Kid Sketches

Registration for the Next Teen Manga Sketchbook will open soon

2012-01-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

Just found out that in a couple of weeks, we'll be having a follow-up session for: Teen Manga Sketchbook (age 12-15) at the Cary Arts Center.
Design and sketch character and creatures typical of Japanese comics using pen and ink, markers and colored pencils. This will be another introductory level class that will cover character design, comic book page layout, some Kaiju/Giant Creatures construction, and address any specific challenges that the students might have.
Instructor: Alberto Lung
Sat Feb 11 1-3 p.m.

Update: Already got 5 students registered for this sketching session, so hurry up if you want to secure your spots.

First Teen Manga Sketchbook Class completed at Cary Arts Center

2012-01-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

Just got back from teaching the first Teen Manga Sketchbook at the Cary Arts Center. We had a good turn out, and we had a fairly broad and productive introductory session with a group of boys and girls ranging in age from 11 to 15 years old. We went over some basic tips on constructing faces, drawing fighting figures, some animal drawing, designing zombies and spy characters wearing tactical vests. Every student got his or her face drawn to take home as a souvenir, some original sketches for practicing their inking technique, a dragon illustration, a vintage 3B pencil, and some handout sheets to further practice their sketching and coloring skills. We finished the session with a lucky draw for a handmade sketchbook from Neko Heavy Industries. All the completed class reviews were enthusiastically positive, so I look forward to offering similar follow up sessions where we can cover basic Kaiju/Creature/Dragon design and update some ninja and samurai characters with a sci-fi flair. Thank you to all the students that came to class today and keep on sketching!

Stay tuned for the next Manga Sketchbook class: As soon as we can schedule our next session, we'll let you know by e-mail when registration opens and announce it in this blog as well.

Cartoon Sketching (age 9-12)
Design and sketch characters and creatures typical of Japanese comics using pen and ink, markers and colored pencils on Mondays after school.

Fantasy Creatures
57823 Mon Feb 20-Mar 5 6-7 p.m.
Super heroes
57824 Mon Mar 12-26 6-7 p.m.
Ninja Sketching School
57825 Apr 9-23 6-7 p.m.
Dragons and Creature Design
57826 Apr 30-May 14 6-7 p.m.

Mystery Giveaway link

2012-01-26T22:40:00.000-08:00

Go check out my other blog for a chance to enter my first mystery giveaway for 2012!

Upcoming Drawing Class at Cary Art Center

2011-12-13T22:22:00.000-08:00

From the Teen Scene Winter catalog: Teen Manga Sketchbook (age 12-15)
Design and sketch character and creatures typical of Japanese comics using pen and ink, markers and colored pencils.
Instructor: Alberto Lung
57827 Sat Jan 28 1-3 p.m.

2011 Holiday Gift Guide and Jet Pens Giveaway

2011-11-25T17:55:00.000-08:00

Visit my other blog to check out my 2011 holiday gift guide for artists and leave a comment there for a chance to win a Jet Pens $10 gift certificate.

Met the Cameron Village Regional Library Anime Club - Upcoming Classes at the Cary Arts Center

2011-10-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Thank you Nicole for introducing me to the members of the Library Anime Club. It was very nice meeting you all. Now I will have to look up "Black Butler" and the other funny anime that you highly recommended (was it something sounding like "Orion"?). Hope everybody was inspired to continue to work regularly with your sketchbooks after our short drawing demo session. The links listed on the column to the right include several art materials tips, drawing and paper craft templates, and my list of recommended reference and drawing technique books. That should keep you busy until our first official "Manga Sketching Workshop" sometime in the Spring.

Cary residents might want to keep an eye out for my upcoming "Cartoon Sketching - Manga Style" 3-lesson series in the Winter catalog of the Cary Arts Center. Starting on February from 4:30 pm-5:30 pm and 6:00 pm -7:00 pm every Monday after school, we will cover tentatively:

Fantasy Creatures.
Superheroes.
Dragons and monster design.
Ninja sketching school.

We also got a 2-hour Manga Sketching Workshop for Teens planned for the last Saturday of January 2012.

Lego Fest at Raleigh Convention Center

2011-10-18T22:34:00.001-07:00

Lego is the classic educational toy that can be enjoyed by the whole family as proved by the enthusiastic crowd attending this year's Lego Fest at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Ninjago had the entire team in life-size scale models guarding the spin-jitsu play area.
The accurate Hogwarts model was particularly impressive. It even featured the Chamber of Secret under the castle.
Meeting the legendary Boba Fett.
Close encounter with the Batman.
Sponge Bob was quite popular with the kiddies.
Captain Rex from Clone Wars. Lego kits with their variety of themes and limitless free-style applications make for nice creative gifts for the young at heart and inquisitive minds.

Spent a fun evening at the Cary Arts Center Family Friday Open House

2011-09-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the Cary Arts Center Open House. It was a fun evening drawing about 60 manga-style cartoon portraits in 4 hours for guests and volunteers. That means I managed to speed sketch 15 caricatures/hour, so I am pretty pleased to have beaten my average speed of 12 caricatures/hour. Though gotta admit that my left hand feels a tad numb as I type this post. I need to remember to take a few breaks every hour in future events. My brother managed to take a few photos of the evening, so I uploaded them to Flickr: photo 1, photo 2, and photo 3 .

The bulk of the requests were ninja, mermaid, fairy, dragon rider, and cute animal sidekicks. A few guests even managed to go through the line 2 or 3 times to get additional cartoon versions of themselves drawn. Thanks to all the kids and parents that stopped by the sketching table, and hope you find some inspiration from your souvenir portraits and start or continue to develop your own sketching skills. With the general positive reception to this Manga-Style Cartoon Sketching event, I believe we'll be able to quickly fill upcoming drawing classes for kids and teens in the Cary area.

Sports Cartoon Portraits

2011-09-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

Couple of caricatures drawn with Sakura Pigma Sensei 0.6 mm and 1.0 mm pens. Gotta keep practicing the proper gear and get some more references for other sports-themed cartoon portraits.

Couple of Art Reference Book recommendations

2011-09-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

Greetings Grasshoppers! Just wanted to share a couple of book recommendations that I recently acquired for my own reference library. The Monster Hunter illustrations is a massive tome filled with creature and character designs that reminds me a bit of the style of the Final Fantasy series. The creative team drew inspiration from many different cultures when creating the Hunter characters of this Capcom game. This is the full review I wrote for its Amazon listing:"Just received my copy of this absolutely awesome Game Development Art book, and I'm quite pleased with the visual quality and variety of the creature and character designs featured in this massive tome. Flipping through its pages should provide hours of enjoyment and many examples of how the talented artists went about the process of creating the world and fantastical inhabitants of the Capcom game "Monster Hunter" (which I have never seen nor played). While I really appreciate the opportunity of reading the text of this book originally published in Japanese, I have to agree with my fellow reviewer that the numerous spelling and editing errors detract some from what could have been a flawless experience. Highly recommended reference book for anybody interested in creating their own monster creatures and fantasy warriors despite its lack of proper proof-reading."
The second book: Illustration School: Let's Draw Cute Animals by Sachiko Umoto is a very useful drawing guide with a distinct Japanese flair suitable for artists of all skill levels. It is packed with many step-by-step animal drawing demonstrations that are easy-to-follow. While at first glance Umoto's style might come across as deceptively simple, it is a very effective method of reducing a complex subject to the fewest lines possible while retaining its charm and appeal. Kawaii!

Archaeological comic find

2011-09-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

Found some examples of comic book pages drawn by myself or my brother on the back of an old math notebook long ago in elementary school. Early on we often sketched action scenes featuring underwater creatures or Kaiju battles with missiles and lasers streaking across the page.

Most recent additions to my Class Drawing Reference Figures

2011-09-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Spotted these large PVC figures in the clearance section of a local big-box store. While I'm not terribly familiar with these Ben 10 characters, I figured they would make fine additions to the pool of reference drawing manikins used in some of my Manga cartoon sketching classes. Their design certainly reminds me of Kaiju or typical Japanese giant monsters. So remember grasshoppers, keep an eye out for suitable reference models in the clearance sections of retail stores as they gear up for the next big holiday season. Much of my class reference manikins have been acquired in this manner.

