Tag Archives: Drawing

August 30, 2025 · 10:00 am

Comics Pro Tip: Higgins India Ink Pump Marker

Lately, I’ve been grooving on a very special marker from Chartpak, the Higgins India Ink Pump Marker. A lot of you out there are familiar with paint pens. You know, the kind that you gently push down on the nib to start it up and get the paint ready to flow. Well, in this case, we’re pushing down on the nib to get the ink ready to flow. The results are simply stunning.

I recommend that you go easy into your drawing and you’ll discover that, depending upon the pressure you apply, you actually can control the thickness of the line. This will take a bit of practice but it’s worth it.

Enjoy the moment and let the magic happen–the human magic. Unlike AI, you can make all kinds of human connections based on whatever you please. Feel free to really make this your own work in a way that only you can make. I had a lot of fun leading a workshop at the Cartoon Art Museum and got to enjoy working with the Higgins Ink Pump Marker. I look forward to doing more of these workshops and posting more videos using them on social media.

Creating Art Demo at Cartoon Art Museum

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Give your pen a few pumps: apply the pen point to a piece of paper and push down until you see that the white nib is now black with ink. You’re now ready to go.

CHOOSE A PLACE TO START

Maybe you will want to draw a face, a symbol or shape to get this party started. Don’t overthink it but also consider what your next few steps might look like. Do you want to place something in the middle? Or maybe off to a side.

GETTING INTO A ZONE

You’re getting into a zone. Let one drawing, or part of a drawing, help you get to the next step. Meditate while you draw. Relax. This is your Me Time. Let your dreams guide you. Let your surrounding guide you.

GOING GRAY

After a while, you’ll notice your lines are starting to go gray. This is when you push down again to get some more ink. While you have gray lines, you can experiment and use that tone in your artwork.

YOU’VE GOT SOMETHING!

Before you know it, you’ve got something! Let it rest and come back to it if you think it still needs more. Who knows, you might be done and it’s ready to tape or magnet to your refrigerator door, pin to your cubicle at work or even frame on a wall. Your mileage will vary. It’s all up to you! I hope this little tutorial helps and will inspire you to go out there and create something fun and engaging for yourself. And be sure to visit the Chartpak store for a truly impressive line of art supplies.

Hurricane Nancy: A JOYFUL and FUN Holiday Season

Let’s Have a Great 2024! Color by Henry Chamberlain.

This just in from the news desk at Comics Grinder, our intrepid artist friend, Hurricane Nancy is here to report that all is well and is wishing you all a great new year and holiday!

Visit Hurricane Nancy here and pick up some art soon! Let’s try to keep it trippy and real in 2024!

Have a JOYFUL and FUN Holiday season!!!

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Tagged as Art, Artist, Christmas, comics, Comix, Drawing, Entertainment, Holidays, Hurricane Nancy, Illustration, Pop Culture, Underground Comix

February 2, 2023 · 2:40 pm

Drawing Prompt: Hourly Comic Day 2023

Carson Ellis at 5 am.

I’ve done my share of 24-Hour Comics Day. This world-wide event among cartoonists is held on the first weekend in October. There’s another drawing prompt that is becoming as popular as 24HCD, the Hourly Comic Day, which is observed on the first day of February. What you see here are some examples of what artist Carson Ellis did for this year’s Hourly Comic Day.

You can also check out hourly comics from artist Vera Brosgol here. Or how about the work of artist Lucy Bellwood here. In fact, Hourly Comic Day is indeed quite the thing, dating back to 2005. You can check out a recap of artist Lucy Knisley’s work for 2022 here. 24 Hour Comics Day has entered the status of legend, dating back to 1990! But, as I say, Hourly Comic Day is establishing itself, much like Inktober has become a big deal.

Carson Ellis at 6 pm.

Let’s give ourselves some leeway this year. I invite you to participate in a drawing prompt during this month. Pick a day that works best for you and do this: draw a comics panel (basically a drawing and some text) that describes your day, one per each hour you are awake that day.

Carson Ellis at 8 pm.

Keep it simple and you can’t go wrong. You can send me what you come up with if you like and I’ll post it. Depending upon what folks send me, if anything, I’ll figure it out. So, yeah, give it a try. Seriously, I invite you to give it a try. I will follow up with my own drawings before the end of this month.

Carson Ellis at 9 pm.

Hurricane Nancy: Animals and Free Speech

How is your year shaping up?

