Illustration Sketchbook

Drawrch 2025 #23: Jane Jetson

Martin · 3 minutes

An illustration of Jane Jetson, from the cartoon The Jetsons. Jane is facing the viewer but looking up to the left, as if rolling her eyes. She is smiling. She has a light complexion, red hair, pearl earrings, and is wearing her usual sleeveless purple top with large, white triangular collar. The background is a dark blue that gets lighter towards the top, with white stars drawn over it in a retro asterisk style.

After yesterday's drawing, I wanted to do another woman in cartoon style (and truth be told, I'm really tired tonight after a 4-hour drive back from Fort Bragg). So today's Drawrch illustration is of Jane Jetson, one of the leading women in The Jetsons, a favorite cartoon from my youth.

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Syrup brush for linework, and the Soft air brush for the background gradient.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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Drawrch 2025 #22: Chomp

Martin · 1 day

An illustration of a man wearing a bunny suit and eating a carrot. The illustration is in a cartoon style. The man has a large bulge of carrot in his cheek and is staring at the viewer as if he's been caught doing something. He is holding a carrot with a large bite taken out of it in his right hand. The bunny suit has a hole cut out for the man's face, two floppy ears on top, and a large zipper down the front. The man had a light complexion and blue eyes. The suit is a light blue. The background is a faded purple with a darker gray splotch for the man's shadow.

I didn't have a lot of time for today's Drawrch illustration, so... here's another cartoon. ðŸĪŠ

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, and the Syrup brush for everything else.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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Drawrch 2025 #21: In The Distance

Martin · 2 days

An illustration of a woman looking to the left, almost in profile. The woman has a wistful look on her face, and her lips look slightly pursed. Her head is tilted backward a bit, and her eyes are focused on a point far in the distance. She has a dark complexion, plum-colored lips, dark eyes, and dark hair. Her hair is in tight braids, and it tied into a knot around itself in the back, with single braids hanging down behind it. The background is a light blue. The image is styled to look like an old comic book illustration.

Today's Drawrch illustration is of a woman looking into the distance.

I really enjoyed making this one, though I almost got tripped up on the braids. As I was drawing their outlines, my plan was to just fill them in with a dark color and call it good, but when I started doing the "inking" portion, I couldn't help myself and drew in all the details. I'm glad that I did, because I think the drawing is much better for it.

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Smooth Natural Nib brush for linework, and the Rough Dot Shader 45/Light and Rough Dot Shader 60/Light brush for shading. I used the Syrup brush to help with fills, and the Worn 2 Subtle brush for the distress overlay at the end.

The Smooth Natural Nib brush is from the Rusty Nib pack, the Dot Shader brushes are from the Beat Tones pack, and the Worn 2 Subtle brush is from the Fast Grit pack, all by True Grit Texture Supply.

The photo I used as a reference for this drawing is from SketchDaily.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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Drawrch 2025 #20: Somber

Martin · 3 days

An illustration of a man in profile, looking to the right. The man is drawn in black and white with posterized colors and a rough brush. The man has a blank expression on his face and appears to have a light complexion. His hair is very curly, and it sticks out over his forehead and droops over his eyebrow and ear. A bright light source illuminates his profile, leaving his jawline, neck, and hair in deep shadow. The background is a bright gold that fades to orange towards the bottom of the image.

I got done with today's Drawrch illustration very early! 😄

The reference image I used was in black and white, so figuring out the shading was a lot easier than normal. I added some color in the background to liven things up a bit too.

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Inka brush for linework, and the Soft air brush for background shading.

The photo I used as a reference for this drawing is from SketchDaily.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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Drawrch 2025 #19: Pink

Martin · 3 days

An illustration of a woman looking somewhat intently at the viewer. The woman has a light complexion with ruby shadows. She has steel blue eyes and pink lips. Her hair is cut to chin length and is colored pink at the ends. Her hair is also being lit from behind by a bright environmental light. The woman is wearing a denim jacket. The background is a blurred outdoor environment with a white sky, green hills and a bright spot just above the woman's shoulder at the bottom of the image.

Today's Drawrch is one that I've been wanting to do for a while, but was sort of worried about being able to get it right.

It's a bit similar to yesterday's drawing, in that the reference is somewhat unconventional. I'm glad I went for it though, because I feel like I was able to capture the woman in the photo properly. It would've been nice to have more time for shading, but I can only work for so long in the evening! 😅

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Inka brush for linework, and the Soft air brush for shading and background texture. The photo I used as a reference for this drawing is from SketchDaily.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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Drawrch 2025 #18: Squinting

Martin · 4 days

An illustration of a man laughing. The man has a medium complexion and is shaved bald, with only stubble left behind. His eyes are squinting and his mouth is open. He is wearing a mustard yellow shirt and a gray coat. The background is a gold color that fades to white as it goes from top to bottom.

I really struggled with today's Drawrch illustration. I spent about an hour working on my first sketch before abandoning it and starting over, and then just rushed through it to get done.

