Some warm up sketches for an upcoming, very exciting assignment!  These are my “getting to know you” sketches – at the beginning of a project I usually like to draw anything that I can find relating to what the final subject will be, just for the sake of getting to know the shape, personality, and movement of the final character.  It had been a little while since I’d drawn animals (and I don’t think I’ve ever actually focused on bears before), which made the sketch process even more fun.

Bears really are a lot like humans, especially the wee little ones.

“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition,” … and a penchant for inappropriate matchmaking.  Currently reading Jane Austen’s wonderful novel, and it is filling my mind with regency-themed thoughts.

Another taste of the sketchbook.  I’m now back from a weekend camping vacation to Santa Cruz.  It was truly a vacation, and for the first time in a long time I didn’t take some form of work with me on a getaway – two solid days of playing badminton under the redwoods, throwing a frisbee on the beach, and hiking through the forest.  Glorious!

The brain definitely benefitted from said excursion, and I came back with a few more ideas in my book, along with the realization that my creative mind works best when both completely relaxed and occupied at the same time.  The simple task of folding laundry today prompted a new idea for an illustration series, so the mental gears are turning once again –  it feels so good!

Just a quick little something from the sketchbook – experimenting with a water-soluble pencil for the first time (conclusion: super fun! How I managed to go so long without trying one, I have no idea).

Having a new dog friend means having a new sketch subject!  And a very patient subject she is.

Welcome to my new blog!  To those of you who have been following me over at blogger, thanks for stopping by my new space.  This is where I will be keeping my works in progress, experiments, sketches, and other tid-bits of interesting information from now on.

I’ve actually had a blog over at blogger for a while now, but lately I’ve been looking into Wordpress and have felt pretty impressed by it.  I love the customization options, and designing this blog gave me the chance to stretch my HTML coding muscles in preparation for an upcoming web-design project.

I’ll still keep my blogger blog up, especially so that I can keep up with the news of my lovely friends, but will no longer be posting on my own blog over there.   To get this one going I’ve imported over a few of my recent posts from my previous space, and there will be more to come later.

For now, I’ll welcome you over here with a picture of an especially big bun that I met on the outskirts of Davis.  He was kind enough to hold still and pose so that I could jot down a quick sketch. What big ears he had!