A new year is off and running with its inevitable highs and lows. “Here’s to life being good, despite it all!” answers artist Hurricane Nancy. Add to that a couple of new works to consider this time around, with accompanying commentary by the artist . . .

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Tagged as Animals, Art, Cat, comics, Drawing, Entertainment, Happy New Year, Humor, Hurricane Nancy, January, Media, Pop Culture, Publishing

November 18, 2022 · 11:51 pm

Virginia Beach Nature Sketching Hike

Full Moon over Virginia Beach

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Tagged as Art, Beach, comics, Doodle, Drawing, Entertainment, Forest, Media, Ocean, Painting, Pop Culture, Sketch, State Park, Travel, Virginia, Virginia Beach

May 13, 2022 · 10:00 am

Airbnb One-night stay at the Moulin Rouge

Well, that was fun. Airbnb had a similar offer a few years back when they held a contest where winners were given a chance to sleep inside the glass pyramid of the Louvre. That said, I’m in the mood for some kind of travel adventure and Airbnb is looking very tempting, whether it’s Paris or something closer to home.

Here are details on this amazing Airbnb Moulin Rouge adventure:

Airbnb One-night stay at the Moulin Rouge

For the first time ever, guests will be able to stay inside the never-before-seen interior space of the iconic red windmill. The secret room has been transformed into a Belle Époque boudoir to transport guests back in time to the origins of the Moulin Rouge.

Booking opens at 7.00 PM CET on Tuesday, May 17th for three individual one-night stays for two guests on June 13, 20 and 27.

The space

Situated in the heart of Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge is best known as the birthplace of the French Cancan, a delightfully energetic dance popular in cabarets through the ages. Throughout its colorful history, the windmill – which was first constructed in 1889 as a nod to the site’s rural origins and reconstructed three decades later following a fire – was never opened to the public… until now. The newly transformed space transports guests back to the Belle Époque with:

– An opulent boudoir filled with exquisite art nouveau features including a miniature paper stage to immerse guests in the spirit of La Belle Époque.
– A dressing area in the room featuring glamorous accessories from the Belle Epoque, including vintage costumes, fragrant perfumes and effusive letters from admirers.
– A private rooftop terrace adorned with an ornate pagoda and garden furniture characteristic of the Belle Époque era – an ideal setting for an après show cocktail!

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Tagged as Airbnb, Art, Belle Époque, Comic Strips, comics, Doodles, Drawing, Entertainment, France, History, Media, Moulin Rouge, Paris, Pop Culture, Publishing, Sketching, Travel

April 23, 2022 · 12:20 pm

Disney Sketchbook: Samantha Vilfort

Samantha Vilfort has been a Story Artist with Disney Animation for four years, working on Ralph Breaks the Internet and Frozen 2. In this episode of Sketchbook she draws Mirabel, the star of Encanto. (Disney/Richard Harbaugh)

SKETCHBOOK: an intimate instructional documentary series featuring talented artists and animators. Disney Plus Originals. Premieres on April 27, 2022.

Sketchbook is a new behind-the-scenes series, that features Disney top artists sharing their art process in a combination of a profile and dynamic how-to-draw demonstration. In a brief interview, I chatted with one of the featured talents, Story Artist Samantha Vilfort. She recently worked on the Disney acclaimed 2021 animated feature, Encanto. For her episode of Sketchbook, Vilfort did a step-by-step character study of Encanto‘s main character, Mirabel.

Mirabel Madrigal struggles to fit in a family where everyone has been blessed with magical powers – everyone but her. Determined to prove she belongs within this extraordinary family, she strives to contribute in meaningful ways—denying to everyone, including herself, that she feels all alone, even in her own house. Opening in the U.S. on Nov. 24, 2021, “Encanto” features Stephanie Beatriz as the voice of Mirabel and songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. © 2021 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Mirabel is a kid just trying to figure things out, someone anyone can relate with. As a longtime cartoonist, I was intrigued by Vilfort’s very natural, careful and graceful approach to the character. This is an impressive demonstration that will inspire anyone interested in drawing, whether you’re totally new or a seasoned pro. During our conversation, I had to share with Samantha the drawing I did from following her instruction on Sketchbook.

It was a lot of fun drawing along with Samantha!

