Day 14 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

Once again with the marker thing. I'd like to think I'm getting a little bit better with them, but that doesn't really feel true.

I'm thinking he's not a happy camper.

Day 13 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

Another one with markers. The red marker turned out to be more pink than red, but I'm thinking it's in support of breast cancer awareness month.

Yep. That's it.

Day 12 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

I decided to try and crush my fear of markers with this one. The fear isn't completely crushed, but I'm learning more every time I use them.

I also did something I don't normally do in Photoshop. After I scanned the page in, I didn't try to get the paper as white as I usually do in other scans. I think it looks just right with an antique-y sort of tone.

Day 11 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

I'm liking how this one turned out, although it started out a little iffy. It originally started as a spider web with a bunch of little spiders, but it was just awful. That's when I started filling it in as bats, and that worked out a whole lot better. You can still see the lines that made the spider web, but I kind of like them in there.

Day 10 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

A spider for today. I think his right eye is a zombie eye, but I can't be sure.

Day 8 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

Today's idea was a witch. She was supposed to be doing a Pete Townsend kind of jump with her broom as the guitar, but it kind of looks like she's making a running start to take off.

Whatever works.

Day 7 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

Here's a flying monkey for today. If anybody can tell me what flying monkeys have anything to do with Halloween, I'm listening.

Day 6 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

I drew a few pumpkins this time. I'll have to give them some color eventually, but for now, they're all graphite.

Day 5 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

My new version of Nosferatu. I drew it in ASKetch again, but this one turned out so much better than yesterday's. I took a little extra time before I started drawing to read through how to use the tools (duh).

Very, very easy app to learn, and I'm satisfied with the results. The only thing I would want to add is layers. I like to experiment as I go and duplicating the image to experiment on a new version doesn't really work the way adding layers does for me. I know the app is primarily for sketching an idea so, really, no complaints about the results. The charcoalish strokes are just so beautiful, you want it to be a final!

Day 4 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

For Day 4, I thought I would draw Nosferatu, mostly because I had never done that before. I also wanted to draw it on my iPad in ASKetch, partly to practice with the app, but also so I could work on it while I was on breaks at work.

I didn't get a whole lot of break time, and I struggled a little with the app today for some reason, so he looks very unfinished to me. I'm thinking on digging into the Help files of the app and maybe work on another version of him tomorrow. If not him, then something else in the app. I just feel like there's something I need to finish.

Day 3 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

Day 3 kind of made me feel a little naked. When you draw in your sketchbook, it's supposed to be just for you. A place to experiment and let your guard down, knowing nobody else is going to see it and form an opinion.

Here's what I drew in my Moleskine, and it isn't the best thing I've ever done. I drew it with a Pilot Precise V5 marker, so there was no erasing when it wasn't going the way I had planned. But I promised a sketch every day, and this is what happened.

So, yeah. A little naked.

Day 2 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

Here's Day 2. I sketched this in my sketchbook, painted it in Procreate on my iPad and tweaked it in Photoshop.

Day 1 of 31 Day Challenge #RottyHalloween

I've challenged myself to draw something for Halloween every day in October, and The Rots' Facebook followers are holding me to it (I hope).

Here's Day 1.

Today was just a sketch but, depending on how things work out, I'm hoping other days can be something more finished.

That, and I'm hoping I can come up with 31 subjects for Halloween.

Sketchbook Project Limited Edition 2012—Nacho #sketchbookproject

The next page from my Sketchbook Project Limited Edition. One of the people who likes The Rots Facebook page suggested the name "Nacho" for this little guy, and it stuck.

So.

Say "hello" to Nacho.

You can take a look at the digital version of Nacho on this page here.

The Audacity of Earning a Living Making Art

I'll be the first to admit I've been slacking in the social media arena lately. I haven't been keeping up with my blogs or my Twitter updates or my Facebook posts. It's hard to post when you don't have anything to show for yourself.

Here's the thing: I haven't had anything to post because I haven't had time to work on anything, and it's killing me. I have a day job, and they're short-handed right now so my schedule has cut drastically into my artwork time (and my sleeping time and my eating time and my breathing time).

And my Facebook page has suffered for it.

I don't really understand what's happening there. When I don't post for a while, I lose followers of the page. I get that. They want a page that's more updated. I'll post things like sketches and finished paintings and announcements about exhibits I'm in or books I've worked on. In between those, if I find news online that I think my followers might be interested in, I'll post a link to that, too. I don't post often, but when I do post something, I turn around and lose a ton of followers! Someone even accused me once of posting spam!

I don't get it. Why do people follow my Facebook page? What do they think they're getting when they hit the "Like" button? I'm an artist and an illustrator and a writer. I want to earn my living by making artwork. If I didn't have to pay the bills, I'd be making artwork all the time. That's what I'd be doing instead of sleeping and eating and breathing.

It feels like a no-win situation. I lose people when I don't post, and I lose even more when I do. When I do post, that means I've had the time to make something new, but that seems to be exactly what's turning people off.

So after much deliberation, I've decided I'm going to keep making art. That's what I do and who I am. And then after I've made the art, I'm going to post it online, in spite of all the people getting turned off over it. I'm hoping somewhere there are people who want to see it and maybe even support it someday. I'm not going to be afraid of showing what I can do.

I'm glad I thought of that, and I thank you sincerely for listening.

Square Kat #1: Nacho

I decided to paint these initial Square Kats digitally, post them on The Rots' Facebook page, and crowdsource some names. It looks like this first little guy is named "Nacho."

Spamming The Rots on Facebook?

Who are these parasites? The Rots Facebook page keeps getting postings from people who want The Rots' "Likey" people to learn how to work from home. Like I do, but that's beside the point. I guess I should be flattered that they think enough people like the page that it's worth spamming. Ha! Be warned, you spamming zombies, first I flag, then I remove. You can't escape.

Slightly Irreverently Twisted

New URL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/slightly.irreverently.twisted. It's all possible because The Rots got enough fans on their page to become eligible for a unique URL. Thanks to everybody who fanned them!

Rots photo album

I have that Rots© photo album up on Facebook now if you want to take a look. It's just a mixture of some of the stuff I've been working on the past few years. Take a look around, but what would be totally cool is if you would take the time to become a fan. If I can get 25 people who are willing to admit they like The Rots, I'll be able to get a cool URL for the page that would be easy to use and remember (not like the one that comes up right now).

And if that weren't enough, I've also been Twittering!

It's all good!

Facebook

The Rots© have a page on Facebook. Not sure yet where that will lead, but you can become a fan. I did. Actually, right now I'm the only one. Kinda hard to advertise being on Facebook when you don't really have anything to show on the page. Eventually I'll get some images on there. Looks like a tomorrow job...