Gunpowder Gertie

Okay, I have to admit that I completely forgot about these. I feel like a total bum! Sorry guys!

I've had my mind so full of perparations for BrethrenCon, my new job, various family issues, etc. that they have completely, and repeatedly, slipped my mind.

If you guys want to go on without me, I'm totally understanding. otherwise, if I had just a few extra days, I might be able to simply whip up a basic design (already had a couple in mind, actually, just never got to doing them), and get it sent out.

I leave it up to our fearless leader.

So says I-- just do it McCool!

It's July 2nd now.

How are we getting along?

Mine should be out by the end of the week.

ive got bad news...i had 9 of 10 done..then got the pright idea to spill paint all over them...im going to try to get them done again but i dont think itll be in time...my apologies for gumming up the works...ill keep you posted.

Aye- not to worry lad, I'll be a bit late as well...

Oi! Eye! Have ye been plunderin' me photobucket--ye have, haven't ye???

But I agree wi' Ransom- a perfect avatar for Admiral Crab!

And now- fer yer edification:

I present

the Nor Cal

Avast it's mast!

and a couple more:

Ship To Shore Battle:

and

the hottest entertainment this side o' Tortuga

BLACK SPOT DANCERS!

Arrrr.

I was hopin t' find some Rootjack t' bring home from NorCal, since we can't get it in Canada.

Oi! and sigh! I failed in me quest....

Oh aye!

NorCal was the best...

it took us about 19 hours t' drive back..but it was worth ever blessed minute!

I stayed up late looking thru the pictures I took- and I have a bunch o' good ones. AND 3 hours of video to go thru- at which point I shall edit together a travelogue style music video- which I will then post a link to!

Amazing t' meet y'all- sorry I missed y' Jill!

We had a terrific time, hanging out with our pirate brethren- (and the pirate sistern!)

As always The Pirate Charles rocked the event- but the other entertainment was excellent as well! And the food- tastiest meat pies this side of Mrs. Lovett's! Arrrrrrrrrrr! I am so overwhelmed t' be back- but I'll post some pictures when I calm down..the drive was fierce in the hot sun- and me air conditionin' be AWOL, y'see...but I see next year's NorCal in my future.

And- was able t' arrive home- with bottles o' Kraken rum- and Pyrat XO special reserve rum..which we can't get here in the wild's o' Vancouver...believe me- I looked.

Oi- and I'll post a link t' me video- o' the wanking kraken- when I can...

WTF!!!

Now all the posts we just did about how great NorCal was, are gone until further notice! Thanks a bunch, Stynky!

Wait! I just got back! I have pics and everything...

I wanna read the NorCal stuff....

c'mon Stynky...pleeeeeeeeeeease?

and yeah- I should be at Bilgemunky's afterparty right now....

off to set sail.......

I'll definitely be there! This time bringing new friends to the whole pirate scene, it's gonna be a blast! If you see me there, don't be shy, come up and say ahoy!

The first day was a blast! It was so good to meet in real life people I had met on the Pub...

Oderlesseye, Dman, Chainshot, Ransom,Quartermaster James,Patrick Hand - an amazing gathering!

And more tomorrow!

BTW- looks like we set the record for the most pirates at a gathering...

Norcal Pirate Festival is just around the corner. who be going sound off mates.

Oi! ME!

Leavin' tomorrow mornin' actually!

Eye think Eye'll submit this one to Pirates ~ Playwench ~ magazine

Brother Odi- now THERE's a fine pic sirrah!

Ye be lookin' better and better each time I sees ya!

Excellent! Focus focus!

Remember- you get out what you put in- so really throw yourself into your work!Drop by to let us know how you are doing!

Oi Eye! Lookin' good- but does this mean ye can collect the bounty on yer own head?

Lieutenant Alex!

Where'd ye go?

New drawings?

<Barbossa voice>

We called the van Jaaaaaack.....

</Barbossa voice>

which reminds me- anyone know where I can get some good lookin' piratey car mats?

Y'know, we never did put up photos or scans of the cards from last round. We probably should. No doubt it would help, plus I'm really curious to see what everyone else got!

And I'm already cooking up ideas for this round... the tattoo concept intrigues me. I have been meaning to work on tattoo design, as I don't generally do work like that.

as you can see- I posted the scans for my cards- but because I bulk loaded 'em I couldn't add a description of each.

also- I have a duplicate that I can't figure out how to delete.

<sigh>

at any rate- lookin' forward to the next round! It's outside of my comfort zone too- something I've never done, as well.

It'll be interesting to see what we all get out of this one!

