The Professional Webspace of Designer and Illustrator Kevin Cornell:
"Design, Art, and Lackluster Humor."
Tentacle Titles and More!
A short while back, I had bought a tiny sketchbook — only about 4"x6" — with the intention to shake things up, since I generally work in a larger format. I also applied some rules to drawing in this new sketchbook (number 14 in the collection), designed to keep me from rolling around in the usual mud. I'm using mud here as a metaphor for my normal sketching habits, although it could be an acronym as well... how about My Usual Doodlings... or Metaphor aboUt Drawing... or habitual drawing practices of my MUDdled brain.
Anywhooooo.... I set three rules to steer me clear of the mud (Most Usual Direction):
- Only Pen (meaning, no pencil underdrawing, watercolor washes, or cottonball collages)
- One Concept Per Page (meaning I shouldn't just doodle something to doodle it... it should convey an idea)
- No Packing the Page (none of this).
So now that I've set the stage, let's take a gander (I'm speaking of the act of looking, and not the male member of a goose marriage) at the octopus above. My thought here was that even if octopi already have scientific names for their tentacles, they're probably ridiculous names like "Lateral Cruciate Anterior Flexible Unsegmented Extension". So I thought I'd apply simpler names, much like the human race has done with their own fingers. That way, when I have tea with an octopus, my conversation would play out something like this:
ME: Pardon me, Madam Octopus... could you pass me the sugar bowl?
MO: I'm not quite sure I know where it IS, darling...
ME: I believe it's suctioned to your Festic Tentacle.
MO: Oh rather!
Now, this next drawing is more of a question than a drawing:
But it's not a terribly easy question, at least, not if I want a qualified answer. An expert opinion. I mean, I couldn't ask Madam Octopus. The idea that there would be anything other than Under Seas would blow her mind. The shock alone could Uncruciate her Lateral Cruciated Extensions all in one go. No, what I need here is the opinion of a Bosun. Or maybe a First Mate. Unfortunately, these are in short supply on land, which is where I need to do all of my drawing (I can't hold a pen correctly when my fingers are all pruney).
And lastly, this final drawing is a quick caricature. One night, we had gone bowling, and while waiting for our lane to open, I drew the woman who gave us our shoes:
I imagine that if I didn't go bowling that night, but stayed at home, and someone said to me, "Hey — draw a woman who works in a bowling alley", I may have ended up with the exact same sketch.
Comments on this Article
There are currently 41 comments.
2. bearskinrug
Hahah - Good observation! Though by that logic... I could have included ink washes...
Dammit!
4. bearskinrug
Sheesh... you LOVE tentacles... why don't you just get that surgery already?
5. First Mate Bucky
The High Seas be whar' the great beasties dwell and the Open Seas be whar' thar's nary a trace of land!
7. Sophie
To get to the high seas once you need to use a boat elevator. The open seas are the ones where there are depresssions in the water, ready to welcome shipwrecks, and leading to Madam Octopus’s lair.
8. randallard
Cottonball Collages... I'd like to see what BSR does with one of those.
Anywhooooo....
9. TheJones
What type of pen/brush/tip thing are you using in that "Alley Wench" piece. I like this direction.
10. sutter
cleary that is not a married octopus as there is no ring on that tentacle. Now is your chance, Stan...
11. bearskinrug
Sophie - I like that logic... and it's easier to understand than regular sea-speak.
Randallard - All kinds of things! Snowmen! Bunny Tails!
That's all I can think of right now.
TheJones - Well, it's just one of these babies, in 08 point size... the ol' standard for thick lines!
12. TheJones
Hmm, my lines never seem to look that brush like with a micron, thanks!
13. Owen
I just love the Alley Wench. The title just seems so befitting if not a little belitlling.
14. Terry Tolleson
Sweet fancy Moses, that Alley wench is ... there are no words. You're lucky you made it out alive, BSR!
Elsewhere: I love the packed page. I actually try to pack a page, but because my illustrative skills are poor, at best, I settle with dozens of little boxes to fill in. Similar to this.
