Waiting For Food

Girl on the left was waiting in front of a taqueria with two guys that could have been her father & husband.  Older lady walked by another restaurant (why can't I remember), and I only saw her for three seconds. 

More stuff on the way.  Can't believe it's Christmas on Sunday.

Look who never got scanned.

These two!  Angry soup eater, and big man at coffee shop having a meeting with an older gentleman (not drawn).

Unhappy at SFO.

I'm not afraid of hamgurgers.  At local cafe.

Cook it. Write about it. Now, draw it.

Food.  I like all kinds of food, but I don't like the word "foodie."  I like making food, and I've been spending time most recently making bread recently because it's simple, and I'm not one to omit food from my diet.  Butter it!

Anecdote: I may or may not be allergic to shark's fin which was in a soup that I had in the Philippines when I was bout seven to nine-years-old (long ago), and the drive back to my uncle's house was memorable.  My neck became warm and slightly itchy.  Soon I was itchy all over.  I got back to his house to discover hives all over my body, and my eyes and areas of my face were swollen.  I was scared, but it was never confirmed that the shark was the cause.  The logic was that it was the only food that night that was new to me, but that's all for another time, and maybe a personal comic down the road.

On to sketches.

Picked up this old issue of Saveur magazine on my bookshelf and just started drawing.  Below is what happened.  Ended with a photo of an older, female server in Greece.  She was probably a looker in her early 20s.  What?

I don't know how many tomatoes I've drawn in my life, but add one to that number.  Pow!

After these first sketches, I needed to stop looking and think to myself what eggplant I was going to represent without thinking too much about the photo ref.  Something I need to do more often. I don't need photos to draw, but I agree with the visual vocabulary idea; it's something that you can improve upon by oberservation, practice, repetition.  In the end, how one portays an object or person, whatever, is up to the artist.  I always imagine what I'd say to a group of young artists who sought advice; I wouldn't be very helpful to them.  Sorry, kids!

Again I had to remind myself about "getting it right." Just draw. Work out a way of laying down brushstrokes because I need the practice.  That's it.

Wonky lines.  Who cares!

Enough blabbering about my own drawings.  Back to drawing!

Comic in Limbo

Finally back to this blog!

Here are four attempts for a one page comic that just hasn't worked out yet.  Maybe someone would find it funny (not showing the last panel & dialog on purpose), but I know the solutions I had drawn out didn't feel right, a bit forced. 

As you can see, these were attempts at finding a drawing style that I liked, and there was a lot banking on the finished inks.  These were fun to draw though, and I'll give it another go now that some time has passed!

Given The Green Light!

Post 3 of 11.

I have yet to mention the book cover that I've been working on for CJ Marsicano's novel Resonant Blue, so here I go.  It's been a fun process, and CJ has been a good art director with plenty of kind words for my simple pencil sketches.  You can check out the thumbnails on the novel's -Facebook page-.

Here is the current drawing for the approved design done in pencil with some Photoshop white thrown in.  I feel like I'm going to be repeating myself a lot today, but as I told CJ, the kimono/yukata pattern is still being worked out in the sketchbook.  I can't wait to get that finalized, so I can start inking and digitally coloring this piece.

© Chris Mendoza

Post 2 of 11: Elephant Redo

Plenty of stuff to work on today but had to do this warm-up and fix that funky elephant I drew in the previous post.

11 Posts Before 11-11-11

I've been meaning to post here since returning from Maui, but I've been working on ultra top secret projects that I can't share with you just yet.  If you guessed that's only partially true, you would be right, so let's just get to what went into the sketchbook today.

Met an adorable and intelligent 7-year-old and her lovely mother at Elevation 66--a small local brewery that I decided to give a go.  The young girl asked me if I was an artist and then asked me if I could draw her.  I tried my best to do so and keep the conversation going at the same time; it's not easy to sit still for drawings, so hat's off to Erin for being a champ.  I did take a quick cell phone pic before giving her and her mother their drawings.  I'll get it from the cell phone to the laptop soon.  The food, beer, and company were all great.  Thanks, you two.

Reminder for today: work on drawing animals. Any and all because you'll never know when you'll be asked to pull one from memory.