X-Mas Cut Out Characters for Pop-Up Card

2011-08-28T20:42:00.001-07:00

Use stone wall pattern for cottage facade. Add a snow-covered roof with chimney for decoration. Perhaps park a sled with reindeer on the roof. Decorate with X-mas colors and some of the cut out characters below. Refer back to Pop-Up Castle project if needed.

Visit my other blog to enter giveaway for a Sketching Kit/Cartoon Portrait

2011-08-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

If you would like a chance to win a vintage pencil tin with a few surprise sketching tools, please visit my other blog the Lung Sketching Scrolls for the giveaway details.

Fillming Ad for The von Liebig Art Center

2011-08-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks Sara for inviting me! Just spent a fun afternoon with fellow volunteers for the filming of the fall ad to promote The Von Liebig Art Center. Did a couple of passes as background people entering the building, and then we set up a classroom on the second floor to simulate an ongoing ARTScool kids' art class. We even had 4 properly attired interns walking around the room supporting the students creative efforts. Speed sketched a few cartoon drawing examples on the dry erase board, and the students colored and cut the components of the pop-up castle activity for the camera. The kids were having so much fun, that many continued with they projects after the camera stopped rolling. Aimee made some mean chicken salad and home made brownies for the well-stocked refreshments table. It was fun meeting other volunteers, and naturally quite a few souvenir cartoon portraits were drawn between takes. Quite curious to see the finished ad this coming fall on local cable channels.

Kokeshi Dolls and Maneki Neko: quite possibly the cutest Iwako Erasers ever!

2011-08-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

Just got another batch of Iwako eraser sets for my nieces that have been growing their novelty eraser collection for a few years with a bit of help from yours truly. These Japanese erasers can easily be taken apart and put back together in different combinations. The Maneki Neko (Lucky Cat) and Kokeshi doll models are available in 6 different colors each. The kimono on the dolls is actually a wrapper decorated with colorful fabric prints. Reportedly they work well as erasers too, but I have not test that claim myself.
These puzzle erasers would make great classroom incentives and gifts for the school-age kids in your list. I bet quite a few grown-ups would also be happy to receive any of them. Who could refuse a "Lucky Cat" or "Kokeshi Doll" eraser to brighten a work station or cubicle?

Trying out the Colorations Jumbo Tempera Cakes 8 Tropical colors tray set

2011-08-15T07:16:00.001-07:00

Came across this set of tempera cakes in a box of donated art supplies, so I recruited my nieces to give them a try. They look like the type of product that you might encounter in a teacher's catalog. The generously-sized cakes adequately released the color washes after moistening them with a wet brush, but using larger diameter brushes and adding a few drops of water to each cake seemed to work more efficiently. Nicole and Camila both chose still life themes for their afternoon experiments. Stray paint wiped off easily enough with a wet paper towel. Color mixing was limited as you might expect for economy paints, but the kids had fun boldly "drawing" with their tempera paints.
Will add this tempera paint tray set to my classroom tool kit for upcoming classes. They might come in handy for experimenting and larger scale work for younger students.

ARTScool 2011 Final gallery - Open House

2011-08-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today we held the ARTScool 2011 Open House to showcase samples of the students' work created during the past 8 weeks of summer art camp held at The von Liebig Art Center.
These graphic works were on display in the hallways throughout the building and on the tables of 3 classrooms.
It was a lot of fun to see so many entire families walking through the exhibit and collecting their kids' final projects on this Sunday afternoon.
I enjoyed the opportunity of chatting with some of the parents of the talented kids that took my classes this summer.
It is always nice to hear course feedback directly from the satisfied parents and kids.
Even on our final day, a few interns were hard at work unloading the kiln since the students from David Himmel's ClaysCool class worked on their projects all the way until last Friday. David is a great teacher for kids of all ages and levels with many taking his class multiple times in the summer. After a solid foundation on ceramic building techniques and glazing, kids are able to explore their creativity in 3-D in no time. ARTScool 2011 was a complete success, so hope that most students, interns, and fellow instructors will return for ARTScool 2012. In the meantime, keep sketching and drawing kids!

Pop-Up Castle Templates and Samples

2011-08-11T09:36:00.001-07:00

Print castle template on 8.5" X 11" card stock and fold in halves twice, so that the castle wall pattern ends up inside the folded card. With sharp scissors cut one or two pop-up tabs to add additional decorative elements or standing characters to your castle diorama.
Selection of characters and decorative elements for coloring, cutting, and pasting to your castle backgrounds. I would recommend using colored pencils or fine point markers for coloring such small elements. I used doubled side Scotch tape for ease of use and clean handling, but a glue stick or glue bottle might provide a stronger bond so long as you are careful.
Sample pop-up castle cards. Here is the front view of the same grouping. This is the top view and the 3/4 view of the most heavily decorated castle. This is the close up view of the Dragon and Knight castle. And finally a castle inspired by Harry Potter.Put together this finished sample with some Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils and some double sided tape. Crayola fine tip markers are also a good choice for coloring the character cut outs.

ARTSCool Cartoon Sketching Week-7 last day Photo Gallery

2011-08-05T21:31:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all the students that took one of my cartooning classes this summer. Enjoy the rest of your school break and keep on sketching! Thanks to all the parents and grand parents that support the artistic development of their kids and grand kids. Please feel free to print and use any of the resources featured in this blog and on the list of sketching/coloring pages on the right. Additional recommended reading: Sachiko Umoto Illustration School books. Her simple and charming drawing style is quite easy to follow for budding artists of all ages. On the last day of class, the students completed their pop-up castles. Afterwards some of them made a mini comic, some experimented with oil pastels, and quite a few worked on a large underwater or outer space scene.
Really impressed with the creativity, discipline, and dedication displayed by the students that worked on their pop-up card project for the past two sessions. Once their first task was accomplished for the day, the students had the option of creating a mini comic or work on a large scale illustration to be eligible for the classroom prizes that included toys and art supplies.
Underwater scene colored with oil pastels.
This student chose to color her cartoon portrait with oil pastels. While another student used Prismacolor Art Stixs to color her own portrait.
Mini comic drawn with marker on ledger size card stock (11" x 17"). Five minutes before the class was over, our jury of interns chose the prize winners from our gallery wall and the completed pop-up castles. Thanks again Grace, Sarah, and Xylia for all your help this week! You were all great interns, and hope you consider returning for ARTScool 2012. With your discipline, initiative, and positive rapport with the kids, I am certain that you will prove again to be instrumental in creating a fun art experience and maintaining a safe environment for our students. Any instructor would be lucky to have you as part of his or her classroom support team next summer.

ARTSCool Cartoon Sketching Week-7 Photo Gallery

2011-08-04T23:03:00.001-07:00

Photo gallery of my final Cartoon Sketching class for ARTScool 2011 at The von Liebig Art Center. This group of boys and girls ranged in age from 6 to 11 years old.
Students had the opportunity to try a variety of coloring tools: markers, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, and even some soft pastels.
Drawing from reference Xevoz kits
and fantasy chibi drawings from imagination.
Making a pop-up castle card.
Several students jumped at the opportunity to color the chibi animal characters from one of the class drawing demonstrations.
Hmm, perhaps coloring on the dry erase board should be part of the curriculum for future classes next summer.
Throughout the week all the students received several cartoon portraits and custom drawing requests as souvenirs or starting point for different inking and coloring projects.
Half of the students already got their PanPastel and Prismacolor Art Stix colored cartoon portraits, so I will complete the remaining later today. Thank you to all the students and interns that participated in one of my Cartoon Sketching classes this summer. With our impending move to North Carolina, this might just have been my last summer class at The von Liebig Art Center. It has been an honor working with all of you, and I hope that you will all continue to embrace your artistic side and keep on sketching and further developing your artistic skills. Keep on drawing and filling many sketchbooks!

