MANu~

GirLS! gIRLs! GRRrrlS!

2010-07-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some sketches of the female form. I love drawing girls! I'll post a whole bunch soon, I have plenty O these! my favorite girl artists are of course Gil Elvgren, my late dear friend Dave Stevens, Chris Sanders, Shane Glines and Petty, just to name a few....so many I can go writing on forever...enjoy

Lioness

2010-06-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a speedpaint of a female lion checking out the menu. I love the predator and prey relationship in the animal kingdom. The "Circle of Life", as Disney puts it. That is one of the reasons I enjoy the sport of falconry so much. Its not just about the predators catching and killing the prey. Its about how everything in nature is balanced. Every "ying" has its "yang." The antelopes long distance constant speed versus the very fast short bursts of the cheetah. Being a hunter in the animal kingdom is tough. Predators miss more than they catch, you have to be a top athlete to hang with the rest of your competitors. Wolves use strategy to take on huge stronger prey, but that doesn't always work.
In the art world, one artist stands out to me to capture such great events. The late great Bob Khun. He was ,in my opinion, one of the best wildlife artists. He didn't paint photo real, but he captured so much in his pieces. I love how one can examine his brush strokes and almost look into the painting and see his thought process. As far as sketching....whew! Beautiful pencil work! Some of the best I have ever seen. The confidence and love for drawing is clearly visible.
This is piece was very inspired in his spirit.

GReGory MANCheSS

2010-06-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

I felt like doing a quick portrait today to release a bit of stress on some deadlines. I needed to get away from work a bit without letting it affect my work. Portraits are a good way and are fun to do. This one is pretty quick and I used one of Irene Gallos great pictures of Gregory Manchess. Greg has always been one of my favorite painters, I absolutely love his work. I love watching Greg paint, its like Zen to me. Very hypnotic, mesmerizing and beautiful. He has a wonderful download for those of you interested. He just recently fininshed participating in a illustration master class with James Gurney and several other incredible artists. Reading Jims blog led me to painting Greg. Now back to deadlines......sigh

VelociraptoR

2010-04-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

I love dinoS! I wanted to be a paleontologist growing up. Dig dinosaurs for a living. I have found out that most cartoonist and artists also share the same love and interest for these creatures. They capture the imagination and make us marvel at a world long gone but not forgotten. This fascination with prehistoric beasts has led to great friendships. Dr. Michael Ryan and Dr. Eric Snivley. Michael has a fantastic blog..Palaeoblog. I met Eric in Austin TX at a palaeontologist conference he was attending. He took time to come film my redtail hawk eating for a thesis on T Rex's eating habits. Apparently T Rex ate very similar to todays living raptors, eagles ,hawks and falcons. Both Mike and Eric are fantastic people both paleontologist. Mark Shultz, William Stout and James Gurney, all fantastic dinosuar and wildlife artists. Every time I talk to these fellows we enjoy talking dinos and raptors..all fun. I wonder how similar these guys hunted compared to my hawk. Sometimes I can see glimpses of prehistoric raptors as we hunt together. The stare and head movement. The stealth and attitude, all characteristics that Im sure were shared with predators of long ago. Here is a paint I did of a long gone raptor....enjoy

SteamPainting!!!Keep your seat belts fastened, coming soon on Steampainting: Creative process, a brand new collection of creative educational books, DVDs, custom brushes and much more by Steambot. Stay tuned for more information!

2010-04-01T14:14:00.001-07:00

The Natural

2010-03-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

GSP

2010-03-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

Quick break from SteambotStudio work. Watched an interview with Georges St Pierre on his upcoming fight and did this speedpaint afterwards. GSP is one heck of a UFC champion and a fantastic person. He is the perfect example of passion and enthusiasm. Good Luck in your upcoming fight!

