Sketchbook: Two dudes, a girl and (part of) a mummy

I figured I'd post a couple pages from my sketchbook just to get me back in the swing of posting.

As usual, these are drawn from photos that I've found in magazines. The guy sitting is from a Psychology Today I found in the break room at work, the other dude and the woman are from an article in the Chicago Reader, and the mummy is from a National Geographic article about ancient cliff-dwelling cultures in Peru.

These were all done with a Micron pen except for the mummy was was done with a brush pen. Also, the mummy is barely half finished.

Anyway, I like to keep an eye out for pictures that show the entire figure. Most of the time, magazine and newspaper photos only show the head and shoulders. When I do find a complete human figure, I add it to my file.

I drew the mummy because drawing skulls is fun and also a good lesson in anatomy.

Getting the Rust Out

This is what I feel like right now, a rusty robot. The holidays, moving, a medical scare followed by a unrelated medical procedure, and a new teaching gig have not been good for my art-doing.

It's pretty remarkable how much doing art everyday really makes it easier to do. Before all the holiday/moving/teaching craziness set in, I was drawing everyday. I never stopped completely even when I was distracted, but I wasn't doing it as consistently as I was.

Now that my life is settling back into a rhythm, I'm realizing what a difference it makes to do something on a consistent basis. It so hard to get going on drawing when you haven't done it for a week or even a few days.

So, Rusty Robot, that's me.

Anyway, I'm a big fan of the blog Comic Tools. The Author just wrote a couple posts on this subject, though his breaks were longer and much more dramatic than mine. An inspirational read regardless.