Three Random Words

Rainbow Vampire Kitten

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:32:00 +0000

Thanks to Soap for submitting the words for today's illustration!

Wednesday and Friday

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:13:00 +0000

Due to a death in the family there will be no illustration today or on Friday. Look for "Rainbow Vampire Kitten" on Monday!

Idiom Spewing Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:52:00 +0000

Farmer Tucker always boasted that he had the smartest chickens in the entire state. He said this as a joke mainly, because he used the hen house as a place to store all of the books he had collected over the years. Secretly, though, he thought that, just maybe, being around all of that literature did help the chickens win gold medals every year at the state fair, but he would never tell anyone that with any amount of seriousness in his voice.

It wasn't until the chickens ran amok and ate a good number of his stored books that Farmer Tucker noticed something strange. Late at night he would sometimes hear strange platitudes on the wind, like a whisper of advice about a fool and his money or getting up on the wrong side of the bed. He would dismiss it and turn over, thinking that he was just lonely out there on his huge farm with only his livestock for company. This went on for a few weeks and Farmer Tucker found himself thinking in idioms as he went about his daily chores.

All the while, his chickens were acting strange; they would be clucking away madly while he was out in the cow pasture, but the moment he even looked in their direction, all of the chickens would go quiet, face the same direction, and stare. Farmer Tucker confessed to himself that it was a bit unsettling, but he thought, again, that it must just be his solitary lifestyle getting the better of him. Well, that and all of those strange whisperings and creepy novels he had been reading recently.

The night before the state fair, Farmer Tucker was unable to sleep. Every time he found himself drifting off he would be awakened with a thought about a house divided that could not stand or blood that was thicker than water. He was starting to develop a cold sweat, a slight headache, and the shakes. He thought it was nerves, so he got up around two in the morning and thought he would get an early start on the chores, the first of which was to feed the chickens. As he made his way across the yard toward the hen house the words began to grow clearer and stronger in his mind; he had bitten off more than he could chew, he had looked a gift horse in the mouth, it was down to the wire, and drastic times call for drastic measures.

He scratched at the stubble on his chin, ignoring the words rebounding around the confines of his skull. He reached out for the door to the hen house, it was quiet except for a strange squishing noise. He thought, "I should go for broke and eighty-six the morning chores. I have a gut feeling that there is some chicken in here with an axe to grind and I should be head over heels with the idea of putting the pedal to the medal and going back to bed. He rubbed his eyes and thought he was being crazy, "Hold your horses old Tuck," he said to himself out loud without even knowing he had spoken, "no chicken would ever bite the hand that feeds it. Better get yourself together or the fair judges will think you aren't playing with a full deck."

Farmer Tucker opened the door and the sight that met his eyes completely blanked his mind of all thought and identity. There were his chickens all in a circle with a single chicken standing in the center. Every few seconds there would be a violent "hurk!" and words, plain as day, would spill forth from the chicken's mouth and splatter on the floor. After one particularly messy one, all of the chickens looked up at Farmer Tucker in unison. Nodding, he stepped inside the hen house and closed the door.

Effervescent Political Shorts

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The referendum passed with overwhelming support in every state of the country. A wizard was promptly hired and a spell was placed on all politicians that had some rather humorous, yet productive, results. The budget was fixed in a few short weeks, immigration law was agreed upon and put into action, education and jobs began to improve almost immediately, and social issues were given their time in the spotlight. All of this for fear of embarrassment.

The spell was simple: any finger pointing, name calling, or character attack aimed at another politician resulted in the immediate disappearance of the offending person's pants and the expulsion of copious amounts of brightly colored bubbles from their mouth...and their undershorts. This became particularly amusing in the earliest days after the "Embarrass Them Into Doing Their Jobs" referendum, when the presidential candidates stepped up to their respective podiums and decided to duke it out by debasing each other's character. The bubbles in the room were so thick that it was difficult to make out the hilariously colored undershorts that each candidate had decided to wear that day. Probably for luck.

Good morning Random People! Thanks to The Anonymous Stranger for submitting the phrase for today's design. I know I always say that I can't draw people, but I'm really rather happy with how this turned out! Check out the YouTube channel for today's video where I go into a bit of a political rant about the use of funding for attacks on presidential candidates. I'm so political...