The second sketch, which was less concerned with proportions, turned out a lot better. Partly because it was more stylized than then original, and partly because I was more familiar with the reference's face at that point, but it still just doesn't look right to me. It was a hard expression and angle to capture, and I'm not sure I succeeded here. He just looks a little... dopey? I don't know!

This project is about practice though, so they can't all be good! 😅

Anyway, this was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Soft air brush for some light shading, the Rough Dot Shader 45/Light brush for the hair/stubble, and the Syrup brush for everything else.

The Dot Shader brush is from the Beat Tones pack, by True Grit Texture Supply.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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Drawrch 2025 #17: Tilted

Martin · 5 days

An illustration of a woman looking at the viewer with her head tilted back and to the side a bit. The woman has a light, but tanned complexion, pink lips, brown eyes, and brown hair with dark roots and light tips. Her hair is tied back behind her head, but many strands are loose. She has a small stud earring in her visible ear and a necklace. Her shoulders are exposed, and the strap of a white bathing suit goes up around her neck. Part of her face is in slight shadow, which transitions from a red to orange to blue from right to left. The background is a light turquoise that fades to white at the bottom.

I started drawing today's Drawrch illustration thinking I would make it a little more cartoony, sort of like #10 Night Walk from a week ago.

I couldn't really find the right angles to make the proportions fit that style though, so I opted to just make the sketch a little more realistic and then put the image in a less realistic style. The brush I used was thicker than usual, and I like the effect it produced - almost like a physical art print.

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Soft air brush for shading, and the Syrup brush for linework and everything else.

The photo I used as a reference for this drawing is from SketchDaily.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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Drawrch 2025 #16: Another Beard

Martin · 6 days

An illustration of a man with a mustache, beard, and headscarf, looking to the left. The man has a medium complexion, dark hair, and dark eyes. He looks like he is scowling slightly, as if he is looking into the sun. His beard is trimmed neatly but is also growing in on his neck a bit. His headscarf is covered in various red and white patterns. He is wearing a magenta shirt. The background is a light blue that fades to white at the bottom.

Another late Drawrch illustration, and another beard (which you may recall I am very tired of trying to draw).

I picked this reference because I thought it would be simple to draw, which is sort of was, but then the pattern on the headscarf took forever, and now its past midnight. At least the sketch was easy to do! ðŸ˜ĩ‍ðŸ’Ŧ

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Soft air brush for shading, and the Inka brush for everything else.

The photo I used as a reference for this drawing is from SketchDaily.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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Drawrch 2025 #15: Sunglasses

Martin · 8 days

An illustration of a woman in profile. The woman is facing right and is wearing a pair of sunglasses. The woman has a light complexion, pink lips, and green eyes. She has blond hair with a darker brown underneath and towards the bottom, and it is tied up behind her head. She is wearing a silver hoop earring in her visible ear. The sunglasses are a transparent brown with dark blue lenses. The woman is drawn in black outlines with painterly shading. The background is a purple that fades a little darker as it goes from top to bottom.

The more I work on Drawrch illustrations, the more I find myself sitting there thinking, "man, I hate drawing _____". First it was beards. Then hair. Now sunglasses. And yet every time I get done drawing them I take a step back and things weren't really so bad. I didn't actually have that bad of a time illustration these things. I think I just find them sort of tedious.

It's especially egregious with hair, since I feel like this project often makes me spend more time on that than anything else, but it's all in service of practicing, so I can't complain too much.

By the way, this drawing marks the halfway point for this project - just 16 more to go! I hope you'll join me tomorrow for the start of the second half of Drawrch! 😊

Anyway, this was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Syrup brush for linework, the Old Brush for shading, and the Soft air brush for a few fades/gradients.

The photo I used as a reference for this drawing is from SketchDaily.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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Drawrch 2025 #14: Mask

Martin · 8 days

An illustration of a person in a black body suit, from the shoulders up, wearing a round mask with a smiley face on it. The mask is lime green and has scratches around the edge. There is a crack forming in it at the top right. The body suit is dark gray, and there is a light shining down from the right, brightening the edge of the mask and the right shoulder. The background is a pale green split in half with a darker green going diagonally down the bottom half. The image is made to look like an old comic book illustration, with blotchy ink lines, faded colors, and a thin layer of grunge over the entire image.

Today's Drawrch illustration is a little bit of a throwaway, but after a long week (and yesterday's epic 3.5 hour drawing session), I needed a break. That's two weeks of this project done, by the way!

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Rusty Nib 1 brush for linework, the Rough Dot Shader 45/Light and Vertical Line Shader Light brushes for shading, the Worn 3 Subtle and Toner Grit Detail 2 brushes for grunge, and a small assist from the Syrup brush for fills.

The Rusty Nib brush is from the Rusty Nib Pack, the Dot and Vertical Line brushes are from the Beat Tones pack, and the grunge brushes are from the Fast Grit pack, all by True Grit Texture Supply.

If you'd like to see how I drew this one, you can watch the time-lapse below:

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