Golden Eagle

2009-12-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, sorry Ive been absent as of lately. During this time of the year Im running around the forests like the legendary yeti and hunting my redtail hawk. For those of you that have the same passion in the sport of falconry as I do , we all know how fun it is. Its the closest thing that I can relate to as far as addiction...well besides drawing, but thats another story.
This year Iwent to our North American Falconry meet which was held in Oklahoma. Every year falconers from across the US gather at a diffrent location and hunt there birds. Its a time to catch up and talk, the equivalent of an art workshop etc. I was honored to do this years print for the event. This is the first time a golden eagle has been depicted as a falconry bird on a NAFA falconry print. Eagles have been used in falconry dating back to the time of Chinngis Khan. They are fantastic falconry birds and are incredible to watch hunt. The shear size of them makes them look so slow, but its a huge optical illusion. They are incredibly fast. In Asia they hunt hares ,foxes and sometimes occasionally wolves. A dear friend of mine is at this time in Mongolia spending 10 months out there to learn and observe from the eaglers of the steppe. What an experience!
I hope everyone out there will have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Best to you all!

sKetchinG on Toned PapeR

2009-10-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

I love sketching on toned paper. To several young artists, not having anything on the paper is a scary subject. The paper having a color on it solves this problem for a lot of people. I enjoy all colored paper so its all a matter of opinion. Canson makes great paper with all types of colors available. The bad thing is that its usually sold by the piece. The sketchbooks I particularly like is the Cachet Earthbound sketchbook. I know its available at most Barnes and Noble bookstores and one can probably find better deals on the net. For the white on the paper I use liquid paper , usually from the pen dispenser, and a Chinese white Derwent pencil. Im convinced they have changed the formula of the lead. The pencil use to be"whiter." But it still works well. You can also use the colored white gel pens. Its up to you and how complicated you want to get. I get a marker, pen , white out and Im off! About this time in the season I have falconry on the brain. (reason for the post subject) My hawk is ready to hunt and as soon as the weather allows we will be off on another crazy journey.

COmmANdO

2009-10-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

Some stylized drawing fun very inspired by some of my favorites!... John Buscema , Jack Kirby, Alex Toth and Bruce Timm!

moRe DwarVezzz

2009-10-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

I guess dwarves like to demolish as well as build...i guess?

dwaRVes

2009-09-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

dont ask... maybe a Craftsman ad? heck who knows?

S.A.T Exodyssey party

2009-09-12T16:10:00.001-07:00

SAT Exodyssey party On October 6th, book your calendars for a great party at the SAT in Montreal

mutaNTs

2009-09-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

I did these concepts with a fellow steambot studio member, barontieri. We actually worked on a whole mess of charcacters for a now extinct MMO. Hopefully the game will fossilize well, it was too good of a game to go the way of the dodo. I'll post other characters later. I love asymetrical one big arm characters. Go Hellboy! enjoy...

Eagle Falconer of Asia

2009-09-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure to meet and hang out with Kazakh eagle hunters at this years Festival of Falconry overseas. The stories were amazing and their way of life really fascinates me. These falconers fly golden eagles or berkuts, as they call them, over the Mongolian steppes. The great plateaus of Central Asia cover approximately 1,000,000 square miles. From these plains have come the great armies of the Khans that have transformed history. For thousands of years eagle hunters have called this place home. Many people credit the region as the birthplace of falconry. One of the eaglers I had the pleasure of meeting was Abilkhak Tulybayev, whom I have painted as a portrait. Abilkhak is the most famous living Kazakh eagle hunter. He knew no English so I spoke with him thru a translator. These eagles hunt hares, foxes and sometimes wolves.

robOTss!

2009-09-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

Robots are always fun to draw and design. Most robots are very cliche'd but artsist always find great way of innovating on the cliche. Heres a character concept I did a while ago of a robot engineer. I always start with silhouettes, I think its the best way to variate the concept. The program Alchemy is a fantastic tool to come up with variety and fun shapes on the go. It takes minutes to play around with it and the rewards of the program are instant, plus its so much fun!

Master Relson Gracie

2009-09-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

I felt like painting a portrait today, so I did one of Gracie Jiujitsu Master, Relson Gracie. Relson is a fantastic teacher. His strategy and sensibility are second to none. Like a grand chess master, he is always ahead every move and his way of teaching is simply amazing. If you ever get a chance to attend one of his seminars, I highly recommend it.
A little bit about Relson:
Master Relson Gracie

The 2nd oldest son of Helio Gracie, Relson Gracie moved to Hawaii in 1988. He began learning jiu-jitsu at 2 and entered his first competition at the tender age of 10! He was the Brazilian National Champion for 22 years straight, and during this period went undefeated in his weight and the open weight division. He became so popular that he attained the nickname "Campeao" or "Champion" among his friends and fans. Relson represented his family's style in the rough streets of Rio de Janeiro against all challengers. He at this time he was considered the meanest of the Gracie Representatives. There are still stories circulating in Brazil about some of the challenges Relson answered.

