TJ - Sketch Book

Mini Cooper S Convertible

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:21:00 +0000

My current unhealthy obsession is the Mini Cooper Convertible.

Undersized for my 6'2" height? Check.
Impractical for Minnesota winters? Check.
No extra space in our garage? Check.
I desperately want to have one regardless? Check.

Kudos to the marketing geniuses at Mini for getting the job done right. They've drawn me in, hook, line and sinker. I have these visions of driving through summer with the top down, a Jack Johnson song always on the CD player and the kids bopping to the music in the back seat, the wind whipping their hair around.

Admittedly, I already lean heavily in a "convertible" direction. I've formerly owned a Pontiac Sunfire convertible and a Suzuki Samurai convertible, so the marketing geniuses at Mini didn't have too far to push me.

Apple - DS Colors

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:53:00 +0000

Hi sketchbook. How have you been? Here's an apple in DS Colors. See how it was drawn here:

http://colors.collectingsmiles.com/details/29597-Apple_by_tjwebdude.php

F4U Corsair - Colors on the Nintendo DS

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:27:00 +0000

Haven't messed around with "Colors" for awhile on the DS, so here's a drawing of an F4U Corsair, the same kind as flown in the 70s TV show "Baa Baa Black Sheep", which was based on the real life adventures of Pappy Boyington, leader of a a South Pacific fighter squadron in WW2.

I had some serious love for this TV series as a kid. It probably wouldn't live up to my memory of it now... undoubtedly hokey in that 70s TV series way.

I also put together a detailed plastic model of the Corsair as a kid (either a "Revell" or a "Testers" model). It hung from fishing line over my bed until I was probably about 15. By the way, you can watch how I painted this in "Colors" by going over to the Colors website. http://colors.collectingsmiles.com/details/23953-F4U_Corsair_by_tjwebdude.php

Bud

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:48:00 +0000

Bud was a sweet, good natured dog my parents had during the 1990s. He made the move with them from Wisconsin to Arkansas, where, surprisingly, he fathered two pups. Nobody thought he had it in him.

The pups were both little clones of him. Sadly neither he or either of the pups made it out of Arkansas when my parents returned to Wisconsin several years later. One of the pups died from eating an aluminum can & the other just kind of disappeared. Bud got increasingly debilitated from cancer and old age and finally had to be put down.

JFK

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Hello internet sketchbook. Sorry for the long breaks between posts.

This week, I've been listening to "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA." It's been depressingly eye opening. The sad sum of it is everything we learned in elementatry school history since WWII is crap. JFK and Robert Kennedy suffer sullying of their respective images. They are portrayed as political power-grabbers,willing to create any lie to maintain power.

Ah well... I suppose there is no such thing as truth in history.

As for the sketch, I got the eyes too dark, otherwise, I'm pleased with it, especially given the long breaks between sketches.

Felicia Day's Doggie

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:21:00 +0000

Felicia Day (from Dr. Horrible & The Guild - incredibly awesome stuff!) recently posted a photo of her doggie on Flickr (see here). This doggie had such soulful, beautiful eyes, I felt compelled to sketch them.

I didn't do them justice.

Benny February

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:07:00 +0000

We got a new leather couch this morning and Benny spent a good 20 minutes rubbing against it. I guess he really liked the smell of it... or maybe he had to make sure he got his own smell all over it.

Fallout 3 - CRASH MANIA

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:07:00 +0000

Ah... Fallout 3... why must thou irk me so?

I've been waiting for this game for MONTHS and I heard so many things about it. I ordered the PC version, as I don't have an Xbox.

I blissfully installed and set up a character, only to CRASH. I restarted the game, worked my way through the Vault opening sequence... CRASH. I finally exited the vault, into the devastated wasteland, fighting off bloatflies & angry dogs... CRASH. I made it to Megaton and watched the sheriff get shot down in front of my eyes.... CRASH.

I'm giving up until a real patch is released. I installed the 1.0.0.15 patch release... it wasn't even worth the effort. If you are considering a purchase of this game as of November, 2008... wait a few months... or at least don't buy the PC version... yet.

Bobby Blue Bland - His California Album

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:18:00 +0000

Hi internet sketchbook. How have you been?

In the summer of 1990, I stopped by a roadside flea market and bought a scratched up cassette tape by Bobby Blue Bland. It was "Blues You Can Use". It was by turns jumping, mournful & soulful. He sang these songs about his old lady, songs about giving up on an unfaithful lover, and songs about getting treated like a dog. And what really got me was that he kept making this weird snorting, throat clearing sound in the middle of the songs.

I loved it.

This sketch is the cover of Bobby Blue Bland's "California Album". If you are a fan of the blues,this album is a must have. If nothing else, you must go to your favorite on-line song site and purchase the lead song from this album, "This Time I'm Gone for Good." It's a moody and sorrowful blues masterpiece that I could listen to about 500 times in a row.

While you're at it, buy the CD "Blues You Can Use" too.

