Illustration Sketchbook

Drawrch 2026 #6: Pink Hat

Martin · 4 hours

An illustration of a girl wearing a pink hat and shirt, drawn in profile. The girl is wearing her hat backwards, and blond bangs are sticking out of the hole in back of the hat, covering her eyes. Curved blond hair is hanging out at the back of her head, touching her shoulder. She has a grin on her face. The girl is drawn in the style of a Gorillaz character, with a slightly protruding jaw, and has the look and texture of an old comic book page, with rough ink lines, distressed color, halftone shading, and mis-registered blocks of color. The background is a light purple.

Here's yesterday's Drawrch illustration - a girl in a pink hat and shirt, drawn in a sort-of Gorillaz-ish style.

I drew this while I was waiting at the ER! We were there from 5 PM to 2 AM. Everyone's alright thankfully, but it was a long day, and I didn't get a chance to upload anything before now.

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 brush for halftone shading, the Worn 2 Subtle and Worn 3 Subtle brushes for texture, and the Syrup brush for fills and other utility.

The Rusty Nib brush is from the Rusty Nib pack, the Rough Dot brush is from the Beat Tones pack, and the Worn Subtle brushes are from the Fast Grit pack. Those are 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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Drawrch #5: Green Shirt

Martin · 1 day

An illustration of a man looking to the left and smiling. The drawing is done in a caricature style, with the man's various features exaggerated. The man has a long face, high forehead, large protruding nose, and smile with only top teeth showing. The man's short hair is parted to the side, and he has a trim mustache and beard. He has a pale complexion and freckles, green eyes, and light brown hair and beard. He is wearing a green collared shirt with a dark undershirt visible. The background is a light slate color, with a faint glow behind the man.

For today's Drawrch illustration, I wanted to do more of a caricature.

To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of (most) caricatures. A lot of them overly rely on exaggerating features and less on actual likeness. But it's hard to do them without exaggerating features, since that's sort of the name of the game.

I'm not super practiced with caricatures, so I might be falling into the latter category here, but I enjoyed making it and it bears at least a little resemblance to my reference. Maybe I can do more as this project progresses!

Anyway, this was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Inka brush for linework, the Flicks spray paint brush for texture, the Old Brush paint brush for the majority of the shading, and the Soft air brush for the rest.

The photo I used as a reference for this drawing is from Line of Art.

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

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Drawrch 2026 #4: Eeek!

Martin · 2 days

An illustration of a woman looking hard to the side. Her face is pointing very slightly away from the viewer, to the left. Her eyes are turned to the side, exposing large amounts of the whites of her eyes. Her mouth is slightly open, wide, and bottom teeth showing, as if she is feeling awkward on someone else's behalf. The woman is drawn in a high contrast, posterized way, with most of her hair and eyes in completely black, then a single shade of semi-transparent black for details, and finally a layer of white for her eyes and teeth. The mid-tones of the drawing are colored pink, the same as the background.

Today's Drawrch illustration was one of those that looks weird as a sketch but then comes together and makes more sense at the end. I was trying to be relatively quick with the sketch, not caring as much about proportions being perfect, so I was a little surprised it looked decent in the end. I guess that's what it means to "trust the process," a phrase I usually bristle at, but which I'm slowly coming around to. 😎

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

The Chisel Nib brush is from the Rusty Nib pack, 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 2026 #3: Halftone Man

Martin · 3 days

An illustration of a man looking downward. The man is looking down and to the right, with his head tilted slightly forward. He has a light complexion, thick eyebrows, and dark eyes and hair. His hair is short and combed upward at the front. He is drawn in a stylized way, with outlines around contours and a halftone pattern for shading. The halftone pattern and linework are colored orange red near the top of the image, fading to a cool, dark blue at the bottom. The background is purple with a blurry halftone stripe going horizontally across the image, and two columns of faded white on the right.

I was in a bit of a rush to get today's Drawrch illustration done. It's been a long day, and I am still getting over a cold I picked up about a week or two ago. I feel bad for being in a hurry to finish when it's only day 3 of this project, but I need some rest tonight. 🥱

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 Soft air brush for fades, and the Rough Dot Shader 45 brush for halftone shading.

The Rough Dot Shader brush is from the Beat Tones pack, 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 2026 #2: Skater

Martin · 4 days

An illustration of a woman looking away from the viewer, to the left, holding a skateboard behind her head. The woman has a light complexion, freckles, and dark hair and eyes. She has pink lipstick on. Her hair has a few bright highlights from the sun. Though it is only barely visible, the woman is wearing a backpack with black straps and a striped halter top. The skateboard behind her head is dark green and has stickers on it. The stripe of sky at the top of the image is a pale yellow.

My second illustration for Drawrch this year isn't my best work, but it was a good warm-up for the rest of the project. And, frankly, I could use it. I don't draw realistic stuff that often, and I'm feeling quite rusty right now!

Anyway, 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 some fades here and there.

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 2026 #1: It’s Drawrch!