Preparing for the Gryphon

2009-09-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

A couple of friends told me they would love to see my approach on how I would concept a gryphon or griffon. Im not sure of the spelling, but I thought that would be a great idea, lots of fun. Before I take on the a subject, depeding on the deadline, the fun part is the research. I love big predatory cats and birds of prey, so I'll be doing some research before the approach. If the concept would be due tommorrow, I would probably depend on cliches' and add some cool factor here and there, bigpaws, talons, mass etc... but Im going to try a different approach.

Im going to try and rely on some science and add on from there. My friend James Gurney and I had a discussion about this sort of thing. It revolved around the recreation of an exctinct eagle talon and foot, the Haast eagle of New Zealand. We talked about all of the physics, natural history and science that goes behind recreating creatures that are no longer in extinction. He actually has a great book coming out on the subject, Imaginative Realism, coming very soon. This also applies to concepting creatures, monsters and imaginary animals. One job I would love is to work with my friend, Dr Michael Ryan, a paleontologist, on fleshing out one of his many dino discoveries. back on the gryphon rant, I did this quick study in Painter ,eventhough a griffon doesnt have a lion head! Im starting to look at lions and large cats to start thinking about my griffon dvd project, I have plenty o reference of raptors in my back yard, so this should be fun.

STEamBot StuDios PaRTY!!!!

2009-09-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

Exodyssey party on October 6th at the SAT in Montreal with a book signing and many surprises. Steambot Studios and Bluepoint Games (Blast Factor), have recently collaborated on a proof of concept real-time demo on Sony PS3, based on the universe of Exodyssey... We are now looking for a publisher and potential investors to start working on this next action-adventure AAA title.

Goshawk and pheasant speedpaint

2009-09-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have emailed me about Falconry. How did you get started and when did you know you wanted to practice the sport. I have always loved animals, the animal kingdom fascinates me. In a way I owe them for what I do today, which is concept art. I design monsters , aliens etc... all this I can do because of my knowledge of animals. I don't claim to be an expert, but my love does go deeper than just research. My love and interest for falconry started with the book, "My Side of the Mountain," by Jean Craighead George, which I highly recommend to anyone any age. Its a fantastic book. This book sparked my imagination of flying a hawk. It was read to me in the fourth grade and I just recently reread it, it holds up beautifully. I remember researching at the library on how I could "buy" a falcon, funny. Every time the show "Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom" was on ,I hoped for a show on birds of prey, haha. I actually got started in working with raptors about 16 years ago, volunteering at a bird of prey facility. Learning behavior, care, first aid and natural history. This was very important and fortunate for me. Falconry is a licensed sport which is regulated thru State and Federal regs. I would advice anyone interested to contact your wildlife dept for information on getting started. Its a sport that isn't for everyone, so there is an apprenticeship period. The sport is a hunting sport, I call it a ringside seat to a National Geographic show. The hawk is on the hunt, I as an audience member, get to watch something that happens in the life of a raptor everyday. In my opinion, a privileged and honor.

FaLConry

2009-09-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Everytime about this year I start getting the "falconry bug." The temperature here in Texas has been very very HOT! But something in the cool night air and the morning crisp coolness sets off my hawking clock. I get antsy and start to put in dvds of friends and reading articles Ive read millions of times. Even at work, I run the falconry dvds. Its a sickness that few have, but those of us that do, we get it bad. Im looking forward to getting out in the cool outdoors. Running thru the central Texas woods like a Yeti. About this time I start recieving phonecalls from other falconers who have these same symptoms with only one remedy. Flying hawks after game...I like! Izzz niiice!

uFc 102 speedpaint

2009-08-30T23:31:00.000-07:00

Im a big mma fan, as much of you know. Since Royce Gracie fought at the first UFC until now, Ive been an avid fan. I was so intrigued I even signed up to see what Brazilian JiuJitsu was about. the sport has evolved tremendously. No more will you find the "video game" fights of Karate vs Judo or Tiger Kempo vs StreetFighting! Those were the good old days of styles vs styles. The dominant styles at the time were Gracie Jiujitsu and grappling, these days the modern day fighters are well rounded and are all tremendous athletes. From GSP to Randy Coutre, the modern day gladiators are amzing to watch. Learning from the Gracies has been an awesome experience to how this family changed modern martial arts. Relson Gracie is a master and learnign from him , a life long experience.

