Sketchbook Update: Inktober 2015, Day 4

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Based on a prompt from the Pose Drawing Sparkbook that reads, “I just heard the funniest joke…” I was listening to some Louie Anderson stand-up while I drew this, which also helped.

You can get a free download of Inktober drawing prompts from the Pose Drawing Sparkbook here. No strings attached.

Free Download: Inktober Sketchbook Ideas

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It’s that time of year again. The leaves are turning color, the air is getting chilly, and artists everywhere are getting ready for Inktober! If you need some Inktober drawing ideas, I’ve put together a free PDF download of 31 drawing prompts based on the Pose Drawing Sparkbook. About 2/3 of the list is directly from the book, the rest are new! As with everything in the book they are specifically designed to help you practice making your drawings more expressive and entertaining:

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Here’s the list in non-PDF form:

  1. Trying to close an overstuffed suitcase.
  2. A clumsy jester has spilled wine all over the king.
  3. A caveman teaching his pet dinosaur to play fetch.
  4. “I just heard the funniest joke!”
  5. An old professor chases his escaped lab rat through the university library.
  6. Asking a loan shark for money.
  7. Haven’t slept in three days.
  8. Illustrate “dignity”
  9. A hermit describing how he was abducted by a UFO.
  10. ‘The boy who cried wolf’ realizing that this time no one is coming.
  11. “There, there. It’s be all right.”
  12. A coach blowing his top during a halftime locker room speech.
  13. Learning to roller skate.
  14. A hammy actor fumbles and drops the skull during a performance of “Hamlet”
  15. An imaginative child playing with a cardboard box.
  16. Illustrate “macho”
  17. Just spilled a drink on your laptop.
  18. A timid person confronting a bully.
  19. Opening a door with your arms full.
  20. A young farm boy tries to get a stubborn goat out of it’s pen.
  21. Really telling someone off!
  22. “I may be old but I could still whip both of you!”
  23. At home alone watching a scary movie.
  24. Illustrate ”headache”
  25. Someone smashing their thumb with a hammer.
  26. Walking into a gust of wind.
  27. Telling a story to a child.
  28. A nervous criminal attempting his first robbery.
  29. “Aw, shucks!”
  30. Illustrate “out of breath”
  31. Dr. Jekyll transforming into Mr. Hyde

 

Unfortunately physical copies of the Pose Drawing Sparkbook are sold out but the PDF/ebook version is still available in my studio store. It’s cheaper, easy to carry around, and works as a companion to any normal sketchbook.

Enjoy this free download and please share it with others. Just post this link on your favorite social media: http://bit.ly/1tnlfqY

Happy drawing!

Sketchbook Update: First Time Skiing

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I was noodling around with a drawing prompt from the Pose Drawing Sparkbook that reads, “Skiing for the first time.” I liked how the initial doodle turned out, so I decided to tweak it, clean it up, and add color.

In hindsight I maybe should have chosen different colors for the gloves and hat to make them pop more. I also think I over-rendered the tree a bit and could have made the branches a bit looser and bouncier. But that’s what sketches are for: playing around and making mistakes so that next time you can do better.

Sketchbook Update: Koochy Koo Redux

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Last week I posted a sketch based on a prompt from the Pose Drawing Sparkbook that reads, “Trying to stop a baby from crying.” I thought a tough, scary biker trying to calm a baby might be funny. Today’s sketch is another take on that concept, with what I think is a stronger pose.

Sketchbook Throwback: St. Patrick’s Day

Here’s a re-post from 2014. Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!…

St Patrick's Day illustration by Cedric Hohnstadt

Today’s sketch is a combination of three things:

First, I’ve been having a blast following @sketch_dailies on Twitter. At the moment it’s a very popular feed with over 15,000 followers. Each day a new character is suggested and hundreds of artists from all over the web draw their version. The best ones are retweeted and they are amazing! Today’s theme, naturally, was “leprechaun”.

Second, I’ve been trying to add a sense of story to my practice sketches. I wanted to try something original with the end-of-the-rainbow idea. It seems to me that if there really was a pot of gold out there on a hill somewhere it would be foolish to leave it out in the open with only a small, unarmed man guarding it.

Third, I like to try and tie each sketch into the Pose Drawing Sparkbook somehow. At the back of the book is a bonus list of 100 Moods and Emotions to draw. This might be a good fit for “Dumbfounded”.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!