Ball Drop

I did it! At least one picture or poem, every day, for all of 2013! I'll admit, there were some days that I really didn't want to do anything, but it's been a good challenge. Will I continue next year? You'll just have to check tomorrow and find out.

In the meantime - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Paper Quail

Still playing with the new technique. Here I drew a quail and added some drop shadows under each layer to give it a little depth, kind of like pieces of paper stacked up to make the picture.

Addition: I was originally intending to just post the above picture, but after reading yesterday's comment I thought I might as well post the picture with the drawn outlines as well.

Rainbow Turtle

Tonight I'm trying a new technique. I started by doodling a big, swirly block of color, imported it into Photoshop to add some additional textures and change the colors, then saved each color/texture block as a separate picture file. Then I drew a turtle. Finally I imported the colors, one by one, starting with the back layer and erasing all the parts that I didn't want to have that color. This is how it turned out:

Not too bad for a first try, if I do say so myself. It almost looks a little stained-glass-window-y. But then I hid the layer with the black lines and got this:

Not quite as much detail, and more emphasis on the colors. I think it looks a little Eric Carle-esque, which is never a bad thing. 

P.S. - Don't forget to vote in the new poll to the right! You've only got 2 more days to make your voice heard!

A Final Question

Here’s a question I must ask tonight:

With the end of my challenge in sight

Do you want one more year

Of these pics and poems here?

Please answer the poll to the right --->

Moon Rocket - The Return

A few days ago I posted a rocket animation for the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 8 launch to the moon. Today is the anniversary of their safe return, so I've updated the animation.

A Daughter's Gift

Technology is great, but sometimes it leads to unforeseen consequences, like, oh, I don't know, perhaps my daughter's Christmas present, for instance...

Her surprise was an iPod, it’s true

It’s all shiny and glossy and blue

Now she’s texting and tweeting

And sometimes skips eating

And soon she’ll know more than I do!

Another Successful Christmas

Good job, big guy! Take a break, you deserve it!

Christmas Clues

My daughter is getting a very special gift tomorrow - something she's been asking for for months (and has saved up a good percentage of the cost herself). Of course, we can't just make it easy on her and give it to her directly! Instead, I made up a series of clues for a scavenger hunt. Can you figure out where I've hidden her present?

Clue 1

No money here, instead the first 

    of many clues, widely dispersed

Around the house, so you must look 

    for somewhere Mommy hates to cook

Clue 2

Excellent! You found this one! 

    But we’re not even close to done

Next you’ll go where blue and red 

    aliens support your head

Clue 3

Back downstairs, the smallest room. 

    Your clue is hidden in the gloom

Inside a tube of brown and white. 

    You use it every day and night.

Clue 4

Hurry now, there’s just one more! 

    You’re looking for a little drawer

Open it, inside you’ll find 

    a hundred sheets, neatly aligned

Clue 5

Congrats! You’ve found the final clue. 

    There’s just one thing that’s left to do.

Pick each bold letter, then be wise. 

    Unscramble them to find your prize!

Happy Belated Haiku Day!

I am so ashamed

Yesterday was Haiku Day

And I just forgot!

To atone for this

I will write some haiku here

For you all to see

Are they any good?

Only time will tell, I guess

Then again - they’re not

Wait, what’s that you say?

They should have a nature theme?

I’ve messed up again!

Okay, let’s try this:

Trees and grass and birds and stuff

Rocks and rivers, too

Stars up in the sky

Shining brightly, kind of like

Stars up in the sky

See, that’s terrible!

I don’t think I can do this!

Similes are hard.

Can you do better?

Post your haiku down below

In the comment box!

Squirrel

Tonight, nothing fancy - just a quick digital sketch of a squirrel.

Moon Rocket

On this day (Dec. 21), way back in 1968, Apollo 8 blasted off on humanity's first trip to the moon. Although they didn't land, they went into orbit on Christmas Eve and made it safely back home on Dec. 27.

Holiday Wishes

Hooray, vacation time is here!

A day when students start to cheer

And teachers grin from ear to ear

Because vacation time is here

And I’m as happy as can be

For sixteen days, I’ve been set free

No getting up for work for me!