The UFC has become a huge brand in mma and its all because of its first rate president, Dana White. The man continues to better the sport and carries it foward as a leader should, growing and expanding it world wide. I respect his innovation and creativity. Surrounding himself with a great team that he has put together and working as a well oiled machine.

I did this speedpainting in about 7 hours, while waiting to hear the results of UFC 102 and while listening to TOY SToRY over and over and over....thanks to my 2 year old. Enjoy and thanks for the UFC Dana, best of luck and much continued success!

DroiD ScouT and friend

2009-08-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

mindless dOOdle made for fun

VikiNG SpaWN

2009-08-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

This is a piece I did for Todd McFarlane's comicbook Spawn. I was exciting to do because I knew my friend Danny Miki was going to ink. Danny is one of the most talented inkers in the business, in my opinion, plus hes a great guy! Thanks again for the inks DannyMikiMan!!!!

!!!DeathKNighT!!!

2009-08-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

This is a piece I did for a now dead MMO game. It was a colab between a friend and I and it was a blast to do. Its always nice when you find chemistry between people who work very well together. This I think is very important because it pushes creativity to its limits. Challenges are always fun and as artists we are problem solvers. A well oiled machine works wonderful. The same goes with a well built team, this delelops champions and the results are both satisfying and deserved. In video games this is an element that is vital. Teamwork is a must, as well as leadership! Communication between the team is the key to sucess.

International Falconry Festival, UK

2009-07-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

Falconry Festival 2009

Manny Carrasco

This year, I was lucky enough to attend the Falconry Festival held in England and I came back with one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The Festival is held in a beautiful estate in of one of the oldest field sports at Englefield Estate, Theale, near Reading. Never in my life did I ever think I would see a gathering of that many people with one passion in common, falconry. Every single person I had contact with shared the same love and enthusiasm for the sport.

On the first day, I quickly became good friends with the eagle hunters of the steppes. I had to rely on my drawing skills to communicate, but we all know how when we talk falconry, we all share the same language. Hand gestures were very common, all gesturing jesses, prey or the raptors themselves. I stayed with them until darkness surrounded the camp, laughing, eating and drinking along the campfire. The drinking part was tough on me, as I’m not much of one. By now a Mongolian researcher had joined us. He was able to speak English, so the barriers were broken for the night. I was introduced to a Mongolian cheese that had quite a kick. I was quickly given a Kazakhstan beer and the gestures invited me to, "Dreeenk Manny, dreeenk." I drank alright then along came the music. Beautiful tunes played on an umbra. What an experience, I was no longer in England, but in the steppes of Asia. Of course the CHINGGIS, original Mongolian Vodka, helped. Whew! By the end of the night they had me singing. The next morning was hard on me, but the adrenaline helped. As soon as I was spotted by the eagle hunters they all yelled, "Manny!! Manny!! Chinggis!!” then laughed. I'm sure they will never forget me.

The size of the event was as big as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo, probably in attendance size as well. I couldn't believe it. I’m used to seeing fairs and falconry being represented in a corner but not the entire area. It is still hard for me to believe that the whole entire fair was gathered because of Falconry.

