My Monster Safari book is slowly taking shape, one monster at a time. I have now reached about the halfway point in my monster pages. By scrolling down you can see all of the previous monsters that I've drawn.
The drawings are done with a 2B lead, using a Pilot mechanical pencil, nothing else. I darken the value slightly in Photoshop.
The only other device that I use with the drawings is a section of newspaper upon which I put my drawing paper, to act as a cushion. It's much easier to get soft gradations when you're drawing on a cushioned surface. I never read about that technique...I just discovered it myself. The above drawing was drawn in such a fashion.
Have you seen my other blog, The Trowbridge Chronicles? It's an illustrated journal that I found in the Quinault Rain Forest about ten years ago. It was written and illustrated by a Trowbridge shrew, who journaled life in her rain forest village about 200 years ago. Her name was Violet Trowbridge. I have admired her delicate watercolors so much that I must admit that my work may have been influenced by her. I especially like her elegant calligraphy work.
