That Time Jazza Trusted Us With Photoshop | PART ONE

Ages ago Jazza set up an art challenge for us to Photoshop him in whatever way we pleased in order to roast him. I took this opportunity at the time but never shared the work I had done! So after over a year in hiding here is one of three pieces that I created.

I didn't do this with the intention of roasting Jazza but having fun with Photoshop instead, so this piece is a fairly simple one. These two Jazzas just seemed to go so well together that I had to combine them. The only real editing that would be to these is the removal of their backgrounds and then duplicating the hand of the friendly Jazza to overlap grumpy Jazza.

That's about as much as can be said for this piece, but it is the simplest of the three. They're only going to get better from here! Come back on the 11th September for the second edition in this Jazza themed trilogy! Or if you'd rather, come back every Wednesday and Saturday for new content on the blog!

Behind The Scenes | New Droey's Draws Animation

You may have noticed that the intro for my Droey's Draws videos has changed, as well as the outro. Yes I have been giving some of my stuff a makeover but what's probably got you intrigued is the animated Droey Drawson in my videos. Today I'll be discussing how this came to be.

This is a screen shot of the first frame used in the opening sequence. You'll notice the software I have used to animate this footage is quite unconventional. I can't afford much in the way of software yet I occasionally can get access to Microsoft PowerPoint. I don't know if this is still the case but growing up you could find a good amount of videos of people using PowerPoint like an animation software, and since I already had it for school work, I could learn to animate without having to get any new software.

PowerPoint created the 'Animations' toolbox so that people could make their presentations more lively, so this is what we use to make our animated productions on PowerPoint. This is the same frame as the first screen shot but with the animation pane visible. While on the slide every object is visible, certain animation effects will make it so the slide is not clustered with everything at once. Appear and disappear effects were used on the different mouths, and a line effect for the movement of Droey's irises.

The hand waving was done by using a spin effect. In effect options, some of your animations can be modified to do different things, so I could stop the hand from doing a full 360 rotation, as well as get the effect to reverse when it was completed. Using the timing panel I would get this effect to repeat a few times and so Droey waves for the duration of this slide. One thing that can't be controlled with the spin effect is how the object's pivot point is it's center. So to get the hand to rotate from the wrist, I added another shape, making sure it was positioned so that the wrist would be directly in-between the hand and the shape. Grouping the hand and the square together turn it into one object and then you can add effect, don't forget to remove the outline of the spare shape and make it's transparency 100%, this will complete the illusion.

Wondering how I created a Droey on PowerPoint? Well I took the digital rendering of Droey that most people recognize and traced it using the shape tools. There are various circle tools and the curve tool that allowed me to create all of the shapes I needed to replicate the drawing. The star was made using the star tool and tweaking it's settings to make it match. You can tweak many tools by using a yellow diamond when you click on the object or by using the edit points tool. It's almost like the pen tool on Photoshop. Of course with Photoshop there's the ease of being able to just create the shapes and merge them all into one outline, then fill in the colours as you like. PowerPoint doesn't quite have that sophistication but for a software that isn't focused on for making art, it's town tools are admirable.

The outro as seen when viewed as just a PowerPoint slide

There's not much I can say about the outro version of this animation, as it is largely the same as the original. The only differences are the lack of a logo and the extended run time. You can see a few more shapes drawn onto the slide, all of which are included in the extended animation. Given that Droey was going to be waving for fifteen seconds, I thought it would be rather boring to have him doing that without changing his expression. To combat this, I added the facial animations that would allow him to lose patience as he continues to wave longer than he deems necessary. This would be less time consuming that drawing different frames for his arm to stop him waving, it would also be more entertaining to see Droey get bored and break out of his grinning presentation in hopes that the endcard comes to an end.

In an ideal world, I wouldn't have needed to create the eyelids and would have just changed the shape of the eyes. This would have matched the art style, but the problem lied within how Droey is animated. Without the eyelids being a physical shape on top of the eyes, Droey's irises would just break out of his eyes as they move, which would be a most disturbing sight. So at the slight cost of staying true to the artistic style, Droey gains some visible eyelids to his expression.

Now you're probably wondering how I was able to make a film out of a PowerPoint presentation. Well as of the 2007 version (I think that's the case), PowerPoint gained the ability to save it's presentations as Windows Media Video files, which are adaptable to just about any movie making software. This suits me perfectly as I only have Windows Movie Maker to edit my videos in. I saved the presentation file so that I can come back to edit this as I wish in future, then I saved the video files for both the intro and outro animations which could then be edited into the project files for my Droey's Draws videos.

