TURTEL ONLI inspired caricature drawing by subwaysurfer

Okay, remember, the operative word here is TURTEL ONLI INSPIRED meaning I wasn't going for a literal visual interpretation of the Father of The Back Age of Comix Movement, I just took elements from his features to create my own character. This is what character design is all about.

caricature of black musician with geometric Afro hairstyle

Barnes and Nobles is one of my favorite bookstores for a lot of reasons.No matter what branch you go into, there is a plush , professional atmosphere, friendly knowledgable staff, and this intangible chill factor effect that makes you want to kick back and relax. Not to mention that Barnes and Noble has a star bucks inside where you can sit and sip coffee, water or tea, plug into the free WiFi and surf online till you drown in information! What's NOT to love about the place? I particularly love the cross section of the population that comes in and out if the store. As a professional character designer/caricature artst I'm always on the lookout for good faces, and Barnes and Noble is a reliable fishing hole.

I was on my way out when I spotting this massive shock of Bkack hair. It was geometrically cut in such a precise way that was startling. I found myself staring and reaching for my drawing pad...who was I fooling though? I knew I'd never ave enough time to get all this fantastic detail, so I tapped the guy on the shoulder and asked my old familiar question?..
"DO YOU MIND IF I DRAW YOU?"

When you blatantly ask a person if you can draw them , or even tae their photo, which I did also, they usually answer with a polite, but firm "No". To my delight he agreed, and stopped just so I could get the right angle. As I had suspected, he was a perfomer, a guitarist in a rock band in fact. I noticed that he also had a big spider tattoo that was in the center of hs chest, the legs extending out over his rib cage, pointing to perfectly chiseled six lack abs. I sucked in my pot belly and completed my preliminaries thanking him for his time and promising to upload the pics on my blog.

As you can see I've done a number of rendition of him which I often do to teach myself how to caricature, exaggerate, and tem simplify, as you can see with the bottom drawing. Whenever you caricature, never bbe satisfied with your first drawing. Keep at it, and you'll make some great artistic discoveries, the least of which is finding your own style.

Live Caricature drawing of man with a big Chin

There are those times at alive gig when all the planets align perfectly the wind is at your back, and you're pumping adrenalin in just the rift amount...annnnnnnd the perfect subject sits in front of you. I had this experience at a gig I did for the prestigious Hampton Classic horse show a few weeks ago. In fact, the gig was exactly the following week that Hurricane Irene touched us here on The East Coast.

I drew this with a Tombo Brush pen, and an indigo Primacolor art Stixx on 8X11 card stock. in three minutes flat. It was pure perfection, and started me on a five hour roll that left me feeling energized, and a little richer at the end.

SUBWAYSURFER UNAPOLEGETIC CALL TO ACTION

If you notice, on the upper left corner if the caricature is a printed copy of the company logo. This serves as an advertisement that stays in front of the person as long as they have their picture, and believe me, they keep these pictures. Why not use me to promote your business or special event?

Caricature of BIG NOSE INTOXICATED MAN ON THE BUS

I was coming home energized like I always am after a great caricature gig. This "energizer bunny" phenomenon is unique to us caricature artists after hours of intense drawing. It's almost like a type of drawing fever takes a hold of you, and it takes hours to calm down. I do some of my best "subway surfing" during these times, and today was no exception.

I was fortunate enough to get a nice window seat on a Rockaway Bound 35 bus traveling from Brooklyn. The 35 is the only bus that travels directly to the Rockaways from Brooklyn, and comparatively speaking the ride is fast compared to the train. The only drawback is that you board the 35 bus on Flatbush ave, a major shopping area, with 100 of your neighbors, each competing for the same limited seats.

When I say I was fortunate, I ain't kidding.

Within minutes, however, I almost regretted sitting down. Directly in front of me, was a man so heavily intoxicated that he seemed to be sweating Vodka.to say that this guy reeked of alcohol is like saying Niagra Falls is a little wet. It seemed that Any minute this guy was going to pitch over and vomit on his shoes.... And if he turned just a little to his left... I'd have a lap full of vomit stew.... Not a pleasant thought.

Oh....but what a face he had! Beautiful dramatic angles and folds, and a nose that only a caricature artist could love! I HAD to draw him! But HOW?? I mean, he was sitting right across from me! I had to think if something unconventional.... So I put on a pair of dark shades. Now normally doing this would make draw g a little harder, but somehow the dark glasses served as an invisible barrier that gave me confidence to look at him for extended periods without alerting him.
The strategy worked beautifully, and I managed to get this great sketch without one drop of vomit landing on me. We both got off the bus at the last stop,I went happily to my studio to put the finishing touches on the sketch, as I watched him stagger slowly in the direction of the bar...