Mega Brands The Write Dudes Retractable Ballpoint Pens and Highlighters Spotlight

2011-08-04T22:34:00.001-07:00

I just used the remaining two carded items from the last bundle of Mega Brands samples as mini prizes during the ongoing ARTScool Cartoon Sketching class this week. The retractable ballpoint pens were loaded with a very smooth ink that was also praised by one of the High School interns that distributed the pens to the young students in the summer art camp. The high viscosity ink felt as smooth as Japanese gel pens and started flowing freely after removing the protective tip from each pen.
The design on the highlighters barrels suggest that they are intended for female students. Yet since they yielded fairly bright colored marks that dried quickly, they should prove useful to anybody in need of highlighting some text for their studies this upcoming school year. Both the highlighters and the retractable ballpoint pens laid down marks smoothly and were readily accepted by the Elementary School-age kids in this week's art class.

Drawing Lions at Highlands Elementary Summer Art camp

2011-07-31T10:36:00.000-07:00

My deepest thanks to the staff at Highlands Elementary Summer Art camp for your hospitality and support. Teaching in eight different classrooms each day would not have been as effective without your aid, and special thanks to those of you that doubled as photographers on my last day in Immokalee. Fellow instructors please remember as part of my continuous support for the creative endeavors of the students in the area you are welcome to download and print the coloring templates and activity sheets (included on the links list on the right) for future art classes. It was a pleasure working wiht all of you.
We had groups of kinder through 2nd grade work on tracing or drawing lions, giraffes, and other African animals as part of the day camp art activities.
A few carefully selected reference sheets on animal drawing, several packs of Crayola super tip markers, and generous supply of paper = groups of happy kids drawing their favorite animals.

Kids demonstrated their creativity by drawing their own backgrounds for their African animals.
Guess lots of the kids had seen the animated movie "Madagascar", for many included an airplane in the skies above their African savanna landscapes.
Being my last day at the summer art camp, we made sure that all my students got at least one souvenir cartoon portrait after our three sessions together.
You can see the influence of the animal drawing lessons in their customization requests. Many students asked to be drawn riding or holding some kind of animal.
Thanks again to the caring staff at Highlands Elementary for your support and the great work you did with the children every day of this summer program.

Another Source for Imagine FX magazines in Naples!

2011-07-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Attention local readers. I was pleasantly surprised to find the 71st issue of Imagine FX at the Naples Costco. Ever since Borders closed their doors, I had not been able to pick up my favorite British magazine on digital arts applied specifically to the creation of science fiction and fantasy subjects for movies and video games. The Artist Q&A section also offers plenty of tips and drawing advice useful to analog or traditional artists. This particular issue was dedicated to Manga and showcases the work of several international artists influenced by the wide range of the popular Japanese comics style.
So now you know grasshoppers, you might be able to find this awesome reference sci-fi digital painting magazine at your local Costco. At least for their usual 30% off newsstand discount, it's worth the walk to check out their magazine rack. Recommended for teenagers and older students.

Panda Sketching at Guadalupe Center's Summer Enrichment Program

2011-07-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Marti Koehler asked me to teach a few summer art classes at the Guadalupe Center in Immokalee, so I adjusted my Elementary school Panda Sketching lesson for shorter sessions for younger students.
I was very impressed with the discipline and artistic skill displayed by the 3-5 year old artists. No wonder there is a huge waiting list for this pre-K center.
My sincere thanks to the dedicated teachers and staff for their support with class management and distribution and collection of art supplies last week. Your help was essential for the smooth work flow and efficient resetting of the Performance Arts classroom during the consecutive 30 minute sessions for each student group.
On my last day at the center the regular art room was occupied, so I had the opportunity to visit three of the students' classrooms for their respective art sessions.
The younger kids were told to color and draw on the panda card stock template directly with the Crayola Super Tip markers.
The older students were instructed to first trace the panda template to exercise their eye-hand coordination and then to customize the image to their liking by adding their own background elements.

Budding artists with their finished projects.

Once the students completed their projects, they got a Nakamura paper airplane for their next playtime period.
Also managed to speed sketch a personalized cartoon portrait for most of the students that attended one of the 11 sessions I taught at the center. The positive experience reminded me of how rewarding early childhood education programs can be and to consider them as a possible avenue or component of my future teaching plans.

Summer Art Camp Photo Gallery: Students with their Cartoon Portraits

2011-07-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

Once the short introductory lecture and drawing demonstration have been completed and the students are engrossed in their respective drawing/coloring activity sheets in all my Art Camps this summer, I have taken to draw as many cartoon portraits as the remaining class time allows. Given my usual sketching speed, that means that most of the students and even a few class attendants have gotten at least one custom drawing to take home as a souvenir in addition to their completed projects.
Any students missing their cartoon portraits will be the first to get drawn on my last day at their summer art camp next week. We'll be working under the African theme, so we'll draw some lions and probably some other inhabitant of the savanna like zebras or giraffes.

Good thing the Sakura Pigma Sensei drawing pens feature waterproof archival ink, for some students colored their cartoon portraits with the Crayola Super Tip markers. Thus the outlines were not blurred nor smudged by the water soluble dyes. Quick Note: Since I plan to relocate to North Carolina in the next couple of months, my last remaining scheduled ARTScool art class from August 1 to 5 at The von Liebig Art Center might be the last opportunity to attend one of my Cartoon Sketching lessons and get a souvenir cartoon portrait drawn for Naples residents.

Penguin and Seal sketching activity for Summer Art Camp

2011-07-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

To fit the Antarctica theme of the Summer Art Camp program at Highlands Elementary, I created another Penguin and Seal sketching sheet. Eight different classes of 5 to 7 year old students were provided with markers and colored pencils and were instructed to customize their activity sheets using their creative license. They could draw and color it into a natural scene or use their imagination and add any details and speech balloons to create a fantasy illustration.
Coloring and doodling at summer art camp.

Some happy students with their finished projects.

Some students chose the option of exercising their writing skills turning the sketching page into a comic book panel with some dialog between the penguin and the seal..
This student chose to do the entire drawing herself using the sketching sheet just as a reference starting point.
Fully colored and lettered.Once the initial project was complete, a few students chose to tackle it again using a different approach. This young artist went in a completely different direction and drew a couple of dueling dragons which are always welcomed in any of my sketching classes.

2nd ARTScool Cartooning Class Completed!

2011-07-15T23:40:00.000-07:00

The final classroom gallery showcased the variety and creative output of the very talented group of students that took one of my last two Cartoon Sketching classes planned in Florida (for I am already getting ready to move out of the state). My last and final summer art camp will run from August 1 to 5 at The von Liebig Art Center in the afternoon shift (1 to 4 pm). This class group remained quite focused on drawing manga characters, dragons, ninjas, and cats in their projects and special requests that I speed sketched for them during different sessions. I wonder if classes should have been advertised as the Dragon Ninja and Kittens Sketching Class instead. Thanks to all the parents and dedicated students that made this summer art camp a success. Enjoy the rest of the summer and keep sketching guys!
My sincere thanks to all our hard-working interns that assisted me this week with distribution and collection of art materials, classroom clean up, and escorting students during outdoor activities.

ARTScool Cartoon Sketching Week 4 - Photo Gallery

2011-07-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

Just sharing a peek at the works in progress (WIP) and sketches from my students in the 4th week of ARTSCool at The von Liebig Art Center summer art camp.

Inking and coloring exercise on a pencil sketch drawn on my last flight back to Florida. Actually managed to complete a couple of dozen penciled images in the 2-hour flight for the students to ink on their first Cartoon Sketching session.
Pencil sketch skillfully drawn from a reference image.
Sketch that won the first mini contest of the week for its originality and loosely inspired by Xevoz Iron Spectre. The prize: a Sharpie decorated canvas bag.
Couple of adorable puppy sketches in the whimsical style of Sachiko Umoto.
A couple of pretty accurate sketches drawn from observing Xevoz model kits.

Class entries for the Coffee Label Art Contest.
Gallery of student works a day before the last day of this summer art class. It has been an honor working with you guys. Really hope you do keep practicing your sketching and drawing skills in your sketchbooks during the rest of the summer and beyond!

