Steve's Sketchbook

Los Feliz sketches

2012-01-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

Some scribbles that I jotted down while chatting with a friend in Los Feliz this afternoon. Enjoy!

Tuesday Evening Sketches

2011-09-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

I had coffee with Wells this evening and did a little doodling. Enjoy!

Saturday Evening Sketch

2011-09-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last night I went out sketching with Wells at the local Panera. I am not very pleased with this watercolor (It's definitely harder for me to paint a night scene with watercolors than it is a day scene). Wells and I are trying to get back into posting on a regular weekly basis and we have set up a site where we will post our drawings up together: http://thesteves.wordpress.com/

Saturday Lunch Sketch

2011-09-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

I did this little watercolor sketch today while having lunch at Moore's Deli here in Burbank. Enjoy!

saturday morning watercolor sketch

2011-08-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Still trying to get used to sketching and using watercolor. For this sketch, I started with the watercolor right off the bat and only used the pen to date it (and to draw the box at the beginning). It was a lot different than I normally work but it was fun. Since I was using my tiny sketchbook, I felt less pressure so hopefully I'll post more of these soon. Enjoy!

Sunday Park Sketch

2011-06-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

Another watercolor sketch. Enjoy!

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T23:59:00.001-07:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted a watercolor sketch (but then again, it's been a while since I've posted anything). I'm hoping to change that. Enjoy!

Sunday Morning sketch

2011-02-20T21:54:00.000-08:00

I decided to hop into the park and grab a coffee and do a little sketching this morning before my day got too busy. I hope you enjoy!

Park Sketches

2011-02-19T21:12:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've last posted anything so I thought I would make up for it by posting two things. The first one is a sketch that I did while I was at Disneyland a couple weeks ago.
The second thing is a couple sketches that I did this morning at the Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park. This museum is just down the street from where I live and I've been meaning to go for quite some time now so I was pretty excited when I had a free day where I could check it out. In a some-what out of character way, I've decided to post a photo that I took while I was there.

Enjoy!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-03T08:16:00.000-08:00

This set of park sketches were done at Disneyland last week (and an old one that I found that I did on Halloween). These sketches were done a lot quicker than I normally work just because I was trying to work in a smaller sketchbook and get a less "planned" look to the composition. While I'm not as happy with these as some of my others, I thought it would be good to post them.
I'm also posting this Holiday card that I did (along with the pre-cleaned sketch). I hope everyone had a great Holiday season this year and I just want to say Thank You to everyone who has been so kind with their comments and critiques on my work. I can't tell you how much that stuff helps me and really pushes me. Thanks and Happy 2011!

Park Sketch

2010-11-29T21:30:00.000-08:00

I went to Disneyland this past weekend to do a little sketching. I really enjoy going here to draw because of the different types of architecture, crowds of people and the fact that I can take a break and hop on the Haunted Mansion doesn't hurt either. Enjoy!

Burrito!

2010-10-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

The other day I was grabbing some food at Taco Bell with Wells and Tammy and apparently someone wasn't pleased with their burrito experience because they "put it out" in the cigarette ash tray. It made us all laugh so I thought I would use it as my morning warm-up sketch. Enjoy!

Aroma

2010-09-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went sketching with Wells and his girlfriend Tammy at this cafe nearby in Toluca Lake named "Aroma". This sketch is the view I had from my seat (although I've changed a few details). Their coffee was pretty decent but their food was definitely worth the time spent in line. If you're in the area, it's a nice place to sit down and people-watch for a while.

Dragon

2010-08-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

My contribution to this week's drawing challenge is going up a little late...

The topic this week was "Dragons" and I wanted to draw a big scary dragon but alas... I did not. I like to think that the knights went to the Dragon's cave with the intentions of slaying him but were overcome by his awesome guitar skills and eventually joined in. Soon after, they started touring the countryside as "Petey and the Slayers". Enjoy!

Be sure to check out Wells' submission here as well!

El Bucé

2010-08-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Bruce. Or should I say, El Bucé, the butt-less chap wearing cowboy? Enjoy!

Carwash

2010-08-02T22:03:00.001-07:00

I had just enough time to scribble this little sketch down the last time I was at the car wash. Enjoy!