STEVE JOBS RIP CARICATURE BY SUBWAYSURFER

THANKS FOR LETTING THE WHOLE WORLD 

TAKE A BITE OF YOUR APPLE

It turns out that "god" is dead today. Alas, Steve Jobs, is mere flesh blood and bones just like the rest of us.

I know my aforementioned remark will come of as cynical to most people, and I apologize for that. My heart goes out to his family, his friends, and the men and women who worked beside him to create the most revolutionary products the planet has ever seen. I'm grateful to Steve Jobs and applaud his vision, creativity and genus. Heck, I'm typing this on the iPad he envisioned, which has made my job as an illustrator a billion times easier.

Yet I maintain that for many of his legion of fan "god died today" and that reality leaves us all with a sober reminder: man, no matter how great, in the cosmic scheme of eternity, is only a vapor in comparison. In our arrogance and enthusiasm to applaud ourselves, we forget that, as we go about worshipping the works and clever devices of our own hands, or those made by the gods we make, like Steve Jobs.

No, I'm NOT saying, that Steve is now "going to hell" and suffering for his "arrogance", what I am saying is that every now and then, with the passing of a notable public figure, we are all reminded of our own frail humanity, and also start speculating about eternity and our place in it.

I find it particularly touching that as his health began to take a turn for the worst, Steve Jobs did not give his undivided attention to the creation if a new electronic device, or business venture. Instead, according to a New York Post article, he was working diligently on a biography for his children. His desire, was that they would know him, in his own words. As a father myself who has written many letters to his children over the years, that is precious to me, and resonates on a deeper level. As men it's sometimes difficult to express in words the deep love we have for our kids, even if, on the surface, it doesn't show. The culture f manhood sometimes demands that we be driven and stoic in our desire to build a business or reputation. The more successful the man, perhaps the most difficult this is. I hope he completed that project. For those of us who remain, there is a great lesson in this. I pray that we learn it. I pray that I learn it as well.

Steve Jobs was a great man who inspired us to dream, and to create. His final lesson causes us to THINK about the one journey we all will take.

rip steve jobs

STEPS OF THE FIFTH AVE APPLE STORE THE DAY FOLLOWING STEVE JOBS PASSING

CARICATURE QUICK TIP INKING A SUBWAY CARICATURE FACE

HOW TO EXAGGERATE A CARICATURE EXAGGERATION

CARICATURE QUICK TIP DRAWING A SAD FACE

HOW TO DRAW A CARTOON DOG

CARICATURE QUICK TIP SERIES INKING A PENCIL SKETCH

HOW TO MAKE A COMIC STORY THAT IS GUARANTEED TO SELL!

http://cinch.fm/subwaysurfer/293405

HOW TO DRAW A BOY WITH DREADLOCKS

I was having some fun drawing one night and decided to make a video on how to do a boy with dreadlocks! Sorry it's upside down I'm a better artist than ohotograper!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0Qu-K4T4bA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE AN ARTIST?

WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE AN ARTIST?
What drives you? I keep coming back to this question because it's an important one. I've found that depending on what my answer is, it will sustain and encourage me through times of discouragement, doubt and disappointment.

BEING AN ARTIST CAN BE LONELY

no matter how gregarious some of our personalities are, art making is a solitary activity. We are confronted with blank paper, computer screens or canvas and forced to bring something into being that has never been seen by the world, or us before. No one can tell us how to do this, we alone must bring it into being, and that requires intense introspection, experimentation and isolation. During these times of loneliness the question of why I'm doing this keeps haunting me...here are a few of my answers and perhaps some of yours

FINANCE
I've grown accustomed to having food in my refrigerator, clothes on my back,and a roof over my head. On a very basic level, I make art to survive, literally. I continue to work because there is that fear that concern that if I stop I will cold,hungry and naked. Fear becomes my companion, motivator that I cannot stop doing what I am doing to maintain my lifestyle. And yet Finance and Fear can't drive me alone, because then I will come to resent my work.

EGO

I absolutely LOVE to be recognized for what I've done. It's a tremendous ego boost. I recall going to a NCN Caricature convention, and overhearing people I didn't know whisper, "that's HIM, that's SUBWAYSURFER!" I was flattered. It was an indication that my peers respected me, recognized me. Just this week I received a phone call from a FACEBOOK fan who thanked me for influencing him! He went on to tell me how he had been following me and read everything I'd written, viewed all my videos and downloaded my printed materials. I'm overjoyed by this. I work hard in not letting ego rule me, that would be arrogant, but I do admit that since I know people are viewing my work, I am motivated to always do my best.

As a professional caricature entertainer my work, by it's very nature is under immediate scrutiny since it's created right there in front of a crowd. Drawing live and being congratulated and applauded publicly has built up my ego and self esteem substantially.

