Working on this drawing was a lot of fun and a lot of work.  Every time I pick up my iPad and launch SketchClub, I seem to learn something new.

For those of you who haven’t used SketchClub, its a “basic” app that has come a LONG way from its first version… but has kept its simplicity that made it so great in the first place.  However this also has a down side.  Sometimes, I really do need more than 5 layers… For instance I needed to create a background for this drawing… but with my ink, colour and texture layers… I was stumped… until i realized I could create a new file… and import the final BG as a final layer (when I was ready to merge the drawing down)… Then I wanted to create some textures (such as the scales on the Dragon) but the app doesn’t include any way to create your own brushes.  So once again, I created a full page black & white image of scales which I could import, scale, rotate and apply to one layer over and over again.  Not flawless by any means, but it gets the job done.

It was done for another SketchClub contest but I think it got lost in the entry shuffle… relegated to page 4.  That being said, there are some FANTASTIC entries that clearly beats this.  Check it out while its still on.

I want to come back to this … but I know I won’t… so up it goes.

I am trying to lose the lines and finish more of my work… I would really like to be able to a sketch to more of a finished image.  This is caricature of myself for a SketchClub competition…

Wow this last week went fast.  This years FanExpo started on Thursday and lasted 4 days… and it was incredible.  Again I was sharing a table with my very talented friend Marco Bucci… from who I was able to pick up a few more titbits of knowledge and a ton of inspiration from .

Most mornings we started our day off with a  big breakfast at Dunn’s before grabbing our coffee at Starbucks.  Only then were we ready to face the crowd.  Having Thursday to warm up to everything was great, but I realized that I needed something new for the show… so that night I was off to Kinko’s 24hr shop to print up some “mini-prints” (5×7)… I had to battle the drunk university students …. one of which tipped my scooter… and didn’t get home till 3am… but it was well worth it.

We are already booked again for next year and have already started to plan how to make our space even better!

Thanks to all the fans and friends that stopped by to show your support!

The SketchClub had a 1 day competition to draw an Ewok. I drew it in Starbucks on my iPad with the SketchClub app.

The full image can be found in my digital gallery.

I did this drawing on my iPad last night for one of the SketchClub comp contests.  The winner is randomly selected from the top 100 entries to win an iPad stylus.  I have 4 of these already… but hey… you never know when you might need another right?

View the full size under gallery – digital

The new selection “digital” has been added to the gallery.  Here you will find some of my iPad and Photoshop pieces.  I have been using the “SketchClub” a lot as my default drawing app.  I am even using it work out some thumbnails for a graphic novel I am working on with my brother…

I love getting mail… especailly when it’s a book… especially when that book is the newest Doug TenNapel graphic novel!

“When a family takes a boating trip, the last thing they expect is to be shipwrecked on an island—especially an island with weird, otherworldly plants and animals. Now, what started out as a bad vacation turns into a terrible one as Lyle, Karen, and their two kids, Janie and Reese, must find a way off the island while they dodge its strange and dangerous inhabitants. Is the island alive? Is it from another world? In this rousing, Swiss-Family-Robinson tale with a twist, the answers to these questions could save them… or spell their doom.

One thing Reese knows for sure:  THIS IS ONE BAD ISLAND.”

(tehehehehe… I know what I will be doing this weekend)

Bengal’s euro-manga style has fascinated me for years.  I have (still do) spend a lot of time pouring over his images from his old site but he hasn’t updated it in a very long time.  Perhaps it’s his cool French air of condescension or his seemingly indifference to his own talent that restrained him from proclaiming his “new” (to me) blog.  An article in my recent edition of ImagineFX magazine highlighted his new virtual home which can be found here.  Keep in mind, Bengal is French.  (Some of his art may not be considered “workplace safe” … you’ve been warned.  Savvy?