I Don't Even Know What to Title It...

If anyone hasn't heard any of Rob Zombie's new stuff yet, I would strongly recommend checking it out. Some of the songs sound like back when he had White Zombie.
Anyway, here's a couple more pics, I haven't been able to do women in what seems like forever. It makes a little sense, because men typically provide better anatomical features for drawing, like pronounced muscles, harder bone structure, etc.

I pulled out some good highlights on this one. 

The thick lines almost make him look too cartoony. 

Tired, But With a Good Endng

I had a good night at work. Rather, a good morning, because the good stuff didn't happen until about 7am. First, Ernie (Travelodge owner) was reading a Fargo Forum in the lobby, and pointed this article out to me.
http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=121914&section=News
I had loaned a couple of graphic novels to his girlfriend (she's a librarian who advocates the use of historical graphic novels as teaching tools) last time she was up. She was just going to peruse them, but Ernie said the more she looked at them, the more she had to read them. So, score 2 for me & comics. Take that, Frederic Wertham!

I noticed a familar name on our guest list last night. This morning, as I had hoped, Sarge rounded the corner and almost did a double-take when he saw me. I hadn't seen him in 3 years, and the last time I saw him (Kevin & April's wedding), he looked aged, so I was a little nervous about seeing our favorite instructor who hollered at us endlessly looking old and haggard. I was surprised as hell to see he actually looked a little younger.
Every year, cadets would hear rumors that Sarge was retiring, and every year, he would kind of just look at you and say, "I don't know," or something vague, so you knew he never would. Well, straight from his mouth, I can definitively say Sarge has officially retired as of last year passing his legacy on to Sgt. Moser from Camp Grafton. He bought a farmstead in Minnewaukan, and he now bartends at the DL VFW. No wonder the age lift, he works in a bar patronized by other vets, and he has a big yard to play in. I introduced him to a couple of our staff as "Sarge", and he told them that I was part of the group that took the spirit of ROTC with them when we all left. Oh, by the way, Kevin and April, he says "hey". He sounded really happy to see me and to hear you guys are doing good.
Ok, so it sounds a little cheesy, but I don't care, it was worth it.

GreenJack, and More Illustrations From My Past

This is my finished Design project. I have yet to mat it, but I did get it in on time, so who cares? I was a little worried that the darker blue would be too saturated, but I think it kind of works with the lighter colors fine. We'll see what my instructor says.

Anyway, I was cleaning the basement a little (house inspection tomorrow), and was about to pack away some of my old drawings, when I realized I don't think I posted them before. There's only three of them, but they all have particular significance.

I had done a couple of drawings of myself (because I'm like that), but this is the first I had ever tried of any of our friends. Not bad for graphite. Don't know the significance of the hangman & dead angel, they were kind of my thing back in high school. 

No, the skeleton slave isn't tickling the angel. I always thought it'd be cool if the devil, rather than having horns himself, simply wore a crown of horns as a symbol of his plight, a counter to the "crown of thorns" concept. The Dusk symbol appears at least twice. 

Check out that grass! It took me a little while to add all the little details, like tombstone words and what-not. The name on the stone to the far left is Malchus, an 15th century (?) antichristian philosopher with a blood disorder called "Porphyria". My name is on a stone just behind the Dusk one on the left side. Malodious is a combination of Melody and Malady, a clever adjective for music that can only be appreciated by a sick/disturbed mind. 

More Nad-Me Pics!

Remember those pics I said were forthcoming? Yes you do...yes, I told you....quit arguing with me, I did! Anyway, they're down here. Dick.

Parts of this one were okay, but overall, I let myself get too sloppy, especially in the legs. Then again, he picked shots that kind of accentuated obliques and abdominals, and i kind of did that in a way. 

I did best on his midsection.  

This is a copy of a Michelangelo sketch. We have to do them every now and again to get a feel for how he studied Anatomy. I wonder why no da Vinci? 

The Missing Link, No More!

I'm not computer illiterate. So why did it take me half an hour to figure out how to put links on my blog? I don't know. But eventually I did manage to clean things up a little, and now I have links to some of my favorite blogs (outside our group I mean), as well as some other sites I like. Anyway, I have some more Anatomy pics, but I haven't scanned them yet, so they will be forthcoming.

Yet Another Gouache Portrait

Another design rough, this one is Tom Waits (are you surprised?)

Jack in Gouache

This is a design rough I did for a project in Color & Design. This one had to be 6 values, where the other portraits had to be 4. If he looks a little familiar, it's because I used the same shot to render a charcoal version lasy fall, which turned out to be awesome.

