Okay, I have to admit, this isn’t a sketch done recently. In fact, it’s a sketch I did about 3 years ago in a small pocket sketchbook I carried with me at the time. What makes this sketch so special is because it was the first sketch in my RoBot world. I named it fishing with Grampy, because that’s what my niece re-named my dad about 16 years ago. I think the name is too close to “Grumpy”, or even worse, “Crampy”. Sorry, Dad, it just is. My mom’s name is Grammy. Now, that’s a cool name. Very English. My Grammy’s mom was Big Grammy to us kids. I’m not sure why because she was a relatively small woman. Pay attention, I’m gonna quiz you later.

The sketch is a bit older, so I really can’t recall what the heck I was thinking at the time. All I can do is describe it to you as if someone else did it.

The artist clearly has a huge fear of abandonment. Obviously, the extreme use of dark shades means he views the world as a dark place and he longs to crawl back in the womb. Kidding. Grampy is the start of a steampunk introduction. It’s one of my favorite art forms, combining the new with the antique. Lots of brass and leather. Kind of fitting, since he’s a much older RoBot. The scene is on the eastern shore of the lake at dusk. The reason I knew this is because the scene is from my memory of Owasco Lake in the summer. If you’ve been to my main site, you’ll see the start of a painting similar to this drawing.

DISCLAIMER: KMRucker and all affiliates do not advocate excessive violence in any sense for the sole purpose of entertainment. See Marvel Comics for the definition of excessive violence. These are robots and don’t feel pain, so there. This was a request after I posted 3rd & 50 by my buddy Mike Rinehart. He didn’t request the golf swing to the head. Okay, so it’s not exactly hockey, but it’s pretty close.

Interactions throughout the drawing is key to keeping your eye moving in a deliberate direction. If you start out with the players in the foreground, which is the focus of the piece, the eye gradually works up the stick and into the stands, then over to the Bot spilling the beer and eventually to the players going over the wall, via his pointing finger. I kept the players by the wall sketchy because I wanted to show the difference between the fans and the ice. There’s a “glow” coming off the ice that I was trying to capture as well to give some atmospheric perspective. I was going to draw the team in the box, but I have about 3 hours into this drawing and wanted to get on to the next one. I do have a day job (for now, anyway). Overall, there’s a lot going on in this sketch, however the different elements and techniques work fairly well together. I’m happy with it.

This is a typical sketch I will post here. It’s one of my favorite subjects to draw – robots. I love to draw mechanical objects because of all the cool detail. The fortune teller aspect is a reminder that we can’t predict the future, no matter who we are, nor should we even worry about it. Life is a series of “now-nesses”. Embrace them and live for them.

The style is noir. I really love the old pulp-fiction covers from the early 30s to the 50s. I will also be posting some of my renditions of these covers as well. I have had a couple of photoshoots done and really look forward to sketching them for you.

This is another study with robots. I will draw them when I want to convey a feeling or a situation and don’t have any one or scene in mind. They are – sort of – my fall back position. I will leverage atmosheric perspective when I’m able. This technique requires drawing anything in the background with loose, gestural strokes, thus making it lighter and pushes it farther back into the background. Feel free to email me with questions. I would really like this site to be educational as well as entertaining.