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'!

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'!

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'!

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'!

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.

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'!

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'!

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'!

009 - Front Desk Flamingo

Older pic today. The move is about done, but it definitely consumed my day, that and taking my lovely Kate out for a nice dinner. So no time for a new piece today, but I still like this one.

Way back when I had dreams of joining a comic character battle site named enterVoid(check it out here). This was one potential fighter, an unnamed motel manager, who is indeed a flamingo. I had imagined him as some sort of ex-boxer or ex-fighter from the Caribbean. He would manage some small, shady motel on the edge of Void City, dealing with all sorts of hijinks that come with the job.

I love coming up with these kind of concepts, but I always fall short on really fleshing it out and producing stories... I tend to over think my ideas, running them into the ground. But, I'm ok with it... I usually come back to them down the road with a fresh mind and sometimes make more progress.

008 - Random Character Sketches

Whew, long and busy day of moving. Luckily it's only a few blocks down the street. Movers coming tomorrow to move the big stuff, good times!

Anyway, tonite I tried something a little different. I googled up a random character description generator and whipped up some sketches based on the results I got. Here's the descriptions I based these three on:

"A athletic woman wearing a tan T-shirt. She has bulging hazel eyes and her fuzzy black hair is in a long braid. She acts furtive, and has a cold."
"A fat woman wearing a yellow sundress. She has slitted black eyes and her flyaway flaxen hair is short and messy. She acts dimwitted, and has a brittle smile."
"A gangly man wearing a red nightshirt. He has squinty grey eyes and his wiry auburn hair is short and messy. He acts bossy, and has a round face."

So yeah, this was a great exercise and I'll definitely be doing more of this in the future. It's great to keep the pen to paper (or pen to tablet in this case) and lets me practice with body shapes and characteristics I might not use in some of my original characters.

Hope you enjoy, thanks for stopping by!

006 - Mushroom Vendor, Osh

Osh is a mushroom savant. He studies, breeds, and vendors them, as well as using them as tools and weapons.

Haven't drawn this guy in a while, and lately I've been doodling him at work (as you see in Sunday's post) so I wanted to do a more finish drawing. So, here we go! He's kind of fun, maybe we'll see more of him..

Hah, just for kicks, here's an old pic of Osh:

001 - J-Roo

So I guess by posting this I'm officially calling it done. Here's my friend Jared (ThatAnimationSite) as a Kangaroo. This was sparked from a conversation we had with some friends over pizza while visiting our old stomping ground of Menomonie, WI. The question of what animal you would be if you could be any animal was posed and he answered such. I answered a goat, but being ever indecisive, I changed mine to a ram, just for badass-ery.

I tried to represent Jared the best I could with his numerous character trademarks, if you will. Personal items such as the hat and necklace. He loves collecting vinyl figures, so I threw some of his favorite Dunnys in there. I just thought of it now, but there's no Apple love at all... Missed that one.

This piece started with a paper sketch that I traced in Illustrator. Typically I'd ink it in Photoshop, but I do love the cleanliness and versatility of using vectors. Only downside is it takes about twice as long.

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So, we're off! First post of what I hope becomes a lasting and enriching project. Now... to get to work on tomorrow's post...