Tag: Art

The Dragon King

Karakow and the Dragon King
An illustration I drew for a book my friend Kevin and I are working on. It portrays the powerful, but weary Dragon King staring down the evil sorceress, Karakow.

It’s been quite a few months since my last post on my friend, Kevin, and my joint endeavor, a children’s book about a the adventures of a young troll and her human companion. This is my latest illustration, a showdown of sorts between the Sorceress, Karakow, and the Dragon King.

The Dragon King

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

My first hundred or so sketches of dragons looked either like anthropomorphic dinosaurs, or “Bowser” from Super Mario Brothers. The problem, as the quote so eloquently states above, is that I tend to draw what I know. Fortunately, as luck would have it my family and I visited “Book Off!”, a used book store in the Kearney Mesa area of San Diego a few months ago. While my daughters searched for Manga and Anime, I dove into the art books and discovered a used, tattered, and very cheap copy of “DragonArt” by J “NeonDragon” Peffer. For a couple of bucks Peffer’s illustrative step-by-step book showed me that there were other tools at my disposal than hammers. It still took a few sketches but I finally got a design that I liked for the Dragon King : Haggard, yet powerful. Intimidating, but intimidated.

Karakow

Karakow was a little easier. She’s an aging sorceress that’s one of the main antagonists in the book. I couldn’t help but lean heavily on Disney’s villainess’ such as Cruella de Vil and the evil ( unnamed ) stepmother from Cinderella. What I came up with is the vain, unyielding woman below. She has sharp, angular features, a big crooked smile, and a wardrobe that is conservative yet loud at the same time.

As always, I like to include some of my rough sketches and design work. As a budding artist I always try to remind myself that behind every finished work is lots ( and lots ) of hard work and mediocre barely-coherent scribbles. Admittedly, the “scribbles” shown here are some of my more refined ones. Trust me, there’s a lot more in the trashcan on the floor next to me.

New toys!

In other news, I broke down and bought an iPad Pro and have started working in Procreate. My old setup was a Surface Pro 7 running Clip Studio Paint. Why the change?

First, although compact, the Surface Pro 7 is far bulkier that the iPad. Although it’s a fully functional Windows machine, it makes for a mediocre tablet, a jack-of-all-trades / master-of-none, per say. Menus are tiny and finger gestures ( pinch-and-zoom, for example ) aren’t always responsive.

Second, the Surface Pro 7 only supports the original Surface Pen, a instrument that requires so much software-enabled “line correction” to function that I never really felt like I was working with a drawing instrument. The Apple Pencil, aside from a slippery glassy screen, is remarkably better in every way.

Third, Clip Studio Paint went subscription-based for it’s latest version. I blame Adobe for this trend and I refuse to subscribe to any of its software products because of it. Clip Studio Paint, like Procreate, was initially a one-time purchase. Now? No longer, so bye-bye. Subscriptions are for magazines that have new content each month. Software, by nature, is far more static; even if new features are introduced I seldom use them. And if they’re good enough? I have no problem buying a new version. Outright. Without a subscription.

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life.

-Scott

Previous : Unicorns, Trolls, and Breakfast

#DadsWritingBooks #DadsBookClub #BeCreative #Illustration #KidsBooks #KidsFantasyBooks #MythicalCreatures #BookLover #ILoveBooks #DrawnAndCoded #Procreate @iPadPro

The Rockin’ Oncs

Dr. Stewart and his band, The Rockin' Oncs
My oncologist is in a rock band. This is kinda’ how I pictured it.

It’s been well over a year since my last treatment for prostate cancer, and, as of my last quarterly blood draw, my PSA is still undetectable ( < 0.01 ng/mL ). If there are still prostate cancer cells floating around inside me, they’re in smaller amounts than the PSA test can detect. I am in remission, where I hope to be for a very, very long time.

Although my medical treatments have been mostly paused ( more on that in a bit ), I still find myself sticking to the same routines and diet that I kept while being treated. I still maintain a Whole Food Plant Based Diet ( WFPB ) and abstain from alcohol and processed sugars, but I’ve started allowing myself the occasional serving of fish. I’m still a big fan of intermittent fasting ( IC ), but I’ve found myself indulging in breakfast again from time-to-time.

I also continue to exercise, probably more so than while being treated. With the cessation of hormone therapy came a surge in testosterone, so I’ve bumped up my exercise and weight routines, probably a little too much. Back and muscle pain has been a problem made worse by working a desk job. I’ve started doing daily stretching/yoga, bought a standing desk, and even started seeing a chiropractor to help loosen things up. Admittedly, each time I pull my back out I can’t help but think that it’s cancer-related, but eventually I come to the same conclusion : I’m just getting older – and probably overdoing it. If there was one upside to the hormone therapy I was on, it was the steroids I had to take while on them. In retrospect, I feel that they likely masked a lot of the muscle pain I am now experiencing.

