Urbanite: Hipster

This is the omnipresent and wily Hipster. Obsessed with indie rock, alcohol, and ironic clothing. They're fun though.

More Burr-Dogs!

I'll probably give them both backgrounds when I have the time. I'd like to set the sleeping one in the house I grew up in. They'd always curl up next to our wood stove. so yeah. I like stylizing dogs, I think I'll try to make more breeds as the months go on. I still want to go back to the corgi I did not long ago and change his background, I hate the one he's on now. I also have a pig-pug to finish.

I'm juggling a couple of projects right now, and big deadlines at work. But I am still trying to sketch whenever I find the time. here's a couple of little doodles I did of my Childhood Bromigo: Arnie. He and my sister's cat: "Zoul" grew up from puppy and kitten-hood together, so they were always VERY close. The played together and when they'd sleep, Zoul would curl up under Arnie to stay warm. They're both long gone now. but I still remember them dearly. They made a good duo. I'll probably do some more sketches of the two of em, sooner or later .

Man Boy Pup

This is my buddy Louis' Corgi: Harvington Reginald Wallbanger Shortstuff McPuppy Pants, Esquire or some nonsense like that (It's definitely not the name, but it isn't far off either). He's a good goggeh, if not a stretchy bastard child between a Fizzgig and a Tribble. But I lub him anyways. The lil rascal just turned 1, and his person is about to turn 24, so it's kind of a birthday present for both of em. Enjoy!

Annan Water

The Hazards of Love is by far, my favorite album of 2009. As soon as I finished it the first time, I knew I wanted to illustrate at least one of the songs. I picked this one simply because at the time it's imagery was the most vivid in my head. But I also fell in love with the hero's unrelenting determination to fight against all to find and rescue his lover. Even bargaining his own life in return for one passage across the wild river. To me it's an allegory to life. You may only pass one way, once. and your debt is collected at the end of it all. It is an inescapable fate, so what you're looking for, had better be worth it.
The illustration itself, viewed separately from the song, is also a bit cathartic for me. The last few years have felt very much like trying to navigate a rushing river. I would be a fool if I didn't admit that the rapids themselves are reflections of my own thoughts and personal demons, that which I bargain with on a daily basis for peace and safe passage; however, much like William, I don't always escape them.
This piece was very fun and fulfilling to illustrate. I always seem to learn something new even now, when I am elbow deep in Adobe Illustrator. I've had alot of tremendously helpful critiques and tips along the way from some very good friends of mine. Thanks a bunch to the lot of you! I really feel like critique, more than anything else, turned this piece from a slew of mediocre thumbnail sketches to a fully fledged painting.

And the wanting comes in waves

I thought I'd update with a WIP shot. The colors and vectors are getting closer to their final phases. This one has been alot of fun to make, and has actually gone alot faster than my previous illustrations in this style, meaning of course that the total time I've actually spent working on it is less. I've just spaced the hours out over weeks... and more weeks :P. Alas, the photoshop front will be really interesting and there are alot of special effects I plan to add in raster form, though I am dreading the conversion... exporting layered PSDs out of this kind of Illy file take forevorz! I might end up just working from a flattened PSD... that'll be fun. As always, if you happen to see this and have a thought or advice, don't hesitate to share! please! I always love crit! It helps me improve. :)
I recently purchased The Decemberists newest album: The Hazards of Love. And my god, the album has affected me. It is masterfully written and arranged... in such a way that makes you listen to it over and over again. As soon as I heard it, my mind flooded with imagery... and I decided to illustrate at least one of my many favorite songs: Annan Water. The song describes the story's hero braving the wild and living grey river to rescue his lover on the other shore... He pleads with the enchanted river to let him cross, and as payment it may take him upon his return. This is William making that plea as he attempts to ford the rapids. I worked out this sketch several times trying to get it just right, I thought I'd include some of those sketches below. I can't wait to get to work vectoring out the shapes, even so, I'm sure this one will take a while. I want this one to be good so if anyone has any crits I want to hear em! :)



This last piece is just a sketch, unrelated to the rest above. I love and miss the forests I grew up in and because I'm a nostalgia addict, I think I'm subconsiously doodling them. There were myriad gulleys there, and tree-bridges sometimes natrually formed in those woods. They had a magic to them, the forests that is. Maybe one day I'll get to go back.

EnRoute

A wee messenger boy asleep in a golden wood. Taking a brief respite from his journey to take life in. Perhaps something I want to do at the moment.

More Trees

More trees. I've been drawing them alot lately. Not sure what I'll do with the things though. I think I'll vector up the first one.

Corgipillars and Pugletts

In the midst of this veritable sketchgasm I've been having for the last couple of weeks or so, I present for your consideration, my interpretation of my roommates' two dogs: Harvington-Reginald "short-stuff" Wallbanger (Silly Party) and Pig-Pug (Sensible Party). I rather like how these guys turned out, I think I may just vector 'em up in illustrator. maybe even do a collection of dog breeds. but for now, I need to just keep sketchin'

Trees

I'm thinking this might be my next vectored piece with Eise and Ceile. I'm still trying to figure out what their story is. But I do know that they're sort of nomadic... bandits in a sort of steampunk/ancientpunk world setting. At the moment, I'm perfectly content with just sketching them out in random settings. Random scenarios. Sort of in the spirit of a conversation I had with a friend. Rather than making a story first as I usually do, I'm taking scenes and situations, that these characters might find themselves in. Then later I'll find some deus ex machina to bind it all together. and actually do something with the idea.

Eise Sketch

A sketch I probably spent way too much time on. This is one of the ladies from my scarved ladies piece. I'm thinking of naming her Eise. and the other: Ceile.