Twump!

Just a little Twitter dump of the images I've tweeted in the last few weeks and haven't been posted here. All work in progress (apart from the last one which will always remain just a scribble):

Ever wanted to know the weekly schedule of a comicbook artist and part time musician/tutor? Not really? In the hope that someone will find it of interest...

Monday 9am - 5:30pm - Drawing in my studio with half hour break at around 11:30 and an hour or so at around 2:30 for lunch. At 5:30 I have dinner with Aimee who's just returned from her hospital duties (she's a medial student), then leave the house at 6:20 to teach in Carryduff, then drive straight to gig in Lavery's. Sometimes I get time for coffee and a comic in Clements in between, depending on how quick I get away from the classes. Arrive home for bed about 1:30am. Took me a few weeks to get my coffee level right. One cup at about 10pm stops me being too tired to drive home, any more or later and I won't sleep.

Tuesday Until recently this was almost exactly the same as Monday, but from last week I had to drop the Tues class I teach, which should give me some extra time in the house between 5pm and 7:30pm

Wednesday 9am - 5:30 pm - Drawing in the studio, same breaks as Monday (and every other week day). At around 5:30pm have dinner with Aimee then leave the house about 6.20pm again to teach in Carryduff. Get back home around half 9 and spend some quality Aimee-Time. Blog.

Thursday - Same as Wednesday but get home around 9pm (unless its the 1st Thursday of the month when I'll head to Comicbook creators meeting in Garrick, so get home about 12:30am)

Friday - 9 to 5 drawing, then order Chinese and usually indulge in some alcohol drinking. Frequently there is some sort of Mario Kart Wii or DVD boxset involved with Aimee.

Saturday - Lazy breakfast. Teach class 11:30am - 1pm. Up until last week I took a fortnightly kids session until about 3:30, but I've had to drop that too. Spend an hour or two in town buying comics and other window shopping with Aimee (she likes shiny things and Jane Norman)

Sunday - More often than not there is some commitment for Sunday like a family lunch or Christening (like last week), but I try to get a bit of drawing done at some point. Make sure to spend at least a portion of the day relaxing though...

That might read like a bit of a rant, but I enjoy almost everything I do (and love a lot of it). I am tired though... maybe I should go to sleep...

Com-poot-er?

I got an Xbox 360 for Christmas from Aimee. Not being much of a gamer, I haven't had a new gaming console since the N64 (though Aimee's sister has a Wii in the house, and we have spent a few Friday nights with Mario Kart) but the thrall of modern games was pulling me in and I finally relented.

Yes I know I'm a little behind with all this but the art in these games are amazing. The design work and detail in the environments alone are amazing. I was in awe walking through the Gears of War 2 levels in HD, just stopping at staring at the endless caverns and scenery.

Anyways, here's a quick warm up sketch I did of a Shock Trooper from Halo: ODST. It's very loose and sketchy. Also, please ignore the gun which just looks like a big bendy tube:

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Wouldn't mind sitting down and trying a proper rendered illustration based on some of the games I've been playing.  Just have to find the time.

I've just realised that since it's February, this blog must be just over a year old (it was my New Year's resolution last year to start one). If you haven't read a lot of the older posts you should have a browse around. Lots to see.

Bit of Rough Stuff...

I'm really enjoying getting back to pencils-only for Slaughterman's Creed. As I mentioned before, as satisfying as creating the entire artwork (apart from lettering) myself was, it took far too long, and having to work through so many stages just to finish a page made me sick of each one by the end.

I've got an inker and colourist lined up, so hopefully will have something to post with their contributions soon, but for now here's a pencilled close up of Mr. Green. Hopefully you can tell by his expression he has something nasty planned...