Happiness = Big Box of Markers

2011-07-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

After seeing the batch of custom name plates I drew for my ARTScool Cartoon Sketching class (currently running from July 11 to July 15), my nieces decided to make their own.
Camila drawing her own name plate with a Sakura Pigma Sensei 06 mm pen.
Nicole with her name plate ready for coloring.
Penciling with a Worther Shorty 3.15 mm leadholder. This short and stubby pencil is quite easy to control for little hands, so I often share mine with my nephew and nieces.
Nicole's "Cat Girl" mini comic. A popular subject among my current students as well.
Mateo "drawing" with sparklers on 4th of July.
Look mom, with 2 hands!
I'm a strong believer that markers should be made readily available to toddlers as soon as they show the interest and adequate eye-hand coordination to color and doodle.
With appropriate supervision, the large set of 50 Crayola Super Tip Markers makes for a treasure trove of nice creative possibilities even for budding artists fond of coloring with a single color.
Ok maybe 6 moths old might be too soon to be introduced to markers, but their bright colors already catch his attention. Make the most of the summer and make sure the little ones have a nice big box of markers ready for when inspiration (or a rainy afternoon) strikes.

Summer Art Camp Photo Gallery - Panda Drawing Activity

2011-07-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

The Panda Drawing Activity worked smoothly with groups of kinders through 2nd graders at the Summer Art Camp in Immokalee earlier today. Just sharing the photo gallery of some happy kids with their ongoing projects.

Since several of the student groups were smaller than anticipated, I managed to speed sketch a few souvenir cartoon portraits for most of the camp participants and several classroom assistants. Keep sketching and drawing guys!

Drawing Cartoon Panda Characters and Sketching page completed with Crayola Super Tips Washable Markers

2011-06-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

These are the Cartoon Panda reference sheet and sketching page template that I will be using in the Summer Art Camp in Immokalee this Friday.
The Panda Team sketching pages will be distributed to groups of kinders and second graders. Students will be instructed to create the background and add any additional characters using their imagination. On the board, the instructor will demonstrate basic cartoon figure construction and possible design elements that could be included in the activity sheet like: bamboo grove, castle, temple, pine forest, mountain, pagoda, torii gate, etc.
I believe one of the better values for kids' coloring tools can be found in the 50-pack of Crayola Super Tips Washable Markers. Their fine tips lend themselves well for sketching with the fine point and coloring quickly with their broad side. Noticed that the last batch of sets I got at Target were actually made in Italy.
Finished colored sample. Now go make some more Cartoon Panda Team adventures on some blank sheets of paper or folded mini comic with your trusty markers or other favorite coloring tools.

The Write Dudes Wooden Pencils Spotlight

2011-06-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

The second batch of samples I received from Mega Brands also included some wooden pencils: one pack was clearly designed for girls given their glitter-covered barrels with spiral motifs decorations, and the other fun pack was obviously meant for boys given their racing car designs. Both packs were made in China.
Sample doodle on Maruman Croquis sketchbook. The graphite lead was smooth, slow wearing, and closer to your average H grade in darkness.
The sparkling wooden pencils equipped with the Fashion Grips for a wider more comfortable grip during long note-taking sessions.
For school age boys, this Wooden Pencil Fun Pack would make a nice classroom prize. It included a couple of racing car erasers and matching sharpener. The sharpener did a fair job initially cutting the wood away, but its blade broke and snapped off the graphite lead a couple of times before I decided to sharpen the whole lot with my trusty Classroom Friendly crank sharpener. The erasers worked well enough for making writing corrections, but left a faint blue hue on the erased area. thus I would recommend using a dedicated white plastic block eraser for making corrections while drawing with the racing pencils. Both varieties of wooden pencils featured functional erasers on their end caps, whimsical designs tailored to each gender, and strong smooth-writing graphite leads that were also adequate for sketching. Worth trying for school use.

Mega Brands The Write Dudes Smooth Sticks Dry Gel Highlighters Review

2011-06-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

We finally got to the last item from the first batch of Mega Brands samples: a carded pack with four Smooth Sticks Gel Highlighters that I decided to test on a handy Maruman Croquis Sketchbook.
The blue gel highlighter crayon fully extended. The tip length can be adjusted by simply twisting the end cap just like a twistable crayon.
Their smooth feel also reminded me of crayons, but they laid down some brightly colored translucent swatches quite effortlessly. The pink and blue ones crumbled a bit, but they were easily cleaned off the paper. These Smooth Sticks gel highlighters should prove useful to students that highlight their textbooks and study materials. For doodling and paper crafts, they would make fine "lightsabers", "laser blasts", and "explosion" highlights. Recommended as a fun addition for a kid's sketching kit.

Mega Brands The Write Dudes Super Gel Metallic ink pens and SRX Color Sharp Metallic permanent markers Review

2011-06-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

Continuing the review of the Mega Brands samples I received recently, I tested The Write Dudes Super Gel Metallic ink pens and SRX Color Sharp Metallic permanent markers on a Maruman Croquis sketchbook, a Cachet sketchbook with black sheets of paper, and sheets of 67 lb toned card stock. Both metallic ink products were made in China according to their labels. Full photo coverage can be viewed in my Flickr photostream: photo 1 through photo 11.
The Super Gel Metallic ink pens were pretty smooth with their 1.2 mm tips and glided effortlessly on all the 3 supports tested. Their bright colors remained strong on the white and light brown toned papers. On the black paper, all the colors seemed to disappear leaving just silver marks on the dark background. They would make for adequate sketching tools, but they are probably best suited for making greeting cards and adding decorative touches to other paper crafts.
The SRX Color Sharp Metallic permanent markers might resemble Sharpies but thankfully without their chemical solvent smell. Their nibs laid down rather broad line strokes smoothly and quickly, so they would be quite handy when making signs and posters. Both the metallic gel pens and SRX permanent markers would work nicely for decorating paper craft projects and greeting cards. I plan to add these two metallic sets to the pool of optional art materials used in my Cartoon Sketching classes to test their durability and gauge the students reactions to them.

ARTSCool Manga Cartooning week 1 done!

2011-06-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

We just completed the first Cartoon Sketching course of ARTScool 2011 at The von Liebig Art Center. The gallery of student works reflects the different interests of the boys and girls that attended the class and ranged in age from 7 to 14 years old. Throughout the course every student got their own cartoon portrait drawn on the spot as a souvenir, and I did my best to speed sketch as many additional requests as we could fit between class activities (additional portraits as ninjas, surfers, and mermaids come to mind). Everybody created a cartoon character using the Color Blank figurines, some students worked on their dragon illustration skills, others explored the story-telling potential of mini comics, some students worked on their coloring skills with the pop-up card activity and custom sketches, we shared some origami models (ninja stars, penguins, and jumping frogs), and the boys in particular had a blast with seveal origami mini airplanes.
Dragon drawn with Sakura Pigma Sensei pens and colored with Faber Castell Pitt Artist pens and glitter glue by a 12 year-old student. My sincere thanks to all the creative students and helpful interns for making the first ARTScool Cartoon Sketching class a success. Pop-up card skillfully colored with permanent markers by another student. Keep on sketching and exploring your artistic potential kids. Continue to dry different sketching tools and refine your personal sketching kits to suit your needs and preferences. Have a great summer and safe travels!

ARTScool 2011 Cartoon Sketching highlight: Mr. Lung versus Squirrel

2011-06-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

Really like this drawing by one of the Cartoon Sketching students drawn this afternoon during class: the illustration strikes a nice balance between the bubble lettering and the cartoon figures, clear action line, and accurate observation and depiction of the t-shirt design that I wore today.

ARTSCool 2011 - Gallery of Works in Progress

2011-06-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is a sample of the works in progress by students in the first Cartoon Sketching week-long course of ARTScool 2011 at The von Liebig Art Center. Each student started the creation of their own cartoon character using one of the Color Blank figurines. Full photo coverage available in my Flickr photostream: photo 1 through photo 17.
There were plenty of coloring activities to exercise eye-hand coordination and encourage the creative use of color.
Students also worked on basic construction of cartoon faces.
Students had a choice of partial sketches drawn on ledger size sheets (11" x 17" card stock) that they had to complete with foreground, middle ground, and background elements using graphite pencil. Then they were also provided with Sakura Pigma Sensei archival markers and Sharpie markers to ink and color their finished illustrations.