Evening

2010-07-24T16:24:00.001-07:00

So this week's submission for my drawing challenge with Wells is SUPER late. I opted to be late on this deadline in order to not be late on a deadline for a paying freelance job.

This week's theme was "evening" and I chose to illustrate a time of day that is somewhat foreign in the professional artists' world: quitting time! I absolutely love the fact that I get to make a living doing what I love but the downside to it is that you don't have a definite "quitting time" to let you know what is "work" and what is "fun" (leaving me in a constant state of "I need to be doing something"). Evening is definitely my favorite time of the day. Enjoy!

Key Largo

2010-07-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched one of my favorite Humphrey Bogart movies, "Key Largo". The cast in this film did a great job and I especially like Edward G. Robinson's portrayal of mob boss Johnny Rocco. I thought he would make a great cartoon character and after watching it, I did this quick-and-dirty drawing of him. Sometime when I have some free time, it'd be fun to go in and really refine a design for him and the rest of his "gang" from the film. Enjoy!

Brawling

2010-07-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

This week's art challenge topic was "brawling" and I chose to do a couple dockside fighters. This marks week #6 and I decided it was finally time to do something in color. The final product came out a lot less saturated but I felt like it worked in the piece's best interest.

I have also included the sketch in case you wanted to see some of the process.

Enjoy!

Little Starbucks Scribbles

2010-07-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

I did these sketches in a small sketchbook that fits in my back pocket. I like to take this with me when I go for coffee and a newspaper because it is less intimidating than my regular one. When I take my regular sketchbook, I feel like sketching is the main reason I am there which makes it difficult to relax and read. With the small one, not only do my sketches feel more spontaneous, but I am also limited to it's size and free from worrying about a ton of detail. Enjoy!

Hollywood

2010-06-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

This week's topic for the Weekly Art Challenge between myself and my friend Steven Wells was "Hollywood". I struggled with choosing exactly what route I wanted to take with this and eventually chose "monkey screenwriters". Why? I like to think that if humans didn't exist and animals ruled the world, monkeys would definitely run Hollywood. The idea of monkeys running around town, making deals on their cell phones and filming rhinos in action movies makes me chuckle.

Also, be sure to check out www.evenstevenschallenge.com to see both mine and Wells' contributions together. Enjoy!

World Cup

2010-06-25T18:38:00.001-07:00

While watching the World Cup last weekend, I noticed a man drinking his beer straight from the pitcher as if it were his own personal mug. It made me chuckle so I scribbled down these sketches. Enjoy!

Beach

2010-06-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

This week's topic for Steven Well's and I's drawing challenge was: Beach. I think if you've ever been to the beach, you've seen this guy. He's the one that is fully clothed and wanders the bikini-clad beaches "looking for coins". Nothing creepy about that right? Enjoy!

On a related note, a new website has been set up to host our drawing challenge and I encourage you to check it out: www.evenstevenschallenge.com

June 6th

2010-06-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

just a little sketch from the other weekend. Enjoy!

Astro-naut

2010-06-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

This post is my half of a drawing challenge that I am in on with my friend Steven Wells. This week's topic was "Astro" and I chose to do a (semi-retro) astronaut. I've had family in town this week so I didn't get to spend as much time on it as I would've liked but either way, I'd love to know what you think!

Alley Sketch

2010-06-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

Just a little sketch from the other weekend. Enjoy!

Female Hero

2010-06-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

The topic of this week's drawing challenge between myself and Steven Wells was: Female Hero. I could've drawn Rosa Parks or Sacajawea but instead went with a different kind of female hero: the hot girl in high school who decided NOT to date the obvious quarterback jerk and instead go for the comic-book loving scrawny guy. That is my kind of female hero. She does however share a big trait with other female heroes such as Wonder Woman and Mrs. Fantastic: she's fictional. Enjoy!

Weekend park sketches

2010-05-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

Vampire Nerds!

2010-05-25T21:34:00.001-07:00

I always wondered why every vampire was this ultra-cool, brooding, good looking girl/guy. I mean certainly somewhere along the line a nerd or geek like myself must've been bitten. No?

