Rock Study 1

Recently I came across these pen and ink sketches on deviantart: http://outsidelogic.deviantart.com/   (Warning: not all the people in some of the pictures are fully clothed!) I think his style is fantastic - very controlled lines - so I figured I'd try copying one to improve my own abilities. Here's my first try:

Rocky Landscape

Just messing around with the digital version of a pen and ink landscape sketch. I'll probably add more to this in the future.

A+

Today I watched a live streaming webcast of an interesting NASA test project. It's called the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (or LDSD). It's basically testing a new way of slowing down really large payloads to land on Mars. To simulate this, they launched the device (which looks like a large doughnut with a rocket engine sticking out of the middle) to 100,000 feet using a really big balloon. Once it reached altitude after a couple of hours, the device was supposed to drop off the balloon, light the engine, accelerate to Mach 4, inflate to make a bigger heat shield and deploy an immense 110-foot diameter parachute. Everything went pretty much according to plan except the parachute didn't unfurl completely.

What I found most interesting about the test, though, was something one of the commentators said afterwards. He said that in a test like this, a complete success is considered an "A", but a problem like the one they had with the parachute was an "A+", because it gave them a chance to learn something new. I'll definitely be using this example with my future classes.

Last Day of Camp

2014 Summer Camp, Week 1, is over! I would celebrate more, but this is kind of how I'm feeling right now (plus I have 3 more weeks to go)...

Soccer Fever, part 2

So the US lost zero to one

You would think that our hopes would be done

But because of the scoring

This game that’s so boring

Will provide us with hours more “fun”

Catfishin'

Tonight I'm busy working on a presentation for camp tomorrow all about DNA, which means once again I only have time for a quick doodle. Checkiday says that today is National Catfish Day, so that's what you're getting:

Koala Rocket

Another busy day at camp. Today the students built rockets, so here's a quick picture of a rocket. We didn't do anything remotely related to koalas, but they're cute so I put one on there anyway!

RoboBridge

Tonight I'm tired after our first day of summer camp. 32 5th-7th graders can sure keep a guy busy! We engineered paper bridges and designed robots on the computers, so here's a quick sketch of a giant robot crossing a bridge.

Soccer Fever

Soccer fever is thick in the air

In our game against Portugal there

Were two goals on each side

So it ended up tied

It’s a good thing I don’t really care

Personal Transformation

Another 3-panel picture for the deviantart transformation contest. For this one I dug up a series of pictures drawn at different times through my life to illustrate some of the changes I've gone through so far.

1982 - Age 10 - Artistic ability: minimal - Dreams: unlimited
2005 - Age 33 - Artistic ability: improving - Dreams: reality setting in, probably never going to be an astronaut
2014 - Age 42 - Artistic ability: still working on it - Dreams: looking forward to new challenges, family by my side

Single Dad Blues

Oh, I got the blues

Yeah, I got the blues bad

My woman done left

I’m a poor single dad

She left me this morning

Aboard a big bus

Took her passport and bags

While abandoning us

But the worst part of all

She did not go alone

Took my sister and mom

Leaving me on my own

And they headed up north

For a couple of days

Took a little vacation

To watch a few plays

Which leaves me with the girls

We’ll just have our own fun

And then welcome her back

When the weekend is done

Watch Out!

Oh no! What have I done? What started as a simple seed of an idea now seems to be taking over the world!

(P.S. - Happy Birthday, Kevin!)

It's Growing!

Look at that cute little sprout! I wonder what kind of zany antics it'll get up to tomorrow?

Seed of a New Idea

Tonight I start on a new challenge. Over at DeviantArt, there's a contest to draw a transformation over three panels. Here's panel 1 of my first idea. I'm also trying a new technique where I just block in solid colors then use the smudge tool to mush them around and get a softer look.

I wonder what it will sprout into?

Puddle Gate

Here it is - the final product as I originally envisioned it. However, while working on it, I came up with some other ideas, so you might see parts of this in a future picture...

Only enlarge this if you have an umbrella!

Father's Day

Today’s the day that’s all for me

I spent it with my family

We got up, went to church at ten

We came back home, had lunch, and then

Went grocery shopping near and far

I took a nap out in the car

Back home again so we could see

Some Netflix reruns on TV

My daughters said they love me so

And then I went outside to mow

Now you might think that’s not so great

They should do more to celebrate

I look at it another way

And every day is Father’s Day

Mood Lighting

Here's the picture in it's (almost) final form after adding some reflections and shadows and such. There's still one more thing I want to do with it, though...

Click to embiggen

Almost Done

Some grass (which took far longer than it should have!) and some mud in the puddle, and we've almost reached the end...

Let's Get Dirty

We can't leave that poor wall just hanging out on the edge of the world (although that does suggest an entirely different direction I could take this picture - hmmm). Anyway, here's some dirt.

More Plants!

Now let's make the background even more lush.

Lori's Triumph

She passed! She passed! We’re all so proud!

The celebration’s long and loud

For my dear wife, who’s worked so hard

With pencil, book and index card

Studying for weeks on end

We barely even got to spend

Much time with her, the girls were sad

Making do with dear old Dad

While Mom, refusing to relax,

Learned theories, scientists and facts

All that stuff so she could be

Teaching Sociology

And so, today, with little rest

She headed off to take the test

Despite her nerves, she didn’t cry

She nailed it with a single try

So now I think we all concur

We are so very proud of her!

Stay Off the Grass

Let's add some background foliage...

Close the Gate!

It's not great, and it's certainly not in Kiev, but here's the gate. Sorry, no stone arch (at least not in this picture!)

General Jackson Would Be Proud

I mean, just look at that stone wall!

Another Brick in the Wall

Okay, maybe it's more of a stone wall than a brick wall, but the title worked better this way. Anyway, continuing the work in progress...

Good Grief!

Thanks, Kris, for your... insightful... comment on this post from a few days ago (and also for mentioning my moose on Facebook!)

Anyway, since I'm not letting you anywhere near my head with a magic marker, I thought it would only be fair to show you what you're missing:

But then again, this one might be more appropriate:

Hitting A Wall

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I was getting a little tired of doing simplistic, cartoony-type drawings for the animations, so I've decided to push myself and tackle a more challenging project. Expect to see little bits and pieces of it over the next few days. Here's the first part, a stone wall with a concrete post holding up one end.

Ode to a Moose

A year ago today I posted a drawing of a moose, just because I felt like it. Tonight, I wrote a poem to go along with it, partially because I like mooses, but mainly because I'm getting tired of doing these little animations!

Anyway, here's my Ode to a Moose:

Have you ever met a moose?

If you have, you might deduce

There’s something magical about

Those antlers and that mighty snout

Their legs, so lanky and so long

Their mooscles and their stench, so strong

And if you wish to be amoosed

Put on this moosic I just choosed

Then watch them mooses dance around

They moove so madly with the sound

At other times they seem so dull

Like nothing’s in that moosive skull

But watch them while they’re eating, then

They reach a state of moostic zen

It’s like they see a holy light

While moosticating every bite

So now, don’t mutter no excuse

You moost go out and meet a moose!

Laughing Owl

For tonight's contest entry, I wanted to combine the animation with the cutout paper look. Unfortunately, the resulting file was pretty big, and when I shrunk it down to the required size limit, it didn't look as good as I wanted. I'll post the smaller one to the contest anyway, but here's the bigger, nicer one for you!

A New Look

There's this thing I've been meaning to try
I was scared and a little bit shy
But today, with great care,
I shaved all of my hair
And now I'm a bald-headed guy!