Students already started working on the coloring of their first pop-up card project of the week.

Panda Sketching Pages - Kids' activity for a rainy afternoon

2011-06-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Sachiko Umoto's Illustration School books, I drew this reference sheet for a cartoon Panda featuring a couple of different facial expressions.
Print the Panda template of your choice and and sketch additional Panda friends and/or some typical Eastern paintings' background elements like pagodas, bamboo forests, rivers, mountains, etc.
How about making an entire "Panda Village" behind these two pals? Maybe draw some huts, rice paddies, koi pond, and some more bamboo stalks. A couple of cubs could even be drawn practicing their Wing Chun techniques.This last template should make a nice custom paper for folding origami airplanes that would sport a cute Panda logo on its fuselage.
Bonus activity sheet: Draw the background for this scene set in Antarctica. You could go naturalistic and sketch an entire penguin colony with some seal friends, or even use your imagination and create an Ice Palace with fantasy glacial inhabitants like "Ice Fairies"or "Snow Knights".

Got Supplies Ready and First ARTScool class filled today, yaay!

2011-06-08T12:50:00.003-07:00

Ok guys looks like we are almost ready to go for ARTScool 2011 next week: with our first week's class filled up and the remaining drawing supplies arriving today, all I have left to do is color a few finished sketching-page samples and fold a few origami models. Spent the morning at The von Liebig Art Center printing out the handout lessons and photo-copying custom origami paper for making our initial paper airplane models.
Note to Parents: If you would like to provide your children with a nice sketching set for working at home and after their summer art camps are over, I would highly recommend pairing a generous supply of paper/card stock or portable sketchbook (8.5" X 11", 9" X 12", or 11" X 14") with a Sakura Pigma Sensei Manga Drawing set as a well rounded starter set with 4 drawing pens of different nib sizes, 0.7 mm mechanical pencil, and efficient white vinyl eraser.

List of Direct Links to Activity and Coloring Sheets

2011-06-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

Since we have reached well over 300 posts in this blog, I have added a list of direct links to posts featuring activity and coloring sheets samples and templates on the column to the right side of this layout. Hopefully this will make it easier for fellow teachers and parents to find and print art activity sheets for their kids without having to navigate throughout a ton of posts.
Now you can easily find coloring templates, pop-up card template, sheets of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs), and sketching sheets with partial drawings to complete.

Thanks for Supporting the Children's Miracle Network!

2011-05-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all the guests that patiently waited for their turn to get drawn at the Caricature Stand at Costco and generously supported the Children's Miracle Network 2011 fundraising campaign. For the kids interested in attending my upcoming ARTSCool summer art camp Cartoon Sketching classes at The von Liebig Art Center, these are my scheduled 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm class periods:

June -13-17,
July 11-15, &
August 1-5,

for further info and registration instructions check the ARTScool page. To view related blog posts of the class materials used, promotional events, and photo galleries of past ARTSCool classes simply click here.

UAC Immokalee Summer Art camps Tentative schedule 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm

July 1 - Asia
July 21 - Antarctica
July 28 - Africa

More Cartoon Portraits drawn at Costco for the Children's Miracle Network

2011-05-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks Sandee for taking the picture shown above last Saturday, for I often tend to forget to take a picture of myself in action once I get a rhythm going at a given event. Today I spent a few more hours at the Naples Costco continuing the fund raising efforts for the Children's Miracle Network 2011 campaign.
Missed the "Pirate Crew" by a half an hour on account of rain. Thus had to set up by my lonesome to a slow start given the reduced crowds. Not surprisingly people do not seem to go out to shop much in the rain. The first few cartoon portraits were drawn from family photographs that associates had on hand.Drew two versions of Ava: one using the smaller 0.6 mm Sakura Pigma Sensei pen that allows for depiction of finer detail. Incidentally this was the version preferred by her father.
Drawn with a Sakura Pigma Sensei 1.0 mm marker pen. The thicker line strokes seem to give this version a cleaner cartoon look that also appealed to the following guest that also requested another Princess portrait.
Not surprisingly, "Princess" and "Butterfly Fairy" portraits were particular popular with the girls.
Requests from boys: rockstar, ninja, pirate, and dragon knight. You may view most of the cartoon portraits drawn today in my Flickr photostream: photo 1 through photo 15.
The only adult guest that modeled for her cartoon portrait today was also one of the top CMN fund raiser associates. Seemed quite appropriate.
Despite the rain, we still manage to raise some funds for a worthy cause. The number of guests willing to sit for 5 minutes to get their portrait drawn picked up quite a bit towards closing time. Might be able to make it to Costco for a few hours tomorrow afternoon in case you might want to get a couple of cartoon portraits drawn while supporting the Children's Miracle Network 2011 campaign.

Daler Rowney Simply Oil Pastels Set of 25 Quick Test

2011-05-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Searching for alternative coloring art materials for upcoming kids' summer art camp classes, decided to try a set of 25 Daler-Rowney Simply Oil Pastels found at a local big box retailer.
Color chart drawn on white card stock and a couple test doodles. Compared to colored pencils and fine point markers, oil pastels can cover the same area with bright color more quickly and can even be partially blended on the paper given their softness. Yet I found it harder to draw fine details with them, for they really lend themselves for a more expressionistic approach.
These oil pastels felt fairly smooth, delivered color quickly, and could be partially blended into each other. They crumbled more than wax crayons but they could be layered on top of each other a bit more easily even on smooth card stock. Would probably be a good idea to have a sink nearby or at least a tub of cleaning wipes to keep potential messes at bay. While messier than my usual choice of classroom art supplies, I think I will add a few oil pastels boxes to the pool of coloring tool options for my upcoming summer art camp classes.

ARTScool Prep: Getting the RoseArt Color Blanks samples ready

2011-05-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

Since the test run was so much fun, I picked up a few more sets of RoseArt Color Blanks 2-packs at Target for the upcoming ARTScool cartoon sketching classes. During brainstorming sessions, students will doodle and explore possible characters and creatures until finding a favorite that could then be turn into a 3-D model using the Color Blank figurines.
To save storage space until ARTScool starts, I condensed all the packages into two class tubs separating the blank figurines and the permanent marker sets. Each student will work on their own character throughout the week of the summer art camp, and the completed figurine could be used as a reference model for drawing custom comic pages. Picked one of the blank walking figurines as a second sample.
After doodling a few possible designs for a ninja dragon, I used a black Shapie marker to lay down some coloring outlines on the Color Blank figurine. Using the 5 available surfaces on the cuboid head piece, four different ninja face plates were drawn on the sides and a screaming mouth was drawn on top. This should offer students more ideas for their own character development projects. Naturally for a given character, it would probably be best to stick to a single face on one side of the cube and then work out the proper corresponding sides, rear, and top views.Additional views of the coloring outline drawn on the disassembled figure can be found in my Flickr photostream: photo 1 to photo 10.
Going to let the black coloring outlines dry thoroughly before putting the figure back together. Will probably keep it unpainted until the first day of class since I already got a finished colored sample.Update 24 hours later: put the walking ninja figurine together and took a few photos from multiple angles.Main tip would be to take the figure apart before drawing or coloring it for smoother lines and less chance of accidentally smudging the fresh paint before it gets a chance to dry.

RoseArt Color Blanks and Sharpie Permanent Markers Rainy Day Fun

2011-05-21T21:56:00.001-07:00

Found this forgotten carded set of 24 Sharpie Permanent Markers while cleaning out some old boxes, so spent some time doodling with them this evening.
Naturally had to try doodling a dragon on the included canvas bag.
Might used this custom decorated canvas bag as a prize in one of the cartooning classes.
Got this RoseArt Color Blanks 2-pack on clearance at Target, and thought that it would be a fun project to customize them with the set of 24 Sharpie Permanent Markers
Considered briefly to make a ninja in the planning stages, but ended up laying down the coloring outlines for a dual-headed monster instead.
Found the included mini permanent markers to be rather dull, so used mostly the Sharpie permanent markers to decorate the first Color Blank figurine.
"Altered Beast" head and rear view.
Pretty happy with the "Creature of the Black Lagoon". Fun activity for a rainy day. Just take adequate precautions to protect furniture from the permanent inks. Recommended.

