Caricature organisation

I belong to a caricature organisation called the International Society of Caricature Artists or ISCA for short.

2009 was a big year for the organisation as it changed it's name to the current ISCA, from the old original NCN. The NCN was started way back in the early 1990's, in Texas, by a caricature artist named Buddy Rose.

The reason for the name change?

Well the NCN was very successful and grew into a worldwide membership of caricature artists and the NCN was very pleased about that growth. It soon became obvious that the organisation needed to reflect the fact that it had a worldwide membership. So the organisation and it members agreed that the name needed to change and reflect the global aspect.

Well it is not a simple matter to change the name of a non profit organisation. Lawyers had to be involved and members had to be consulted and all of this takes time.

But the good news is the board of directors worked hard to get the name change put in place and active in time for the annual convention where it would become official.

So we now have the ISCA!

It is a great organisation and I have many friends there from all over the world.

The website is pretty cool too, so be sure to check it out at www.caricature.org

You will find examples of some great caricatures there and many links to caricaturists websites!

There is also information about the upcoming 2010 convention that is taking pace in Las Vegas in November!

The convention is a wonderful place to learn, grow and discover yourself as an artist.

If you have never visited the ISCA website then I recommend you make plans to stop by and enjoy the website!

HAPPY NEW YEARS to us all!

A BIG Thank You

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone for taking the time to read my blog

and to everyone who follows on a daily basis.

I really do appreciate the time everyone takes out of their daily schedule to read pencildreams.

I have a goal for 2010 to post everyday and not miss any dates at all as well as develop a regular layout for the subject matter of the blog, for example, a set day for sharing sketches, another set day for questions etc etc, you get the idea. This should give a stronger format to pencildreams and help develop it much better to grow in content quality.

I enjoy writing the blog and have always had a desire to share interesting content. I will continue this and make an even greater effort to raise the game as they say.

But it would also be great if you the readers would feedback your thoughts and what you think about the pencildreams daily posts, that will help me to understand what works and what stuff maybe should be left out?

So, again THANK YOU for YOUR time, I do hope you have enjoyed the 2009 blogs of pencildreams and I hope you will be excited about the 2010 blogs to come here on pencildreams!

Tom & Jerry for Christmas

My Brother and his family treated me to three Tom & Jerry DVD's this Christmas!

They got me the Classic collection volume 1, 2 & 3

I have always been a big fan of Tom & Jerry and grew up on their cartoons when I was a boy!

So I have a lot of cartoons to watch and I am really looking forward to watching all 3 volumes.

The art of Tom & Jerry is amazing and along with some fantastic comedy writing for the scripts and story lines, it is no wonder the cartoons are now classics and looked upon as some of the best in the world!

If you have never seen a Tom & Jerry cartoon, then I highly recommend you take the chance to watch some of the classics from the 1960's & 1970's, you will love them!

The year that was

Well we are approaching the end of 2009 and the first decade of the 21st Century is almost over.

It has been another great year for myself and my wife.

Business has been good even though the global recession has hit hard during the course of 2009 and I have had the privilege to draw and entertain at 97 weddings during 2009.

There is also the corporate events and private parties that I have been hired to draw for and this has given me a very busy year for which I am grateful.

My wife and I also have had the pleasure to travel this year. We started off in February with a return visit to Tokyo to attend our very good friends convention for caricature artists. We then had a vacation in May with some friends with a week in Las Vegas and after, my wife and I spent the second week in Minneapolis with some very close friends of ours and we all had the joy of visiting our very good friend Tom Richmond at his home.

We also had a day trip to Belgium to visit our very good friends Jan and Emi and their beautiful baby daughter, Sakura.

I then treated my wife to a week away in the middle of October, with a holiday in Portugal on the Algarve.

Our children are growing fast and our Son this year graduated form University and started his career in Electrical Engineering and now lives in west London. Our daughter is finishing her last year in College studying IT and in the Summer of 2010 she will graduate and who knows what doors will open for her!

I meet so many people during the course of a year and I always enjoy discovering what they do for a living.

This year I have met people who work in the Police force, Firemen, Soldiers, people in the banking sector, lawyers, solicitors, builders, plumbers, teachers, musicians, actors and so many more that it would be too long a list!

I have been working to keep the blog running with interesting posts and some new subjects. I have started to podcast and also get a YouTube channel up and running.

I still have a few personal projects I want to complete but in 2009 I have not had the time to make them happen, so maybe, just maybe 2010 will see one or two get completed!

I trust your year has been an interesting one and full of fun?

