I work with a guy named Jim, who’s high up on the list of folks who I’m friendly with around the office. His son is a big fan of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and so in the past I’ve lent him the DVD sets so they could watch together (and more recently, Invader Zim). As a thank you, I have two drawings hanging at my desk done by his son, one with the cast of AQTF and the other displaying a rather excited Gir. I have also amassed a collection of clay critters, which he’ll make for me when he comes into the office with his dad, including a few acquired during his most recent trip yesterday.
At the time he came in, I was working with one of the new hires in his first phone shift, helping out with any calls that came in. Because at the time I didn’t have a work-issued laptop, I had brought in my own which has as the wallpaper a drawing of “Mr. Grumpypants”, the Cloverfield monster. When he came by to say hello, it immediately caught his eye, and we chatted about it for a bit. He’d asked if I’d drawn it, and I reluctantly had to admit that I hadn’t. Since then I’ve decided that, having received so many creations from him, it was my turn to create something.
I now sit here, almost 2 hours after first putting pencil to bristol board for the first serious sketch I’ve done in God-knows-how-long, behind me on the drafting table sits a 9×12 sketch of my own giant monster, who I’m calling “Parallon” (mostly because the name just sort of came to me on the drive home today). He’s kind of a hybrid creature, with arms too long for his body (which I added based on the laptop’s wallpaper), a stout torso, legs like a raptor, and spines in the vein of Giger’s alien. I’m going to scan it this weekend, since I’d like to have a record of it before I give it to him (and also to see if I can digitally retouch and perhaps color it).
I’m quit proud of it. I haven’t seriously drawn in a while, and in the times that I did I don’t recall finishing anything, so it’s a win on two fronts. I’ve wanted to get back into it for a while, especially now that I’m putting my site together for the umpteenth time. I’ve also got myself an account on DeviantArt.com. I’m “technomicon” over there, too, in case you feel like jumping over to see my currently blank portfolio.
These past few weeks feel like the most creative I’ve been in years, and it’s pretty awesome. I think later this weekend I’m going to download Lego Digital Designer, and play with bricks in the third dimension! After all, programming and playing with Lego are pretty much the same thing, but that’s another story for another time.
