Introspective and Breakout Heroes

I've finished my 2nd sketchbook! It feels weird. This book has a long history. Most of that history involves not drawing in it. But the book itself has been with me through the last 3 stages of my life. Now it's finished, and it's hit me that I don't know what the next stage is.

I'll be honest, this is gonna get pretty introspective. You can just skip to the drawings if you want, I won't be offended, the last guy has a machine gun for a head. If you give any kind of shit though:

1. I bought the sketchbook around mid-2015, whilst still working at a student shop. I'd only just finished my first sketchbook but I was determined to keep going. Determined. Then my contract ended so I didn't get past the second page... I was invited to return to that job after the summer but I decided I wanted to return as a student. In the time I had worked there, I had built up enough confidence in myself and my artwork to repeat the final year of my degree that I had failed earlier in my life. So I did keep going - just not in that book. However, I took it with me when I moved to campus.

2. I attended lectures. I drew. I animated. I made friends, spoke in class, goofed around with housemates and oh god I was finally enjoying university for the first time in my life and when I finally felt like I was making progress and hitting my stride... univeristy ended. Ha. If only I could've gone back for 2 years. It's okay. This time, I felt like I had actually FINISHED. I left that course and campus satisfied. This time, I would not be looking back. Except for this paragraph, of course.

Around the same time, my parents sold the family home (of 25 years!) and moved to the countryside. I went with them, safely far away from an old neighbourhood where I could have easily sank back into old habits. There wasn't much to do in that empty little countryside town though, so I started filling up that sketchbook's empty little pages. You've seen quite a few of those already. I called them the Super 13.

3. Now it's 2017. I'm living with a mate in London and working a new, albeit depressingly similar, job. It's retail again, selling art supplies. Although maybe it's not similar enough. The hours are longer. The pay is less. The customers are more demanding. I've found it harder to keep drawing. The last page in particular book remained unfinished for weeks. Maybe I was scared to ruin it after coming so far. Then, one night, I just bloody did it.

When it was done, I sat with the sketchbook closed beside me and feeling a weird mix of emotions. Accomplishment for having finished it. Guilt over the fact it took so long. Wistfulness over the places I've been and people I met. And a general sense of pride for the last 3 years. After originally failing university and spending a couple of years unemployed, those 3 stages of activities and efforts are really important to me.

I just need to figure out where the hell I go next.

Anyway, here are those last pages. Along with Super 13, these characters share the same story as the ones from the posts 'Superheroes' and 'Seven Ways to Win'. Y'know, I think it's time I quit it with these confusing different titles and commit to one simple name.

These are the Breakout Heroes.

 

Who Wants to Play?

It's 2017! But it's also the 31st of January, so the fact it's a new year stopped being exciting 3 weeks ago. Unless of course you consider fascism exciting. Still, this is the first post of the new year and I've got something to be excited about...

I have a show! It's a gaming show I host with my friend Matt. See, we watched Let's Play videos on YouTube and decided 'you know what this bloated genre needs? MORE.'

Our show is called 'Who Wants to Play?' and we started work on it 3 months ago, hence why it's been quiet here for the 3 months. I've been working on all the editing and graphics, including drawing our handsome faces.

We only need one each per episode, but sometimes we make a mistake or play a scary game so I feelanother expression is necessary. Nervous, confused, laughing hysterically and terrified is what I have so far, and pretty much sums up what it's like making a show.

Click HERE to visit our channel and see every episode!

Or to save on clicks, you can watch the latest episode right here! This is actually the first game we ever recorded, something we originally scrapped but which I manage to save with fancy editing:

Inktober 2016 and FIRST Videos!

I decided it was time to finally get involved with Inktober. Unfortunately, I also started a new job this month. Well, not that unfortunate. Now I can afford food and rent. The point is, I squeezed in as much drawing as I can. After rewatching the Game Grumps play Mario Maker and Mario Galaxy, I was inspired to draw the red plumber's enemies in new combinations.

Rocky Wrench and Mini-Airship

Bullet Bill and Lakitu

Hammer Bro and Reznor

I got really into this. I mean, designers working on endless sequels strive for new ideas all the time. But you can also develop old ideas, combine them. 20 years after these enemies first showed up and they're still capable of challenging the player in fun new ways!

I wanted to draw some real stuff too, so I found a few reference poses on deviantart and quickly sketched 'em:

This is a sketchbook I bought to keep me company while I'm working at this new place. Last time I got a job I disappeared for a few months and I don't want that to happen again. In fact, I'm so determined to stay in contact with the world I've dared to start video blog posts.

Do YOU dare to look at my face?

Super 13

I've been filling up a little sketchbook with superheroes and villains, though I haven't quite decided who is who yet. Regardless, I'm now going to share them with you. Why now? Just 'cos I needed to update this month, nothing special. No wait, I mean, uh, because YOU'RE special. Yes.

These characters share the same story as the ones I shared previously, here and here to be exact, though I'm not ready to share the story yet. Hopefully you'll find these guys and girls intriguing enough to eventually want to read it though.

The story isn't called 'Super 13', that's just how many characters I have in my current sketchbook. Coupled with previous updates, the cast currently looks like this:

I like a big cast.

Pub Hack 1

Are 'life hacks' still a thing? They were at least more frequent a couple of years ago, telling us how we could use old water bottles to store our grandparents or something.

I had the idea back then for a series of posters called 'pub hacks'. Each character from The Infamous Five would share a helpful suggestion about getting through a night at the pub. More than one of those characters would use their own arse as a phone screen saver, so I really had to delve deep into their motivations to decide which one wanted it more. It's important to take your characters seriously like that.

She Approaches COLOURED!

As the title says, I COLOURED! the drawing I posted here 5 days ago - 'She Approaches'.

And as I said back then, this was an idea I had to tell a mini story and I'm proud of myself for getting it down on paper - and pixels - soon after having the idea, instead of keeping it in my head forever. That's a habit I should get into more.

I quite like the guy I made up for this, maybe I'll use him again in something.

She Approaches

I had to tell myself I was going to have fun and draw today. I had to tell myself this, because it's been a week since Britain - my country - held a vote on whether we should stay part of the EU or whether we should punch ourselves repeatedly in the face until we fall down a cliff onto used hospital needles. We chose the needles.

I'm mentally and physically exhausted from the fallout, the world is laughing at us, so today I had fun. I drew something completely unrelated.

I had the idea for this image a few days ago. It's unusual for me to have an idea then draw it so soon. There's usually a mandatory procrastination period of two hundred thousand years, but here it is.

A medieval-esque traveller is resting by a rock when he hears footsteps, so he silently grabs the hilt of his sword. The audience sees the one approaching is a beautiful woman, a mysterious ethereal figure, and that the sword's hilt is placed rather suggestively. I don't often draw scenes, but this is a scene. And an attempt to tell a story, to ask questions. Are these characters gonna rumble, or romance? I was gonna say 'fight or fuck' but thought that was too crude. I mean obviously I've said it now, but only to tell you I won't.