Eric Bonus Sunday Post

I was digging around today, in preparation for a presentation at SETC this week. I found my first grad school paper project of Hedda Gabbler. Wow!

When I look at these, I can literally remember the terror I felt. It was my first time using watercolor**, I was intimidated as all hell, and I was sure that I was about to be kicked out. I just knew Marianne would see these and realize her horrible mistake in taking me into her program.

However, it was not a bloodbath. Marianne saw through my terror and kept encouraging me for the next two and a half years.

I'm really proud of these sketches. Not because I find them to be of any quality, but because I laud them as an effort of sheer bravery. In so many ways, I am still terrified to draw. Since I started this blog, I'm much less so. Actually, 2009 in general was a great year for drawing, since I did ten shows; it was an excellent chance for practice and refinement.

Kyle got a nice message through Facebook the other day, and it really warmed my heart. This undergrad expressed how Kyle's paper projects inspired her to keep going and to keep growing. I hope that this blog does do that, since it does so for me and for Kyle (and for Jen too! She had a really busy February, but she is still on the team, no matter what!).

So, since this is SETC week (Southeastern Theatre Conference), I want to open up the blog this week to YOUR sketches, too! Send me your sketch at abele.m.eric@gmail.com, with a small write-up about what it is and why you did it. I'd be happy to post it for you. No judgement from us: I promise! We're just going to celebrate ALL of us artists, no matter where you are on your journey.


**Just for the record, I still don't like using watercolor.

Kyle 2/26/10

Yesterday you saw my mean, ugly, nasty Witch...tonight, my friends, you see my still kinda mean, gorgeous, sexy Witch.

Sorry if it spoils the story for you, but that ugly Witch turns into this Witch. And she does it on stage (Ah, the magic of theatre)! This is all under a hooded cape rigged to look like her first costume with the nasty makeup - yay prosthetic makeup - and rigged with fake hair. That all comes of and we get this!

I wanted to tie together the ugly and beautiful costumes a bit more than I have seen in other productions. The sleeves are a lot like the shawls that were worn in the ugly version, the neck line has the tabard opening with magic symbols. The body has that sort of Medieval cling to it but the shape and hair and makeup is more modern. She's got sparkly legs and sparkle on the arms also...she is magic and all.

I got a little distracted as I drew tonight. I've had Whip It from Netfix for the past two weeks so I decided to watch it, as the Olympics are totally boring now that Figure Skating is over. Roller Derby is, after all, just another form of skating, isn't it! I loved the movie, but it kept me from getting my drawing done quickly! Now all I want to do is go to a Roller Derby Bout...what would your Roller Derby girl name be? Mine Is Dixon Ticonderoga!

I can't help it!!

I love my scanner so much, I'm reposting my last five faces as scans. I think there is such a difference between these and the IPhone pictures. I hope you enjoy!

Eric Celebrity Face #10

I did it! Two whole weeks!!

And tonight's sketch is brought to you by my new, wireless, 11x17 scanner!! I'm still getting to know it, and it's getting to know me, but I'm really excited by how much easier this is than all of those IPhone pictures I had to keep taking.

So, I think this ends the "Celebrity Face" chapter on the blog. For the next two weeks, I'm going to take these celebrities and draw them, head to toe, as a character. I'd still like your feedback...

But, now I'm going to keep playing with my new toy.

Kyle 2/25/10

Now this lady is just nasty...

I though that since I sketched Rapunzel last night, I would tackle her "Mother," the Witch, tonight...and really, who doesn't love a good witch? Am I right?

Like Rapunzel, the Witch is more Medieval in costume than the rest of the characters. She's, like, eleventy-billion years old and, boy, is she showin' her age! Seriously though, She's got a really rough, hooded, unfitted sack of a dress, with cracked and nasty leather cuffs, a woven tabbard with magical symbols (you know, like Witches do...) and then two or three crocheted or knitted ponchos and shawls. Her costume is padded out with humps and bumps and thinks.

The hardest thing for the Witch is the make-up. I think that it is OK to get really detailed (This, of course, is my imaginary project, so I have no budget) prostetics and things and a great wig, as long as they can be easily simplified and removed onstage at the end of Act One when (SPOILER ALERT!!) she becomes pretty again. I've seen photos of Productions that use masks for the Witch, but I'm not really a fan of that.

I can't wait to sketch what I have planned for her pretty look...hotness is all I'm gonna say...

