BenCrowder.net » BenjaminCrowder.com

Ends and beginnings

Ben — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:28:03 +0000

This blog is now defunct. I’ve started a new one at Blank Slate to chronicle my creative activities, and all future posts will show up there instead. (It’s too much of a pain to migrate past posts over, though, so they’ll stay here.)

The other change is that the main URL, BenjaminCrowder.com, is now going to redirect straight to Blank Slate.

Jekyll and Hyde

Ben — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:03:15 +0000

After a (far too) long absence, I’ve finally published a new Riverglen Press book, Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:

I mainly made it as a test to see how Lulu’s pocket size books look (4.25×6.875″); if it turns out well, I’ll make it available on Lulu. As for the book itself, I spent about an hour on the guts and half an hour on the cover. More time would of course have been better, but I didn’t want to drag my heels on this any longer than I needed to, seeing as I haven’t put any books out in over a year. :)

Anyway, expect more books in the near future.

Shapes

Ben — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:20:18 +0000

I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the drawing thing, but here’s a piece I put together in Photoshop this morning since I had a craving to make some art:

More later once I get caught up.

Drawing #10: Octopodes

Ben — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:41:59 +0000

I’m in a rush (my ride’s coming in like two minutes) so this isn’t all that great, and the title is…well, lame…but here it is:

And now for a real adieu till Tuesday. :)

A brief intermission

Ben — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:29:36 +0000

I’m leaving for Vegas tomorrow and won’t get back till late Monday night (I’ve got a master’s degree seminar thing all weekend), so the daily drawings will be on hold for now, but when I return I’ll post something for each day I was gone. (If I have time, I may even draw them while I’m there.) Anyway, adieu for the next few days. :)

Drawing #9: Abstractica

Ben — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:05:14 +0000

I don’t know if this even counts as a drawing. I might just change my goal from posting one drawing a day to posting one drawing or painting a day. It’s looking like that’ll be the de facto rule before long, at any rate. :)

Done in Photoshop by taking one of the default brushes and modifying the settings till I got what I wanted. I generally don’t care much for abstract pieces, but it was fun.

Drawing #8: Museum

Ben — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:51:05 +0000

This one started out on an index card, then got photographed and redone in Photoshop:

I think I ended up getting more towards painting than drawing here. I have a feeling that’s going to keep happening, too. :) Anyway, the door is too dark, and there isn’t enough contrast in the rest of the drawing, but it was fun. And that’s exactly what I’m finding: messing around with art is delightfully, giddily fun. I’m trying a variety of styles and almost each one is something I can work with later to make some real art. I’m also finding that I’m drawn towards illustration rather than realistic drawing. Interesting.

Drawing #7: Incognito

Ben — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 04:18:48 +0000

The title, “Incognito,” really has nothing to do with anything. I drew this on an index card, then photographed it and added the colors in Photoshop. I’m not sure if I ought to let myself keep coloring these, though — the point was to focus solely on the drawing. We’ll see. I can’t wait till February when I can paint. :)

I went for more of a rough look this time. And I have no idea what the thing in the middle is. Or why the sun’s puke blue. Oh well. :)

Drawing #6: I Dream of Giza

Ben — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:09:51 +0000

Today’s is a total cop-out — I’m really trying to get to bed early (because I’m really tired), and I forgot about this until just now, so I quickly popped out this drawing and colored it in and now I’m foisting it on the public:

And no, I don’t know why I like to draw clouds so much. They’re easy? :)

Drawing #5: Canyon Antics

Ben — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 17:41:53 +0000

For this drawing I sketched out everything first on index cards, photographed them, then pulled them into Photoshop and traced them:

We’ll pretend that the guys are supposed to be ghosts or something. :) And that the one on the right has really long limbs. If I had more time I would have stippled the rock textures, but instead I used a large brush, which unfortunately gave a very obvious repeated look. (I should have randomized the variation. Next time…)