Merry Christmas!

Have yourself a merry little christmas!


Characters Copyright © Gerhard Cruywagen 2009

A caricature.

A caricature illustration (A3):

New Painting..

I made this painting the other day.. Acrylic on a small canvas.

Human anatomy drawing

I've been doing some human anatomy drawings (for an illustration job). It's amazing how much you learn by actually drawing all the of the complexities of the human body. Once again, it goes to show you the difference between just looking at the theory and actually drawing your own studies.

Another doggie

Another doggie for the client. They wanted "angular", less "organic roundness"!

"Tom and Jerry"-ish bulldog

Here's a bulldog that I made for a client. They wanted something in the line of a Tom and Jerry bulldog, so I'm not just blatantly copying that design because I feel like it. Hopefully I've added some of my own flavours in there as well. Also, I tried out my new brush-tip pens for the first time..

Construction Practice

More construction practice! I love this pose. It's so strong, expressive, and to the point. Very clear line of action.

Practice, practice, practice.. These old-schoolers sure could draw!

Chilren's Book Drawings

Here's a bunch of illustrations I did for a childrens book. I tried to retain my cartoony instincts in my approach to the characters. I suppose the kids will judge if my work is worthy.

All images copyright © Gerhard Cruywagen 2009

Fathersday dads..

I made these cartoon dads for my grandfather. He's going to use them for fathersday cards or something. My little homage/ripoff of the Hanna-Barbera style, invented by the brilliant Ed Benedict. I suppose there's a bit of Simpsons in them aswell. Hmm..

Cartoons can make you think..

I just read this great post by Eddie Fitzgerald about how cartoons that are funny and imaginative can (by their very inherent nature) stimulate a positive influence in kids. It seems so obvious to us smart people, but sometimes the really thick-headed people need to be reminded of this fundamental fact of life. Cartoons are meant to be funny and full of wild and imaginative fun. That's why they call it a CARTOON! Kids like cartoons for this reason. I grew up watching cartoons (and still do), and I'm a smart and decent human being.

Check out Eddie's post here: http://uncleeddiestheorycorner.blogspot.com/2009/05/should-cartoons-end-with-message.html#links

Hook Construction Practice..

I like this character because he has a good balance between style and solid construction. In other words he is cartoony as well as designy. Also, he appears very simple and to the point. I like that in a character. Everything about him represents his personality. Another interesting thought.. What is the link between character design and his posture. Are they interlinked? Because I think part of the reason I find this character to be so appealing is his posture (in this specific drawing). Had he been standing straight up (in a normal bland way), I probably wouldn't have found him all that appealing, even though his basic design remained the same.

I tried to fix the head, but somehow it came out looking worse, I think. This guy has a tricky head. Am I being to literal with my contruction approach? I don't know. Maybe I just need more practice. Yes, I think that's it.

A cartoon for my dad - Finished.

(click to enlarge)

I'm done.. I tried a completely new rendering technique, keeping my black outlines to a bare minimum. I quite like the cartoony feel to it.

A cartoon for my dad.

(click to enlarge)

Busy working on a cartoon drawing (well, actually it's going to be two seperate drawings) for an article that my dad wrote for some car magazine. Had quite a bit of fun with this. I'll post the final inked version when I'm done.

African Comic Book

So I made these comic book illustrations for a Nigerian health organisation. It's a bit more of a realistic approach than I'm used to. I tried to have a blast with it anyways. I still placed alot of focus on trying to make my 'realistic' characters unique and fun to look at. I guess I'll let the Nigerians be the judge of that..

It's been a while..

So, it's been a while since I last posted anything. So I figured I better post something.. Like maybe a painting.




I call it.. Doubtful_Man_with_Cat (Acrylic and Ink)

Children's Book Illustration..

Yet another children's book sample drawing. And this time, I got the job! I'm pleased. It's for a series of children's books for BK Publishing. I drank some Merlot last night to celebrate..

Spümcø - Ranger Smith Cartoons

"Man.. four o'clock every morning.. what kind of life is this?"

Oh my goodness. How I love these Ranger Smith cartoons. They were made by Ren & Stimpy creator, John K. If I remember correctly, they had a short run on Cartoon Network in 1996. It's basically John's homage to the classic Hanna Barbera Yogi Bear limited-animation cartoons from the 1960's (which also had great character and design). To me, this is pure art. These drawings capture so much mood, emotion, sincerity, appeal, character, personality, expression, humour, design, and draftsmanship, that it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Just look at these great stills..

These backgrounds are just amazing! I wish I could find somebody who could paint like that.. Note the subdued use of colour. No loud 'cartoon' colours. The way cartoons used to look in the golden age.

Some of the background layouts were done by Ed Benedict.. designer of the original Yogi characters.