Which makes me happy as can be

So as I start this holiday

There’s only one thing left to say

For peace and happiness I pray

On this most joyous holiday

Never Happy

(Note: this is not necessarily true, it's just a goofy poem for a chilly winter evening.)

Outside the world is bleak and gray

As raindrops melt the snow away 

Another cold December day

It’s such a slushy sight

But in my head, a different scene

A summer evening, cool and clean

With lightning bugs, all yellow-green

Cavorting in the night

While all around me, giant trees

Cast piney odors on the breeze

A campfire is sure to please

With warm and friendly light

But if, in real life, I was there

I’m sure I’d hate the humid air

Imagine bugs up in my hair

Preparing now to bite

And then I’d dream of winter snow

Where crystals glitter as they blow

The icicles all dangle low

A world pristine and white

So as I sit with furrowed brow

I think, perhaps, I should allow

The world that’s all around me now

To fill me with delight

Plunging Onward

I can't believe I almost missed this! Unfortunately, I don't have an unused plunger at home, so I guess I'll just have to wait to celebrate Wear A Plunger On Your Head Day until next year. In the meantime, my noggin is being plunged in spirit if not in fact.

Littlest Shepherd - final

And here's the final picture. I hope it looks good when printed out (Mom, I'll be sending the high resolution printable version to you soon).

Littlest Shepherd - the background

Not done yet, but making progress...

Littlest Shepherd - the ink

I've finished the ink outlines of the picture. Next step - take the scanned image and digitally add color.

The Littlest Shepherd

Recently I was asked to draw a picture for the cover of our church's 4:00 Christmas Eve family service. I started it today, but it's not quite done yet - so, in the meantime, here's a little teaser poem.

The littlest shepherd

Straining to see

What all the fuss

In the manger could be

Holds his lamb high

Overhead in the night

Cause all little lambs

Should be seeing the light

Holiday Card 3, Inside

And here's the inside of the 3rd card. I drew the Christmas Hippo a few days ago as the practice for this card. Is it cheating to do the inside and outside of the card as two different posts? I don't think so - they are posted on opposite sides of midnight, after all. Plus, between the two postings, I packaged everything up and took a little midnight drive to make sure they got to the mailbox in time. Now let's just hope they can get to California by Monday.

Holiday Card 3, Front

Here's my third and final holiday card for the deviantart card project. I'll need to send them in tomorrow - I thought they said the cards should be sent by Dec. 16, but it actually says they should be received by then! Hopefully they'll arrive on time and can cheer up some hospital patients! Anyway, the subject of today's card might look a little familiar...

Christmas Hippo

It's what everyone wants for Christmas, and now it can be yours for the low, low price of just reading this blog! Enjoy your Christmas Hippo!

A Busy Day

It’s been a long day followed by a long night

I’m falling asleep as I sit here and write

I’m worn out from trying to teach kids all day

While they simply wanted to chatter and play

Then downtown to church for a meeting and meal

It took nearly three hours - that’s far from ideal

And now, off to bed - boy, I hope I don’t snore

Then I’ll get up tomorrow and do it once more

Minion Art Through The Ages

It's finally done! Click the image to see it full-sized!

Here's the included caption:

From the first cave minions crudely recording their hunts on a rock face, through the Egyptian and Roman eras where leaders were worshiped as near-deities, to the paintings and inventions of the Renaissance, Minions have played an unsung but critical role in the history of art. In the modern age they might be constrained to more basic tasks, such as painting a Temporal Vortex Machine,  but of course their natural curiosity still drives them to new discoveries.

Update - after submitting, I was able to look through some of the other pictures. It's going to be a tough contest. Wish me luck!

Minions, Part 2

Still working on the contest picture. Here's a preview of coming attractions:

Minions

There's a contest going on over at the deviantart website involving the minions from Despicable Me. Three winners will each receive a copy of Despicable Me 2 on Blu-Ray - plus $1,000! So, here's a quick little poem, then back to drawing. It's due Monday - wish me luck.

