Category Archives: Machinery

Flight of Fancy

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I had one of those days when I work like mad and hardly get anything accomplished.

Holy crap.

I am really amazed at the level of dependency I have on this magic whirring box of wonder. I had an assignment today that involved 3D. Well, I don’t have that software loaded on this computer and it’s not compatible because of a versioning conflict, so I had to load it on my laptop. Well, it decided to crap out on me – totally, so no more laptop, says my buddy, Matt, who graciously helped me out tonight.

But, alas, no 3D software and no closer to finishing the project.

If I had a two pound rock hammer and a chisel, I could do it faster at this point…Hehe..Actually, I wouldn’t mind at all.

Cruising

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It’s one of those days that I don’t have much to write about.

Blending the background creates motion blur.

If we had hover cars, would we be able to park on a hill? Just curious.

 

Happy Cow

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I did this Cow Animation a while ago with a good friend of mine. I am amazed at how fast time flies. I read somewhere that the older you get, the cooler you run (in other words, your core temperature cools as you get older). This may slow your reaction time, thus making it appear time is moving faster. My son told me he is convinced he was eight years old for way longer than a year. I feel like I blinked and he was nine.

I had a dream the other night that my oldest was four again and we were watching TV. In the dream, I put my hand between his shoulder blades like I used to and I could feel his tiny little spine on the tips of my fingers.

What a gift that was.

 

 

 

Kitchen Sink

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I love creating different textures in my sketches. This one is no exception and there’s a lot of them, hence, the title. It is for a landing page for kmrucker.com.

I am blending my sketches a lot more lately. I love the tones it gives me. It makes it really easy to pull highlights and push shadows around. This may be the next evolution of this technique.

Moby Dick

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Did you know that the Ford Mustang was named after the P-51 Mustang?

Did you know this car that I just drew is actually named after the Led Zeppelin song, Moby Dick? Yeah, I did that, just now.

I kept this sketch simple, just so I could concentrate on the lines of the car. I kept the tires small to make everything else look massive.

66cc

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My buddy, Tom over at Lillie Glassblowers is a steampunk artist. He’s creating some amazing pieces. As soon as I get a link to his stuff, I will post it. anyway, we got to talking about steampunk bikes, and apparently, he’s built one…or actually two…put together like a tandem bike. I need to get a pic of that, also.

Anyhoo, We discussed making a motorized bike. Come to find out, there’s a company out there that makes engines for bikes. If you follow the link and read the comments below, some of these guys are all about speed. Hehe. I am really thinking I may need to build this, or at the very least, buy one of these engines.

I can feel myself gravitating to the higher contrast, more “graphic”. I am working on a couple of logos (which I love doing) and that may be why. It’s evident in the upper right hand corner of the sketch.

Wensley 88

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I can really appreciate the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. Especially, the ones that depict machines that won’t be built for hundreds of years. He was truly a renaissance man.

I am talking with a friend of mine about building a Wensley something-or other. It doesn’t have to do anything but look neat and have moving parts, powered by a motor system of any kind, even human. Wensley is my made up company name from another world. They make everything from electro-shock-socks to coat hangers. The logo is the “W” you see above. I think I may have borrowed it from Wonka.

Wensley Dredger – Parade Ready

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I think I will measure the success of this blog by how many hits I get from “work” computers. I love to check out other artists work online. When I was a corporate artist I called it research & inspiration – totally legit, by the way. I could waste a whole day doing just that. If you get a chance, check out one of the most talented artists I know, Tim Hynes. He’s the type who picks up a stick, starts carving, and turns it into a work of art. You just can’t teach that level of creativity. It’s awe inspiring.

I kept the wheels sketched, just because I like the mechanics behind them. If I put spokes or solid rims, I would lose that. I wanted to go with a steampunk look, so I used a vintage looking smoke stack to drive that point home.

TubeRoBot

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In my made-up world, machines have taken on human characteristics. This includes “weaknesses”, such as love and compassion. In some worlds, computers attempt to take over the world, think Terminator series, or even The Matrix. In my world, they do not only think for themselves, they have their own personality. A RoBot may be a coworker or a friend. You can sneak up behind one and scare the bolts out of him.

I am really loving my new technique. I am concentrating on the highlights in this sketch. There’s something else about it that was completely unexpected. The background resembles a matte painting more than an open environment. I thnk I will develop this idea more in upcoming posts.