My art on Jetpens!

A few of my drawings were recently featured in a blog post on jetpens.com.  Check it out here.

Out of the loop

I've been a little busy the last couple of months, and I have not had a chance to post in awhile.  My wife and I welcomed the latest addition to our family on December 10th.  It is our first girl, and she is healthy, and beautiful and perfect.  I promise that I will be posting reviews of both the Kaweco Sport I received 2 months ago, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 that I got last month.

Thanks for reading

Jetpens order arrived yesterday!  Got my first Kaweco Sport fountain pen, and I have been using it pretty much non-stop since it got here.  I will post a full review with pics some time tomorrow.

Not only is Fight Club one of my all-time favorite movies, it was also a pretty incredible book.  A lot of the effect of the movie was in its use of imagery.  The lighting and coloring of the movie was especially effective in adding to its overall grittiness.  I tried to capture some of the intensity and danger that Brad Pitt's character conveyed throughout the film.  As usual, I figured stark black and white was the best way to go.  I swear that I intend to use color in the very near future.  Just waiting for the right inspiration to come along.

While I did use my Rotring 500 for this, I also branched out and used a new (to me, I purchased them on eBay) set of Koh-I-Noor Rapidographs for the outlining and detail coloring.  I really like these technical pens for the fine lines that you can create, and the thick, dark ink.  I will be doing a more in-depth review of these, and comparing them to the previous drawing pens I have used.  Since this picture required large areas of all black, I again went to my Copic Sketch Marker.  The brush-like tip on these is perfect for filling big areas quickly.

JetPens Blog: LunaTik Touch Pen

JetPens Blog: LunaTik Touch Pen: The LunaTik Touch Pen takes you from paper to tablet in one simple click. Created by the Chicago-based studio, MINIMAL , the innovation ...

The pen/stylus combo has come a long way since the days of Palm Pilots and Treos.  I have not had the chance to test out this one yet, but I am really desperate to get my hands on one.  I wold love to test it out by drawing the same image with each piece of the tool.  One version of the drawing with the pen, and me version with the stylus using a digital drawing app.  If I get my hands on one, I will certainly post my work and a review.

Things We Forget: #797: every artist was first an amateur.

Things We Forget: #797: every artist was first an amateur.: changi, singapore

This is a really good reminder for everyone who spends time worrying about their "success" as an artist.  Being brave enough to express yourself artistically, and share your talent with even one other person, is the definition of "success".

Rotring 500 (0.7mm) - Review

As promised, I wanted to provide some reviews of the tools I use when drawing, writing, etc. One of my go-to items over the last several months has been my Rotring 500 (0.7mm) drafting pencil. This purchase was my first drafting pencil, and I was more than a little apprehensive. I was always a wooden pencil/charcoal artist,





and I definitely looked down my nose at people who used mechanical pencils. The cheap, plastic bodies. The constantly breaking lead. The flimsy erasers. I am pleased to say that I have now converted. The first thing that hits you when you first see this pen is the stark, industrial-like design. The hexagonal body, with its matte black finish and knurled grip, is beautiful in its simplicity. I know that one of the things that encourages me to use a pen or pencil is how it looks. Something about writing with an instrument that is visually appealing is, well, appealing. Once you pick up this pencil to actually draw or write, you notice that the plastic body feels unlike any other plastic pencil/pen you have ever held. I am still unconvinced that this is actually plastic. It really feels like lightweight metal. The balance of the pencil is perfect. With a plastic pencil, you would be expecting that the button/eraser mechanism might cause a little bit of top-heaviness, but this is not the case with the 500. The leads included have proven very resilient, and I don't recall ever having one break yet. I use this pencil for all of my sketching and first drafts. It handles smoothly on the page, and does not dig in or catch. The eraser is a little weak but, hey, you cant have everything. That's why you buy the Boxy, which is the only eraser I will ever use.

 Rotring offers the 500 in 0.5mm and 0.35mm. I have not used either in this size. In hindsight, I think the 0.5mm would probably be a better fit for my drawing style, as I prefer a slightly finer line, but the 0.7mm has been wonderful so, no regrets. Rotring also has the "Big Brother" to the 500, the 600 and the 800. I have not used either of these but, as far as I can tell, the only difference from the 500 is a metal body (both the 600 and the 800) and a retractable lead sleeve (the 800) which is, admittedly, pretty friggin cool. However, I don't know if either of these features warrants the step up in price from the 500.