Eric Celebrity Face #9

I wanted to try a child's face tonight. Frankly, many modern young performers these days don't really have a recognizable face. Finally, it hit me: turn back time!

This child star grew up to be... well, since I'm actually not a personal fan, I won't do any dishonor here. Let's just say, he was like woah famous.

The faces are getting much easier, faster, and, I believe, more accurate. Looking back to Monday past, I see SO MANY problems with the Oprah face: it looks almost nothing like her!! What is going to be harder is translating these faces into my normal scale, instead of drawing them at an almost full 11x14. That will make a editing process of detail much more challenging, methinks.

I still would love your feedback on what characters I draw these celebrities!

Kyle 2/24/10...some days just suck...

Ugh. Serious ugh. Some days just suck for drawing. And today, my friends, was one of those days.

I'm gonna share a secret (its probably common sense, but oh well). I have this folder on my hard drive where I collect great photos from the interwebs. Usually it is faces or poses that I like and think would be fun to draw. I look through it quickly before starting a sketch and use photos from it very often. Well, a few days ago I found a great picture to use as a pose for Rapunzel in Into the Woods. There was great hair brushing action and wonderful hands. Needless to say I tried 4 times to get it right but my proportion sensor was just malfunctioning. I could tell that it was all kinds of jacked up, but I was just not able to fix it.

This was the best I could do...her head is too big, but it looks even bigger with the hair making it twelve kinds of crazy.

For the costume I'm going for something completely different for Rapunzel than from all the other characters. She's been raised by the Witch, who, in my opinion, is from farther in the past. Rapunzel is very isolated by the Witch - locked in the tower and has never seen or men seen by anyone besides the Witch. Its kind of a Medieval/Pre Raphaelite chemise with a wide girdle. Barefooted, simple, virginal...hairy. She'd have a second version of this same dress that's all dirty and nasty for the second act when she has run away...and the long braid on the wig is rip away so the Witch can 'cut' it off.

Like I said, not the best drawing, but, eh, its not horrible...or is it...

Eric Celebrity Face #8

For all the ladies...

I'm not so sure I got the proportion of his jaw right, but all in all I'm pretty please. His lips were somehow really hard for me: I ended up drawing them over a few times. It's like so hard to be enigmatic.

Still waiting to hear from you all about what to do with these sketches next! Come on! Play along!!

Kyle 2/23/10

Ok...so I kinda made it for the day...the sketch was done pre-midnight...Ooooh, she is so mean!

Cinderella's Stepmother is such a fun character. We're never really told why she's so mean...she just is, and in Into the Woods, like her daughters, she's pretty. I love the way even the evil people that we're supposed to hate in this story are beautiful.

I have been accumulating more and more costume reference books over the years (I generally ask Santa for some every year - try it...it works) and most of my favorites are from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. They are all well written with beautiful photos of actual garments and period drawings and paintings. In thinking about this show I've been looking though one called Dangerous Liaisons, which was a fantastic exhibit of 18th century clothes set in the Met's Period Rooms. Its just breathtaking, trust me.

Anywho, there was this gorgeous painting of a lady dressing while entertaining a gentleman caller. She's already wearing her robe à la française with beautiful semi-sheer peignoir. I've modified the peignoir a bit, making it drape like a polonaise. Under the peignoir is a long petticoat with ruffle, a chemise with elbow frills (engageante), and a brocade corset...her shoes are pretty awesome, with a really sharply pointed toe.

Ooooh, she is so mean!

Eric Celebrity Face #7

Tuesdays are long work days (I'm still here!). We teach class from 6:30-9:00. But, I got tonight's sketch in on my dinner break.

I'm afraid the photo quality is really bad tonight, and I don't have time to fix it. When my new scanner comes in, I'll repost it.

Cheers!

Eric needs your help!

Hello world of blog readers!

So Kyle and I recently discovered that more than just our coterie of friends and colleagues are reading my New Year's resolution-turned-blog. We are so excited to have you!

Since we have so many hidden readers out there, I want to call for your feedback. My newest project is to draw celebrity faces in order to practice capturing the essential elements of a face, which will ultimately improve my costume sketches. At the end of this week, I'd like to do something more with this work. Starting next Monday, I'm going to draw each of these celebrities, in no particular order, as characters: either characters from great dramatic literature or from popular fiction (i.e. Twilight). And I want YOU to choose!

