Confidence boosting.

Less than a year, I met a young lady who was a friend of, um, some dude. This young lady had style and panache, and I made her a birthday jpg, sight unseen.

In the months that followed, we've been to shows, talked a little shit, and she's become fam.

Mix that with my predilection for random gift-giving, and I made her a little something to go with something (cheap) she had said she's wanted some months back. Dropped it off earlier tonight.

Being a creative, what keeps me going is simple. Acknowledgment. Anything more is great.

I think a Tumblr post and a Twitter avatar is more than I expected.

Thank you, SJB.

Hippo birdie two ewes

Hippo birdie two ewes
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

In an effort to get more grander scale and to take a bit longer with projects, I did this for a friend's birthday.

I wanted to take some extra time here with shading, which is slightly difficult to do with just pen and ink, but the varying weights of the two pens I was using helps a lot.

Happy Black Girl Day!

Happy Black Girl Day!
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

I'm a fan of black women. So I drew something.

Valentine's Day foolery.

I don't know why I was so motivated to do this, but I suppose the suddenly-perking up of some female friends' love lives was a bit of a culprit.

So, yeah. I love you....but not like THAT.

Fun with posters.

So I went to see a great documentary about poster art, and I was totally inspired. It also helped that I met a couple of people who are my personal heroes in the poster-making business, Jay Ryan and Steve Walters.

So I put out the call to give me some fake bands and I was going to make posters. So I got two sketches done. Will these get printed? They'll get reworked if these bands actually hit the stage.

My personal holiday card

My personal holiday card
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

Happy holidays from me to y'all.

Terrorpin!

Terrorpin!
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

I'm out the door at 8am. I get home at 8pm.

I gotta do better.

Question?

Question?
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

Can you tell what these two figures are communicating to each other? Are the balloons obvious? Are you sure you can tell what's going on, who's saying what, and the emotion it's said with?

I'm trying to work this into a thank you card, which is why I ask.

Spoiler: The two figures represent a conversation my wife and I had after visiting some friends. Is THAT even clear?

Commerce!

I would like to announce the availability of my services at GoHuman, which is an awesome way to get in contact with people who can get stuff done for you. I'm over here, and can do cards and envelopes for a nominal fee. Yay!

Birthday card

Birthday card
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

The more I use white ink, the more I like it. And working in colored paper makes it op even more.

Apologies for not updating more often; this "looking for a job" thing takes up a bit of my time.

Graceful Envelopes Contest.

Every year the Washington Calligraphers Guild has a Greaceful Envelope Contest, where they award prizes to exemplary examples of envelope art. The 2008 winners are up, and they look awesome.

Since a lot of my work is on envelopes, I may get around to rocking this one of these days. Putting something so great on what amounts to a small canvas really has the potential for some striking images.

Diversions.

Old school
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

So, in my everlasting quest to do EVERYTHING but what I need to do, I decided it would be a good idea to write a "period letter", writing in the voice of some time past. I thought it funny to write a letter from one Southern gentleman to his friend (who shall recieve the real thing within days). I know what plantation houses look like; once again straight lines baffle me. Another case of what's in my head is not what gets on the paper.

In search of a job...

Thanks signage
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

I drew this up as the beginnings of a fully realized me, to attach to the thank you notes you're supposed to send after you meet with someone, whether they wasted your time or you got the feeling they didn't want to talk to your dumb ass.

I like the openess; I may just give up on correct proportions of human figures; this old dog just sucks at it.

While this was going to be fully colored, the idea of attaching this to emails after IT interviews kinda...weird. What does cartooning have to do with operating systems and fixing things? It's bad enough that IT folk aren't supposed to do anything but computer work...

This is one of my favorite things.

The fun of white ink pens.
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

So I went to Paper Source, and they had white paint pens. I had already used a Sharpie brand one, and that sucked ass, so i didn't put much into it. For the most part, though, it's really helped to expand what I can use. I can use dark papers now, and have that contrast set up by dark paper and white pen means that I'll be able to do more and get some people some unexpected stuff in the mail.

Choir robes and other things.

Choir robes
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

I did this after watching a show about gospel singers. Afterwards, I was motivated to do this sketch, which can certainly be cleaned up and colored.

I have such difficulty drawing hands, but I love to do them. Does that make sense? So expressive, and so complicated. It's almost as if I'm dran to what I don't feel I can pull off.

In terms of upcoming work, some of the things that have appeared here will be redone and added to my online portfolio, as well as a physical one. It's time to see if this illustration hustle is going to work at all.

Standards.

Standard comic.
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

I was looking through some cartoons in some magazines I had around the house, and this kinda comic kept coming up.

In mens' magazines, the barkeep/two dudes at a bar motif is plentiful, with a single line of dialogue as the punch line. I wanted to see fI could get the drawing down, and I think I have the gist of it. All those years looking at mens' magazines, I suppose.

