Gourd and Willow Play in the Willow Patch

Happy Halloween

Been working more on my Willow Patch story. Created a friend for the Willow Scarecrow. His name is Gourd and he is a zombie buried in the ground growing gourds out of his head. Willow and Gourd have so much fun chatting and making jokes at each other.

Going to try and color this one later this week.

We Fight Till We Fall

I came up with this idea burning leaves at my parents house awhile back. I had just finished watching Lord of the Rings The Two Towers and was thinking of the awesome scene where Gandalf is fighting the Balrog. I pictured a whole story from that inspiration of leaves fighting each other with a burn pile below them.

This is my first attempt of doing some shading while coloring on Photoshop Elements. I'm pretty impressed with how it turned out. I was blown away by how just a little color can make something look more dramatic. Though I doubt I got the shadow physics right. But not bad for a first attempt at it.

Steam Cycle

Fall weather is the best time of year to me to draw some Steam Punk

 

Another vehicle from the world of Steam Pony

When you can't travel by rail, you still travel by steam.

The Steam Cycle runs on a high compression boiler powering two cylinder pistons. 75 percent of the vehicle is contained within the two wheels on each side of the vehicle. Their large size keeps the engine balanced without needing a third wheel to support the front half of the boiler.

Caution must be taken when starting up the Steam Cycle though. If you engage the drive to quickly you can throw off the balance of the cycle and ram the front end of the boiler into the ground and flip the cycle over.

 

Willow Patch Scarecrow Comes Out To Play (Colored)

All lit up and ready for a stroll through the spooky Willow Patch.
 
Was really feeling the creative spirit today. I had a lot of fun coloring this sketch. It felt great to color a sketch digitally again. I'm not the greatest color-er but it is done in my own style. Hope you enjoy it.

Willow Patch Scarecrow Comes Out To Play (c)Aaron Babel 2015

 By the way I made a Gif of the coloring progress. Just for fun.

Willow Patch Scarecrow Comes Out To Play (Progression Animation) (c) Aaron Babel

 

Willow Patch Sketch Coloring Progress

Things are coming along with coloring the Willow Patch. Hopefully I will have it ready by Halloween.
Having to use an old version of Photoshop Elements to color has been challenging. I'm used to the layout of Photoshop CS4. Sadly my iMac bit the test and I am forced to use a copy of elements that came with my bamboo tablet awhile back. It's not too bad to use though. Getting the same results I would with Photoshop, just taking a bit longer.

 

Willow Patch Scarecrow comes out to play (sketch)

Out Playing in the Willow Patch

Sketch

 

 I love fall and the spookiness it brings. Nothing fits this quite like seeing a pumpkin patch at dusk, with the darkness of the coming night turning a field of pumpkins into a spooky place. What better place for a lonely scarecrow to come out and play.

I am currently attempting to do a digital coloring of this sketch. Will see how it turns out.