Category Archives: sketchbook

calendar sketch

pen – pilot p-500 A quick little doodle while waiting for our meeting to start.

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

alien mech sketch – first encounter

digital pencil – autodesk sketchbook pro His first encounter with the alien mech.

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

landscape sketch – digital pencils

digital pencils Based on last weeks thumbnail sketches, this is my first landscape sketch using 2b and 6b pencils in corel painter.

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

landscape thumbnails

pen on textured paper Landscape thumbnail studies. Next step… digital painting. (Totally inspired by Marco Bucci’s iTouch paintings!)

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

suit sketch

digital – autodesk sketchbook pro A new year, a new “restart” for more sketches! While I eagerly await the Apple Tablet, I’m warming up my sketching muscles with some digital drawings.

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

pen sketches – afghan farmer and jack black

Afghan Farmer sketch 1 pen – pilot p-500 Afghan Farmer sketch 2 pen – pilot p-500 Jack Black sketch (unintentionally channeling Stanley Kubrick) pen – pilot p-500 I’ve been trying to do more sketching these days. Tonight I wanted to … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 2 Comments

japanese crane sketches

pen – Uchida’s Le Pen – .3mm pen – Uchida’s Le Pen – .3mm I finally found my Le Pen! These sketches were done on office note pads while on the phone discussing web edits with the 4th floor engineers. … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 2 Comments

obama the savior

Barack Obama the Savior sketchbook quickie – 10 minutes derwent graphite – 2b only

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

feeling “more” bearish? can the FED repair this mess?

It has been a little over a year since I first wrote about “feeling bearish“. original illustration – graphite pencil – derwent graphic – August 2007 August 2, 2007 to be exact. The Dow closed that day at 13,463 points. … Continue reading

Posted in ab·er·rant, sketchbook | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

George Carlin: Gone But Not Forgotten

pencils – derwent graphic 6b It has been one week since George Carlin’s passing at age 71. My memory of George Carlin extends back to the early 80′s when I saw him on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He … Continue reading

Posted in ab·er·rant, sketchbook | Tagged | 2 Comments

mini thor

pencil – derwent graphic 4b

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

cyber cowboy

pencils – Derwent Graphic 2b,4b 6b and Faber-Castell Aquarelle Westworld’s Revenge

Posted in sketchbook | 4 Comments

blackened crab: destination, bay area

pen: pilot P-500 extra fine and colored pencils: prismacolor It’s been just over two weeks since the 65,000-ton cargo ship Cosco Busan struck the Bay Bridge and spilled 60,000 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean. … Continue reading

Posted in ab·er·rant, sketchbook | 1 Comment

alternative fuel vehicle

pen: pilot P-500 extra fine and markers: prismacolors cool greys An alternative fuel vehicle for the San Francisco gas consumers suffering $3.50+ a gallon.

Posted in sketchbook | 7 Comments

captain starkist

pencils – Derwent Graphic 2b,4b 6b and Faber-Castell Aquarelle illustrationfriday.com

Posted in sketchbook | 14 Comments

feeling bearish

graphite pencil – derwent graphic – 6b, 4b, 2b Feeling Bearish Following Wall Street today can be as stressful as following the news coming out of Washington DC. With the talk of a “housing bubble” bursting at the seams, the … Continue reading

Posted in ab·er·rant, sketchbook | 3 Comments

figure studies

charcoal pencils – sanguine and white on seashell flecked paper charcoal

Posted in sketchbook | 3 Comments

saving the suit

digital – corel painter and adobe photoshop Topic: Suit – illustrationfriday.com Running late for his job interview, Mr. Slowski took the expressway through underground utility pipes. While saving his suit from water, a fellow commuter decided to hitch a ride.

