Jack Carter

Fell in love with the TV series (A Town Called) Eureka. Awesomeness all around!


Copic markers, Prisma colored pencils

Cartoons, lips and more

Joined some more swaps on both ATC websites. Simply love doing that. The practice, the incentive, the themes, it's all wonderful to do!

Favorite cartoon swap: Captain Planet (watercolor), The Land Before Time (Platvoet en z'n vriendjes), Barbalib (Barbabientje) and, of course, Tom & Jerry (last three - acrylics)


Another bookmarker for the swap I posted about earlier. Watercolor this time.


Day of the Dead swap. Loved doing these! So fun to work on. Copic markers, gel pen and colored pencil


A lips swap. So much fun! I tried out different techniques with this swap and quite like the results, though I do need more soft pastel practice (upper right). Acrylics, soft pastel, colored pencil and Copic markers

Tony Dinozzo

Just bought NCIS season 6, so, naturally, I was inspired. Teehee.

Did this with copic markers (for base color) and prisma colored pencils.
The size is a 2.5" by 3.5" sketch card.

Enjoy!




And the work in progress (WIP):

Candy!

A candy ATC.

Done with Prisma colored pencils.

Enjoy!

Loving Lost

I love Lost! The television series, for those who don't know it. It's incredibly well crafted and acted and, well, just awesome! I guess the writers threw all their creativity in a pot, mixed it up good and came up with this. Great!

That's why I drew Matthew Fox, who plays Jack Shephard - one of the leading characters.



I'm aware that the resemblance isn't great, perhaps not even good, but I'm still practicing and I don't have much time, so bear with me.

Done with graphite, ink and colored pencil.

Finally an Update + Dedication

I'm so, so sorry for my lack of posting here.

I've been working on my dissertation/MA thesis (I never know the difference between those two) and quite busy with choices and other 'my future'-related stuff. For your information, I'm going to do one more master, the educational one. I'll be teaching English and a subject that translates into Culture and Art, which is awesome. I'm really looking forward to my next, and final, year.

Anyway, I do have an image!

This one is to my friends, my RU buddies. They got me this awesome sketchbook from Disneyland Florida and I decided to dedicate its first image to you. I'm going to use this sketchbook for Disney images only; to practice them.
I know not all of you were part of the Florida crew, but all of you do support me greatly with this art business of mine, so many, many thanks go out to all and everyone of you. Seriously, I don't know where I would've been - art wise - without you.

Some info on the image: that little booklet there I got in Boston and have kept with my Prisma pencil box ever since. It's an inspiration as well as a fond memory. I used Prisma colored pencils to color the image.
I also know the image isn't perfect, but oh well, it will do. I didn't make this image up myself, but drew from an existing one - as I said, the sketchbook will be for Disney practice, and so practice it is.

Children's Book Fair

That would be the Children's Book Fair in Bologna, Italy. Yes. (YES!). That's where I'll be from the 22nd to the 25th of this month. It's a fair for professionals in the whole process of children's books - writing, illustrating, publishing, translating, rights, etc. I'll be going there as illustrator and translator and see what my chances are.

Maybe nothing will happen and I'll continue this passion in my spare time.
Maybe something will happen and I'll get a tiny chance to translate a children's book.
Maybe something else will happen and I'll get a tiny chance to illustrate a children's book.
Maybe, just maybe, I'll get a tiny chance to do both.

I'm not pessimistic, I'm positively realistic. I know the chances are small and that there are many, many talented artists and translators out there, but that doesn't mean I won't go at all. I will try and do my best and I will have fun and who knows? A tiny chance is all I need...

For my portfolio to bring to Bologna I have worked/am working on a couple of pieces:

This is Lyra from Northern Lights / The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Currently we are researching this novel as a class project at the university, so I thought it would be fun to illustrate it as well.



This is Sniff. His life consists of nothing but adventures. Every new smell, every exciting odor is a new adventure for him. It is a work in progress, so not quite finished yet.



This one I will not put into my portfolio. It's a failed attempt at a collage technique. I hate the composition and well, I just don't like the overall image. But the separate elements are all right. There's Sniff, a boy music maker, and Bo - a supergirl I once made up.

IF expired ones

Well, I was going to try and enter these for IF, but I didn't make the deadlines, so here they are:

This topic's was 'Pale' and I think the picture speaks for itself..



Here the topic was 'Contained' and the linguist in me wondered why that was written in the past tense. So an image sprang from that, a collage playing with the words contain, contains, container and, of cours, contained. Why the can is broken instead of spraying? I'm not sure, but it certainly is easier composition-wise... Lol.

Early in the Mornin'

Geez, never thought I could get up so early, lol. Ah well, I'm a little nervous, I suppose. You know, for 'school.' Starting a new one today. I feel like a freshman... Still, before I go I have some more drawings. Enjoy!

Tried this one on new paper. The paper isn't good for wet mediums (watercolors and such), but it works for markers and pencils. This manga figure was made with just those.


Wonder Woman with guns?! Lol, no, just someone who likes to hold pistols and dress up wei... uh, nice. Tried this one out myself, without reference, which is why it's a little off. Markers again.


