Mo-Mo-Monkeys!

The character I am creating likes monkeys and wants one. Not terribly original, but cute. How I will handle this in my story I'm not sure yet. She is certainly not going to get a monkey, and the imaginary pet route is not one I want to take. But at some point I'm sure I will need to draw monkeys. These were actually a lot of fun to draw! Working from The Big Book of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz.

Working from The Big Book of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz.

This is the first time I'm using non-photo (or non-reproducible) blue mechanical pencil lead. You can find information on "Dave's Mechanical Pencils" (see The Great Blue Challenge and Non-Reproducible Leads). I ordered a bunch from JetPens.

I love them! I would first rough my drawing with non-photo blue, then shape it up with a regular pencil. The idea is that when photocopied, the non-photo blue will not show on the copy. It works a little different in the modern world of scanners, but you can judge for yourself on the results. I scanned this on an Epson Perfection 1250 scanner, with the scanner set for a black and white document.

By the way, I use mechanical pencils to draw with. As an engineer, I have always used them and it seemed natural to use for drawing. Plus I hate sharpening. I use different sizes (0.5, 0.7, and 0.9) and hardnesses (B, HB, 2B).

Cartoon Bodies

The Big Book of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz. Looks kind of like the Tin-Man.

Fishies

Flounder from The Little Mermaid (1989). I didn't realize how complicated a little fishie could be! Oh and for some reason I was trying out different mouths on top. Reference book was Disney's How to Draw The Little Mermaid.

Oval and Triangle Figures

Figures using Cartooning the Head & Figure by Jack Hamm. Another book I love! It is jam-packed with information about drawing cartoons; there are over 3,000 illustrations! I bought a copy, then received another as part of the book lot I won on eBay. I'm keeping both in case I want to scan some of the pages to post on the wall for reference.

Action Poses

Working from The Big Book of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz.

Rose is Rose

Rose is Rose (Created by Pat Brady; by Don Wimmer) is on of my favorite cartoons. I love everything about this strip; the characters, artwork, family-values, etc. One of the best aspects of this strip is the camera angles he uses (except the ones that make me have to turn my monitor sideways).

Here's are a few sketches from the Sunday strips (11-18-07 and 12-2-07).

Men, Women, and Children

Various people from The Big Book of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz.

Talk about a book that has everything! I got this book as part of an eBay lot of *20* cartooning books for only $25 plus shipping! (I won another lot of sketch and inking books from the same seller for $15). I think you could go a long way toward learning to draw and getting published with just this one book. I'll talk about the books in my library on another post if anyone is interested.

I really recommend hitting up eBay if you're just starting a collection of drawing books. Even if what you get is not in great condition, you can at least get a good sampling of what's out there and re-purchase a better edition if you need. I look very carefully at the seller and the description. I don't mind getting books that are in obliviously used shape; I just don't want that funky 'musty' smell you sometimes find.

And one more note; the Blitz book was originally given to David from 'Mom and Dad' for Christmas 2000. Thanks David, the book is in perfect shape!

Cartoon Faces

Here's a bunch of faces of people (and a monkey). I'm working in Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cartooning but Were Afraid to Draw by Christopher Hart. I like this book a lot, and in general I like all of the Hart books I've seen. This book has a nice balance of drawings and instructions.