It's been a productive few days. . . .

Decided to go sketching in downtown Portland today, and I brought along whatever would fit into my backpack.

As usual, I started off on the bus, drawing anything and anyone who'd sit still long enough. I'm still playing with people's forms, trying to push them as far as I can before they "break" (or, before they're no longer recognizable as the people I'm trying to portray), and I'm learning there's a fine line to be toed, here. (The dog, for example; top one's broken. The bottom one less so, but it's still not quite right.)





I'm going to the zoo next (Either thursday, or the following monday), since I don't draw animals enough. It should be an interesting experience.


Once I got downtown, I thought I'd ride around and draw whatever caught my eye, but that's a tall order. Even just sitting on a bench, I found plenty to work with.

I purposely started with the Steel Bridge, since I don't do architecture that often, and my ability in that area has suffered, somewhat.




And a watercolor of the convention center....



This, being a marked improvement (which doesn't necessarily mean good, I realize) from my first attempt at watercolor in months, done a few days ago at a park...




Finally, a shot from the Burnside Bridge. More architecture (sort of), but mostly, I wanted to get the "Portland, Oregon" sign, and the US Bank tower in there. Everything else was practically an afterthought...



This is an image that could have used some color to help define some otherwise confusing shapes, but I'm still pretty happy with it.



I've also been spending some time doing some development work on a graphic novel I've been mulling over. The idea's pretty vague, so I just drew some characters, seeing if anything would stick to the wall.







And, of course, the main character, Rae.







I've been poring over Frank Frazetta's art pretty heavily in the last couple of days, drawing a lot of inspiration in how quick and effortless his sketches seem. I tried to emulate that to a degree, adding color (which I never do) to, or inking, only those parts of a sketch that most interest me. I tried not to get it to be perfect (which almost never happens anyway), and just play, a bit.

Of course, put that much effort into emulating someone, and you're gonna get a bit confused.... =/




Finally, a naked chick. Because you're not really an artist if you don't do a naked chick now and then. It's in the rulebook.






As always, critiques are welcomed. :)


-- Cristian.