Prismatic Sphere

I submitted this (after some assistance by team-preston from the S&W forums) to the S&W team for inclusion in the 2nd printing of the Core Rules. We'll see if it goes anywhere, but if it does, that would be the coolest.

Grue Sketch

So I was inspired by Chgowiz's sketch of a Grue to not only remember exactly what a Grue IS, but also to draw one. This started as many of my drawings do, as a very small sketch at work that I turned into this slightly less small sketch:


I plan on inking it in photoshop sometime soon, making the background dark for greater effect.

Erol Otus Contest - Kobolds

Because I'm probably asking for much embarrassment, I've decided to enter the Erol Otus contest I mentioned in a previous posting. In further attempts to show my lack of skill, I'm going to post sketches and my attempts at using this as a learning experience. I have no real chance of winning, but the point is I'm going to try and learn as much as I can.

My first step was to come up with a concept - I'm going to go with the "Adventure takes an unexpected twist" category. Kobolds are luring the (apparently really dumb/inexperienced) adventurers into an ambush, by trailing them along with gold coins. Kobolds lurk behind the corner and behind a secret door. Originally, I was going to use a statue to hide behind...


... but after talking it over with my art teacher, I decided that wouldn't work. More kobolds hiding, shifted everything over a bit to avoid dead space and this is close to what I want.

So my first job was to start getting better at sketching something. So I went to my 50 Monsters book for inspiration...



And this is what I came up with as possible kobolds. Yes, his name is Tucker. Oh yes. >:)


Try to figure out some hands.

And I'm getting the hang of it.

Pictures Copyright 2009, M Shorten (chgowiz@gmail.com) - All rights reserved

Sketches from class: 2/3 and 2/10

Just some values and attempts at flowers. This is from the first class.


This stream scene was from the cover of a magazine called "Ozark Mountains". I couldn't do all the leaves justice, but the overall shapes and much of the values I did get.

Erol Otus contest

There's a big buzz around the old school blogosphere about the Erol Otus contest happening. I think we just got some inspiration for our efforts.

My drawing class continues. I'm learning about "values" and just practicing. I'll scan what I've done soon, it's mainly a lot of value blocks with different pencils and some sketches. I tried to sketch/copy the cover to an Ozark Mountain magazine - a woods/stream scene. It turned out OK. I also learned about "lost and found" outlines.

Latest drawing

Hi! Danny invited me to participate in this blog. We're both looking to do the same thing, improve our drawing by doing it regularly. Posting to this blog might help. Right now, I'm working my way through a once-a-week sketching class, so I'm sure I'll have some things to share from it. I'm also working my way through a "Draw 50 Monsters Step by Step" book - it might be a kids book, but I'm learning from it!

This is my latest drawing. It is RPG related, but this is what I've done lately. What have you done lately?