Painted Myself Into a Corner Again

The sketchbook doodle from a while back...
The new sketch after some perspectifying, distorting and skewing:
The new finished version!
Detail:

The Return of Appleman and Banana Boy

To all the loyal fans of AM and BB, this one's for you!
(BEWARE: there's some English youngens out there on Youtube who refer to their antics as The Adventures of Appleman and Banana Boy as well. I think I win this one though, since most of these comics were done before those lads were even born... =sigh= But I feel confident enough to post these now because I've separated my sophisticated, highly evolved 28-year old self from my former, nerderific pencil-wielding 13-year old one.)





Then the fruity duo came back years later but waaay trippy. I believe they were trying to find their true selves.


And so, 15 years after their birth, I'm resurrecting them once again. (Tis the season for resurrecting, right?)

(In progress, don't judge me.)

New Sketchbook/Left-Handed

I got a new sketchbook which is basically perfect - Canson 14x17 for mixed media. After years of Moleskins, I needed something bigger, something with more sprawl. It's got great texture for pen and ink and even holds watercolor. The spiral binding makes it a great lap book. The downsides are that some markers bleed through the other side and it's so big it takes four scans and some tiling to piece together in PS(AUGH!).

Flip it over, and its the LEFT-HANDED SKETCHBOOK! In an effort to prepare for the day when I inevitably stick my right hand in the sink while the garbage disposal is running, I have started drawing lefty for a bit each day.

Here's a page from it.

Yes, my stepson can draw better than me.

That's Chomp from Super Mario Bros. (Extra Chain Chomp pictures added for context, not clarity.)
The funny thing is what my non-drawing hand does. Righty curdles and cramps with helplessness and frustration. It's sorta like trying to will the old geezer in front of you to drive faster from your own vehicle.

The rest of the time while show off Righty is drawing, good ole Lefty is as carefree and happy as can be, knowing Righty is taking care of business.
But honestly, it's a great warm-up and gives new perspective on the things I doodle subconsciously all the time. To all you other artists out there, I would give it a try. Actually, noticing improvement already. And hopefully one day, I will be as good as J-man. :)

lil critters

some sketchbook stuff and early character design...