Birds

 Some birds, just for fun.

More soon.

A Bit of Life Drawing

I happened to be in a mall a few weeks back with a bit of time to kill so I treated myself to a wee bit of life drawing - the best practice ever. I set myself up in front of the Tim Horton's Coffee kiosk, where there was a long and continuous line for coffee and donuts - which explains why many of the figures are pointing the same way. Line ups are good for drawing because it forces people to remain relatively still for a few moments which gives us half chance at drawing them, but you still have to be fast. I could really use a bit more of this.

Once you get into the groove of drawing everybody starts to look like a character design. That's when it starts to get fun. Anyway - more soon.

Cheers and travel safely.

Back To ToonTown

I've just signed on to do visual development work for an animated feature film which is just going into production. This means I will be designing environments and characters for them. This also means that there is a very good chance that this blog is going to take on a rather animation/cartoon slant. Some of you may be thinking that it already has a cartoon slant and you're probably right, but it may become more pronounced in the future. I'm just giving you fair warning in case you find cartoons irritating - I know, but some people do.

As we all know, in production films are very hush, hush and this one is no exception. I won't be able to say anything about it or show the work I'm doing for it, but it is my intention to keep this blog going and let it be about  visual development  work and drawing for animated movies. I hope you will find this interesting, and hopefully we will both learn a few things along the way.

More soon.

Travel safely.

Goofy Sketchbook

Some recent sketchbook work. There is some Dickens motivation here as well as some other stuff.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers.

Sherwood

Robin, Little John and Friar Tuck. Just for fun.

More soon.

Cheers

More Troll Business

I want to take a moment and clarify a few of the facts concerning that recent troll business we've all heard about. I realize that many of you have been receiving inaccurate information concerning this unfortunate scenario and I would like to set the record straight. Misinformation in situations like this can only lead to further misunderstanding, name calling and muckraking.

Firstly and most importantly, there were no fatalities, nor were there any injuries. All sorts of things can go wrong during a storm and when trolls are involved the accidents can pile up quickly, but lets take a look at what really happened.

As we all know, the troll in question moved into the area last winter and by all accounts was very well behaved. He kept to himself and was very neat and tidy. The local residents, recognizing that a peaceful and in some cases even helpful creature was in their midst, welcomed him into the area with open arms. Some were even leaving food out for him. Everyone agreed that having a troll nearby kept wolves and unfriendly strangers away. Everybody was getting along fine until last spring on the night of the big storm. According to Emily and Rupert Sandstone, the owners at Easterbrook cottage who lost a stairwell and guest bedroom that night - "It wasn't his fault at all. He just got turned around in the storm, that's all. It was dark, rainy and windy, lightning too. He backed into our guest bedroom and knocked down a wall. He didn't mean to. Scared Penrose Cranston half to death but she walked away without a scratch. Startled her though which led to all that screaming and yelling. That's what set him off. He went crashing down the lane, over the bridge and fell into the creek. We haven't seen him since."

It's at this point that we need to pay attention to the facts. All of our eye witnesses agree. This was not an attack or an offensive gesture. Nobody was hurt. No one's compost heap was disturbed and all the out-houses are still in tact. There have been a lot of wild rumours flying around the area lately, but as far as we can tell, none of them are true.

All agree that this little community is not the same without him and he is missed. The Sandstones are already rebuilding their guest quarters and harbour no ill feelings. Everyone is anxious for things to get back to normal. Peace offerings of wool blankets and baked goods have been left out for him but so far remain untouched. With any luck he will soon be back, his protecting presence casting a warm and secure glow over this little area and everyone in it.

Wolves have been heard howling in the woods again and dark strangers have been recently observed on several local roads.

I hope this clears things up.

More soon. Peace be with you.

The Sleeping Troll

Well, I was finally able to scrape a few minutes together over the Christmas break and actually make a picture for myself. It has been quite a while since I've had the chance to do this and I really wanted to make the most of this little opportunity. There had been a story circulating around the taverns and roadhouses outside Gwelf for a few years now concerning a company of armoured knights engaged in a pitched battle with a band of brigand trolls on the old bridge at Albion. I thought this would make a terrific subject for my next piece and wanted to be sure to do it justice.

There were still a few details I wanted to clarify so I decided to conduct a little investigation and see what I could find out. I wanted my depiction of these historic events to be as accurate as possible and so I decided to interview the eye witnesses and see if I could track down anyone who was actually in the battle. After conducting a number of covert interviews and eves dropping on several very secretive conversations the truth began to appear. As it turns out, the company of armoured knights became a handful of terrified farmers and the band of brigand trolls became one peaceful and snoozy troll asleep under a bridge with a large jug of vintage pear cider. After a brief verbal exchange the troll agreed to vacate the vicinity by the end of the day. Everyone went home satisfied. Lamps were lit and dramatic war stories were told by the fire side. I much prefer this version of the story and that is what I've depicted.

More soon.

Peace be with you.

