Doodle 156 - I Sea What You Deer There

Ah, back to work, Christmas decor will come down this weekend and I can get on track with my fitness.

I am excited though, next weekend we will be running the Color Run in Orlando, what is the Color Run you ask? I think this video can explain it:

A friend first posted about this on facebook and I just had to do it. We created a team "The Rainicorns" and recruited several friends to go along with it.

Don't get me wrong, I am NOT a runner, at all, I am swimmer, put me in the water and you'll probably have to fight me (if you can catch me), to get out. Tell me to run and I'll probably just flop on my side like a cat wearing a harness and refuse to move... what, you have never seen a cat flop on its side? Fine, here is a video for that:

And yes I have tried this myself and my cats were just as "thrilled" why do they make cat harnesses anyway? A mystery.

Ahem... talk about derailings, anyhow, I will power walk the Color Run and that should jump start my fitness goals and I am really looking forward to hanging out with my peeps as well.

Today I decided to draw something a bit odd:

I Sea What You Deer There - Graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

Tah-Dah! Yeah... I imagine this deer was conjured by a sorcerer who loved both the sea and mountains and didn't want to be without either one.

Doodle 150 - Playing Around

And so here it is, the last Friday of the year.

2012 is coming to a close at an incredible speed and we are running to meet 2013.

Today I had a bunch of work at the office before heading out. I have a wedding to attend to, so I'll be out of town for several days, I will still doodle though, like always.

Anybody has started making resolutions? I normally don't, because they are incredibly easy to forget, but I started early, I decided I wanted to be more active and healthier to feel happier. If I have the discipline to draw every day I can dig up some more to work out every single day without fail, so wish me luck because I can be incredibly lazy when it comes to exercise.

And now for today's doodles, I had nothing in mind, so I just started to draw and these came out:

Flying for Beginners - Mechanical pencil on plain sketchbook. Aprox 15 mins.

Snow Sprite - Mechanical pencil on plain sketchbook. Aprox 15 mins.

Griffin Cuteness - Mechanical pencil on plain sketchbook. Aprox 10 mins.

Doodle 090 - Bonus Interactive Friday doodles!

As promised, today I drew the last three combos you guys provided me. These took a little longer, but as drew more and more combos it became easier for me to imagine how I would mesh the animals in more interesting ways.

 Mrsblocko said: "Lilies tigers and giraffes!"

Giraiger Lilly - red and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins

 The Giraiger Lilly is an omnivore that lives in the savannah, its long neck allows it to eat the sweetest and softest of leaves from trees and it can also hunt for birds.

AppleCore said: "I hope I'm not too late. How about an aloe vera plant, a hedgehog, and a goat? Sounds fun."

Aloe Hedgegoat - red and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

 The Aloe Hedgegoat is a domesticated medium sized animal/plant , it produces aloe that can be harvested and nectar instead of milk. It is known for being able to jump large heights and distances, so keeping them corralled can be difficult for inexperienced farmers.

And finally JessJess said: "A cheetah, owl, and lotus flower :)"
 

Lotus Cheetowl - red and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

 The Lotus Cheetowl uses its sharp night vision to hunt. It can also swim and float in the water to hide or fish. This animal is also an incredibly fast runner, some of them have been successfully domesticated and used as hunting companions.

Doodle 89 - Plants and animals interactive Friday (Part 2)

I had tons of fun drawing your suggestions this week, at times I would read the combos and wonder how on earth would I make that work LOL.

I drew most of the suggestions and have 3 left, since they all sound equally awesome I'll just finish those 3 tomorrow, so hang on tight for a bonus interactive post.

Maria said: "could you try doing something with a hamster, catfish, and an eggplant :3"

Eggplant Hamkoi - red and black mecnahical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

The Eggplant Hamkoi is a variety of pet fish that  thrives on garden ponds or aquariums. It is purple with different purple hue spots over its body.

Sarah said: "Can I just pick one of each? A peony and a butterfly. If you must have three...throw a kitten in there, too."