Here are the celebrities I have drawn so far. Leave a comment on this post and let me know where you think they should go. As I finish out this week, simply leave a comment on that particular sketch and I will add it to my list.

Oprah

George Clooney

Dolly Parton

Morgan Freeman

Queen Elizabeth II

Sandra Oh

Some that MAY or MAY NOT be coming later this week:

Owen Wilson

Ina Garten

Kyle and I love doing this project for ourselves, but we REALLY love audience participation. Don't disappoint!!

Kyle 2/22/10

Moving from the peasant dress phase of Into the Woods to the pretty clothes...I've decided to set the Cinderella storyline in mid-18th century France. High Louis XV Rococo crazy, as I like to call it.

Florinda and Lucinda are Cinderella's Stepsisters. They are, as described by the Narrator "Beautiful of face, but vile and black of heart" and when we first meet them, they are having Cinderella help them get ready for the King's Festival. I've always loved period underwear in shows. It gives the audience an idea of costume history and exactly what goes on under a costume to give it the correct shape. These "vile and black of heart" ladies are wearing clocked stockings, linen chemises, brocade corsets and one is in a pannier made of wire covered with rushed ribbon (I stole this from the recent film version of Marie Antoinette - mainly because I really want to make one!). This pannier is a little unpractical so it would probably only be worn in this scene and then swapped out for a sturdier one under her actual dress.

They also have the famous poof hair styles. One of the girls has to have some of her hair still down for Cinderella to style onstage for her...pretty dresses make me so happy, and so does this sketch.

Eric Celebrity Face #6

I ordered a scanner this weekend, and I can't wait for it to come in. I'm really starting to notice how poorly my iPhone is capturing these sketches. It's not just about the contrast, the photo is actually torquing the sketch in a very unflattering way. In other words, it seems to distort my proportions, especially since I'm working in such a large scale.

Anyway...

Tonight's face is continuing to explore facial types that I typically do not draw. What was challenging is the "less is more" approach that seems to be prevalent in the Korean features of this actress. There are fewer folds and creases, and less opportunity to define shape. It is all extremely subtle.

Plus, I just plain got bored trying to get her hair all in, so I just stopped. There, I said it!

Eric Celebrity Face #5

I did it! I made it a whole week!

Tonight's face was fun, but I will admit I was in a bit of a hurry wanting to get on with my evening.

So, blah, blah, blah... happy weekend (even though I'll be working all of it!).

Kyle 2/19/10

I love this week so much. We were in tech for Charley's Aunt here at the CBT, but the costumes were wonderful and didn't have may notes. I was able to get a jump on draping Man of La Mancha, a majority of which I got drafted (YAY!) and take some much needed time off! It is really sad when I am excited to get home in time to watch Oprah...and this week I got to do that TWICE!

As I watched Oprah I did today's sketch. I'm glad I got to come home a little early and post because tonight I'll be living it up at the Charley's Aunt opening!! YAY!!!

Jack's Mother is also based on Polish peasant dress. I actually pulled a patten from pattern stock the other day called "Polish Peasant Vest". I also found this great image of a Polish lady in an irregularly striped apron. Mother's apron is like that but instead of being woven as a piece with colored stripes, it is patched together from different patterned fabrics...with fringe, cause I like to keep it real. Her chemise has a solid colored yoke (probably blue) with the body a dirty cream linen. There's also smocking below the yoke - really sad smocking.

I'm trying to do the same thing with her as with Jack - her clothes were once really nice but have been rode hard and worn wet. I'm proud of the pose...I think that it speaks a lot about the character. But just like Jack, this is only her Act One look...stay tuned Duckies!!

Kyle 2/18/10

Poor Jack. Poor, poor, sad Jack. He is, like, way poor.

I based his costume style on Polish peasant dress....sorry I'm a little distracted by Grey's Anatomy...I got my sketch done early so I could watch, so I'll be brief.

I want his clothes to look like they were once nice and whole, with pretty embroidery that has seen way better days. Maybe the coat was once his absent father's or his from several years ago when times were good and his family was whole. Now, however the coat is too short and the embroidery is falling out. The pants are dirty and too big. The boots are mended and falling apart - but he's going to market and it is the best he's got.

Ok...so I hope that comes though in the sketch. Now back to my TV friends...love you all too, though!

