What I Drew Sunday, January 24th - Top 3

 During the inaugural session of “What Shall I Draw Today?” for 2021, I managed to produce eight little pieces of art from the nearly 40 suggestion submitted.

Here are the top 3 liked pieces from Sunday:

#1 - Christopher Robin as Andy, Tigger as Woody, and Pooh as Buzz Lightyear: suggestion by @akoymdf

The amount of “likes” received by this piece may have set a personal best for my Instagram channel.

On paper, it’s a simple Disney mashup: three Winnie the Pooh characters as Toy Story characters. It’s a boy playing with his toys. The boy is Christopher Robin as Andy complete with a red cowboy hat. Instead of a Triple-R Ranch logo tee-shirt, he wears something of a Space Rangers logo, so that he represents his dual interests of westerns and space adventures.

Were I left to make up the mashups, I would have swapped the roles to have Tigger as Buzz because he’s flashier and bouncier. Pooh would be Woody, the trusty and loyal one whose primacy as Andy’s favorite is challenged by the new comer.

With all the “likes,” I guess @akoymdf has better instincts on the casting.

If you’ve been following my IG enough to catch some of my past WSIDT sessions, the IG handle may be familiar.


#2 - Lucy Ricardo and Wanda & Chicken: suggestion by @oliviamn14 with Abigail R.

For future readers, this session happened the Sunday following the Disney Plus airing of the third episode of WandaVision. There were 5 suggestions involving Wanda or both Wanda and Vision. This is the one WandaVision related idea that I chose to draw on Sunday because the first episode draws inspiration from I Love Lucy as well as The Dick Van Dyke Show. It would be best to explore the cross-over idea now while the connection is still fresh. There also was a suggestion featuring a version of the comic book Scarlet Witch.

The chicken is from Abigail’s separate suggestion. The chicken became the trigger for the story.

Why is there a chicken?
Wanda magic-ed it up.
What does Lucy think about that?
Lucy is wondering where that chicken came from.
Why is a chicken surprising to Lucy?
A live chicken isn’t the chicken she was thinking of.
What’s out of place about a live chicken?
Lucy has a cook book, suggesting that she had a recipe requiring a store-bought chicken.

I could have rendered the piece as true-to-inspiration black & white, but people always respond to color more. Additionally, Lucy’s bright red hair and Wanda’s auburn hair make more comparisons between the two more obvious which was, in fact, an added point made in the full suggestion.

Both of their dresses are more neutral and cool in tone for added contrast to make their hair color stand out more.

The choice to depict them in a cartoony caricature, was initiated to allude to the animated opening titles of Bewitched. The style also made it easier and quicker to draw, which is important to me as I try to complete as many drawings in eight hours as I possibly can.


#3 - Redd the pirate and Captain Jack Sparrow: suggestion by @nikkistar5394

Redd, here, is the pirate in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. She has a different costume than Captain Redd who you once could meet at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. I trust that you know of Captain Jack Sparrow.

The suggestion included the team-up back-to-back composition. Were this not the final drawing of the day, I might have drawn it on a larger card, and a large card might have allowed for a better caricature of Captain Jack.

The expressions and exchanges of gazes, I hope, suggests that they may be teaming up now, but either one could make a self-serving turn as any moment.

Pirates. Am I Right?


Here are the rest of the 8 drawn on Sunday:

Kamala Harris (Flora), Michelle Obama (Fauna), and Dr. Jill Biden (Merryweather)
suggestion by @motheroffreels

A bi-pedal Pumbaa in tux and tails
suggestion by @pumbaaguy

Pocahontas as a hula dancer
suggestion by @elijones94

Rey and Leia bonding over an afternoon tea
suggestion by @jesstothesmith

Wonder Woman (DC Future State) — Yara Flor
suggestion by @sdogg52

I am still saving all of my drawing for future sales at convention shows. Frustratingly, I can’t say when that will be.

The next WSIDT session is happening in February 21.

Thank you to everyone who pitched their fun drawing suggestions. Thank you for following my blog and/or Instagram (@Monstergram7) and/or Monster Enterprises Facebook page. Thank you for liking. 

All: Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.

“Pooh Story” and “Lucy and Wanda”: 17.78 cm  x 12.70 cm (7.00 in. x 5.00 in)
“Redd and Jack” 8.89 cm x 6.35 cm  (3.50 in. x 2.50 in.)

“Kamala, Michelle and Jill” on watercolor paper.