15. bearskinrug
16. Russer Butters
Great octopus Bear, though I think he (or she) really needs one of those other legs listed as his thumb, as all truly intelligent animals have thumbs and believe me octopus are smart. I've seen them give scientist a run for their money, and by scientists I mean me. And speaking as a former first mate I still have no real idea what separates the high from the open. Probably height and lack of obstuction.
17. The Colonel
As a Colonel of both Land and Sea, I feel partially, if not fully qualified to answer your question regarding The Briny Deep.
High Seas are scientifically proven to be 42% sexier than Open Seas.
Thus, if one was to start calling an "Alley Wench" a "Sea Shrew", ones chances of making some super-retard babies is almost twice as good.
18. testMonkey
here here about the thumb. I mean, when that there octopus needs a lift, s/he's not going to be "membrous-ing" a ride, is s/he? I think not.
19. Terry Tolleson
BSR - The "larger" boxes are actually 7/8" by 5/8", so, yes, they are always that small (though the .GIF is slightly smaller than actual size). Here's a sample of a "full page". This particular one also shows my thumbnail process for designing actual work.
24. Nathan
Wonderful octopus. I'm curious, though, how this arm-naming convention translates to other cephalopods such as squid. Would they have the same basic set of pinky-through-cloptic, with the addition of the hetejon and meef, or would they merit ten unique names?
And I can't even imagine what the diagram for a nautilus would have to look like. Maybe we should just say they have roughly eighty pinkies and leave it at that.
25. anaglyph
Is an octopus obliged to wear shoes when it goes bowling? If it has no thumb, how does it hold the ball? Now I'm going to lose sleep AGAIN because I stopped by here...
26. bearskinrug
Russer Butters - I'm talking about regular Octopus here, Russ. Not the super-soldiered Octopi you ran into in the lab...
Colonel - Aha! So I can detect which part I'm in by my friskiness. Good to know!
Testmonkey - That's true. Unless they can manufacture a "need a ride" sign... they DO have built in inkwells...
Jared - Yeah, but you're not in the running unless you have a more powerful mullet than her.
Monkeyinabox - She has inner beauty... and free passes for any lane, any time. That IS a sexual euphemism.
Nathan - Wow? Squid have ten tentacles? So you're getting a heartier meal when you order the Calamari over the Octopus in a restaurant. Good to know!
Anaglyph - Good question. Octopi never bowl, mainly because they don't understand the complex scoring system. Come to think of it, that's why I rarely bowl...
27. RonaldB
Silly me; I initially thought the caption on that ugly mug said "allan wrench"... Waddayamean, do-u-diy?
28. RonaldB
... that would be "allen", not "allan', which makes my mistake even more logical... sort of.
29. BigA
I think I've just discovered a new favorite on the aspersion front: Page Packer
31. bearskinrug
32. Russer Butters
I feel as frisky as a squid on tuesday, but alas it's friday, where do the days go?
In truth though squid still only have eight arms, the other two are tentacles, and technically don't count as arms, but all of them are still tasty when deep fried.
And yes, the lab octopus I encountered back in my days as a rogue marine biologist were smarter than the average octopus. They had a habit of escaping their tanks, opening containers and solving complex equations.
33. Prabes
Octis, Has the ability to get married.Ring finger there...there... Good.
34. BigA
My God I just a horrifying thought. What if Stan does get that operation. Those suckers will be the size of his HANDS!
35. bearskinrug
He'd kill us all! Which he was planning to do anyways... but STILL!
36. niff
nice try KEVING~! what, you think you can steal the "multi suctioned leg" thing from InkFinger too eah? well..well...
okay. =)
40. kevinFitz
i just looked at pack the page for the first time, almost shat myself.. then enjoyed the three rules you put on this page of sketches.. good discipline, daniel son
41. bearskinrug
Haha - thanks ;)
Now if I can learn to split a block of wood without using any pencil...
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1. Nikki Noodle
That no-pencil rule really applies to that octopus?! In any case, thats some of the most beautiful linework ever. Fitting subject matter as well since it would be painful I'm sure for octopi to shoot pencils out of wherever they shoot from when they get scared.