Tents are set throughout the estate, all of them with a sign of the country represented. I'm sure I visited every single one of them. All of them had great information of their history depicting falconry, along with beautiful pictures, artwork and equipment. Every single person was friendly and of course happy to talk about our passion in hunting with raptors. It is amazing how different yet similar we are with our equipment and the way we approach the sport. I was continuously asked about falconry in America—how we trap wild birds and about the land we hunt in. Several countries trap wild raptors, but they were still fascinated with our style of falconry. I was fascinated with a couple of countries myself and what they do in the sport. I learned that Turkish falconers capture a good-sized insect to catch shrikes to catch a sparrow hawk. They had pictures that were incredible. Even trapping the bug has its science. I made great friends with these guys and spent the next night amongst Turkish and Turkmenistan falconers. This time I drank tea, not Chinggis Khan Vodka. Delicious breads, biscuits and cookies were on the table as we sat around the campfire. One of the falconers had his own tea farm in Turkey, so we drank his delicious tea all night. Their preparation was amazing, and it was just tea! These people take so much pride in their tradition and it’s wonderful to see and experience. The Turkmenistan falconers explained to me about how they hunt their birds, camelback, sitting on the hump to have a higher view as they hunt sand dunes. They also use greyhounds, salukis or tazis to help them find the bird. The falcon disappears over the dunes and the dog chases after it. I was told if not for the dogs they wouldn't usually find the falcon on its kill. One of the falconers there was 86 years old and a sixth-generation falconer. Spending time in the yurts was great, seeing how they manage space and how they normally go about their life out hunting hawks. These people made me feel very welcomed. I miss being with them—no television, no mp3 players—just sitting around a campfire with hot tea talking falconry.

The parade of countries was something to see. People from every country marched in their traditional falconry clothes with hawk in hand. Horses, camels and dogs also walked along with the falconers as each group held their flag proudly. The number of people who participated was incredible and all this because of our sport. No discrimination, no political discussions, no booing—just great applause as each country group walked around an arena. We were all just people with the same passion for the ancient sport that we love so much. It felt like a giant family reunion where all the family members get along.

Vendors were all around. I can’t even begin to tell you how overwhelmed I felt. There were hoods, gloves and all your falconry norms throughout, in great numbers with every type and every quality. It was just too much. I walked away several times from crazy temptations of books, gauntlets, bells, prints, hoods—you name it, it was there.

The Abu Dhabi village was incredible and beautiful. There were Yurts, camels, falcons on beautiful perches, salukis leashed to their place. It was just amazing. They had musicians, dancers, artisans and beautiful displays about their culture in falconry and beautiful Arabian horses walking about in ornamental equipment. Every single person there was very gracious and friendly. I tried several teas and some desserts made from fruits and spices. They held their falcons and I heard stories about hunting hubara bustards. I had no idea of the size of their prey. It was quite impressive.

I also spent time with Scottish eaglers. They graciously shared video about their hunts on the moors that were very impressive! Their falconry is beautiful and amazing.

It was also nice to see a Kazakh eagler answer questions about Golden eagles, comparing how they hunt and listening to the 78-year-old eagle hunter’s advice. He was an eighth-generation eagle hunter and hunts hare, fox and sometimes wolves. He explained he had three eagles, two females and all wild taken.

I shared my last night there with both the steppe hunters and the Turkmenistan yurts. I drew several sketches for my new friends. As darkness fell, I was sketching with pen flashlights so I could see. The Kazakhs cooked another delicious meal and I was told, "Manny voice. Manny voice?" I didn't understand. The Russians, Slovakians and Hungarians were there as well, "Manny voice?" I still didn’t understand. Finally the Russian falconer translated for me. She explained that they wanted me to do the final toast and to also sing! When I had my drinking experience two days before, they talked me into singing some Spanish songs. At the time Chinggis Khna helped me. This time I was only drinking tea. I gathered my courage and went off, singing a couple of Mexican tunes after my toast. I toasted to the honor I felt to be around people who shared different cultures and different ways of life, but all share the same love and passion that is falconry. I toasted to the new brothers and sisters I was meant to have met. I toasted to Falconry.

CrayOLAs CoLoRFuL JouRNey

2009-07-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post a heads up on a great childrens game that I designed characters on, its Crayolas Colorful Journey for the Nintendo wii. My little next door neighbors loved it and they thought it was very funny that my dog, TJ is the dog in the game. Its pretty funny to watch him run around in the game... here is my character designs, they mummy was not used, but was cool so I thought I'd post it as well.

BaCK oN thE BLOg!!!

