Chris Voss Masterclass
- At February 05, 2020
- By Adam
- In illustration, Sketchbook
- 0
So far I’m loving the Masterclass series. It’s so well produced and edited, along with really interesting speakers and subjects. You can see a commonality amongst the best of any field. Recently I’ve been listening to the fascinating stories from ex-FBI negotiator, Chris Voss. The way he talks to the camera is very interesting and I feel myself getting sucked into his conversations when I know it’s all an act! Amazing stuff. Here’s the doodle, all made in Toon Boom Harmony (as that’s the software I had open) using a combination of vector and bitmap brushes (I love the software as a sketching program too).
Sketching flowers
- At May 18, 2019
- By Adam
- In illustration, Sketchbook
- 0
I’ve been doing a bit of The Artist’s WayΒ as part of some creative discovery. Admittedly there have been some breaks in completing the 12 week course, but when I do get around to it, I love the little tasks!
It makes you look at the world with fresh eyes and be a bit more playful with your art. It’s easy to end up just doing ‘work’ when creativity becomes your job.
If you’re looking for a great book that’ll have you exploring your creative side, I can’t recommend The Artist’s Way highly enough! It’s really top class and as a bonus, the 12 week course structure is easy to follow and very inspiring. Even if you don’t draw, it’s a lovely 3 month side project π
Sepia life drawings
- At February 24, 2019
- By Adam
- In animation, illustration, Sketchbook
- 0
Time for another life drawing post! This outing onto the paper was great as I actually felt I captured more of what I was going for in each image. The model had brilliant figure and structure for drawing, with the outside orange street lighting casting an unusual fringe glow. I was using a slightly sepia paper already, so started sketching in a burnt umber/dark sepia charcoal stick pastel thing…I’m not exactly sure what it was! It definitely helped me loosen up though and focus on what I was drawing a bit better. I try out different styles when I’m doing it, mainly to have fun and experiment, but also sometimes it gives me these happy accidents π
Buzzing Bee Garden
- At February 12, 2019
- By Adam
- In illustration, Sketchbook
- 0
Here’s a fun bit of watercolour sketchbook doodling that became the plan for a 2D animated multi-plane scene. I created an enhanced version for my new course one animating in Toon Boom Harmony, covering 3D space, 2D animation loops, cameras and special effects. I love English summertime and watching a bee hum through the rich garden scene is one of my favourite kind of moments π So I thought I’d have a go at re-creating something similar in the famed 2D animation software.
The watercolour was REALLY great fun to do…lots of just noodling about with shapes, composition and ideas from memories of my relatives’ gardens last summer. So here it is! I’ll post an update of the animated version when the course is underway at the end of February π
And a word on the Toon Boom Trainer courses. The first course for 2019: Animation in Toon Boom Harmony has completely sold out! I’m very happy to see every place filled and excited to train up all this potential bunch of Toon Boomers! There’s so much you can do in the software and it’s improving all the time. An awesome creative evolution is underway!
Rainbow card
- At July 18, 2018
- By Adam
- In illustration
- 0
Hey hey! Here’s a mid-week watercolour illustration for you.
My girlfriend, Josie (@josiecerise) recently toured with M6 theatre for a cute children’s show ‘Whatever the weather’. It was a lovely play for the real little kids, with no real dialogue and lots of great imagery. At the end of the tour I made them a card in my fave medium, watercolours! So here it is for all to see. I do a lot of watercolour cards for birthdays, gifts, etc and they’re fun π
P.S Josie wants me to mention she is small but not THIS small π
Charity Pet Portraits
- At February 11, 2016
- By Adam
- In illustration, Updates
- 0
I was going through a few old sketchbooks last night and there’s some interesting stuff worth posting or revisiting. You forget how many ideas you churn out in a decade or so of doodling.
For now though, I’ll post this from 2014 when I drew pet portraits for charity. All ink and watercolour. Surprisingly how many people sent me photos saying ‘if you can draw the one where he’s happy and smiling’ when the picture was of just a dark hairy blob!Β It’s funny looking in on someone’s life and how they turn their pet into family member (my Mum refers to her dog as my brother sometimes…)
Drawing a Jeep
- At December 17, 2015
- By Adam
- In illustration, Sketchbook, Travel
- 0
Jeep Jeep!
Whilst I was away in Dubai, I went to a Christmas party with about 20 other ex-pats (and my friends Luke and Claire). It was pretty cool to be eating turkey, Yorkshire puddings and gravy whilst sitting outside in the warm evening weather! The whole event was great fun and the people were all top drawer…very friendly chaps!
There was a little secret Santa event (or whatever you call it in your country) and so I helped Luke out by painting a watercolour picture of his friend’s pride and joy, his old jeep. Now I love doing things like this. If you like to draw, paint or create in any way, you’ll know what I mean when I say these presents are fun and really well received. It’s such a brilliant way to make someone happy and you get enjoyment out of it too…win-win!
It wasn’t too difficult to draw this jeep as it had some distinguishing features (like the face on the side) plus I could make it recognisable with the colour scheme and slightly exaggerated shapes. I’m not a fan of those overly cartooned vehicle drawings but for me, this was a ‘draw anything and they’ll love it’ project, so it’s no expectation and no pressure.
We put it in a nice frame and the guy loved it. He sent Luke a photo when he got home showing it in pride of place!
If you are stuck for a gift for someone, I’d really recommend trying a drawing or painting of a subject they like (you can even do something abstract based on a favourite photo, using the colours or shapes as a starting point). It doesn’t matter where your ability is at, it’s the thought out process everyone loves and I think we could all do with buying a bit less ‘stuff’ that people end up putting in a cupboard never to use.
If you’d like me to draw and paint your pride and joy, you can get in touch via the contact page and I’ll do you a free quote. If I’ve got time I love these kinds of projects and they make AMAZING, one of a kind gifts.
Happy holidays!