I was asked to draw an elephant, and this is what I came up with.  Yikes.

This was drawn at PIQ Berkeley prior to the ones above. This lady was sharing a meal with a friend a few tables away.

Enjoying the warm Berkeley afternoon.

Catch Up

Miscellaneous doodles from the sketchbook. Would say more, but it's time for reading and checking on a Dropbox item from LM.

Okay. I will say that the one below was from a talk from the Super 7 founders.  This bearded gentleman was seated a few rows in front of us. We checked out the presentation last Thursday at Academy of Art on Post Street, and those students were a tough crowd. Maybe LM was right, and they were just tired from classes & labs, but I didn't sense any enthusiasm or support from the audience.

More St. Paul Airport

Lady on her iPad after she had spent a good amount of time on her cell phone.

There were a lot of pear-shaped people in the airports.  I couldn't render the folds of his shirt fast enough.  A line formed behind this guy once they started boarding.

Waiting In Line

This lady waited patiently in line with her newspaper for the Delta agent while everyone else around her stared into cell phone and tablet screens. There sure are way more official charging stations in airports these days for those electronics.

Post #50!

Here are a couple from Detroit airport which had a nice, bright red tram inside.  What it didn't have was decent Mexican food.  The "torta" with pulled pork was gross, and the service sucked, too.

Actually, all the people except the girl with the striped top drawn in black pen were seen inside Jamaica Station in Queens.

More Sharpie Environments

I'm liking this new Blogger interface, but that's not really necessary to state in this post. How about: I want a samurai to live in that second drawing below. I just saw 13 Assassins, and it was pretty damn entertaining. If you've seen a few samurai movies, you haven't seen one like this one.

Didn't Get Lazy

I was in Sag Harbor, NY for 10 days (five of which we were without power thanks to Tropical Storm Irene) helping my friend at the Hampton Classic.  I'll post some airport sketches later today, but I wish I had time to sketch at the horse show.  Many beautiful animals, and the experience reminded me to find my old photos from Baguio in the Philippines which is the only place I've ever ridden a horse.

There were definitely some memorable moments from the trip that would make for some decent comics, so enough blabbering.  Back to work!

Off To A Shakey Start

But that's what sketchbooks are for!  Ugh.

Click to enlarge.

That one on the far right was a team effort.  From butt cheeks in thong to alien face to bare-chested, eye patch girl.  It all worked out in the end.  Thanks, art school.

You said it, Pope. *

From @PULPHOPE (a personal hero of mine. A comics creator who reminds me why I enjoy the medium) :

If not now, then when? If not you, then who?

I agree with this wholeheartedly, and I'm glad I read this right after an unofficial, inaugural "drink & draw" session with LM.  We both went to art school, and we both need to draw more.  That is a fact, right sir?  I'm grateful for any time I get to draw/collaborate with other artists because I skipped that part of art school.  Silly me.

Here's to a lot more drawing and painting.  Hopefully, there's a bit of storytelling in there, too.

*There are going to be a lot of people reading this post thinking that I'm addressing the Vatican.  Apologies.

Clocks Tick

Warm-up for today and a few from last night. I was browsing through the Batwoman: Elegy HC before heading off to bed.  JH Williams III still kicks a lot of ass, and I look forward to his next projects.

The one directly below is stuff that constantly bangs around in my head because it's simple fact.  It's neither pessimism or optimism at this very moment.  By "say something," I'm just reminding myself that as much as I need to be drawing constantly, some of it should have a purpose besides making marks on paper.  I hope I can communicate through comics because I'm not sure how much I'm saying with head sketches, alien environments, and characters standing around.  On the positive side, drawing's fun again!  Now, if can just start paying the bills.

 

Back to Landscapes

The fictitional kind, that is.  This was done in a Moleskine, but it was converted to grayscale...well, because I felt like it. 

*Click*

Tomorrow, I have to layout at least one piece that will be completely finished by Thursday.  I need to reread this "DC Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics" again.

Warning: Not Funny

Oh well.  Like I said, why edit these posts or comic ideas?  Either they get better or they don't.  I have more important things to worry about right now.

Internet Hater: "Because these comics you post suck and aren't funny.  Learn how to draw and write, or stop wasting our time."