Martin · 5 days

An illustration of a man's head, looking at the viewer and smiling. A separate thumbs up is next to the head, and the word "drawrch!" is in block lettering underneath. The man has pink-red skin, purple hair, and yellow eyes, teeth, and fingernails. His hair comes to a small puff over his eyes, then slopes down to the man's skin at the back of his head, where there is a dot pattern representing stubble, as if his hair is shaved past that point. A sideburn comes down in the middle and in front of his large ear. The man is bearing his clenched teeth in a grin, and one of them is shining in the light. The head is drawn in a very geometric way. The word "drawrch!" is in a light blue green color, and looks shiny, with a sharp shadow behind it. There are two lines emanating from the man's head above the thumbs up. The background of the image is a light orange color with two white stripes going behind the man and hand, and the word "drawrch!".

It's march, so it's time for a new Drawrch, a month-long illustration project where I draw a new face/portrait every day of the month. This first drawing is done a bit late, but better late than never!

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Studio Pen brush for linework, the Soft air brush for some light fades, and the Rosette brush for the dot pattern.

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

I hope you can follow along and enjoy the new series! 😄

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Februdoodle 2026 #28: Finish Line

Martin · 6 days

An illustration of a cartoon rabbit just after he crossed the finish line of a race, with the finish line ribbon still running across his chest. The rabbit is leaning forward and has sweat on his head. He has his tongue sticking out, as if exerting great effort. His arms are extended behind him, and his legs are mid-stride. He is wearing a light gray tank top, white shorts with a double gray stripe going down the outside of the leg, and gray sneakers. The rabbit is stylized and is all black except for his eyes, nose, and mouth. The finish line ribbon is white and says "Februdoodle" across it over and over. The background is a motion-blurred track and crowd, with splotches of white spray paint over it behind the rabbit. The drawing is in black and white.

It's the last day of Februdoodle, and man, I wanted to draw something easy. My wife had the idea of drawing a runner crossing the finish line, and even though I really felt like this was more of a crawl than a run, I ended up drawing something a bit more complex than I'd planned.

I'm glad I did though! It is a good finish for this year's Februdoodle. And it gave me a chance to draw this bunny again, which I'd been thinking about for a while. Anyway, there it is. All done! 😎

As always, 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 Fat Nozzle and Splatter spray paint brushes and Soft air brush for background texture.

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

And if you'd like to re-watch all of my Februdoodle time-lapses, you can find them in this convenient YouTube playlist.

Thanks for joining me on another illustration journey. I will be back for more soon!

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Februdoodle 2026 #27: Karate Rhino

Martin · 7 days

An illustration of a cartoon rhinoceros flying through the air, doing a karate kick. The rhino looks excited and has wide eyes and a happy open-mouthed grin on his face. He is a light blue color with yellow horns, blue eyes, and he is wearing nothing but green shorts. He kicking foot extends into a yellow impact burst. The background is a plain light red.

I was almost late for today's Februdoodle because it's been one of those weeks, and I had a lot to catch up on today before I could get to it. I'm glad I did though, because the world needs Karate Rhino. 😆

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 shading.

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

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Februdoodle 2026 #26: Party Ship

Martin · 8 days

An illustration of a pirate ship, done in garish colors, and with a happy face and peace sign on the sails. The ship has very unrealistic, cartoon proportions. It has two very large cannons sticking out windows on the side facing the viewer. There are two large sails on two masts, and a crow's nest and flag on the higher back mast. The windows on the back cabin are lit up. The ship is a bright green, the cannons and other small details are light blue, the lights are yellow, and the sails and flag are bright pink. The sail decorations are in yellow. The colors for the ship are offset from the linework, as if it were printed with a registration issue. The water the ship is sitting in is yellow and the sky is purple with yellow, stars that have a hand-drawn look. The entire image is covered in distressed noise, with splatters of pink and green ink over the ship.

For today's Februdoodle illustration, I was sitting in my dining room staring at a blank canvas on my iPad for about 10 minutes before I got up and looked around the house for some inspiration. I found a small Lego pirate ship in the living room and decided to use that as inspiration. The colors on the Lego are a little more realistic than this, but I like how garish it is.

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 Worn 4 Subtle and Toner Grit Detail 2 brushes for texture, and the Syrup brush for fills and other utilities.

The Rusty Nib brush is from the Rusty Nib pack, and the Worn and Toner Grit brushes are from the Fast Grit pack, both 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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Februdoodle 2026 #25: Butter Fly

Martin · 9 days

An illustration of a stick of butter with wings on each side, lifting off the ground. The butter is yellow and says, "grade a", "8 tbsp", and "butter" in large blue letters on the side. You can see the fold marks for the wrapper. The wings are white, spread out, and look fluffy. The stick is barely off the ground, as indicated by a shadow not far below it. The background is a red orange color and the entire image has a distressed yellow noise applied.

Today's Februdoodle illustration confidently shows one thing: that I am not above illustrating bad puns. I am grateful that this project is just about over though, because I am seriously lacking ideas these days.

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 Rough Dot Shader 60 Light brushes for shading, the Worn 1 Bold brush for texture, and the Syrup brush for fills and other utility.

The Rusty Nib brush is from the Rusty Nib pack, the Rough Dot Shader brushes are from the Beat Tones pack, and the Worn brush is from the Fast Grit pack. Those are 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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