Obviously, the art is in the punchline, and there isn't necessarily the line work that's going to get the attention. In doing what I do, it's somewhat difficult to separate technical proficiency from execution of an idea, joke, or whatever. And I've struggled with rectifying that in my mind.

Execution doesn't cover for a crappy idea, except in graphic arts, where breathtaking effort can at least delay the inevitable destruction of the idea in question. On the other hand, with my style, I don't want the execution to suck, thus pages and pages of trying to get arms and hands right.

I suppose, in my style, that I can only do so much, but it's not going to be as detailed or eye-catching as some others'. Then again, I have to bring the game up to where I can feel good and can set myself apart from a crowded market, some of which whose sites I look at weekly or see on message boards.

TallBlackGuy Design logo, try 1.

TallBlackGuy Design logo, try 1.
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

I need to work on the clouds. The border will be redone to be slightly smaller. The goal is to have this as a calling/business card.

A note going forward.

Wow. I suck for not posting in a while, especially when it seemed I had no wherewithal to do so.

But, after getting laid off, I figure that if I'm going to do this art thing, I'm going to have to take a more active role in it. So, activity will pick up, I think.

Thanks if you're still looking here; I really appreciate it.

Letterform issues.

Testing.
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

So, I did this envelope, but I'm curious if a) people can read what the letters actually say, and b) how much effort to do so. I'm not that happy with it, but I want to get into negative space stuff, and I suppose repetition will make me better.

Back on the saddle?

Self-caricature
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

Either I need to have more projects, or a lot more sketches.

With my writing becoming a bigger part of what i do, and I'm stuck looking at other people's great work, and I'm getting older and the window of opp seems to be closing...well, I'll just see where it goes.

First thing I ever screenprinted.

First thing I ever screenprinted.
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

Wow. I mean, wow. All the time here on TallBlackGuy, I've shown you sketches and such, but this is the first thing I've actually produced. Off a design I first did a couple of years ago, and using three colors, I spent about seven hours producing this. Mad love to Steve Walters at Screwball Press for teaching me how to make it happen.

Next up, band posters!

Anime style.

Anime style.
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

I used to draw in anime style. That's ALL I used to do. And then the style got innundated back in the late 90s, as a ton of comic artists rode it to good bank accounts.

The character hgere is loosely based on a friend of mine. Rocking the fro with the tooth gap. There's a lot of work left, because of a lot of drapery and such, but I comfy enough with the style to keep it moving.

Relax yourself, girl, eat some ham.

Recline
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

Back again. IAt this point, I'm trying out things I don't draw often, like robes and draperies here. Kinda itching at the bit for a big project, but in the meantime, I'm doing cards and envelopes.

Hot for the 08.

HEY!
Originally uploaded by TRoyal

So, I'm putting stuff on Flickr, blogging it from there, and...well, technology has brought this back. So here's to more art projects.

TallBlackGuy is back.

Blowout!

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what i do best...

Apparently.

This kinda thing appeals to me. And I did it in less than two minutes, but I suppose it shows.

Backstory: A friend moved from Pittsburgh to Chicago this week. This is to be part of her welcoming gift. Caption: "There is something Pittsburghers and Chicagoans agree on!"

not even.

I'm not even going to comment on the dearth of posts, or my artist slump, of all the crap going through my head. But I think I'm better now.

Two minute zine.

So, I'll be doing the zine again. The goal is now to get it done during February, during Black History Month. I can't seem to find the old stuff, so I'll be doing that over again, as well as a "Two Minute Project".

The story goes that, on the day I got the splint off of my right ring finger, I took the day off and went hither and yon throughout the city, walking on a sunny blue day that reminds me of SOuthern California, if not fror the fact that it was between 30 and 40 that day.

So, each panel takes two minutes to do. 120 seconds. 30 or so panels. I'll clean them up for publication, but I'll post them here in rough form.

Ring fingers are important.

So, after a six week layover...



Now that fingers don't really throb with pain, I can do some things again. We'll see what ends up happening, because i' really itching to do something that's not just a sketch; something fininshed. Don't know how much enthusiasm I'm feeling for the zine right now. We shall see.

Static coming into focus...

Two more weeks until the splint goes, and I can produce again.

All the impetus for doing the zine - gone.
Ideas for projects are decaying in my head from not being able to be put to paper.

When I'm able to adequately move my ring finger, I'll take the day off and draw. Just draw all day. Draw until my hand cramps. Draw with the energy pent up from nto being able to do what i love for more than a month.

Thanks to y'all continuing to watch this space.

Crap.

I was on a roll. I was putting the finishing touches on my zine. I had some new ideas. I was doing some lettering with some awesome pens.

No, I have a broken ring finger, and all of that is shot to hell. I'll try to figure out just when I'll be able to do anything, bbut it'll be at least two weeks. This blows in n other way possible.