Me: "Hate mail!  Weeeeeee."

I need to produce more work, so the editing can be saved for the portfolio for now.

Another Pass

Click to enlarge.

Spent time in Photoshop and had good time trying to lay in some color over the first marker sketch from below.  The last bit with the gradient and fx in the sky were a bit premature.  I'd like to have all the values of the fortresses in order before adding details like that, of course.

Sharpies and Environment Sketches

Chisel Sharpie is nice, but it still smells bad and makes you a little cross-eyed. I was just thinking of fortresses and castles and how I could render them quickly to avoid forms that were too obvious.

I'd like to use these as a starting point for fully digital landscapes or maybe I'll just use that big watercolor sketchbook and use some gouache and acrylic.

"So what jobs are you going for?"

"Always with the tough questions.  I don't even know what I'm having for breakfast."

Go, go, flying fortress.

Three More

A few from another Moleskine.  I'm almost done with sketching in these old, smaller sketchbooks.  I have a new 8.5" x 11" one waiting to be used. 

Only four more out of those 18 head studies from the old anatomy book.  Scroll down for others.

 

Don't Think, Just Post

Trying not to edit myself too much here right now; if it's in the sketchbook, might as well post it.  If I don't like it now, I may like it later.

Below: waxy china marker.

Here's one with a Pigma Micron which I thought would have dried up by now.

Thursday Sketchbook

She only has one eye, so that's why her mask looks like that. Don't be mean. Loosely based on some photo ref.

Some old alien ladies walking somewhere, most likely to the alien farmers market because they want what's local and in season.  It's all the rage in their galaxy, too.

Some guy about to inspect the trail because he's been tracking his prey for two weeks now.  He's persistent, but that's why he gets paid all the highest bounties.  Watch.  Your.  Back.

 Above done with brush pen, Pitt pens, and a fat, chisel Sharpie.  Oh, and some warm grey Copic markers that I bought for the first time.

Finish It Already and...

Another thumbnail to move the Poison Ivy sketch into a finished composition.  I think I'll go with this one.  Will work out the giant stem and ivy leaves.

Here are a couple of others from the same sketchbook.  As I may have stated before, I'm using up all the unused pages before I start brand new sketchbooks later this month or early September.

Below is one was a character I drew while I was with my younger niece and nephew.  He looks like he's going wine tasting with that special someone.

 

Here is one girl from the Mission District.  I ate ramen at KenKenRamen by myself one day because I had started reading Lucky Peach magazine (which I subscribed to immediately after reading just two articles), and had the strongest craving for a bowl.  I'm not a fashion judge...I've just never seen jean shorts or jeans cut like that and worn over such garish biker shorts.  They may have been pink and not yellow, but you get the point

Keep on forgetting

I'd rather not post sketches only to for them to remain undeveloped, so here's the drawingboard photo ref again, but now with the girl as Poison Ivy.  It's still very rough, but at least it's not strictly an exercise in copying a photo anymore which is a tendency of mine when using photo reference.  Maybe part of me secretly wants to be a photo realistic painter instead of a cartoonist...but probably not.

 

The one below was actually drawn after the more finished one above because I still wanted to move away from the photograph to make it my own drawing.  I still need to work out the giant plant that she'll be sitting on.

What does this have to do with any previous posts?

Nothing at all as you can see.  I just haven't drawn with a Sharpie in a while, and I did like the negative space between those squares and rectangles to the left.

 

I am indeed drawing today, and I liked the textures that I was getting with the pen nibs I found in my drawer recently, but I didn't like anything enough to post them here yet.  Another post before I go to bed, I'm sure.

Robot & Dragon

Here's another attempt with the drawingboard photo ref done with some watercolor pencils.  Threw in the hint of a dragon because everyone is on Game of Thrones's balls right now, but I'm not going to say I have ever tried to draw anything from the series yet.

Here's a Photoshop robot trying to befriend...something.  Turned it to grayscale because the color palette was ugly.  I'd redraw this and expand the composition; actually, I'd redo the composition.

Now, to get out of the house for a little bit.  If my one follower on this blog is reading, answer my text, cabron!