Sleeping Birds

Sleeping Birds

This is my entry for Illustration Friday. The topic this week is asleep and I think they fit the bill pretty well. We have budgies and they get into this pose at bed time. They don't get quite as nice scenery to hang around in though!

I wasn't actually intending to enter but I was doodling away and came up with these guys. They just seemed perfect so as its a holiday today I used my time wisely by putting them into vector mode and posting them up. Tried to get away from the black outlines just for a change as well, I quite like the effect in the end.

I'm not thinking about putting these onto anything for the store. They are just hanging around having a snooze in a tree for the fun of it.

Evil Genius Plotting to Rule the World!

The Evil Genius

Every really good movie needs an evil genius somewhere in it, and this is my idea of what he should look like.

I guess he could be a mad scientist but in my mind there's not a lot of difference between them. He's prepared for every eventuality, you can see he even has a plan B prepared just in case the hero manages to infiltrate his underground lair or thwart his diabolical plan. Its something that always seems to be missed out in films. The hero (usually James Bond) always finds the bad guy just before his plan succeeds so I reckon its worth preparing for that. This particular evil genius also has some useful tools, just in case he needs to make running repairs to his latest technological masterpiece. He's like a boy scout. An evil boy scout. Hmm there's a thought!

The only thing he needs now is a private army of minions, ready to do his bidding. So, want to sign up? He's at the store on lots of cool stuff.

Little Blue Worried Monster

Little Blue Monster

New doodle today is the little blue monster. Could do with a better name really but that's what I've come up with so far! Added a bit of background on this one, mostly because I don't usually and its always good to do something different. Tried a new technique on the outlines as well to give them a little more variation. I'm quite pleased with the end result although he does look a little concerned for some reason.

Thought I would include a couple of my early sketches in this post too. First is the original pencil doodle that got me started. Looks a bit angry in this one and I didn't like the horns, but the face has potential, so I did a few more trying to get a better shape.

Then I started on a pen version. I do like getting a bit scribbly with pens and creating a bit of shape with my shading. Still not quite right though, head is a bit big but the face is now pretty much how I wanted it.

Then it was on to the Mac and do it properly. Give everything a good tweak to get it just right, and then post it up for you to have a look at. What do you think?

As usual you can find the little blue monster in the Doodle Dojo store on lots of different suff. Let me know if you think he belongs on something that I've missed out!

Frankenstein's Monster

Frankenstein's Monster back from the dead.

Frankenstein's monster has been a classic horror icon since the book first appeared in 1818. Written by an eighteen year old Mary Shelley he is probably the most recognisable horror monster of all. The creature was apparently created from parts of dead bodies, and not all of them human. The reactions of the people he met drove him to seek revenge on Victor Frankenstein, his creator, which is why he looks a bit on the grumpy side!

Of course this doodle isn't the most horrible version, I think he's quite cool. Definitely looks like he's out for revenge though!

You can get hold of him on some cool stuff at the Doodle Dojo store.

Ninja Carrot!

The vegetable patch is a dark and dangerous place. Especially if you're at the bottom of the food chain. You're going to need some serious skills to survive for long and Ninja Carrot has the most awesome ninja skills of all. Trained by an elite clan of warrior carrots that were sadly destroyed in an unfortunate carrot-cake related incident, this silent warrior seeks revenge. Armed only with his cunning and excellent night vision (and a complete set of ninja weapons), he hunts down anyone who stands in his path.

As we all know, ninjas are totally sweet and awesome. So are carrots when prepared the right way. So the idea of ninja carrot came about. Seems like a fun one so I think I might carry on with this guy. He needs some pics with other weapons and stuff at the very least.

In the mean time you can head on over to the store to get some cool ninja carrot stuff before he totally flips out and kills everyone.

I Want my Mummy!

Epic Mummy by DoodleDojo

Following on from my last post (sort of) here's a mummy's head. This is a slightly more traditional egyptian mummy. The Egyptians used to mummify people by pulling out their internal organs and drying out the remains of their body using salts. The organs were placed into jars and buried with the mummy along with treasures for the dead person to use in the next life. Thankfully (or disappointingly?) no mummies have ever been seen coming back to life. But I suppose there's always a first time. 

I'd be pretty fed-up if I'd spent the last few thousand years trapped in a stone box with a bunch of treasure. Especially if I'd been promised a luxury life in the next world! No wonder the ones in films are always groaning and moaning and chasing people about.

 Haven't done a tattooed one yet, but the idea is still bubbling away back there in the depths of my head.

Anyway if you like him, go and have a look at the store.

Maori Mummified Head

Mummified Maori Head - Image from Reuters

This incredible mummified Maori head is being returned to New Zealand after a 136 year French holiday. The head was apparently given to a museum in Rouen in 1875 by a mysterious man called Drouet.

Not only does it look amazing but its got a mysterious story as well, how could it get any better! The tattoos on the face are incredible. It doesn't exactly look brand new but it certainly doesn't look over a century old.

Apparently these were kept as battle trophies. I don't think I would keep one for long though, those empty eye sockets would start to bore into you after a while. Can you imagine a zombie with that on top of his neck? Now that would be properly scary! Not one of those slow, shambling zombies either, this guy would be a full-on sprinter.

But it might make a pretty good picture, I can feel inspiration hitting me already! :D

Mexican Skulls

Not one of mine this time but I do love these pics...

From The Urban Hippie

These mexican skeleton figures are used to celebrate the Day of the Dead. This particular figure is La Calavera de la Catrina, or skull of the female dandy. Somehow they manage to make a symbol of the dead seem cheerful and happy. A celebration of life instead of the fear of death that skulls are more normally associated with (at least where I'm from!)

I think it sounds like a far better way to celebrate people who are no longer with us than the depressing and sad occasions we usually see. Its got to better to remember the happy times you had with someone and this, to me looks like, a colourful, bright way of doing just that.

There are a whole bunch more pics of all sorts of beautiful crafted items on The Urban Hippie blog, so go along and have a look you definitely won't be disappointed!

From The Urban Hippie