Sketchbook

Bought some nice new pens the other day. Promarkers are expancive, but its still cheeper to buy them one a piece than the packs of 6. Also I picked up a white gel pen, really makes a difference to some sketches,

Icons!

Never before has one man achieved so little by waring a hat.

So I made these little achievement icons the other day in Photoshop. I keep thinking maybe I should do them all in Illustrator, I understand why you would, vector based imagery is very useful when variant resolution is an issue. But I just enjoy the painting. But they were quick doodles with not much thought put into them. I'm no pro with graphics, but they're fun to do.

In the mean time, looking for work is a bit of a downer. My main concern with applying to artist positions, is if apply, you get no feedback, even if you request it , so you never know where youre going wrong with your portfolio or art work.
 Sure, I understand that over 400 people apply for one position, so its imposable to critique each applicant. (That is why i also imagine my portfolio often goes right in the reject bin, culling saves time.). And maybe theres noting wrong with the portfolio, how would you know? Its up to the artist to assume what what went wrong and try to fix it for the next client, whos needs are different. I mean, you cant fix your portfolio, than come back to them a week later. The position will have been taken by than, also theres the social aspects of being annoying, so its not going to happen like that. (Even if you do realy like the company and the people in it, the hiring staff will remember you as that jerk.)
All this is understandable, frustrating to observe and it often leaves me with the thought: "What the heck am I doing?".

Lets hope for the best. Im sure I'll find work with a great company, eventually.

scribbles

Sketchbooks of recent!

I've noticed theres been a lack of sketchbook posts of recent. Mostly, my sketchbooks are worked in when I travel. There's alot of fun to be had drawing others on the tube or in the stations, now I dont travel as much as I used to I kind of miss it. But that doesnt mean there are other places to sit and draw! So I've been drawing where ever I can.

 I've been spending a good amount of time in Horsham, the parks are a pretty decent place to go drawing, huge fields close to a gym, lots of people running, lounging.

 My family enjoy spending long Friday afternoons at their local pub in Reading, this is the view from their usual seat. I draw this scene often, as it gets harder to draw the longer the night gets.

 I remember being told at one point, by someone, that the trees in this part of Reading inspired the ents in Tolkin's books. That being true or not, Im not sure, but they are pretty interesting twisted trees.

 There are apparently Forbery garden festivals every year, I knew nothing about them, medieval themed tents and toys are sold, and drinking can be had. Or you can be anti-social and draw, I chose both.

A pretty fun game ive made for drawing people on the train. As you may know, because of the seating in trains, half or more of the other passengers faces may be unable to see because of the chairs or other passangers. To combat this, I draw the part of the person I can see and than imagine the rest. Its pretty fun, good when you see the rest of them and notice they dont have a beard or the body of a goat.

I've been piling up a large number of sketchbooks. I dont completely know what to do with them once theyre finished with. They just sit on my desk like trophies.

Towers

Im working on a Unity3D project at the moment, rebuilding a small town from a game. Here are some funky little towers I made using the textures from the walls. The game will be views top-down so I could spare a bit more poly in places if needed. But for the moment everything is fine.