Tag Archives: sketch book

Just Thumbing through my sketch book.

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Back when I was designing characters for Nasty Bugs. 

A page or two from my sketch book 

Here is a little image of a page or two from my sketch book.
Takes me back, I had just finished an e-book, (self published) called Tickle Bugs. Back off, it was for kids. Any way, when I got this buggy job from Dutton. I just had to design and draw a bunch of cute little bugs again. Fun huh.

Nasty Bugs, by Lee Bennett Hopkins (Author) , Will Terry (Illustrator)

nasty-bugs a children's book
These sketches are characters that made their debut in a book called Nasty Bugs. It’s a really fun book and I couldn’t wait to start painting it as soon as all my sketches were finally approved.
I remember I was still trying to figure out how to draw with my Wacom tablet at the time, I could paint with it but I still wasn’t able to get the sensitivity I get with pencil and paper. Perhaps it was the lack of texture provided by the tablet – or the disconnect between my hand, eye, and computer monitor, maybe I’m just stupe. Anyway, I would continue to force myself to practice it until frustration would eventually win and I would hit print and finish it on paper. That practice has paid off by the way.
A page from Nasty Bugs
nasty-bugs2
Love how this one project turned out. Painting in Photoshop makes it so much more do-able to paint in the stink, undo it if it isn’t just right, do it over and adjust the transparency and color til it looks like stink. Or smoke or steam. (there is now steam tool in a Photoshop plug in by the way. That was an April fool’s prank. Sorry.  :(
if you missed that one you really need to check out our April 1, 2014 blog post. It is still fun to share to unsuspecting artists and artist wannabes for a good prank.

Line Quality: Artists Use this Simple Tip for a Better Drawing

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 Line Quality, the Thick and the Thin: Get in Line for better design

Through Thick and Thin, Let the Quality Begin

line quality

Before and After

To illustrate how Thick, and Thin Lines make a more Interesting Drawing, I just took a little plastic template with a few shapes to choose from and quickly traced out these little leaflets to the left here. The first one, on the left, I just drew with a consistent, uniform line and it reads as a leaf. But is a very basic drawing. The one on the right, I traced lightly with the same template and pencil. When I was done, I decided that the light source would be in the top right or up above and to the right. So I lightly erased a lot of the lines that would be bathed in light if the light were coming from the top right. Then I took a real pencil, a 6-B I think, and I darkened and thickened the lines in the areas that would be less likely to have direct light shining on them. The bottoms of the leaflets and to the left. This is a good little exercise especially for beginners.

Thick and Thin Lines Make a More Interesting Drawing

A sketch of two leaves, one with good lines and the other, plain.

After and Before

Here I took the same plastic template but traced a different pattern. The oak leaf. The one on the right, as you can guess, I just traced with a uniform line. Equal pressure, no thick no thin, just plain old line. Yes you can tell it is a leaf, you can tell it’s an oak leaf. That is, if your a boy scout or someone that knows what an oak leaf looks like. BUT… The one on the left, has a little more depth to it. A little, a lot more interesting to look at. It is more likely to make it to my moms refrigerator. Once again, I chose top right for my light direction, I softened the lines that would be lit, and then I darkened and thickened the bottom left-ish lines.
And as you can see, I shaded the leaf in and put a cast shadow under it to help lift it off the paper and give it some life.

I don’t always draw dinosaurs, but when I do, they’re happy. ~Bob Ross lol

I don’t think Bob ever said that, but it’s something he should have said. 

Line Quality Dino Skull

This little sketch has been in my sketch book for a long time and one of my children helped me a little bit while we were in Church. Well, to stay awake in church, I often get my sketch book out and doodle or sketch. I hope the congregation folk just think I’m taking copious notes.

“That Wayne Andreason brother sure gets into these sermons!”

Some times to keep my kids still-ish, they sketch too, but when they get board of that, I let them look through my sketch book. And sometimes they “help” by adding to my sketches. As you can see that the top of this skull has got some thick lines where they should be thins. Well, my excuse is that my daughter or son, started drawing over some of my lines. Especially on the brow and over the nose, otherwise the line quality still works with this drawing or sketch.

“That brother Wayne is long winded!”

SKETCH of a Sketch Book

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“The best sketch book is the one you have with you” ~Wayne Andreason

My friend, Wayne always says that the best sketch book is the one you have with you. I always say, “Don’t leave home without it!” ~Karl Malden
If you know me, you know, I don’t like to read but…
Because of my involvement with the California Teachers Association and the many school visits i do, my mind is often on reading and it’s importance in the development of the lives of children. And even though I don’t love to read, I don know that it is important. In fact, I might even say that reading is fundamental. RIF 
“Give a hoot, read a book.” ~Herschel Krustofski
At foliio academy we concentrate on art and illustration. We believe that many a child begins to enjoy reading because of the illustrations that come with the books. So the irony is, we artists who hated reading, grew up to help children learn to love reading.
This above picture is a little doodle I did while my wife was at the doctor’s office.
“You have a sketch book, don’t leave home without it!”
(but please, sketch responsibly.)