March of Robots 2023 Finished

I decided to participate in my third March of Robots, an online drawing challenge conceived by DaCosta Bayley founder of Chocolate Soop Studio. Every March, artists all over the world take on this challenge by doing one robot drawing a day the entire month - 31 total. My goal of the challenge was to improve my drawing skills, but frankly, I just love drawing robots.

Here is the prompt list for 2023 MoR:

Here are my all analog art submissions:

DAY 01:

The prompt for Day 1 is HEART

In the future, heart attacks are still a risk. Fortunately, these Automated External Defibrillator (AED) bots are designed to analyze the heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to victims of ventricular fibrillation to restore the heart rhythm to normal.

DAY 02:

The prompt for Day 2 is CONNECT

This bot can help anyone connect to their loved ones from anywhere, via augmented virtual reality, and a clear signal to a relay satellite network. 

DAY 03:

The prompt for Day 3 is LOST

This Gen X guide bot forgot how to read maps. So, when its internal GPS short circuited, it got hopelessly lost. 

DAY 04:

The prompt for Day 4 is KEY

As always, this bot spends at least 5-10 minutes each time, trying to find the right key that unlocks the hatch to its spaceship. It’s always the last one it tries. 

DAY 05:

The prompt for Day 5 is BEACON 

This elevated beacon bot is programmed to be a guiding signal light for any spacecraft caught in solar dust storms, on their way to the spaceport.

DAY 06:

The prompt for Day 6 is SHADOW

When it’s not busy planning on world domination, this bot’s favorite hobby is making shadow puppets of bunnies and puppies. 

DAY 07:

The prompt for Day 7 is MOON 

Not paying attention to its surroundings, this bot accidentally offered a full moon to folks passing by, while trying to undo the jam in its hip gears. 

DAY 08:

The prompt for Day 8 is BUILD

It would seem that the frightening future, where robots successfully build more robots to take over the world, is still a distant reality. 

DAY 09:

The prompt for Day 9 is FLOAT 

This bot didn’t realize that relaxing in this float, wouldn’t lead to a relaxing day in the pool—but rather—participating as the main attraction in the micro-bot’s parade. 

DAY 10:

The prompt for Day 10 is BRIGHT 

For just a quarter, you too can download a bright idea from this genius dispenser bot. Some results may vary. 

DAY 11:

The prompt for Day 11 is CRYSTAL 

The astronaut had to abandon the mission when he realized that the fortune teller bot mistook his helmet for a crystal ball. 

DAY 12:

The prompt for Day 12 is MISSION

These musical bots love singing the Blues. They’re also on a mission from God to put the band back together for one more show. 

DAY 13:

The prompt for Day 13 is ROCKET 

This bot didn’t qualify for the intergalactic space academy, so it developed its own rocket training program. The flight simulator is cutting edge. 

DAY 14:

The prompt for Day 14 is CHAMBER 

I thought it would be fun to do some fan art for this prompt. I wanted to do a chamber maid bot, but couldn’t do better than the iconic maid bot from The Jetsons: Rosie. Here, she’s fluffing Elroy’s pillow before tucking him into bed. 

DAY 15:

The prompt for Day 15 is SPACE 

This space heater bot has the latest technology with a titanium core radiator and auto feed furnace. There’s no room, big or small, that it can’t heat. 

DAY 16:

The prompt for Day 16 is PLANET 

This bot uses the latest model planet hopper to get around the galaxy on its daily commute. I took some inspiration from #thejetsons for this one. 

DAY 17:

The prompt for Day 17 is ELEMENT

Using the basic elements, earth, wind, water and fire, this bot tries to demonstrate how keeping our natural resources safe, is a delicate balancing act. We can’t afford to lose our focus.

DAY 18:

The prompt for Day 18 is GROW

This Grow-bot’s primary function is to provide the best level of lighting for any plant it comes across.  

DAY 19:

The prompt for Day 19 is LINES

This Operator Bot will always keep the telephone lines connected so that you won’t miss a call.  

DAY 20:

The prompt for Day 20 is MAP

Using the latest GPS technology, Pin Drop Bots are always able to mark your location on any map.  

DAY 21:

The prompt for Day 21 is OBJECT 

There is a little known fact that an Unidentified Flying Object, or UFO, may also abduct robots to be included in their study.

DAY 22:

The prompt for Day 22 is BLOOM 

When the flowers bloom in the spring, this Pollinate-O-Bot gets right to work. Soon, you’ll see swarm of them covering the local prairies. 

DAY 23:

The prompt for Day 23 is TOME 

To be honest, I had to look up tome. I had never heard or used that word before. According to the dictionary, it’s “a book, especially a very heavy, large, or learned book.”

