Drawn in Black

Back in Black T-Shirt by Godmachine

Aziz a.k.a. Godmachine is an illustrator based out of Wales, UK, with some seriously nasty skills. Growing up and working as an electrician and bricklayer as a young lad, it was skateboard graphics through which he rekindled his connection to art.  Influenced by artists such as Horsebites, Gieger, Aubrey Beardlsy, Klimt, and Richard James, it is probably fair to say that he does a bit of influencing himself these days.  As a freelance artist Godmachine’s art graces skateboards and band merchandise such as t-shirts, album covers and posters. Even though he considers himself old-school, he does most of his sketching straight on the computer these days.

I think t-shirt illustrations such as the one show above are a great example his work and what I personally like: gory, detailed illustrations.  His work in general is quite dark, and this is the essence of his appeal I think – at least for a certain type of audience.

If you haven’t done so already, check out Godmachine’s website or blog and put some food on his table by buying his stuff from his store.  There are also a number of interview with Godmachine if you want a deeper look at who he is:

Interview with Godmachine on Abduzeedo

Interview with Godmachine on We are the Zombie Nation

Interview with Godmachine on Creep Machine

Interview with Godmachine by Rockett

Sonisphere Poster by Godmachine

Untitled Sketch by Godmachine

Untitled Sketch by Godmachine

Untitled Sketch by Godmachine

I’ve found drawing hands one of the most challenging aspects of drawing the human figure. You can get away with quite a bit when rendering the human figure, but get the hand wrong and it sticks out like a sore thumb.  Once you start learning about the hand in greater depth, you’ll find it is truly amazing just how complex the hand is even though we see it everyday.  Perhaps the following tutorials can help you and I draw better hands. Enjoy.

• Tutorials, How-To’s and Step-by-Step’s
• Videos
• Anatomy
• Books
• Poses
• Photo Reference

Tutorials, How-To’s and Step-by-Step’s

It’s often useful to have a step-by-step guide, tutorial, or “recipe” on how to accomplish a certain task.  I’ve found that following steps is good to grasp basic concepts before going on to experiment and expand one’s understanding.  Tutorials on drawing hands are no different, and the tutorials and how-to’s listed below should be a good starting point.

J. Peffer created some nice step-by-steps for about a handful of hand poses.

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Tags: cartoon, helpful, inspirational, instructional, realistic

"Ms. February" Line Art by Brian Ewing

Man am I glad that I checked out Brian Ewing’s Flickr page.  While there are plenty of sick drawings on his website and blog, the real action is on Flickr.  Ewing is an illustrator who pumps out amazing illustrations for band T-Shirts, posters, magazines, skateboards, etc.  For those of you who like the skull and, more broadly, tattoo aesthetic, you’ll get your fill here.

The real treasure trove, beyond the pictures themselves, are the tutorials and how-to’s that Ewing has put together on his Flickr account.  Detailing every step of the way (minus colors) of how he’s arrived at some of his most memorable work, including, for example, the cover of I Want Your Skull #5, you get a really intimate look at the whole end-to-end creative process.  There are lots of little tips that simple invaluable to the new artist – for example, don’t tape down your drawing but move it to preserve the motion of your hand and wrist.  If you want to know how a professional does what he does, you simple must check these out.

Of course you’d also be doing Ewing a favor by buying some of his stuff.  Really, you should.

3 more images below the jump.

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Tags: illustration, sexy, spooky, Tattoo, zombie

Los Angeles, Self Portrait Sketch by Shawn Barber

If you like tattoo art, you’ll love Shawn Barber.  As his website states: “Shawn Barber’s body of work focuses primarily on painting, portraiture and documenting contemporary tattoo culture.”  Barber’s many paintings focus on artists, specifically artists with tattoos.  He goes around the world to meet and document them, an experience which he later turns into the painting.  If you’re looking to get a tattoo, you might find some inspiration here!  Also don’t forget to check out “Studio Visit: Shawn Barber and Henry Lewis” over at Fecal Face.

More below the jump.

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Tags: gangster, realistic, Tattoo

“Brutality” by Jeremy Fish

Known for his skulls and silly pink bunnies, Jeremy Fish is a skateboarder and enterprising illustrator living in San Francisco. His work is funny and odd: a surreal blend of tattoo and graffiti imagery.  Beside skateboards, t-shirts, hoodies, and ashtrays, Fish has also designed a Nike sneaker, painted a room of the Hotel Des Artes in San Francisco, and designed an album cover for Aesop Rock.  His clothing line is superFishal.

For t-shirts by Fish check out Umbrella Market and let me know if you can find an XL “Brutality” tee anywhere – it seems to be all sold out, argh.

More pics below the jump.

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Tags: bizarre, funny, illustration, urban

You really need to check out Happy Pencil, the site of one Cam De Leon, an artist in California. His art is the kind of stuff I can personally really get into; kind of perverted, raunchy, voyeuristic, and oozing with dark humor. The above drawing is but one example of this (done in pointillism by the way).

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Tags: dark, horror, perverse, pointillism

Yes, this is drawn in Charcoal. Utterly amazing if you ask me. Hong Chun Zhang hails from China.

Tags: hairy, long, oversized, realistic