A pose I stole from a fashion book. I really liked the pose, but made the girl and clothes myself. Markers again.

Doodles and Things

Made some stuff again. Nothing extraordinary or anything, but still fun.

This is Mi, and yes, they're based on Me, go figure...
The colored version is basically wearing my work outfit, except for the high heels, I rarely wear high heels, so especially at work (where I have to stand/walk all the time) I won't wear them. But I thought they were a nice touch. For those who know me in real life, no, I haven't painted my hair purple, but again, it looks cool, lol.


And this is a comic scene I made. It's based on NCIS, but not quite NCIS, though it could've been, I suppose. No existing scene, anyway. They could be Tony and Ziva, but then they don't really look that well... So I'm just telling you that these are (very original) characters I came up with myself and put them in a (very original) scene I came up with as well... And you'll just have to believe me, ha!
Please note the (very) sarcastic undertone...

It was cool to make, though.

Holiday sketches

Ha! I finally managed to find time and will to upload some holiday sketches. Sorry for the delay, and so, without further a due, here they are!

One little note, though, keep in mind that all of them are mere sketches, nothing fancy, sorry.

First off, drawings from our last hiking trip in Austria. It was the toughest one, but also the one with the best views and awesome memories. This drawing is made from a cabin at about 3200 meters. We slept there and went on to the peak of a mountain nearby the next day. That peak was at about 3500 meters. Pretty high, trust me. You not only see the hight, you also feel it. There's less oxigen to go around, so you tire easily. Plus part of the hike went across a glacier, both on the way to as well as on the way back, since the cabin was slabbed against a rocky mountainside in the middle of the glacier. It's both awesome and frightening to walk across tons of ice. But we made it! As this drawing proves. Unfortunately I was too busy keeping up with my fellow hikers that I couldn't draw more on this two-day hike.


This drawing was made on our forelast hike. The peak we went to was at about 3000 meters and though not as high as the glacier hike, still pretty high, even though we started at about 2400 meters.


This is a color sketch of a landscape in Austria, made on site, just like the above sketches. The hike was great, but the views even better. I was lucky I'd brought my drawing stuff.


Same mountains in the background, different view, though. It was the same hike, yeah.


I also did some characters, at the campsite we stayed at. This is one of them. A little girl based on a girl I saw there. She had superblond hair in two pigtails, wore a skirt and had these huge hiking shoes underneath it. It looked so cute, haha! I just had to draw it.


Not much to say about this guy. Simply felt like designing a character with simple clothing. He turned out to look rather like a Native American person, at least I think so, but I don't know why.


Two black and white characters. I was bored and leaving through one of my drawing books I'd brought with me. They turned out pretty funny. I like the girl especially, but the Superbaby is funny and weird and, well, he's cool!


Another black and white one. Don't really have a name for him, either. He was supposed to go on a quest for me and have all kinds of adventures, but the story changed in my head, so he won't be in it now. Sorry kiddo.


PS: of course these were not all the drawings I made in Austria, though probably the bigger part. Maybe I'll post the others some other time. At the moment, though, I'm quite busy with two jobs and a take home exam... Sorry you guys.

NoName

Two more images! I got new copic markers this weekend, and I figured I'd try them out. I liked the result, but of course I need to improve big time. It's not near as good as I want it to be. Anyway, here they are!

This girl I tried the markers on. However, I tweaked this particular image in Photoshop, since the scan did the image no justice... She had an ear-job, since the original was way too small and too high up, and I smugded her skin. The scan showed too much grain where I colored the image with the Prismacolor pencils. Oh well. It looks okay, now, and I definitely need to practice more with those markers. They're fun, though!


Same girl. (I dubbed her NoName, since I wouldn't know her name, who knows, maybe she'll tell me some time, maybe she won't. Maybe the name NoName has a story within itself). Anyway, did this with my pens and Prisma's and greys for the background and kicked-up person, lol. I like how she's in color and the rest isn't... Maybe I'll do more of her.

Snow! (in Summer...)

Another landscape! Yay! And just because I was beginning to miss people, I also drew a character.

Yeah, well, not much to say. Again, the design is from that same pastel book as my other pastel drawing. I just want to practice a bit first, before I use my own pictures and things, although maybe I could give it a go, now. We'll see. Lol.



This figure was inspired by a scene from NCIS. Season 3, where Gibbs is in the hospital after an explosion and people are pressuring him (he has memory loss). He gets a fit of some sort and shouts that he misses his wife and child (who both died before the actual beginning of series, so it's a memory). I thought the acting by Mark Harmon was absolutely stunning. Seriously, amazing how he can portray such pain, without actually feeling it. So yeah, that's why the colors in this one are hospital-like. I did this one in watercolors, colored ink, and my wonderful new Prismacolor pencils. Just love 'em!

Feet

Finally! Some new stuff. Apologies for those (very few) people who've been checking back regurlarly, lol, but I couldn't draw more, since I'm also working on my Bachelor Thesis and a comic thing, and a take-home exam for my Master's... Yeah, I know, Summer hasn't even started yet and I'm doing an exam for next year. Drives me crazy, trust me.