*This post is part of a challenge I am in on with my friend Steven Wells. Each week we give each other a topic and we must come up with some form of art related to that topic. This week's topic was "vampires". Enjoy!

Weekend sketches

2010-05-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

This set of pen and ink sketches are from this past weekend (May 15th and 16th). Enjoy!

Old people

2010-05-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

I went out for coffee this afternoon and was able to get a few scribbles down of a group of older folks sitting nearby. These sketches are a combination of the older people at the coffee shop and an older woman I saw this past week on my lunch break from work. Enjoy!

sketch-collage

2010-05-11T23:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything in a while so I've had some stuff piling up waiting to be scanned. The sketches for this post were all done over the past couple weeks in Venice, the Howard Hughes Center, and Disneyland. A couple people have asked what I use to sketch with and I almost always use a pen/marker in a moleskin sketchbook. The pen I have been favoring lately is a Sharpie no-bleed. Enjoy!

Sunday Park Sketches

2010-04-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

Mind your surroundings!

2010-04-13T23:10:00.000-07:00

I'm posting a few sketches that I've done over the past couple weeks - two of which were done in the same area (only sitting in different spots). Whenever I sketch in my sketchbook, I have a tendency to focus just on the people and not so much the surroundings. I've been trying to get better at that recently so I thought I'd share some of my attempts. Enjoy!

Venice Beach

2010-04-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

I went down to the beach this afternoon to take a break and do some sketching. I spent more time watching the skaters than I did actually sketching but it was a good time. It was amazing to watch some of these kids (who couldn't have been older than 9) do some of the tricks they were doing. It made me jealous... Enjoy!

Coffee Doodle

2010-03-31T19:57:00.001-07:00

This morning I stopped for coffee in Culver City and did some reading and scribbled a little thumbnail. When I got home later this evening I jotted down a more "designed" version of the composition.
I'm doing these little exercises in hopes of making my composition set-ups stronger. Let me know what you think and enjoy!

Sunday sketch

2010-03-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Here's another Disneyland sketch. This one was done while sipping coffee in Tomorrowland this morning. Enjoy!

Morning Walk 2

2010-03-24T23:10:00.001-07:00

While walking to the beach this morning, I noticed this guy here and it made me laugh. I'm use to seeing people use leaf blowers to blow leaves... there wasn't a fallen leaf within a mile of this guy. He was simply there to blow trash around. Where was he blowing it to? The adjacent property is my guess.

Promenade and Disneyland

2010-03-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

I've been at my apartment a lot this past week working on my portfolio. To avoid cabin fever, I went down to the Promenade and did a little sketching. It was really nice out and the place was pretty crowded so you'd think I would've been able to get a lot of great sketching done but my hand wasn't cooperating. I was having a hard time getting sketches down that I was happy with but I hope you enjoy the ones that made the cut!

On Sunday I went down to Disneyland and did some more sketching. It was really weird to be able to sketch for a couple hours and then hop on to Space Mountain for a spin. I'm always looking for critiques so feel free to let me know what you think! Enjoy.

My Morning Walk

2010-03-18T11:35:00.001-07:00

Every morning this week, I've gotten up and walked down to the beach and back. It's a nice workout and helps me wake up. Yesterday I noticed that I encounter quite a few characters along my route and that I should start doing a sketch once I got back to the apartment. So here is my first sketch from my walk this morning:

I was walking along the sidewalk when I noticed a man yelling at what I assumed was another person. There was a bush blocking my view from seeing the entire picture so I became somewhat concerned. I mean whoever this guy was yelling at must've really done something wrong because he was really giving it to them. My concern grew and then faded as I rounded the curve and noticed... yup... he was yelling at the sidewalk.

Get your kicks on Route 66

2010-03-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I moved from Columbus, OH to Los Angeles, CA. It was quite a drive but I was able to get a little drawing done during the times that I wasn't the one behind the wheel.

Let me know what you think and enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

I'm a little early on this one but that will help balance out all of the times that I'm late on posting. Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day weekend. Enjoy!

The Big 2-4

2010-02-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

This is a sketch I did for a friend's 24th birthday card. Enjoy!

