Yeah, I love my pencil…..

Pencil sketch of Matt Damon.

-P.

Sketch of the Day 7/31/07

I really love the challenge of drawing folds. Maybe that’s one reason I’m constantly looking through fashion magazines, looking at the way that clothes hang and drape on the human form.

Drawings folds doesn’t mean that you draw every little crease. Some of the best, such as Alex Toth, just indicated what direction the folds would go.

Here’s a picture of musician John Mayer from a photo in the latest GQ.

-P.

Sleeper….Holden Carver, and my admiration for Sean Phillips

Hey, I’m back! Didja miss me?

I’m a big Sean Phillips fan. He has done numerous comics work, including “Sleeper” for DC with superstar writer Ed Brubaker.

Sean has a great sense of composition with his darks and lights, and I love the roughness of his final work. His cover work is equally impressive.

You can see much of Sean’s drawings at his website, seanphillips.co.uk or look up his blog at surebeatsworking.blogspot.com.

Here’s my take on his Sleeper anti-hero, Holden Carver.

-P.

Splash page from Power of Shazam! #39

Hey everyone! Thanks for continuing to peruse the blog.

I apologize for relatively light postings this week, and several trips next week will take me away from the studio. I’m afraid no more postings until 7/31, but until then I hope you will enjoy this splash page from POS #39.

Talk to you soon,

-P.

Power of Shazam, issue #38, page 8

Here’s a so-called “civilian” page from Power of Shazam! How do you make a phone conversation interesting? An establishing shot outside the house, close up of the item being talked about and varying sizes and shapes of panels can do the trick.

Meanwhile, the deadly Mr. Atom draws ever closer!

-P.

Body studies via Loomis

“Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth” by Andrew Loomis is my favorite drawing book. It’s invaluable to pull it down from the shelf, and leaf through it to learn and re-learn Loomis’ numerous lessons.

I like to copy a few of the drawings on a piece of paper, and here is an example.

You can find copies of the book on eBay, or by going through a reseller like Amazon or Alibris.

-P.

More Power of Shazam!

Much paid work today and tomorrow, so I’m pulling from the archives. Here are the pencils from Power of Shazam! #38, page 4.

-P.

Sketch of the Day 7/11/07

There’s much going on over the next few days, so postings may be light.

Here’s your drawing of the day, again sketched with the lovely Pentel Pocket Brush Pen.

-P.

Sketch of the Day 7/10/07

This is a drawing of coal miners, adapted from a photograph by James Nachtwey–which accompanied the article by Jeanne Marie Laskas in a recent GQ.

Did you know that coal mines are white? Most people would think they are black, but limestone dust is spread over the exposed coal to prevent explosions.

A quote from the article: “There is nothing aesthetic about a coal mine. There is no design, no geometry, no melody. A coal mine greets you with only one sentiment, then hammers it: This is not a place for people, this is not a place for people, this is not a place for people.”

Click on the thumbnail for the full image

-P.

Blogs and links

I’ve added links to some of my favorite blogs and websites. Check them out on the right.

I’ll add more as time goes by.

–P.