A Medical Conundrum

First off, thanks to everyone for their comments and advice on Karissa's blog about Isabella's ear situation. It's given us a bit more to think about.
Right now, we're leaning toward the tubes. My sister and brother in law swear chiropractics helped my niece with her problem, and so far as I know, she hasn't been back (she's now 13). However, most people I've heard of going to chiropractors and who swear by them have been going for months or years.
Our hospital experience with Isabella hasn't been much, but what it has been involved check-ups and reassurances that Isabella is developing properly, not constant treating for problems.
I'm still trying to make head or tails from a lot of the info I've read, and unfortunately, I've come middle road on a lot of it. For starters, I can't seem to find a website that can compare chiropractics to medicine without name-calling. Frankly, if you're trying to extablish credibility in an adult professional setting (which is what I consider necessary for a medical website of any kind), words like "quackery" are not necessary. Neither is it necessary to slip in comments like "-but that's just plain wrong" with reference to a technique or philosophy. One website slammed chiropractics for its use and apparent belief in homeopathy, which is more or less simply a naturalistic antimedication philosophy of medicine.
Like I said, I'm middle road. I believe modern medicine relies too strongly on medications to quiet its patients, possibly fueling legal addictions and giving our doctors too easy of a way out (I also believe our drug companies are awfully big and strong in this counrty). I believe chiropractics relies too much on manual manipulation, and that it cures everything, basing their knowledge on outdated beliefs (like the existence of "subluxations"). I believe homeopathics works internally, but won't do you any good if you've got a broken foot. I haven't even begun to read on acupuncture yet, but I already don't like what I'm hearing about it.
So, as usual, more questions.

Not-a-Pole Dancer, and Not-Jesus

These are two more more Anatomy. I can tell I'm getting a little better at bringing attention to anatomical features, and I'm becoming a lot more aware of what those features are in the reference photos. Stay tuned for "mood" pictures. Sounds a little hippy, but we'll see.

This was something of a rush job. I do like his midsection& shoulder, though. The shadows came out a little more vividly. 

He must think he's Jesus or something. Anyway, I did pretty good with the highlights on this one, I just wish I could his face better and I should have darkened the background better. 

Monochromatic Amy

This is the other extra credit project I had to do, which is similar to the value portrait of Dimebag, only using different values of one color.
In case any of you don't recognize her, this is from a photo of Amy Cichy that was shot by April a little while back.

Playing Catch-Up With My Assignments

I banged these two out yesterday. Even though the value scale is crooked, I still stressed about it less than that damned color wheel. God, I'm just glad to be done with that one. The Dime picture took a little while to get done, but it was totally worth it, especially despite the fact that I find extra credit assignments not typically worth my time.

This was an extra credit one. I'm trying to do as many as I can, mainly because I got my portfolio in late and missing my colorwheel. This one just required doing a picture with a black-white value scale, and of course it's one of the many little tributes to Dimebag I have done and will continue to do forever. I thought this turned out pretty decent. The brush strokes are a little harder to see. 

This is a muted color chart. The opposite ends are complimentary colors (opposite eachother on the color wheel), and the muted colors between are what they look like when you mix them progressively. 

Color Wheel

This is a 12-step color wheel. It was due about two weeks ago, but due to supply shortages I and a few other students could not complete this assignment. I can't believe how friggin hard a color wheel is to make. Doesn't look hard. Looks easy. But I had to blend all those colors, plus make those stupid little dots according to primary, secondary, and tertiary values. So I posted it, because I thought I actually didn't do too badly on it.

More Charcoal Men...

Two more assignments for Intro to Anatomy. I'll have some painted stuff up real soon!

This is a copy of a Michelangelo sketch we were supposed to do, no real time limit. I made him look a little too mechanical. That is to say, everything is where it should be, but doesn't look natural. 

Just a guy sitting in his chair, nothing special. I believe models who don't want to go full monty get to wear those little thongs. 

Hungry?

I'm watching the movie Ravenous right now. I saw it about 5 years ago, and loved it, and I can't believe it's actually on again. It's not a real gore fest, but its subject matter alone makes it unfit for the squeamish. It's about a Captain who wins a battle in the Mexican-American War, and gets a backhanded promotion when a general finds out it was because of an act of cowardice. He's transferred to a post out in the sierra Nevadas to a 3rd in command position. He soon finds himself in the company of cannibals, and is eventually forced to become one to survive. It's one of those truly fucked up stories that ends up not getting the recognition it deserves for the actor's effort, the plotline, and the overall questions it asks of its viewers. Even the ending is great.
Anyways, I thought I'd bring it up because it's on, and because it deals with a topic you guys know I love to talk about--long pork.