Leave a comment here with your thoughts about politics, the presidential election, the illustration, or anything really.

–Rob Signed Off

Glowing Ballerina Hat

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Growing up, Morgan told everyone that she wanted nothing more than to be a professional baseball player. She made sure she was better than every boy in Minor B, Minor A, and Little League. Then she made it the major leagues. Her mother and father were so proud of her for sticking to her dreams and not giving up though she was faced with many hurdles that would have tripped up a lesser woman. Morgan, however, had a secret; she wanted to be a ballerina. Sure, she really loved baseball and she was happy with where she was at professionally, but deep in the most secret portions of her heart, she wanted to dance. She wanted to wear beautiful outfits and glide gracefully across a lit stage with thousands of eyes watching her every move. She wanted this so badly that it began to manifest itself in the form of a tiny ballerina that grew brighter each day until it finally took form atop her baseball cap. Morgan didn't know how to explain it to people. She got stares wherever she went, but she didn't care. The ballerina was cute and when Morgan took off her hat at the end of a long day the ballerina would dance for her, gliding seamlessly across the bill as if on the world's most flawless stage. One day, when signing autographs at a local Girl's Club, Morgan found another person with a tiny, shiny figure upon her head. The girl was about twelve years old and looked like she had just come from dance class. Upon her perfectly pulled back bun sat the figure of a girl dressed in baseball pants and wearing a jersey with the number 44 embroidered on the back; Morgan's jersey number was 44. The little figure silently swung a bat and pointed at imaginary bleachers far in the distance. Morgan smiled at the girl, reached up, and touched her hat. The girl smiled back and touched her hair. They both laughed.

-Rob Signed Off

PS: Thanks to Cara Keyser for submitting the phrase for today's design!

Patriotic Carp Tunnel

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:39:00 +0000

A little known fact about the Revolutionary War is that George Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware River in December of 1776 was made possible by the bravery of a school of genetically modified, patriotic carp. These carp, created by a collaboration between Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and Nikola Tesla, three time-traveling super scientist heroes bent on maintaining the proper flow of time and events for the good of all mankind. The carp were developed to hunt down enemy submersibles that Washington didn't even know existed. Plans for the submersibles made their way into enemy hands via an accidental time jump when a technician dropped his fish filet sandwich and hit his head on the "send" button as he bent down to pick it up. So, when you salute the flag or sing the National Anthem, remember all the patriotic carp that made it possible.

-Rob Signed Off

Anxiously Modern Furniture

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:24:00 +0000

I have been on sale at Ken's Current Furniture for four long years. I was a trade-in for a particle board entertainment stand. Ken decided to keep me out on the showroom floor as a joke, something for people to compare with their more modern purchases. I can't say its been easy. Nobody has an eye for the elegant anymore. I'm not kitschy enough, that is to say, I'm not kitschy at all, and people don't like that. My cherry finish can't compete with the bright, neon colors of these amorphous abominations that have the gall to call themselves furniture. Sure, my seat is a little faded and there are a few small scratches in my glossy coat, but I'm sturdy. I'll last forever. You'll be lucky if that porn-film knockoff doesn't dump you on your head after six months. I know when to admit defeat, though. If I want to be useful again I have to get with the times. I'm not going to spend my good years as a joke in overpriced furniture freak show. I already painted my seat a nice orange color, sure it's a little spotty, but I'm already getting more attention. Now I've got a bucket of neon green paint, a brush, and a holiday weekend over which I plan to lower myself into the cesspool of modernity. I hope this gets me out of here, because I can't stand another day of the smug look that orange chair keeps giving me.

Good morning Random People! The phrase for today's design, Anxiously Modern Furniture, was submitted by Jonathan Kirkendall. Thanks! Remember that you can submit your own random, three-word phrases by clicking on the "Submit Phrase!" button to your right. I had a lot of fun drawing the furniture for today's design. I thought it was going to be really difficult, but it all came together pretty quickly, which is good, because Photoshop decided to take a cigarette break on me right after I got done with the coloring and I had to do it all over again. I managed it, though!

