I was watching “My Favorite Blonde” tonight, and decided to turn one of Bob Hope’s zaniest moments into a gesture sketch, which I then inked in sort of a Mad Magazine style. Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Here is a link to the video instead.

Decided to break in my new Wacom Cintiq Tablet (!!) by painting the niece again. The Cintiq is essentially a monitor combined with a graphics tablet, which allows you to draw and paint directly on the screen. Here you can see I’m using my regular monitor to view my reference photo, as well as a wider view of the image I’m working on. I think I inadvertently made Ariana look much older than she really is.

This week’s homework assignment is a portrait with hands. Speaking of hands, mine are covered in charcoal.

The backstory for non-family members: Sam the Dog was my childhood creation. A sarcastic talking animal who lived with a bachelor owner and slept in a cat bed. (I believe my previous character was “One-ear the Sailin’ Dude.”) I’m not saying I’m totally against reviving Sam, but if I did, I’d definitely want to rethink his character, kind of like how Frasier totally changed when he moved to Seattle. And yes, I’ll watch out for lightning bolts tomorrow.