I’ve got a big project to do

So here’s a short limerick for you

As I hold my opinions

And just draw some minions

From Despicable Me number 2

Choir

Another day, another choir concert - this time for my younger daughter. Again, it was a very nice night with a lot of very talented young musicians. Here's my quick doodle of a choir.

Trombone

Finally got home after a long day of work followed by my oldest daughter performing with her choir in the elementary music programs concert. Her choir was pretty good, but some of the groups (I'm looking at you, strings!) were sharing some very interesting notes, tempos and melodies. But watching the bands made me think back to my time playing the trombone, so here's a quick doodle of one while I get back to "other things".

Note: I don't know why the background is gray - the picture saved on my computer still has the bright white background, but when I upload it, it turns gray and dull. I'll try to figure it out - later.

Day of the Ninja

It’s time to be sneaky, it’s time to prepare

It’s time to be careful, it’s time to beware

For on the fifth day of December each year

The Day of the Ninja is finally here!

So dress all in black from your head to your toes

And practice your skulking so nobody knows

What you are doing or where you might be

Good Heavens! There might be one following me!

No Peeking

Another quick sketch while I work on other things - but no peeking!

What's Going On?

What's this? After almost an entire year, tonight is just a quick Spotty Cow sketch? Well, maybe I'm spending some time tonight working on other things - things that can't be posted just yet...

(And, if you're wondering, I'm feeling much better than last night.)

Kicking Caffeine

I don’t feel like drawing or writing a poem

I just want to curl up in bed in my home

I feel like I’m living some terrible dream

Cause today is the day that I’m kicking caffeine

Sometimes I feel cold and sometimes I feel hot

I’m writing this now as I sit by the pot

And my head’s being crushed by some awful machine

But that’s what you get when you’re kicking caffeine

Putting Up the Tree

Thanksgiving is done

  Black Friday is, too

There was just one more thing

  That we needed to do

To get ready for Christmas

  (Oh, what could it be?)

We hauled out the boxes

  And put up the tree

We put up the lights

  And we plugged them all in

The sparkling glow

  Made the family grin

We hung all the ornaments

  Homemade and not

We covered it all

  Without one empty spot

Now the girls are in bed

  And my wife is as well

But I sit and I bask

  In the Christmas tree’s spell

I’ll turn it off soon

  And call it a night

But not yet, cause I love

  All that color and light

Pancakes!

By popular request (i.e. - being reminded repeatedly) here's a pangolin about to enjoy a large plate of pancakes. This is just a still image - hopefully I'll get it animated in the near future...

Purple Pangolin

Happy Thanksgiving! After dinner tonight, my sister requested a new background screen for her phone. She happened to see this picture I drew back in 2007 and wanted it, but it was just a line drawing - so I added color, a background and a ladybug. Now I need to go slip into a turkey-induced coma...

Holiday Card 2

Another day, another card. The text inside this one says:

For you, these
little puffins raise
Their hopes for
happy holidays!

Here's the front picture:

Holiday Card 1

Over at deviantart, they've started a new project involving holiday cards. (Get all the details here.) Basically, anyone who wants to can create one or more holiday cards and mail it to them by December 16, and they'll pass them out to as many hospital patients as they can. Here's the front of my first one. I'll probably make some more and then send them all in a single package - if anyone else wants to make some, I'd be happy to include them with mine.

Inside text: May your days be merry and bright!

Drawtober Recap

The Drawtober challenge was fun

But sadly, those drawings are done

They chose the top tier

Then posted them here

And just look at the very top one!

(Spoiler - it's my Rain Station picture! I'm completely blown away, especially considering how good a lot of the other submissions are. If the above link doesn't work, go to this address: http://www.sketchbook.com/news/drawtober-wrap-up.html) 

Take My Hand

Another drawing from the archives - this one from 2000.  The original is a pencil sketch on a 3x5 card.

Take my hand and come with me

Into the future, we will see

If dreams of youth will still come true

Or if you'll fail in what you do

Regardless, if you never go

You'll never try and never know

Totes Magotes

A totally ridiculous drawing for an utterly ridiculous phrase...

