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. 

It Was A Light Summer for Work and Freelance

Break time was over and it was time to start drawing again. I’m not sure if you struggle like me, but the first line is always the hardest. After that the rest just flows. 

I wasn’t completely slacking off. It’s been really busy at my real job and I also managed to knock out a commission (see below). With #inktober2022 just around the corner, it’s time to dust off the pens and see if I still have my lines. 

I had the pleasure of working on a fun commission for The Overhead Wire, @theoverheadwire which is a consulting firm that specializes in urban planning and sharing information about cities with advocates, elected leaders, researchers and other interested parties. 

I’m a huge fan of their podcast, Talking Headways. You should check it out!

For this project, I was asked to come up with a T-Shirt graphic that represented the theme, “Cars are Cholesterol” Their idea was to show how cars are congesting cities. The idea was to have a real looking heart and the arteries are full of cars. The heart could look like an urban landscape. With a lot of collaboration, we came up with this. 



Here is the rough sketch and some images of how I turned the art into a graphic for the T-Shirt.

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

Late Spring and Early Summer 2022 Work

I've had trouble finding time (and inspiration) to get much work done this time of year. I did manage to knock out some commissions and a few birthday bots.

Some of these happened right in the middle of March of Robots, so they kind of got over-shadowed by other work.

Here are some birthday bots. 

First, I gave a Happy Birthday wish to Brian Dedering - Creative Director at LAUNCH Agency. I’ve worked with Brian for over a year, and respect him as a valuable member of our agency. His top-level creative thinking and attention to detail is rare, and welcomed in this industry. 

Brian was OVERDUE for a #birthdaybot because his birthday fell right at the end of March of Robots, last year and I didn’t know much about him. Brian has a super impressive resumé with experience in lots of well known agencies. He comes from the midwest, but his work has taken him across the country and even Budapest. I decided to draw him as a mid-west polite, Creative Director Bot—spending his time sipping a coffee and paying attention to all the details.

Next was Megan Robertson’s birthday. She's an Account Executive at LAUNCH and I respect her as a valuable member of our agency. She’s one of the many client facing team members who keep the work organized and the creative team happy. 

Megan was also OVERDUE for a #birthdaybot because her birthday fell right in the middle of March of Robots, last year. Megan is always well dressed at work - like a true professional. She's dedicated to her family, where they are always connected to her heart. Megan is also addicted to Diet Cokes from McDonalds. I decided to draw her as a fashionably posed Daughter/Sister Bot with a soda—always linked to her family and thoroughly hydrated. 

Next was Caleb Alba - Associate Creative Director at LAUNCH.  I haven’t worked with Caleb for very long, but I do know that he is an amazing talent and a great addition to the agency. He’s really nice, too—which is rare in the Advertising industry. Caleb is also a new dad, who’s super proud of his family. I decided to capture him as an Art Director, Graphic Designer, Illustrator Bot, hard at work on his next brilliant piece. 

Next up was Andrew Reimherr. I was fortunate to work with Andrew and really appreciated his attention to quality client interaction. Andrew is also an avid concert fan, having been to many of them. I decided to capture him as an Encore Bot, ready to cheer his favorite performers into another set. 

Finally, we have Isaac Swedlow @isaacswed - Copywriter at @launchagency I haven’t worked with Isaac for very long, but he’s already become a valuable member of our agency. He is an amazing talent and I’ve got great respect for what he brings to the the team. 

He also has a great sense of humor. With his mini desktop drum set, he’s always ready to give a ‘rimshot’ to anybody in the office who tells a joke — especially dad jokes. I decided to capture him as a Rimshot Bot, ready to accent any punchline, tagline or headline.

I also did a couple of commissions. 

Here’s a commission I did for a tattoo. This person wanted an illustration of an Elvis Bot. They wanted it to honor their grandparents, who were big fans. It’s really cool that folks want my art on their skin.

This is a commission that I was a little hesitant to do, because I didn't quite understand the concept. Fortunately, this client worked with me to develop the concept for the art. This is a Node Garden with Robots.