Art Updates

Wow, two posts in one day! I gotta keep this up!


Here are the finished pieces for the Karaoke crew. I was working in Photoshop with these, but I had accidentally downsized and saved them, so I moved over to Illustrator. I love the finished product you get from Illustrator, but damn is it slow work.
In the end, really happy how this came out and I think my clients are too. Great success! Let's hope this leads to more work!


This is a sketch I did to hopefully land an illustration gig for some online site. Haven't heard anything yet, so we'll see.

So that's what's going on artwise in the Daniverse. Thanks for stoppin!

Nature is a crafty bitch.

Check this thing out.

Man, sometimes I think about all the crazy stuff there has gotta be out there in space. All the life out there that we will hopefully find some day. Then I realize that the deep depths of our own planet are still utter mysteries and we are finding new lifeforms all the time. Like this guy. I mean, how awesome is that? Can't poke this guy in his eye cause they're IN HIS FREAKIN' SKULL.

Only in the ocean man.

I Return!

Don't call it a comeback.

Firstly, I apologize for my sudden disappearance. Let's just blame it on a mix of cabin fever and artistic frustration. I needed a little breather time, as well as time to focus more on what I do. Sorry to say, but I won't be posting every day anymore. For a time it was good, and it did keep me busy, but overall I didn't feel I was advancing or learning, really. Just doing. Yeah, doing is good, makes sure those creative machines don't rust, but I found it also wasn't giving me time to focus. So, long short, Project 365 comes to an end with 48 days posting.

Heck, I'm surprised I made it more than 10.

I will still be posting my work from time to time. To ensure I do at least once a week, I went and joined Art Jumble, so check that out from time to time. I'm also working on a small animation. Just doing bits here and there, I'll be sure to post something when it develops.

In other news, I managed to get a "client" of sorts. If you remember my drawing of the Karaoke MC from a while back, well I showed it to him and he loved it, so I'm doing more for him.



Yay, my first paying gig.

Well, that's all for now, till next time!

048 - Winged Disaster

Fulfilling my love for drips and splatters. Made by blowing acrylic wash with a straw. Man I gotta get back into traditional medium.

Thanks for stoppin'!

047 - Yet Another Random Character

"This paunchy, bored man has greasy ash-blonde hair, dark brown eyes and a sardonic smile. He wears a rust-colored nightshirt."

Funny I get this one right after doing a drawing of Bobinski, very similar body types. Also, how do you make someone look bored, yet smiling? Guess you go to posture. Hope I got the mood across.

Thanks for stoppin'!

046 - Mr. Bobinski

One of the crazy neighbors from Coraline. Saw the movie this past Friday and really enjoyed it. The style and animation was amazing, and in this age of CG animation, it's really refreshing to see that there are people out there that are dedicated to other forms of animation, and making it look just as good. The amount of work that must have went into this movie boggles the mind, and it shows.
Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet, definitely go check it out, it's fun and creepy!

045 - RnDs' Parents

It's the proud parents of R & D. I STILL haven't thought of names for these two... let alone a last name for all of them. But anyway, that's them. Mom's a chef and Dad's a college professor. Very exciting!

Thanks for stoppin'!

044 - Valentine's Day Portrait (IP)

Trying my hand at some digital painting. A portrait of my girlfriend Kate and I for Valentine's Day. It's taking a little longer than planned, but I'm happy so far. And, as a gift for her, I got the most important part done first XP

Thanks for stoppin'!

043 - Cloud Yetis live at 20,000 Feet

He just wanted a ride, that's all! That panel was coming off anyway.

Watched the Nightmare at 20,000 Feet episode of Twilight Zone today. Good for it's time I'm sure, but man is that monster just goofy looking. A big fluffy Snuggle bear with a perm isn't really the epitome of fear these days. But hey, I'm sure it made em scream back then.

Thanks for stoppin'!

042 - Mario Group (Colored)

Haven't seen this one in a while, huh? Well it's colored... but to be honest, my love for this has fallen. I'm happy with it and all, but it just didn't flow and come together quite like the Bowser one. Guess it's all in timing.

Anyway, this is probably the last you'll see of this. Enjoy!

Thanks for stoppin'!