This busy bot uses a stack of them — one being a dictionary — to make a seat, while it reads the Cliff Notes. Coincidentally, the Cliff Notes don’t contain the word, tome. 

DAY 24:

The prompt for Day 24 is REFLECT 

In order to see and perform robot brain surgery, this bot uses a low-tech mirror to reflect the high-tech workings in it’s head. 

DAY 25:

The prompt for Day 25 is TOOLS 

This Mechanic Bot has all the tools needed to keep your vehicle in tiptop condition and no garage is necessary. All repairs can happen on the spot, even while you wait. 

DAY 26:

The prompt for Day 26 is CLOUD

Contrary to what you might think, when your files are stored in the cloud, they aren’t going up to some magical server in the sky. Instead, inside a Mega Cloud Bot is usually where they end up.  

DAY 27:

The prompt for Day 27 is REMOTE 

Some robots teach their young how to walk with a remote control.   

DAY 28:

The prompt for Day 28 is LANCE 

This bot is using its antenna as a lance to pierce its plating — all to relieve the pressure of some built up hydraulic fluid. 

DAY 29:

The prompt for Day 29 is HAMMER

This Construction Bot uses a jack hammer to clear out some old pavement. With the prolific use of hover cars, roads are no longer necessary. 

DAY 30:

The prompt for Day 30 is LEAP

A game of Leap Bot is always a great way to end the day—especially after a long shift hard labor and devoted service. It helps promote teamwork while keeping the joints limber. 

DAY 31:

Here’s my final submission for March of Robots 2023. The prompt for Day 31 is DREAM

Apologies, but this one is a bit of a stretch. This started as one idea, but because of some newly learned controversy over the subject, I decided to change it up. 

This Karaoke Bot is living its dream of becoming a rockstar by singing a set of some of the best songs about dreams:

• “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”—Eurythmics
• “Dream On”—Aerosmith
• “Don’t Dream It’s Over”—Crowded House
• “You Make My Dreams”—Hall & Oates
• “Dream Weaver”—Gary Wright
• “In Dreams”—Roy Orbison
• “California Dreamin'”—The Mamas & the Papas
• “Dream Police”—Cheap Trick

And many more. 

@dickdavid_sketches a.k.a. Richard David Wezensky

Please do not use or copy this art without permission and full attribution. 

Late 2022 and Early 2023 Work

I've been pretty busy with things, so there isn't much to share. Let's start with a post-Inktober 2022 piece.

I was approached by a friend who asked if I could donate one of my #inktober2022 drawings for their charity event’s silent auction. It’s for a group called Best Buddies (Texas chapter) 

I asked what the theme of the event was and they said ‘James Bond 007’. So, instead of giving one that I’ve already made, I decided that it would be more fun to make a new piece.   

Here is a ‘bot in that classic Sean Connery pose. Instead of a hand gun, I thought that it would be more playful to give it a lime green squirt gun. 

It ended up being sold for $125.

I decided to take a small break from robots and sketch out this guy that I saw on the train a few months ago. Seemed kinda fitting, not only as we depart this year, but also as the last page of this sketchbook. Time to start a new one. 

I did a commission for a coworker who was looking for a gift for his girlfriend. He asked for a robot version of their dog, Tanner, who is old but still has some pep. One of his eyes is hazy but still works. Tanner is also gassy.

This is my submission to @drawmearobot December DTIYS challenge, which is a “chess” themed robot. I love to participate, not to win or get any prizes, but rather to enjoy the interesting prompts that I wouldn’t normally draw.   

This Two-headed Chess bot is constantly challenging itself to a game, on its portable, rotating chessboard. Unfortunately, it always ends in a draw. 

My wife read to me a wonderful story about a dad telling his child the truth about Santa Clause. He said that although the person wasn’t real, the idea of Santa was. It was the idea of giving for the sake of giving. To give without needing recognition or thanks.   

This Santa Bot’s primary function is to do the same. Perhaps we should all be Santa bots every now and then. 

I just wanted to send one last sketch out before the end of the year. Here's a Happy New Year Bot.

I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to participate in the @drawmearobot 2023 Tournament of Champions. I’m not a very competitive person but I love to play with their challenging prompts. Win or lose, I find the accomplishment of completing the challenge is rewarding enough.   

This challenge, participants were asked to recreate an amazing piece by @benson.ink (see pic) in our own style.   

Since part of my style is creating a narrative behind the art, I decided to recreate one for this. Looking at Brandon’s piece, I see the defeated robot looks like the red Rock Em Sock Em Robot. Inspired by Frank Kelly Freas. I wondered if this battle bot might feel some empathy towards the casualty of the battle. Playing around with scale and some creative liberties, I came up with this tribute to Freas. 