Peony Kittenfly - red and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

 This species of kittenfly gets its peony name thanks to its wings which look like peony petals in bloom. This variety of kittenfly is medium sized and uses its tail to secure itself to flower stems while napping and sunbathing.

Melissa said: "hydrangea, elephant and a tortoise :)"

hydrangeaphant tortoise - red, blue and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

 This hydrangeaphant (say that 6 times fast), has a shell, similar to a tortoise's, it blooms during the spring and summer months.

Suzanna said:  "An Orchid, a cockatoo and a Koi fish. :3"

Cockakoi Orchid - red and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

 This type of Cockakoi lives deep in the rain forest. It thrives in the humid, hot weather and lives part time between the water and perched atop the trees.

And finally for today, Charissa said: "An oak tree, an otter and a tiger!"

Ottiger Oak - red, green and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

The Ottiger Oak lives in forests with abundance of rivers and ponds, it blends in with the foliage, the leaves on its back change color with the season and fall off during the fall so the ottiger can grow extra fur for the cold.

Doodle 088 - Plants and animals interactive Friday (Part 1)

As always, you guys rose up to the challenge and gave me amazing combos to work with. I gotta admit my brain had a work out today and tomorrow I'll try and get many more done because they all sound so fun!

I was outside most of the day, aaand then I came home and decided to play Dishonored for a little bit... a "little bit" turned into 3 hours, seriously, that game is nearly as addictive as Skyrim, hehehe, anyway, I had to peel myself off the controller and draw.

First we have Marebabe: "I've thought it over. Try a whale, a dragonfly, and a palm tree."

Flying Whalepalm - non photo blue pencil, red and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins

This flying whalepalm lives in the sea, but comes up to the surface and flies around during the day in intervals to let its palms absorb sunlight. These animals are actually rather small, about the side of your hand.

Next is tracie: "I think a tiger, a panda and a daisy has some potential!"

Panger Daisy - non photo blue pencil, green and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

This animal/plant hybrid requires some shade and needs to be watered and played with often for optimal growth and health.

And finally for today judi: "A penguin, a chipmunk and a water lily?"

Water Lily Chipguin - non-photo blue pencil and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

 This animal/plant lives in ponds, it is a very good swimmer and can dig itself into the mud for safety and warmth. During the day it swims around the pond and uses the Lily on its head for camouflage and photosynthesis.

Doodle 086 - Horse Studies

When I started drawing today I decided to play around with a deer at first:

Ancient Forest Deer - green and black mechanical pencil. Aprox 10 mins.

I wanted to give it a more fantastical feel... I nearly turned it into a dragon to be sincere.

After that I remembered I had to study horse anatomy, so I did a search and started to draw from random photo references:

Hoof and eye details - green and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

Horse head - green and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

Horse jumping - green and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

Melancholic horse - green and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

Practice makes perfect, never be affraid of tackling difficult things to draw, it might not look right at first, but the more you try the better you will get. I still need a lot of practice, but I won't give up :)

Doodle 082 - Testing

What a weekend, we truly had a blast, but tonight I am exhausted.

We finally made it back home and now I better get ready for the week.

I was rather tired and really had to fight myself in order to do today's doodles... I really wanted to just go to bed or watch TV instead, but I decided to try and draw something.

I  have to keep experimenting with different drawing styles, and that's what I did today. I am not sure if I like these at all, but trying new things out and experimenting is what I need most right now.

Also, I have been thinking about doing a giveaway to mark the 3 month 0r maybe the 100th mark of doodling, I am just not sure what I would give away since I don't really consider any of my doodles good enough to give away yet.

I might work on a watercolor piece and use that as a prize, what do you guys think?

Anyway, here are today's doodles:

The Last Dragon Rider - blue, red and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins

"Are you chewing the pencil lead again?" - red and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 4 mins.

Rough Expression Test - red and black mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 3 mins.

