The heat is on...

I've been getting real work to do now. Not that I've been asked to bring coffee or something. Just more or less I'm starting to work on stuff that's kinda cool. Can't say much, other than I hope I can figure out what the hell it is I'm supposed to be able to do. Definitely and idea for a strip (comic that is... not clothing).

Speaking of! I bought a new Wacom Graphire 6" x 8" tablet today. I'll be posting my sketches in a public gallery called MySketches. Today I drew a bird of prey. Really I just started of doodling to get used to the interface. It's kinda strange cause where you touch the pen on the tablet is an absolute position with respect to the screen, unlike the relative motion of a mouse. Given that my laptop screen is a widescreen, I can't get completely accurate with this thing. Takes some getting used to. That's ok, cause I plan to keep any cartoon I draw right now in a sketchy form.

I like the "texture" of the sketchy look. It has that kind of authenticity to it, with a rustic edge. Something not quite refined, but still beautiful if done right. Today's raptor is case in point. The generally wavy parts to the right of the face, which could be interpreted as a kind of "mane", was random crap that I started off with. I've done this before. In fact, here's a picture from more than two years ago! The pheonix and dark dragon's both started off as random squiggles to get creative. Then they just formed into some pretty sketches.