#139 BAH, HUMBUG!

Ebenezer Scrooge, on behalf of Drawing The Sword, wishes you a
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

And a shot of me posing a little too effectively as Scrooge with a little Photoshop help with the props. I've been told that I'm possibly related to Scrooge, though that remains to be determined by DNA testing.

-Will

#138 More Card Designs

- click images for larger size -

I have really been doing a lot of graphic design lately, and honestly I've been enjoying it immensely. I get a thrill out of arranging images, text, and colors harmoniously (you can be the judge of that). This set of cards is going to be part of a paper goods gift box for a gift exchange I'm participating in later on in the holidays. And as I'm sure you can tell, I'm a big C. S. Lewis fan. I hope that whoever gets these is too!

It would be awesome to see if there's any demand for these things. If so, I could start offering them on Etsy. Just give me a shout. You can make it happen!

And hopefully I'll have at least one illustration post before Christmas - just hang tight!

-Will

#137 New Year Postcards

front

back

alternate version

My family will be hosting a New Year's Day party soon, so I offered to come up with some invitations for them. The postcards were designed in Photoshop by scanning in some Alaska graphics from a 1960's book (I adore that look). Used the free typeface Mod from Font Fabric
and created a layer mask from it. My mom said her decorating theme for January is snow, so I wanted something minimalistic, snowy and cold. The vintage graphic and the turquoise blue keep it from getting to stark, adding a little warmth to the overall feel.
The last image is an alternate design that didn't make the cut.

#136 CARGO Comic Cover Art

http://cargocomic.tumblr.com/

The home for my new wordless comic "CARGO" is finished - the previous Tumblr theme I installed was distracting, so I toned it down a bit - but this is the new cover illustration I completed today. Bear with me - I learned a lot through doing this cover, and that is exactly what I intend this project to be - a learning experience. The cover itself leaves a lot to be desired in my own opinion, but I think things are moving forward nicely. I hope you all will pitch in with any feedback you might have as the project moves forward!

I'll post a preview link here on Drawing the Sword when new Pages go up soon!

-Will

#135 Mollie Greene's Make & Do Holiday Giveaway!

I love a good giveaway!
So I really want to tell all ye good folks about Mollie Greene's amazing paper work, and her cool new book which she is giving away on her blog here: molliegreene.com I love anything that re-purposes vintage paper into cool stuff that you can enjoy. So enter the giveaway and spread the Christmas Cheer! And thanks so much Mollie for this sweet giveaway!

About Make & Do:

Released in September 2011, Mollie Greene's paper craft book Make & Do: Paper Fascinations for Every Lovely Occasion includes tutorials for old Royal Buffet favorites and new soon-to-be Royal Buffet favorites, Mollie's best pointers for working with paper, and fabulous photography that walks you through each step of the way. A perfect gift for yourself or for anyone who can handle scissors.

Links:
http://molliegreene.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/royalbuffet?ref=top_trail

#134 Space Comics!

Hey everyone!
I'm excited to announce a new project of mine - my very own webcomic!
CARGO is a sci-fi short comic about space exploration and, well, CHOMPERS (see diagrams above). I've pretty much stuck my neck out by posting all this because now I actually have people expecting me to finish it! So I will.
Go ahead and bookmark the official site: http://spacecomics.tumblr.com/ where the comic will be published (I'll post updates here and on Twitter as well). I look forward to sharing the pages with you as I get them done!

#133 Calender

Some calender designs I helped create for a friend.

#132 IT'S COMING!

HERE'S WHAT I'M WAITING ON TO COME IN THE MAIL. GET YOURS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!

Justin Gerard Sketchbook 2011 (Get it Here)

#131 Inspiration Levels: LOW

As I'm sure any artist can tell you, sometimes inspiration is hard to come by. Really I suppose I mean motivation in my case, and today is a prime example. Lately I have been tinkering with a Lego Star Wars set, coming up with a bunch of spaceship ideas. Yes, I admit it I am, and always will be a Lego fanatic, and I can't help but fool around with them occasionally. So I'm trying to use the photos I took of the designs I made as a springboard into a Photoshop concept painting. But it's not going the smoothest. I think I'll probably scrap it, and move on to something else. And then rewatch my Ryan Church DVDs. Bleh.

#130 Gandalf Bookmark

Gandalf will guard the interior of your bound volumes.

Done entirely in black & white in Photoshop, in a bookmark format. Taking a lot of inspiration from the work of Chris Koelle lately (buy his stuff). Is there enough detail in this thing to even read well as an image? Let me know if you see any major problems here.
If I printed this, would you buy one? Would the Tolkien estate sue me? Would you buy one for everyone on your Christmas list? Does the idea of unique bookmarks even interest you? I hope so. It does me. I hope to have a whole bunch of them done up here in a couple of weeks.

