Illustration Sketchbook

Drawgust 2024 #6: Roar

Martin · 108 days

A black and white illustration of a hand with a finger puppet on the index finger. The hand is facing the viewer, in a "number one" pose, with the index finger bent down slightly. At the end of the finger is a small, squat finger puppet of a tyrannosaurus rex. It has short, chubby arms, a goofy grin with teeth sticking out, and round eyes. There is a black circle in the background behind the finger puppet, and the word "roar" is spelled vertically down the right side of the image, next to the puppet and hand.

Today's Drawgust illustration is of a ferocious T-rex finger puppet!

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, and the Rough Dot Shader 45/Light brush for shading.

Those last two brushes are from the Rusty Nib pack and 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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Drawgust 2024 #5: GLFH

Martin · 109 days

A black and white illustration of a cartoon rabbit wearing a headset and holding a game controller. The rabbit is squinting his eyes slightly, and the controller is angled as if the rabbit is struggling with his game. There is a small bead of sweat coming down the side of the rabbit's face, and droplets of sweat are flying off the right side of his head. Below the rabbit are the letters "GLHF", which is an acronym used in competitive games that means "good luck, have fun".

Today's Drawgust illustration is about online gaming, and an encouraging phrase commonly used in chat: GLFH (good luck, have fun)!

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Syrup brush for some details, the Rusty Nib 1 brush for linework, and the Rough Dot Shader 45/Light brush for shading.

Those last two brushes are from the Rusty Nib and Beat Tones packs from 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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Drawgust 2024 #4: Thumb’s Up

Martin · 110 days

A black and white illustration of a man with a long face and large sideburns smiling lazily at the viewer and giving them a thumbs up. The man's hair is a little long in the back and scruffy. His hairline is receding slightly on his temples, but he has a full head of hair otherwise. He has small crow's feet and wrinkles on his forehead. His head and hand are skewed/distorted, leaning to the right. He is wearing a t-shirt with a loose neck in the back. A wash of black ink fills the bottom half of the background behind him.

Today's Drawgust illustration isn't meant to be a self-portrait, but I wanted to draw a dude with some big sideburns, because I'm in the middle of growing mine out a bit again (despite my wife's protests). My facial hair is in a sad state though, so it will probably take a month or two for them to be fully realized. 😖

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Syrup brush for touchups, the Rusty Nib 1 brush for linework, the Rough Dot Shader 45/Light for shading, and the Tarraleah brush for the background.

The Rusty Nib 1 and Rough Dot Shader brushes are by True Grit Texture Supply, and can be found in the Rusty Nib and Beat Tones packs.

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

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Drawgust 2024 #3: Road Trip

Martin · 111 days

A black and white illustration of a cartoon car flying over a road. The road is curved over the words "road trip" like a ribbon and ends abruptly at the bottom of the image. The other side of it curves to the left behind the words. Behind the car is a large setting sun with two small clouds in front, and to the right is a mountain range and some trees poking out. The mountains have a "destination" marker, typically of those seen in map apps, in front. There is a small arrow, reminiscent of those on road signs, that peeks out from below the road, goes behind the word "trip", and then curves down and back to the left, ending in an arrow point.

Here's a third illustration for Drawgust, inspired by a little impromptu road trip we took today.

Thankfully the medicine I took yesterday helped (and I don't think I caught anything serious anyway) so I was feeling pretty good this morning, and we decided to take to the road and scope out a spot my wife wants to visit with her friends later this year.

It was a lot of driving for one day, but we had a good time, escaped some of the local heat for the day, and I got some inspiration for a drawing. I don't think I'm going to be doing lettering for all of these, but it's been fun to use words in these, since that's not something I do a lot.

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, and the Rough Dot Shader 45/Light for shading. Those brushes are from the Rusty Nib pack from 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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Drawgust 2024 #2: Take Your Medicine!

Martin · 112 days

A black and white illustration of a cartoon rabbit pouring a liquid from a cup into his mouth and drinking it. The rabbit is smiling and his eyes are closed in glee. The liquid is arcing from the cup to the mouth like a rainbow. The rabbit is colored in flat black and made to look like an old cartoon. The words "take your medicine" are written in all caps above the rabbit, and skewed slightly. They are accompanied by a smiley face.

Today's Drawgust illustration is of a cartoon rabbit happily taking his medicine.

I was struck by some inspiration late tonight (and sort of just wanted to zone out and listen to podcasts) so I thought I'd make something fun. I wasn't feeling well earlier today and took some medicine, and that seemed like a fitting thing to capture.

And I guess I'm continuing the theme from the start of this project and just doing black and white for now? I kind of like that. 🙂 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, and the Rough Dot Shader 45/Light brush for shading. Those brushes are from True Grit Texture Supply in the Rusty Nib pack.