So that's a brief explanation of creating the animated Droey Drawson that you see in my titles from now on. This does not bring promise of further animated content as this is something that will only ever be done sparingly. I used to practice animation and boy was it time consuming, I still have art to produce and post after all! I hope the animated Droey Drawson entertains you and that you enjoy watching future videos from the channel.

Know Your Worth

Then add tax!

I was wondering what to draw one day when I was given the suggestion to draw Lottie Line wearing a crown and that same person gave me some phrases to chose from. This was the one that screamed out to me, 'Know your worth, then add tax'.

I quickly set about making a start on this piece, starting off with Lottie proudly wearing a small crown. I thought it would suit to have the text appear beside her and have it take up about as much height as the drawing of Lottie. The colours were from my Crayola collection, except from the background which is made up of Spectrum Noir markers.

In hindsight, this piece needed more planning. Some of the colours weren't swatched which caused them to look a bit off compared to Lottie's actual design. The layout of the background was also a last minute idea in order to unite the text with Lottie, so that should've been included in the sketches to ensure a more aesthetically pleasing outcome.

What do you think about this piece? I still appreciate the upbeat vibe it carries, despite the flaws in it's execution. Remember to know your worth, then add tax!

Droey Drawson's Spidersona

So there was a trend earlier this year about Spiderman, in which people designed their own suits and called them Spidersonas, here's an in-depth look at the Spidersona created earlier this year on YouTube!

The finished result was a Droey Drawson version of the Spiderman swinging over a number of people having just come out from a portal. The Spider-hat observes the area he has just arrived in as he swings by, unable to predict this area he had just arrived in through the portal.

I initially had difficulty with designing the spider-suit, since I didn't find it easy to find all of the different variations of Spiderman that exist beyond the Spiderverse film. The only thing I knew was that this design was going to be wearing a cap and there would be the spider emblem on his design, as seems to be the case for every Spiderman variation. When I played around the spider emblem I toyed with the idea of making each leg reach out to a different part of the costume, which is what I ended up sticking with.

The lower legs stretch down the suit's legs, the third pair wraps around to the back of the design and joins up to the end of the second pair of legs which go over the shoulder and close in on each other in a triangular formation. The details for the back of the costume were never actually sketched but this description is what I intended for the back to look like, hopefully the description is clear enough to create an accurate image in your head.

I was considering drawing influence from the Iron Spider's costume but decided not to go with that, though I did take the web shooters, which I believed are based on his design. You can see in the sketches above I tried shaping my hair into the formation of spider legs which may have been unique to this Spiderman but this idea was rejected to it's awful impact it would have on the character's silhouette.

When looking at some spider images, it dawned upon me that I could alter the peek of the cap to resemble the mouth of a spider which might is one of my favourtie elements from the whole costume. The cap also gained a web textured tail that stretches around the back of the cap. During the video you can see I was going to outline the web pattern in black but I changed my mind towards the end and went with the conventional white lining.

So what's with the portal? Well this Spiderman is Droey Drawson, but this isn't our Droey Drawson! Just like with Foey, Spider-hat does not originate from this reality, which would also mean there's a Spiderman somewhere in this reality other than Spider-hat! Have we met the other Spiderman yet or do I need to design another one...

Have you created a Spidersona? Definitely give it a shot because everyone can be a Spiderman, and it's a fun character design challenge!

Red as Roses

You may be thinking that this looks very different from my usual work. That's because it's actually one of DrawingWiffWaffles' colouring in sheets!

I haven't really done colouring in books in years, simply because I prefer to make the art myself. Though I've still got colouring books from my childhood I could finish and present to you, maybe that's worth doing for a post or video.

But when DrawingWiffWaffles announced the release of her line art for colouring I decided to take one and give it a shot. So I took the 'every red supply' piece and coloured in the girl and stop sign with anything red or pink, trying to stay as close to red as possible in the spirit of the challenge. I even made sure the skin tone was as a redder hue.

I didn't colour in the background as I think this would have caused the same problem Waffles had with her attempt at the challenge, with everything being red it all seemed to blend in and lack contrast. If done digitally I could have used some really desaturated reds but with my traditional art supplies I did not have any such tints of red.

Have you tried any of DrawingWiffWaffle's colouring in sheets? If you like colouring in or can't think of anything to draw at the moment, give it a go.

Dungeons and Drawgons

You haven't seen Gary in a while have you! He's made a friend and she's introducing him to the game that he has never played before. It's not a video game, it's Dungeons and Drawgons!

Gary was out getting some food shopping and grumbling to himself when he bumped into a girl who seemed obsessed with black and red coming out from a shop that had recently opened. Gary had never been in there because it wasn't his scene, the shop sold paraphernalia relating with mystical forces but the girl he'd met was clearly into this culture herself. After apologizing the girl seemed quite interested in getting to know him.