Posted in sketchbook | 19 Comments

gaining a higher perspective

pen: pilot P-500 and markers: prismacolors cool greys Epic Battle concept – original post: March 2006 Almost two months of crazy work deadlines and recouping by traveling to the East Coast to visit family and friends, is to me, time … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 3 Comments

polar freeze

digital – adobe illustrator

Posted in sketchbook | 8 Comments

virginia tech mourns

vector illustration – adobe illustrator As a Virginia Tech alumnus (1997), I offer my condolences to those that are most affected by this tragedy; current students, family and friends of the injured and deceased. As the flurry of media swarms … Continue reading

Posted in bablings, sketchbook | Leave a comment

this ole man loves trane

traditional – gouache on canvas – 8″ x 8″ – value study There is nothing like a little John Coltrane to celebrate 34 years on this earth. The recordings of the mid 50′s to early 60′s are my favorite. It’s … Continue reading

Posted in bablings, sketchbook | 8 Comments

tribal

pencil – derwent graphic 4b; digital color – photoshop

Posted in sketchbook | 2 Comments

Words this time… with a twist

this is about right… feelin’ somewhat twisted (March 2006) About writing and expressing thoughtsAfter some feeble attempts to write personal thoughts on this blog, I have realized from the beginning that I am not a writer. There are so many … Continue reading

Posted in bablings, sketchbook | 6 Comments

alien – sprout finale

graphite – Faber-Castell Grip 2001 2b / Aquarelle finale

Posted in sketchbook | 5 Comments

alien – sprout part 3

graphite – Faber-Castell Grip 2001 2b / Aquarelle part 3 – the surprise turns to disbelief…

Posted in sketchbook | 16 Comments

alien – sprout part 2

graphite – Faber-Castell Grip 2001 2b / Aquarelle part 2 – the distraction turns to surprise…

Posted in sketchbook | 10 Comments

alien – sprout

graphite – Derwent Graphic 4b The alien is a bit distracted by the sprouting flower. As you can see, he’d rather investigate than complete his mission:

Posted in sketchbook | 8 Comments

a smurfy red demon

digital painting – Corel Painter This is one of the coolest Smurf figures I found at a local toy shop, the Sausalito Ferry Company Gift Store. Not to be outdone, the other week I found a Frankenstein Smurf at Kar’ikter … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 9 Comments

San Carlos Caltrain Station

graphite – Derwent Graphic – 2b, Pilot – P-500, Prismacolor Greys Over a three week period (spread out from Oct ’06 thru Jan ’07) I would sketch this section of the Caltrain Station at San Carlos a little bit at … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 3 Comments

mask – an epee dream

pen in sketchbook – pilot p-500 extra fine This week’s topic for Illustration Friday is Mask. The other night, I had this dream of a masked man with an epee. Today, I continued the dream during my morning break at … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 23 Comments

mighty present

digital painting – corel painter This weeks’ Illustration Friday topic is “MIGHT”. Here are some additional rambling sketches for the topic, done with a Berol Verithin Sky Blue 740.5 blue pencil I found deep in my pencil case:

Posted in sketchbook | 20 Comments

smoke break

derwent graphite 4b – pilot drawing DR pigment ink – faber-castell art grip color pencils It’s been almost exactly 1 year and 6 months since I quit smoking. Even though I believe it was one of the best decisions I … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

Invention – Da Vinci Fish Flier

digital painting – Corel Painter Back in March of 2006, I came up with some concepts for a weekly sketch group topic Evolution. The original idea I had was how fish would eventually evolve into flying creatures. I believe Da … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 25 Comments

thanksgiving – juicy

This time of year, one should be careful what they advertise. digital illustration – Corel Painter This is my second contribution to the Illustration Friday site.

