Almost there!

Yea that's right...almost time for Saint Nic to pass out the goodies...but let's not dwell on that...

Went to two parties this weekend...I know right! Me going out? Never! But yes, the wife and I went to a surprise birthday party on Saturday night and then to a Christmas party on Sunday. Both were a good time in different ways. One was bowling, pizza, and cake...along with laser tag and a video arcade. I admit on passing the bowling and laser tag. I wasn't feeling all that great from a run that morning and didn't need to just get all crazy and get injured.

The Christmas party was very cool as it was held by a good running friend and his awesome wife. Why is she awesome? Cause wow can she cook! No joke gang...the food and atmosphere was very nice. I also got to me some other runners and hang out with another friend from the running group who I enjoy chatting with. The food though...wow...words do not give it justice.

Two sketches today...enjoy. Oh and if I don't see you or talk to you soon...happy holidays!

The first is an attempt at clothing and shadows. It came out very nice and I have to say I'm pleased with the outcome.
This next one is a self portrait kind of thing.

A Friday...

First off...I miss ya my brother El Fogger...Still not the same without you around.

I've been working on a little project of sorts and thought I would share the sketches I did in putting this together for a dear friend.

Enjoy!

An Inked Witch

Come on...it was too good to leave as pencil...

Stop me please!

Another post! More sketches! Enjoy!

Edit: Made one correction on the witch to be a bit more accurate...

Another!

This was a quick sketch I did that I just couldn't stop until I inked it and scanned it...I freaking love it! Too much walking dead zombies in my brain...

What another post?

Make sure to listen to some John Lennon today. A really good master of music and thought in my humble opinion who is still missed...Just imagine...

In the meantime...enjoy three new sketches! This first one is a simple sketch during lunch and I was trying to achieve a feeling of a weather worn old timer from the sea.


This next one is a simple one of course...back side of a hot babe! Nuff said...
This last one is called "He watched the show "The Walking Dead""...with a little bit of Frankenstein thrown in because I happened to catch Young Frankenstein last week.

Knock, Knock...Anyone Home?

Yes I am alive and well... I don't know how it happened but someone I lost my incentive / creativeness for a bit...okay I long bit...

The last few months did have ups and downs just like anyone else has it happen to them. Let's hope things progress in a pattern that sees happy, happy, joy, joy thoughts! Nice huh...now I have Ren & Stimpy in my head.

I actually have been working the artistic side in the sense of where I work...they are putting a website up soon and I made it known that my talents could save them some coins since I know how to work the magic on product photos. So I've been taking photos of products and cleaning them up for website use. That's right...I'm free and easy to use!

Now I have been working the sketches still and also have one that I want to give a dear friend as a gift of sorts but that is later...for now...please do enjoy this collection...

And happy holidays!

It's a unbearable moment...

First off even though my running has not been up to snuff this year I have the honor of being the Runner in the Spotlight for our local Running Club!

http://charlotterunningclub.blogspot.com/2010/08/runner-in-spotlight-michael-dudish.html

So with all the things going on stopping me from enjoying this year on the health side, I was thinking today of a let down a bear might get when he goes to visit his favorite bee buddies and find out no more honey...out of it...whole batch down the drain...etc...

I give you my first attempt at drawing said bear...enjoy and have a good weekend!

Recovery

The above comes to mind as if the guy on the left made a mistake and said something totally incorrect and the cute girl on the right found it rather funny.

I feel like that guy...it has been a bit...seems like this year is messing with me on my running. I am only now feeling better after fighting off it seems like 3 infections within a 2 week period. After losing five pounds I have been holding off from any runs since this whole thing began. Heck I even let my facial hair go and now sport a full beard!

Sketches you ask? I have some...enjoy!

A Magic Pill?

So I'm going to get all political for a moment...I hold back a lot of this as I don't like people getting angry, which is the usual outcome of any conversations about politics, religion, etc...

We elected an awesome person for our President. And he warned us that it's not going to be an easy process rebuilding what we have, as a society, done to the United States over the many decades that have passed us by. Many children growing up today have few hopes or dreams other than to make it rich. This is wrong...as life is not about money or fame, and yet thanks to our media today that is what so many think of. I believe many think that if they get rich all of their problems will go away just by paying them out.

Fame and fortune is a fleeting thing except for a few. In the end we all end up the same way.

Some of the best people I've met are here where I work, in a not for profit company helping the visually impaired have better lives. So many of them mean so much to me, yes the incredible food they bring in sometimes helps (fresh egg rolls today = happy me).

But so many people out there don't help others and only continue to be selfish, always wanting more.

Instant gratification seems to be around every corner which leads the youth to always want something new, something now, and then discard it for the next new thing 2 minutes from now.