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

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Drawgust 2024 #1: Black & White

Martin · 113 days

A black and white illustration, meant to look like it was done in ink, featuring the word "Drawgust" with the letters cascading down the image from top left to bottom right. There is a black block with lots of hashing and squiggly hair-like lines emanating from it. At the top is a cartoon silhouette of me looking tired and nervous, with stars, a planet, and the moon all in smaller shapes around me. There is a sneaky, smiling cat on the left, hanging on the R and A. On the lower left, a hand is seen coming out of the messy black splotch, holding a stylus over a blank tablet. An hourglass can be seen behind the tablet, and there are other stars, planets and squiggles around. There is a small game controller under the D, and silhouettes of young plants growing on the lower serif of the T.

I'm back with another drawing project, Drawgust!

This one might be a bit different from the last few. I haven't done Drawgust since 2021, and I've resurrected it for 2024. But I want to try something a little less hectic for me, so I think this one will be only when I can and when I'm feeling particularly inspired.

Will that mean I do one every day? Maybe, but probably not. August is shaping up to be kind of a busy month for me with work and life, so we'll see!

Anyway, here we go! 😎

This was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, using the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, and the Rusty Nib 1 brush for everything else. You can find that brush in the Rusty Nib pack from True Grit Texture Supply.

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

2024artartworkdrawgustillustrationipad proprocreate
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June Toons 2024 #30: That’s It!

Martin · 145 days

A cartoon illustration of a realistic pig, wearing a bowtie and suit jacket, leaning out of a set of circular color rings and smiling at the viewer, with one hoof up in the air. The pig has a light complexion and its tongue hanging out. The bowtie is red, and the suit jacket is a dark blue. The color rings are red. There is a small word bubble coming off from the pig to the upper left, with the word "oink!" inside. The words "That's It!" are written in yellow, in cursive, arcing under the bottom right half of the image. It is meant to parody the "That's All, Folks!" outro animations, typically featuring Porky Pig, from Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons.

My final June Toons cartoon for 2024 is of a pig sticking out of a series of familiar colored rings. That's it! 😆

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 gradients.

I mentioned this a few days ago, but I really felt like I ran out of gas on this project. Work got really busy about halfway through, and I never got a chance to catch up and do them during the day - I was always chasing the project at night, barely finishing on time, and cutting corners wherever I could.

That said, when I look back on all the cartoons I made this month, I'm happy with the project as a whole. I've been drawing on my iPad Pro in Procreate for a long time now, but I still am surprised at how much more comfortable I get with it, with each project completed.

I hope you enjoyed see each drawing this month and watching them get drawn! Hopefully I'll have some more ideas for the new drawing project in August! Until then, I'll be posting other projects, so keep an eye out for more fun stuff. Thanks for following along with me!

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

And if you'd like to see all of the drawing time-lapses once more, you can find them on this YouTube playlist.

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June Toons 2024 #28: House of Seuss

Martin · 147 days

A cartoon illustration of a fantasy house drawn in the style of Dr. Seuss. The house is yellow with a salmon-colored door and sloping blue roof. The roof has a very unrealistic curve to it, sloping up at the apex and down and then up again at the edges. There is a small gable window on the left side, and a chimney angling out of the roof at an impossible angle on the right. The door has an oversized knob and there are windows of various sizes all over the house. The house is flanked by deformed, curvy trees on both sizes, and rests on turquoise grass. A lighter path curves away from the house, and a wall of purple trees lines then background. The sky is salmon-colored, with large pale-yellow clouds angled across.

Today's June Toons cartoon is a house, drawn in the style of Dr. Seuss. Not sure what inspired me to do this, but it was sort of fun trying to draw something outside of my own style - although I grew up looking at Dr. Seuss books, so my style is probably inspired by it in some small way.

Anyway, 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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June Toons 2024 #27: Watching TV

Martin · 148 days

A cartoon illustration of a man watching TV. The man has a medium complexion, thinning hair on the top of his head, and a mustache. He looks like a giant, sitting on a tiny couch and watching a giant TV. He is hunched slightly forward, his legs are bent upward from sitting so low, and he has his hands on his legs. He is wearing a red shirt, green pants, and gray shoes. The couch is a light teal. The TV is an old-style boxy set, with a double-pronged antenna on top. It is sitting on a brown stand that is just the right size. The background is a light mustard yellow with a lighter yellow half-circle behind the man and the TV. There is a white oval behind the TV where the screen would be, and there are white lines emanating from it, indicating that it is on and showing something.

Today's June Toons cartoon is a giant man sitting on a tiny couch watching a tiny TV!

I don't know why, but I really struggled with the linework on this one. Some drawings I get started on and I just get in the groove, and some I don't, and this one I felt like every line I made was the wrong weight, tapered the wrong way, etc. It came together in the end, but it was frustrating to make at the start.

Anyway, 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:

2024artartworkcartoonillustrationipad projune toonsprocreate
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