Gosfield Hall

Gosfield Hall is a wedding venue in Essex. They hold weddings there and include my services on their recommended suppliers list. It is a loverly venue situated in north Essex, built in 1545 by Sir John Wentworth, a member of Cardinal Wolsey’s household, Gosfield Hall hosted Royal visits by Queen Elizabeth 1 and her grand retinue throughout the middle of the 16th century.

Today it is used all year round and holds a certain charm that can only be found in such wonderful architecture and historical background.

The photo below was taken on my mobile phone from my car, as I made my way into Gosfield Hall on December 18th to draw and entertain at a wedding.

As you can see it was the week that we encountered snow fall here in the UK and I have to say that Gosfield Hall looked absolutely perfect with the snow all around!

Please click here to visit the Gosfield Hall website

Merry CHRISTMAS!

To all my regular readers and everyone who has stopped by I would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!

May you and your families have a time of joy, love and time together this holiday season.

Thank you for your support and for taking the time to read my blog!

I shall continue to expand and improve the content during 2010 so do please keep with me and be sure to tell all your friends about pencildreams!

But for now, I have a few bottles of Leffe to enjoy with my family!

Take care and enjoy the day!

Christmas Eve!

A wonderful time for families and such fun and excitement for the children!

Remember to leave out the Milk & Cookies for Santa tonight!

This short video was shot on my mobile phone, so apologies for the poor quality but thought you may like to see this very cool Christmas Tree that was at Waddesdon Manor the other week, where I was drawing and entertaining at a company Christmas Party!

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iPhone apps

Author and award winning digital artist, Angie Jordan, revolutionized the art world with her Live Digital Caricatures, flying across the country to entertain for companies like Coca-Cola and Google with her Live Digital Caricatures.

She has once again revolutionized the caricature world with her own interactive iPhone App.

Browse an interactive gallery of her featured digital artwork. Some of Angie’s best artwork has been selected for the gallery, including several pieces that have been published in international periodicals, like Corel Painter Magazine.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO ANGIES WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN CLICK AND LINK DIRECT TO THE APP STORE TO DOWNLOAD!

Today in London

In London today for my last party of Christmas!

I shall be home late this afternoon and then its time to relax and spend some time getting some post's ready for this very blog!

So please do pop back!

Video Blog

Part two of my videoblog about climate change:

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Madonna

A quick sketch of madonna in a classic pose!

Weekend NEWS

This weekend I am drawing & entertaining at a wedding in Hereford.

The only issue is the weather. The journey would normally take me around 4 hours but I am expecting a possible 6 hour drive with the current snow and ice all over this part of the UK.

So today and tomorrow for the blog will need to be relatively quiet and I will not be bale to post again until Monday.

I will let you know how I get on with the weekends journey!

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers for a safe trip, I appreciate it!

I will be adding the final YouTube videoblog discussing Climate Change on Monday, so please do pop back!

Snow & a book

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with my friend Paul Moyse. Paul has a book out but before I talk about that, we have SNOW!

It started last night and I had a slippery drive home and then got stuck trying to park my car on my very own drive way! Managed to park the car after a few attempts thankfully.

But today we have more snow and even though compared to Canada, it is only a small amount, for the UK a fall of 4 to 6 inches brings our country to a stand still!

I have a wedding tonight out in the north part of Essex and I do hope the roads will improve through the day so I can get there! Then tomorrow I have to drive to Hereford for another wedding.

Paul Moyse is a caricaturist who has made his mark in the business in the past few years. Paul has painted some wonderful caricatures both on canvas and on the computer. Paul has now put his portfolio together into a book and it is now available to buy from his website:

Click here for the link

I have not seen the book as yet but I am expecting a copy sometime soon! I have seen some of Paul's work though. Paul has really 'grown' in his skills and use of colour in his work. He is dedicated to producing the best work he can and I have to say, he delivers and it is always exciting to see what he drawn and painted!

So make sure you get your own copy of his book!

Climate Change

Climate Chamge and Global Warming! This is such a HOT topic at the moment! World leaders are making their way to Copenhagen as we speak to work on securing a way forward to cut green house emissions and reduce the risk of a world wide catastrophe.

Her eis a video blog, the first of at least 2 that I am putting together to look at both sides of the debate and then maybe in a third video blog, I shall share with you my own thoughts and view point.

So sit back and enjoy the videoblog below and please do feel free to email or comment with feedback, ideas and suggestions!

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Objective C

I am currently reading my latest book purchase, my early Christmas present to myself, entitled 'Objective C for Dummies'

I am interested in learning how to create apps for the iPhone, it is something I am intrigued by and would love to be able to create or write my own and explore the possibility of getting an App accepted by Apple and 'on' their App store!