He spun to face the new adversary, but a sharp rap from a belaying pin across his wrist forced him to drop his weapon.

He grabbed his wrist and swore an oath in pain.

Happy Natal Day all you May-ers!

Oops, guess I wasn't being too clear on the getting the family to pose thing. What I should have said was, get someone in your family to do the quick poses for you, so you can work from a real person. It really helps you see weight, angle, line, etc.

But you know, after all this talk and instruction, which is good, don't get too hamstrung worrying about stuff. Just draw. Draw because it's fun, and you love it. Over time, your eye will learn to see, and your hand will learn to put it down on paper.

Truer words were never spoken!

The elephant drawings were gestures- light line drawings concerned with line of action, with minimal shading, sketches taking a minimal amount of time. These ones were conte crayon- quick light line of action, using the tip of the crayon, then quick bar shading using the side of the crayon. When you are on your game it is literally "construction ball for head and volume, line, line, shade, shade, done". That amount of time. Literal. Start out with wire sculpture type drawings, no shading, no detail, As you get better progress to more detail. Simple..it's amazing what you can put down in a line...really! Having your friends and family pose is good- but it's still giving you lots of time to deal with the outside line..the details. Gestures are too fast for that, and you must draw from the inside of the figure out. It's to train your eye as to what's important in movement, and what is important to capture in your drawing.

The quick sketches are actually different- the purposes behind that is to improve posing, and that is your focus. Structural drawings with underlying construction and line of action.

Take your sketchbook with you to parks/food courts/airports. Draw people around you.

Gestures..people are moving too fast for exceptionally detailed work, but you can still find emotion, mood and balance. and line of action. Oh- did I say that before???

Ransom- we will certainly have much to talk about. Can't wait!

and Eye- yer photoshop renderin' be witty and funny..yer a character yerself, sirrah!

yeah i am taken Gertie advice on m static poses done a few sketches to experiment before hand

10 sketches per page planning on doing more through out my development book

got the lay out from this sketch for bugs bunnys first cartoon in 1940s a wild hare

Perfect. Model sheets are definitely great ways to advance your posing. Learn from the professionals. These guys were awesome.

Also- another exercise you can do is-

quick sketches.

I made a tape- oh yeah- you probably don't remember tapes do ya?- <sigh> Anyway- make a CD or an MP3 that is just silence, with a sound of some kind- beep, something not too annoying- at 60 second intervals. Make it about a half an hour long. Listen to this while you draw.

THEN- draw a pose- you have 1 minute. Then you have to draw another pose, and then another. Eventually you will stop "thinking" about the posing- and it will become second nature. It will take a while. It is VERY difficult at first- but it will really help you with your posing. Make the poses dynamic too- no cheating. And really- start with the line of action, and then base your drawing around that line. Aids in posing, and fluidity of motion.

Watch the feet though- superb construction of arms/torso/abdominal area. Feet and legs- meh. Remember as feet contact the ground, they are not straight across. The overlap the ground to some extant. don't forget ankles- legs have 'em and they need to part of your structure.

Make every part of your drawing as strong as the other parts. I mean- look at the Bugs' feet- volume, structure- all there. Look at the feet and legs of your drawing- very simple in comparison to the rest of your drawing. I know I am hammering this point at you- but- every part of your drawing must be STRONG. Also- another way to strengthen the feet position- is draw a light perspective grid where the feet would go- then you will know how to pose the feet, and what angle they have to follow..

Here is a ruff model sheet I made for a personal project- these poses are all from the 60 second posing exercises I told you about.

Strong line of action, balance, and silhouette. Yet very simple.Silhouette is very important too- the best poses can be coloured in with black ink- and you can still tell what the character is doing.. Sorry- I know this isn't piratey- but it's all I have to show you...

And - bear with me - one more:

See how I just made studies of feet and legs? And made a point of drawing the feet and legs in the act of being unbalanced- as they step from one pose to another?And- if you look closely at the more rendered elephant, you can see where I placed the grid lines, so that all the legs are solidly placed, in perspective.Also- notice the line of action in the elephant shaking it's head- learn to putdown a quick line to indicate the direction of your pose, and it will make your drawing more fluid. Continue to work loose..light underdrawings, like you are sculpting the drawing with your pencil- lots of light loose lines to establish your movement, then go in with your pencil to carve the detail, and volume.

I know we've strayed a bit from the pirate theme here, and I apologise, mods please bear with me.. but it's all I have here to illustrate my point.