041 - Walter Day

A charicature of Walter Day, founder of Twin Galaxies and original referee of video game records. If your at all interested in retro gaming, you should check out two movies: King of Kong and Chasing Ghosts. Chasing Ghosts is a great overview of the gaming phenomenon of the early 80's and focuses on a handful of guys who were pretty much the best of the best. Games back then were ruthless, it's flooring to see the dedication and skill those guys have. King of Kong focuses on the journey of one man to achieve a new world record in Donkey Kong.
Anyway, Walter Day played a big part in making retro gaming to what it was, and he's just a goofy lookin guy, so I felt compelled to do a portrait of him.

Thanks for stoppin'!

040 - Random Characters 3

"This lithe, dimwitted man has wispy golden hair, dark eyes and a square jaw. He wears a hot pink jacket and a muffler."

More random description based characters. Well, one this time. An interesting fellow, no? I like these descriptions though. They really pull me out of my comfort zone.

Thanks for stoppin'!

039 - Robot Pirate "Sawbeard"

Just getting down some ideas. Fighting to get that vision down on the page. The idea: some sort of robot pirate captain. Very exciting, no? The thought of a chainsaw blade is a fun one... but I think a round saw blade is more visually cohesive. Dunno. Just ideation today.

Thanks for stoppin'!

038 - Karaoke Mike

Kate has brought me out to Karaoke out in our hometown of Burlington a few times now and despite being an introvert and self conscious, get a few beers in me and I'll sing some flippin' Karaoke till last call! It's good fun.
They guy that runs it is a big guy named Michael. He's quite the character, so here's a quick portrait of him. Simple and fun.

Thanks for stoppin'!

037 - Menacing Bird is Menacing

I took this picture when Kate and I went to the zoo over the summer. I didn't catch the name of the creature, but I thought he was very interesting. Love the pattern on his head.
A little something different today. I'm going to be out of town most of the day and away from internet access, so no time to whip up a drawing. But hey, photography is art, too. I can bend my own rules, right?

If you enjoy what you've been seeing, be sure to leave a comment or even follow me! Knowing someone cares keeps me going! Alright, enough begging...Thanks for stoppin'!

036 - Jay-Red

More nerd fueled poke-nonsense. Nostalgia is a powerful drug. Jared joined in the fun with his Trainer... so now with little else to inspire I did a rendition of it. I was hoping to do a battle or something exciting, but time went on and I grew more tired.. so maybe next time.

Thanks for stoppin'!

035 - Smoker Portrait

As fun as it is to try new things and expand on abilities.... sometimes I think I should just stick to what I'm good at XD

Anyway, this is a smoker from the game Left 4 Dead. Looks like he's puking, but that's his tongue which he uses to ensnare human survivors. Good fun.

Till next time, thanks for stoppin'!

034 - Emulation Paintings

A couple of acrylic paintings I did for my painting class. The assignment was to emulate an artist's style, I chose Jeff Soto. Good times!

I've been meaning to pick up some canvas and do more traditional work lately. Painting definitely takes more work, but it's so worth it in the end.

Thanks for stoppin'!

033 - Pokemon Trainer

Joe, aka Mechanical Pumpkin, tells me he drew himself a badass pokemon trainer and I had to do the same. So here we are. I guess he's sort of based on me, but not really a self-portrait. I see him as some sort of wandering adventurer, living off the land and exploring it's every mystery. As for his pokemon, not really a team I would use, I just hand picked a few I'm fond of for various reasons. I originally was only gonna do Hypno (the yellow one to the left of the trainer) but it kind of snowballed.

Anyway, needs a background and some shading... maybe I'll pull it back up later in the week and work on that.

Thanks for stoppin'!

032 - Wayback Flashback

Here's an extreeeeeeemly old pic of two of my very first characters, Draco (left) and Mega Bug (right). From around elementary school times, well over 11 years ago now. Their story goes, two kids were exploring an old, mysterious mansion and are doused with a mysterious chemical that transforms them into these guys. If I remember right, I sort of co-created these guys with a friend; he was Draco and I was Mega Bug.

In the spirit of having a new(er) pic each day, here's a recent revamp attempt that I started and ditched:


That unfinished guy in the back is Ninjasquito, a latter addition to the crew. There is actually a whole cast of characters, good and evil. I'll be coming back to these guys for sure in the future, so I'll flesh out the details then.

Thanks for stoppin'!

031 - RnD Wallpaper

I know all of you are just dying for some Dan art to don your desktop. Well look no further, folks. Right-click > save this beyotch and you'll never have a bland desktop again. Damn right!

Thanks for stoppin'!