Eric Celebrity Face #4

Layne guessed this one right off the bat. I don't know if that means this face is just more recognizable, or I'm getting better. I have decided to keep this up another week: I'm really enjoying the exploration of faces, and I keep learning what I still need to improve upon. Keep the comments coming!!

Tonight's face was chosen because it was hard for me in three ways: it is older, it is African-American and it is a 3/4 pose. Older faces are hard to capture the character that age leaves behind. As we lose elasticity and muscle tone with age, our natural contours become an intrinsic part of our facial identity, and are also really hard to draw. African-American faces are harder for me because I have less practice drawing them. I plan on tackling more Asian faces in the coming weeks as well for the exact same reason. Finally, I'm super comfortable drawing faces at full front, but I agonize at 3/4 and profile. I can't figure them out. What is it about the contours that make it so hard for me to draw a face on an angle? This is something I hope to work out in this project.

Ironically, as I was putting the finishing touches on the sketch, a commercial came on narrated by this actor. Not that it is SUCH a coincidence; he narrates like EVERY other commercial.

Kyle 2/17/10

I am really enjoying this project...I haven't gotten to sketch anything fun like this since grad school!

Little Red Riding Hood doesn't get a whole lot of back story in Into the Woods. We know that she likes to visit her Grandmother...maybe her Granny made he clothes. I wanted her clothes to look really sweet especially for later when she pulls a knife and wears a wolf cape!

I based her costume on Bavarian peasant dress, with insets of eyelet lace. She looks sweet, but watch out...she's got weapons!

Eric Celebrity Face #3

Oh, this is fun!

First off, the sketch photographed somewhat unevenly: it is not terribly accurate to my line on the paper.

I challenged myself tonight with this face. One because it has been "retouched" (hint, hint) and two because it is a bit older than I usually draw. Capturing the essence of those wrinkles without making them look drawn on by crayon was really difficult. Plus, this person is a bit heavy on the eye makeup, just like Oprah. I think I want to try later for someone REALLY agèd who has not been "retouched" by a medical professional.

I also noticed that I straightened out the face to almost a perfect vertical, when in the photograph, the celebrity is on an angle. I don't really know why I flattened her out, but it happened. C'est la vie!

Kyle 2/16/10

Eric made some very constructive comments on my last post. One of them was about the proportion the faces in my sketches. I used to have so many problems with faces. They were just scratchy lines with no real features and they were always really long (like, REALLY long). In Grad School I worked really hard on making more defined features and more in proportion. I still have to really consciously make myself focus on proportions - especially to do with the nose. If I don't the nose gets too long and it throws everything off. I don't know why I subconsciously draw such long noses. It might be because I've always found my own to be too short and stubby and I wish it was longer. Who knows. Sometimes I slip back into old habits without even knowing it.

I also use a rather hard pencil to sketch. I find that it smudges less and I can control where I want shading. I sketch very lightly at first and then go back in a darken my lines. I've always like things to be really outlined. In many of my renderings I go back in with a pen and darken out lines. Sometimes, though, I get a little too dark in my pencil work - especially in the face and it just looks funny. This is something that I'll really have to consciously think about as well.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with this sketch of Cinderella from Into the Woods. Her costume is based on French provincial costume (namely Burgundy). I wanted some of he clothes to look as if they were once really nice - like her chemise, which is edged with lace as neck, sleeve and hem and smocked at the sleeve head) but is now very worn and threadbare. She also has a patchwork leather jerkin and two sad over-skirts. The apron has remnants of French Provencal embroidery, but is in tatters.

I tried really hard with the face proportions and line weight. I think it looks a bit better...

Eric Celebrity Face #2

Well, I've just had too much fun with just the one face, especially my conversations with Kyle.

The hardest thing about a face is finding its essence: what makes that face unique. Humans have the strongest ability to recognize people by the tiniest of facial variations, but we can't articulate WHAT that variation is. Drawing makes this identification process even harder. Do you ever proofread your own paper like 5,000 times, but still leave simple typos, even leaving out whole words? Well, drawing is like that, too. I can stare at my own work endlessly, but my mind keeps filling in the gaps for me, making me blind to fairly obvious mistakes.

With all that in mind, I did a male tonight. Layne recognized him after a few seconds, but can YOU!?

