Illustration Sketchbook

June Toons 2025 #24: Busted Shoe

Martin · 254 days

A cartoon illustration of a foot in a busted shoe. The shoe is ripped open at the end and a socked toe is sticking out. The sock is covered in patches. The shoe is orange with a light orange sole and circle emblem on the side. There is a torn edge sticking up from the top. The sock is white and has blue and red patches on it. The leg is black, and there is a bit of blue pants leg at the edge of the image. The background is bright yellow.

Today's June Toons illustration is of a busted shoe!

I don't know why this image popped into my head the other day, but I've been sort of mulling it over and wondering how it might come to be. It turned out mostly how I wanted it to, with bright colors and a sort-of-vintage look to the shape of the shoe. It's almost like a piece of pop art, and I could see it printed in a large format and looking pretty cool. 😎

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 2025 #23: Bird Feeder

Martin · 255 days

A cartoon illustration of a bird dangling from one side of a hanging bird feeder while gobbling up seeds falling from the opposite side. The bird is hanging upside down and its body is arching upward underneath the bottom of the feeder. It has its mouth open in a smile, and a pile of seeds are on its tongue. The feeder is tilted, making the seeds spill out. The bird is blue with a white beak and belly. The feeder is done in monochrome, and the seeds are mostly white with speckles of black here and there. The background is a pale green. The drawing is stylized to look like a vintage illustration, with a light halftone pattern visible on the bird and feeder, and a faint distressed effect over the entire image.

Today's June Toons illustration is of a bird feeding at a bird feeder. This was inspired by some of the moves I've seen real birds pull off on our backyard bird feeder, when they don't quite fit on its small perches.

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 Rough Dot Shader 45/Light for halftone effect and the Worn 4 Subtle brush for the distress effect.

The Dot Shader 45/Light brush is from the Beat Tones pack, and the Worn 4 Subtle brush is from the Fast Grit pack. Both of those are 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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June Toons 2025 #22: Skateboarder

Martin · 256 days

A cartoon illustration of a man doing a jump on a skateboard. The man is squat and wide, and has his head hunched down, his front arm over his chest, and his back arm trailing behind. He is looking towards the viewer and smiling. He has a medium complexion, red eyes, and muted blue hair. He is wearing a backwards green ballcap with a blue bill that curls up at the end, a plaid green shirt, blue jeans, and green shoes that match his hat. He has a pocket chain hanging out, waving in the air. His skateboard is orange with a blue top and white wheels. The background is pink with a lighter pink splotch of spray paint over it.

Today's June Toons cartoon is a skateboarder doing a jump.

It's not a particularly complex drawing, but it gave me the opportunity to add some loose details in and be precise with my line widths, which is something I feel like I'm constantly getting better at. The lines always seem to get thicker and more uniform the longer I draw, which is something I fight with a lot. Here, I think I did a pretty decent job not doing that.

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 spray paint brush for background texture.

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

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June Toons 2025 #21: Thing 3

Martin · 257 days

A cartoon illustration of Thing 1 and Thing 2, from the Dr. Seuss books, looking at another figure who looks strikingly similar to them and has "Thing 3" on his chest. Thing 3 is dressed in goth garb, with hair dyed black and combed over part of his face, a stubbed choker and bracelets, a gray leather jacket with the sleeves torn off, dark gray pants, and tall black leather boots with straps. Thing 1 and Thing 2 look like their traditional selves, with blue hair and red jumpsuits. They look perplexed by Thing 3. Thing 3 has a wry smile on his face. All of the Things have white skin. The background is pink with a purple streak going across and down towards Thing 3.

For today's June Toons cartoon, I got inspiration from some of my son's books, and tried to imagine what Thing 3 might look like.

