wagonized 003

wagonized 003, originally uploaded by Rymann.

O.K. this is another attempt at a portrait of wagonized. I have a long way to go, but this is definitely better. The cross hatching was giving me fits so I softened it up a bit by using dots instead. Just tried to simplify things and be more patient.

Oh, and the funny thing was I was sketching on a page that had some other drawings and I ran out of room (i.e. the disappearing chin and chopped ear). I cut a piece of paper and covered the other stuff so I could finish the portrait (right ear and hat/head). It started as just a nose. Then I added the left eye. Once the mouth took shape I saw it coming together better than my previous attempts. So, I had to finish it.

Attempt 1

Attempt 2

moos

moos, originally uploaded by Rymann.

My mini moo cards arrived today. I can't get any of the stinkin' cameras to work, so I present you with this digital representation.

silos

silos, originally uploaded by Rymann.

First drawing from life (not photo) in quite a while. These things looked pretty old, but not nearly as crooked as I actually drew them. I grew a little impatient as the silos themselves could have used a little texture. But, I didn't want to overdo it and muddy things up.

skill saw

skill saw, originally uploaded by Rymann.

My skill saw. Lots of projects now. The blade really is red...weird, huh? That's supposed to be the cord wrapped under the handle, but it didn't turn out very well. Leaves the handle looking a little ambiguous.

After my Construction Equipment Zine I had envisioned a series of tool drawings, which could possibly lead to another short series zine. I did my dust mask and drill and now...my skill saw.

I'm enjoying the markers. This wasn't colored with my new copics. All the black was colored and cross-hatched with my 0.5 Staedtler Pigment Liner, the gray was a Pitt Artist Pen, and the red was a Tombo Brush Marker.

copic ciao

copic ciao, originally uploaded by Rymann.

I just bought this little "intro" set of copic markers. Not the standard style. These are the ciao markers. They have a brush tip on one side and medium broad nib on the other. These are more like a regular pen, as opposed to the traditional copics that are thicker and shorter.

The colors were done with the copic markers. The gray was done with my pit artist pen.

After seeing everything locowhiteboy has been doing with his, I had to at least try them out. They're very bright and vibrant. So far so good.

self-portrait 2

self-portrait 2, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Faces and people are really hard for me to draw. I avoided the mouth/teeth dilemma by cropping my reflection in the small visor mirror so as to omit my mouth. Plus I gave myself a bit of the googly eyes. I like how my eyebrows and hat turned out. I used a bit more scratching as opposed to pure hatching on this. I think it worked o.k. Maybe it just makes me look like I haven't washed my face.

New template

Screw it! Started a new template. Not as easy to deal with code-wise. However, I only know enough to really screw things up.

What happened to my template...

Anyone? Can't figure out why my sidebar is showing up below all my posts. Howe inconvenient. Darn free templates. I swear it wasn't me. I always made sure everything was OK after the many minor changes. Suddenly, after much neglect...BAM...all screwed up. Any suggestions?

Probably start from scratch with a new template.

More Portraits

locowhiteboy, originally uploaded by Rymann.

wagonized portrait, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Well, I've toyed with the idea of participating in The Portrait Party for some time now. Several of my flickr friends create amazing portraits on a regular basis. Faces have always intimidated me. Following the completion of my self portrait I wanted more.

So, I approached two artists whos talent, technique, and style I admire greatly about participating in The Portrait Party. They both agreed.

The top portrait is locowhiteboy, the bottom one is wagonzied.

Here are their portraits of me here and here.

self-portrait

self-portrait, originally uploaded by Rymann.

This is the first self-portrait I've drawn that actually resembles me...somewhat. Check the notes on flickr to see what is real and what isn't. Its hard to draw a pointy nose from straight on. Couldn't get the lips to look right. If you outline 'em it looks like a cartoon with lipstick. This was fun, I think I might try a few more.

danny phantom

danny phantom, originally uploaded by Rymann.

This is a Danny Phantom stamp I made for my son. I've been printing off line art copies that we've been coloring different colors. This way he can stamp as many as he wants. Its probably about 2" x 3" or so. It could benefit from a little clean up.

Here are a few examples of the colored line art printouts. I cut them out and he hangs them all over his wall.

blackspot

blackspot3, originally uploaded by Rymann.

My blackspot sneakers have definitely seen better days. They are currently "dry day only" shoes. This spring I discovered a crack in the left sole right over the ball of my foot. This after walking across a recently rained on parking lot (i.e. very wet sock).

I didn't think I'd had them that long or worn them that much. Both of which are probably incorrect. I contacted the manufacturer with my complaint. "Maybe its a design flaw" I groveled. "Probably not" was the reply. They recommended a "professional" repair. If that was unsuccessful, they'd replace them.