I will let you know how I get on! Wish me well as this could be tricky and shall require the use of my one and only functioning brain cell...lol!

Learn the primary programming language for creating iPhone and Mac apps

The only thing hotter than the iPhone right now is new apps for the iPhone. Objective-C is the primary language for programming iPhone and Mac OS X applications, and this book makes it easy to learn Objective-C.

Even if you have no programming experience, Objective-C For Dummies will teach you what you need to know to start creating iPhone apps. It provides an understanding of object-oriented programming in an entertaining way that helps you learn.

• iPhone and Mac apps are hot, and most are created with Objective-C
• Covers Xcode 3.2, which is included in Mac OS X Snow Leopard
• Explains object-oriented programming concepts in a straightforward but fun style that makes learning easy
• Ideal for those with no programming experience as well as those who may know other languages but are new to Objective-C
• Prepares you to start creating iPhone and Mac OS X apps
• Understand Mac programming concepts and patterns, and why to use them
• Bonus CD includes all code samples used in the book

Objective-C For Dummies gives you the tools to turn your idea for an iPhone app into reality.

Tablet Mac?

Well the rumours have been running around for a year or so about Apple developing a tablet Mac that is touch screen operated. Now the iPhone has delivered strong and secure hardware that allows developed touch screen technology, the Tablet Mac is surely a matter of time before it reaches the Apple store?

Here is a YouTube video that may or may not be real, with a first look at what the Tablet Mac may just look like:

At this stage it is all still rumours but many, including myself believe it we shall see the Tablet Mac emerge sometime next year! WATCH THIS SPACE!

Video post today!

Apologies for a 'late' post, have been very busy so here's a video blog post for today"

Logitech Microphone Review

The Logitech Desktop USB Microphone:

I have this microphone and use it for my podcasts and any voice over additions I want to make when I use iMovie.

The Logitech microphone retails at around £16 to £20 or $25

The microphone is a USB plug and play mic and is recognised by my iMac with ease, in Garage Band it 'see's' the mic immediately and asks me if I want to chose the logitech as my input for sound or stay with the built in mic on the iMac. That makes it a very easy process and allows me to unplug the mic when I do not need to use it and so free up a USB port at the back of my iMac, the iMac should really have another 3 USB ports!

OK, quality of the microphone?

Well surprisingly enough it records sound or the voice very well. The logitech delivers to the computer, a balanced even tone that when played back sounds very good.

The design and size of the microphone enables it to be used in different ways, you can have it sitting on your desk or you can hold it, as it is very light and comfortable in the hand, it is no problem to hold the mic if that is how you prefer to use it.

So what about the negative aspects of the microphone?

For me the only downside to the mic is that it can pick up the 'popping' that the human voice makes when pronouncing certain letters of the alphabet. For example the letter 'P' or the letter 'Q'. When you speak and use these letters, your mouth is formed in such a way for the pronunciation, that is causes a stronger exhale of breath that emits from your mouth and the microphone picks up this extra 'rushing' of breath and 'spikes' the sound recording so you end up with the popping and other irritating noises that the voice can make. We are often unaware of such noises but once you begin to record your voice you soon become aware of these things! It can be quite an eye opener!

Now many mics also pick up the popping so it is not fair to say that it is just the logitech. There is a way around it with the use of a 'Pop Filter'. This is a piece of fabric that is stretched over a frame and placed in front of the mic. The way it works is this, it allows the sound to pass through with no disruption and no dampening but 'catches' that stronger breath and prevents it from 'hitting' the microphone. So you can speak into the mic through the pop filter and maintain your sound but have no worry about the popping issue on certain pronunciations!

I have yet to try this with my logitech and as soon as I have some time, I am going to home build my own pop filter and try it out with my logitech.

The Logitech Desktop USB Microphone receives a 4 Steve rating!

If you are looking for a desktop microphone, then I can recommend this microphone as an ideal solution and it will not cost you too much either!

Click here to visit the Logitech website

BBQ caricature!

This caricature was requested for a client who wanted their friend to be caught as a BBQ type person so that the image can be printed onto a cooks apron and then be used by the subject!

It is a very busy time with the Christmas Party season now in full swing, so I will be posting everyday but the posts may from time to time be short and sweet! Hope you will understand.

One goal I have for 2010 is to 'fill out' my posts with more content, so look out for that in January!

Podcast show hot off the microphone!

Yes the redapples podcast - show number 5 is now available to listen too and enjoy!

Click here to listen to the show!

You will need the Quicktime software to run the show:

Click here to download should your computer not have it

Microphone

As you may be aware, I am starting to podcast and I have to say, I am loving every second of doing so!