-Rob Signed Off

Contagiously Sinking Elephant

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:56:00 +0000

The sign read "Caution: Delicious Peanut Butter." Mario wasn't scared though. Who would be afraid of peanut butter? What elephant in his right mind wouldn't just walk up to the edge and eat his or her fill of that smooth, savory peanut-buttery lake? Bruno was more of a cautious elephant, he remembered the tales, handed down through generations of giant land-walkers, about the tar pits; the peanut butter lake bubbled and shlorped in the manner he had always come to associate with the tar pits in his grandfather's stories. Bruno read the sign, heeded it, and stayed an elephant-length away from the gurgling mess. Mario, much to Bruno's dismay, jumped right in and started eating, his ears flapping happily in a single moment of utter satisfaction. It was apparent, almost immediately, that Mario was in trouble though. He managed to climb half out of the viscous peanut muck before it started to drag him down. Momentarily frozen by Mario's misfortune, Bruno turned to leave too late and was dragged backward as Mario grabbed his tail. Stupid little tail, Bruno thought, and stupid long nose.

Good morning Random People! Today's design, Contagiously Sinking Elephant, is Wifelette-inspired. She loves elephants and she is pretty good at coming up with these random phrases. Overall, I'm happy with how this turned out. I was pleased with how easy it was to draw a cartoony elephant, and I think I even picked the right color for the peanut butter lake. I'm also very happy with the sign...I know that seems weird since it's so simple, but that's probably the best handwriting I've done in a long time.

The Facebook page for Three Random Words is almost at 200 likes! I'm so excited about this. I get a handful of likes every night. I know part of it is coming from the free advertising that Facebook gave me, but the people who like the page aren't unliking it, so they must...er...like...no...enjoy what they're seeing. Check out today's video on the YouTube channel to hear about an exploding truck tire and to see one of my colleagues get out of her car. Exciting stuff, right?

-Rob Signed Off

Partially Incapacitated Moth

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:02:00 +0000

Life is too short to spend half the day hiding from the evil day star. It feels like just yesterday I had more legs than I knew what to do with and here I am today, windswept and awestruck, fairly certain that I am the only moth to ever have flown so high or so fast. It was...I don't even have words for it. Everyone said, "Larry, listen, you need to hide when everything gets so bright and you need to eat and further the Mothian Empire when it gets dark." All I wanted to do was fly. I got my chance this morning when the world turned bright. I was cooling my feet on this giant bird–they aren't all that bad, despite what all the other moths say–when it suddenly clamped itself on one of my wings, roared this piercing denial of being earthbound, and screeched into the sky. Yes, my wing may be unusable for the rest of my short time, but I don't care. I lived and that's all that matters.

Good morning Random People! A big thanks to Andrew Moody for supplying today's random three-word phrase. He also provided some background for the phrase he submitted. Here's a direct quote from what he sent me:

At work the hangar doors are often open well past sundown attracting all sorts of night faring insects. After the doors are closed and the lights are shut off, they no doubt continue their routine oblivious the the fact they are in man made structure. Come mornings first light they try and find a nice dark corner to spend the day. The problem is the dark corners are often toolbox drawer handles or some spot in the cockpit of an aircraft. They rest, only to be disturbed by a mechanic going for a tool or fixing a component. They venture out into the world, which is now bright and hostile and completely alien from their beloved darkness. The light leaves them incapacitated in a way. I can only imagine it as a complete sensory overload. Still able to fly but hardly able to see. Partially Incapacitated Moth. You sort of feel for them.

I'm really pleased with the way this turned out. I love the look on Larry's (that's the moth) face and the "zoom" element turned out pretty well I think. Leave me a comment, let me know what you think about today's design.

-Rob Signed Off

59M5H3JY3HGK

Airborne Castle Goalkeeper

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:16:00 +0000

Nobody thought that Castle would ever be a successful soccer player. Aside from his checkered past and allegations that he bumped off a pawn or two in his youth, Castle was no good in tryouts for the forward, midfielder, or fullback positions. The coach gave him every opportunity to improve, but Castle was rigid, unable to move freely. Then the coach stuck him in goal and Castle thrived. He slid from left to right with an ease that made him the envy of every coach in the league. Castle knows that his mother and father disapprove, but he doesn't care, they couldn't keep him in check forever. This was a strategic move for him and he loves the game.