As part of my “Non-Treatment Plan”, I meet with my oncologist, Dr. Tyler Stewart, every six months. I have to admit that I much prefer these appointments to the earlier ones where we discussed medication, radiation, surgery – and invariably ended with my pants around my ankles and an enormous horse syringe shoved into my butt cheek.

“You need to see Dr. Hofflich again.”, Dr. Stewart said aloud as he reviewed a report on the exam room’s computer screen.

Dr. Hofflich, the latest member of my cancer team, is an orthopedic doctor who Doctor Stewart brought on board a little over a year ago after a scan indicated that I had early osteoporosis. 

“Yeah, my latest bone density scan (DEXA) was a little lower, wasn’t it,” I admitted.

“I don’t get it! I exercise. I eat a high calcium diet. I even started running – well, for a while.”, I complained.

“I don’t want you to break your hip at 50.”, he said, flatly.

“Yeah, I know. I know…..”, I grumbled.

“So much for my so-called ‘Non-Treatment Plan'”. I thought to myself.

“Hey, are you still in a band?”, Dr. Stewart asked, turning away from the computer screen.

“Huh?”, I mumbled, distracted.

“A band? Are you still playing music with your friends?”, he asked again.

“Oh… yeah! Yeah, we get together every week. We’re not very good, but we have a great time not being very good!”, I exclaimed, “Why do you ask?”

“The other doctors and I started a band, too!”, he smiled from ear-to-ear.

“No kidding? That’s awesome!”, I said, matching his smile.

“Yeah! It’s me and some of the other oncologists.”, he continued.

At this point my imagination took over. I pictured a Gary Larson-esqe comic of doctors in lab coats rocking out in an exam room, stethoscopes swaying haphazardly from their necks.

“Check this out!”, he smiled.

He then showed me a video on his phone. It wasn’t exactly how I pictured it, but they sounded good, and, wait…

“Are you singing?”, I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m the lead singer!”, he said, with pride.

I laughed, encouragingly.

“You guys aren’t half bad. I love it!”, I added.

We talked a while longer, mostly about lingering side effects from surgery and radiation. You can’t rip out a prostate and bake the carnage with radiation without lasting damage, after all. 

Fortunately, some of my concerns were mitigated by a routine and uneventful colonoscopy last year. Radiation might have baked my prostate, but my colon, aside from some scarring, survived unscathed. At this point I’ve gotten used to the frequent bathroom trips at night and the inevitable burning sensation from eating spicy foods. Incontinence following surgery hasn’t been a problem, but not for lack of effort – I still do daily Kegel exercises for twenty minutes, and I’ll probably be doing them for the rest of my life. There are other problems, but Dr. Stewart has a treatment plan for those too, and I’m slowly coming to terms with it.

“Well, that’s it, I guess.”, Dr. Stewart said as he got up to leave.

I got up to follow him.

“You can head out, too, but Danielle will be in shortly with your paperwork.”. He smiled.

“Yeah. I’ll stick around,  I’d like to see her!”, I said.

Danielle, Dr. Stewart’s nurse, has been by my side for the entire ride. Admittedly, she’s spent a lot of that time behind me administering injections, but she always had the most awesome cheerful disposition – and never missed, either.

“You look a lot different without a hazmat suit on and a horse needle in your hand!”, I told her as she entered the room.

She laughed and we caught up for a few minutes before I headed out.

On the way home I stopped to pick up Poke Bowls at “Poke One N Half” in La Jolla. Jodie and I had started frequenting the restaurant three years ago following each of my appointments. I’m not a big fan of sushi, but visiting the place had been a way to unwind after what had been some pretty stressful discussions. 

“Wow, your prices have gone up!”, I told the cashier while paying for the meal.

“Inflation”, she responded, flatly, spinning around the credit card machine to reveal a screen requesting a tip amount.

I entered a tip and pressed “Enter”, my eyes bugging out slightly at the total bill.

“Well, at least I only have to do this every 6-months now, ’cause that was expensive.”, I said under my breath.

Yet one more reason to be thankful to be in remission – as if I needed another one.

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life.

-Scott

Previous : Nine Months Later

P.S. Here are some sketches and character designs I created in preparation for the above illustration.