January 23rd Sketches

2010-01-30T10:46:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late getting these pen sketches up - they're from last weekend when I went sketching with my friend Friz again at the mall. It was fairly crowded when we got there so there was a nice selection of people to draw. I'd love to hear anyone's critiques. Thanks - Enjoy!

Friday Night Lights

2010-01-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

I had never seen the show "Friday Night Lights" before until a few weeks ago and now I'm hooked. It's really getting in the way of my drawing time - luckily for my sketchbook, there's only 3 seasons on DVD. While I was watching it, I started to get somewhat nostalgic and make comparisons with the characters and settings of the show with my own high school and the small town that I'm from in Ohio... but then reality hit me and I realized that my high school football team was terrible and most of the people who played football hated me. So I made this quick sketch of my own high school's version of star receiver. The Dillon Panthers they were not.

*note* - just in case someone from my high school is reading this, I'm not making fun of anyone in particular. I don't even know who played receiver. I don't even know what a receiver does... I'm assuming they "receive" the ball. Quite honestly, I don't really know anything about football and the little I do know, I got from "Friday Night Lights".

Lazy Sunday Sketches

2010-01-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

My first post of the new year (I took a couple weeks off) - Happy 2010!

This past weekend I went sketching with my friend Friz at the mall. We started out in the food court, where we had a nice view of the people shopping at the jewelry counter and then moved on to the kids' play area. This area was really busy and I realized just how much I need to practice drawing fast moving subjects (kids) and not so much the sloth-like subjects (the adults in the food court). More posts coming soon. Enjoy!

-S

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-21T20:53:00.000-08:00

For this post I thought I would show you my Christmas card that I made. I also included the sketch which you can see is pretty close to what I ended up with as the final composition. I will confess that there was a super-rough sketch that I made before that one but it was just too scary to post.

I was really planning on getting started on this early this year but it didn't quite work out that way. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out though but I'm always looking for critiques. I hope everyone has a great Holiday season and a wonderful New Year. Enjoy!

Food Court Sketches

2009-12-10T18:55:00.001-08:00

This set of sketches was done this past Monday evening while I was sitting in the food court of one of the shopping malls here in Columbus. It seemed to be really busy for a week-night (Christmas shoppers most likely). Enjoy!

La La Land

2009-11-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

I was in L.A. this past weekend visiting friends and checking out the CTN animation expo. The expo was a lot of fun and I was able to get a lot of great feedback on my work while I was there. I was also able to get a little sketching in while grabbing a coffee one evening in Santa Monica.

Pen and Ink

2009-11-11T18:42:00.000-08:00

This post is a combination of sketches that I did today and last wednesday. The ones done last wednesday were done at Whole Foods and the ones from today were done in German Village. I was trying to focus on capturing people doing something other than sitting and drinking coffee which can sometimes be difficult... especially when you're sitting in a coffee shop.

Cal Fans

2009-11-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

This set of characters was done for a project at work earlier this year. I know I had a color version somewhere around here but it seems to be hiding from me... Enjoy!

Coffee and watercolor

2009-11-01T12:03:00.001-08:00

I was in Starbucks and there seemed to be a company meeting taking place - it made for a nice group composition but the meeting seemed to be wrapping up just as I started to sketch... Enjoy!

Watercolor sketches

2009-10-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

These sketches were done this past week. The guy at the top was trying to check out a girl through the bushes at the mall while talking on his phone. Very sneaky. Enjoy.

Zombie!

2009-10-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

I've been in a zombie-like state this past week. Very unproductive. I did scribble this down though - my first zombie drawing (and possibly last - I don't want to get pigeon-holed in that genre). Enjoy.

a little afternoon sketching

2009-10-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Just a few pen sketches from Wednesday afternoon. Enjoy.

Grandview Avenue

2009-10-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

These were all done this afternoon while having a coffee and apple fritter on Grandview Avenue. Enjoy.

South Campus Gateway

2009-09-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today I had some sketching with my bagel and coffee. Enjoy!