Hello Random People! Monday means design day and above you can see the design "Airborne Castle Goalkeeper!" Do you realize how difficult it is to draw a soccer ball? Yeah, I didn't either until about the twentieth time erasing it. So, I found a free coloring book page and colored and shaded that instead. I'm not ashamed to admit it. The rook (castle) is all me though. Well, technically, it doesn't look like me at all. Was that funny? Probably not.

Anyway, I thought the theme for this design was kind of timely, isn't there a big football (soccer) game coming up or just passed between Germany and Greece? If not, feel free to yell at me, Soccer isn't really my sport. I did consider drawing some kind of soccer jersey on the castle, but I thought it would turn out looking kind of bad because he has no arms.

There's a new "Submit" button on the sidebar, click that and send me your own random phrases! Also, the Wifelette opened up an Etsy shop to sell her awesome Polymer Clay pendants. Check that out here: Lightwater Ideations.

-Rob Signed Off

Intensely Interested Samurai

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:02:00 +0000

The arrow bounces off of his helmet with a barely audible ping, and yet Ichiro pays it no mind. Moments later when the flash of a sword ripping through the air ends abruptly with the sound of shattering metal, Ichiro doesn't even register that his armor deflected and destroyed another Samurai's sword without taking on so much as a scratch. All he knows is that this clover, with its four luscious leaves, needs to be admired. He must stare at it, his sword and bow forgotten, or risk a fate more horrible than disgrace. He smells fresh grass and grains, the salt of the sea, and he has an almost insatiable urge to dance in place.

Good morning Random People! Today's design, Intensely Interested Samurai, comes from a phrase posted by Mike Slammer on the Facebook Page. I'm still not sure how I feel about today's design. I like the look on his face, but the arms are just so bad. I told you, I really can't draw people all that well. Armor? Forget it. Even the clover is badly done. Together, though, I think it produces something humorous. However, because I feel it was so bad, I added the paragraph above to give it a little more value. There's not much else to say, enjoy your Friday!

I didn't mean to make that rhyme.

I do it all the time.

Argh!

-Rob Signed Off

Acutely Aware Sunglasses

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:06:00 +0000

Good morning Random People! Before I get into today's new design, I would like to thank everyone who has "Liked" the Facebook Page. Why do I want to do this? Because last night, around 10pm, the page received its 100th Like! I know, I know, 100 likes is a drop in the bucket, but it feel like an important drop in the bucket to me, so, thank you to everyone who has clicked the "like" button, and a future thank you to those who click it in the future.

Now, about today's design, Acutely Aware Sunglasses. The words were actually "Solemnly Acute Sunglasses," provided by the Wifelette as she fell asleep last night. They were genuinely random and I thought they had great potential. The original idea was to draw this solemn looking pair of tiny sunglasses walking down the street next to some large buildings, but, the buildings just weren't turning out right. I think it might have something to do with my problem drawing things to the correct perspective.

So, instead, I stuck with the sunglasses, dropped "solemnly," added "aware," swapped places with "acute" and added "ly," and BOOM: Today's Design. I really like the stalkery (that's a word, don't judge me) aspect of the sun in the background. Also, and you probably can't tell this, but the sunglasses were modeled off of a images.google.com search for "Hipster Glasses." Why? Who knows? Maybe I'm flirting with a new audience...or any audience!

Leave a comment and stalk...er...follow the blog!

-Rob Signed Off

Scrumptiously Unattractive Skeleton - Guest Design!

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:39:00 +0000

Hello Random People! Surprise! It's a Tuesday/Monday evening Three Random Words guest design. Scrumptiously Unattractive Skeleton was designed by the Wifelette in response to a phrase submitted by her brother Nate. When he submitted the design, I really had no idea how I was going to express the words scrumptiously and unattractive at the same time in the same design. I brought it up to the Wifelette and she came up with something immediately. She remembered this old waitress we had at a Denny's one time who had the most disgustingly ugly make-up job. She had this blue eye shadow that was caked on so thick that the skin above her eyes looked like a dried out stream bed under a blue filter (that was funnier in my head and involved salt flats...which are quite flat and not cracked). She then said it would be hilarious to have the skeleton with that same make-up laying on a serving dish. I loved the idea and asked her to do it as a guest design. Details on her process after the jump.