Kyle 2/15/10 - A Little Sondheim Musical

I haven't designed a musical since my masters report in Grad School several years ago, so when my friend Liesl recommended Into the Woods as my next sketching project, I couldn't resist! The musicals I designed in grad school were all set in the 1950's or 60's so it will be fun to do something that isn't a bunch of men in suits

My plan for this show is to really pay attention to details like embroidery and surface decoration and aspects of class in dress. There are such wonderful class distinctions in Into the Woods and I want to show these through both silhouette and decoration. I'm not really going to go into the plot of this show, though...if you don't know what it is, you need to log on to I-Tunes and buy the Original Broadway Cast recording...seriously (Don't bother with the Revival Cast...its OK, but Bernadette Peters is much better than Vanessa Williams!)
The Baker and his Wife are based on Dutch peasant dress of the 17th/18th century. They aren't rich, but they're also not poor. They have a good amount of embroidery, trims, and inlay fabrics.

I'm pretty happy with the drawing. It looks a little crowded on the page, but I'd transfer it to a larger page if I actually paint it. I really like doing doubles in sketches especially if they are a pair...though If I was paid by the sketch, you better believe I'd split those fools up!!

To second Eric's statement on his earlier post - We are doing this for fun and to stay in sketching practice, but we're also doing it to get become better sketchers! Any constructive criticism is welcome...as is, of course, any praise you want to lavish in our general directions!

Eric: Back to Basics

I'm back! I mean it: it's high time I honor the spirit of the blog like Kyle. I'm always going to be tired and overworked, and the whole point was for me to draw ANYWAY!

For the next few weeks, I've decided to take a page from Ina Garten and go Back to Basics. Although I'm comfortable with my costume sketches, I can see so many hundreds of ways they could improve: most especially in the details. Therefore, I'm dedicating weeks at a time to certain aspects of the human figure.

This week, I present faces.

What I've always wanted to do is to sketch like Bob Mackie. That man can find the essential elements of a face and really create a striking resemblance. This week (and maybe into next) I'm going to sketch a celebrity face and ask you all if you can recognize it.

Be honest: tell me what I did and did not do well. I'm never going to get better in silence.

Kyle 2/12/10 Goodbye Merry Wives!

This mysterious character seems a good way to end my Merry Wives of Windsor set in the 1950s.

Poor Master Ford. He's such a jealous husband - completely un-trusting! He goes to The Garter Inn disguised as a man named 'Brook' to hire Falstaff to seduce Mistress Ford under his name, paying Falstaff a good deal of money.

The 'Brook' character puts me in mind of film noir - bad film noir - a parody really. He has the hat, tipped to shadow his face and the trench coat - very London Fog. I think that his shoes may need to be more fancy and interesting - to be really recognizable.

This was a really fun project. I would love to do a production like this some day...you know, with input from a director and everything. Someday...someday.

Kyle 2/11/10

Children are hard to draw. I don't know if I've ever really drawn one successfully before. Their proportions are all messed up. Their heads are pretty much adult size but their bodies are like 4 0r 5 heads instead of 7 or 8.

William and Robin are the two named little kids in Merry Wives. William is the Page's little boy - a middle class family with some money - so he gets a fun play outfit. There is tons of research for kid's cowboy costumes. This one is red suede with white leather trim and some cute little boy boots. Robin is Falstaff's page (or sometimes called his son) - so he doesn't have the ability to get a fun cowboy costume - so he gets to be the Indian in the relationship. He's a little poor and dirty but William has lent him his feathered headband and bow and arrow set so they can play...so mid-century.



Yesterday, I said that I might do two drawings tonight so I could finish up Merry Wives this week. As you can see, I did.

Rugby is the servant of Dr. Caius. I think of him as a young college guy, sort of an intern or assistant. He follows Caius around a lot. I didn't want him to be in a suit, but fresh and young, in a fun patterned sweater, some baggy chinos and some deck shoes. Finally, a man that's not in a suit.

One drawing left for tomorrow and then on to a new project and new surprises (check back to see all the fun we'll have)!!!

Kyle 2/10/10

I did this sketch in record time...and, oddly enough, it looks pretty good...hum.

Justice Shallow is one of the more serious characters in Merry Wives (though he's still pretty dang funny, just in a dry, bumbling kind of way). Doing this show in the 50s makes it hard to differentiate the characters for whom their occupations are a major character trait. Judges from the Elizabethan era may have walked around in robes and chains of office and stuff to show their occupation, but I'm pretty sure they didn't do that in the 1950's. But them I realized that this guy is totally in a Shakespearean comedy...

