

Followers, faces & fitness

First, let me welcome Pavel Jakubec as a follower of this blog - a really talented caricature artist from Slovakia. This guy has got chops so you should go check out his blog. I'm going to post an old Putin cartoon of mine here in his honor. Two days ago I got another follower from Uruguay, so the Halltoons Weblog is getting quite the international following. Go check out all of these blogs, listed at the bottom of this page - just click on the follower's icons. All welcome here!

Yesterday I mentioned how sometimes a simple sketch will give me an idea for a more complicated illustration. That happened this morning after only two cups of coffee. This sketch is inspiring me to do a comic art Medusa, so stay tooned for that.

I also did another quick study from my aerobics fitness DVD. I'll post that one as well.

Let me hear from you, and don't forget to sign up!

Cheers,

Ed

Another syndicate cartoon

Obama didn't exactly get a warm welcome over on Capitol Hill today. Looks like he's going to have to work harder than he thought to placate some Republicans. The media has made such a big deal out of his use of his BlackBerry, and how only a select few can be his BFF.

Maybe he can toss it at a couple of them. Doink them on the head.

Flatulene

My brother is probably the only one who will think that this is funny (other than me of course!) This video is done pretty well. Real simple animation and sound. Props to the Reverend Dave Johnson and his crew. I might rip off their technique for an animation of my own one day soon!

A local issue felt Nationally

Our education system is a mess. Along with the rest of the Country, schools have gotten caught up in the financial upheaval. Our teachers, and therefore our students are suffering. I think I know a little bit about teachers; having been one for several years in the late nineties. The good ones teach for the sheer love of the profession, and for the joy of bringing knowledge to young minds. They'd do it for the supplies if they had to. So once again I'm asking that you look for ways to help teachers out. You can start by just calling your local elementary school to find out about drop off days for supplies. Teachers can go to the Staples Teachers Reward button at the Staples web site for great deals, or go to the previously mentioned DonorsChoose.org for free donated materials. I'll keep doing cartoons about the great job they do, and their struggles, but we all need to help out now. It's for the kids.

More Fabry inspired sketching

Here are a few more sketches from freeze-frames on my aerobics DVD. I'm liking the way this allows you to "freeze" any selected pose and study very closely the proportional relationships of the figure in motion. Sure beats the heck out of paying a model.

I can usually get about three of these done in 45 minutes, before I drift off to sleep.

I wanted to take a second to thank my newest follower; although, I wouldn't call Craig "new" to this blog. He comments all the time (hint, hint). He also has a really cool blog dedicated exclusively to Sly Stallone. To call this guy a "Stallonaphile" would be an understatement. You should go check it out. Here's a link to this interesting and recently updated site.

A quick note on posting

I would once again like to invite people to sign on as followers of this blog. I sound like a broken record, don't I? It's so easy to do, and you will be notified whenever I update. You can also leave quick notes on my mini-forum Shout Box in the right-hand column (scroll down and check it out, it's pretty cool). I promise to get right back with you. So visit, view, participate, and enjoy! I look forward to hearing from you.
-Ed

Developing an idea

I'm often asked the question, "where do you get your ideas?", so I thought I might give a stab at explaining that a little bit. Many times an idea for an illustration will come directly from a figure drawing. I'll sketch until something inspires me, or I see a foot or leg positioned in an intriguing way, or the tilt of a head "says" something to me. I don't always know what direction I'm headed when I start, but something usually clicks and I end up following my muse. I also find it useful to do thumbnail sketches. I keep pads of post-it notes hanging around the house. I find these useful for thumbnails in that they are about the right size and proportion.I'll post the figure drawing here that is slowly developing into an idea in my head. I know she is going to be standing in water (probably a swamp). This was directly related to the initial drawing and her pose (worm's eye view looking up at her). I'm starting to think that she will be threatened by some type of monster, but I'm not sure how he will look yet. I've come to the conclusion that her pose will probably change now because she doesn't look startled enough, and I also think that I want her to be holding a net full of tiny versions of the larger animal. This will create a nice connection between what she's hunting for and Papa Monster, and give him a reason for being pissed off, and her a weird issue about eating baby swamp monsters. In the page of thumbnails posted here, I'm just trying to get the beginning compositional elements arranged within the picture plane. I'll work out the details later, but I'm always trying to think ahead as to where the drawing might be headed.