So she drew the design in pencil at first and I thought it looked great. She didn't know how she was going to color it, so she left it for a few days. I came home last night to find her doing some touch up work on it. When I asked what she was going to color it with, whether she was going to use colored pencils or if she was going to ink it, scan it, and colorize it in Photoshop, she responded that she didn't know yet.

So she finished the drawing and pulls out these colored pencils. When she was finished with the coloring, I thought it looked amazing, but I was worried that it would be too light to scan well. She got up and went to the kitchen and came back with a bowl of water. I thought she was going to paint some of her new pendants (she makes pendants, there's an Etsy.com store coming soon). So she starts putting water on what she just finished coloring.

They were watercolor pencils. I didn't know! And the design turned out even better! I do like that the wrinkles to the paper (it wasn't watercolor paper and wrinkled up when she got it wet) add some shadows to what is already kind of a macabre (vocab!) scene. Also, the use of watercolors and pencils makes this the first non-digital Three Random Words design. Leave a comment, let the Wifelette and I know what you think!

-Rob Signed Off

Sadly Fanged Coconut

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:10:00 +0000

Hello Random People! What a wonderful Monday morn...I can't even finish that sentence. The weekend never seems to last long enough. Either the Wifelette and I are travelling all over the place to see not-so-random people, or we have some event to attend that whisks time away from us like some sort of temporal anomaly. But hey, new design! Sadly, I don't even like coconuts, I think it has something to do with the texture. However, I can't help but feel a little twinge for this poor guy. Not only is he badly drawn, colored, and shaded (fishing for comments?), but he's got such bad teeth. Read more about the random phrase and the design after the jump.
The random phrase generator that I normally use wasn't doing me any favors last night. I sat down to draw at around 10:30pm and I must have gone through something like fifty different phrases without any inspiration whatsoever. Maybe it was because I was trying to break the tradition of putting Monday's design up at 11:00pm, who knows, but nothing was coming up. So when I happened across the words "fang" and "coconut" I had an image pop into my head. The third word, which I can't remember now, didn't really work with the image in my head, so I started drawing and immediately drew these sad eyes. Sadly Fanged Coconut was born!

Honestly, I'm kind of happy with the way the fibers turned out. I think that this is the first time I've actually put a layer of color above the outline layer, allowing the colors to break the black outline lines. I know the design is kind of simple, but I didn't have a lot to go with and sometimes I feel like the really simple designs have the highest impact. They get the words across faster. Maybe I'm wrong, though. Let me know!

-Rob Signed Off

Kitten Decoy Squid

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 12:29:00 +0000

Hello Random People! This design is part of a bonus two-design day. Yesterday I hosted a poll on the Facebook Page to decide which of five different random phrases I should use for today's design. With 7 votes apiece when I sat down to draw last night at 8:30pm, both Cautiously Folding Penguin and Kitten Decoy Squid won. Instead of using my own vote as a tie breaker, I decided to treat (I hope it's a treat anyway) everyone to a double dose of Three Random Words designs today. More information on this design after the jump.
I started this design with the kitten (of which I only drew one and then I copied and pasted them and re-sized them and flipped them around...yes, lazy, I know, but without doing that I wouldn't have been able to do the two designs for today). The image I used as a reference point was so very cute with a huge "aww" factor. The finished drawing...probably not so much. I started to add all the colors from the source image and that alone would have taken me hours if I hadn't just scrapped the whole idea and stuck to the flat uninspired coloring and shading that has been the Three Random Words standard. Though, looking at it now, I like how the kitten turned out, I think it's cute in its own "special" little way.

