Late Spring and Early Summer 2022 Work

I've had trouble finding time (and inspiration) to get much work done this time of year. I did manage to knock out some commissions and a few birthday bots.

Some of these happened right in the middle of March of Robots, so they kind of got over-shadowed by other work.

Here are some birthday bots. 

First, I gave a Happy Birthday wish to Brian Dedering - Creative Director at LAUNCH Agency. I’ve worked with Brian for over a year, and respect him as a valuable member of our agency. His top-level creative thinking and attention to detail is rare, and welcomed in this industry. 

Brian was OVERDUE for a #birthdaybot because his birthday fell right at the end of March of Robots, last year and I didn’t know much about him. Brian has a super impressive resumé with experience in lots of well known agencies. He comes from the midwest, but his work has taken him across the country and even Budapest. I decided to draw him as a mid-west polite, Creative Director Bot—spending his time sipping a coffee and paying attention to all the details.

Next was Megan Robertson’s birthday. She's an Account Executive at LAUNCH and I respect her as a valuable member of our agency. She’s one of the many client facing team members who keep the work organized and the creative team happy. 

Megan was also OVERDUE for a #birthdaybot because her birthday fell right in the middle of March of Robots, last year. Megan is always well dressed at work - like a true professional. She's dedicated to her family, where they are always connected to her heart. Megan is also addicted to Diet Cokes from McDonalds. I decided to draw her as a fashionably posed Daughter/Sister Bot with a soda—always linked to her family and thoroughly hydrated. 

Next was Caleb Alba - Associate Creative Director at LAUNCH.  I haven’t worked with Caleb for very long, but I do know that he is an amazing talent and a great addition to the agency. He’s really nice, too—which is rare in the Advertising industry. Caleb is also a new dad, who’s super proud of his family. I decided to capture him as an Art Director, Graphic Designer, Illustrator Bot, hard at work on his next brilliant piece. 

Next up was Andrew Reimherr. I was fortunate to work with Andrew and really appreciated his attention to quality client interaction. Andrew is also an avid concert fan, having been to many of them. I decided to capture him as an Encore Bot, ready to cheer his favorite performers into another set. 

Finally, we have Isaac Swedlow @isaacswed - Copywriter at @launchagency I haven’t worked with Isaac for very long, but he’s already become a valuable member of our agency. He is an amazing talent and I’ve got great respect for what he brings to the the team. 

He also has a great sense of humor. With his mini desktop drum set, he’s always ready to give a ‘rimshot’ to anybody in the office who tells a joke — especially dad jokes. I decided to capture him as a Rimshot Bot, ready to accent any punchline, tagline or headline.

I also did a couple of commissions. 

Here’s a commission I did for a tattoo. This person wanted an illustration of an Elvis Bot. They wanted it to honor their grandparents, who were big fans. It’s really cool that folks want my art on their skin.

This is a commission that I was a little hesitant to do, because I didn't quite understand the concept. Fortunately, this client worked with me to develop the concept for the art. This is a Node Garden with Robots.

End of 2021

I’ve been on #inktober2021 recharge and recovery mode for the past few days. 31 days of drawing was a beat down or me, so I was only able to do a few drawings to finish out the year.

I haven’t sketched a transit rider in a while, so I thought that I would give you a break from the robots. This guy was totally asleep most of the way, until transit police told him that he was on the wrong train. For this piece, I stepped away (mostly) from my multi liner pens and went ol’school nib pens, dipping them in ink.

To break out of my drawing slump, I decided to participate in the @drawmearobot December art challenge. They’ve shared a piece from @claygrahamart , and asked participants to draw it in their style. This is my take on it.

Fun Graphics Using the dickdavid Pencil Icon

I haven't been sketching much lately. Between work, a couple of commissions and some 'favors' for friends and family, my sketchbook is getting dusty.

I have found time to play around with some dickdavid graphics. These pencil/finger icons came to me in my sleep. I immediately sketched them up the next morning, then later, applied them to the dickdavid pencil icon. 

I also saw a cool 'ink bottle' graphic on the internet and thought to myself, I could do that. I took a pic of my own ink bottle, and with the magic of Photoshop, came up with a cool graphic.

BeeBot

On a few of my previous post, I mentioned that when we sign office birthday cards, I’ve tried to add a little sketch about the person being celebrated. Since COVID-19 and working from home, I haven’t been able to do that. So I decided to bring it back—virtually. 

This time we celebrate my friend, Megan Lucy James Neal, Account Supervisor badass at Launch Agency. Not only is she an awesome account person and mom, but she also stays busy keeping bees at her house. That’s why I made her into a robot bee, or “BeeBot”. Happy Birthday Megan Lucy!! 

All of my drawings always start out as a rough, thumbnail sketch. I do as many as I need, from 1 to 10 to get the right composition. That's not to say that I don't change it along the way. The original sketch had the antenna curved back, and the Beebot holding a beehive and honey dipper, dripping honey. After looking at more bee reference shots, I noticed their antenna go forward. Since Megan Lucy is a beekeeper, I decided to have her work with a bee box.

Happy 4th of July

I'm trying to split my time between working digitally and analog. Both have their advantages. With analog, you don't have the luxury of unlimited undo and redo options. Once you start inking, what you get, is pretty much what you get. Imperfect lines are accepted as they are. Ink washes that bleed the wrong way, too dark or over the line, just become part of the final look. Making and living with mistakes reminds me of why I started sketching again.

Here's a piece that I created for the 4th of July. Since the COVID-19 quarantine has kept everybody from gathering for the traditional fireworks displays across the country, I thought I would pay tribute to that tradition. It wasn't my plan, but you could interpret this as a robot Uncle Sam, lighting a mega firework rocket. There's also no intended commentary on the state of Uncle Sam or the controversy of lighting fireworks during the protests of police brutality during the Black Lives Matter movement. I just wanted to create a simple and innocent representation of life before 2020 - for better or worse.

Process started with a rough thumbnail sketch and a tighter pencil. This time, I decided to do an ink wash, before doing my ink lines. The more I do this, the better understanding I have of lighting and volume. My goal is to continue getting better at that.