Beginning: Untiled (so far)

Just started this guy the other day. Pretty excited about where it is going so far. Still unsure of a name, but it'll come to me eventually. Anyway, this was my first sketch...

Actually took a photo of the board after I did the sketching this time. I used a thicker marker, so its easier to see. I've been using those micropens, they don't dry well on the board and I can wipe away anything I don't like after I sketch it up. 

This is where I ended yesterday. 

And this is where I got today.

Beginning: Jonathan

After a week from hell, I finally have the day off and came into the coffee shop to get back at it. I am so happy to be back to sketching and painting. Anyway, I sketched this bro up today, pretty excited to see what comes of him. I'm thinking some kind of black beetle body. Other than than I'm not fully sure on his colors yet. Just going to see what comes out I guess. 

Here is the rough sketch of what I'm thinking. Some kind of cave structure around him (green probably) and then him just chillin on the inside.

Mixing it up a little and going horizontal with this deck, so we'll see how this turns out over all.

Final: Timothy

Not hundred percent sure how I'm feeling about this... I like him, but he feels incomplete? Like something is missing. I think anyway. Maybe I should just leave him alone for awhile and if I still feel that way about him then, I'll work on him then. For now I'll let him be.

Close ups

WIP: Timothy Re-Do

This is what I've got. I'm thinking some kind of egg design with the broken shell on both the bottom and top. I haven't decided yet if I like his name being where it's at, but it's a working progress. Pretty excited to get started soon though.

Final: Jeanette

Finished! Finally!

Close ups

WIP: Jeanette

When I first started getting into drawing these creature things, Jeanette was the first one. I never finished her sketch, but I did turn her into a final piece on wood. Anyway though, I love her. So I have recycled her (as I have with other creatures) for another deck piece. 

Once again, I started painting before I took a picture of the sketch on the deck. You can barely see it and its really rough, but its there. When I did Ralf (the blue elephant with human feet) I put too much detail in the sketch and the pen was kind of a struggle to cover up. So I made an effort to only get the basic shape of what I'm going for. 

Originally, I thought it'd be cool to have something that looked like blown bubblegum. Julia Randall's series Blown (its beautiful) is where the inspiration sorta came from. Anyway, once I started painting I used more reds than pinks and the images began to look more like odd organs or something. Rather than scrapping it or changing it, I just kind of went with it. And frankly, I pretty happy with it thus far.

Beginning of Jeanette and more progression on the organ things:

Close up of lips:

Final: Charles

Finished this up yesterday. Didn't expect to get him done as quickly as I did, but I'm happy with how he turned out. 

Close ups

WIP: Charles

I keep forgetting to take photos of the sketch on the board before I start painting. But this is what I've got so far. The green image was inspired from deer intestines. I was flipping through my phone for inspiration on what kind of design to put around the board and I had an image of deer intestines.

Beginning Stages

Top

Middle

Bottom

This might be finished. I didn't expect to get as far as I did today. But I think this might be it. I'll upload final images later. 

Final: Ralf

Finished! I think anyway... 

Close ups

WIP: Ralf

Well he is pretty much finished. All I have left to do with him is to put a layer of some kind of varnish over it to keep the paint from chipping. But this is what the rest of Ralf's body looks like and then the bottom of the deck. I'll upload final images of the entire board with close ups soon. 

Ralf 

Bottom of Deck

WIP: Ralf

My boards finally came! Pretty stoked about it! I was hoping that when I ordered blank boards that, that would mean they were just the wood boards, however there is a clear coat of something to give it that shine. Which I guess (or I think anyway) I can work around it. I'll probably have to buy some kind of varnish and go over again once I'm finished. 

Anyway, I went out and bought some paint. I just got this Craft Smart Acrylic Gloss Paint. It was around $1.29 or something. Then I drew up my image and then started painting. Pretty simple.  

After I started painting, I was pretty bummed that the paint wasn't working as I had hoped. I thought it would have been thicker. Its kind of like nail polish, where you have to use a few layers in order to get full coverage. It isn't bad, but it isn't great either. 

You can clearly see that in the purple bubbles, but in Ralf, I was decently patient and gave him time to dry up some before adding more color. So he's fairly solid in color. 

Top half

Middle

Beginning: Riley Deck

Deck design No. 2: Riley

Not sure where this one came from, but I'm actually really excited about it. Kind of a desert/ palm tree vibe going on. I'm taking my first road trip out west soon (crazy excited about it), so maybe I was subconsciously thinking there. But I'm thinking color in this one and I'm stoked about it. 

Anyway, this is the original sketch I came up with. I have found that I really enjoy finding my letters in the line work. I don't take exactly what I get from the line work, but it definitely helps in finding an interesting style for the text. 

Riley text

And this is the sketch on the board. Sorry if you can't see the pencil marks, but maybe it'll give an idea of what I'm trying to do. I think I want to pick up some spray paint and stencil out the images and block out the color. Then after filling the color, I'll either go in with a brush or paint pen and add in smaller details. 

I think I want spray paint that has some kind of shine after it dries. That way the shine of the image and the rawness of the wood will work together, maybe level one another out.