Dr. Sneer gets tweaked!

I'm so fussy! I slightly adjusted my drawing of the new Doctor Sneer. I fixed his waistline. Again, the great advantage of using the Expression software is the ability to easily tweak the lines in a drawing. I think I spend too much time fussing with these drawings. Must... stop... tweaking!

Dr, Sneer is finished

I finally finished my drawing of the new Doctor Sneer.

To create these drawings, I scan a pencil sketch, import it into the Expression program and then "trace" over the sketch with Skeletal Strokes. This seems to take me far too much time. Is it because I fuss too much?

Doctor Sneer

Here's a preview of the new Dr. Sneer character. I think this version of him looks a bit young but I'm still experimenting with his "look".

I'm finding that I spend way too much time creating these drawings in Expression. It's probably because I'm still learning how to use the program and also because I'm re-creating all the characters. So I'm trying lots of different things, both technical and artistic.

Hopefully I will get faster once I've settled on a new design for each character and once I've mastered the Expression software.

Another version of Mister Jones

I tweaked my sketch of Mister Jones. Again, the fact that the natural-looking strokes are actually vector-based objects allowed me to just drag around bits of the drawing without re-drawing anything. I pushed and prodded some lines, changed the proportions of his body and got rid of the croquet mallet. It's a cleaner rendering of the character. A larger version can be seen here.

I know. It's not much of an update. But I had to post something! Which version do you prefer?

Mister Jones

Again, I used Expression to draw a sketch of Mister Jones. Click on the image for a bigger view. This is an updated image for old "Jonesy". I tried to re-imagine him as a 30-something sports nut. His favorite game is still "Full Contact Croquet".

I liked using Expression because after I drew a set of lines, I could tweak them to look exactly the way I wanted (I didn't just have to re-draw a line I didn't like). This is helpful because I'm still getting used to drawing with a tablet.

My first drawing with Expression

I used Expression to draw a sketch of the Lounge Lizard. It was a lot of fun. Each stroke is a fully-editable path and I can completely change the way it looks by editing hundreds of different parameters. This drawing was done using a basic ink stroke called "s02". I could show many different renderings of this drawing using different strokes such as watercolor and charcoal but at the size I'm posting it, they would all look pretty much the same.

Fabric retailers in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

We need to make some drapes for our house! First step: choose some fabrics--at least one to start with. Here is a list of fabric shops in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:

Bouclair - 2946 Baseline Rd - 820-6920
Aunt Beth's Quilt World - 3217 Navan Rd - 837-6222
C&M Textiles Inc - 1547 Merivale Rd - 727-1547
Cozzy Coverings - 1309 Carling Ave - 725-1222
Darrell Thomas Textiles - 240 Sparks - 239-3854
Fabricland - 471 Hazeldean Rd - 831-2227
Heirloom Crafts and Quilt Supplies - 1530 Main (Stittsville) - 836-6301
Moda Maio Fabrics - 2904 Bank - 523-8734
The Nesting Hen - 1797 Kilborne Ave - 521-9839
NuCreation Fashions - 330 Booth - 235-5926
Paquette Textiles - 531 Blvd Maloney E (Gatineau) - 663-7401
Rockland Textiles - 2487 Kaladar Ave - 526-0333
The Running Stitch - 474 Hazeldean Rd - 836-5908
Sew For It - 418 Moodie Dr - 820-2201
Silky Touch - 382 Bank - 231-4249
Stylistic Sewing Co - Herongate Mall (Heron & Walkley) - 737-3300
Textile Traditions - 87 Mill (Almonte) - 256-3907