drawing

Sketchbook pages

11/23/25

For the past three Saturdays, I’ve been spending wonderful afternoons in a local workshop series called “Living Sketchbook.” We were encouraged to use sketchbooks as tools to capture ideas, experiment with types of media, and try new approaches.

During the first workshop, we spent some time writing about the past week. Then we drew over the text. The drawing could be related to the text, or it could be separate.

A colorful drawing of a rocket ship with handwritten notes about a Sunday, including mentions of zine events and dinner plans.

A handwritten journal entry features a colorful decorative wreath with flowers and leaves.

We spent the second workshop collaging. I liked looking for different textures or contrasting colors to glue next to each other.

A rocky landscape features towering stone formations with patches of green vegetation under a clear blue sky.

A person carrying bags is shown walking down a narrow, cobblestone alleyway, juxtaposed against a bright, open plaza with classical architecture.

The third workshop was to experiment with using different types of media together. I chose Tombow brush pens and Ink Joy gel pens — two things I haven’t tried using together in the same drawing.

A colorful illustration depicts a starry space scene with multiple planets, including a prominent blue and a green one, set against a dark background.

Up to now, I’ve used sketchbooks on and off, when I had an idea to work on or new tools to try out. I didn’t know what made sense for me to do in a sketchbook on a consistent basis. This workshop series was helpful to see different approaches to keeping a sketchbook practice.

The hot air balloon in Elemental

10/3/23

I watched Elemental without knowing what to expect, because Disney’s marketing missed the mark (again). But I liked the movie overall. One of my favorite parts was seeing how each character used their element, like Ember inflating a hot air balloon.

I wanted to draw the scene with the hot air balloon floating over the city. I started with a pencil sketch. It’s rough. I wanted to figure out the foreground vs. the background and where the balloon was in the sky, in relation to the skyline.

A rough pencil sketch of a hot air balloon floating over a city.

Here’s a photo of when I was painting the larger areas. I simplified colors and composition (all those buildings!) because it’s so much detail.

A painted illustration of a hot air balloon floating over the city. The buildings are painted in blocks of color, without many details at this point in the process.

Here’s the finished drawing.

A painted illustration of a hot air balloon floating over a city at night time. Blue and gray skyscrapers are in the background, against a starry sky.

Wayne Manor

4/12/23

Here’s an illustration of Bruce Wayne’s mansion (Wayne Manor).

A painted illustration of Bruce Wayne’s mansion. The building is painted black with blue highlights. To the right of the building, there is a bat symbol in the sky. The sky is painted a cool gray color with blue clouds. In front of the building, in the foreground, there are small trees painted in black with blue highlights.

I really like how the blue highlights contrast against the black on the building and the trees.

Here’s the pencil sketch I started with.

A sketchbook displays an outline drawing of a building with geometric shapes and a Batman signal, accompanied by a mechanical pencil resting on the page.

Bluth’s Frozen Banana Stand

4/10/23

Here’s an illustration of Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand from Arrested Development.

A colorful sketch depicts a stand labeled Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana with two people inside.

I started with a pencil sketch to draw the outline of each building.

A pencil sketch of the banana stand in Arrested Development.

Metropolis at night

2/19/23

Here’s an illustration of the Metropolis skyline at night.

A hand-drawn cityscape illustration with tall buildings, a DAILY PLANET sign on a domed structure, and art supplies at the bottom.

I started with a pencil sketch to outline each building.

A sketch of a geometric cityscape on a spiral-bound notebook is accompanied by two pencils.

I started painting by covering the large areas first: slate gray for the sky, black for some buildings, and gray for some buildings.

Painted city scape with blocks of colors and no details: slate gray for the sky, black and light gray for the buildings.

Then I added in all the details.

A stylized illustration features a cityscape at night with tall buildings under a starry sky.

Walking into Hill Valley

2/5/23

Here’s an illustration inspired by a scene in Back to the Future: Marty walking into Hill Valley.

A person wearing a red vest walks on a path in a grassy area, approaching a sign that reads Hill Valley 2 miles.

I made this as part of a course on illustrating with Posca pens. The assignment was to use two shades of the same color as the main colors in the piece. Since a lot of this image is grassy fields, I chose two shades of green. I kept Marty’s outfit realistic (orange vest and blue jeans) to signify that he’s out of place…or, more accurately, out of time.

Here are some thumbnail sketches I did prior to painting the scene. I wanted to test out colors–what looked good for the grass and Marty’s outfit.

Thumbnail sketches using different shades of green.

And here’s the simple pencil sketch I started with.

A sketch of a lone figure walking on a road with a blank sign in the distance.

The Candy Bar from Jimmy Neutron

1/28/23

I took an online course on illustrating with Posca pens taught by James Chapman. He has posted lots of his sketchbook pages to his Instagram.

I had a couple Posca pens for a few years, but I hadn’t done much with them. I saw this course and thought it would be a great way to practice with Posca pens.

The course covers how to create a pencil sketch to get the composition down. Then it explores various color schemes to determine how to color the illustration. I especially like the challenge of limiting the number of colors used.

I like the process I learned in this course. It takes me several hours to finish an illustration, but I really enjoy the time I’m spending learning and practicing.

The course encourages choosing a theme that will motivate you to keep working on sketches. I chose places in movies, TV shows, and books. First up is The Candy Bar from Jimmy Neutron.

Here’s the pencil sketch:

A pencil sketch on a notebook page depicts a modern cityscape with buildings and a storefront labeled Candy Bar, alongside a Pentel Sharp mechanical pencil placed beneath the drawing.

I chose to go with realistic colors, so I used Posca pen colors that are close to what this location looks like in the show.

Here’s a progress photo, with the larger areas of color done:

An illustration in progress with large areas of colors for the sky, buildings, and street. The Candy Bar in the foreground does not have details painted in.

And here’s the finished illustration:

A colorful, whimsical illustration depicts a candy-themed building labeled Candy Bar, surrounded by urban buildings under a blue sky with clouds.

I really enjoyed making this as my first attempt at a Posca pen illustration!