Prostate Cancer PSA
My PSA ( ng/mL ) as of 12/15/2022

.#Cancer #ProstateCancer #Oncology #Osteoporosis #Urology #Prostatitis #HormoneTherapy #ADT #Lupron #Zytiga #Degarelix, #Firmagon #EBRT #Radiation #ProtonTherapy #RadiationTherapy #RadioactiveMan #Prostatectomy #ProstateSurgery #BPH PSA #ClinicalStudy #UCSD #MooresCancerSociety #SanDiego #MyCancerStory #MyCancerSurvivalStory #DrawnAndCoded

Unicorns, Trolls, and Breakfast

I drew these pictures for Kevin and my ongoing endeavor, a children’s book, titled “Jalapena”. If the name sounds familiar, that’s good, because my last post was over eight months ago. If not, well, it’s a story about a young troll, Jalapena, and her human friend, Raven, as they journey to save their world by means of saving a unicorn. Kevin based it upon stories he told his daughter when she was younger.

As per my last post I’ve been putting a lot more effort into drawing “au natural”, with pencils, pens, and paper. The first two drawings were done entirely on my Surface Pro using Clip Studio and Gimp. The later three were done using a blue pencil, an HB pencil, Micron Pens, and a sheet of printer paper. It takes a little more work, but is a lot more rewarding for me. At some point, if there’s enough interest, I’ll do a quick post on my process.

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life.

-Scott

Abbington
Jalapena, Raven, and their new companions, a couple of wizards named Tholaman and Choinard as they evade the evil Bolziks in the town of Abbington.
Japapena's Family
I’m a big fan of noisy family meals and wanted to sketch what such a meal would look like in Jalapena’s household. This is what I came up with.
The Unicorn
Six years into my self-bestowed title as “amateur illustrator” and you’d think I’d have drawn a horse – uh, unicorn by now, but nope. It took some effort. Maybe I’m a little biased, but my initial sketches all looks liked long-legged dogs. It’s been said that for every good picture there are thousands of bad ones leading up to it. I have stacks of bad horse pictures, maybe not thousands, but enough to make a equestrian whinny. I hope you like them.
The Unicorn
The Unicorn

Previous : Character Sketches

Next : The Dragon King

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Viva Las Vegas

Las Vegas Cheer Competition Jam Rancho Bernardo Broncos Dead Van Chrysler Town and Country
My family and I may have lost a minivan, but we gained an adventure.

A van full of seven.
A cheerleader competition.
Through the desert to Vegas, let’s go!

With twenty miles left.
The van ran out of breath.
Worried, we grumbled, oh, no!

We rolled into a gas station.
And shouted exasperations.
As the van barfed up it’s engine and died.

And then a stretch limousine.
Rolled onto the scene.
And offered us all a ride.

We couldn’t believe our good luck.
The kids were awestruck.
We raced to meet the rest of the team.

Guess what? They won second!
And it was worth it I reckon.
I guess things are not always bad as they seem.

#LasVegas #CheerCompetition #Jam #RanchoBernardoBroncos #DeadVan #Chrysler #TownAndCountry #BadPoetry #Comic #ParentingFail

Character Sketches

Jalapena Book Creative Dads Illustration DrawnAndCoded

Here are some character sketches for the book that my friend, Kevin, and I have been working on. Some characters turned out to be very different than Kevin had initially written in his earlier drafts. Tholoman, for example, was supposed to be a grizzled old human male. Now he’s a “young” elf. We thought by making him younger we could have fun with the chemistry between him and the young girl protagonists. 

We’ve also been involving our daughters’, too. Kevin runs all his revisions by his daughter, Clara. As for me, when I was sketching the Bokziks, a group of sometimes-half-animal antagonists, I didn’t realize my oldest daughter, Ashley, was peering over my shoulder.

“Dad, you should make her a half-squirrel.”, she said matter-of-factly. “It’d be cool.”

“Yeah?”, I looked up, startled.

So, I erased the crude “were-dog” that I had been working on and in its its place quickly scribbled out a bushy tail, squat hips, and tiny legs and feet.

“Like that?”, I asked, unsure.

“Yeah!”, she smiled back.

So, yeah, collaboration is fun. Sometimes it might even take you somewhere you never expected to be.

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life.

-Scott

Previous : A Map

Next : Unicorns, Trolls, and Breakfast

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A Map

Map Atlas Jalapena Book DadsWriting CreativeDads
I’ve always liked maps. They tell you where you’ve been – or better yet, where you might go. Here’s a map for a book that my friend Kevin and I are working on.

I’ve always liked maps. They tell you where you’ve been – or better yet, where you might go.