'So what do I call you, mister?' Gary's new friend asked.

'Gary. What's your's?'

'Witch.' she replied.

'First name, obviously?' Witch laughed at Gary.

'Sorry, no, my name is Witch!' After the brief explanation, Gary understood.

'So Gary, are you to kind to play a game?'

'I play any game.' Gary assured confidently.

'Roleplaying?' Gary's eyes darted around to see if anyone was looking, he was quite taken by surprise with the discussion they were having. Regardless he confidently smiled back.

'If you like.'

'How about coming with me to play a game tomorrow night?' Gary was interested so he agreed and she gave him her social media link so they could keep in touch. Gary was looking forward to it, until he realized what sort of game he'd gotten himself into.

'Dungeons and Drawgons?' Gary asked hesitantly as he held the instruction manual and looked at a board laid out on a table. There he was playing not an electronic game like he was used to, but a role playing game set in medieval times! They weren't alone either, two more men were there, at least Chad was definitely male. The other person was so heavily dressed up their gender was as disguised as their identity! It wasn't until they spoke that Gary realized the role player was a man.

Witch was still new to Dungeons and Drawgons herself but she was a keen learner, while Chad was calmly watching everyone and looking out for ways to correct any rookie mistakes that were being made. As for the cosplaying Dungeon Master, he was quite over the top and very into his role, which seemed to annoy Chad quite a bit! Gary knew after this one session that he would not be returning for more Dungeons and Drawgons in future!

I'd like to point out now that I have not been misspelling Dragons, but where Droey comes from they have Dungeons and Drawgons. It's very much the same but a different brand. Do you enjoy role playing or acting? Are you surprised that Mac and Quaid couldn't make it to this game? And what does Lexi think of Gary's new friend you may ask? Quite a few questions but how soon might they be answered...

Trying Out Gouache!

A long time ago I did an acrylic painting and haven't used it on the blog since. For the second time you'll see I've composed a painting, but this time with gouache! With over a year's extra development under my belt, how well does it turn out?

Very well I think! And no that wouldn't be because it's a painting of Droey Drawson, I'm not that vain... am I?

What's the difference between Acrylic and Gouache paints? Well Gouache actually has the same properties as Watercolour paints, but instead it is opaque. While acrylics once dried can withstand a minor splash, that might be all it takes for the gouache to reactivate so most gouache paintings are protected behind glass.

If I had good brush control, I think I would be alright with watercolours, and can certainly use watercolour pencils okay. I was thinking about getting some actual watercolours so I could make it a medium I improve my skills for, and I'm still going to set out to do that. But when asking about watercolours, another artist suggested I try out gouache instead. I got a back of twenty four gouache paints and knew where I would paint. Sketchbook 2 has canvas covers and I was saving the back cover for when I had finished the book. Originally this was going to be where I tried a watercolour piece but I would rather use gouache on a canvas, though there should be no problem with using it on paper.

I ought to point out now that gouache is a little more expensive than acrylics, so if you're thinking about painting and want a try gouache, try to get just a few colours to start with if you don't want to spend too much or are just after the chance the experiment.

Experiment is what I did, but as is with most things I did so by jumping straight into an art work! I had the concept sketched out, after seeing a beautiful blue composition on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to do this on the back cover of my sketchbook, but with Droey.

I'd like to say how I put this together, but for the most part as always when painting I didn't really think about what I was doing and just did it! But I can say some things where I had to think and give it a shot. Firstly I liked how I didn't have to mix any of my colours together, if you want a colour not provided in the tubes you just add a bit more water to the second colour and so forth to get the colour you want, unless you want to mix them prior to painting. This is how I was able to make the dark brown for the hair and the really dark ultramarine for the background.

Another thing I experimented with was the skin. Droey has white skin but I was going to need to shade it. No paint I had was anywhere near light enough so what I did was use some of the blue I had used for Droey's clothes. I dipped a wet brush into it and then elsewhere on the palette I painted to leave a wet but faint puddle of the blue. After cleaning and drying my brush, I dipped back into the puddle and applied the watery paint to the canvas, using more water to lighten and spread around the colour. This gave the skin it's blue tone, the less water and more pigment I picked up, the darker the blue which worked for the shadowy bits such as the neck and just beneath the cap.

What about painting the white bits? Well that was the hardest part and almost where I ruined my work! You need next to no water on your brush if you're going to apply a solid white to the painting, whereas a watery white will make the paint paler and slightly less saturated. I unfortunately had to face this with a section of the hair and I think I can pass it as light shining on it. I just painted a series of white lines as thin as possible around where I wanted the highlights and then signed the painting in the border, at last my best painting to date was completed!