2009-07-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Been a long while since Ive posted anything, I apologize to those that have emailed me about this...been busy, exciting things are brewing here, one of them being Steambot Studios USA! Im joining my two best friends David Levy and Tieri Doizon on this exciting venture! Its been a long time coming and finally we made it happen. Im excited and looking forward to all the great things that are coming our way! talk to you guys soon...in the mean time check out steambotstudios.com

el rey

2008-10-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine just returned from a trip to South Africa. There she volunteered at a wildlife refuge and worked with lions , hyenas and other African species. She got to visit The Lion Park, which is a place Ive always wanted to visit myself. She brought me a great DVD and it inspired this piece. Sorry for the lack of posts, no excuse to this. I do plenty of work, I just need to have the decipline to post.

jackrussell speedpaint

2008-06-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

This is my hunting partner TJ. We are frustrated with this heat and cant wait to get out and enjoy this years hunts. He manages to catch rats and squirrels throughout the summer in our backyard, but no running around the fields like we do. He hunts with my redtail hawk. Following her thru the fields, crossing streams etc... his job is to kep the squirrels treed up while the hawk takes the high points in the trees. Since I started using my dog in falconry our catches have increased, mostly in the rabbit area. It is incredible to watch the pair go, they work off each other amazingly. If the dog barks or suddenly starts a chase, the hawk knows he has something and will join in immediately. When the dog hears the hawk coming he knows its time to back off and let her do her thing. We use small bells on the hawks legs and TJ knows the sound of those bells very well, so he usually slams the brakes on. Im anxious for the summer to be over...patience is a virtue, something that is essential in the art of falconry.

The ink illustration is an older piece I did for a magazine article on my dogs dad, "Trapper" It was sort of a speed piece as well. I found out it was due for print on the next day and had to get it to the fed ex box that day! I had a watch next to me and I did the piece in 20 minutes rushed to fed ex and it was off! I did the matching piece of Tj and that took me 2 hours! oh what deadlines do!...enjoy

Easy Company speedpaint

2008-06-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

This piece was inspired by my friend Matt Hall and us talking about the 101...mainly Captain Winters and Easy Company. Those of you that like history and havent seen the HBO series "Band of Brothers",I highly recommend it. One of my all time favorites.

dino speedpaint

2008-06-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

A quick one hour speedpaint I did yesterday evening. I wanted to be a paleontologist growing up and my love for dinosaurs never left. Ive met great people and gathered great friends thru this intrest in dinos. One day I'll bother my good friend Dr Michael Ryan , into taking me with him on his dinosaur digs.

GirL SKetcHeS

2008-05-29T14:39:00.001-07:00

Here are some drawings from my "Tiny bOOk of Girl sketches"

enjoy

LYnX

2008-05-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

I did this after watching an episodeof "Wild America." It showed a long drawn out chase with a lynx and a hare. It was amazing to see the ability of both animals, both as predator and prey. The hare ended up escaping but what a chase! Those "snow shoes" on the hare really do work, just amazing.

When Im out flying my hawk and watching her hunt, its the misses I enjoy the most. When she gets outwitted, the show is usually spectacular. Her manuevers thru the air and the amazing stoops are unbelievable.

tooN BreaK

2008-05-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Took a little break to break the rythem at work. Heres a little cartoon version of Mark Schultz character Hanna from Xenozoic Tales. Mark is a fantatsic artist and friend.

ANiMaL SketCHinG

2008-05-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

This kind of sketching is sort of a meditating for me. Every animal has its own characteristics, some very challenging. These types of excersizes are great to get your hand eye coordination in check. I try and seperate my work from my fun time at home by varying what I draw. SciFi fantasy stuff at work and something diffrent at home. Usually the something diffrent is wildlife or outside observations.

EAgle sketch

2008-05-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

I did this sketch and several other sketches of golden eagles before going for the final drawing on the eaglers fist. Luckily I snapped several photos of goldens at several locations to reference from. I was emailed later by a friend who pointed out some distinct features on eagles from diffrent locations around the world. Basically they are very similar and only people really intrested in the subject would note the diffrences.

This was done with markers, inks, white pencil and white out. I really love the Derwent "chinese white" on this toned paper but I think recently they are feeling diffrent. Not very happy with the new "formula" for the white lead.

HuntERs of The SteppEs

2008-05-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

I practice the art of Falconry and have been fascinated by birds of prey since about the third grade, thanks in part to a book called My Side of the Mountain.

On the Steppes of Mongolia the art of Falconry has been practiced using eagles. These hunters still use the same techniques and equiptment their ancestors used. Eagle Dreams written by Steve Bodio, is a fantastic book on the subject.

This is a piece I did on one of these great fascinating hunters.

hOla

2008-03-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, just testing the blog with one of my girly sketches....