People...friends...I ask of you this...when was the last time you helped someone else? Someone who needed it?

The President is making things tough...he warned us of this...in order to get better we have to cut our dependency on other countries and learn to work with what we have here. We need to learn to not always be wanting more...we need to learn patience.

No little box from Acme will solve your problems...

The Heat...and I'm not talking about the NBA Team...

So summer this year has been rough...the weather a bit hot, repairs of things expensive, and desire to run in this heat is low. I admit to my addiction of WOW which has always been fun hanging with other people with same said addiction. My sketches have gotten better which is nice. Speaking of...since it's been a while since I posted something new here is this one I drew and slowly coloring...
I did go in for my usual "let's check him for any abnormal things inside him" visit to the hospital with nothing found. Now this is good news without a doubt.

I've noticed this year over all has just been a "funky" year. Oh well...5 more months and we can work on a good finish...cheers!

The Heat of Summer is Upon Us!

Hey all!

So my running is still pretty good. I've been dealing with the heat and such with lots of liquid. I also took out the BC Rich guitar, paid to have it set up and sound like new, which I will point out that I bought used so it's slick, and have been practicing again!

The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup which is very cool!

Speaking of coolness...check out the final...


Pretty damn cool huh!

A Start of a New Week...

So my running this year hasn't been great but it has been good. The miles are not going up as I would have liked but the quality is decent. One thing that I didn't expect to happen is actually beginning to occur and that is I picked up my guitar(s) again!

I've been missing the meditation that comes with playing the guitar and just being able to zone out. I took the electric to a local store and am willing to pay the high cost of getting it playable again. The acoustic I feel I got lucky and was able to just put new strings on it and start strumming it. I'm very rusty from my days of being in a band but you have to start somewhere.

A good example of taking some time off and starting up something again is when I dropped sketching so long ago and several years ago picked it up again. I've learned things that I'd missed out on the 1st time through it. Perhaps I can accomplish the same with the guitar. In the mean time here's an example of my sketching taking on some improvements. You saw the Greek one from last post but this is something in yet another direction for me...I'm looking forward to coloring this one with the tricks I learned on the Greek one!

Enjoy and have a good week!

It's All Greek To Me...

Been working on this one for a while...I finally decided for a simple background. Yes it could have been better I'm sure...but damn it looks good! Have a good weekend!

R.I.P. Frank Frazetta

Just heard some news that took a little out of me. The master artist Frank Frazetta passed away. He was and still is a major influence on my style. As a matter of fact I just drew this sketch of Conan thinking of all the ones I have since of his. He was also the topic that got me on good grounds with my wife! Here is mine which is not even in the same breath of his greatness...

Expressions of the day!

I love it when a doodle turns to something more...it's like an idea...starts out small and has the potential for something more.

The bottom head started out as just that, a doodle, and then I kept on adding till I realized I had some expressions going on...enjoy!

Time Well Spent

So it's been a bit since I've really thrown a bunch of recent sketches up and have only been giving in to one or two at a time. Today I give you 3 pages out of the sketch book.

The runs lately have been good. Did a straight 2 miles last night with no intervals and just running. It wasn't as fast as I had hoped for but the work was in it and was felt at the end.

I'm looking forward to the 3 miler on Saturday morning as I think we'll try that method again and simply go out and run and see how our time is.

Hey look at me...I'm getting distracted here...Let's get to those sketches!

The first consists of some profiles and head shots. There are several I like here and yes there is also the babe in the water. I actually like the angry youth on the lower right...something about it that appeals to me.


The second one is all out chaos! The person on the lower left that appears to be in a car actually is! It's a coworker with who I went out for coffee and as we had time left she hit the "crackberry" and I did a quick sketch. It came out okay which is nice...the one that I like however is the one to the left of her...that really just started out as a doodle that kept getting better.

The third and last is the most recent. I really like the one on the left as it was a tough sketch for some reason that when I finished made me smile at the work that went into it.
So the awesome Canadian band RUSH is out on tour this summer and is NOT coming to visit in my city which is strange as they have the last 5 times. They are doing the album Moving Pictures in its entirety and I am saddened that at this time I will not be able to check them out. There is still time that they might put in a effort but oh well...the thought that they are coming out with a new album is the best part.

See you around the universe gang!

Some Random Thoughts...

So there has been some awesome NHL games, tonight is the NFL Draft, the weather has been wonderful, my running has been nice and I've seen good improvements...and Southpark is getting threatened because they do what they do best...make you talk about delicate subjects.

I love it!

Here is some random bad guy for you, just because you deserve it! Nice huh? Just because you also could use something cool to make your day!