The Toad and Teasel

Lets consider this a seasonal post. A little heads-up as to where you might want to stay if you should happen to find yourself on the other side of the ethereal border this holiday season. Travelling in the Faerie Realm, as we all know, can be a little tricky, what with booby traps, disguised personalities, hauntings and many other dark magic shenanigans to contend with. A little caution is always advisable.

So this time we would like to point you in the direction of a charming little pub called The Toad and Teasel, located on the East Road when leaving Gwelf and heading for Inverary. The Toad and Teasel comes highly recommended from many reliable sources including your truly. The food is first rate - good old fashioned pub fare that sticks to your ribs and makes you warm and happy. The ale is dark and rich and goes straight to your head with a pleasant hum. The rooms are warm, dry and comfortable and fully protected by powerful spells of defense and safety. The invisible lodger in room 3 was banished once and for all during a lively ceremony last summer, rendering all rumours to the contrary wholly untrue. You can rest easily and without worry at the Toad and Teasel.

The proprietors, Mr. Duncan Cheesewater and his wife Penelope will go out of their way to make you feel welcome and right at home. You'll find Duncan at his usual station behind the bar and Penelope up to he elbows in the kitchen, toiling away to make sure your stay is warm, cozy and festive, unless you are allergic to cats of course. There's one in every room and there doesn't seem to be a thing anyone can do about it. "They have their ways and we have ours" as Duncan often says. "It makes you wonder whose feeding them".

Duncan and Penelope

If you should happen to make it over to the Gwelf area in the next couple of weeks you will be able to take part in the local festivities. The Midwinter celebrations will be going full bore until the end of the month. Even if you are unfamiliar with the Winter Solstice holiday we're sure you will feel right at home. The customs are very similar to ours with eating, drinking and singing being among the favourites. Be sure to celebrate safely though. Every year we lose a few careless revelers to witch attacks, so be sure to stick to the main roads.

Happy holidays everyone and peace be with you.

One more thing while I'm thinking about it. Wood Gnomes, Flickers and Pixies have all been spotted recently in the vicinity of the Toad and Teasel. This is a very good sign as these little forest creatures only appear where the spirits are high and a general feeling of good humour is present.

God's speed one and all.

Willow Cottage

This is a typical example of the kind of witch dwelling found in the Hill Country just north of Gwelf. This area is very remote and unforgiving. Much caution and care need to be taken if you should ever happen to find yourself traveling in this dangerous region. Although the dark and unholy occupant of this cottage has not yet been observed, the troll (below) has been reported in the area several times and is believed to be defending her property.

More soon - peace be with you.

Recent Graphite

A few more Faeries that will be added to the final version of the Lavender Blue cover. Thomas Haller Buchanan, our intrepid designer and art director will be putting it all together with his golden age inspired expertise. The final composition will be in his hands. I'm sending the work over to him and he is assembling it. We've decided that we want the cover to have a sketchy, pencilly hand drawn kind of look to it. Now that I've sent everything over to Thom I'll be sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting to see how he puts it all together.

November is really closing in now. The wind is out of the north and the trees are naked silhouettes against the grey evening sky. You better throw another log on the fire and fish that old, woolly sweater out of the cedar chest, it's going to be a cold one.

Cheers and peace be with you.

Lavender - Back Cover

Here we have the back cover cover image for the new cover concept we discussed in the previous post.  The idea is to keep it somewhat sketchy so that it will relate to the pencil drawings that are going to be surrounding it. However I think I rendered it out a bit more that I meant to. It was supposed to be a bit sketchier around the edges but the watercolour was going down so nicely on the hot press paper that I just couldn't stop myself. Here again I'm doing the limited palette approach I like so much - just a couple of colours - raw umber, paynes grey, prussian blue and ultra-marine blue - just a wee bit of burnt umber on his beard. Also - I thought it might be fun to revisit the Leprechaun house but show it from the other side.

Anyway - Happy Halloween and Peace be with you.

Lavender - New Cover Concept.

We're doing a rethink on our cover concept  for The Lavender Blue project. Now that we have Thomas Haller Buchanan on board as art director/designer there is a lot more room to explore and experiment with really cool ideas. This is one of Thomas' rough concepts for the cover. He has taken a pile of my drawings and mashed them together into this beautiful design. Nothing is final of course. We're just thinking out loud. The main images on the front and back will be painted.

Peace be with you.

BOOO

Happy Halloween everyone. Here we have one of the many witches recently observed in the Gwelf area, now waking up and preparing for a new witching season of fear and destruction.

Peace be with you, and be sure to check your candy for fly wings and spider tails.

Cheers !

More Graphite

A bit more pencil work concerning directly or indirectly the Lavender book. Lavender of course being the Irish Faerie Tale Project I have been working on for the last eighteen months. Lavender Blue and the Faeries of Galtee Wood to be precise.

Cheers everyone and peace be with you.

William Ackerman

Eight minutes of Bliss - wait for the voices, it's the best part.

Cheers and peace be with you.