There are only three drawing left for Merry Wives. I might do two tomorrow just so I can get it done by the end of the week and can start on my new project on Monday rather than drawing (HA!) it out.

Eric Sketches

I've been working on coloring the past two days. Check out my website for my blog entries for Monday and Tuesday. Here's a preview.

For this, I kept the the simple 80 lb. manilla drawing paper, and used marker and colored pencil in tandem. What I liked so much about the technique was the intensity of color it affords, which is exactly what this show needs. The colored pencil allowed better rendering of hair and fur, while the marker moved the pencil around to create more solid textures.

Usually I photocopy out my renderings, but this time, I really enjoyed sketching on top of my pencil lines. I think the sketches have more energy and less weight.

Final design meeting is tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes!

Kyle 2/9/10

Merry Wives is wrapping up...just a few characters left. They're the random characters that everyone kind of forgets about...they are important characters in their own ways, they're just the ones I sometimes forget about. You know, servants, pages, inn hosts, county Justices...the usual suspects.

The Host of the Garter Inn has several funny scenes, mostly dealing with Falstaff and Master Ford. In my 1950's version, the Garter Inn is a bowling alley. The Host (he doesn't have a name...he's like Cher or Madonna...in his own greasy way) runs the bowling alley, tends the bar, fixes the lanes, you know. Finally a guy who doesn't wear a suit! He's totally casual: slacks; plaid button down shirt; tanish wind breaker jacket; half apron...its a sassy look.

By the end of the week I'll be done with this show. I think that my next project will be a musical...a fun one.

Kyle 2/8/10

Hello, all! Its good to be sketching again after a few days off.

I attended the opening of Oedipus the King on Friday night at the Clarence Brown Theatre Company, and it was super good. I'm really glad to have that show off my plate as we go into dress rehearsals for Charley's Aunt this SATURDAY!!! AGGG!! Seriously though, we built quite a bit for Oedipus: two fully tailored melton wool military overcoats; a really beautiful silk crepe de chine gown; some amazingly hand painted over-tunics; some shalwar pants (think MC Hammer)...you know just some stuff. I'm in the middle of 1912 right now, though, and all I can say now is, "DAMN YOU CHIFFON!!!"

Ok, so that's out of my system. I sketched another man today, as you can see. It is Master Ford, the other husband in Merry Wives. He's a very jealous husband, and at one point in the play tears through a huge dirty laundry hamper looking for Falstaff. I'm trying to fight the urge to just have all these guys in suits, but it is so hard! I'm sure that color and texture of the suits will help to characterize them though. I think that I've almost made it thought each character in Merry Wives (only 5 left!!)...any ideas on what my next project should be? I take requests!

And yes...in the sketch he is holding a 1950's Maidenform Bra...

Eric

Left today's sketch at work. Will post tomorrow.

Kyle 2/4/10

I promised you all a man, so I hereby give you a man...In a suit. It seems like I'm always drawing men in suits! In Grad School I designed How To Succeed in Business without really Trying (lots of men in suits, though I didn't draw them) and, for my Master's Report, Guys and Dolls (LOTS of suits - which I did draw).

However boring it may seem, I actually like drawing men in suits. I love trying to get the curve of the collar around the neck just right, the drape of the coat, that caving and creasing of the sleeve - its all very technical and structured. I've done a good bit of tailoring - especially since I've been at the CBT. Actually it all began when I tailored coats for Eric's thesis, and they've been making be tailor ever since...I think I've made a coat for almost every coat since then!! I think that actually knowing garment construction helps me draw - I can see the pattern pieces in my mind and then just wrap them around a form...if you can think of a dress (or suit) in pieces as you draw and how they all relate to each other, then you don't get too overwhelmed with the garment itself...maybe that makes sense. (Its kind of cool that I can draw something and then draw the pattern sometimes!)

Any whoo, Master Page is the nicer of the two husbands in Merry Wives, meaning he trusts his wife (though not his daughter). I think of him as a jolly businessman who has his slippers and pipe waiting when he gets home from a long day at the office - one of those gray flannel suit men so iconic from the 1950s.

I think that this sketch is pretty successful...but I've been staring at it for a while....The hat might be a little off, but hats are way harder then they look...

PS - I won't be posting tomorrow as I'll be at the opening of Oedipus the King here at CBT (made TWO coats for that show! Melton Wool Trench Coats!)...maybe I'll make one up this weekend...we'll see!