Playing Around With Color

To finish out the year, I thought I would try working with color—watercolor to be more specific. I figured that it was pretty close in to the ink wash that I've been doing for a while, so the comfort level would be high and the learning curve low. I was wrong. There needs to be much more practice in the near future to get these to a good level. 

I still had fun playing around with it. 

The piece, above was one that I worked on for the November, Draw Me A Robot challenge. It did pretty well in the competition, but didn't make it to the final 3.

This next bot was something I wanted to do, after being inspired while hanging up holiday lights.

This final piece is a quick drawing that I did as part of a co-worker's birthday card. Since it was so close to Thanksgiving, all of my other co-workers and I did 'hand-turkey' drawings for their birthday greeting. I ended up doing the color in Photoshop. 

Inktober 2022 Finished

This year, I decided to participate in another Inktober, an online drawing challenge conceived by Jake Parker. Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month. The goal of the challenge is to improve your inking skills.

Part of the challenge with Inktober is coming up with ideas, that align with my style, but also honors the prompt. My goals for this challenge are simple: all analog ink art, with limited ink wash for shading. 

This art is the ©copyright of Richard David Wezensky a.k.a. @dickdavid_sketches 

Please do not use or copy this art without permission and full attribution. 

Here is this year's prompt list: 

Here are my submissions:

DAY 01

Here is my first Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 01 is “GARGOYLE” 

This was a tough one because it’s so specific. Not much room to play around with. Here, I have a Quasimodo-bot hanging out in the tower, with his favorite “gargoyle” friend. 

DAY 02

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 02 is “SCURRY” 

For this prompt, I wanted to do play around with scale. Contrary to a popular belief, it wasn’t a meteor that killed all the dinosaurs. Instead, Earth was a popular vacation spot for giant robots. Unfortunately, they didn’t notice the ‘small critters’ that would “scurry” underfoot until it was too late. 

DAY 03

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 03 is “BAT” 

In the future, the Joker decided to cut labor costs by using robot henchmen. These were still no match for Gotham’s caped crusader, “Bat”man — even in his senior years. 

DAY 04

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 04 is “SCALLOP” 

This surfer hula bot loves to wear its “scallop”-shaped shell bikini top and grass skirt while catching some choice waves. 

DAY 05

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 05 is “FLAME” 

Remember, don’t play with fire. Get a “flame” thrower bot instead. It’s always ready whenever you need to light your grill, fireplace, campfire, pipe, cigar…etc., accurately and safety. 

DAY 06

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 06 is “BOUQUET” 

In the future, you can check the “bouquet” of a fine vintage, before you pull the cork. Simply use the state-of-the-art, scratch-and-sniff technology on every label. 

DAY 07

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 07 is “TRIP” 

This robot had to end its ‘trip’ to the beach early after tripping on its own shoe laces, while searching for sea shells. 

DAY 08

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 08 is “MATCH” 

And with a single strike of a ‘match’, these firework bots were able to realize their full potential. 

DAY 09

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 09 is “NEST” 

Old, decommissioned robots are perfect for building a ‘nest’ and starting a family. . 

DAY 10

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 10 is “CRABBY” 

This prompt was quite a challenge. I ended up doing some SpongeBob fan art. When my kids were growing up, my entire family enjoyed watching this show. Since I’m doing a robot theme for this Inktober, I thought that it would be fun referencing an episode, "Welcome to the Chum Bucket” from season two. Here, Plankton threatens to put SpongeBob’s brain into his robot version, just to get him to make a Krabby (crabby) Patty. 

Here, I’ve got Robot SpongeBob getting a bit “crabby” because he’s dropping his Krabby Patty. 

DAY 11

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 11 is “EAGLE” 

Some of you younger folks might not get this. One of the first songs that I clearly remember calling my favorite was Hotel California, by the Eagles. Here I have one ’Eagle’, Don Henley, as a 70s bot, banging on the drums, and singing that song, live in concert. 

DAY 12

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 12 is “FORGET” 

This bot has a major design flaw with its database. The engineers placed the memory delete-all button right next to the play and stop buttons. One wrong push and it will ’forget’ all of its programming. 

DAY 13

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 13 is “KIND” 

This bot is programmed to be “kind” to our planet. Its primary function is to pick up litter and recycle what it can. 

DAY 14

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 14 is “EMPTY” 

This bot forgot to fill the tank with fuel before heading out and now it’s “empty”. Stranded on the float, it hopes to catch a ride to the next filling station. 

DAY 15

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 15 is “ARMADILLO” 

New crossing guard bots will be deployed along most major highways to reduce the high amount of “armadillo” fatalities. 

DAY 16

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 16 is “FOWL” 

Perhaps future space exploration may come in the form of “fowl”-bot astronauts piloting egg-shaped spacecraft. It might happen. 

