Machine Guns
Yet more behind the scenes sketchbook action now, with some pics from a recent visit to the Precision Museum in cosy old Windsor, VT. Turns out this quaint little sleepy town was at the heart of the US's arms manufacturing way back when and produced the majority of arms during the War of Independence. The top pic is of a heavy lathe that made exact copies of any shape out of another material: in this case, a gun stock.

The Ladies of White River
Voila the last in the series of life class sketches, featuring the female contigent from our 2007/8 class. L-R: Liza, Lucy and Kubby.

White River Sketches
For those of you who have heard me mention some of the 2007/8 cohort at CCS, here is a cartoony identity parade from sketches done at a recent life class.

Clockwise from the top left: Jeff, Steve, Sango and Jonathan. PS All of them were 5 mins long.

Second page: Sam being balletic, and Mark and his splendid afro (artistic license inc.)

Join The Other Side!

We need to get 150 people to 'join' The Other Side website at http://www.theothersidemag.co.uk/ by Wednesday.

You just register with webjam at the otherside site above, fill in a few details, then click on 'join us'. It takes two minutes. Support your self-publishing comrades and sign up now!

As a treat, here's my latest illo for the said mag, featuring an interview with Osama Bin Laden.

Sound Effect Challenge
Can you decode the activity being performed on the sketchbook here only by its sound effects? We weren't allowed to use any of the traditional 'kaboom' 'koff' 'splat' sfx either. I'll post the answer tomorrow.

Workshops, Washes and the Other Side
It's been all go since the last post. I gave a workshop on how to create comics at the Howe Library on Thurs, which went brilliantly: see here for the pics of rapt young minds being expanded.

I know how much y'all crave the odd bit of sketchbook sniffery too, so I've scanned in the results from a recent life class where we were experimenting with watercolours. Fun.



Last but not least, the latest edition of The Other Side mag is out now! Click here to read it online. And go to p.4/5 for a certain archburgerian artwork the regular browsers of this blog will recognise.

Bird Brained
Last week saw a CCS contigent visit the Vermont Institute of Natural Science to gawk at some birds whilst they flapped, vomited and shat their way through our visit. Voila my sketches from the 15 or so minutes we had with each of our winged subjects. Bear in mind most of our avian amigos were more skittish than a speed freak being electroshocked. We did learn that Owls are mostly just feathers, that even vultures will turn their noses up at especially putrid meat (plus they can live well into their thirties) and that birds exposed to too much human contact can actually convince themselves that they are human. Called 'imprinting' apparently. So now you know.

In other news, the Olympic torch blazed a symbolic trail for freedom and democracy in London, Paris and San Francisco...by being driven through protesting crowds in a riot van accompanied by hordes of armed police officers. Kudos to the chap in London who missed it by a few inches with his fire extinguisher. And free tibet!!

Beckett
Lifted from me sketchbook after our caricature class, where I chose the shammy leathered-faced playwright as my target.

This just in: my Shakespearean caricature (see a few posts ago) won the cartoon face-off versus other doodles of the great Bard, and will be featured around the campus of Riverdale High in NYC. Thanks go to Brenda Bowen for the opportunity.

Take Me Out to the Gun Show
All based on 100% bonafide stuff overheard and seen at a gun show across the border in New Hampshire. Turns out all you need for an uzi round here is some phone bills. Go figure, as they say.

Think Like A Cow

Recent illo for Lancaster Farming Magazine for an article based on bovine ability to decide how to optimize grazing time and plan their day. And there was I thinking they just chew and have their udders yanked all day long.

Y'Bard
No, it's not a Jacobean bartender's response to a surly playwright, it's a promo poster for a book fair, big willy style.

More caricatures coming up tomorrow too.