The cobbler looked over the shoe and with a grimace somewhat resembling a grin followed by a short inhale sucking sound. You know, when you tell someone, ssssss (sucking sound), this isn't likely going to work. Then, pointed me to an enormous $10 tube of shoe goo. I mean really, who needs that much shoe goo. Make a $2 tube and I can buy two for a big job.

So, now they're dry day shoes. The soles are definitely worn now. It may be time to move on.

hands

hands3, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Got a cheap sketch book so I'm not intimidated or scared of placing a blemish in a fancy moleskine. So, now I'm drawing more. Hands are difficult.

I think this one turned out the best. It worked out nice that the final version appeared to be drawing my initial, aborted attempt. That was totally unintentional.

These ones weren't right. The bottom one was too fat and at the last second I messed up the wrist on the top one. I also wanted to try getting more contrast in terms of values with cross-hatching.


These two were looking pretty good. I just didn't like the how the fingers curled underneath turned out. That part didn't feel right. I framed the one I felt was better.

Stamp Making

final, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Here's my first attempt carving a stamp on something other than an eraser using something other than an X-acto knife. The top image is the final product. Progress shots are included below.

1. O.K. so I gathered together all my supplies: Speedball lino cutter, Soft-Kut, cutting mat, pencil, and mirror image (reduced to planned size). Note: If you draw onto your cutting medium, be it eraser, lino, whatever, you would want to create a mirror image of what you wanted to stamp. However, I didn't think through the transfer process. If you transfer an image, you want the image to be oriented as you would like the stamp, because when you transfer it, it will be a mirror image. I hadn't thought that through prior to starting.


2. For a great visual tutorial on stamp carving look at inky squid's flickr set. I basically colored all the lines in my image with graphite. I used a sketch pencil, but I think any pencil would work. These are the parts of the image that will be transfered. I leave the lines and cut out the empty space. Some people may prefer to do it differently. Once all the lines are covered, place the image (face down) on your cutting medium. Then use a bone folder or spoon (this is what I did) and burnish (rub) the back of the entire image. I honestly did not expect this to work. I sort of half-heartedly rubbed the back of the image and it still worked great. I had considered an acetone transfer but that just seemed to messy for this application.


3. This is a test stamp following the initial carving. I actually liked the "woodcut" look of this, but had plans for something cleaner. So, I kept carving. Because the soft-kut is so flexible, you have to be careful not to press too hard as this will result in lots of the deeper cuts coming through. I place a flat object on the back to get some nice, even pressure.


4. Here is my sheet of test stamps. The process goes a little something like this. Cut, cut, cut...pause...cut. Stamp. Cut, cut, cut...pause...cut. Stamp. And on until you have the look you want.

Last Batch

Last Batch, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Well, I think this will be the last batch of zines to go out (except for those of you have already made arrangements and some swaps that are in the works). I might see if any of the distros would consider selling it. Thanks to everyone who contacted me and all the great feedback. I really appreciate it.

mini excavator

mini excavator, originally uploaded by Rymann.

I've been making too many excuses lately. In my defense though, I have been preoccupied with my zine. Diane at the craftypod recently posted some wonderfully kind words about my zine. Check out the craftypod podcast. Its so full of useful and interesting information.

Anyone in the Portland area? Hope to see you at the Portland Zine Symposium.

more zines

more zines, originally uploaded by Rymann.

I've been pretty preoccupied with developing new combinations to decorate envelopes I feel like it has been ages since I actually sat down to draw.

Here is the latest batch, ready to go.

Get a copy of my first ZINE here...

loco

loco, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Just received this little package of goodies from locowhiteboy. Contents included a couple sweet motorcycle drawings colored with copic markers. A sticker and patch with my new flickr avatar, all contained in a drawn on collaged envelope. Thanks loco!

Click on the image to see notes at flickr.

More Envelopes

More Envelopes, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Making these has been pretty fun. I found the right size envelope, peeled it apart scanned it, drew an outline, then printed on the same kraft paper I'm using for my zine. I have to cut them out by hand, which is actually pretty therapeutic.

I splurged and bought a couple of new colors of ink. These were all decorated using my hand-carved eraser stamps. Which one do you like best?

Constructin Equipment Guide Zine

Constructin Equipment Guide Zine, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Well, I've finally compile my first zine. More of a zinelet really given its small size and weight. It's a 1/4 size booklet printed on 10 pages of dark brown (kraft) paper. It includes all my construction equipment drawings I've completed lately.

free

free, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Something a little different. I've been making hand-carved eraser stamps. This particular stamp reminded me of a dandelion seed...floating...free. Plus, it gave me an opportunity to try out my new alphabet stamps (cowboy's ransom).

