unfinished sketches




















45 comments:

Chloe Cumming said...

That's a nice spiral of torso hair.

Have you been to the gynaecologist or summat?

I love it when you post blogs. I miss all this business.

:: smo :: said...

If I'm drawing a likeness I use a lot of photo reference, sometimes for certain poses or facial expressions I'll use a little but generally I just make a lot of scribbles until I like one then refine it. I think I got into this weird habit of tracing everything because of animation, but I tend to trace up the rough on my nicer paper then ink over that trace up on the same sheet...not that I've been making tons of stuff lately though...

good luck!

A.M.Bush said...

oh man! good ass post. I love those little kids. just when i think you couldn't get any better.

also, i finally bought a bathing suit. and, prepare for a new doppleganger post tonight.

Kristina said...

Hey, I've been looking at your blog for a while. I love your art. There is so much feeling in it...

About your question... I usually start with a thumbnail sketch of the piece, then go to pencils, then ink over them, adding improvised details sometimes. When I do watercolor, I wet the whole paper over top of the ink and let the colors bleed into and out of each other. This seems to be the rhythm I've fallen into.

Kristen McCabe said...

Yay! A New Marlo post!!!! I love all your Nick drawings. My fav is the tiny head nick with the huge chest. (I love his dutch boy hair) Also the bookstore caricature is perfect. Looks just like her.

Wow, The creepy vagina doctor is awesome. Judging by his face, her vag must be mesmerizing ....is it yours? I'm a little concerned about that stapler on his medical tray. What is he planning on doing to her?

Dave Fontana said...

Lovely sheeet as always... like the Nostrilla pretzel girl.

David Germain said...

Yay!! More Marlo goodness. There's not enough of that online.

Great sketches as usual. I also love the new banner. It looks very classy and professional.

I don't know if you're interested in my method, but here goes. Yeah, I sometimes use a photo reference, especially if it's someone I haven't drawn before. Then I just block it out on the paper and finish it up until either I think it looks good or I'm just tired of working on the damn thing. Then, I post it online and see a whole bunch of mistakes. This is then followed by thoughts of punching myself.

Is that similar to your method Marlo? I hope not. ;)

Guido Salimbeni said...

Hi Marlo, first i would say to you that you are very talent artist. Sometime i feel like you draw like Egon Schiele with the poetry of Catullo in your mind.. I wonder if you do also painting not related with animation.. if yes I'd love to see them.

When i do caricature of celebrity I normally do a sketch watching a video of the celebrity on youtube, then i scanned it and I use different layer and color application to the end. Othertime I try to fix the volume and the shape directly with photoshop still watching the video without doing a sketch first. FOr commissions I generally work for most of the caricature on paper and fix the mistake with photoshop. For illustration and character I will tell you cause I start a course just last week..
For watercolors and Life sketching I just do what happen to do..

Very glad that Blogger and you gave me the chance to follow your art blog .. I won't miss a piece

ciao
Guido

Dave Fontana said...

? Method... sometimes straight to paper w/ beautiful results, sometimes not... like music jams.
For 'worked' pieces...I sketch out 'til I'm happy, ink n' paint.

callie! said...

yay! I love marlo blog. so glad for update.

for the questions...oh god I am such a joke for answering but one must have pride. it's preferable to me to sketch a lot of shapes and things before deciding on an idea, but usually I just end up throwing something out and inking it and liking it.

Katie said...

These are all beautiful!! The way you draw seems to evolve all the time. I like that you aren't afraid to caricature anything, even if it's not a human. The doggie drawing is super adorable.

david said...

ahhah awesome!

Jake Friedman said...

Wow. What did you use to color these?

Philip Dahl said...

when I am having an art block where I don't know what to do but I know I want to create "something" I'll make a mark on the page and then "fix" that mark so it's more then just an accidental looking line on the paper. This is how I fill in the majority of my sketchbook, fixing lines I make blindly on the page.

Everybody's gotta be in a Gang said...

Great sketches as usual, Marlo!

As for your question:
It depends on the medium, and intent.
For a painting, I do sketches first- until I like it and/or the client likes it- then I usually use a projector to trace it over if it's going to be larger, or just tracing paper if it's the same size. I draw it on a toned background and then start blocking in colors after I've mixed them on my palette.
I used to just "go at it" and paint more loosely, but I got frustrated with the compositions sometimes, and having to try to capture the same likeness from the sketch...