Samantha gained so much inspiration as a kid drawing from a Mulan how-to-draw book. So, it all comes full circle as she has a chance now to give back to fans and guide them on their creative journey. “I firmly believe that drawing is a teachable skill just like anything else,” says Samantha. “Anyone can draw–and not just stick figures!” This is something that I love to pass on to folks every chance I get! I encourage you to seek out Sketchbook on Disney Plus!

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Tagged as Animation, Art, Disney, Drawing, Entertainment, Media, Movies, Pop Culture, Publishing, Storyboards

April 17, 2022 · 7:46 pm

Hurricane Nancy: DIVIDING THE PLANET

Dividing the Planet

Thanks again to Hurricane Nancy for such trippy and beautiful art! I have respectfully, with her permission, added color. I hope you enjoy this latest installment! Let’s all relax, however we like, and contemplate this piece.

If wise animals, non-human animals, were left to dividing up the planet, we could all breathe a big sigh of relief. But humans, often mistaken as the wisest of all animals, have the last say and wreak havoc. You know what wreaking havoc is all about, right? It’s a strange term but it’s pretty clear as to what it describes, despite the arcane wording. Animals, the ones that get to regularly roam free naked and uninhibited, are the ones we must listen to. If we humans can do that, perhaps we’ll have really gained some wisdom to see us through our next slouching towards redemption.

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April 8, 2022 · 12:00 am

Seattle | Fremont Troll | Urban Sketching

Draw That Troll!

Urban sketching is a lot of things: fun, stimulating, useful, and an all-around creative workout, especially the more you add to it. I like a little salt and pepper to spice things up, and usually little to no hot sauce. I’m being silly but, yeah, I’m just saying here that I find I’m usually doing more than just urban sketching when I do it. Often, it’s part of a bigger project. Or, like in this example, I’m also crafting a little movie, which is a whole creative endeavor to itself. That said, it’s really part of the process to relax and become one with the subject, regardless of anything else going on in the background. This time around, I tackle one of Seattle’s most beloved landmarks, and one of the all-time great tourist attractions, The Fremont Troll!

He’s always there ready for a hug.

The Fremont Troll is in the spirit of the great roadside attractions and then some. Due to the fact of its scale, history, intention, and overall artistic merit, it all adds up to a very unusual yet significant local treasure.

The Fremont Troll is definitely a thing, if you didn’t realize that. There doesn’t appear to be a totally quiet time for the guy as there is always a steady stream of visitors. Like clockwork, whole families pile out of minivans in order to situate themselves to best advantage for a pose with the landmark. The Troll goes back to the hippy-dippy days of the ’70s, well, actually, late ’80s. It was decided that Fremont needed something else that would speak to the quirky counterculture vibe it had cultivated over the years. And so it began as an art competition in 1989 and so it was, the following year. All the way up to today. No matter what your political bent, or vibe, there seems to be something about this community effort that can resonate with people on just about any level.

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Tagged as Art, comics, Doodle, Doodles, Doodling, Drawing, Entertainment, Family, Humor, Media, Pop Culture, Publishing, Sculpture, Seattle, Sketching, Tourist Attractions, Travel, Urban Sketching

February 22, 2022 · 6:20 pm

Drawing the Meaning of Life

I direct your attention to a short film I made. My goal was to open things up and see what I might come up with in a day-in-life or a window into the creative’s mind. I had some hurdles to jump, namely creating some decent pieces of art on the fly while filming to actually show me being creative; and then it was touch and go as I worked my way up to a moment where I say something to pull it all together. YouTube provides the option to transcribe and create captions so I did that. Here are the words that I spoke, my grand soliloquy:

When we’re drawing, we create a sacred space. We do that because we need to do that. We need to allow ourselves that freedom, that security, to just do whatever. Just do whatever. That goes for just about any kind of activity that requires concentration and focus. We create a sacred space.

We as humans are constantly gathering information. And a lot of the information we’re gathering is just to confirm that we’re okay. Are we okay? Yeah, we’re okay. Is everything fine? Everything’s fine. That’s constantly going on.

So, we gather information. We process data. Ongoing thing. Ongoing activity. There’s a great demand for that. A great demand for collecting data and processing data. What does that have to do with drawing? Well, a lot. I think a lot because I think drawing, well, we know, drawing can simplify things, and highlight things, and bring the essential points into focus.

With clear spot on drawings and concise words combined together, yeah, the act of drawing, it’s there to help in so many ways. So many ways. It’s not just one thing. It’s a lot of things. It’s a form of self-expression and a form of making sense of the world.

I invite you to check out my short film…