Sebastien Sketch

sebastien sketch, originally uploaded by James Gillespie.

This is a character from a story I am working on. This story will someday wrap up I continually stall it because I'm not ready to draw the characters the way I feel I have the potential too.

That is the talk of a procrastinator, but in this case I am getting closer with every try to how I would like to draw Sebastien. I busted this out with a ball point pen which I love using because you can really start light and build a drawing. The challenge is that it is ink, so you still have to concentrate because mistakes are permanent.

Imaginary Face

face sketch1, originally uploaded by James Gillespie.

This is another random imaginary face no reference just doodling on the couch while Beth fed Lily.

Face Sketch on Brown Paper

face sketch2, originally uploaded by James Gillespie.

This is just a random sketch, I enjoy using reference to do studies but I often with try and invent faces to avoid how stale a face drawn from a photograph can become. It is steadily becoming a process of mine to sketch from photograph and then create a drawing from that sketch it separates you enough that you start to exaggerate and create certain inaccuracies that lead to a more interesting image.

This is an example of a completely invented face no photoreference was used.

afr mask 1

afr mask 1, originally uploaded by James Gillespie.

And yet another african mask sketch this one I'm turning into a painting.

Alapeanutbutersandwiches! It's a painting.

I'm going to post some more Soap Scum photos real soon. Then you can see individual shots of the cast of The Crown Royals.

Another Mask

afr mask 3, originally uploaded by James Gillespie.

Here is another example of a mask that I drew up. I like this one it looks like it is singing. "Oh I juuuuussst can't wait to be King!..."

African Masks

afr mask 2, originally uploaded by James Gillespie.

I love the look of African masks. I bought a book a while back and one of my favorite things to do is take bits and pieces and blend them together into new masks. Here are some rough sketches of the process. I have some better sketches I will post shortly.

What an Opening

For those of you who were in town and chose not to attend the opening night of The Crown Royals. "Man did you miss out!" Soap Scum Presents has charged ahead into it's 4th season and I believe they have hit their stride. Having performed three previous seasons together to varied reception the cast seams to have found what works for them. Despite the first scene of the show which was a bit slow, the cast quickly took the plunge into the improvisational lunacy we who are hard core scummers have come to know and love. With a slew of offbeat and hilarious characters, this seasons show is proving to be the crown jewel of the Soap Scum Presents lineup.

AND NOW I WILL TALK LIKE A ROBOT...

I grabbed some new crow quill nibs from the art store the other day. They are for calligraphy but I lie to us they for drawring. They allow for good variation of thick to thin line-width.

I'm trying out a refillable brush pen in my sketchbook that was given to me by a friend Jason Botkin. I'm likinng it. I had to change the ink because Jason was using orange printer ink and it was not showing in my sketchbook. I changes it to Antelope Brown which is my favorite brown ink to use I'll post some results soon.

I have been keeping tabs on my google analytics and it is great I can keep track of where I am being viewed from. So far people all over the world have come to check out my blog. it is very exciting. I even checked and I'm getting views from New Zealand. It might be my sister in law who is currently down south vising her boyfriends family, or in my own fantasy world it could be somebody from Weta Workshops. I'm a huge fan of Weta I specifically follow two of there concept artist very closely. Greg Broadmore and Christian Pearce. Not only have these two worked on a slew of amazing films but a little while back they took part in the 99 DS challenge where they chose a theme and did 99 iterations on that theme in there homebrewed Nintendo DS'.

It actually inspired me to get a DS of my own and try it out. I enjoy it very much and it keeps me occupied on the bus. Most importantly it allows me to sketch in colour which I have trouble doing because I'm not a huge fan of markers or pencil crayons and it can be laborious to get the watercolours out sometimes.

So I guess what I'm trying to say it robots are awesome but not to be trusted, they can turn on you at any moment, so be prepared. I'm also saying Weta Workshops is wicked, check out their site and Dr. Grorbort's Ray Guns cause they make me so very happy.

iPOD is my master

I'm not quite sure why I sketched this but I felt that if an iPOD were going to say anything to me it would say this. I AM YOUR MASTER!

Bill the Butcher

This is a sketch I did of Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York. I get a real kick out of that movie, it has a gritty violent atmosphere but the world created is so vibrant. The costumes are very colourful but covered in a film of dirt and grime. The characters are just as colourful as the costumes, especially Bill the Butcher the Gang leader of the Five Points, played by Daniel Day-Lewis

I sketched this up just after watching the movie and still have the intention of doing a couple of other characters. Stay Tuned to see who they will be.

Media used was watercolour and india ink on brown recycled paper.

Fangfish

This is a sketch I did a while back using a sumi brush. I am becoming more fond of using them, I think they bring a great expressive quality to pieces they are used on. I have scanned in more sketches and will be posting a bit more frequently.

On a side note, I have just finished a Harry Potter movie marathon and it was awesome. And I do not believe that I am misusing the word awesome. The Grand Canyon is "Awesome" and so is watching all 6 Harry Potter movies in a row. "Expecto Patronum!"