chotenk!

Morning Paper

2011-09-12T21:27:00.002+01:00

Only one again as I needed another nap, Monday mornings are hard! I bought a new sketchbook today too, so there should be some good old fashioned pen and paper work to come.

OMG!

2011-09-07T21:29:00.001+01:00

Only one this morning as I was asleep for most of the journey. I was awoken by this girl who was trying to sound like Stacy Solomon.

The importance of warming up.

2011-09-06T21:16:00.005+01:00

This was my first effort this morning of a guy sitting at the opposite table on the train, which has too realistic proportions and not what I was aiming for. Still, just warming up.

My second was better and looser as I spied a long face through the gap in the seats.
Then I saw this guy pass by my window as he left the train at Clapham Junction! He had such a squished up face and I had to try and get it down from my one quick glance, but I think it's much more successful for it.

Friday Morning Commuters

2011-09-03T08:23:00.002+01:00

1st Sept '11

2011-09-01T22:14:00.004+01:00

Faces on the train in the morning,

and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' which Em and I were watching on the train home. And very good it is too.

Weds 31st

2011-08-31T21:53:00.004+01:00

Did these today on the train to and from work. I figured out that if I just take a quick glance of someone and try and draw mostly from memory I don't get bogged down in details. I do obviously look up during the drawing but I try and limit this at the beginning.

I spotted this lady early on, she wasn't quite as old as she appears here.
Then this woman sat opposite me, so I quickly captured what I could without arousing suspicion. Em always tells me I make to much of a head motion when I'm observing so I'm trying to remember to only move my eyes.

These were done on the way home whilst watching the remake of 'Of Mice and Men', which was predictable to say the least.

Bank Holiday

2011-08-30T21:18:00.004+01:00

This is most of what I've been doing lately, a bit of a mixed bag. Had a bit more success in loosening up and simplifying things but still a way to go. I started using Adobe Ideas on the iPhone too which is pretty nice, give it a try.

Daydreaming

2011-08-25T09:49:00.002+01:00

Riding the rail

2011-08-19T09:44:00.002+01:00

Been away on holiday for a few weeks and just getting back into the swing of things, these are fellow commuters from the past two mornings. Still struggling to push the shapes for a more cartoony look, does anyone have any tips/advice?

Shopping

2011-07-21T22:25:00.000+01:00

Sketchyphone

2011-07-12T22:09:00.002+01:00

A couple more. I should've pushed the angle of the head more on the bottom one to capture the tension of the neck, next time will be better!

Doodle

2011-07-10T20:21:00.001+01:00

A bit of iPhone doodling done whilst watching the film Michael Clayton, which was pretty dull.

Workin' 9-5

2011-07-06T21:53:00.003+01:00

I see this guy quite often on the commute, I notice him because he brings a massive 17" laptop to work on!

John Jonah Jameson Junior

2011-07-05T09:51:00.003+01:00

Not too sure about this one, it took a while to warm up this morning and this is what I ended up with. I'm sure he kept noticing me looking at him during drawing, which is always off-putting. He looks a bit like the editor of the Daily Bugle.

Friday morning journey

2011-07-01T09:46:00.002+01:00

The colours are a bit washed out and yellow on transfer from my iPhone, but hopefully it's just the monitor I'm using.

This morning on the train, again.

2011-06-30T10:27:00.003+01:00

I'm trying to caricature my drawings a bit to push them away from a straight representation of reality, her face wasn't quite as long and narrow as in the drawing for example. Still need to loosen up a lot though and push things further. I didn't get the angle of the head correct either, but I'll keep trying!

Train to work

2011-06-22T21:48:00.002+01:00

Outside the Gielgud...

2011-06-15T20:57:00.002+01:00

... there was a lady doing a piece to camera.

Wacom Bamboo Stylus CS-100

2011-06-12T18:43:00.004+01:00

I recently got the new Wacom iPad Stylus and have been using it with Sketchbook Pro on the iPhone. It was mainly to test the waters for use with an as yet not purchased iPad, and I've been having great fun sketching and painting with it.

The great BENHAMO! An amazing animator from work.

Train, Work, Park.

2011-06-12T18:38:00.001+01:00

Getting back into the habit of drawing now, and enjoying the journey.

Hull Weekender

2011-06-12T18:26:00.005+01:00

Spent a weekend back home in Hull visiting the family and saying cheerio to my brother before he left for a Summer working at Walt Disney World, Florida. Whilst there I took the opportunity to get some sketching in.

