Friday at Home

"Friday Excitement" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
“Friday Excitement” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today we took our son Bay to the oral surgeon to get eight teeth removed in order to “clear the way” for braces. This required him to be put under for the procedure, which only took about half an hour. When he came to, he was still groggy and wasn’t all there. It was funny, but scary as well. Just seeing our son sitting in the chair, more or less helpless, is something I never want to see again. It made me imagine what my parents might have felt when I was in the hospital, and I very much regret that ever happened. 😔

But after coming back home, Bay took a short nap and was feeling better, albeit very sore. The bleeding from the tooth extraction stopped pretty quickly and he had no trouble taking his pain medication, antibiotics, and rinsing with the mouthwash so we are thankful that everything has gone smoothly. But because he needed some extra care today, I spent the day at home with him. I’m happy that my job is flexible enough that I can work from home if I need to. It’s a great benefit!

This evening I did some sketches, based off of the artwork for the anime Hisone to Masotan. I love the tumblr animation I reposted a couple days ago, especially the facial expressions so I wanted to try something similar, and maybe simplify my own style. I’m still trying to find a signature style…

Anyways, I had fun drawing the faces, and using the Staedtler 925 09 pencil, with its super-broad lead. I have 2B in it, so it’s soft and dark. This combination of pencil and lead is fun, loose, and it forces you to not get hung up on precision. I like it.

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice Friday!

またね~

Sketch Style

"Night Sketch" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO3200
“Night Sketch” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

I spent some time this evening drawing simple faces while looking at other artists’ work that I admire. I’m trying to find a style that I like – something that I can draw quickly to create stories. It’s fun to break down the different elements of a face and try to figure out the minimum number of strokes to create an eye that can convey some emotion or individuality. I’m sure this is the realm of the comic artist and animator, and it’s kind of cool to peek into that world. I feel like I am exploring the unknown! 😀 I guess this is part of the joy of learning new things, isn’t it?

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~

Saturday Sketching

"Leia" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/60 sec, ISO6400
“Leia” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I broke out the sketchbook and created a couple drawings. The first was some simple eyes and faces to get warmed up. I’m also thinking about what elements of the face are essential to depict for my drawing style, and what I can leave out. I’m still looking for my own drawing style – something I can be happy with which I can create better visual stories with. It’s kind of fun to explore on paper.

Next, I worked on a larger drawing with which I spent a bit more time. I guess from start to finish, it took about an hour and a half. I erased and redid a bunch and looked at several reference drawings to fix things, most notably the profile and cheek. As you can see from the photo at the bottom of this post, the shape of the face was a lot different.

"Evening Sketch" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
“Evening Sketch” Cedar Park, 2018

When I got the drawing how I liked it, I took the photo then brought it into Photoshop and was going to add color to it, but after I did the hair, my Wacom started freaking out and scrolling instead of drawing, so I just quit. But, I like how it looks, so I will call it done.

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice Saturday!

おやすみ

"Version 1" Cedar Park, 2018
“Version 1” Cedar Park, 2018

Gifts and Sketch

"Gift and Cards" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/70 sec, ISO6400
“Gift and Cards” Cedar Park, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I present two photos that I took around the house. The first is of a gift and card that I got for my wife for Valentines and her birthday, which are not far apart. I’m happy that she put them on display! 😀

The second photo is just of a small sketch I made while listening to a webcast. I have a mental barrier when creating drawings, and that is that I try to be a perfectionist, and I am never 100% happy with what I draw. So, I get discouraged even before I start. Then I don’t start. But, I know I can break through! Maybe at this point in my sketching, quantity is more valuable than quality.

"Doodle" Cedar Park, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
“Doodle” Cedar Park, 2018

To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.

I hope you had a nice Thursday!

またね~