As an illustrator most of my time is spent drawing relatively cute and pretty pictures aimed to appease conservative publishers and appeal to a young market. Thus, my private sketchbook is a haven to unfetter my brain on paper... (If you are looking for my usual work in children's literature, check out my regular blog at http://benredlich.blogspot.com/)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Caricature I

Everyone's favourite doomsday prophet...
Harold Camping
This started out as a straight portrait, intended to be another 'interesting face', but it wasn't working out. So I turned him into a caricature instead. Harold Camping has such a feeble and benign appearance, it's hard to imagine anyone taking his predictions seriously. I didn't know anything about Camping until one night my wife and I drove past a billboard advertising the end of the world, predicted to occur on May 21st this year...
Family Radio and Harold Camping spent $100 million on a worldwide advertising campaign for this nonsense. Read more about it here... We had a wedding to go to on the 21st, so lucky for our friends Lou & Russ, none of their guests were raptured away.

And as a sheer coincidence at the time of doing this picture yesterday, apparently today, October 21st, is Camping's revised date for the end of the world. Let's hope he's right the third time, his reputation could be damaged...

Monday, October 17, 2011

Interesting Faces IX - Miscellaneous

Some acrylic sketches...
"Jubilee Charger"

"Don Ketteringham"
These were referenced from a book of photographs by Bill Bachman called 'Local Colour'. I bought this book as reference for Cowzat, not that I used it much then. Though if I do anything with an outback setting down the track it will be invaluable.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Dr Sketchy's Brisbane - October 2011

The Strawberry Siren...
1 minute

2-3 minutes

I was struggling with proportion with next few, evidently. Probably because I was sitting up front, closer than usual. I think I find it a bit easier sketching from a slight distance...
5-10 minutes

I stuffed up the final 15 minute pose. I got the proportions all wrong with her top half, so I abandoned that and focused on the lower half...
15 minutes
 I love this photo by Kahlia Litzow:
The Strawberry Siren
... it reminds me of something by Rolf Armstrong, one of my favourite pin-up artists from the first half of the last century. Kahlia's stunning prints are available for purchase at this link.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Interesting Faces VIII - Kokomo Jr.

There's just not enough ape TV personalities nowadays...
... footballers don't count!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Interesting Faces VII - Marty Feldman

Marty Feldman has some of the coolest eyes I've ever seen...
A comedian must feel blessed when they have such wonderful features like this.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Interesting Faces V - Peter Lorre

The incomparable Peter Lorre...
I'm not sure if I've captured the likeness 100% here. His features are slightly more subtle compared to the previous subjects, so he was a bit trickier. It's his distinctive eyes I particularly like, though I think he looks a bit too sad here. I might try him again sometime, from a different photo.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Interesting Faces IV - Daniel Emilfork

Here's another face I've always admired...

Daniel Emilfork was perfectly cast as 'Krank' the crazy scientist in the exquisite City Of Lost Children.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Interesting Faces III - Rondo Hatton

You don't get a more distinctive mug than Rondo Hatton's ...
I've never actually seen any films with him in, I've only seen photos of him in my Famous Monsters magazines. Such a great face to draw. His extreme features were the result of Acromegaly. The poor guy died from the condition in 1946 when he was 51.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Interesting Faces II

Another prune from the same ad campaign, I think...
 ...I went a bit Alfred E. Neuman with the eyes here. These sketches are spontaneous without any mapping out in pencil, so a few small errors are inevitable.