Sketches

I have been drawing a lot of maps lately, and have been reminded of the joys of isometric perspective. I suppose dizziness is the appropriate response for concepts like one, two, or three point perspective, but for some reason, I have always found it fascinating.

For the uninitiated, drawing objects in perspective means using a system to mimic the way things appear to diminish in size as they get farther away. One, two, and three point perspectives use different numbers of vanishing points to help determine an object’s relative size based on perceived distance from the viewer. All this is a visual trick to represent three dimensions on a two dimensional sheet of paper or computer screen. Piccaso is quoted saying, “Art is lies that tell the truth.” Perspective is one of those lies.

Isometric perspective is different only in that it trades one lie for another. There are no vanishing points. Objects don’t diminish in size as they get further away in the scene, instead everything is locked on a parallel grid. This doesn’t match reality as we experience it, but it can prove useful in architectural renderings, or other applications where dimensions are critical. It turns out this false perspective is also useful in video games, and turns up everywhere on the web. Everything from casual games like Farmville, to the soon-to-be-released Starcraft II are built on these rules of projection.

It is easy to see the underlying grid in these screen caps:

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I have never been much good at figure drawing, and this is further evidence. However, for the one year anniversary of Drawn Town, I decided to dive right in and sketch the guest of honor. The lighting was intense, and the shadows were moving fast during the event, so I’ll use that as my excuse for the lack of subtlety. Yeah, the sun was in my eyes, that was it.

For full disclosure, this was done with a plain old “2B” pencil, and then I gave it a slight sepia bump in Photoshop. Here is a link to see what other people came up with.

In my experience, you don’t really appreciate how good someone is until you try to do something similar yourself.

Take this comic for instance. I did the actual sketch on paper weeks ago, with the style of Kazu Kibuishi’s, Copper floating around in my head. How hard can it be, right? Coloring everything in on the computer, however, ended up taking a ridiculously long time. I’m not exactly sure why it took so long, but it wasn’t till the end that I began to get any kind of rhythm going. (I totally need a Wacom Tablet!) I’m not even sure I like the final product that much. It was, however, a fun experiment, and a great excuse to draw a cityscape!

Hot tip: Click on the comic to get a larger view that is easier to read.

I can explain. It all started with a swirly texture that I sketched out a few days ago. I had no choice but to scan it in and start playing with it in PhotoShop. Once I came up with a few interesting variations, I thought, “That would make one sweet background for a comic!” Of course I couldn’t stop there, having come so far, so I worked up this scene of Zeke exploring something. How it turned into a book cover is anybody’s guess.

Will there be an actual Detours book rolling off the presses?
I’m not currently at liberty to say… Although I can say this much; it definitely isn’t going to be printed before I actually draw the comic. Pretty sure on that part.

All I’ve got for you so far, are the fragments of my experimental comic.

I have noticed there are a lot of businesses that are consistently at the ragged edge of panic. The staff is stressed, frantic, and running around like their hair is on fire. Why? Some would probably say that is the nature of their business. When a client or boss says jump, you have to ask, “How high?” on the way up. It is out of anyone’s control, right?

I’m not so sure. I suspect it is a cultural thing, a state of mind that CAN be influenced far more than one might think. Stress is just a kind of lowest common denominator. Here are a few thoughts on how a business might begin to reign in a culture of panic and mediocrity.

What is normal?

Self-awareness
How much can I actually get done in a day, week, or month? No really. Line up actual progress with past estimates. How accurate are you? Don’t schedule more than you can do. You can’t do more than you can do.

Expect the Unexpected
Extenuating circumstances come around all the time. How much time, on average, do you need to spend on emergency situations? Go look through past projects to see. Set aside that much time in your schedule. That goes for your overall scheduling as well as for each project.

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MASTER CARPENTER

Here are a few character sketches. The rough idea here was to weave some back-story into the “portraits”. I thought it would be cool if I could imply some history, or personality behind the characters being represented. Other than that, this is just good clean fun with a sketchbook.

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Here are a few quick sketches I did at Rug & Relic a while back. There are so many cool and random paintings, carvings, pottery, rugs, and relics there! I wandered around like a kid in a candy store for some time before deciding on a few things to actually draw. I skipped the rugs this time around…

A FEW LARGE POTS

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There was a big philosophical discussion over lunch at Blend the other day. The topic was centered around how people measure success. The obvious and default answer in this culture is social status and a massive bank account. The less glorified, but more significant angle would involve more relationship focused riches. For example, a loving family, good friends, and a life well spent making the world a better place.

If you apply the same sort of introspection to business, it will similarly shift the kind to clients you want to attract. If your goals aren’t focused purely on money and power, what does a perfect client look like? Perhaps it is easiest to start by defining a few things that a perfect client does not have to be.

The perfect client does NOT necessarily offer:

1. Giant brand-name clout
2. An unlimited budget (see also – Why I want to design for free)
3. The most profitable projects
4. Total creative freedom

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I scored some new Prismacolor markers in various vibrant shades of gray. This sketch of a seat from the Orpheum theater was their first trial run. I think I need a few more darker shades so I can build up some deeper shadows. Kind of fun though…

BTW – This is the first drawing I’ve ever done while on stage. No word yet on when the performance will be going on tour.