Shadowbox

2009-09-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the Shadowbox Cabaret show and tried to do some sketching. We had balcony seats which offered a great perspective on the audience sitting at the tables below but once the show started, it was basically pitch dark with the exception of a few candles. So most of the sketches I got done during the show were done in the dark - I thought I would post them anyways. Enjoy

Return of the Buckeyes

2009-09-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

For today's class, I went to the Gateway on the OSU campus. It was the first day of classes for them so obviously a lot of students were out and about. I managed to get a few pen sketches done. Enjoy.

Starbucks!

2009-09-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

I was at the Starbucks in the Short North this afternoon and got a few sketches in. It was pretty rainy out this afternoon which drastically cut down the number of people out and about. That's Ohio for ya! Enjoy.

Market Sketches

2009-09-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the North Market downtown and got in some life drawing. It was a really nice day so there was a fair amount of people out and about. I was particularly amused by a group of people taking a segway tour of downtown Columbus. Unfortunately they zoomed by me and my sketches of them didn't make the cut for this post. Enjoy.

Attention Shoppers...

2009-09-14T16:56:00.001-07:00

For class, we were at the mall again and I tried to do some watercolor. It didn't turn out very well - I think I need to bring a larger brush along with me. Enjoy.

Wednesday afternoon at the Mall

2009-09-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

I took my class to the mall for some sketching this afternoon and I was able to get a little drawing in myself. Enjoy.

Wednesday sketches

2009-09-03T18:50:00.000-07:00

I got a few sketches done during my class yesterday at Cup O Joe. I threw in some watercolor, nothing too special though. Enjoy.

Monday Sketches

2009-08-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

Today I took my class to Lennox Station for some drawing. It was nice to see it before it gets overrun with Ohio State students. These were all done at the Barnes and Noble there. Enjoy.

Campus life

2009-08-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

These sketches were all done today while sitting around campus during class. Some are okay, some are really bad. Enjoy.

Cameraman

2009-08-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not super pleased with how this turned out as a whole but there are some aspects to the character that I like. If I get some free time, maybe I'll do another sketch of him and try to incorporate him into more of a "story" as opposed to just sticking him into a pose. Enjoy.

Saturday Morning

2009-08-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I've been out sketching and I think that is pretty evident in these drawings. All of these pages were done this morning while getting my coffee and donut. Enjoy.

morning sketch

2009-07-23T05:17:00.000-07:00

Character Building

2009-07-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

This week is kind of a collage of things related to character design. I haven't scanned in my sketchbook pages from the weekend yet so I thought I would post some other things until I get around to it. The first things are some thumbnails I did quickly of some possible poses for my cameraman character from a couple weeks ago. I then took a few of the poses I liked best and tried to push them a little further while adding some more definition. The last thing is just a collection of turnarounds that I've had to do at work lately. Enjoy.

Breakfast watercolor

2009-07-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

I thought I would try a watercolor sketch while I was getting my coffee before work yesterday. I haven't done any painting (excluding photoshop) in atleast two years so needless to say it did not turn out fantastic but hopefully that changes with some practice. Enjoy.

Independence Day weekend

2009-07-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

I am a little late posting this but these are from this past weekend. I went to an LPGA golf tournament and tried to get some drawing in. The character sketch is of a local news photographer who was dressed more like he was about to follow Martin Sheen through Apocalypse Now than a golfer through the 18th fairway. If I get some time I'd like to put him in a better pose and clean him up. Enjoy.

Free Samples

2009-06-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today I was sitting in the food court at the mall watching people get bombarded with free samples of deep fried chicken. It would've made for great sketching but I couldn't get a good sketch down for the life of me. Regardless, I hope you enjoy some of the efforts.

U.S. Open

2009-06-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

The first set of pages are from lunch today and the second set are from when I was sitting on my couch watching the U.S. Open this afternoon. I try to go out and draw from life as often as possible but televised sporting events like this are the next best thing - the slow-motion recap of the swings are perfectly timed to get a great gesture in. Enjoy.

Fountain Sketches

2009-06-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

I was sitting near a fountain today where kids had remote controlled boats and was able to get some nice drawing done. Enjoy.

Shopping Mall Sketches

2009-06-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to try to update this at least once a week with unedited pages from my sketchbook (I'm sure I'm jinxing myself with that). This week's entries are from a trip to the local shopping mall. Enjoy.