Plans for the Weekend

If all goes to plan I'm hoping to get my head down and make some music this weekend.

As I mentioned just before the New Year I have a whole pile of recordings with ideas for new tunes, so perhaps I'll get a 'work in progress' posted on Soundcloud before the weekend's out.

I hope you enjoy the drawing of Jules listening to his walkman too. ^_^

Blogging, Work, Gallifrey and 2015

100 Happy Gaming Days are finally over and to be honest I'm quite relieved. It wasn't that I wasn't enjoying writing it, it's just after a numerous delays I wanted to move on to something else. It was also difficult to keep up with posting on a daily basis when I already work 40 hours a week, plus I got hooked on watching Doctor Who and reading Batman comics so that set things back a bit.

If it wasn't for 100 Happy Gaming Days however, this blog may not have even lasted this long because when I started I had no idea what to write about. There's some things I could/should go back and fix, for instance the Strawberry Cheesecake Mochi on Day 5, so when I get some time I'll go back and get things into some sort of order ... although it is nice to see how things developed.

So, what's next?

I've got hundreds, if not thousands, of short recordings waiting to be turned into full songs. I have the necessary kit to compose the music, I just need somewhere permanent to mix/master the tracks. I ideally want to produce retro game inspired soundtracks, perhaps I'll finally pick up a Prosound Gameboy and use LSDJ. (^_^)

The Bobby and Jules comic is also waiting to be done, I haven't done much drawing since the summer so it'll be great to get started on that again.

And sometime in 2015 we'll be renewing our PC's and whatnot, so hopefully my YouTube channel will return. \ (^_^) /

Penguin SWAT Team Member

Inspired by the recent swatting incident I decided to add a penguin SWAT team member to the Bobby and Jules universe.

I haven't given him a name as yet but I've enjoyed adding all the little details to make him appear more authentic. I'll be adding colour shortly when I've got the right shades.

More facial expressions with Bobby and Jules

Artwork created and owned by Andrew Gardner © 2014

Bobby: Facial Expressions

Here's some facial expressions for Bobby and I'm extremely pleased with the results. 

These are based on a Tom & Jerry expressions sheet I found on Pinterest (I loved Tom and Jerry as a kid), and practicing expressions has really shaped Bobby's design and helped me to think about how the little things project the emotions of a character.

For example the tired expression on the far-right of the above image; Bobby's extended tongue helps him to look out of breath and panting, but I also made the tuft of hair on his head lank and fallen to help him look truly knackered. 

When I continued experimenting with different expressions I began to notice how other artists design their characters to help to bring out their emotions. The folds above a characters eyes make them much more dynamic, and because of Bobby's large beak obstructing the majority of his face, I found adding some extra detail to his eyes helped to make the emotion easier to understand.

Artwork created and owned by Andrew Gardner © 2014

Bobby Sleeping

I wanted to practice drawing characters in different poses and situations, so here's Bobby asleep against a wall with a drink in hand.

I like the way his belly follows ahead of the rest of him, and I think he really suits those sandals.

Artwork created and owned by Andrew Gardner © 2014

Doodles: Bobby and Jules

I've got quite a lot going on at the moment so just a quick 'blerg' for today.

This is an early doodle of Bobby and Jules from a couple of years ago, they don't have tails but the main aspects of their now current designs are there. I love the innocent smile on Jules's face as he's blissfully unaware Bobby's giving him an evil stare.

I'm hoping to put together a comic starring Bobby and Jules in the near future, but I think I'll save the details for a future post. ^_^

Artwork created and owned by Andrew Gardner © 2014

Jules the Penguin

And here's Jules, the happiest penguin in the southern hemisphere.

I'm really pleased with the way Jules turned out, but I still need some more practice on poses and proportions. I also want to make it look as though his scarf is fluttering in the wind, it looks a bit stiff in this picture. So far so good though. ^_^

Artwork created and owned by Andrew Gardner © 2014

Bobby the Penguin

This is Bobby the Penguin, the most short-tempered penguin in the southern hemisphere.

I picked up some sketching and colouring pencils as I got a bit tired of using the copic pens for everything, plus I always like the effect of using pencil (it's much more relaxed). The only problem was I couldn't get the sharp outlines I like, so I used a fineliner for those and I'm quite pleased with the result.

I've also been watching 'How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way' (it's on Youtube), so I constructed Bobby using their methods and I'm really happy with the outcome. I was able to get a much more natural pose but I still need to work on my proportions (Bobby's arms look a little thin). 

Artwork created and owned by Andrew Gardner © 2014