Sometimes I remember to take pictures of the process.

And sometimes I do not:

There was fun playing with pastel pencils:

And an experiment with a lino cut and print:

And I got to hang out for a few weeks with this little chap, by blowing him up to unreal proportions (original picture from Carl Bovis):

All in all, I learned a lot and I can definitely see progress when I compare with my work from last year. It feels good to create in the old-fashioned ways on paper, for a million different reasons. Get your pencils out, now go draw something! (Free bookmark commemorating my 2023 relocation for the first person who gets that reference! Post your answer in the comments!)

Click through on the big pictures to see them on Flickr for Alt Text and some more detail

Phew! It’s been a while! Since I started my new full time (and awesome) job I have had time to draw but not to post. Enough of the excuses already, let’s have a look at some of the drawings I did since the last post

Art school finished in June, and I got a good report card The teacher kinda liked this, based on the feedback he gave

Below you see the original and some shots of the progress. It took me quite a few sessions (of 3-3.5hrs each) to get there, but I learned a lot.

I also entertain the vague hope that 500 years from now I may be known as ‘The Master of the Bottines’, like my late medieval heroes. Not sure how it happened, but at one point that was all I was drawing for a couple of weeks!

I’m starting to know what boots look like…

I can’t wait to see what the second year holds! But before that one kicks off, I’ll share some more drawings from the 100 day challenge – I completed that and it was a blast

Post script: The second year is good, too. Learning new things. I might even share some pics soon

I find facial expressions incredibly hard to copy. I am getting a bit better at copying likeness, but capturing the emotion or the intention of the character with a few pen strokes is a totally different level. Certainly something to strive for during this 100 days challenge!

Like last time: click to open the gallery and get a closer look at the individual pictures:

And the originals:

And here is the double page “spread” effect. You see how it bleeds through in the second photo… That’s improved in later pages.

Have you been inspired to take part in #The100DaysProject? Or are you contemplating joining an art challenge? In 2022 I joined Kick in the Creatives for Inky April. They have a few options every month if you’re looking to find a little art community online!

My chosen project? Copying faces from manga, inking them with sumo ink and a proper pen (Blanzy-Conté-Gilbert — № 423 Plume Atome) and touching up with two small brushes, in a Royal Talens sketchbook. I sketch the drawing with a B pencil first. Here are my tools:

At the moment I am re-reading Tezuka Osamu Buddha in the Dutch translation. I love his style: a clear line, exaggerated movements, emotion in spades, humourous details, and impressive landscapes that range from the harsh Himalaya mountains to make you shiver to the humid steaming jungles of the monsoon-struck Indian subcontinent. Oh to be an artist who reaches to his ankles!

I am not sure yet if I will do all 100 days from this series or even from Tezuka’s oeuvre, but he’s certainly not a bad artist to train on!

Here’s my first week so far, and below for comparison the original. The first week I still used Noodler’s ink, but the label has fallen off so I don’t know which one. It feathered too much on this paper, and I switched to the sumi ink shortly after. You’ll see those in a later update.

Click on each image for a larger, full view:

And for comparison, the originals:

I feel I’m getting more comfortable using the little pen, just from this brief daily practice. It does not allow for much variation in line thickness, but for now I feel like sticking it out with the pen I first learned to ink with back when I was 6 or 7. Far fewer blotches than back in the day, I call that progress!

As one person on Mastodon pointed out: Pancake Tuesday implies the existence of a Pancake Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, so feel free to celebrate whenever the mood strikes! Here’s Rembrandt to help you on your way. And why not check out the rest of his awesome prints held at the Morgan.

All images are hosted on Flickr – click through for a larger view, and for image descriptions (Alt Text equivalent).

First up: not Squirrel, but Mouse. She’s checking out the cheese section of somebody’s well-stocked pantry library.

Next up: Squirrel and Fox did all the tourist things in DC – in addition to and a drawing I posted earlier, there is this snapshot:

Squirrel enjoying some quiet time, while I experimented with Procreate:

New one! Like many mammals, food is an enormous source of motivation for squirrels. It will even make them do math and physics. How will this end?!?

Things I learned from a year of drawing squirrels and other animals:

• I still need to work on a consistent style for my squirrel, if I want to present him as a single character. It’s ok to switch between a more anthropomorphic and a more realistic/animal representation, but they’re not the same squirrel throughout.
• Some squirrels look more like a kangaroo I need to work on the face.
• Finding the balance between enough detail and sufficient simplification is really hard. Cartooning is a real skill and takes a lot of practice to develop.
• I’m loath to give in to the trend of 3 fingers + 1 thumb for cartoon characters, but drawings get crowded with 4+1.
• Squirrels are fun to draw, but so are mice and foxes!

Would you like to see more cartoon-style drawings of Squirrel and friends? Let me know in the comments!

What has this little squirrel spied with its beady little eye? A new website? A new project? Subscribe to the RSS feed or with your email address and follow along for more adventures in drawings, doodles, and illustrations!