Late entry to Caricaturama 3k

I have been so busy with lots of family issues I did not get time to paint my sketch of Bill Murray who was the victim of last weeks contest, so I thought I would still put it on here. He had a very difficult face to draw and took me 4 little sketches to even get a likeness?

I hope to get a chance to use my new Artrage software and digitally paint him later on. With him I found the more you tried to distort his face the likeness just went, so I only slightly changed his features!

Best Wishes.

New Art Software

I have had a dilemma for quite a while now, which has been the line quality that I produce on my computer after I scan in drawings and continue using my tablet and PC. When I look at the work of many professionals and enlarge their work on screen there never seems to be any pixelation or distortion of the line quality. My own on the other hand is terrible. I have asked many people over the last year what it could be and thought I new a possible answer? all to know avail, until I was attending a photo shop lesson on scanning images by a recent degree student, now an excellent gallery curator. She said it was the professional software in Photo shop and Illustrator that smoothes out and fills in any pixelation for you automatically. Obviously most professionals have the expensive software and do not see the complete other end of the spectrum Kids/ Student entry level. At the moment I do not feel I warrant spending £600 to £1000 on Photo Shop or Illustrator so I have spent £60 on upgrading my Artrage package I got with my tablet which does do something similar. I have done a couple of drawings and paintings with it and it is far superior to my original, but still need to practice with it a lot more. The next sketch was done with no smoothing on and the lines to the left as viewed are with differing types of smoothing on. If you enlarge it you may see what I mean.

The two caricatures above are old ones I have done and tidied up in the new Artrage. I could see a big difference in the quality of the line but not sure it will show up here on this blog?

      I have recently visited some friends of mine in London and promised to do a couple of caricatures of their Nieces but the photos I took on my phone were quite terrible, with to much light blocking out all the detail? If in doubt as an artist blame your equipment! I always seem to make children look to old? lets hope these very well behaved children grow into them, Nina, and Danni.

I have to dash now as I need to push the vacuum round and get tea on. Being self employed can be a difficult life? Regards.

More Sketches

Two posts in a week, I think it must be a first for me? I have recently bought some new software to aid my digital paintings and was going to discuss it this week but I haven't given it a good go as yet, so I will and report on it next week!
I have done a load of sketching in my current  small square A5 ish sketch book and thought I would show some of what is going on in it. As it is small I quite often have to run over into the other page. I tend to think of people to draw who are in the news or I have watched on telly. I suppose I should make a list of my top ten people to caricaturise, that most people would recognise and do them?

I think that most of these look a little like who they are suppose to be and if you cannot guess who they are the pencil label on them will let you know( I of course would of failed in my quest). The guy who I have done as a Kangaroo is (in my opinion) one of the best Digital Caricature Artists around, "Terry Dunnett". The quality and standard of his work is breath taking and I would one day love to get half way to his standard. You can check out his work and Blog at, The Scratchings of Tel.

Time to publish and be dammed as they say? not sure who says it though? Regards FatBoy.

Top Table Function

Only very occasionally now days, I get an invite to a service Top Table( Posh Dinner), which is generally to say farewell to someone who is moving on into civilian life or promotion and posting to a new Job. This week I attended one and had a wonderful time chatting to old and new friends. One inparticular, I have not seen for many years, I said I had once sketched him a long time ago? so I dug him out of my sketch book and hopefully he will find this blog and get to see it? Best Wishes Bob.

 As I am posting I thought I will fill it up a bit with some Service cartoon commissions I have done recently. My appolgies for the Photo's they where done on my phone.

All these Cartoons are fully mounted and framed on good quality 300lb watercolour paper done in bright coloured ink and I think make a nice memento of your time in what ever your job might be. Most people always say to me that they would of liked a Caricature or cartoon as a leaving present instead of  what they ended up with! but unless they let there friends and work colleagues know, its not going to happen!

Good Luck to all moving on to pastures new.

No Time?

Over the last couple of weeks I just seem to of run out of time doing everything! I just seem so busy with family business I have very little time for anything else. My eldest Daughter needs to be driven all over the country for her University interviews, (I did all the Open Days Last Year) and she has just been away in Berlin for a week visiting galleries and exhibitions(  nice for some), so my better half tasked me with decorating her Bedroom while she was away( The only painting I have done!) Unfortunately once the decorating bug got to my wife, she now wants the Hall, stairs and landing doing and all the skirting and doors (13 of them!). If anyone has a trained decorating Octopus, I would love to borrow him or her? Because of all this I have done very little drawing and not even progressed my Caricaturama entries, past an initial sketch as shown below.

Time is still ticking very fast and even the Dog is giving me nasty looks asking where is his walk? Thought I could fill this weeks blog with a couple of old sketches.



I must dash now as the decorating is calling and that dog is about to bite me if he doesn't get his walk! Ta Ta for now.

50th Birthday Party

January was the Month for a group of my School Friends, 50th Birthday Party. I have only recently started to get in touch with my old school friends of some 34 years ago on Face Book. It is really lovely to see how everyone has got on in life and even better if you can meet up and have a chat and a drink. Unfortunately I could not attend this party but did mange to do retro 70 style caricatures of the 3 main birthday boys. I hope they liked them and from some photos I have seen they printed them off and put them up.

I also did another very good school friend of mine (Brad) who was going to be their and put his head on a full 70's style disco dancer, unfortunately the finished versions file is too big.





Lastly (if that is a word?) I thought I would include a commissioned Cartoon done for someone moving on in their career. Sorry its not a good picture as it was done on my phone and I am No,  David Bailey

Anyway that is all for this week, Best wishes to all.



Life, Time, Speed and Fruit Cake.

Well its February already! I have only just got over Christmas and can hardly remember January. I say this because, I am very lucky at Christmas because my Mum makes me 2 Christmas cakes, which it goes with out saying, are the best in the world! and I am the only one in my little family who likes Fruit cake. I love to have a cup of Tea and slice of Christmas cake each afternoon as a treat, and they usually last till mid January? When they have gone it is then I think about New Years resolutions about getting Fit and Slim! But here I am , only now thinking about becoming a thin boy? I am sure its never going to happen, as I would have to change the name of this blog and give up Fruit Cake and Cheese! Therefore I shall contemplate my life and the time and speed before my Mother sends the next 2 Christmas cakes!
        This week I have done a couple of sketches for Caricaturama 3000, the first was a quick pencil sketch which I coloured in Photo Shop but I really wanted to just do something without the computer, so I

 did a quick 5 minute pen and ink sketch which I have entered. I think I sort of got the likeness but well out of most peoples league who post on the Caricaturama 3000 Face book site.

Anyway, I may go and look if there are any fruit cake crumbs left in the tin, or I may have to start my diet? Best Wishes to all.