What I Drew Sunday, September 27th - Top 3

In the last-of-the-year session of “What Shall I Draw Today?” I offered a list of 21 not-yet-drawn suggestions previous pitched this year. Last year, I branded this kind of thing as a “Rewind Day.”  This year I didn’t brand it as such, allowing for folks to also make new suggestions. On the day, I pulled from the poll starting with the suggestion receiving the most votes and trying to work in order down the list.

Here are the top 3 liked pieces from Sunday:

#1 - Christopher Robin-Hood: original suggestion by @ch_arles7762

 

The fully worded suggestion was as follows, “Christopher Robin-hood. Pooh and the gang posing as the characters from the cartoon Robin Hood.” This was the Number 1 voted of 21. The mashed name itself is fun enough to attract the curious.

As I do with mashed up groups, I wrote a column of name of the Hundred Acre Wood characters and a column for the Sherwood Forest characters. Then I try to match them up. Most everyone who is familiar with the Robin Hood tales knows that he led and band of “merry men.” The animated Disney film was a bit short on named merry men however: 3- Little John, Friar Tuck, Alan A-Dale. In contrast Christopher Robin has a tight group of 7 friends in the 100AW named in the Disney song about Winnie the Pooh, and then don”t forget about Tigger. Sorry, Kanga gets left out, as does Owl. I cast Roo as young Skippy- not a merry-man but it works. I cast Rabbit as Prince John, which is possible because they’re all playing. Thankfully, the antagonist gives the others something against which to react. And then Piglet is a poor Sheriff and a porter Sir Hiss. So he is cast as Will Scarlet, a named merry man in many adaptations including the Errol Flynn classic movie.

No need to get overly complicated with perspective and depth, when working with the Pooh characters. Trees with branches to sit upon provide great opportunities to place characters off of the ground. Even Rabbit gets to stand on a rock.

In another world, perhaps Tigger would have been cast as Prince John and then he would use his own tail as a puppet version of Sir Hiss.


#2 - Jasmine, Belle, Ariel and Elsa as Doctors and Nurses: original suggestion by @lindsey_baker28

This suggestion was number 5 in vote counts. You never really know what people are going to react to most strongly. I think in this case, the difference between the suggestion and the final drawing is an ethereal something that you didn’t know you wanted until you see it.

The suggester would later comment that these five are her sister’s favorites, and the suggestion was made on her sister’s behalf who is an x-ray technician.

The composition is very stock photo like. I mused about giving them a patients to attend to. I was leaning towards Aladdin, creating a humorous scene suggesting that the former street rat just took “one jump” too many. Ah, but I thought that was the wrong tone. Likewise, I opted not to have Ariel fiddling with her stethoscope, a thing to her that might be an entire mystery.

I made Belle a doctor, believing that she’d have the better grades. The other three ladies are nurses. Jasmine and Elsa nearly gets to keep their assigned colors. With her trademark hair color and large mass of hair swooping over her forehead, Ariel is always a quick read, no matter her outfit or fish tail.


#3 - Sorcerer Mickey as a Jedi: suggestion by @akoymdf

This suggestion was number 2 in vote counts.

This mashup reads like a good fit. On the one hand, you have good-gut Mickey Mouse wearing a magician’s robes and sometimes a magician’s hat. On the other hand, you have the Jedi, the fabled space magicians of Star Wars.

Never underestimate my eagerness to take an idea and make it more complicated, especially if it involves Disney characters. Enter, then, Peg Leg Pete as a Sith Lord. You can tell it’s him be the peg leg. The layout is a common showdown composition with the antagonist in the foreground with his back to the audience. In perspective, the hero is towered over by the villain, and his expression is clearly read as bravery and determination.


I decided to draw of these on the larger format of 5 in. x 7 in. The multiple character suggestions always work better given the room. But as this was a day of second chances, I wanted to give each drawing the best chance to shine.

Here are the rest of the 5 drawn on Sunday:

The Black Widows! Natasha, Yelena, and Melina
Original suggestion by @chujo9

Young Minerva McGonagall with her witch hat
Original suggestion by @akoymdf

All of these and more original piece of art will be for sale at my next comic convention showing, which, I guess, will be in 2021.

The next WSIDT session is happening in January 2021, as I take a break to turn my attentions to the end of the year holiday events. I still may pull from the voted upon list for inspiration for a fun drawing.

Thank you to everyone who pitched their fun drawing suggestions. Thank you for following my blog and/or Instagram (@Monstergram7) and/or Monster Enterprises Facebook page. Thank you for liking. 

All: Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.

“Christopher Robin-Hood” and “Medical Princesses” 17.78 cm  x 12.70 cm(7.00 in. x 5.00 in)
“Mickey Jedi” 12.70 cm x 17.78 cm (5.00 in. x 7.00 in.)