Since 2005 when podcasting came into its own, I have had the goal of creating and making available a podcast to the world via the internet.

My start has been OK and I am very keen to learn how to make improvements and with time, hopefully have a podcast show that people will want to listen too!

One aspect of podcasting is the equipment.

On one front I am already there, I have my iMac and GarageBand, the software package that is bundled with iLife on every Mac computer and is perfect for creating audio podcasts.

The only problem I have is my microphone. Currently I have a cheap logitech mic that I use and although it is actually very good and perfect for using when communicating with programs like Skype, for podcasting it simply will not deliver what is needed to create a professional sound recording.

So I am currently searching for a new mic, using the internet and so far the Rhode Podcaster seems to be THE mic to go for!

I can buy the set up in the picture from Amazon.co.uk for £240!

But I want to be sure I am choosing the right mic as it is a piece of hardware that will stay with me for a long time.

Thats where you guy's come in!

I would love to hear any feedback on microphones, suggestions, ideas and thoughts about what I should be considering as a mic for recording my podcast with.

Please either reply here as a comment or email me, I will be most grateful and of course give you a mention/credit you for any help you can offer me!

THANKS!

Army sketch

This is the other sketch I was talking about yesterday, based on an Army theme, the couple both are in the army and met in Iraq!

Click on the image to view full size

Sketch

Currently on my desk and once approved I shall add colour to finish the caricature.

The subject is a triathlete and the idea was to have him on his bicycle as he recently completed a race in Southwell!

I have another project like this on my desk as well and that involves a guy who is in the army and an actual snipper, he wants shooting to be included in the theme! I will post the sketch once I have it done!

Competition Winner!

Yes we have a winner for the competition I ran last week!

Christophe Bodard is the lucky winner of my original sketch of Herman Von Rompuy!

Congratulations Christophe!

I will put it in the post to you this week!

Thank You to everyone else who took part, sorry you did not win this time but I shall be running more competitions to win my original sketches in the near future, so do please become a regular visitor and enter the next competition when it is announced!

2010

It may seem early but I wanted to share with you some of my plans and ideas that I have for 2010....

If your a regular reader, you will know that I have ideas popping out of my one brain cell, almost on a constant basis!

Often due to work and family needs, I simply do not have time to follow through on most of my crazy ideas.

But 2010 will see some of my ideas and projects actually coming into the world of reality. In other words, I am finally getting my finger out and making some stuff happen.

So what is it that is going to happen I hear you cry.....!

Studio:

My studio is currently located in my converted garage and that has been a great location. Our house is changing though and now my son has relocated to west London and we have the small box room available. It makes sense to move my studio to the smaller room and change the converted garage over to a guest room/bedroom.

So that will take place over January and February 2010

The good news is that I will have a chance to throw out so much 'junk' that I have accumulated in my studio over the past 7 years or so. I am a hoarder and a bad one at that! The new studio room, although smaller, will give me a fresh 'canvas' to work with. One aspect I want to include in the studio layout/design & furniture placement is to have the ability to add a professional microphone and a space to set up my video camera to record live streaming video via UStream and that allows me to grow my broadcasting ideas and plans! ;)

I plan to podcast on a regular basis and se how that develops over the course of 2010.

So that will mean a lot of work, as we are also remodelling our kitchen & dinning area and doing some other repairs to the internal ceilings of the house. We shall have a busy 2010 but this work is over due and my wife more than deserves to have her house fresh and modern as she supports my work 1000% . You see, almost every weekend I am out working/entertaining and she never sees me over the weekend evenings, apart from a few hours in the day light hours. She never complains and boy I am real lucky she is so supportive. So I want to remodel the kitchen area for her and take her on her dream holiday locations in 2010.

I will keep you updated and hopefully have pictures on how it all goes!

Christmas

Well it is under way, the season of good will and shopping!

With just over 2 weeks until the big day when Santa visits our homes and leaves those loverly presents under the tree, it is also a time of high activity for the party scene.

Christmas parties are taking place as we speak, somewhere in the world.

The really cool thing about Christmas parties is that they often want a caricaturist to join them and capture the party with lots if fun drawings!

Drawing at these parties is great fun!

My wife has been a super star this year as she has yet again taken the role of organising the Christmas shopping and making sure that the presents are selected and purchased and then wrapped up!

I do not have to worry about all that stuff and it allows me to concentrate on providing my services to the Christmas Party season.

Although I do have to buy her some Christmas presents! My wife also celebrates her birthday in December, so I must make sure I get her a birthday gift as well. But that's all I have to worry about, so I am a lucky guy really!

So... 'Tis the season to be jolly.........'