A Weight Off The Shoulders...

So last week I went through a 5 day audit to get the company I work for certified in the ISO9001 Standard. With no major or minor issues reported we passed and got certified. This was a process that has taken 18 months total since that was when I was brought on board.

We still have a lot of projects lined up and it's not like once you get certified you stop doing what you did to get there. You have to continue with the meetings, the ideas, the records and documents, the internal audits, the inspections, etc...

I also had a wicked run Saturday morning. We did the "booty loop" which is a 3 mile loop by attacking it in a run 5 minutes and walk 2, and repeat till you are done. Prior to starting I was able to chat with two friends, Sean and Chris, who are now in the tapering part of training for the Boston Marathon which is next week. Between that and the audit being successful the stage was set for a good run. And boy was it...the weather was perfect with it being about 49 degrees at 9am. We completed the run in 33 minutes on the dot with 4 stops along the way for the 2 minute rests. The 5 minute runs were probably done at about a 9:39 pace and boy it was awesome! I'm feeling it today but it's a good feel.

I also was able to pick up the pencil and sketch again without thinking about audits. At first I wasn't liking it at all and then I kept tweaking it and tweaking it until I was blown away at the sketch, so then I added a pillar and some ivy which made it look like a Greek theme. Then without scanning, which shocked me, I just jumped into inking. I'm not done with this yet and I feel I can still tweak it some more with the computer but I am still in awe at this sketch / ink. I love the feel of it and the ivy...well the ivy freaking rocks. Here is it:



During the weekend we also got some yard work done. Some mowing, trimming, planting, weed killing, raking, etc...so the weekend was a good one with some naps thrown in as well! Till next time be good!

Awe...isn't that cute!

Okay so I don't often draw children. For some reason I've always had a very tough time doing so. So out of nowhere and from left field I think...I suddenly draw this!
As I listen to the band MUSE does anybody see a similarity with them and the band that rocked so far back called Queen? I sense the spirit of Freddie Mercury is pleased...

I thought of several titles to the above sketch:

I Wuv U!
BFF!
First Love!
When it all ends!

Of course so many more I imagine...I did have a couple of good runs this week. Last night I did some intervals, and though I am in nice, happy pain right now, it felt good to push some speed.

Have a good weekend!

Something New...Single Abstract Noun

Otherwise called SAN...( http://singleabstractnoun.proboards.com/index.cgi )

SAN is based on the US server Argent Dawn of the World of Warcraft game. It's a guild that is mainly made up of bloggers or those who read a lot of blogs. I saw this write up on it and could not resist. Though I don't really blog as much as some of the other kind people that do I do use it to post sketches and just chat about things going on.

Besides sketching one of my other favorite things is that game. It allows you to challenge yourself and your imagination but more importantly you get to meet a lot of cool folk.

I've gotten friendships started all across the globe and really enjoy it. If only they could all be on one server instead of on separate ones. But oh well, you can't get everything.

I started out making something I thought I would enjoy leveling. A warrior named Wojownik, which in Polish means Warrior. How original huh? I got this Draenei (Goat person) female going and got her to level 27. I was happy with almost everything about her. See I started making the female characters after a friend of mine said "I'd rather make something nice to look at while I play" and he got it right. One of the things that kept putting me off was I was sucking at the PVP side of things. This is the player versus player idea where in battlegrounds you take on the opposing faction for the win. I was getting my butt kicked around and since I normally don't get my tush handed to me it was bugging me. Normally I play a member of the Horde faction which are considered bad (though I just say misunderstood). This guild is Alliance (which I always called bad). So having to play Alliance for the 1st time in a long time was one thing but I have to have a class I can enjoy.

So last night I changed it...I made the warrior a bank alt (sits and handles auction houses , banking, etc...) and created another class that until recently didn't try at. So here comes the Paladin! My 1st attempt at one was years ago and I got okay at it but nothing special. Then a couple of months ago I tried again and enjoyed the leveling and battlegrounds so much that I also created one on my normal server's Alliance side in our sister guild. The Horde guild is named The Fallen Titans and the sister guild The Titans (How original right?).

Both of those guilds are good to be in. The Titans is very small as not many have done the Alliance side in our Horde guild, and are waiting for the new expansion before they do. But we have about 80-100 members in The Fallen Titans and they're all good persons for the most part to hang with.

This new guild, on a new server to me, and for me a first try at a roleplaying server, has been exciting. The people I've met in a week have been good and they have some awesome blogs. Though they have a lot of alt characters I would put the number of actual members around 200-250. If I am wrong I apologize and would also be even more impressed. So far I've been logged on and seen a minimum of 8 members and a maximum of 29. This is good as the chat lights up at times and a lot of it is good chat.