#129 Illustration Friday: Stripes

Stripes - Pencil drawing w/Photoshop 8x7"

My first ever Illustration Friday submission! I had a lot of fun with this one - it took about 4 hours to finish. Did a couple of preliminary sketches to establish the pose and the construction of the car. A little Photoshop magic (well, a lot really), and there you go! 1960's race car action!
Looking forward to more of this Illustration Friday stuff!

#128 Captain Brown

If you're like me, you like period drama. So last night I watched Cranford a BBC show about this small English town. It's quite fascinating and compelling, and the characters are splendid.
I have unofficially declared November to be Drawing From Life Month for myself, so I began by working from stills of this show, which afforded me some very interesting faces to draw, and superb light and shadow (which is hard to find in photo reference).

The beauty of it is, however, that I don't have to show you the photo, because then you would see how off I really am. I felt a bit rusty on my drawing skills, but to tell you the truth it felt so good to get back into that mode of separating light and shadow and getting it onto paper.

#127 Inktober 2011 Sketchbook Flip-Through

Here's a little video flip-through featuring all 31 pen & ink drawings for INKtober 2011 in their unaltered, unedited state in my Moleskine sketchbook. I thought it would be fitting to collect them all into one video here on the 1st of November as a little thank-you for everyone who followed this mini-project and left feedback & suggestions. And a big thanks to you, Jake Parker for inspiring me to take the journey in the first place. It was certainly worth it!
I can't wait to do it again next year!
Happy November everyone!

#126 INKtober Day 31: Heroes' Last Stand

"...And so it was that he, along with the Archer and the Dwarf made a desperate last stand on that barren hilltop. The Lost Gold was safe, but any hopes of a return to the realm from which he came, and all hope of winning the hand of his lady had been dashed upon that desolate mountain. As the dragons circled around them, he resolved in his battered, weary state to die fighting, die nobly, and die with her name on his lips..."

___

And so, the great INKtober journey comes to a somewhat bittersweet end. I will miss doing an ink drawing every day. But it has totally inspired me to move forward and work harder than ever to become a better draftsman and artist. The month of INKtober has pushed me to think in creative ways, and to never give up.

It has been an amazing month, thanks to everyone who has commented and been following this incredible journey. I hope you'll stick around to see what November holds...
Until then, my friends!

#125 INKtober Day 30: Perilous Stair

“...after destroying the wild beasts that accosted him in the plains, he gained with no small difficulty access to the Perilous Stair. He began to climb, his heart trembling half with terror, and half with joy, knowing that any moment his life could be snuffed out, and that the Prize of his Quest was near at hand. But little he knew of the foul Evil that resided in that dark Tower...”

#124 INKtober Day 29: Master of the Forest Way

"Well he knew that blade and its cruel master, but this would be their last meeting. 'Twas a slim chance that he would make it through that grim forest, but there was no turning back, indeed there was no other way to find the lost gold, and win the fair hand of the lady Gwyneth.."

#123 INKtober Day 28: Speed Demon

Nothin' like cruising the back roads in a hovercraft on a crisp, fall day..

#122 INKtober Day 27: Overnight Shipping Co.

Special Delivery.

#121 INKtober Day 26: Unicorn Battle

UNICORN BATTLE!

This is based on a suggestion by @jackierudolph84 (on twitter). I couldn't wait to do this one, because I loved the idea of 2 mythological creatures fighting to the finish in a battle of good vs. evil. Intentionally, I left it up for you to decide which one is good and which one is evil. I have my own opinion, but I won't bias you either way. I'd like to hear what you think in the comments.

Only 5 days left of INKtober! I hope to make them count. More tomorrow!

#120 Unicorn Sketches

Drawings from photo reference (with horns added of course). And pardon the trashy scan quality.

#119 INKtober Day 25: Fido

Yes, my dog bites.

#118 Gandalf Virtual Birthday Cake

Get your own! | More Flash Toys from TheoWorlds.com

Muddy Colors, a fine art blog with multiple contributors of great artistic caliber, has turned one year old today. They are hosting a giveaway in which you decorate a virtual cake, and then possibly win a cool prize. I decided to do Gandalf. Hope you like it, and I'm sorry, but no, you cannot lick the beaters.

#117 INKtober Day 24: Voyager

"Reluctantly the dark corridors of space gave up the trinket it concealed, depositing it on a lonely forsaken planet - the glistening, majestic Voyager whose singular goal was the transference of humanity between worlds known to worlds unknown. There it stood - a monument to the grandeur of space, soaring into the cold black sky of the alien wilderness."