Black Lab

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:39:00 +0000

A black lab is about the most honest dog you're ever going to meet. They have a lot going on in their heads, and their expressive faces can't help but show every thought.

Alpaca

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:56:00 +0000

It's been a couple weeks since a sketch.

A friend from work raises Alpacas and had an open house this weekend. The kids loved it. Alpacas are almost as docile as they are fuzzy.

Cecil from FF4 on the DS

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:38:00 +0000

A pen sketch of Cecil from Final Fantasy IV. Yes... a geeky thing. Also, this is from my sketchbook, so there's otherstuff (a chair) overlapping here.

Hippopotomus - Pen and Paper

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:58:00 +0000

Been awhile since a post. Here's a hippo on pen and paper.

Hope Shining... in Colors DS

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:34:00 +0000

A copy of a painting called "Hope Shining Brightly" done on the Nintendo DS.

Daily Bread - DS Colors

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:34:00 +0000

Still life using the Nintendo DS and Colors.

Go here to view the time lapse.

Sunflower - DS Colors

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:45:00 +0000

The kids planted a sunflower in the back yard this spring. This monster is now over 9 feet tall. I can't reach the flower standing next to it.

So from blues in the last DS Colors post, to greens and yellows here. Maybe I'll have to do reds next time to round out the primary colors.

Santorini Greece - DS Colors

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:02:00 +0000

I really liked the blues in a photo from Santorini Greece, so I drew it in DS Colors. Oh and here's the time lapse.

Ray Wise - Reaper

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:32:00 +0000

A brilliant casting decision, Ray Wise is the devil in the TV show "Reaper." Charming, funny... but disturbing and scary, he's perfectly cast. He steals every scene he appears in.

Dr. Horrible

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:20:00 +0000

Back to pen and paper here. A few ink blots got on the paper in some way or another. Ah well.

I can't describe how much I loved Dr. Horrible. It's a little hard to sum up. It's a sing along superhero/villian story... funny... touching... great songs. I have such a new appreciation for Neil Patrick Harris that I'm considering buying/renting his "How I Met Your Mother" series. The story behind it is great too. It was done either during or as a result of the writers strike and Joss Whedon called a bunch of friends and talked them into working on this on-line show... a completely new approach to producing these types of things.

If you haven't watched it yet go do so... now.

Lord Voldemort - DS Colors

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:02:00 +0000

I just saw the trailer for the new Harry Potter movie and I can't wait. It looks dark and complex.

So here is "He Who Will Remain Nameless." Check out the sketch on the Colors gallery to watch the draw.

Diablo Satyr - DS Colors

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:19:00 +0000

I haven't been looking forward to a computer game for a number of years now, but I am truly looking forward to the release of Diablo 3. For those not familiar with it (who would that be?) it's a dungeon-crawl-hack-and-slash.

Here's a satyr from the game, done in DS Colors... see the drawing in progress here.

Sock from Reaper - DS Colors

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:46:00 +0000

One of my guilty pleasures is "Reaper" on the CW network. Yes... a CW show. It's a cute show, with some smart writing. A guy becomes the devil's soul collector when he finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil when he was a baby.

"Sock" is one of the better characters, a slacker with an attitude.

Check out my post on the Colors Gallery to view the drawing in progress.

Dave - Nintendo Colors

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:21:00 +0000

My brother Dave, a dyed-in-the-wool fisherman. This again done with Colors on the Nintendo DS. Somehow, things got really yellow here, but hard to see lighter color shades on the small screen.

Another cool thing about Colors... if you check this drawing out on the Colors gallery (here's the link), you can watch a replay of how I drew it.

Colors - Goofing around on the DS

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:30:00 +0000

More goofing around with Colors on the Nintendo DS.

The first is some clouds in the back yard today, and the other is a storage shed that we have in back. I can definitely see the potential here, but I obviously need a lot more practice.

"Colors" on the Nintendo DS - Natalie

noreply@blogger.com (TJ) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:49:00 +0000

So this may be my new favorite sketching tool or medium because it's at the perfect intersection between my love for tweaking tech gadgets and sketching.

There is a "homebrew" program called "Colors" for the Nintendo DS. Yes, the very same Nintendo DS that your teenage kid spends 20 hours a day wasting time on.

"Homebrew" means that this is a software program not created or endorsed by Nintendo. To run it you need to purchase a special card that allows you to run homebrew software (like the R4 chip for the DS lite... Google it!).

Colors is a simple sketch/painting tool, but because it uses the pressure-sensitive DS touchpad, it's very flexible. You can scale brushes, mix/tint colors, etc. This little sketch I did in about 15 minutes on the DS. It's from my little girl's kindergarten school photo.

I'm looking forward to experimenting with more sketches/painting on the DS. It's the perfect size to take anywhere... so inconspicous, but every shade/color of paint at your fingertips!

If you go to the Colors website (linked above) you'll see some amazing art people are making with this little device. You can also go to Youtube and search for "DS Colors" and find recorded sketch sessions that are pretty amazing.