I do think I've written more now then I ever have before and I don't have any sketches (completed ones) to put up which is a shame.

Till next time!

Style Challenge for the week

So this week the group was to do something in the style of artist Chris Sanders http://alohalilo.deviantart.com/

He does some really nice work. The main thing that grips you is the eyes and the calves. So I went ahead and gave it a shot.

Here are the stages...

And here is just the final...


I do have to admit to myself...a job well done!

When the Dragon can take a bow...

Thought this was a nice one...my wife and I always like it when the dragon / monster scores a win. I mean come on...admit that once in a while that hero deserved what was coming!

Original Sketch:
Completed:
Have a good weekend!

A task worth doing!

So my dear friend Rebecca is in a wheelchair...she had some surgery to help her get back in good running form. Let me tell you I've seen her run and toast the competition and this will only help her do it without pain. So since she is going through this rough recovery time, and I know how it feels as I have gone through some rough times myself, I thought I would sketch something for her.

So here is the start to finish.
And here is the completed...
Get well Rebecca!

A challenge well done!

So on the deviantart website I have most of my art on there is a group called Design A Character. Every week a challenge is thrown out and you can submit stuff from it. The first month it was shapes. The artist in charge gave you 5 shapes and you had to draw a character from them.

Here is an example...
From top to bottom you see the progress. Most went to the 3rd stage which is to color them as well. I just wanted to get some work in at the same time so passed on that.

The new challenge for the month of March is he gave us the character from Dragonball Z...I don't know this character at all nor the cartoon. But...the idea was to draw him different then what he normally is. From everything I saw of him he was attacking something, angry, happy, or wild looking. I went with it and thought he needed some "me time"...

This was my submission...
I actually enjoyed this one. I thought I would not like the colored one as I enjoy a lot of the black and white stuff. But...I actually do like the final piece.

On another note; my running sucks. I am not at all where I want to be. I admit letting mother nature dictate to me when I can or cannot run. If it wasn't for my friends in the running group I would be in even worse shape. So thank you friends!

I have another piece of art to show but not until it's given to the owner. She gets first look at it!

Be good gang and enjoy!

And it starts today!

Good day gang!

So the 2010 Olympics begin with the opening ceremony today, and in beautiful Canada! I'm sure there are some awesome events to watch but my heart is set on Hockey. I'd love to see the Canadians get it since the last Olympics they didn't get any gold if I recall. They're hosting so let's see if the home field advantage works to their favor.

I'll also give out a shout to C.H. in SLC! You know who you are you! I heard you've been visiting and it rocks knowing some of the gang from my old work place visit! I'll have to draw you something...hmmm...any ideas guys?

So I have proof that I actually have been sketching lately and not all tied up...now that would be fun! I give you two sketch pages from the book. The one above is some nice work on characters and the one below is some feature practice. Enjoy and stay warm!

It's a 2 ink day!

So I'm very please with how the ink pens are working. They are very sensitive giving you the ability to change thickness and such. These two were done today during lunch. I dig the coffee one...the protruding chin makes me think the guy lives in the rich areas of Charlotte.

There Is A Slight Chill In The Air...

It was a warm 16 degrees coming into work today. This past Saturday the running group did a lap around the booty loop here in Charlotte with it at 18 degrees. Comparing the two days I find today colder since I am not exerting the energy that I did on Saturday. I am fat fingering my typing since my hands are frozen.

I did get some drawing done this weekend. I first sketched it out and then inked it. I still need a lot more time practicing the inking and you can see but I am thrilled at the improvements overall.

Enjoy!

Edit: Corrected an issue with the drawing above...

And so it begins!

So for 2010 I had three resolutions, that's right three things that I really want to do. Okay..so I already do two of them and used to do the third...

1) Honestly run 400 miles in one year. I've done this 2 years out of the last 5 years...I came really close last year, 25 miles close!
2) Really improve on my art! Well duh! I've been doing that!
3) Pick up my guitar again and play! Now that will be the challenge!

But the running has been elusive...with colds and cold weather, I've put it off. This Saturday the running group I run with, one of two that provides me stress relief, will get together and pound out 3 miles at the booty loop in Charlotte. So it begins there...

The drawing is a thing I love to do and sometimes hate how I draw. The only way to improve is to practice, practice, and after that...practice. So I went to the local art store, Cheap Joes, and as usual they had some awesome prices on cool stuff! I bought a set of Pigma Micron ink pens, ranging from sizes 01, 03 and 05. They are different than that of pencils, or markers. So without further wait...oh wait...I also changed my signature on my sketches...so without further waiting...cheers!