Doodle 075 - Myths and Legends 2 (Interactive Friday)

There went another great weekend, spent most of the day today cleaning the house, so by the time I sat down to draw I was rather tired, still, I tried my best to draw as many mythical creatures as I could before having to call it a night.

Again, thanks so much for all of your suggestions, I learned a whole bunch of new stories and myths thanks to you guys, to be sincere I love myths, legends and fables, so I had a ton of fun researching everything and reading up.

Random fact about me: I used to be an student in the History and Anthropology department of my university back at Spain. Art was my first choice, but due to circumstances I ended up with my second love: Anthropology.  Of course things didn't stay that way and I managed to go back to art in the end.

Anyway, first today is Marebabe:"I'll go with my first thought: Pegasus, the winged horse!"

Oooh pegasus, I love it too, I really haven't practiced my horse anatomy and they are such an amazing mass of musculature and power that it can be very intimidating to tackle them, but I did my best, note to self: work on more horse anatomy drawings:

Pegasus - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

 Next was Colin Morris: "It'd be cool to see you take on the Rainbow Serpent from Australian mythology"

I had never heard of this mythical creature, so I was very excited to research it and now I have a lot of curiosity to learn more about Australian native culture and legends.

Here the serpent is actually part of a stream.

Rainbow Serpent - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

Next Melissa: "I'm rereading Harry Potter right now... just finished book 3. So I'm thinking a Hippogriff :)"

Another tough creature, mostly due to the horse parts lol:

Hippogriff - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

 Rhisssana: "Herne the Hunter. With his horns and his hawk and his horse. I've run out of alliteration."

Yet a new character I hadn't heard of, I learned so much today! I kinda ran out of space for the hawk and horse lol but I did get his horns:

Herne the Hunter - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

And finally for today Moonlup: 'And if you're still taking exotics, perhaps a fiery salamander?"

I decided to make this one loose, quick and fun:

Firey Salamander - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

 And that's it for this weekend doodles. I hope I managed to entertain you since you guys did an awesome job at challenging me and teaching me new stories.

Doodle 074 - Myths and Legends (Interactive Friday)

Having a wonderful weekend so far, I got to stay home, relax, watch TV and play video games. It doesn't sound very exciting, but for us it is a perfect way to unwind.

Again, you guys gave me great inspiration, I really love to play with you all, mostly because I get to draw things I had never thought of trying out before!

Micghelle H: "What about the ledgendary Phoenix? That should be fun...and I love that there can be only one. :)"

Behold!:

Phoenix - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

 Next was Lauren: "You should do Bast. Or the squirrel that runs up and down the world tree (Ratatoskr). That would be rad:)"

So I looked up Bast, I ended up with results for Bastet, who is Bastet you ask? Why it is only one of my favorite ancient Egypt gods:

Bast (aka Bastet) - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins

 She was suppossed to be a protector of Lower Egypt, the Pharaoh and later Rah. I tried to depict her as someone who I would like to have as my bodyguard, fierce, but at the same time protective.

I was also very intrigued by Ratatoskr (seriously, a mythological squirrel that runs up and down Yggdrasil ), I had never heard of him/her/it, so I googled it and I just had to try and draw it:

Ratatoskr - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

Andrea suggested: "Medusa! (Or my husband said "The Kraken. It's like Medusa, on speed!")"

So I drew Medusa, I had never tried drawing her before, I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with the snakes... oh so many snakes! But I figured something out:

Medusa - graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

 I am having so much fun, thanks so much you guys!

Doodle 060 - Baby Sitter

We spent most of today with great friends having fun. This long weekend was awesome, so I'm ready for the return home tomorrow.

This time I was actually sitting by a light source while I drew, LOL. It is a griffin babysitting little baby griffins.

Doodle 050 - Wonders

I was sick at home today, I am still not feeling quite well at the moment. I am not quite sure what I've caught now, but from what Andrei tells me, about everybody at his office went home sick today with what sounds like a bad cold or the flu... I just hope I haven't caught that and can get back to work tomorrow.