Friday Night Football

Through ability, karma or fate

Bishop Dwenger has scored thirty eight

While old East Chicago

Scored a whopping zero

Which means Dwenger is going to state!

Dino Days

Have you ever had one of those days when you just feel like drawing a bunch of cartoony dinosaurs...

Red Panda Dreams

Red panda, way up in your tree

Red panda, looking down at me

From on your perch, so high above

I wonder what you’re thinking of

Do you dream of running free

To soar the skies or sail the sea?

Perhaps great fortune is your goal

To buy your very own atoll?

Or do you lust for worldwide fame

While paparazzi scream your name

Do you want to take a cruise?

Or hide away like Howard Hughes?

Be Sherlock Holmes and find some clues

While you peruse the daily news?

Please share your views on what you choose!

He shuts his eyes and starts to snooze

Red Panda

Tonight, a request from my younger daughter. She's doing a project at school on red pandas and she asked me to draw her a picture of one...

Walter Tell

Happy William Tell Day! On November 18, 1307, William Tell was forced to shoot an apple off the head of his son Walter with his crossbow for insulting a local noble. He succeeded and ended up leading a rebellion against the noble.

Octopus

I'll admit it, I didn't put quite as much effort into yesterday's post as I have for some others. To make up for it, tonight I went back to the basics - good old ink on 5x7 cardstock. I chose an octopus to draw because they have interesting shapes and skin textures, and they're generally awesome!

Dreaming of Home

Today we took a road trip to Indianapolis. It went very well and we made it back home safely, but now I'm tired and not feeling like starting a big project - so here's something I've been meaning to do for a while. I want to post some of my old sketches from years ago so just in case something happens (like a giant sinkhole swallows the entire house and I lose all the original drawings) I'll at least have some record of them. However, since this does not technically count as a new drawing, I'm going to add a little poem to each one. Tonight, a picture from 2005 and a haiku...

Astronaut on Mars

Lives his dream yet finds himself

Now dreaming of home

I Love To Write Day

I Love To Write Day is today

A day when words and phrases play

And if you write them down, you’ll see

Your nouns all verb so adverbly

Your similes and metaphors

Pull back the shades, throw open doors

So, unconfined, your thoughts escape

And just might leave the world agape

Yellow Savannah

Another picture in the monochrome series. Tonight - yellow! (and giraffes!)

National Pickle Day

Posting this tonight so you can be properly prepared for a full day of celebrations tomorrow!

On November 14th of each year

Comes a day full of sweetness and cheer

So don’t be a pill

Grab your license to dill

Cause it’s National Pickle Day here!

Autumn Leaves

Tonight just a quick little animation of some falling leaves.

Star and Candle

To all who served, and all who supported them - thank you.

Happy Birthday, Little Sis!

Today is my little sister's birthday! Happy Birthday! I won't say how old she is, but today is a big one. I gave her a card tonight at a family dinner. From her reaction, I think she liked it. Here's the front:

And here's the inside - it folds open from the top:

Newtown Pippins!

Today’s the day I’ve dreamed of

For at least a dozen years

I found some Newtown Pippins

At the farmer’s market here!

It’s my favorite kind of apple

And they’re really hard to find

I tried one in Seattle

And it almost blew my mind

It’s tart like apple cider

And it’s just a little sweet

And even old George Washington

Grew orchards of this treat

But since I had that first one

I’ve been looking for some more

But as a heirloom apple

They’re not sold in any store

I even tried to grow one

In our little backyard here

I bought the tree and planted it

It didn’t last a year

So this morning when I found them

Well, it really made my day

And so I think I’ll end this poem

And eat one right away

Return of the Monsters!

Yup, once again not a lot of time to draw so I went with another page of monsters. I think I have a pretty good excuse, though. Tonight our youngest daughter is staying overnight with a friend, so we decided it was time to give our oldest daughter "The Talk". Now that I think about it, maybe a picture of some birds and bees would have been fitting...

End Of The Road

Another one-color drawing - this time in orange!

