I Used To Draw

Playground for drawing experimentation and inspiration.

[mikegallay]

Best of 2012

There were quite a few drawings that I was happy with this year, but I decided to post a few of the Tolkien pictures to keep a constant theme. These were drawn as part of the alphabooks series. I made it to the letter S, but then lost steam. I guess life can get in the way of extra curricular activities. Here are the five Lord of the Rings and Hobbit themed images I completed.

Bilbo

Frodo

Legolas

Pippin

Sauron

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S is for Sauron from JRR Tolkein's LOTR illustrated by Mike Gallay.

I "borrowed" the clouds from the Internet. I just don't like drawing clouds, especially that many.

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R is for ... Red Riding Hood

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Q is for the Quick Queen of Quincy's quacking quackeroo from Dr. Suess's ABC book.

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P is for Peregrin (Pippin) Took from JRR Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

This scene depicts Pippin right after he idly tosses a stone into a deep well in the dwarf-hewn caverns of Moria,

"Fool of a Took"

Close up http://www.mgallay.com/alphabooks/P_close.jpg

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O is for Oscar the Grouch

(He is where you'd expect him to be)

Full Size Image

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N is for Nathan Sorry from the graphic novel of the same name by Rich Barrett

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M is for Me

from Dr. Seuss' My Book About Me

This one has been on my bookshelf since I was about 6, so I thought a quick self portrait would be a fun entry this week. Not sure this really looks like me, although I do have a beard.

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L is for Legolas from J.R.R Tolkein's Lord of the Rings.

by Mike Gallay

Full Size Version

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K is for ... Kal-El

Quick and dirty this week, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. 

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J is for ... Jughead Jones

As he got older, his appetite eventually caught up to his metabolism.

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I is for Iron(ing) Man

wocka wocka

Here is Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) taking care of a few household chores. 

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H is for ... The Little Ren Hen

This story has always been special as I remember my mother reading it to me when I was little. The morale is awesome. Do the work and reap the reward.

I'm struggling with these drawings and still trying to find my former drawing self. Perhaps I rushed through this week, or perhaps it is an artifact of my struggle. Either way, at least I am still doing the work. Hopefully the reward follows.

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G is for ... Gollum.

Shown here sharing a tender moment with his precious.

This week for my Alphabooks contribution, I had grand plans. However, I discovered that my illustration skills didn't couldn't meet those expectations. I was defeated and left with an overworked picture that I was 100% dissatisfied with. It was a humbling experience because up until this point in the project I had been able to deliver something that met the vision I had.

After I gave up on my original piece, I needed a few days to build up the steam to give it another go. I just couldn't walk away from the commitment I made to the alphabooks project. Although, I am happy with the results, my process is still eluding me. I cannot seem to get the fluid brush strokes I am looking for by solely using my Wacom tablet. Any insight into that would be greatly appreciate.

G was supposed to be for Gimli. I was attempting to draw him, from a distance, standing outside of the cave by the path of the dead. It was one of the few times in the books I could remember him being by himself, as he struggled with an irrational fear of going underground. I could not get the lighting I wanted and at this point in the attempts, I simply stopped. Perhaps I could have gotten there, but I'm not really sure I knew where I was trying to go. Scrap it up to learning.

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F is for Frodo Baggins

I'm kinda liking this LOTR from a distance thing I've been developing. It doesn't help that I have recently read the series, so it is very top of mind for me at the moment. I cannot seem to think of literary characters from any other book at the moment. 

At least these are fun to draw.

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E is for ... Elmo

This little guy has become an integral part of my life since the birth of my daughter and although she has never worn an Elmo costume before, the two of them will forever be intertwined in mind.

I've gone back to my high school drawing style for this one. I am still experimenting and trying to find a personal style. This is the closest image I have uploaded so far. This also represents the first time I have attempted to draw my daughter.

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D is for ... Daenerys Targaryen

From the books of George R. R. Martin

Illustration by Mike Gallay

This was the only physical description I could find and I did not want to draw the character from the HBO series:  "Daenerys is young woman, just coming into womanhood. She is small of stature and very beautiful. She has fair skin and her Targaryen family silver-blonde hair and purple eyes."