Since I spent most of the day with a splitting migraine and resting I didn't do much drawing, just a quick storyboard I thought of when a friend said that for a second there my knitting octopus looked like it was holding toilet paper lol.

So I thought it would be quite awkward to find an octopus as a washroom attendant:

Octopus washroom attendant - Graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins. (click to enlarge)

Sorry if the photo isn't very good, I have very low light and the panels themselves are a bit crooked hehehe.

As a side note, whenever I stumble into a washroom with an actual attendant inside, I sort of feel a bit awkward, and they are humans and all. For a moment there I freeze, say hi politely and then start to freak out because I rarely carry cash or change with me, so I feel terrible when I can't tip... one just doesn't expect them to be in washrooms anymore.

Next I started drawing randomnly and the figure sort of looked like Wonder Woman to me. I have never drawn her (or really any superheroes) before, I gave her a costume that I thought was more practical than the usual strapless swimsuit she is drawn in. If I were to go into battle and kick some major butt I would need proper clothing, just saying.

Wonder Woman - Graphite and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

I struggled a lot with the feet, so next week during figure drawing I'll make it a point to draw way more detailed hands and feet in order to get better at it.

Doodle 049 - Octo Knitter

You could say I am tired today, my drawing arm was so not used to all the drawing (at a larger scale) I did yesterday, hehehe, I need to build my artistic muscles back up.

To rest my arm and my drawing hand I did a silly little doodle today and decided to color it in with some prismacolor pencils:

Knitting Octopus - Graphite, mechanical pencils, micron pen and prismacolor pencils on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins

Yup... it is a knitting octopus. Haha! Yeah... I have no idea why, it just happened... ok maybe it is about the fact that I am nearly done with my latest scarf, this time the whole thing goes around my neck about 4 times. Yup... that's one long scarf.

Doodle 047 - All Mixed Up (part 2)

I had a mostly lazy Sunday, not ashamed to say, I didn't really get off my PJ's until after noon hehehe, but I did go outside, and I did wear real clothes, so I was a productive member of society for a bit today.

Here are today's mix-ups, starting with Marebabe's "baby elephant and a parasol".

Parasol Elephant Baby - blue pencil, mechanical pencil and graphite on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins

This is a hybrid parasol/elephant, the canopy of the parasol opens up when the elephant is happy/at attention and sort of folds back when the elephant is sad. Just FYI, the baby elephant on the upper right corner is sad because his mom grounded him for separating from the group while chasing a butterfly.

Becky suggested "A porcupine and a pocket watch", behold!

Porcupine Pocket Watch - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

This is definitely a fashion statement time piece, exercise caution while placing this watch in or out of your pocket. Matching tweezers to remove porcupine quills sold separately.

Jill suggested: "A seahorse and an iphone"

iPhone Seahorse 6 - Blue pencil, mechanical pencil and graphite on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox - 15 mins.

*Dons black turtleneck* Presenting the new iPhone Seahorse 6. This cellphone will change everything and will revolutionize the underwater cellphone market. So intuitive, that all mermaids and mermen will want to queue at their local maritime Apple stores days in advance to get their fins on one. Tell your merfriends.

And finally I picked a random extra mash-up, Michelle H suggested: "A cat in a hot air balloon"

Navigating Feline - blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

 I drew that last one while on the phone with my mom. I have logged the rest of the ideas you guys shared and I'll probably work on them during the week when/if I find myself without any cool ideas, because really, some of you have awesome concepts.

Once again, thanks for playing along! I indeed have the most awesome blog readers ever.

Doodle 046 - All mixed up (part 1)

I hope everybody's weekend is going well, I spent most of mine either watching anime on Hulu, working out, knitting or running amok outside.

I didn't get back in till past eight and then I had to sit and watch Doctor Who... since I still had drawing to do I just doodled today's mixed up animal/objects while sitting on the couch and watching T.V.

AppleCore suggested: "a panda and teapot".

