New Topic: "Creatures of the Deep"

Could be anything from fish to sea monsters. Funny, beautiful, mysterious, terrifying---anything's game.


Optional design exercise: Contrasting Shapes
For those particularly interested in stretching their design muscles, use this topic to test the principle of contrasting shapes. Use a variety of shape types and sizes in your design and try to position them in ways that maximize the appeal of the design. If you want to push yourself, try to go outside of the norm and incorporate shapes you don't usually use.

Mark Kennedy at Disney Feature Animation has a good blog post here about using contrast and variety in shapes. If anyone else has useful links on the subject please post them as well.

Bwahaahaahaaaaaaa...

Here it is now with a little advice from Sam and Ryan. I have a horrible memory, so I probably forgot to implement 90% of what they told me. Besides, I need to move on and stop being so nit-picky. All I can say is that I can't stand the airbrush in Painter.

Welcome, Foolish Mortals...

...to Ghoulsmire Castle!

-Critiques are welcome.

Ghoulsmire sketch

A relic recovered from Ghoulsmire Castle, which was destroyed yesterday.

Jeff Bunker needs an Avatar

Since he is too "busy" to create one for himself, I think that we should help Jeff develop his avatar for posting. We can all submit our designs and then we vote for the winner.

Grandpappy Ghoulsmire

After 2 bypass surgeries, periodontal disease and an on-going losing battle with an addiction to fried foods, Dracula realized that the glory days of his youth had pretty much been sucked dry.

Melancholy Monarch

He's sad because I posted him a topic behind.

Critiques

The blog has been so successful that I'm hesitant to suggest a change. I think that the "just for fun" nature of it is important to that success. However, I think there's no reason why we couldn't be helping each other improve while we're at it.

So here's what I propose: If you want help, ask for suggestions when you post your image. If you don't want help, don't ask for suggestions.
People can either leave critiques in your comments or e-mail them to you, according to your request. These critiques could also include posting or e-mailing paintovers, if the person asks for them.

If you're entering an image just for fun and don't want critiques on it, we'll respect that and just give "good job!" comments instead. Once again, I think the fun of the mini-challenge is probably the most important part.

But I'd love to see the art-smarts getting passed around a little more, too.

Any thoughts?


Also, I had the idea that some of the topics could include an optional design exercise like:
Topic: Castle Ghoulsmire.
Optional Exercise: Repetition of shape---try to unify the design by creatively using similar shapes throughout your image

This would be additional criteria for those who are really trying to push themselves to improve, but completely optional for use when drawing for the topic. Does anyone like that idea as well?

La Niña Ghoulsmire

...kids are creepy.

Ghoulsmire Shy Cousin

Tim is an introverted, unassuming guy. He is the “cartoonist” of the family, always drawing skeletons and spirals. Everybody thinks he’s weird and nobody really believes in his doodlings. However the butler heard yesterday that he was accepted to the California Institute of the Arts. It’s probably not true. This guy is a failure. He’ll never do anything good with his life. Everybody is sure of it!

Ghoulsmire trick or treater

This creepy neighbor kid comes for candy every year. No one dares tell him he's getting a little too old for this sort of thing.

So... I'm guessing we changed the topic again.

Well, here's Prince Arthas... I think he's a prince. Maybe I'm just thinking he's one so that I could say that I submitted something to our art challenges. Oh, for those of you who I haven't met yet... I think I the newbiest of the newbs. And it's an honnor to join your ranks.

Sheesh. Alright already.

I did this one last night. Apparently two cousins wasn't enough. Here's Cleo. She likes writing letters and taxedermy. Or is this Leo who can sew and samba? I always confuse the two.

Ghoulsmire scarecrow

Creepy Fat Kid: CHECK!

Cousins Vlad and Louis

Distant relatives of the Ghoulsmires (on the mother's side, twice reburied) are Vlad and Louis. Here are their portraits as they were during the summers when Vlad and Louis would come and spend time with the family, swimming in moats and scaring the locals.

Night walk of Lady Ghoulsmire

Before going to war, Lady Ghoulsmire's lover gave her a rose with a promise that he would return to retrieve it and take her away with him. He never returned, and the Lady withered away as she waited year after year for him. Sickness and sorrow finally destroyed her body---yet she still walks the halls every night, holding his rose, and waiting. . .

Her Royal Highness-ness

jimmy

This is a painting of the older more handsome brother of Adam's painting. He runs the grounds crew and his name is Jimmy, but his younger brother calls him "Jimbo".

Every Castle Needs a Butler

Better Late Than Never

Ben, Hugo, and Sun.