Have fun if you can as you do your Christmas shopping and remember to treat that someone special in your life this holiday season!

Caricature Steps

Here is a short overview of my steps to create a digital caricature. (Click on the images to view full size)

Step 1 - Rough pencil sketch that is then scanned into photoshop: see image below:-

Step 2 - I create a layer on top and the rough sketch layer has it's OPACITY level set to 50%

Step 3 - I then draw using my Wacom Intuos3 A4 tablet on the layer on top of the rough sketch:

Step 4 - Once the line work is how I want it, I delete the rough sketch layer

Step 5 - I may add a new layer underneath the linework to add in shading or background effect as you can see on this project

Step 6 - I flattern the image and save as high resolution jpg files, set at 300dpi with one at the A4 size and then another resized to around 500 pixels wide so that it can be used on the web for facebook or other various websites that we all seem to be on these days!

Orlando

Orlando is one of those places that you can fall in love with!

Theme parks and loads of great fun, along with some great shopping malls and choices, Orlando caters for everyone!

I have many friends there and I am also very fortunate be invited as a guest artist in the Walt Disney theme park!

I have drawn there on a number of occasions and enjoyed every second of it!

My very good and close personal friend, Kenny Durkin, is one of the Disney artists who I draw alongside with.

One of the funny aspects of drawing in Disney is the uniform!

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As you can see from the picture, I'm no longer a young man and I'm not sure if the jungle theme outfit really works for my whole 'look'....lol!

But I love drawing there and I will be back there in August 2010, so if you should be on vacation there at that time, keep an eye out for me, you may just see me somewhere in the deep jungle!

Caricature

Click on image to view full size.

Another of the many caricatures that I have on my 'drawing board' at the moment, is it Christmas time or something? LOL!

My process to produce these is fairly simple:

I put up the pictures of the subject on my computer in photoshop and then have paper and pencil to hand to draw the rough sketch.

Once that is done and I am happy with how it has turned out, I then scan in the sketch via my Canon LiDe 90 scanner via photoshop 'import' command. I scan in colour mode at 100 dpi. I just need the 'rough' so I can then make the next step:

The scan is now in photoshop and I open a new file that will become the finished artwork. This is set at A4 with 300dpi RGB.

I can then drag the rough scan directly into the new file I have created and photoshop puts it on a new later.

I alter the opacity of that layer to around 42% so it is a light grey.

I then add a new layer ontop of the scan layer and then draw the linework using the scan layer as a guide. At this stage I can modify my drawing if I feel it needs any tweaking.

Once the linework is complete I delete the scan layer as it is no longer required.

Now I have the base 'locked' layer and the linework layer on top of that.

So next I create a layer ontop of the base layer but under the linework layer and this is my 'colour' layer where I add colour of course!

As I go through the colour or 'painting' as you could call it, I may add a new layer ontop to paint shadows and the reason for that is to allow greater control over how the shadows will 'look', for example if I think they are too strong I can lower the opacity of the layer to give softer shadows, and so on.....

Once I have started this process I will of course save the file as a psd file so my work is not lost!

Then once it is finished, I flatten all layers and then save the file as a jpg, remember it is at 300dpi so it will print out really good!

I can then also change the image size to create a smaller on screen size, like 500 x 750 pixels and this allows easy and fast uploading to the web.

Thats about it! Drop me a line if you have any questions!

Podcast show hot off the microphone!

I have uploaded my NEW & latest podcast today and wanted to let you know here...!

The subject in this show is marketing your business on the internet!

Click here to stop by my website that hosts the show, you should have the Quicktime player installed on your computer to listen to the show!

For the Quicktime player download click here

Final artwork result!

Above is the flyer a client had printed recently, including my artwork that they had commissioned me to do for them, please click on the image to view full size.

I created the car mechanic and the X factor desk/bodies for them.

It is great to see how my artwork has been used and I think it looks awesome!

The client is very pleased with the results and we talked about how the car mechanic may become something of an icon for them to use in the future!

I expect to be working with them in the future for other marketing campaigns that they shall be putting out there!

Caricature for Christmas

Hot off the drawing tablet is this commissioned gift caricature for a client.

Herman Von Rompuy

Caricature Sketch of the new European President, Herman Von Rompuy.

The sketch was draw in pencil and then blue biro, although scanned in as greyscale as you can see from the sketch below.

WIN THIS SKETCH!

Yes, you have a chance to win the original sketch that I drew!

All you have to do is email me the name of the country where Mr Rompuy was the former Prime Minister.

I will put all correct entries in the hat and draw the winner next week.

The WINNER shall be announced next week & receive the original sketch in the post!

Good luck!

email cartoons@drawn4u.com