Seo Kim said...

these are awesome!!! I love your crazy lines.

I don't do enough stuff to have an established method but one thing I would always do before tackling a drawing of a character is small thumbnails to get the pose right.

Rex said...

So amazing! Your sensibility of design is fantastic! You rock Marlo!!

My method is closing my eyes and hoping for the best.

Trevor Thompson said...

The idea comes first.... I usually write and doodle in a notebook with a pen.

Then, I sketch and erase 'til I have a basis to start; figuring out the negative shapes and crap like that. I'm not good at drawing yet, so I go through a lot of erasers.

Then, if I want it colored, I attack with colored pencils. I use them because they're easy to fix mistakes and because markers scare me... as do you.

- trev.

PS: Speaking of colored pencil, did you use any in these drawings? I'm looking particularly at the first drawing of Nick when I ask that.

Trevor Thompson said...

PS: Thank you for the kind words about my animatic. Yer a pal!

Mette said...

i hardly ever use a photo referance, and I almost always draw directly in photoshop, never really knowing what im drawing until it's there. If I sketch I usually ink by hand and just increase the ink in photoshop.

do you ever plan out your caricatures, or do they just happen? Cause they are haawesome. :)

Vincent Waller said...

All wonderful. But lat boy hairy chest is tip top.

Julia Bax said...

Holy f*ck this is beautiful! I'm glad I stumbled upon your blog. It made my night. As for my work process usually sketches, then inking or painting depending on what I'm in at the moment =)

Seo Kim said...

POST POST POST POST i am excited for your next post

Meesimo said...

These are some awesome rough diamonds

jason white said...

won der full

wrodcarica said...

Marlo,
Nice stuff...Congratulations !!!

Jeremy Bernstein said...

I usually just hang upside down for an hour. When my head is tomatoey red and all my other body parts are asleep--that's when I begin my magic drawing.

Scott said...

Great art! Saw your pretty face on another blog. I source out a few ref photos after seeing what other artists have done with the same subject. I sketch out some ideas straight in Ps, then use a very Seiler-esque approach to my digital "stuff". I experiment with every painting i do, using different brushes along the way. The only natural media i use is ink when doing live work :-)

el pancake said...

very talented (damn!!)..keep up the great work
(a fellow MMer)

Aaronphilby said...

These are so very awesome. The reclining one in particular is very enjoyable to look at with my eyes.

Fiona the Artist said...

Hi, that's an interesting question. I'm sure every artist has a different route in the door, and perhaps different doors at different times! I have no set way of proceeding with a painting. I can start from a photo or memory, and work sometimes for years until the image feels right. Some of my best works are paintings that failed and were re-worked. Then there are those pictures that take on a life of their own and surprise you - I like that kind best! I think most artists have a sense of when something seems to click, or echo their inner vision.

Unknown said...

THese design rock!

Anonymous said...

Your work is always a treat to look at.

Anonymous said...

love your work... it looks very graphi influncede....

Benjamin Arcand said...

FUNNY drawings! :D

Danne8a said...

Wowie Zowie! Even your unfinished sketches are works of art.

OM20 said...

word, love this stuff, great job

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Unbelievably great stuff! Man, looking at these was inspiring! You've gotta have a book, even if you have to self-publish to do it, but I don't think that'll be necessary. There must be some publisher out there who wants to make big profits at the same time that they're improving the world!

OM20 said...

awesome awesome awesome. hope you can comment some of my things:)

Trevor Thompson said...

Merry Imaginary Deity's Birthday and Happy Incorrect Counting of a Ten Year Period to you and Nick!

- trevor.

bathmate said...

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Everything looks good in your posting.
That will be necessary for all. Thanks for your posting.
Bathmate

Zoran Taylor said...

Wonderful drawings all....but why the brown background?

Anonymous said...

Your drawings aren't that great compared to the ones in the funnies like Family Circus and Hagar but keep working at it.

Do you have any nudes? I know a guy who works at the Town Line Newspaper in central maine who might look at your cartoons and consider putting them below the advice column about bird feeders next month. I'm willing to hook something up if you hook me up.

Anonymous said...

Unfinished? These are done as done my dear. Your work is inspiring, please more 'un-Finnish' or un-Spanish.

Aaronphilby said...

You should post your cripple con work. please please please. At least the Anne Bush one. I've only heard about it, but never seen it.