Louis XIV the Sun King

Since I'm the only french guy in the company (and in Utah??) I felt like it was my duty to show to the world one of our dumb fat kings from the past.

Castle Rocksmire

Green Queen o' Diamonds

She's royalty, even though she looks kinda like a gypsy.

You don't vote for a king

New Topic: "GHOULSMIRE CASTLE"

Okay, here's our Halloween topic. It's open-ended to get people's imaginations going. You can do:
-The castle itself
-Moat monsters
-Animated suits of armor
-Various haunts
-The castle's owner (Could be a character like Dracula or Dr. Frankenstein)

Or anything that could populate Castle Ghoulsmire.

True Royalty

I think that unfortunately some people have missed the ball on the royalty theme. It means a king, not a prom queen, a Tenenbaum, or a character from Lost. Here I have a painting of a king, actually the original Burger King of West Sussex.

I've been inspire by the art challenges and felt the urge to dip my toe in the water.
I have never in my entire life posted any of my art so I'm not sure how I feel about this. I am sure that this piece shouldn't be my first. But here we go anyway.
I know this is an old subject but I watched my first whole episode of "Lost" last night. It seems like Sawyer is a pretty pivotal character. I lost the likeness pretty early on but continued just for the exercise. Ouch! It's been along time since I picked up a stylus...Be gentle.

You can be royalty too!!!

and you can even thank the little people.

I started this before Scott did his. So it is coincedence that they are the same pose. But they are still both creepy. I think I saw some Courtney love video like this or maybe it was Carrie. I guess for the Halloween challenge I just need to put pigs blood on her and I am done.

We've always had our doubts ...

Feeling a bit rusty, but it turned sufficiently creepy . . .

Royal T.

"I love the hell out of you my darlings."

If you've ever seen this movie, you should be laughing.

Royal Inbreeding Takes Its Toll

I've wanted to do something in a Byzantine style for a while now. But every king I drew looked a little. . .special. Some kind of chemistry between the Byzantine characteristics and my particular drawing style made for some really odd characters. So I just pushed it a little further and went with it.

Lost Hobbit: Color Version

He's Royalty. . . just ask him

I always thought Prince would make a great Tim Burton character.

Sayid

Never seen the show, but here's my attempt:

Daniel the Murderer

I saw one part of an episode where the asian guy came home all bloody. It turns out his name is daniel, and I think he killed a man.

New topic: ROYALTY.

Have fun!

Also, in case anyone is wondering, we will probably do a Halloween topic the following week after we've got a few drawings for Royalty.

Sonar Tracking Device

Is there an eko in here? ...here? ...here?

Yo, I'm Here Daddy!

Never seen this show in my life. Someone told me that this is that one dude's son though. He looked like he had sort of an attitude so...there ya go.

I'm hooked!

Yesterday, I decided to rent the first DVD of Lost, just to know what it was about before starting a pic... and... I got hooked!
I picked Hurley eventhough master Ryan did it first. So here is my version.

It's tuff to go after Ryan, dude! Really tuff! :)

I'm Totally Lost

I've seen every episode of Lost... and yet I have no idea what's going on. At the end of each episode, I feel like this is what I've just seen. Then I realize... what? Man, I love that show!

Mourning the Boone

I remember that one time when there was that one guy with the eyebrows and the glow-in-the dark eyeballs. That was weird. . . Spooky cool weird, not like type-in-the-code-before-the-countdown-ends-and-the-planet-implodes weird. Then he died.

Jack

The only thing I know of "Lost" is that it takes 8 hours out of my life for someone to explain the premise. I had to ask someone what this guys name was and I've found that it's "Jack". Seems like a nice enough fellow, but I've heard he has issues...lots of them...and secrets...dark ones.

GIMME BACK MY SON!!

Lost Hobbit

I have never seen Lost, but I saw that they have a hobbit.

Lost and confused

I guess the thing that turned me off to Lost was in the first season when the plane had just crashed and out of nowhere Gilligan made his cameo appearance. I just thought it was in bad taste for a show that was trying to be some kind of drama. Gilligan wandering around all with that goofy smile on his face felt really out of place, I guess he had a concussion from the plane crash but still.

And where was the Skipper?

Stupid "Lost" Phenomenon

Cartoon Network Locke

Sawyer and Sayid

Mr. Eko and Hurley are my favorites too, but these guys are right behind 'em.

Hurley

Anyone else gonna jump in? I guess I'll go first. I know Hurley is everyones favorite, he's mine too. Well, next to Mr. Eko anyway.