Spring Studies
It’s been a good week in the studio. I’ve been deep in study mode, drawing from artists I look up to, trying to close the gap between where I am and where I want to be. Floating Points and Tatsuki Fujimoto are on my mind this week, for different reasons. They represent ideals of where I’d like to take my work.
Sketches from the Week
My daily baseline is a 90-minute workout: 45 minutes of study, 27 minutes of illustration, 18 minutes of comics. Eventually, I want to increase this minimum.
This is a redraw of one of Miyazaki’s concept pieces for a village elder in Princess Mononoke. I’m in awe of what he does with so little; the simplicity, the signature, the way character appears from his lines.
Two quick studies of Shirow Masamune mechs. His illustrations are genuinely complicated; I can see a weight and clear originality in the direction he takes. I’m working on a mech design of my own right now, and spending time with his work is equal parts inspiring and humbling.
This was a redraw from a photo I timeboxed. I’m a little frustrated with my speed right now, and that’s because I remember how quick I can be at peak practice.
I’m happy with how this one turned out! Also used photo reference here. Since I’ve been obsessed with Tower Dungeon, I’ve been toying around with fantasy drawing.
Worth Your Time
Elaenia — Floating Points
Happy Birthday, Elaenia!
Ten years ago, I saw this performed live at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland. There was a light-reactive screen behind the band and a laser tracing patterns onto it in time with the music. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since. Elaenia has been an ideal musical north star for me; I love jazz-adjacent work.
Chainsaw Man
This comic ended, and some people are salty at how sudden it was. I find that “discourse” dumb and will now share some of my favorite pages, where I can still remember how they made me feel:
There’s something really special about how Fujimoto draws blur. And how clean the art is. And the balanced design of the pages. And the -
This page made me slack-jawed; it doesn’t get much better than this!
Who’s someone whose work you’re just grateful exists?