DAY 17

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 17 is “SALTY” 

This crockpot bot had too many margaritas with salt, and didn’t notice the lid of the salt shaker popping off while seasoning dinner. Needless to say, the tortilla soup was a bit too “salty”. 

DAY 18

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 18 is “SCRAPE” 

This sketch is a tribute to one of my favorite film makers, Tim Burton. Here I have a robot version of Edward Scissorhands, who could cut, slice, scratch and “scrape” anything around. Sometimes, without even trying. 

DAY 19

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 19 is “PONYTAIL” 

For this prompt I thought it would be fun to create a centaur (actually a Pterocentaur), that was part a tin robot and part My Little Pony. Business in the front, rainbow ‘ponytail’ in the back. 

DAY 20

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 20 is “BLUFF” 

It was nearly to the top of the ‘bluff’ when it became obvious that this robot was actually bluffing when it said that it wasn’t afraid of heights. 

DAY 21

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 21 is “BAD DOG” 

This bot was upset with it’s dog, Fido, because he got a bit too excited about a game of fetch. The “bad dog” couldn’t wait for the frisbee to get tossed, before grabbing at it. 

DAY 22

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 22 is “HEIST” 

This bot performed a “heist”, stealing a Van Gogh piece—probably the very first #inktober submission—from the Louvre. Too bad it was a decoy fake copy, but still worth way way more than a Dickdavid original. 

DAY 23

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 23 is “BOOGER” 

Contrary to popular belief, robots do suffer from allergies. Instead of shooting out snot and the occasional  “booger”, during a violent sneeze, a robot will eject grease and oil. It’s still pretty nasty. 

DAY 24

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 24 is “FAIRY” 

This “fairy” bot doesn’t fit in with the other, much smaller, fairies, but still possesses the same magical powers to intervene in human affairs. 

DAY 25

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 25 is “TEMPTING” 

The robot invasion had come to a sudden halt after one bot found it too “tempting” to avoid pushing the big red button, while marching into battle. Thanks to my wife for coming up with this idea and for helping me work through some of the others. 

DAY 26

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 26 is “EGO” 

This little slingshot bot’s “ego” was getting a bit inflated after its one lucky shot was able to take out the giant bully bot. 

DAY 27

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 27 is “SNACK” 

This “snack” bot is hot on the trail for some warm, melted butter - before heading into the theater for all to enjoy its tasty intermission treat. 

DAY 28

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 28 is “CAMPING” 

This bot likes to be prepared when going “camping”. You never know what you are going to need when you are roughing it in the wilderness. Too bad he forgot the power supply. 

DAY 29

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 29 is “UH-OH” 

While reenacting the greatest ‘uh-oh’ moment in robot history—the creation of fossil fuels—this robot didn’t notice that his oil change was way overdue, and had a little ‘uh-oh’ moment of its own. 

I want to thank the folks at my office @launchagency (especially @isaacswed and @kellyamiracle ) for helping me come up with this idea. They came up with lots of great ideas that I morphed into one. 

DAY 30

Here is my next Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 30 is “GEAR” 

This is the first of a new series that I’m starting. Read below for more information. 

This bot has created a hot rod from a first generation e-vehicle. Included in its tune is a brand new manual “gear” box, which will take advantage of the amazing torque put out by the super tuned motor. It’s the first true Watt Rod. 

SIDE NOTE:

I’m a big fan of the Rat Fink style so here’s another tribute series to Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, the king of #RatFink. 

Previously, instead of cars, I ‘finked’ out the different bicycle tribes. I call it my “Bike Fink” series. Check #bikefink to see them. 

I’m starting a new series that pays tribute to classic Hot Rod cars. But instead of tricking out classic gassers, I thought that I would take a peek into the future, and imagine what a jalopy would look like if all that was available was this first generation of e-vehicles. 

Instead of what would probably happen—a software tweak—I’m going to use some of the aesthetics of the old tuners: fat wheels, larger ‘tuned’ engine, body mods, etc. Since they’re electric, I might toss in a solar panel and bigger batteries. 

I’m going to call the series Watt Rods #wattrods If I include a robot, I may refer to it as a Bot Rod #botrod 

DAY 31

Here is my final Inktober2022 drawing. The prompt for Day 31 is “FARM” 

This “farm” bot—which is not a tractor transformer—is preparing the acres of fields to sow the seeds for next season’s harvest. Sorry that there’s not much more to the story, but my brain is fried. Haha. 

Thank you for checking out all of my sketches this past month. Congratulations to all of the other makers out there, who stuck with it.  Well done!

All analog ink art, with limited ink wash for shading. 

This art is the ©copyright of Richard David Wezensky a.k.a. @dickdavid_sketches 

Please do not use or copy this art without permission and full attribution.