Before there was MapQuest or Google Maps there was the Thomas Guide, a hefty, seemingly indecipherable, yet indispensable tome of colorful road maps. Mine was gifted to me by my parents on my 16th birthday along with my first car, a 1972 Volkswagen Bug. Weighing in at three pounds and measuring over an inch thick mine only covered San Diego County, but in an era before cell phones it saved my rear more times than I like to admit. My Thomas Guide rode under the driver’s seat of that Bug and several others before it met its ultimate demise. I kept it far longer than it was useful. MapQuest’s printable turn-by-turn instructions knocked the books’ usefulness to its knees, Google Maps and the Apple iPhone severed its head altogether.

Although the Thomas Guide was practical I always preferred those with, well, a little more imagination. As a kid that meant the park maps handed out at Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, or Wild Rivers. I enjoyed plotting my adventures along the colorful pathways and trying to figure out what attractions changed since my last “adventure”.

During our last meeting, Kevin, the author I have been collaborating with, and I decided that our book needed a map. After sketching out a ( very ) rough draft with him I returned home and pondered what such a map should look like. I decided it needed to be practical, like a Thomas Brother’s Guide, but also fun like the park maps handed to me at amusement parks. This is what I came up with. If it makes you smile, I succeeded. If not, well, at least I tried!

Oh! Any my daughter, Ashley, helped me with the design and color for this one. I’ll make an artist out of her yet!

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life …

-Scott

Previous : Spiders!

Next : Character Sketches

#Maps #MapLover #Atlas #DadsWritingBooks #DadsBookClub #BeCreative #Illustration #KidsBooks #KidsFantasyBooks #MythicalCreatures #BookLover #ILoveBooks #DrawnAndCoded

Spiders!

My second illustration for a project that my friend Kevin and I are working on. This scene is called “Spiders!”.

I am in awe by how much work goes into the writing of a book. There’s the book itself – and then there’s all of the world building that takes place behind the scenes. World building is the history, characters backstories, creatures, cities – basically everything that goes into creating a believable world, or “atmosphere” in which the story takes place. It’s “frustratingly fun” to conjure up – frustrating in that much of the generated content may be omitted entirely in the actual book, but incredibly fun to dream up. My friend, Kevin, the author, and I are having a great time.

Here’s an excerpt from the book for which the above illustration was created. I hope you like it.

There was a loud crack of thunder and lightning beamed down from the sky brightening everything in the trees around them. Jalapeña and Raven looked at one another with wide eyes, realizing for the first time that they weren’t alone.

“Are those spiders,” asked Jalapeña?

“ Um yeah, Uh I think so? What should we do?”

“Just keep walking and hope we can see better when the lighting strikes again.” Jalapeña couldn’t believe what she had seen and Raven didn’t seem too sure about the spiders either. The sky suddenly lit up brightly and thunder shook through the treetops. They could both see clearly now, hundreds of bright red eyes glowed in the light. The spiders were getting closer and it was clear they were as big as the two girls, maybe bigger.

Jalapeña screamed, first a loud screech and the “RUUUUUNNNN!” Raven was already running ahead of her. Jalapeña started to run but was quickly pulled upward by something and swung forward through the trees.

At the next crack of lightning, she could see that she was swinging above where Raven was running and she continued moving forward as if on a pendulum. “Raven!” she screamed. She didn’t think Raven had heard her, the rain was now coming even harder and in large drops, the size of golf balls, splashing off of everything and causing small rivers and waterfalls to form all around them. The next lightning bolt Jalapeña saw Raven continuing to run along the muddy trail, not too far below her. What she saw ahead of her was even more terrifying than the spiders; a giant wall of water was rushing down the trail, pushing trees down ahead of it. It was headed right for Raven but there was nothing Jalapeña could do but yell futilely as the noise was now far too loud to hear or be heard…

( To be continued )

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life …

-Scott

Previous : Jalapeña

Next : A Map

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Walk with me

Prostate Cancer ZERO Run/Walk Team Vandervort

“What should I call my team?”, I asked without looking up from my laptop, “‘Team Vandervort’?”

“I don’t want to sound conceited, but I really don’t know what else to name it.”, I continued.

“’Team Vandervort’ is good”, Jodie replied. She was scrubbing a cake pan in the kitchen sink. It was one of many left over from my oldest daughters’ latest baking frenzy.

I looked up from my laptop and over to her.

“I’m thinking about a slogan, too….”, I ventured.

“Oh?” ( scrub, scrub, scrub )

“How about ‘Help me nip cancer in the groin’?”, I asked with a hint of a smirk.

The scrubbing stopped.