We'll continue with the pirate drawings from here...right Lt. Alex??

haha i was looking at them earlier thinking ;O oh snap was i meant to post my work there and not on the forums ! im totally surprised to have a impact on the forum as small as it may be, and yeah a lot of the drawings are pretty damn good, id be proud to claim them as my own work XD. yeah i have a portfolio btw gertie its what got me in wit ease :) I need to learn to drive before i can take such a bold commitment though ;f going london this saturday with my family to look at the maratime muesum and the golden hinde for this project !

well last term i didnt finish one of my projects, i had the idea to try create a prehistoric game and i had to design everything but i just kinda gave up on the idea when it came to designing. I only draw my best when i love the idea or have a great sense of direction with my project :) Atm i just love the pirate gear, i love the flintlocks and tricorne hats and sea boots(despite its authenticity ) in pirate garb. I dont know why but I really want a tricorne hat XD im just in love with pirate costume atm helps with my designs :)

Well- that is one thing you have to get over, and that is only drawing your best when you are jazzed about the idea- when drawing professionally, you have to draw what you are paid to draw, even if you are not as happy about the project, because often you don't have control over which character/project you are assigned to. You have to find a way to be the best you can be.

But when you get on a project you love..and believe in - it's awesome. I even took exceptionally low wages and went clear across the country one time to work on a project. And- although the employer knew we were there because we believed so hard in the project, and essentially ttreated us shamefully- it is still one of the best projects I worked on- because of the people I worked with.

It sounds like the next step is to find a pirate group close by and get yerself into garb! THEN you'd have a tricorne fer sure! Haharrrrrr!

well my life drawing teacher said to me recently that it was good to teach a student that genuinely enjoys drawing for a change im glad it shows in my work :) Funny enough im studying concept art for games and films at University when i start there in september. Ill get taught how to take my traditional skills digitally there, i didnt want to give the impression that im some fine arts student ;o I just progressed through trial and error, self teaching the mechanics of shading, anatomny etc with guidence from teachers along the way. Ive only started getting feedback online this year and its made a big impact on my ability so far ! so thanks again

It's obvious you have some real skill. In University your feedback will not always be as gentle as <ahem> it is here. It's good you are willing to listen. Stories abound of people working in animation being told their work is "crap" by their bosses.So- don't take it personally, and take the criticism as it is given- all in the name of making you a better artist.

Now-

to work on your posing!

Your posing so far is a bit static. Try - for your next drawing - to make it more dynamic. Not facing square to the viewer- but either a three quarter pose, with some movement. If these drawings are going into your portfolio- this would be the perfect kind of drawing to attempt!

yeah defiantly, gonna try a mid combat pose for my next sketch ;D! sad story gertie such a great shame. I hope I make it to the point were i get paid to do what i love doing, whilst listening to Boney M .

Im going to hertfordshire university :) was my first interview and i got offered a place on the day! i was so chuffed ! since it was my best option i didnt go to all of interviews only 2/4

So- do you still have to show a portfolio? If so- work your arse off- remember- you get back what you put into this kind of program.

Greatest piece of advice I ever got was from one of my animation instructors.

DO WHAT'S NECESSARY.If that means driving all night to get to a animation festival to show your portfolio to a prospective employer- sleeping in the van for a couple of hours, getting cleaned up in an A & W washroom..and then throwing that portfolio down on the sidewalk, opening it, and tweaking the contents, adding some and removing others, and then running to the venue just before it opened. Then you DO IT. JUST DO IT.

(which I have done - and yes I did get the job)

But if you are still making a portfolio to show- work on some great stuff now- and the best you have- may be the stuff you produce now, and may replace some of your older stuff. You have lots of potential- and you are still young. Become a sponge. Soak up all the info and advice you can. I'm assuming you will be working with professionals, and these contacts can help you so much. And- I am also assuming that at the end, industry professionals will be invited to take a look. This is the most exciting time. Just do what's necessary- and you'll be all right.

Awesome! Have you thought about selling these perhaps? It'd be fairly easy to spraypaint a bunch and sell them by the bag. Dunno how much they'd run, but I've been looking for realistic dubloons that I can afford to just hand away to kids when I go a-pirating.

They are only one sided though. The double sided casting was way to thick and difficult. Both sides are painted though so if you wanted them to hand out to kids I could make you a bag of em if you want.

That might be cool- especially if ye could add yer pirate group contact info, or some kind o' sayin' on the blank side! D'ye think that is possible?

Or wait- what about this- paint the blank side black- and depending on the disposition o' the kid- ye could either reward them with some shine...

er gi 'em the BLACK SPOT!

hahar! PIRATE!

I might be interested inthat!