An eloquently written excerpt from a book that was never written, but seemed fitting for this particular INKtober.

#116 Further Up And Further In

Reepicheep Pencil & Photoshop 8 x 5"

I received a fine set of Justin Gerard's Watercolor Blossom Photoshop brushes today, and I put them to good use. Of course, there is learning curve to them (I handle them in no way as well as he does), but there are some amazing textures in there, and I look forward to exploring them more fully in the future.
You can get your own set here.

#115 INKtober Day 23: A Very Respectable Hobbit

A Very Respectable Hobbit.

#114 INKtober Day 22: Smuggler

I imagine this is one of Han Solo's colleagues.

#113 INKtober Day 21: Clocks

Okay, I'll start off by saying I don't like this drawing.
Then I will finish by saying that it is a very early conceptual-type drawing for a hero for a comic series I'm fiddling with in my mind. I might call it Clocks and yes, that is somewhat indirectly inspired by the Coldplay song of the same name. You can never tell, it might end up in the shops some day.

#112 INKtober Day 20: Frankenstien's Monster

This thing came to me fast. I mean, I just started drawing, and it appeared in the page. So that's what you get for INKtober today. The End.

#111 INKtober Day 19: B-Wing Attack

Today's INKtober honors the unsung virtues of the B-Wing Fighter.
Admittedly, the B-Wing is an unusual-looking craft, but its speed and firepower make it a valuable asset to the Rebel alliance.
And in case you haven't noticed - I have really been enjoying using black in my INKtober sketches. It adds a lot of depth and contrast to the sketches. The application is a bit rough in places, but I like that markery look. It's cool.
Until tomorrow troopers!

#110 INKtober Day 18: Moonlight

Moonlight buddies!

My mom suggested "mushrooms & owls" so I drew them. Sort of a nice departure from the stuff I usually do. It was fun, even though it sort of looks like Super Mario Bros. meets Winnie the Pooh. And why the Mr. Owl is talking to the bugs and the mushroom and not eating them is beyond me...

Anyway. Hope you like! More tomorrow.

#109 INKtober Day 17: Tunnel Bot

Upon blasting through miles of thick rock, the Tunnel Bot finally discovers its objective: the Lost Jewel! Why does he want to find the Lost Jewel? Why Not? He's a Tunnel Bot. He like finding stuff underground. 'Nuff said. Any arguments will answered with the buzz saw. The end.

And today I cheated. I used a grey Prismacolor marker. I just couldn't bear that black to white transition. Hey, it's ink isn't it?

And today's drawing is inspired by none other than ZBots! I had a few when I was a kid. The saw arm is pretty much a copy of the purple one in the picture. Cheers!

#108 INKtober Day 16: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt.6

The conclusion of our 6-part epic saga. Poor Vader.
Okay, now I'm finally done drawing Darth Vader for a whole week straight! On to cooler things tomorrow, I promise!! Thanks for your INKtober support guys & gals!

#107 INKtober Day 15: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt.5

In which Lord Vader receives a present!

For all you Star Wars fanatics like me, here's a wonderfully descriptive article on the Star Destroyer which I used as reference for today's INKtober. Enjoy!

#106 INKtober Day 14: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt. 4

In which, Darth Vader learns the importance of this momentous occasion..

#105 INKtober Day 13: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt.3

The Saga Continues!

Note of Interest: Imperial officers rarely wear mustaches. This is merely creative license on my part. Also, for the uninitiated, Vader and the Emperor are communicating via hologram. This explains why the Emperor is exponentially larger than Vader in this particular scene, and also explains the fact that he is transparent. Thank you.

#104 INKtober Day 12: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt. 2

In which the Dark Lord groggily begins his morning...

#103 INKtober Day 11: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt. 1

Inspired by yesterday's post, I am beginning this short webcomic, entitled Darth Vader's Birthday. Don't worry, it'll be over in a week. Hope you like Vader, cause this blog's gonna be chock full of it by the time this is finished!

Be sure to click on the image to get the full size version for INKtober in all its glory!

*Note to LucasFilm, LTD.: I am in no way selling these images, so please don't sue me. Thanks, and tell George hey for me.

#102 INKtober Day 10: Lord Vader Says

Here's the winning request from blog reader One of a Few: "Darth Vader posing with a big cup of french roast Starbucks." His request was chosen randomly out of ... one vote, his own (please note my sarcasm here).
Congratulations sir!

So thanks to everybody who participated... (crickets in the audience). We'll definitely have to do this again some time!

And happy 100th Post Anniversary to Drawing the Sword!
More INKtober tomorrow!