Pirates at Costco - Fundraising for the Children's Miracle Network 2011 Campaign

2011-05-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

Spent much of the afternoon raising funds for the Children's Miracle Network at the Naples Costco with this jolly group of pirates. Thanks for a very amusing afternoon guys. I think the team up was pretty successful since we managed to collect over $400 for such a good cause.
Oversize portrait of pirate couple #1: Jenn & Lee.
Amanda & Chris.
Oversize portrait of pirate couple #2.
Individual portraits of the Costco Pirates drawn as warm up for the day.

Many guests followed the trend set by the pirate troupe and asked to be drawn as pirates themselves.
In addition to the usual mermaids, fairies, and ninjas, we also had a few original requests. Judging form the remaining bags and boards (I started with 48, and had only 7 by the end of the day) used to package each finished cartoon portrait for their trip home, I probably drew 31 letter size cartoon portraits and 2 oversize portraits of the pirate couples between 11:50 am and 4:30 pm.
Siblings' cartoon portrait. This was Ryan's second sitting for the day. His reaction to his first cartoon portrait was priceless. Sadly none of us were ready with our cameras to capture that moment.
This young model could not make up his mind, so we ended up going with Alien -Hunter Wizard cartoon portrait.
This request from a teenage girl was a first: Medusa cartoon portrait.
Rabbit hunter. Plus it is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. If there is enough interest, we might try a repeat performance this coming weekend.

Next Live Caricature Drawing Event: Participating in the Children's Miracle Nertwork 2011 Campaign

2011-05-20T17:40:00.001-07:00

Attention Naples readers. I will be drawing live caricatures (manga-style cartoon portraits) tomorrow from 11 am -1 pm at the local Costco to raise funds for their Children's Miracle Network 2011 Campaign.Hope to see you there!

Pentel Color Pen Fine Point S-360 Gray Set

2011-05-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to George from My Supply Room got to try these vintage set of Gray Pentel Color Pen Fine Point Markers. While these markers were made in Japan in the past, it seems that the current version available in the market hails from Taiwan. They work well for writing and doodling for fun, so they would make a nice addition to kids' sketching kits. Yet from the product information and reviews, it seems like their water-based inks and bright colors might be prone to fading so use them accordingly. Besides online sources, they can often be found in wallet sets in the drafting section of office supplies stores.

Lighting for My Caricature Station: Ott-Lite TrueColor Clip-On Lamp

2011-05-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

Searching for a lighting solution for my table easel used for drawing caricatures at events, I tried an inexpensive college clip on lamp from a big box retailer, but it soon proved to be inadequate.
Th adjustable flexible neck of this value lamp was rather weak and tended to sag blocking the view of the work surface.
This is the solution I found on sale at the local Jo-Ann store: the OttLite TrueColor Clip-on Lamp.Clear advantages of this Ott-Lite lamp: more streamlined profile is less obtrusive, and its sturdier flexible neck holds the angle of the light source steady where you want it.
Attached to the table next to the easel, it can provide adequate lighting both for the work surface and illuminating a sitting model at the same time.
Quite versatile choice for tight spaces with its adjustable flexible neck and portable enough for event sketching kit.
It worked quite well last night at a caricature drawing event to provide adequate lighting for my clip board and the models later in the evening. Still will have to test the durability of the plastic clip in the months to come, but its inital performance was quite satisfactory. Might be worth trying if found on sale or at online retail prices.

Forgot my Digital Camera! but had a blast drawing Caricatures at the Western Bash Fundraiser

2011-05-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a caricature drawing gig at the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club: the 4th Annual Boots & Boogie Bash held by the Friends of Foster Children of Southwest Florida. This Western theme fundraiser gave me plenty of opportunity to try my hand at drawing assorted cowboy hats and a wide variety of models of all ages and both genders. It was a blast, and the guests seemed pretty happy with their souvenir cartoon portraits. My only regret is that I forgot to bring my digital camera along to document some of the drawings of the evening. My next caricature drawing appearance will be later today in the Derby Fest on Fifth, I will be stationed a block away from The von Liebig Art Center on 5th Avenue between Park Street and 6th St. S between 5-7 pm (might stay a bit longer if there is enough light to keep drawing). So if you want to get your cartoon portrait drawn and happen to be in the area, I hope you will be able to make it. Packing my camera so I will not forget it again.

Got a few classroom prizes for the after school Cartoon Sketching classes

2011-04-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Browsing the clearance end cap at a local Staples store, found this neat gel pens with big-eyed animal mascot toppers: Merangue Popeyed pens. Promptly scooped this bunch to add them to the pool of student prize incentives (notice the dinosaur sharpeners generously donated by George from My Supply Room that started this particular lot) for ongoing elementary school-level cartoon sketching classes in the after school program.
Take a look at the Puffer Fish and Tortoise before and after squeezing them to activate their eye-popping feature. They should all make fine prizes for in-class art contests and could even double as reference models for cute cartoon animals.

Creative Workshop with the Kids: Sharing art supplies with the nieces

2011-04-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

It had been a while since we had a chance to visit with my star art students, so I brought a fairly large selection of art supplies to share with them this past Sunday.
Camila coloring with Sakura Koi watercolors and a waterbrush.
Drawing with a full set Prismacolor Art Stix woodless colored pencils.
The ever popular fairy motifs.
Camila loading a Sofft knife with Burnt Sienna. Their similarity to make-up tools made PanPastel jars and their applicator tools quite appealing to the girls.
Added some extra colors with Crayola watercolor pencils.
Nicole using an Art sponge for broad color application.Using a mini applicator for more delicate coloring.
The PanPastel and Sofft tools were a big hit with the girls that used them to color small trading card-size pieces and 8.5" X 11" sheets of card stock. The erasability of PanPastel layers was a great feature that allowed the kids to make quick corrections with regular erasers when the coloring got outside the lines by accident. The low dusting properties of these soft pastels made them fairly easy to clean afterward with a wet rag and a vacuum cleaner. Always keep a close eye on your budding artists when allowing them to explore the creative potential of artist grade art supplies.

Going on Hiatus

2011-04-07T09:22:00.001-07:00

Just got notified that I have reached my photo upload limit on my Picasa Web Album. Going to have to evaluate options and figure out a course of action. Bit busy with classes and event prep, so I might disappear from Blogger for a while. Just keeping you in the loop dear readers. Will continue to upload pictures to my Flickr album in the meantime.

Family Art Night Activity Sneak Preview - Pop-Up Card and Cut Out Templates Test run

2011-04-07T08:40:00.001-07:00

I have prepared a few greeting card pop-up card templates with "Mother's Day" and "Happy Easter" themes along with a few options of cute cut outs that will actually pop-up when the cards are opened. Will have markers and foam stickers for further customization at an upcoming Family Art Night event at the Boys & Girls Club on the 13th of this month. For a quick test run, I used them on a recent art class for a High School group.
Trying out different coloring approaches.
Sample finished card.
Once students completed their first pop-up card and understood its simple mechanics, they started designing their own backgrounds. That's the main idea: get familiarized with the pop-up card creation process, and then let your imagination loose and create your own cards for different occasions.