Anyway, like I said, some new stuff. Two new drawings, to be exact. And please, please, hold back your comments about the feet, because they suck big time and I'm well aware of it. In both freakin' drawings! What's up with me and feet these days??

This one was inspired by several things. First off I read somewhere that an actor from NCIS, Micheal Weatherly, has an eleven-year-old son. I thought it was cute and this image came to mind (hence their looks, I suppose). Second the song Father and Son by Alain Clark. Though I'm not a son, I love the song, haha.


An adventurous drawing, based on the quote you can find in the lower left corner. For those who can't read it, it says:

Adventure
"I had ambition not only to go
farther than anyone had ever been,
but as far as it was possible to go"

- Captain James Cook

I gave her a story, too. She's on a quest for some rich king or landlord, or other wealthy man. Her assignment is to find little packages scattered all over the world. When she has collected all twelve of them, she has to return and hand them over. She doesn't know what's in them, but it pays well enough not to ask.
Of course, there's more to it, but maybe I'll tell you later, not now... muhahaha.

Colored Gabby

A colored version of the Gabby girl I posted earlier. A friend of mine told me that maybe she didn't need color so much, that the red line of blood was enough. And well, he was right in that she looked o.k. when she was b/w, but I like her better now! I'm glad I colored her anyway. Hope you like her, too!

Blue

Well, here it is then, my first attempt at Ducky's realm. It's rather blue, but that's the whole point. Too bad scanners aren't that good with blue, so a lot of the lighter hues have disappeared, making the total picture look pale. But oh well, it's just a practice sketch anyway. There are also some missing details and added other ones, which really don't belong there, but I'll call that artistic freedom... Please keep in mind, though, that this was drawn from a film still, so the framing and all is fine, but there's no direction (yet), just so you know.

But I'll tell a bit more about the episode I'm trying to 'comicize.' It's Bete Noir, from season one (hence Gerald and Kate). Why? Because it's a pretty important ep from the first season (and, as I said before, the only season I've got so far). It introduces Ari, who will have an important role in season two. So yeah, that's why.

Behold! Ducky's realm.

Balance

Okay, since my last post a few hours ago, I decided to balance it out. I've got one cheerful drawing now and one action drawing (which is, more often than not, not so cheerful).


This drawing is inspired by a Dutch holiday, Queen's Day. It's the day our queen celebrates her birthday (though her birthday isn't on that day, April 30th, but her mother's birthday was). Anyway, tried to make it all happy, and inserted an American flag, instead of an orange or Dutch one. Suppose that would make it a 4th of July kind of thing.



A comic-like approach to someone being caught (and trying to catch in return). FREEZE! would be the right term here. Tried a limited palette on this one; greys, black, and browns, and leaving the skin the color of the paper, which is an off-white.

Pain

Somehow, pain and misery are often topics of my drawings. I've been asked why my drawings are always so depressive, but couldn't really find an answer to that. I have no idea, I'm not really a depressive type of person, only my drawings are. Maybe to be cheerful in real life I draw away all the non-cheerful stuff. Who knows...

Anyway, this one's derived from NCIS. A little thing I thought of, don't know why. The team's chasing the bad guy, but find an innocent girl who's in pain (there you have it) on the scene. She's got nothing to do with it all, just a matter of wrong time, wrong place.



A military guy running away from... Well, from the bullet that finally finds him, I guess. It's a discrimination issue. Not so much race, though. In fact, the guy who shoots him is of the same ethnicity as he is. It's about sexual preference...

Out of titles...

Well, I made a few more drawings I'm reasonably happy with. They're far from perfect (everything is), but they'll do.


This is some experimenting with present and past/flashback in comic form. I was wondering how I could pull it off, so I made up a scene, duplicated it and made one present and one past (in my view, anyway). I think it turned out okay, actually. But maybe sepia will work beter.



A guy stalking a bad guy with his gun. Nothing special, really.


A prostitute is found dead and her murder needs to be investigated. And yes, it's the same guy as the one stalking, above. Not too happy with the perspective or the woman, but I like how he turned out.



An angry young man, pointing down. What's that he's pointing at, I wonder?

Doodles

Well, a few more doodles from me. Hope you like 'em!

These girls I made inspired by several things. First of all my interest in guns and military stuff (which shows by my favorite TV shows; Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, and NCIS). And secondly by some of the many drawing books I have in my bookcase (just love those, I'm actually a collector).



This funny little guy is called SnowMan and is usually accompanied by his SnowDog. I developed SnowMan in Switzerland, where I was on skiing holiday and saw a shape that made me come up with this fellow. The dog I developed later, when I decided to develop the character and his story more. Turns out he and his dog are desperately looking for snow...



And last but not least, another shape-inspired creation from Switzerland. I looked out of the window of our apartment and saw a skilift in the distance. Of course, from far away you hardly see any details, I could barely make out the ropes. Anyway, it reminded me of a robot, not unlike Johnny no. 5. So there it is! Enjoy!