Tag: sketch

I’m going to call this one a tribute to mkefirehydrants on Instagram because why not? The photo used for reference was taken by me, and it’s a fire hydrant I’ve walked pasted hundreds of times near Enderis Playfield.

I’ve got a lot of variations on this one because again… Why not? Just like digital photography is to film photography, digital illustration is to paper sketching. Make more, try different things, let things multiply.

Besides that I don’t think I have much to say about this one. It’s a fire hydrant, and just like the sewer cover it’s not exciting or amazing, it’s just part of everyday life, but sometimes that’s worth celebrating. The average, the mundane, the things all around you. The things some people don’t notice, but I do…

I really didn’t expect to enjoy sketching on an iPad so much. I did like using the old Wacom tablet a decade ago but this is so much better. I still have a lot to learn about Procreate, and yeah, there’s a zillion tutorials and videos out there, and I watched a bunch at first, but now I just explore and experiment, and there’s something to be said for that.

I probably just went “meh” when I first heard about the Apple Pencil but wow, I really do love that thing now! Being able to lay in bed at the end of the day and sketch silly things is pure joy. I think it’s like those “adult coloring book” or just coloring in general that people seem to like. And honestly I feel much better sketching and being creative than I do about doom scrolling while lying in bed.

Obviously as a Serial Enthusiast I’ll do this until something else comes along but that’s part of the game, and maybe I’ll quit doing this in a month and pick it up again in the future, or I’ll just keep going. Who knows!? Perhaps the unknown is what makes it interesting and exciting and fun.

As always (at least recently) I used an Apple Pencil on an iPad along with Procreate because that’s what I am doing right now. Enjoy!

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While I’ve taken plenty of photos of sidewalk squares, and there is a local who takes photos of fire hydrants, I’ve yet to see anyone take on the sewer covers, sometimes called “manhole covers” though I do prefer the term “personhole covers” because it sounds even more strange.

This is a classic from Neenah Foundry Co though I guess now they are part of Neenah Enterprises, Inc. (NEI). Times change and so do names but the evidence remains, forged in metal…

And yeah, I’ve been in sewers before, and I’ve also spent a lot of time in the underground. (Props to you if you get that reference.) Anyway, it’s flat, it’s gray, it’s boring, and it goes unnoticed by so many every day. I try to notice those sorts of things.

So three cheers to the Sewer Cover! Keep us from falling into the sewers on a regular basis. (And yes, yet again I used an Apple Pencil on an iPad along with Procreate.)

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Here we have yet another sketch, this one of a classic Scotch tape dispenser. I used an Apple Pencil on an iPad along with Procreate, and this time I started with one of the “pencil” pens to get the look of a classic pencil sketch, the kind I would have done in an art class back at university.

I left the initial sketch of the outline as it was, and added a new layer for the shading. I’ve been using layers in Procreate quite a bit lately, which I can keep separate from the first layer or merge down with the original layer if desired. Typically my sketches only have a few layers anyway though, one or two for lines, one or two for color, and a background.

Speaking of background I made this one yellow to evoke the idea of a yellow sticky Post-it note since we’re already in an office theme with the tape dispenser.

After the first sketch was done I did another quick and dirty version that is more of a felt tip marker or even woodcut style. At some point I’ll probably use some of these sketches to make relief prints, so that style will come in handy.

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The story behind this sketch of a “Purple Hearse” is that back around 1988 or so there was this band called “Purple Hearse and the Judges of Fate” and I asked about their name and they said they were called the Judges of Fate but one night they were out (they may have been imbibing at the time) and saw this purple hearse parked in a driveway and decided to add that to the name.

But it wasn’t actually purple, it was black, and I know this because it was the hearse that John Kucera used to own, that was uses as the Cleveland Bound Death Sentence band vehicle. (The original CBDS not the Cometbus one.)

Anyway, I drew this purple hearse… Oh, one more fun fact. They are not referred to as “hearses” now but “Coach Cars” or “Funeral Coaches” and I was told this by the new guy at work who used to sell burial plots.

(Here’s where I got the reference photo from: This 1976 Cadillac Hearse “Overtaker” Will Make Even A Dead Man Scream.)

As usual, if I got the anything wrong in regards to the band history or you heard a different story, let me know.