I consciously refocused my eyes on my laptop and the registration form displayed on its screen, but I could feel her “are you ^#$@%# nuts” glare burning into my temple.

Silence.

“…. weeeeeeeell, maybe not. Just ‘Team Vandervort’ will work I guess”, I answered quickly.

The scrubbing resumed.

And that’s the problem with Prostate Cancer. While Breast Cancer has captivated the public with humorous yet risque catch phrases like “Save the Boobies”, Prostate Cancer is quick to refrain from such things less people be offended. Admittedly, the prostate just isn’t as much of a crowd pleaser. I totally get it. I wouldn’t want to see one strolling down the street, either.

Regardless, the 2021 Prostate Cancer Walk is important to me. When I was first diagnosed in late 2019 I had missed it by a month. I promised my daughters that we’d walk next year – only to be denied again by COVID restrictions. This year, however, Prostate ZERO has pulled out all of the stops. It’s happening,

Unlike most cancers, Prostate Cancer can be cured if caught early enough. I walk to bring attention to the disease so that other men will be aware of this. So that they will get tested. So that they can “nip cancer in the groin” before it’s too late. I walk to support people afflicted with the disease so that they can afford the treatments and care that will make them better. I walk because I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I have.

Rest assured that I am doing well. 

It’s been well over a year since my prostatectomy, seven months since my last radiation treatment, and my hormone therapy will be winding down later this year. My PSA, an indicator of prostate inflammation – or in my case ( since I am lacking a prostate ) – cancer, has stayed undetectable. I credit my incredible medical team at UCSD Moores Cancer Society, my loving and supportive family and friends, and some pretty extreme lifestyle changes. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of so many people. 

If you’d like to join me and “Team Vandervort” in the 2021 Prostate Cancer ZERO Walk please click here for my team page. On my team page there are two buttons: “Donate to Team Vandervort” and “Join Team Vandervort”. The second button, “Join Team Vandervort”, will register you to participate in the walk and prompt you to select a team. The first button, “Donate to Team Vandervort” will allow you to make a donation but not participate in the walk.

There is a 5k run/walk as well as a 1k walk. My family and I will be participating in the 5k walk.

Time:

Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 8:00 AM

Location:

De Anza Cove Park
3000 N Mission Bay Dr.
San Diego, CA 92109

For more information on the event click here. Please let me know if you have any questions. I hope to see you there!

Take care. Live life. Walk with me.

-Scott

Previous : The Road Ahead

Next : A Bake Sale

My PSA ( ng/mL ) as of 06/10/2021
Prostate Cancer PSA

#prostatecancer #cancer #prostatitis #psa #prostate #urology #oncology #radiationtherapy #radiation #ebrt #proton #radicalprostatectomy #chemotherapy #hormonetherapy #surgery #lupron #leuprolide #drawnandcoded #iwillbeatthis #prostatecancerzero #prostatecancerwalk #prostatecancer #theenedofprostatecancer

Jalapeña

Jalapena Book Dads Writing Books Dads Book Club Be Creative Illustration Kids Books Kids Fantasy Books Mythical Creatures Book Lover I Love Books Drawn And Coded
My first illustration for a project that my friend Kevin and I are working on. This scene is called “Jalapeña and Raven meet the Royals”.

A few months ago my friend, Kevin, asked if I would help him illustrate a book he had been working on. The book is based on a collection of stories he had told to his daughter, Clara, at bedtime and over long plane flights to keep her preoccupied. The stories tell the story of “Jalapeña”, an 8-year-old red-headed troll and her human friend, “Raven”, as they go on a series of adventures. Kevin shared his manuscript with me and, although I really enjoyed the story, I was hesitant to illustrate it. His story was epic. It contained a huge cast of characters and creatures and traversed a wide variety of places over different time periods.

“You know”, I told Kevin, “I’ve never done this before!”

“…I’ve just drawn comics…”, I continued, before he could interrupt. “… and, it’s almost a given that my artwork will improve as the book progresses. The illustrations might be inconsistent!”

“That’s okay!”, he replied, calmly.

In that instant I realized that Kevin and I were in the same boat. He wasn’t a professional writer any more than I was a professional artist. It’d be a learning process for both of us.

And then I smiled.

“Okay then.”, I said.

“Let’s do it.”

The experience so far has been nothing short of awesome…

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life …

-Scott

Next : Spiders!

#JalapenaBook #DadsWritingBooks #DadsBookClub #BeCreative #Illustration #KidsBooks #KidsFantasyBooks #MythicalCreatures #BookLover #ILoveBooks #DrawnAndCoded