Final Post

May 21, 2012

When I started this blog I thought I would set myself a challenge, to draw something every day.  It motivated me, inspired me, and forced me to learn and refine skills I would have otherwise left unused.  It was a great joy to myself and hopefully others, to see the things that I could create; often based on the days events, people’s request and sometimes just pure whimsy.

But, there’s a problem with starting a blog called “Doodle-A-Day.”  At some point, the responsibilities of life become too much to keep it going.  A year passed and I was running full stride, two years and it became more of a “let’s see how long I can keep this up.”  I found that after taking a hiatus for moving, buying a new home, commuting, helping the boys with homework, and getting stuff done around the house; the time I had left for doodling many times yielded things that frankly weren’t worth posting.  It became a burden, and multiple times led to getting weeks, if not months behind on my posting.  How I envy artists who make a living from their craft instead of it just being a hobby.

So with no regret, but a little bit of sadness, I’m going to have to call it quits.  I’m moving over to the blog that I never much used vonholdt.wordpress.com and plan on posting all my future work there (much less frequently).  Maybe being able to spend more than a single day on something will be as refreshing as drawing something new each day once was.

It’s like I’m moving a few towns away, I won’t visit as often, but hopefully when I do, it will be more meaningful.  I’m deeply thankful for everyone who has ever stopped by, left a comment, or enjoyed some of the work I’ve done.  Thanks especially to those that subscribed and my family for their support and ideas.  It’s been a lot of fun!

Update:  As promised here’s a few doodles from the past few months

texas twister

piglet

Two of the most memorable moments were the night I had to work, but needed to wait until the Tornado crossed between our house and town.  We also lost both our rats in March.  Piglet was the first to pass, which we had expected with her age.  Sniffles passed the next week, even with all the attention we gave her, we’re pretty sure she was heart-broken to be alone.

1930’s mickey

pinocchio

On a few trips to the local Half-Priced-Books store I scored “Art of Animation” by Bob Thomas that chronicles Disney’s early career all the way through the production of Hercules.  I also finally found a copy of “The Illusion of Life” by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas.  I’ve been looking for that book for years!

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Doodle 1027 – Circular Saw

March 17, 2012

Doodle 1027 - Circular Saw

Being a new home owner, I feel the need to cut and affix and renovate and fabricate things, so I went out a bought me a circular saw.  Mostly to build some storage into the garage.  3 minute doodle.

Doodle 1026 – Gyro

March 16, 2012

Doodle 1026 - Gyro

I had lunch today at this hole-in-the-wall Greek place with a mean gyro.  Delicious!!!

Doodle 1025 – Six Flags

March 15, 2012

Doodle 1025 - Six Flags

Tonight we decided to bust out our new Six Flags season passes after I got home from work.  Surely the park would start clearing out around 5 pm?  No.  It was packed all the way to 9pm, but still worth the trip.  The greasy funnel cake on the way out, and reemergence of said funnel cake about 2 am I could have done without.

Doodle 1024 – Mini Mugg

March 14, 2012

Doodle 1024 - Mini Mugg

We made a run to the store tonight and I found these cute new Iron Man Mini Muggs.  I have a bunch of the regular sized Mighty Muggs and always wanted the Comic Con Iron Man version, so these are perfect.  4 minute doodle tonight with a little time to spare.

Note the digital friendly doodle number for Mr. Stark…

Doodle 1023 – Bucket Head Nova

March 13, 2012

Doodle 1023 - Bucket Head Nova

Another comic book bucket head, this time Marvel’s Nova.  If only I had done these all in the same lighting/perspective they might have looked nice all together.

Doodle 1022 – Woobly Ninja II

March 12, 2012

Doodle 1022 - Wobbly Ninja II

Today I decided to update my wobbly ninja, which is a really fun/loose way to draw something.  I basically draw very simple geometric shapes in inkscape (below), then select all the points in the shape and force them to be curves instead of sharp corners.  The fun part is not allowing myself to make any little adjustments, and just let the results be what they are.

Wobbly Ninja original lines

Doodle 1021 – Super Fort

March 11, 2012

Doodle 1021 - Super Fort

The boys and I broke out our Cranium Super Fort today and built a crazy contraption in their room.  Rolled a 3 today, so this was about all the time I had to draw.

Doodle 1020 – Sick

March 10, 2012

Doodle 1020 - Sick

Over the course of the last week, we’ve had a bug make it’s way through both the boys and settle in on me.  Luckily, I wasn’t hit as hard as they were, but I’m been mildly miserable for the last two days…  *cough cough

Doodle 1019 – Quick Rocket

March 9, 2012

Doodle 1019 - Quick Rocket

I read an interesting post a few days ago on Jeff Gregory’s blog about giving yourself a time limit on doodles so you don’t fret and over think things.  I liked the idea, so I threw a six sided die in my bag and decided to use it sometimes to dictate how many minutes I have to doodle.  A little creative pressure I suppose.

Doodle 1018 – Failed LEGO Mechanism

March 8, 2012

Doodle 1018 - Failed LEGO Mechanism

Being obsessive, I was yet again trying to figure out a better LEGO mechanism for a rubber band gun, and came up with this monstrous 20:1 reduction.  The only issue is that the rubber bands couldn’t provide enough torque to advance the mechanism reliably.  Someday I’ll find the magic combination of gears to have something simple and elegant enough to stop fiddling(or not).

Doodle 1017 – UNDO Paintbrush

March 7, 2012

Doodle 1017 - UNDO paintbrush

I think I would use more traditional art mediums if I could just find the brands that offer an UNDO button.

Doodle 1016 – Money Bags

March 6, 2012

Doodle 1016 - Money Bags

Our youngest son is constantly trying to get someone in the family to play Monopoly with him, but the rest of us honestly dislike that game.  He couldn’t even convince Aunt Cassy…  This is just a doodle of a modern day real-estate capitalist running from his investors.

Doodle 1015 – LEGO Brick Gun

March 5, 2012

Doodle 1015 - LEGO Brick Gun

There was a post on Gizmodo.com today from the slingshot youTube channel of a pencil launching slingshot.  I decided to see if I could make something with a similar top loading magazine, and ended up with this.

Here’s a little pirate ship that our oldest built for his LEGO Plankton.  I’ve been meaning to post it forever.

Plankton_Ship