Kyle 2/3/10

Another set of dresses for Mistresses Ford and Page. This is the "Fairy Costume" for under their swing coats...black chiffon over their heads with flashlights for the "BOO!" look. The dresses would be dark (Navy? Forest Green?) but not black. Their husbands would have the same "BOO!" look too.

One of the things that I need to work on is faces in profile...this isn't the most proportional sketch...and her head is all kinds of jacked up, but, meh, you win some, you loose some.

Tomorrow I have to draw a Man. I WILL draw a Man.

Eric Sketch #19: Feb 3

Here's my new version of the Spotted Dog, which, if approved, will complete my menagerie of dogs. All that's left is to find some add-on pieces and a disguise.

I think it's mostly because my mind is incredibly tired from work the past couple of weeks, but I can't seem to keep my body proportions under control. I'm also noticing that I dislike drawing feet more than I had thought. I think I'm just putting these "things" at the bottom of their legs, because they don't interest me. I love drawing faces and torsos, and I'm even beginning to appreciate hands. But feet...I think I need to put some more time in on feet and shoes.

Kyle 2/2/10

Not only is it Groundhog's Day (6 more weeks of Winter! Burrrrr!) it's also my parents' 30th wedding anniversary! Thanks for gettin' hitched, Mom and Dad!!!

In an earlier post I talked about how setting Shakespeare in a more contemporary period means that you need more clothes and costume changes. I'm not arguing that point at all, but I did say something like, "Well, Mistresses Ford and Page would wear these dresses and then have cardigans and different skirts and blouses to change them up day to day". Translation, "I'll pull some crap." Well, F that S! I'm not actually producing this show, I don't have to worry about budget, or labor, or time, or anything really. So, up yours director/shop manager in my mind!! I'll draw all the pretty dresses that I want, and you can't stop me!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

So yeah, here's a second set of dresses for Mistresses Ford and Page - cute dresses...They have a letter...and they are friends...hence the entwining arms.

Kyle 2/1/10 - Locked in the Cloak Room...

Wow...its been a full month! How crazy! I'm not sure if anyone besides the three of us that post hear actually look at the site...lets make some comments people!!!

When I was a kid there was this movie that I loved. It was called Lady in White. It was a sort of thriller/horror/ghost/romance and I thought that it was the coolest movie ever. The story opens at Halloween in the early 1960s and a little boy, Frankie, is locked in the cloak room at school...he sees a ghost of a little girl (Melissa Anne Montgomery - I will never forget that name), and then a guy comes in and tries to strangles him. He tries to hide under his costume, which is, if I remember correctly, is a vampire mask - Bella Legosi style. I wanted a Halloween costume like that sooooooooo bad!!! (Though, not to hide behind as someone tries to strangle me!)

Back to Merry Wives and thinking of what the characters dress in for the "Fairy Scene". Sir Hugh, the Welsh Parson, is one of the ring leaders in the scene, with lots of speeches and taunting of Falstaff. I thought that it would be funny to dress him up as something that was kind of "unholy" seeing that he is a Pastor, and then I thought of the vampire mask that I wanted so badly after seeing Lady in White... BAM! PERFECT! It's also kind of funny because Sir Hugh has an accent that no one can really understand - and so does Bella Legosi! He's got a cape (black and red satin) and one of those masks!!! I still think that it is really funny that we see their recognizable costumes (ie - Hugh's cassock and cardigan) under the "Fairy" costume.

I saw Lady in White recently (well, Halloween of 2004). I hadn't seen it in probably 10 years or so. I was with a group of friends at Utah Shakespearean Festival carving pumpkins. It wasn't quite as scary or thrilling as I remembered and the special effects were horrible, but I still sobbed at the end...and whenever I hear "Did You Ever Hear a Dream Walking?...Well, I did...," I get chills and cry a little for poor Melissa Anne Montgomery.

Eric Sketch #18: Feb 1

My meeting with the director went really well last Friday. We're on the right track with the clothes, with a couple of changes in mind. This sketch is one of the changes. We wanted to push MC Dog into more of a showman, older, and presentational silhouette. I think this is more on target (even though the sketch has a GIANT head).

Plus, and Jen will appreciate this, I take any opportunity I can to make jaunty, miniature top hats and neckties out of fur.

I have one more sketch to re-imagine, a couple of detail accessories to finalize and then I've got the show sketched! High-ho, color, away!