I know the squid doesn't have all of its tentacles, Henry, just leave me alone about it. I tried drawing the squid with all of the requisite tentacles but it turned into something that looked like it belonged in some hentai image and it took away from all of the cats, so, inspired by the limited number of tentacles on other squid illustrations online, I settled with a smaller number of tentacles. Quality over quantity, people. I know I could have elongated the hood of the squid quite a bit more, but I really wanted him to be wearing a beanie with ears instead of a headband with ears. I absolutely love the little paw gloves, too. I'm happy with this design.

Leave a comment, let me know what you think!

-Rob Signed Off

Cautiously Folding Penguin

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 12:21:00 +0000

Hello Random People! This design is part of a bonus two-design day. Yesterday I hosted a poll on the Facebook Page to decide which of five different random phrases I should use for today's design. With 7 votes apiece when I sat down to draw last night at 8:30pm, both Cautiously Folding Penguin and Kitten Decoy Squid won. Instead of using my own vote as a tie breaker, I decided to treat (I hope it's a treat anyway) everyone to a double dose of Three Random Words designs today. More information on this design after the jump.
Cautiously Folding Penguin originally had a dryer standing open behind him but I thought it cluttered everything up a bit much, so I erased it right before I started inking the design. I had such a hard time getting the proportion of the head right that I almost scrapped doing two designs altogether and handed the competition over to Kitten Decoy Squid, but, as you can see, I soldiered on. The original idea was to have the penguin folding a tuxedo and have him all white or have him all pink from the neck down. However, I started to think that it would come off as cliche (I also didn't think it would be so hard to draw a tuxedo jacket), so I colored the "shirt" pink and when I saw it I knew it was the right choice. When you see a penguin you never think "pink."

The Wifelette and I sat down this morning to look at the design and I told her that I thought something was missing. She said that there should be a little pile of folded shirts next to the penguin (as the original finished design did not have the little pile of shirts) and this is why I love her, because I had actually started sketching a pile of shirts but it wasn't turning out right. So, before she jumped in the shower, she actually drew the shirts for me, which I quickly scanned in and colored before I left for work. I think the shirts really do complete the whole design. I really like this one! Leave a comment with your thoughts. Thanks!

-Rob Signed Off

Vote for Friday's Design!

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:51:00 +0000

Hello Random People! Head over to the Three Random Words Facebook Page and cast your vote for Friday's design!

The random phrases, submitted by Random Followers, are:

Sporadically Nautical Fowl
Cautiously Folding Penguin
Slowly Flying Computer
Kitten Decoy Squid
Scrumptiously Unattractive Skeleton

While you're on the Facebook Page, don't forget to hit the "Like" button!

-Rob Signed Off

Rapidly Enlarge Pretzel

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:27:00 +0000

Hello Random People. It is Wednesday, that means its time to unveil the new design, which you can see above these very words! Thanks go to Jason for supplying the random phrase for today's illustration. He originally had said that we should use some of the phrases from his junk mail in order to make an illustration. I told him that if he replaced any references to male genitalia with "pretzel" and any references to female genitalia with "donut" (donut ask me why I chose these words...or made that pun), then I would consider it. He quickly came back with Rapidly Enlarge "Pretzel," the phrase for today's illustration, which I have already said, and will not say again.

When I finished the sketch for this I looked down at it and went "OMG! This is crap!" (I don't think I actually said OMG, I'm not the type of person who says OMG, alot of people say OMG better than I do.) Ahem...anyway, I thought it was going to end up fairly awful. But, it was late, and I didn't want to redraw it or draw something else, so I inked it, scanned it, and moved forward with coloration and shadification (new word!). Want to know how it turned out?

I think it turned out pretty well, actually, I'm really excited by the shading on the engorged part of the "pretzel." I wasn't sure I would even be able to draw an air compressor (that's the red thing). I have found that every time I think I won't be able to draw something I completely surprise myself by how identifiable the object is after I'm finished. That art degree is really coming in handy.

-Rob Signed Off

Tattered Old Bear

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:22:00 +0000

Hello Random People. As you can see, yesterday's design was "Tattered Old Bear." You may be thinking to yourself, "But, Rob, that's really...not all that random." I would agree with yourself, it really isn't, and here's the reason why. You can't really argue semantics with the person who gave birth to you. It is really that simple. If she says that she randomly came up with the words Tattered Old Bear (even though she has a thing for Teddy Bears...and by a thing, I mean a house full of them) then you just have to nod your head an believe it. Well, you don't have to, but you probably should.