Live Caricatures drawn at the Boys & Girls Club Crawfish Boil Fundraiser

2011-04-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the Boys & Girls Club Crawfish Boil Fundraiser. Spent the last few hours drawing live caricatures: some fairly straight cartoon portraits, a couple of athletes posing, and some chose to be depicted wearing fantasy costumes.
Was really pleased that I was stationed within the gym. The shade and air conditioning really help keeping guests comfortable while they are having their cartoon portraits drawn.
There was plenty of room behind me, so other guests could easily watch the caricature drawing process while they waited or decided how they wanted to be drawn themselves.
The view from my drawing table. I wished I had been able to check out the tattoo table across the gym, but I remained quite busy throughout the afternoon. Been meaning to look into temporary paint or markers that could be used to create temporary tattoos at future events.
The first model of the day requested a basketball theme portrait. After a quick I-phone search we verified the proper look of a basketball. Going to have to research and practice more how to draw the cartoon version of popular sports equipment and uniforms for a smoother work flow.
Ninja and Fantasy Warrior portraits were quite popular with the boys.
Several guests today went for the straight cartoon portrait version of themselves.
Going more for a samurai girl look, I equipped this model with a classic naginata.
This model just reminded me of Tony Stark, so I had to dress him up in an Iron Man suit.
Pretty happy with how the first couple drawing of the day turned out. It can be pretty challenging to fit two people in the letter size card stock.

This request was peculiar in that the model requested to have his face hidden partially behind a ninja mask. Warned him that his mom might not like that particular choice, but he seemed quite happy with his new wall decoration.
Just realized that I did not get around to photographing any of the mermaid portraits drawn today, but at least got to record this princess and angel portraits.
The event was a blast, and both kids and adults seemed quite happy with their souvenir cartoon portraits.

Next Live Caricature Drawing Event Announcement

2011-03-31T23:43:00.000-07:00

Attention Naples readers. I will be drawing live caricatures (manga-style cartoon portraits) from 2 pm -5 pm at the Crawfish Boil fundraiser event at the Boys & Girls Club of Collier County on April 2nd.Hope to see you there!

Some sketches drawn at the auto shop waiting room

2011-03-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

While waiting for a couple of hours at the auto shop, managed to complete this set of assorted characters with a Sakura Pigma Sensei 0.6 mm pen. Then continued drawing on paper and card stock just to keep busy. Remember grasshoppers always carry your sketching kits with you, so you can make the most of time spent in waiting rooms practicing your drawing skills.
For the most part I used a few leadholders to sketch fantasy subjects and some of the other customers in the waiting room.

Spending a bit more time and practicing some shading on these imaginary objects. Remember doodle and sketch whenever you can: it will help you ward off boredom while improving your sketching skills.

Did Target stop carrying Rhodia pads?

2011-03-30T14:40:00.001-07:00

That was the question that popped in my head when i found these notepads: the Rhodia Reverse Book and the No. 11 pad on a clearance end cap at Target. Instead new a display of Moleskine journals pads and other Asian paper products had replaced them in the stationery aisle.
For its first doodle test decided to use a recently acquired vintage Tru-Point automatic leadholder.
The 3B lead glided smoothly leaving rich dark marks on the Rhodia paper. Bit of a shame that the Rhodia pads might get harder to find at retail locally.

Latest donated Prize: Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Ink Pen - 0.4 mm set

2011-03-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

George from My Supply Room generously sent me this set of Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel 0.4 mm Ink Pens with his last shipment of vintage lead tubes.
The pen tips came protected with these pink plugs that keep them from drying out.
Their push clips allow them to be attached to notebooks and bundles of paper.
These retractable ball point gel pens worked well enough. The pink ink seemed to a be tad more visible than the rest. They should make some fine prize incentives in any one of my ongoing drawing classes. Thanks again George!

Gallery of Manga Cartoon Portraits of the Day

2011-03-27T16:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you very much to everybody that stopped by and patiently waited to get their cartoon portraits drawn at the live caricature booth at the Art Festival in Downtown Naples earlier today.
Next time, I will try flipping this arrangement 180 degrees, so that visitors passing by can more easily observe the cartoon drawing process.
The first Dragon Ninja of the day knows how to ride in style.
Cartoon portrait before and after the coloring step.
Our second Dragon Ninja of the day happily casting some blue flame Avatar-style.
Just realized that this was the only mermaid portrait today. Often this particular request is quite popular among the girls. Guess the girl that wanted to be a fairy mermaid (a novel request that has been increasing in popularity in its own right) changed her mind, or did not return to the booth after all.
Surfer Girl cartoon portrait. It had been a while since I got this particular request.

Dragon Ninja #3: our single Kunoichi of the day sporting dual swords, shuriken in hand, and a naginata on her back.
A nice change of pace, a straight cartoon portrait drawn with watersoluble graphite (Caran D'Ache Technalo 3B lead) and a waterbrush.
Crimson Dragon Ninja ready for anything with his 4 swords and handful shuriken ready for a quick-strike.
Straight colored cartoon portrait.
Drawing the hair on this princess portrait was a lot of fun.
And we finished the day with yet another Dragon Ninja. Remember our two Japanese words for the day are kunoichi= "female ninja" and shuriken=""sword hidden in the hand" or "Throwing star". Enjoy your drawings and continue practicing your sketching skills as often as you can. Take your sketchbook and some drawing tools along everywhere you go.

Some of the live caricatures drawn at the Art Festival

2011-03-26T17:49:00.001-07:00

My live caricature tent at the Downtown Naples Festival of the Arts.
View from the models' chairs.
Brought my set of 30 Faber Castell Albrecht Durer aquarelle sticks as a convenient source of watercolor.
The base skin tone was laid down with PanPastel Red Iron Oxide Tint. The light facial shading for this sample ninja cartoon was colored with Derwent Graphitint. Before and after blending with a waterbrush.
This Jedi portrait was also colored, but only managed to photograph it in its black and white stage.
At most events with children in attendance, the mermaid portrait is a common favorite of young girl models. We also had an angel and a mermaid-fairy portrait requests, but things were too busy at the time to get a picture of them.
I really enjoyed drawing this particular caricature, for the originality of the request and degree of input provided by this young model that loves parrots.

Upcoming "Live Caricature" Drawing Event and ARTScool Cartoon Sketching Class Registration Reminder

2011-03-24T15:21:00.001-07:00

I will be drawing Cartoon Portraits in the Food Court of the Downtown Naples Festival of the Arts on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th from 10 am to 5 pm.
Going to try some new coloring methods I have been experimenting with. So come out to watch the live caricature drawing event, and maybe even model for your own manga-style cartoon portrait souvenir.REMINDER: Upcoming Cartoon Sketching Week-long classes for ARTScool Summer Art Camp at The von Liebig Art Center June -13-17, July 11-15, & August 1-5, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm for further info and registration instructions check the ARTScool page.Looking forward to seeing you at the Art Festival this coming weekend or at any of my summer Cartoon Sketching classes.

Practice drawings at Doctor's waiting room

2011-03-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

While waiting at the Clinic, I was able to practice my cartoon portrait drawing approach with a variety of subjects of different ages and gender. Started with a couple of quick graphite sketches using a leadholder.
It was a tad difficult to get the arms down since this subject kept fidgeting and changing his posture.
Used my trusty Sakura Pigma Sensei 0.6 mm and 1.0 mm Manga drawing pens to sketch this older gentleman comfortably seated across the room.
Had a good view of the receiving desk and this receptionist from my seat in the waiting room.
Chose to draw this pleasant lady and young girl with the water soluble Caran D'Ache Technalo 3B lead and partially blended the pencil marks with a waterbrush.
Even when aiming for a stylized cartoon style, remember to practice your sketching skills by observing live subjects whenever possible. Always carry your sketching kit and some paper or sketchbook so you can take full advantage of any drawing opportunities that would otherwise get wasted simply waiting or getting bored.

Happy Spring Break to Students and Fellow Teachers!

2011-03-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

This week we concluded the Cartoon Sketching courses at two Elementary schools (3rd through 6th grade groups) as part of the Miracle Plus program for the United Arts Council. One of the students slipped the nice note above with the pile of completed quizzes and surveys.
Once we got the final paperwork out of the way.
Students had a selection of sketching and coloring worksheets and a few reference sheets to choose from for the remaining of their class periods.
Those who chose to exercise their creativity were encouraged to come up with original drawings of their own.Discovered that a pretty effective way of ensuring that all the students wrote their first and last name in their quizzes was to use the completed tickets to choose some random prizes (like Silly Bandz packs, mechanical pencils, and drawing pens to keep practicing).
Students that created original drawings also received some sketching pen prizes.
Also drew as many cartoon portraits as I could on the last day of class, and the students seemed quite happy with their souvenirs. Keep sketching and practicing guys!

