Gunpowder Gertie

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...

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.......

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...

Oi! ME! Leavin' tomorrow mornin' actually!

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?

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!

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!