 

What I Drew Sunday, February 23rd - Top 3

The activity that forced me to reschedule the Disney themed WSIDT from Sunday to Saturday ended up delaying posting these top 3 results a couple of days plus one more because I was just too tired to post this Tuesday.

Drum roll please. Here are What Shall I Draw Today’s top three liked pieces:

#1 - Waddles on a Pirate Ship (suggestion by @snowspuppet)

Waddles is Mabel’s pet pig in the animated television series, “Gravity Falls.” He lands squarely in a blind spot of my Disney fanship: Disney Channel and Disney XD. I hope that a couple of short YouTube short caught me up enough to depict the fellow properly. 

Avoiding dressing Waddles in a pirate captain’s uniform; sought to place him on a ship or at least imply the ship. Other considerations passed up were “Waddles next to a cannon,” “Waddles next to cannon balls,” and “Waddles at a sailing ship’s steering wheel.” 

In the end, the extreme low camera angle would allow the inclusion on a Jolly Roger pirate flag. The perspective is faked but communicates the scene. 

#2 - Lumpy the Heffalump and Roo as Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse (suggestion by @akoymdf)

I had read the first part of the suggestion and had drawn Lumpy alone. After posting that, I caught the whole suggestion and proceeded to work on this on a large scale (5” x 7”). Additionally, Lumpy, like Waddles, was a character that I had to rely on YouTube to gain more familiarity before tackling the drawing.

A couple of iconic Dumbo & Timothy set ups would prove difficult to replicate due to the differences in relative character size proportions. Roo is too big to sit in a hat. And he’s too big for him to lead Lumpy by his tail and have it be as cute as as a tiny mouse leading a baby elephant.  

It then became a circus themed scene, imagining the declaration, “Ladies and gentlemen...!”

I don’t know if it’s obvious but I deal with the mottling of quick color pencil sketch work by avoiding approximating flat color and rendering things with shadows and highlights. It’s funny how it’s easier for me to use a rendering style that results in a richer appearance. 

#3- Mer-Stitch (suggestion by @playrunreadcat)

A.k.a. Stitch as a mermaid/man/alien. I thought that there was no reason not to draw his antennae’s and 4-armed alien form. I also thought that a little bit of story always helps- add seahorse. 

Do you think mer-stitches eat seahorses?

Here are the rest:

Thumper and Meeko have Tea.

Princess Marisa and Prince Marzel
from Elena of Avalor

Zazu (The Lion King) and Iago (Aladdin)

Knowsmore (Wreck-It Ralph 2) and/vs Prof. Ludwig von Drake

Doorknob (Alice in Wonderland)

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)

Queen Elsa (Frozen 2)

Teen Kristoff (Frozen)

Lumpy the Heffalump (Pooh’s Heffalump Movie)

All 12 if these original pieces of art will be for sale at my WonderCon, Anaheim appearance in March.

Please check out my Instagram feed for more drawings: @monstergram7

Thank you for playing, liking and following.

The next WSIDT is scheduled right before WonderCon.

All: black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.

“Waddles” -  6.35 cm x 8.89 cm (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.).

“Roo & Lumpy” - 12.70 cm x 17.78 cm (5.00 in. x 7.00 in.)

“Mer-Stitch” - 6.35 cm x 8.89 cm (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.).

Disneyland’s 63rd Birthday

A new Autograph book with Jimmy Cricket Tag-a-Long

Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California, Tuesday, July 17th, 2018 – For the fourth year in a row, I took advantage of being a Disney Cast-Member to use a day’s vacation time to celebrate Disneyland’s birthday by being in the parks and doing some sketches.

Per usual, I purchased an autograph book on site and began. Sometimes I was promoted by my environment, sometimes by stream of consciousness. On the day as I went along, I posted on Instagram the sketches in front of sights from the parks.

It happens that this book has over 100 pages if you count fronts and backs. That’s nearly triple or quadruple the page count of the books I had previous purchased. I response on the day, I tried to sketch something at least every 30 minutes. Executed in that manner, I fell into a walk-then-draw continuous cycle for the first 6 hours. In practice, I only drew on one side of each page, so only about 50 pages ahead of me.

Here are the drawings scanned (click on images to see them larger):

Having many leftover blank pages and untapped Disney suggestions from previous months’ sessions of What Shall I Draw Today?, I finished the book with small batches of the following drawings in pen and monochromatic pencil shading.

The final five sketches we're done August 8, so in all, I didn’t require quite a full month to fill the book.