So when and where could I get a Manga Cartoon Portrait drawn in Naples next?

2011-03-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

Since I got this question a few times during the Art Festival this past weekend, I thought I would let local readers and visitors know that I will set up my next live caricature tent at the upcoming Downtown Naples Festival of the Arts on March 26th and 27th from 10 am to 5:00 pm. Drop by if you or your kids would like to get drawn as Manga-style cartoons or just to say hi. Always love catching up with past guests and models. Don't forget that you can also get your pet dog drawn, and that I could also draw a cartoon portrait of non-attending models from photos (2 or 3 snapshots would preferable to get a better sense of the subject, for the tiny photos in digital phones often do not provide enough information). I was told that they make pretty fun unconventional gifts.For a list of upcoming Cartoon Sketching classes and entertainment options please check the information bar to the right.

300 post wo-hoo! Free Coloring Sheets of Manga Trading Cards Activity

2011-03-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

To celebrate reaching this blogging milestone, I am sharing a couple colored samples (using two of the the coloring-sketch templates posted yesterday) and a 3 coloring sheets of manga-style fantasy Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) that you could use the next time a rainy day keeps the kids indoors.
Forest Guardian colored with Faber Castell Big Brush Artist pens.
Sample cartoon portrait colored with a waterbrush and Faber Castell Albrecht Durer aquarelle sticks.
Instructions: Print any of this fantasy trading card sheets on card stock and color with colored pencils or fine-tip markers. Then cut along the straight lines. Repeat and try different color combinations after reviewing your color theory.
The theme here was elemental or Magical ladies.
Bit of Egyptian inspiration in this set.

Caricature Stand at 2nd annual Mercato Fine Arts Festival - Day 2 Photo Journal

2011-03-06T18:14:00.001-08:00

Despite a bit of rain early in the morning and a rather windy start that lead to me stow away the sun umbrella under the table, we enjoyed a fairly nice day on the second day of the Art Festival. Had a pretty good spot between the live music station and the Copper & Hand Blown Glass tent of sculptor John Zidek who also proved to be quite an entertaining neighboor.
Hmm maybe I should reconsider my equipment set up, but it was a good opportunity to test the performance of a wide variety of coloring tools for creating live caricatures. Even remembered to document my favorite colored caricatures with a digital camera.
Again relied on my trusty Sakura Pigma Sensei 0.6 mm and 1.0 mm manga drawing pens to draw all the cartoon portraits of the day.
Colored with Faber Castell Pitt Big Brush Artist pens and Prismacolor Double-Ended Art markers.
Since the selection of markers on hand did not include lighter hues of pink, the Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils came quite handy in laying down subtler tones with more interesting texture. Happy Birthday Bishop!
The cartoon portrait of these siblings should make nice gift for their grandma. My thanks to all the guests that stopped by to get drawn or just say hi.

Caricature Stand at 2nd annual Mercato Fine Arts Festival and some Free Coloring-sketching activity pages

2011-03-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Spent Saturday drawing manga-style caricatures at the 2nd annual Mercato Fine Arts Festival in North Naples. Drew my fist set of twins on a single page, a colored tiger ninja warrior, a few straight portraits, and a couple of ninja cartoon portraits for Festival volunteers.
Even took a couple of reference shots of this lady bug that visited the caricature station later in the day.
Only managed to scan the caricature I drew of my mom from today's batch of cartoon portraits. So dear guests if you have the time and inclination to send me a scan or picture of your caricatures, I would be happy to add them to this post. Spent the rest of the time at the Festival drawing the following batch of coloring/sketch page templates for next week's classes. Feel free to print as many as you like on 8.5" X 11" paper or card stock to tackle the creative challenges below.
Draw a suitable background and color this Chinese Dragon.
Draw an action scene around this Ninja.
"What is this Zoo Keeper trying to catch with his net?"
"What is this Forest Guardian getting ready for?"
Sketch a castle for this Princess.
Draw an underwater scene around this armored mermaid.
Draw a magical garden filled with other fantasy creatures behind this butterfly fairy.
For this seated Mermaid sketch page: add graceful scales to her tail and draw what is catching her attention on the right side of the page.
For the Unicorn sketch page: add details and texture to the unicorn outline and draw a fantasy background castle at the end of the road.
This Rabbit template could be folded in half and used as a greeting card for Easter and/or Mother's day with some further decorations applied with markers and glitter glue. Naples readers: I will be going back to the Mercato from 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday, so feel free to drop by to say hi or get your live caricature done in a jiffy.

Good Bye Borders - Perhaps time to Stock Up on Sketchbooks and Paperchase Stationery

2011-03-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

I knew from an e-mail that the Borders store in Naples was closing shortly after the company announced they were filing for bankruptcy last month, but I was a bit surprised to discover that their store in Ft. Myers was also closing. So much for hoping that they would be able to reorganize and keep at least one store open in the area. Thus I got the loot above in a bit of an impulse considering that this source of sketchbooks and pencils will probably not be around much longer.
Ok so maybe I didn't need that many new sketchbooks, but with the passing of this chain there are now fewer sources of value priced sketchbooks available locally. Whatever stock I don't get around to using personally will make fine presents for relatives or prizes on any of my drawing classes.
Got a few 8.5" X 5" Pentalic Classic hardbound sketchbooks from the bargain section that were further discounted with an extra 20% off. They feature 220 pages of 70 lb (114 gsm) paper in a pretty sturdy and portable format.
Embossed brand on the back.
Open flat.Mechanical pencils test page.Test page with sketching fountain pens and Kuretake No. 13 brush fountain pen.
If you enjoy using Paperchase pencils, you might want to get a few sets to save for later use. I don't know of any other outlet for them in the USA other than Borders.
Eraser toppers pyramid. When they look this adorable, I supposed their erasing performance is unimportant.
these festive pencils will become prizes for some students in my cartooning classes.
The black and natural finish pencil sets were manufactured in Korea.
Freshly sharpened and ready for some doodling.
I suspect that most remaining sketchbooks and stationery items should prove quite sufficient for sketching and keeping visual journals. I asked the clerk, and they do not have a set date for the complete closing of the stores. Guess it will depend on how long it takes them to sell off all their discounted merchandise (currently between 20-40% off throughout the stores in Naples and Ft. Myers). Yet ultimately there will not be a single Borders store left in SW Florida, so you might want to stock up on some sketching supplies while they are still around.

Spending quality "Art" time with Mateo

2011-02-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

Have been spending some quality time and sharing a few art materials with my nephew Mateo.
Following tradition, I lent my nephew one of my watercolor kits: the Sakura Koi Pocket Field Sketch Box.
With a bit of guidance hand over hand and a trusty waterbrush we managed to sketch a simple landscape on his first visual journal.
While I had originally planned on giving him a larger first sketchbook, this compact journal proved quite practical and portable.Thus using waterproof pens, I drew a few coloring outlines and partial doodles to create a custom coloring and doodling book for Mateo.Dry watercolor pencil stage. Actually colored a few samples on the initial pages at his request. After blending the dry pencil marks with a waterbrush. Actually it was quite simple to create a sturdy custom activity book for a toddler out of the 3.5" X 5" Strathmore Visual Journal loaded with 140 lb (300 gsm) watercolor sheets. Just take a look at this video to browse through the pages of the journal shown above.
Quite happy with his first set of Faber Castell watercolor crayons.
Coloring on his new Kumon Let's Color! activity book.
Dexterity test: doodling with both hands at the same time.
Trying out his new set of Crayola brush pens.
Grandma helping restore the ink flow on a Crayola triangular brush pen.
Already sharing his over-size Taro Gomi doodling book with the little girl next door.
Baby brother might still be too little to join in on the coloring fun, but give him time and I'm pretty sure he'll soon join the rank of budding artists featured in this blog.