Is there a Thing 3 already in the Dr. Seuss books? If there is, I'm not familiar with it. I just thought it'd be funny if Thing 3 wanted to take his look in a different direction than the other two Things. 😆

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 2025 #20: Easy

Martin · 258 days

A cartoon illustration of a white glove pushing a button, with the label "easy" below it. The button being pressed is next to another button, which is not pressed and has the label "hard" below it. The "easy" button is green and the "hard" button is red. The background is a pale teal color, and there is a lighter colored oval behind the glove.

Today's June Toons cartoon is all about taking the easy route. It's been a long day - and a long week! - and so I needed to do something a little simple today so I can recharge for the weekend. 😅

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 2025 #19: Balloon Dog

Martin · 259 days

A cartoon illustration of a dog in the shape of a ball, floating in the air like a balloon. The dog looks a little like a pug, though his breed is not defined. He has a wide face with bugged out, walleyed eyes. His tongue is handing out of his mouth, and he has a vacant look on his face. His body is a sphere, his small ears and short tail are sticking up, and his legs are dangling underneath him. He has red fur and a light red belly, butt, and face area. His eyes and nose are purple. There is a small shadow a little underneath him, indicating that he is floating. The background is a muted green.

For today's June Toons illustration, I drew a dog inflated and floating in the air like a little round balloon. I'm not sure what inspired this drawing, but I like how it turned out!

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 Pin Linear 0.5 Pressure Spray brush for stippled shading.

That last brush is from the Stipple Studio 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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June Toons 2025 #17: Derp Knight

Martin · 261 days

A cartoon illustration of a chess piece, the knight, which is a small bust of a horse on a tiny pedestal. The horse's eyes are bugging out and walleyed, and his tongue is sticking out of a goofy smile. The piece is a warm light gray with large blue shadows on the left side and bright shiny highlights on the right. The background is a gold color with a half circle of light behind the piece, and a faded checkerboard beneath it.

Today's June Toons is one of those ideas I've had in my brain for a while, and tonight was the night it escaped. Posting quite late because I was catching up on TV while drawing it. 😎

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 2025 #16: Turtle Boat

Martin · 262 days

A cartoon illustration of a turtle driving a motorized inflatable boat. The turtle is wearing a green trucker hat. He is smiling, and has blue eyes, bright green skin, and a green shell. He is holding the rudder of a motor, attached to the back of the boat. The boat is a yellow inflatable raft with two orange patches on it. The ripples created by the boat are blue, and the reflection of the turtle and boat are visible underneath. The background, which includes most of the "water" area, is a yellow-gold color.

Today's June Toons illustration is of a turtle driving an inflatable motorboat!

I'm back to getting these done late today, unfortunately... it was a busy day, and it took me a really long time to come up with an idea. I'm happy with how it turned out, I just wish I had made it a few hours ago instead. 😅

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.

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June Toons 2025 #15: Father’s Day

Martin · 263 days

A cartoon illustration of a large bird with a small bird standing on its back. The large bird is turning to look at the small bird, and both are smiling. The large bird is a turquoise color and the small bird is a similar shade, but a little more blue. Both birds have pale yellow beaks and stippled undersides in a darker gray-blue. The background is lavender with a light wash around the center, and the colors are distressed to look like the drawing has some age to it.

For today's June Toons illustration, I drew two birds, a dad and son, hanging out together and enjoying the day. Happy Father's Day!

As always, this was created in Procreate with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. For this one, I used a bunch of brushes: the Procreate Pencil brush for sketching, the Rusty Nib 1 brush for linework, the Inka brush for highlights, the Pin Liner 0.5 Pressure Spray brush for stipple shading, the Plimsoll brush for line shading, the Old Beach brush and Soft air brush for background texture, and the Worn 1 Subtle and Worn 1 Bold brushes for the distress effect at the end.

The Rusty Nib brush is from the Rusty Nib pack, the Pin Liner brush is from the Stipple Studio pack, and the Worn Subtle distress brushes are from the Fast Grit pack. All of those are by True Grit Texture Supply.

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

2025artartworkcartoonillustrationipad projune toonsprocreate
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