Post It Note Doodle #4: So Smokey
I can’t seem to stop doing these Post-It Note Doodles. This has been an interesting and refreshing exercise – actually putting pencil to paper, which I really haven’t done in a very long time, since I’d become so reliant on my Wacom tablet and Photoshop.
So here’s the latest installment in this series.
This one is a somewhat androgenous character, inspired in large part by Tank Girl, but also bearing more than a passing resemblance to 2D from Gorillaz.
Post-It Note Drawing #2: Sly Smirk
I liked the way my last Post-It note doodle came out when I photographed it at high-resolution and posted it here larger-than-life sized, so here’s another one.
I really miss doing Photoshop drawings, and I hope I’ll get my hardware/software setup back up and running soon.
I picked up a used Macbook Pro recently, which I’m hoping will be a great new tool for me. I still need to get it loaded up with the programs I use… and that could take a while… hopefully not too long.
At least I’m posting drawings again! :)
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Post-It Note Drawing #1
The computer I’ve been using for my drawing and animation for the past 5 years or so finally succumbed to an unceremoniously-abrupt death….
This happened several months ago, and as luck (or the lack thereof) would have it, my life became very busy right at the same time…
Suffice to say, I have not replaced my dear old friend yet… which explains why there’s been such a gap since my last posts to this site.
At any rate, I’ve found myself doodling a lot lately… mostly on scraps of paper… backs of envelopes, etc… and now… Post-It notes.
They look really interesting (to me anyway) when photographed at high-resolution with my phone, and then posted at larger-than-life size.
More to come…?
Margin Doodle Drawings from Old Notebooks
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I often doodle when I’m thinking… particularly when listening to another person or group of people talking about a project I’m involved with…
While I’m listening and making notes, I’m also usually filling up the spaces around the notes with Margin-Doodles. So if I’m doodling while you’re talking, don’t think that means I’m not paying attention… it’s actually just a part of how my brain works… part of how I synthesize information.
I’m sure this sounds strange to some people… and I’m equally certain that it makes perfect sense to others.
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So I’ve recently been working on improving my personal workspace… and this has included a good bit of long-overdue housekeeping.
While sorting through old paperwork and notebooks to toss in the recycling bin, I culled a group of Margin-Doodles that I really liked, and didn’t want to lose…
So here they are for safe-keeping… with the added benefit that I now have a handy place to look at them when I want to see them…
Teh InterWebz is good :)
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Year of the Dragon: A Drawing Exercise
2012 is the Year of the Dragon.
It’s been a long time since I drew a dragon. I used to draw them quite a bit when I was a kid, but it’s been a while for sure. I heard that 2012 is the year of the dragon, and a friend at work suggested I draw a dragon for the blog, so… here it is.
Zombie ‘Nom’: drawing exercise
When the Zombies come, I plan to be ready. I’ve read the books… I’ve watched the movies… I’ve played the video games… So armed as I am with all the necessary training, I fully plan to survive.
But you know what they say, Zombies laugh while men make plans… And I realize that even after all my intense preparations, there is always the chance that one of the filthy Undead will catch me offguard and put the bite on me.
In that event, I go to my backup plan… to be the most awesomest Zombie evar.
And yes, I will eat your brain… but it will be your honor.
Headshot, Zombie Down: an Animation Exercise
Here’s another animation exercise done in Pencil.exe. Yeah – it’s a bit gory… but if you’re gonna draw zombies, then you’re gonna have to scramble some brains now and then.
I know I’ve complained about the buggy-ness of the freeware Pencil 2D program, but I really love the rough, sketchy feel it allows you to create. It’s like drawing with a PENCIL… lol. If this program got some serious funding behind it, it could be straight-up awesome!
This is by far the most detailed animation I’ve done in the Pencil 2D animation program to date.
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Gunshot: an Animation Excercise
gun shooting animation pencil test
Here is another quick animation exercise. I did this one because I wanted to work out the shape of a handgun being held along with the action and rhythm of a handgun being fired. I exaggerated the muzzle flash and the kick for effect.
Like the rest of the animations I’ve posted so far, this one was done in the freeware program, Pencil 2D. One thing I love about this program is the awesome “sketchy” feel it allows me to get… as opposed to Flash, which has this annoying tendency to smooth out my lines too much. The best hand-drawn animation program I’ve used to date, is Toon Boom. But I fouled up my install many months ago, and I haven’t gotten around to repairing it.
Like I’ve said before, Pencil 2D is great for short exercises like this one, but it’s not at all suited for full-length scenes – let alone an entire film. But as I churn out more and more of these little quickies… I start to wonder… what kind of short film could somebody actually create as a sequence of 5-second & 10-second clips? Hmm… that’s something to chew on… for me anyway… *
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Running Scared: an Animation Exercise, run cycle
Here is my latest animation exercise. Like my earlier ‘animation exercise’ posts, this was also done in the freeware program, Pencil.exe.
This “Running Scared” animation is about as long and as complicated as I would dare trying with this program. Once a project moves beyond a quick pencil test and gets to this level — which I admit, really isn’t very complex at all — it becomes too difficult to work with in Pencil. But again, this is a freeware program… completely free to use… so I have no complaints.
This character is running through the woods in an apparent effort to escape from someone or something… it would be great if I could decide WHAT he was running from, and then have the pursuer enter the frame at the very end. But I couldn’t decide if I should go with scary or comical.
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Zombie Slayer: an Animation Exercise
Another rough animation done in ‘Pencil’… this is a great tool for these quick exercises.
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Heroic Leap: an Animation Exercise
I’ve been playing a little bit with this (forgive the pun) “sketchy” freeware program called ‘Pencil’. I cranked out this scene of a figure leaping into the foreground to reveal himself as a superhero… I converted the frames to an animated gif for convenience of posting here.
The Pencil program is a bit buggy, and can be frustrating to work with – but then again, it is freeware. It’s fun to use for quick little roughs, like this one… though given the number of times I’ve lost considerable amounts of work (either from glitches or straight-up crashes) I wouldn’t want to try and use it to do anything more significant. Animation is far too labor-intensive to deal with losing your work.
I’ll probably keep using Pencil to do little roughs like this, to work out ideas… I’ll post them as I get the time.
I’m a World-Famous Animator… sort of
It’s only natural that my love for drawing and my love for music would come together as a love for animation, and – – – Oh… I didn’t mention that I dabble in animation…? And I forgot music too? Huh – weird…
Historical Note: I’ve been told that the KO Title Sequence was the first ever Animated Theme Song intro of any YouTube Channel… And while I’m not at all not sure how true that really is… it’s still really cool that I’ve been told that!
===> * * * WATCH THE VIDEO… IT’S SHORT, I PROMISE! * * * <===
Well, I guess I just figured that the Opening Sequence for KatiesOpinion made that kind of obvious… I mean, you do remember KatiesOpinion – right…? What… NO…?!? Why that’s preposterous!!! EVERYONE knows KatiesOpinion! On what planet do you spend most of your time?!? I mean seriously – WTF!?! Why don’t you try pulling your head out of your – – – !!!
I know, I know… of course I’m just kidding. I know KatiesOpinion was never THAT big… But it was kind of popular… back in the good old days… waaaayyyy back when in the olden times of 2006-2008
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