If you hadn't figured it out, my mother submitted this phrase to me and, with a lack of votes on last night's poll, I decided to go ahead and draw it, even though it kind of breaks tradition with the work that I've done for Three Random Words thus far. That being said, I'm happy with how it turned out. With THAT being said, I am going to implement some regulations for submitting random phrases for consideration; look for these soon. I love that people are interested in seeing their phrases come to life as Three Random Words designs, but I think I want to keep them a bit more quirky.

So, as usual (until enough people donate using the button on the RIGHT side of the blog that says Donate $1, or until I save the money) I sketched this in pencil, inked it, erased the pencil lines, blew the eraser shavings off the paper, scanned it into Photoshop, had some pudding, then colored and shaded it. I think the part I'm happiest with is the seriously deflated leg and the stuffing, I really like how the stuffing turned out. Let me know what you like best, or least, about this design in the comments section!

-Rob Signed Off

T-Shirt Sighted

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 02:45:00 +0000

A wild t-shirt appears! Okay, maybe not so wild. Thanks to Josh for purchasing, and wearing, the very first Three Random Words T-Shirt!

Check back tomorrow for a new design!

-Rob Signed Off

Psychologically Destabilize Substance

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:52:00 +0000

Hello Random People. This is a grand day! Not only is it Friday, but I managed to produce three designs that were each released on the day they were scheduled to be released! Alright, so Monday's went up 9:30pm, but hey, it still went up on Monday.

Today's design, Psychologically Destabilize Substance, included a few elements that I find the hardest to draw/illustrate/color (artistically represent?). Those elements would be glass, liquids, reflections, and faces. The faces I feel like I did an okay job on. The glass...not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love this design because it comes close to the image I had in my head, but I don't think its as well put together as Well Fed Skater or Pickax Ethical Melon.

The idea behind the design here is that Green Beaker has wandered onto a private moment between Pink Beaker and, for lack of a better name, Dipstick. You can decide for yourself if the destabilizing part of this comes from Pink Beaker being the mother of Green Beaker or the spouse of Green Beaker. I think Dipsticks mustache and wild eyes and smile really make this design lewd. The Wifelette said she didn't think the design really went with the words. I still think its funny though.

You may have noticed the new button on the right hand side of the blog that says "Donate $1." I'd like to buy a Wacom Cintiq so that I can save some trees and some time by cutting out the need to draw the original design on paper and then scan it into the computer for coloring and shading. The lowest price Cintiq is around $1,000, which, to me, is a daunting price tag. However, if just 1,000 people donate $1 dollar to this cause, it reenters the realm of possibility. Feel free to give what you want, or to just go on enjoying (or hating) the designs obligation free. Thanks!

-Rob Signed Off

Pickax Ethical Melon

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:53:00 +0000

Following the blog yet? Why!? The Facebook Page? Really?! Subscribed to the YouTube Channel? Why not do it today? Guaranteed to cost you nothing more than a few seconds of your time!

Hello Random People. Crap! I used it again. Maybe it'll stick, who knows? I have to admit that I rearranged the words on this design a little bit. The random phrase generator came up with "Ethically Pickax Melon" and I couldn't think of a way to ethically pickax a melon. So, because I'm kind of a rebel (pffft!) I switched the words around to what you see. I was still a little stumped on how to make the melon look like it was ethical, so I searched images.google.com (keyword: ethical) and found a lot of images where a halo was used. So I thought, "Why not?" A little drawing, inking, and coloring later and you have today's design.

-Rob Signed Off

Well Fed Skater

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:11:00 +0000

Hello Random People. That sounds dumb doesn't it? Maybe I won't use that salutation again. Hey look, a new Three Random Words design! Personally, this one keeps cracking me up. I know its not exactly a masterpiece illustration, but I definitely think these designs are getting better (especially when the Wifelette lends a hand).