This was done in my pocket watercolor moleskine with staedtler pigment liners.

watertruck_final

watertruck_final, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Finally, the next to last piece of equipment in the series. After a short hiatus from the moleskine I decided it was time. I took some intermediate scans so you can see the progress. Didn't think to do that until I was a ways into it.

So this came about for two reasons really. First, I thought it would be a cool idea and something different. Unfortunately, I didn't think to do this until I was already started on some of the details. Second, it was late and I kept going in to comfort my daughter at regular intervals. This provided the perfect opportunity, as I was already stopped and distracted, to scan the drawing in its current state. In fact my daughter sat on my lap through portions of the drawing.

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<3>

<2>

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pocket knife

pocketknife, originally uploaded by Rymann.

I carry this everywhere. Can't believe it just occurred to me to draw it. Staedtler pigment liner and white gel pen on recycled paper.

Moonlight Chronicles

I just wanted to take this opportunity to encourage everyone who reads this to go over to www.moonlight-chronicles.com and check out Dan Price's zine. Send him $5 and take a look, I think you'll enjoy it.

Reading Dan's zine is what inspired me to pick up a pen after giving up on drawing way back when. The journey has been wonderful. I've become part of a great creative community at EDM, CMP, and flickr. Everyone I encounter is extremely encouraging which is great, particularly because I feel sometimes I can be a harsh critic of my own work. I appreciate when others emphsize the positives.

Seriously though, check out the Chronicles...they're great. I am in no way affiliated with Moonlight Chronicles and you won't get a free juicer by mentioning my name, but you will enjoy the stories and drawings.

glasses

glasses, originally uploaded by Rymann.

staedtler pigment liner and white gel pen on recycled paper. I thought I'd just put in a subtle shadow with a gray marker (the lightest one I had). However, this paper just sucked up the ink making the shadow a lot more prominent. So, I tried going over the black again to make it darker. Probably would've looked better without the shadow.

Homemade Rubber Stamps

Here are some of the homemade rubber stamps I have. They were all created by carving those school erasers using an exacto knife. When I went to school they were all pink...pink pearl I think they were called. Now they come in dayglow orange and yellow, too.

The two at the upper left are my old school ipod and moleskine pocket sketchbook. The others are just designs I use on letters and stuff.

blackspot2

blackspot2, originally uploaded by Rymann.

More gel pen on the recycled paper.

ipod

ipod, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Another quick sketch with the gel pen. I'm really likin' the white. Kind of fun to mix it up a bit.

This is my early generation ipod - very clunky and uncool when compared to the new models. No, the screen is not color. No, it can not play videos, send text messages, or make my morning coffee.

It is useful for listening to the creative mom podcast (CMP)...check it out.

New Sketch Book

Well, I've been taking drawing too seriously lately, which leads to fewer, more "serious" type drawings. So, I bought this $1 sketchbook with rough specked brown paper so I could loosen up a bit and use my white gel pen for some color and highlights. Let me know what you think.

scraper

scraper, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Scraper: Staedtler pigment liner in moleskine pocket sketchbook. Another piece of equipment.

This one was a struggle. I really wasn't that happy with it as I was drawing it...but it turned out o.k.

roller

roller, originally uploaded by Rymann.

...:::ENLARGE:::...

SD-100D Roller: Staedtler pigment liner in moleskine pocket sketchbook. Another piece of equipment.

loader

loader, originally uploaded by Rymann.

544C Loader: Staedtler pigment liner in moleskine pocket sketchbook. Another piece of equipment. Saw this one on a site today.

grader

grader, originally uploaded by Rymann.

dozer

dozer, originally uploaded by Rymann.

...:::ENLARGE:::...
750C Dozer: Staedtler pigment liner in moleskine pocket sketchbook.

excavator

excavator, originally uploaded by Rymann.

A big CAT excavator.

mask

mask, originally uploaded by Rymann.

The carbon cartridge respirator I use when I'm spray painting.

zine cover mockup

zine cover mockup, originally uploaded by Rymann.

I've always wanted to create a little zine. With my recent (though small) series of construction equipment I've decided to use that as the start of a short "identification guide" of the construction equipment I come across daily. It will be a photocopied, 1/4 size zine on brownish paper. Stay tuned.

drill

drill, originally uploaded by Rymann.

Given all the house projects we've been working on lately I thought it only fitting to draw one of my most frequently used tools. Staedtler Pigment Liner in pocket moleskine sketchbook.