030 - Two Aliens on the Court

When I'm low on ideas or modivation, I tend to go back to the archives and take a stroll down memory lane. I like to take old characters and concepts and revamping them for my current state of interest, or just making myself feel better by seeing progress XD

I never had names or stories for these two, I think I doodled them up for an assignment once in Middle School and buried them shortly afterward. Anyway, there designs were simple and fun, and it made for a fun revamp.

Here's the old pic (9 years ago!):

029 - Labyrinth Trio of Friends

Just watched Labyrinth for the first time. The conceptual design was great and Jim Henson is a man of genius.

It really makes you think about how much dedication and artistry went into movies in that time. There was heart and soul in these films... something that is really missing in those of today. With computers, we can create amazing scenes and unimaginable creatures... but there's really something to be said about what film makers were able to do back then. And not just the film heads, but all the artistry and craft of the people behind the scenes and behind the puppets. That shit is mind-boggling. I know CG work is hard and does take dedication, but come on. Three or more people all moving and coordinating just to make one character move? That's art.

Anyway, that's my rant on that. Now back to my chicken scratch!

028 - Mechanical Pumpkin Sketches

Doing that pic for Joe made we want to have another go at his character, the Mechanical Pumpkin. Just some doodles, nothing terribly exciting. Gonna have to do a proper portrait sometime soon.

027 - Gambit

Blah, Gambit deserves a better representation than this... Hah oh well, it's getting late.

Gambit of X-Men fame. He's gonna be in the upcoming Wolverine movie. We'll see how that goes... One of my favorite mutants, he better live up to my expectations!

Thanks for stoppin'!

026 - A Pumpkin and his Cake

It was my good friend Joe's birthday today. I was unaware, else I might have had something a bit grander made. Anyway, here's his little avatar, the Mechanical Pumpkin, having a little cake. Eat, little guy, eat!

025 - Sunday Updates

So Jared followed suit in drawing himself all Castle Crasher'd up(check it here). He reminded me I forgot the Animal Orb, so here he is. My animal orb would be a sloth named Mossy, who would latch onto enemies and slow them down.
So yeah, if you have a 360 and haven't tried Castle Crashers, what are you waiting for? Grab some friends and play it, foo.


My second update is on the bookmark from a few posts ago. Just some finishing touches, some shading and background details.

So that's Sunday. Pleasant Monday to you all, thanks for stoppin'!

024 - Dan, Castle Crashers Style

Jared and I have been playing Castle Crashers a bit lately. It has a fun style and great animation, and I thought it would be fun to draw myself as a character in the game. My weapon would be a deliciously dangerous roll of cookie dough and I would wield the power of sketchy magic.

I know what you're thinking... cookie dough wouldn't be a very effective weapon. No, probably not. But it would be delicious!

Thanks for stoppin!

023 - Bookmark (in progress)

My girlfriend has been hinting that it would be cool if I made her a bookmark since she's been on a reading spree lately. Well she's halfway through the 4th book of the Twilight series and I'm finally getting around to it XD

Not quite done, I want to polish it up a bit, add some more interest to the background. Keep an eye open for that soon!

Thanks for stoppin'!

022 - More Flamingo Manager

Just some newer sketches of the flamingo character from a week or so ago. I still really like the design, but am not really sure where to go with it. Just fun to draw I guess. Flamingoes actually have very strange beaks... it was hard not to just go "Toucan Sam" with it. The bottom portion of the beak is actually larger than the top, but I kinda blended the two for the sake of personal aesthetic.

Thanks for stoppin'!

021 - RnD Expression Sheets

More Artemus(top) and Dedrick(bottom) from my senior semester. Just some expression sheets I did to explore the characters as well as get a handle on how to draw them consistently. This was a really great exercise and it helped tremendously in finalizing these two characters.

Thanks for stoppin'!

020 - Inaguration Day

A new day for our country, let's hope things begin to get a bit better from here!

Just a quickie caricature of now President Obama. Not much more to say than that without delving into deep political conversation, which, while interesting, is not the point of this post. XP

Thanks for stoppin'!

019 - Random Character Sketches 2

"This burly, serious man has greasy dark-brown hair, black eyes and a brittle smile. He wears a black T-shirt and a beret."

"This lanky, businesslike woman has shaggy grey hair, aquamarine eyes and a wedding ring. She wears a blue swimsuit and a bandana."

More random characters today. Kinda boring poses, gonna have to punch it up next round.