Can I recommend gouache? Yes, I certainly can! I enjoyed working with it, I'm happy with the result and I can safeley say this is not the last time I'm going to pain with goauche, I might even start getting some canvases to do gouache paintings on! Is there a medium that you've wanted to try out? Give it a shot, it could become a new favourite for you!

Ballpoint Pens Don't Love Droey

I recorded this for a YouTube video but something went wrong in post production and so the episode was cancelled. But you can still see the art piece itself, a beautiful piece that sadly didn't make it onto the YouTube screen!

So why is it called Ball Point Pens Don't Love Droey? That's because they don't, I was struggling with mines just to get the line art done and there were a couple of blips in this piece! One pair of legs ended up being different widths as a result while that same character nearly had his hand cut off, if not for the fact that I could make it into a wrist band.

For the colouring of this piece I was working with pencils and chose to give the background a pink tint. I didn't want it to be obviously pink but enough to make all of the colours feel united, this was done only for the background and the bench. Droey, Raven and Bouqueefious were not given the tint and this includes the umbrella held by Droey. This way the three of them would stand out. I designed all three of these characters seperatley but was pleasantly surprised to see how well their colour schemes coincided with each other and the rest of the piece. There's a lot of blue, black, brown and pale skin tones.

So what about the context of this composition? Well I found an image on Pinterest of two people kissing while a third person held an umbrella above their heads, and instantly knew I wanted to do this with Droey holding the umbrella. Left to right, Bouqueefious and Raven had recently been created so I thought I'd give them their debut in this piece. I suppose some regular fans of Droey's Draws were hoping this was where John and Ida would have been put together, maybe one day in the future!

Lastly the elephant in the room, there is no visible rain. I made the sky a very desaturated blue to suggest a lot of dark clouds which I think has worked, I could have added a rain pattern over the image but I decided against it. Maybe it's about to rain?

So that's this beautiful but formerly hidden treasure of an art piece. I'll reveal now that something in this art piece is due to lead on to a future art piece so be prepared everyone, we're bringing more continuity to Droey's Draws!

Ode to Evil

Today's art piece puts the spotlight on the villains of our blog, can you remember them all?

Of course you all know Agrius Moth, who wouldn't at this point? From the left right, the villains are Raven Hole, Quinman, Elias, Foey and Plottie. Here are some brief descriptions of each villain.

Agrius Moth is not the most evil being in the world, though if he had his way you'd probably think it! Once arrested for a crime he didn't commit, Agrius was thought to be forever banished from regular society until Droey accidentally released him from imprisonment and so he's back to his schemes in hopes of being recognized as the ultimate villain.

Raven Hole is one of the biggest threats around, but that's all he seems to be, a threat. It is said his head holds the power to consume mass much like a black hole, hence the name granted to him. However nobody in Jansterwick has seen this act of evil in action, thankfully. Raven is strong, cold and uncaring but seems to be quick to hold back on using this ultimate power of his, though he wouldn't hesitate to warn people that he just might!

Quinman doesn't come across as evil when you meet him, perhaps selfish and to some he might be obsessive. Perhaps it's not himself who is the villain but what he may be doing, though nobody seems to know much about the mannequin with a disguise for every occasion, there is many a mystery behind Quinman.

Elias wouldn't be recognized for anything involving Droey and Co. but he would for the Santa and Elle series. Elias has been accounted for three villainous acts and may be the naughtiest elf in the North Pole! He stole from the workshops, attempted to bomb Santa and then years later came back to blackmail Elle! After that Elias was taken away and if kept under watchful eyes, may never return to continue his villainy again.

Foey and Plottie are the evil counterparts to Droey Drawson and Lottie Line. Foey is aggressive and full of evil ideas but Plottie keeps him in line with her superior scheming abilities and calmer mindset. Plottie even managed to kidnap Michow Mooble once!

Despite featuring five villains, the colour scheme of only one of these is used in the piece. Since Agrius is supposed to be the main part of this piece, I used his colour scheme and then decided where each colour would best suit. I chose a bronze colour instead of gold in the background to allow Agrius to stand out, and then a desaturated mahogany for the strip, a paler version of this being applied to the remaining villains so they would still stand out from both Agrius and the background.

So these are all the villains we know in Droey's Draws so far, there could be more in the future and we'll most probably see these five again in the future up to no good! Have you created a villainous character of your own, or just an antagonist? It's good fun to create a villain, whether or not they have powers they'll be one of the characters you love the most!