Posted in sketchbook | 12 Comments

rubber ducky

digital painting – corel painter. concept pen sketch on blue steno pad. Now that work has slowed down a bit and my freelance gigs are all completed, I had some time to play more with Painter. I based this sketch … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

ghost – illustration friday

My first submission to the Illustration Friday site. Sketched with Derwent graphite 4b, Prismacolor greys and thin lines with my friend, Mr. Pilot P-500. I’ve been struggling with coloring the Mariachi sketch in Painter. I’ll chip away at it more … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 5 Comments

mariachi – base layer

Several weeks ago, Dan Segarra’s AM sketch topic of the week was “Mariachi”. I whipped out some thumbnail sketches which evolved into this. I never posted it because it was stuck as a bookmark between the pages of Al Gore’s … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

assassin revisited – in color

This is my first attempt at coloring with Corel Painter. I wanted to take this application for a spin, figure out the dense interface and play around with the pens and brushes. I’ve always wanted to try it, but I … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 2 Comments

assassin

Inspired while watching Kill Bill, Volume 1. It’s been a while… the cpu/scanner was outta commission because of a BIOS error. I finally fixed it… after not knowing what the heck was going on. Oh wells… In addition to more … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

wool mustache

pen – pigma micron 05 Topic: special mustache – illustrationfridaynight After 7 years of the current U.S. Administration’s ineptitude, this can be my only assumption why 32% of Americans still support these criminals.

Posted in ab·er·rant, sketchbook | Leave a comment

alcatraz

I was in the city today and had some time to walk around the pier 39 area. rough sketch – 60 seconds – 2″x2″ detailed sketch – 30 minutes – 7″x5″Click here for the 900px wide version.

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

garbage man

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

fallen cupid

2003 – pen – pigma micron 02

Posted in ab·er·rant, sketchbook | Leave a comment

heartbreak

pen – pigma micron 02

Posted in ab·er·rant, sketchbook | Leave a comment

memory – balloon

I really don’t know why, but lately I have been dreaming about the balloon that got away when I was 5 years old. My dad was driving us home from McDonalds in his 1975 Volkswagon Beetle. I was a happy … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 3 Comments

calendar

Sketching on a small canvas, waiting for my doctor to arrive at Kaiser. Here’s a detail of the Japanese Maple outside my window. Since it has small foliage, I had to squint to capture the shape thru the contrast of … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

customer service phone rep

Whenever I receive a “courtesy call” during dinner or at 9:00am Satuday mornings from a bank or credit card company asking me to buy into one of their useless products, I am always curious what the person on the other … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

jazz n blues

mingus thelonious coltrane billie getz louis ella miles These were the table names and cards for our wedding.

Posted in sketchbook | 12 Comments

who?

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

shocking

2nd in the mad scientist series.See the first one here: subdued mad scientist

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

sunblock

I’ve been sketching a bunch lately. It’s very therapeutic!This is a quickie while waiting to depart on the train.

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

to look

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

subdued mad scientist

Posted in sketchbook | 3 Comments

in the kitchen

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

jessie

We just got back from her company’s end of the summer camp get-together at 330 Ritch Street in the city. Since I don’t drink anymore, I found another use for my table napkin… sketchin’! His name is Jessie and he … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

ole captain wolf

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

quickies

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

cowboy

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

thief

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

uncle sam

As I was thinking of a concept for the July 4th AM sketch topic, Uncle Sam (thanks Dan!), my neighbors were shooting off some illegal fireworks. And these were some really loud as dynamite, cherry bomb-M-80 hybrid, blow your hand … Continue reading

Posted in ab·er·rant, sketchbook | 1 Comment

she likes mice

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

caveman and his pet(s)

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

samurai

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

undercover agent

johnny shoeshine

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

knight

I woke up thursday morning to a gawd awful sight… the head of a dead man on the t.v. news. He has a name, he has a title, and yes he’s hated and revered by millions. Regardless of who he … Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

wired – mutated insect

pilot p-500 extra fine / prismacolor pencils wired – mosquito plasma bank

Posted in sketchbook | 8 Comments

myopic security guard dragon

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

cute monster

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

robot (specific function)

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

flaming death!

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

hocus pocus!

wizard small hocus pocus! Continue reading

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

mentor caricature

Posted in sketchbook | Leave a comment

Sketches at Kaiser

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment

mutant broccoli

Posted in sketchbook | 1 Comment