Man, it's been a lazy day. The move is done, but work is still busy busy (three hours of overtime last night) so I am beat. But, I pulled together and got my illustration motor runnin, so no complaints.

Enjoy, thanks for stoppin'!

018 - Sketchbook Sunday 3

So I think I need to put these sketchbook days on hold till I get a scanner up and running again, that iSight just doesn't cut it!

Regardless, this is a character I have been doodling in my book at work lately. I envision this mysterious, parkouring graffiti artist who runs along the fringes of the law. He's not necessarily a criminal as he'll fight crime, but as long as it's for his gain.

I for whatever reason thought it would be funny if he has some magical little sidekick that would live in his graffiti and help him out and stuffs, so that middle page is some ideation of that.

So yeah, trying to flesh this guy out, maybe we'll see more of him later?

017 - R&D Poster

Video games are evil. They steal your soul. But it feels so gooooood. XD Seriously tho, the art gods were not advising me correctly when I decided to get an Xbox, cause it's soaking up all the precious little freetime I once had(and was typically used to draw).

Anyway, this is a poster I made for my senior project last year. Artemus(left) and Dedrick(right) are two inventive, brilliant brothers. They love to experiment and create, but more often than not, there experiments backfire and they are left to clean up the mess.

Well, that's the basic premise anyway. I really want to go back to these guys someday, maybe once I find the strength to work on an animation...

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Hope whomever is visiting is enjoying everything so far! I try and keep things interesting and varied each day. If anyone has any suggestions or requests on things you'd like to see, please don't be afraid to comment or contact me! I'm all ears, and really looking for inspiration right now.

Thanks for stoppin'!

016 - Mario Tat Progress 4

Just more progress on the group pic today. I waited entirely too late to post this, and wish I had more. We shall see what inspiration strikes tomorrow!

Till then...thanks for stoppin'!

015 - Desperaux

So my girlfriend Kate and I went to see Tale of Desperaux today. Overall it was a so so film. Beautiful style and animation, but sub-par everything else. The characters were interesting, but the narrative was very uneven and you ended up not really understanding or caring most of the time. However I will say that it made me want to read the book, as the books are most often much better than the films.

And I say again, it was a beautiful movie to look at. So, I drew little Desperaux.

Till next time, thanks for stoppin'!

014 - Mario Group Tat Progress 3

Getting the final lines started. I decided Peach still wasn't meshing with the group and am overhauling her again. Yay iterations! This one should be fun in color, keep an eye out for that.

And with that, back to gamin'! Shesh, I am terrible XP

013 - Distractions

Boy do I need a scanner... Hah, so I made the "decision" to buy an Xbox 360 yesterday, and my little project here is already paying for it. The awe of new and fun things will fade soon, I assure you, so hold tight! XD

But hey, on the off chance that you the viewer has a 360 as well, add me to your friends, my Gamertag is SavageHobbit.

Back to the real stuff tomorrow, promise! Thanks for stoppin'

012 - Sketchy Poses

This is my alter-ego of sorts named Sketchy. He first came about in one of the very first animations I did way back in High School A/V class, so he holds a special place in my heart for that. He's the prankster in my universe of characters. The Loki to my Odin, if you will. Good fun.

I'm gonna do my darnedest to have some progress on that Mario tat for tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that tomorrow. Thanks for stoppin'!

011 - Sketchbook Sunday 2

Kind of a slow sketchbook week, only worked 4 days this week so I guess that could have attributed to it.

Basically just some doodles of the one and only me! Trying to find a simple, fun way to depict myself for a potential personal/portfolio site. I want to have little drawings/animations of me doing random things along the bottom/side of the page. Fun right?

Haha, what a dork. Thanks for stoppin'

010 - Pyro Jaguar Giftart

This was a gift I did for a kind soul on dA, Pyro-Blaze Jaguar. She randomly gifted me a subscription, and I felt it fitting for me to repay the favor best I could.
There are many things I still love about this piece, the overall polish of it being one. I can remember it being so easy at the time to value and shade everything... yet now I struggle with it. I guess I am thinking too hard about it, just gotta let it flow.

Yet another older piece. We celebrated my mom's birthday this evening, so I had barely touched the computer till round 930. But the move is coming to a close, soon all will be back to normal and I will be churning out new pieces regularly again. Hah, I say that as if this has been going on for so long, and we're barely past a week.

Well, here's to many more! Thanks for stoppin'.