Panda Teapot - Blue pencil, mechanical pencil and graphite on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

Now I sorta wish I had this teapot... so cute!

prettylittlej suggested: "A honeybee and a xylophone". Not gonna lie, that sorta surprised me, but I came up with this:

The Musical Xylophone Bee - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine Notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

This bee communicates using the music that it produces by playing the xylophone on its abdomen with its legs. When the bees go out to gather pollen they can play songs together.

Susanna King suggested: "An octopus and a chair". I like octopus, they are fun to draw, I haven't drawn one in ages though, so as I looked up reference images I came up with this:

Octopus Chair - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

It looks like a throne suited for a mermaid princess, doesn't it? I am rather happy about how it turned out.

OK I am off to bed now, hope you guys enjoyed these doodles! Tomorrow I'll do some more.

Doodle 045 - Second Interactive Friday!

Yay Friday!
I couldn't be happier for the start of the weekend, I have no real plans at all, but I am looking forward to sleeping in and figuring something out, plus any requests I might get today.

Before that though, I managed to doodle 2 requests that came down the pipes after the original 10 for last Friday. See? I remember these things:

Red Fox old fashioned photographer - blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins

Mobster Schnauzer - blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

OK now, for today's combos, I want to try something a bit different, so let's go with animals of any kind (including insects), and an inanimate object.

Example: Bottle + Cat

This week I'll draw the first 6 since it might take me a while to figure out how to combine things lol.

Doodle 043 - Space Bunny

Oh meetings, I seem to find myself stuck in more and more of those lately... it is part of the whole office job thing, so it doesn't really bother me much, but being someone who has a lot of trouble keeping attention when a topic doesn't involve what I do, well, it can be rough.

I find that doodling helps me concentrate a lot. I might not be looking up at the speaker, but putting lines down on paper helps me listen to them and keep track of where the conversation is going, along with letting me think of things to say, suggestions, etc.

Maybe doing this keeps my "fun" side of the brain entertained while my "business" side does its thing.

I doodled this bunny during a meeting today:

Space Bunny - Pencil on ruled paper. Aprox 1 min.

I had this image of a bunny wearing a space helmet... yeah...

During lunch I did a quick sketch while waiting for food:

Cashier - Mechanical pencil on small Moleskine notebook. Aprox 3 mins.

 At the end of the day I was pretty tired, so Andrei took me to buy a chocolate shake. As we sat waiting for it and chatting about the work day, I decided to refine the bunny doodle idea from my meeting:

Cruising Space Bunny! - Mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 10 mins.

I have started turning this bunny into a vector illustration, I think it could at least make a cute sticker, no?

Finally, I started a facebook page for the blog a little while back, I just hadn't really used it much. I am not really sure what I'll end up sticking there, but if you guys want to follow along there, here is the link.

Doodle 040 - First Interactive Friday Doodles! (part 2)

I hope everybody enjoyed the weekend, mine, as always, went very fast.

To help us say goodbye to the weekend and hello to yet another Monday, I finished the other 5 requests. I haven't really drawn some of these animals before, so it was a learning experience and a lot of fun. Also, I love google's image search lol, no better reference tool out there.

First, Kara's "Labradoodle in a biker style trench coat with biker boots!"

Biker labradoodle - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

And now for Nathan's request, a "Velociraptor pirate". I must note, drawing dinosaurs when you are scared of them, not as hard as you might think, overall since they look so tiny on the screen. Still, sort of a squeamish type of thing lol

Velocirarrrrptorrrr - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 20 mins.

Colin requested a "Steampunk Platypus", this one was a lot of fun since I love platypuses.. platypi?

Steamy Platypus - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

 Gina requested a "Puppy in toe shoes", haha! So cute:

Puppy Ballerina - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

And finally, MichelleH asked for a "seal as a fisherman", yes, it has a bubble pipe hehehe.

Seal Fisherman - Blue and mechanical pencil on plain Moleskine notebook. Aprox 15 mins.

 I am glad you guys liked this game, so I will make it a regular thing and ask for different combos during the weekends. Thanks for being so awesome and helping me out, I truly appreciate it.