A couple from the weekend.

2011-05-22T15:44:00.002+01:00

Back to it, again.

2011-05-14T16:18:00.014+01:00

I recently picked up a pen again with an urge to draw, I'd forgotten how much fun it is. It was mostly inspired by discovering the fantastic work of Terry Song, his ability to capture a moment so quickly and simply is a skill I'm hoping to acquire.

To get back into it I've been using a great online Gesture Drawing Tool and reading the Walt Stanchfield notes. The gesture tool cycles images at timed intervals of 30 secs, and I hurriedly scribble down what I can. It has really helped speed up my eye after so long away from drawing. Though good drawings aren't really the point of the exercise, occasionally I was pleased how some of them turned out.

This has really helped me to focus on speed and clarity when out and about with my sketchbook. I've still a long way to go, but I'm having fun with it.

So this is the start of more posts. I'm not promising to post everyday or anything like that, but there will be more. Thanks for looking.

More from the commute

2010-02-19T09:14:00.002Z

Both done in Sketchbook Mobile.

Sketchbook Mobile

2010-02-12T09:13:00.007Z

It's been a long time since I did any drawing, or had the urge to update this blog, but I recently got the Sketchbook Mobile app for my iPhone, and it's great! It's like having Photoshop in your pocket at all times, so it's easy to whip out and do a quick drawing. Plus nobody suspects what you're doing the way they would if I had an actual pen and paper, so you don't have to try and hide the fact that you are drawing them. And it has undo! And layers! I like it. It will be awesome on the iPad.

These are a few of the better ones I have done over the last few days as I get to grips with drawing with my finger...

Port Lympne Wild Animal Park

2008-06-28T09:28:00.004+01:00

If you're looking for somewhere to go animal drawing, this place is great!

Redesign

2008-06-16T10:13:00.004+01:00

New look, new reel, new stuff: www.bradsilby.co.uk

For Mr.Antonelli

2008-04-19T11:46:00.004+01:00

Back to work

2008-01-21T23:06:00.000Z

Not posted in ages, so in the interests of keeping this blog going, here's one I did at work last week. I planned on painting it at some point, but at the moment all my free time is taken up working on a short animation test I'm doing at home, so it will have to wait. It's a panorama of a typical lunchtime scene, done on four sheets of A4. Click for the larger version.

A few more...

2007-12-10T23:00:00.000Z

...from the past week or so.

Commuters

2007-12-02T21:36:00.000Z

Girls on'train

2007-11-29T20:50:00.000Z

Blokes on'train

2007-11-28T21:44:00.000Z

Passing the time

2007-11-25T16:13:00.000Z

Take a load off

2007-11-12T21:59:00.001Z

Are we there yet?!

2007-11-03T11:29:00.000Z

I saw this kid on the train who just wouldn't stay still, I think he was a bit restless.

Zzzzzzzzz

2007-11-01T22:38:00.000Z

A few more work scribbles

2007-10-30T22:51:00.000Z

Colleagues

2007-10-29T22:38:00.000Z

Quick sketches of some guys at work.

Waiting

2007-10-24T22:04:00.000+01:00

Tickets please

2007-10-23T22:36:00.000+01:00

I got a new pen today. I used it to draw this.

Must've been a long day...

2007-10-20T13:48:00.000+01:00

This is living

2007-10-16T21:26:00.000+01:00

It's addictive this blogging lark, isn't it?

Tonights best efforts

2007-10-15T20:40:00.000+01:00

I started this blog to make me draw, so although these aren't the best I've ever produced, they are what I managed to capture tonight on the way home from work. So I'm posting 'em anyways.

Longleat Safari Park

2007-10-14T17:51:00.001+01:00

We went to the Safari Park at Longleat the other week, this guy was sitting in front of us on the tour bus.

Flamingo Land Zoo

2007-10-14T17:46:00.000+01:00

These are quite old, but I still quite like them.

Sudoku?

2007-09-24T22:09:00.000+01:00

It must have been that or a crossword that kept him so engrosed...

The Hothouse

2007-09-22T13:23:00.000+01:00

These were done whilst watching 'The Hothouse' by Harold Pinter, at the National Theatre in London.

Commuting

2007-09-22T13:19:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I did any real drawing, but I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. These were done mainly whilst waiting for the train home from work.

3 red rings

2007-08-29T21:15:00.000+01:00

My 360 died last night. I'm not happy. So instead of playing Bioshock tonight, I got time to post this.