I realize that "Well Fed Skater" is a bit more literal and a lot less random than some of the other designs, but when the Wifelette and I were clicking through the random word generator this image popped into my head after we had already passed by the phrase you see above. I explained the image, which you see above, and then I explained why I simply could not do it.

You see, when it comes to illustrating people, I've kind of been a bit wary. I didn't do very well in my Drawing II class with Professor Dolbin where drawing the human figure was concerned. To this day I still have to hold up my own hand to figure out where fingers and thumbs go (drawing the suns hand with the sword for "Furiously Annihilate Nighttime" was a nightmare for me) and I still can't get it right about 75% of the time. Sure, I've drawn some anthropomorphic (VOCAB WORD) animals, like the Nervously Changing Turtle (which makes a cameo in today's vlog as an awkward turtle), but I just get the proportions for human bodies and limbs all wrong.

So, while I clicked through some more phrases, the Wifelette took to drawing on this little pad we keep next to the keyboard and what she showed me was exactly what I had imagined. So I took that tiny drawing and redrew (is that a word?) it on a larger piece of paper (2 to be exact), inked it, scanned it, colored it, shaded it, and posted it on Facebook at 9:30pm last night. Would have been sooner but Photoshop on the laptop kept crashing. I need to upgrade from CS3 to CS5.5 and while I'm wishing for that, a nice Cintiq tablet would be great as well.

To my credit, I actually changed the hair a little bit and redrew (still don't think this is a word) the "waving" hand. Anyway, I'll be putting this up on BearFood.com today. You can check out the Three Random Words Facebook Page for the link to that. Go there and hit the "Love" button. Also, if you haven't liked the Facebook Page, do that. One more thing, follow the blog, I want to see more pictures in the sidebar than what is currently there.

-Rob Signed Off

Careless Beetle Statistician

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:58:00 +0000

I suppose this design is going to have to cover for Wednesday and Friday, as Thursday's vlog stated, I was just exhausted this week from the long weekend. I know that seems sort of backwards, but every time there is an extended weekend, I end up driving for anywhere from 2-4 hours one way depending on where we're going. That's what comes with moving away from your friends and family to live in Columbia, MD...where there are no diners, none whatsoever. I would settle for an Eat N Park. But I suppose that's too low brow for a planned city (is it a city?) like Columbia.

Wow, digression much? Design, right, this design is "Careless Beetle Statistician" and is based, loosely, on the fact that my border collie puppy (Maizy/Poo Face) has this crazy fascination with beetles. When they get into the house, she tracks them down and then spends the majority of the next hour following them around the house, trying to bite them, and when their weird little legs touch her she jumps back, shakes her head, looks at us with that happy puppy face, and starts the whole process all over again.

Obviously, if you have seen pictures of Poo Face, you know that the dog/wolf in the design looks nothing like her. Here's a picture of her in a shirt for comparison.

Okay so the image is a little dark, I took it with my old, dumb phone. Anyway, back to the design. I considered coloring this with colored pencils (of which we have a plethora residing, unused, in the Wifelette's sewing desk) but ultimately I like how I can correct any coloring mistakes in Photoshop with CTRL+Z. Despite the weird texturing effect on the dog, I think the hardest part of this design was making the beetle's shell look as iridescent as I wanted, which i still don't think I achieved. Actually, I think my favorite part of the whole design is the chalkboard with the bar graphs and the paper stand with the line graph.

Speaking of which, the Facebook Page is only one

away from being able to view the Facebook Page Insights! So, if you haven't already, take a second to head over there, click the like button, and give me a great start to the weekend. Thanks! -Rob Signed Off

Where To Next?

noreply@blogger.com (eridflow) — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:21:00 +0000

So, here's a good question. Can anybody recommend additional platforms for promoting the Three Random Words designs, blog, and videos? I'm trying to get this design project shared on as many platforms as possible. Here is a list of where you can find the images or get information about he project currently:

Blogger: http://bit.ly/Kcnyvv
YouTube: http://bit.ly/LPvi5A
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/KFKfGS
DeviantArt: http://bit.ly/JrzmoM
Twitter: http://bit.ly/Kpwwox

Leave a comment and let me know where you think I should put it next.

-Rob Signed Off