Pulchritude

Would it be rude

Or misconstrued

To make a case that ‘pulchritude’

Has been imbued

With meaning you’d

Not expect it to exude

It sounds so lewd

So crass and crude

You might expect it to allude

To nasty food

That’s being chewed

At least that’s what I might conclude

Perhaps a mood

Depressed, subdued,

Where sordid thoughts always intrude

You mope and brood

Your attitude

Makes you a most unhappy dude

Yet ‘pulchritude’

If truth’s pursued

Means beauty bold and ballyhooed

Like hair, shampooed

Or dawn renewed

Extremely pleasing when it’s viewed

The Grim Beaker

So, I've been wanting to do a picture of Beaker from the Muppet Show for a while, but I wanted it to be unusual somehow. Tonight I did a quick search for words that rhyme with or sound like 'beaker', and the word 'reaper' was on the list. Of course, that naturally led to this...

Tut

On November 4, 1922, Howard Carter and George Herbert discovered the tomb of King Tut. Today a news report (promoting an upcoming documentary) claims he died because of a chariot accident and a botched embalming job caused his corpse to spontaneously combust! It's stained glass-style just because I felt like it.

Baninja

Here's my take on a ninja banana.

The Cave

Yesterday I enjoyed using a simplified color scheme so much that I thought I'd try it again. This time I'm catching up with a drawing challenge from last month - the cave of your imagination. As I envision it, the cave of my imagination would be vast, but not dark. There would be many layers, nooks and crannies to explore, filled with countless shining ideas - some, of course, brighter than others. Some of these ideas could be arrived at easily while others would take some effort to reach. A persistent fog would also be present, sometimes almost transparent and revealing spectacular vistas while other times so thick that you wonder if there are any ideas left at all. Luckily with time and dedication, the fog will always eventually clear.

Prime Meridian

Happy Prime Meridian Day! In honor of the spirit of exploration this represents, I'm trying something a little different today. I wanted to try drawing a picture with only 5 shades of the same basic color (lighter to darker), plus white. This is what I came up with...

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! (And Happy 115th Birthday, Grandma!) For today's drawing (and my last Drawtober challenge picture) I took this picture I drew back in February and added some creepy color. I could have had time for more, but most of the evening was spent Trick or Treating with Nora, and then drying out and warming up afterwards.

A Quiet Night

It’s almost too quiet tonight at my house

The girls are upstairs fast asleep

And my wife’s getting ready, she’ll soon be in bed

In a slumber both tranquil and deep

I’ve been reading all night, but I took a short break

To jot down these lines that you see

But I’ll wrap it up soon cause I don’t often get

Such a quiet night given to me

It’s because our TV has been sent for repairs

The screen would stay dark when turned on

And I’m sure I’ll be glad when it finally comes back

But for now it’s nice having it gone

Red Bird's Garden

It's nearly the end of the month, which means the Drawtober challenge is almost over. I'm very disappointed - soon I'll have to start coming up with my own ideas again. Today epitomizes the weirdness I've come to expect - I'm supposed to draw something using at least two of these words: time, feathers, throne, topiary and iceberg. I think I managed to get all five into this one!

"Now this display requires a little more maintenance, but the fertilizer costs are practically nonexistent!"

Genesis

This challenge was to draw a comic with the punchline: "Oops!" I was trying to think of the biggest, most Earth-shattering oops moment possible. I kept thinking of things like someone starting a nuclear armageddon after sneezing on the launch button, or a bunch of dinosaurs somehow attracting an asteroid, but everything I came up with just seemed more depressing than funny. That led me to start thinking about who could possibly have the biggest oops in history, and this is what I came up with...

"That's going to make a HUGE mess!"

Sharpshooter

Here's one I just completed last night for a challenge from a week ago. It's supposed to be a female character with at least two of these attributes: sharpshooter, curls, electric, freckles. You might not be able to tell that she's got curly hair and is wearing an electrical wristwatch, but if this is your view of her, you've got other things to worry about right now!

Free Candy

Here's the finished drawing from yesterday. Thanks to John for the trick-or-treaters idea. They may not be in the picture, but they're on the way! (Click the picture to see it bigger!)