Can I Keep Him?

You people HAVE to see Ratatouille! It's Pixar's masterpiece. The story is captivating, the animation is stellar. Just... go see!

One Month Old!

This is inspired by a scene from Caddyshack which I watched at 1am last night. Fun movie.
By the way, I made it! I have officially reached the one month mark. Huzzah for me! A few updates were a bit late (usually on Fridays) but even so, I stayed true to my word. I haven't missed an update for the last month.
Considering how disorganized and, well, lazy I generally am, allow me to consider this a great achievement. Onwards! To the half-year mark!

She's stealing all your french fries!

I wonder if I'll manage to get to the point where my use of the brushpen is at least competent, or if I'll just get bored and move on to something else.
I'm supposed to be learning Java, right now, and I'm going out later tonight, so I'm not going to write much more.
Still, in the unlikely event that there are people who follow my blog, but not my DeviantART Gallery, I'm going to mention it here, as well:
Pretend You're a Time Traveler Day (even though right now, it seems to be down).
Essentially, prepare to pretend you've come from the future (or the past) on December 8th. The trick is to look out of place without being too obvious. And you mustn't reveal to anyone that you're a time traveller.
The possibilities for crazy fun are just endless...! Bluthan, for one, is crazy excited.
Spread the word!

reach up

Usually, whenever I have trouble updating it's because I can't come up with anything to draw, not because I can't translate my ideas onto paper.
This blog is really doing me a lot of good. It's helped me find ideas. Or, at the very least, become less critical of the ones I had. It helps me stop thinking and just... draw.

I tried a slightly different technique for today's sketch and I'm pretty happy with the result. It's essentially inspired by my friend Dora's sketch with one line.
I've already mentioned my problem with "stalling" while I draw. Whenever I have to draw something slightly more difficult than my usual stuff I have the tendency to go over the same lines again and again (making them look "hairy") while trying to work up the courage to move forward. I think it's one of the main reasons I work so slowly. The "one line" technique really helps with that. It somehow lets another, more subconscious, part of my brain take over and stops me from worrying so much about placing my lines at the precisely correct spot.

Cherries again

I'm working on this...

Cherries

This is just an idea. Sort-of-a-story. I might even polish and finish it someday. The pacing is a little off, but I think I managed to portray the general feeling.
I like little boy - little girl stories. I think mushy romance works better with children. Simple things, like a kiss on a cheek, can take on much greater meaning. And there's always naiveté and excitement.

... Also, this looks a lot better on the computer screen than on paper.

Creative Days

I've decided to give Twitter a try. Go ahead! Start twittering too!

I sketched a lot today, I'm feeling really inspired. I wanna color something, now. Visited a friend at her job and we posed for each other and talked art, and it was pretty fun. This is a drawing I did of her that I inked with my brushpen.

Fire Dancer (remix)

I decided to remake this. It's less polished (because I was rushing to meet my deadline), but I like this pose more.
I think this idea is too good to stay a sketch, so I'll probably come back to it, later.

On other news, I always used to pride myself on the fact that I had a few very close friends and avoided being part of a wide social circle of acquaintances (people you sort-of know and sort-of like, but can't really talk to). Lately, though, I've been feeling like what I've dreaded, happened: I've got loads of friends, but almost noone to open up to.

pale stranger

I don't like this. Let me say that right off the bat. It took me something like 2 hours to color (I had the sketch lying around for something like 2 years...)
Still, I want to be able to do "acceptable" speed paints, and there's no better way than to practice (even if it means being late with my updates).
Anyway, I hope that it makes up for the lame sketches I've been serving you for the past few days.

What cat? (finished)

This is what that sketch a few days ago was for.
We painted a friend's wall Brazil Green, and then I drew this. I don't have a scanner and I didn't sketch on paper today but I've decided that this counts. So there. Normal updates resume tomorrow.

That's all, folks!

Basketball's been on my mind the last few days. The greek national team just lost to Spain. My mind's kind of empty right now. I'll write longer posts once I'm back home.
Elections tomorrow! Everybody go vote!

These old friends of mine...

Here's a cast of characters I hadn't drawn in a while.
My brushwork needs a lot of work. But it's fun, and looks good with minimal time and effort.

I'm in a hurry, again so we'll talk later. Maybe.

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!

... no time to say hello, goodbye
I'm late I'm late I'm late!

And that's why all you get are some rushed figures (albeit done with my awesome Pentel brushpen).


Talk to you later!

Half-remembered names and faces...

Today I discovered that it's immensely fun to watch other people's faces in the lecture hall. We make weird expressions when we're concentrating. It's amusing and I should observe people a lot more often. People watching'll help me widen the range of my characters' expressions. Right now they all smile, laugh, frown, yell etc. exactly like I do. I'm working on that.
It's amazing how I'm never "good enough". There's always something in my art I can evolve.

Ok. Lot's of things.
Stop laughing...

Still, this was fun to do. I managed to sort of pay attention to the lecture as well (albeit barely), so that's a plus.

Let's Burn...

I was reading an article on Wired and this photo looked so cool, I just had to completely rip it off.
I'm exhausted. I've been running around Athens all day long.
It feels like, suddenly, there's tons of things I have to do. Our "House Project" suddenly gained momentum, and I hope we can get as much done as possible before we run out of steam (and money) again. We need a fridge. And something to cook with.
I've got a term paper to hand in sometime this week (or maybe the next). Plus I should really start studying. That'd be a really good idea.

Anyways, I'm going to Thessalonikh for the elections this weekend, so I hope that I'll be able to relax a bit there. I'll also have to find a way to update while I'm away...

You'll be sleeping with the fishes, see?

I'm late for the second Friday in a row.
It's not that I didn't draw yesterday, I just forgot my sketches at work. Then I went "to the movies" (Zodiac) and, well there was no time left to draw again.
Anyways, I've had this strange compulsion to draw fish, lately. As much as I hate eating them, I realized that, alive, they're really very beautiful creatures. Colorful, gliding effortlessly through the water. With their gaping mouths and their stupid wide-eyed expression.
Still, who can control inspiration's form? When the muse comes it is my duty to listen, and create. And this time, she said "draw fish". And I drew fish.

Blow my mind

I just watched the Greek party leaders' political debate. I thought I'd be more inclined to comment on it. Turns out I'm not.
I feel like my mind's empty. I guess listening to politicians for 1.30 hour will do that to you.
Anyway. I wanted to draw a guy with his head blowing off. I didn't have the time to look at pictures of explosions for reference, so this is all you get...

Maria and me

So I was driving back home, late one night, and there were two kids (a brother and sister, I assumed) in the car ahead of me. They were staring and giggling unashamedly as only young kids do, and they reminded me of a time I only remember from photographs and my parent's stories. A time when I was a lot younger, and our family a lot smaller...
It also inspired me to do this piece, which I intend to color. I think it's very symbolic of the kind of brother-sister bond I've been lucky enough to grow up with.

Dedicated to my (little) sister.

It's just sleeping...

Damn. That's pretty morbid, isn't it? It was, I dunno, much more harmless in my head. I had to get it out, though. Poor kitty :(

I found a loophole in my "post a sketch everyday" project.
Barely a week in! *proud*
In essence, according to the rules inside my head, I'm supposed to post a sketch everyday before the stroke of midnight, and it has to be a sketch I drew the same day, not something old (believe me, the temptation is huge).
But, having to post before midnight means that anything I finish after that counts for the next day. So that helps with (not) missing updates.

On other news, my good friend Spawn has taken up the challenge of sketching every day, as well! Check him out!

What cat?

I ran through MacHall's archive today. For the nth time. That's where I got the idea for the cat-on-the-head. I've got every single strip saved on my computer.
I'd actually forgotten how much I admire Ian McConville's work. The way he keeps evolving. Outlines, no outlines, beautiful colors, everything. It made me want to draw a comic strip again. His work has been a huge inspiration to me. He made me want to color in Photoshop in the first place.

Finally, the weekend.

I really don't feel like drawing tonight. I'm tired and I have a headache, and I feel completely uninspired and this sucks hairy donkey balls. Fuck. I'm starting to not like the idea of posting art that's totally awful online where anyone can see it.
Also, it's really hard to do Grim Fandango fan art. The characters are so blocky that it's practically impossible to make your own interpretation (I'd be glad if you proved me wrong) while still keeping them recognizable. I might try again, but it feels like making Lego fan art. There just isn't a lot of creative wiggle room.