LOVE

I decided to save the best for last.
LOVE. Before there was money coming in for doing my art, before there was anyone to congratulate me, or hang it kn their refrigerator door, there was the pure love of just doing it. There is an indescribable pleasure in drawing a line, creating composition, bringing to life something that I see in my head, being able to personify feelings. Like most artists, I started in childhood, and was a"good kid" mostly because I would entertain and quiet myself for hours on end just by doing art.
I would do it even if I wasn't paid a single dollar on recording a single handclap. It's who I am, my own personal pleasure. To steal a line from the character in the movie Chariots Of Fire, "God made me an ARTIST! And when I draw, I can feel his pleasure!"

For me, art is a form of worship, a form of appreciation to the God who made me.

These are the things that keep me going. How about you?

911 memorial poem September Memories by Elgin Subwaysurfer bolling

SEPTEMBER MEMORIES By Elgin Bolling

On a clear day, they say
You can see forever!
But we never thought
That our Friendly Skies
Would ever witness

THOUSANDS DIE.
Or hear Billions CRY..
White Hot Tears
Falling from sorrowful eyes
Of Burning Towers Like
Post Summer Rain

A testimony that Our Great City
Would Be Forever Changed…
Insane Day!
Inane Day!
The Day I hated Planes…

Who’s to Blame?
What’s His Name?
What Foul Victory Did He Claim?
By having people Slain…

If you went to work, THAT Day,
You were sorry that you came.
That is, if you SURVIVED
Some didn’t come home…
Alive.

In September…
I Still Remember…

People Broken and Dismembered!

Towers Falling!
People Crawling
Men, Women, and Children
Bawling.

Running blindly down the Halls
Fire Burning on the Walls
Somewhere …in the desert air…. Osama…Laughing…
Struggling for breath… Gasping …
Getting help from strangers
Without Asking.

Firefighters bravely answering the Call
Hundreds of people starting to Fall…

Flying Briefly in Empty Space…
Savoring the last sweet breath of freedom
Before landing on their face.

The Twins begin to crumble…
People Stumble…
I mumble…
“Our City…..Humbled”.

Who Fumbled?
Who Dropped the Ball?
My mind begins to Stall..
Is this All?
Or is there more to come?
Do we evacuate?
Or Get a Gun?
No Where To Hide
No Place to Run…

The Mayor’s Finest Hour
He spoke with resolve and did not cower.
Regardless of your Political Affiliation
On THAT DAY we were ALL ONE NATION

And even though it was Hard
On that day even Atheists Prayed To God

The pain never ceases
We continue to this day
To pick up the broken pieces
But as Americans we stand strong.
In the aftermath of this terrible wrong

From the EBOOK, "Annointed Verse, Unrehearsed"
available for purchase, here:
http://elprophetthescribe.blogspot.com/p/annoited-verse-unrehearsed-poetry-ebook.html

Caricature quick tip How to draw braided hair part two

The first post was so popular, I decided to include this second one in the series. Sorry about the view. I got disorinted on this camera. Hope its  not too much of a distraction.

Live Caricature Drawing on NYC Subway By Subwaysurfer

I absolutely LOVE it when passengers are bold enough to ASK for their picture, like this gentlemen did  here. I was sitting across from him and noticed he had an interesting look for a character design I was developing of a scientist, or something like that. I did a quick sketch and turned the page when he inquired about thedrawing. we went on to have a great discussion about social media, character design, and entrepreneurship. He even gave me some social media tips! what did he tell me? HEY! that's MY secret!   Sorry for the shaky picture I was on a moving train and took this with my camera phone. The guy in the picture  name is WES. I told Wes I would be doing some character studies on his face, much to his delight,.... 

Caricature Quick Tip How to Draw Braided hair

Have you ever found yourself horrified frustrated and frozen with fear someone with braids approached you to be drawn at a life event? I sure did! I hated drawing braids so much that I carried scissors in my bag with intentions on cutting them off the persons head! since being a barber is not in my skill set, I had to devise a method for drawing them quickly and easily. Nothing can ruin a caricature more than drawing braids sloppy, especially if its a major part of the persons, visual persona... er... is that even a word? This video goes into one of my methods that not only make drawing braids easy, but also a lot of fun! forgive the quality of the video, I filmed it on my smartphone while waiting for my wife while she shopped at Trader Joes....

William Shakesphere iPad caricature

Talk about a different and unexpected assignment.... I'm currently working with a client who commissioned me to draw some character designs for a board game he is currently developing, and one of the characters is William Shakesphere. I must admit, I've never had a request to draw that before, and was very excited on how I would interpret the character.

The client wanted the illustration to be a full body shot, no gross exaggeration, and recognizable. I immediately thought of the style and approach that Alex Toth used when he was commissioned to draw characters for Saturday morning toons back in the day. The design had to be elegant and simple. As has become my habit, these days, I drew the character in such a way that if it were being animated, it could be easily copied, and quickly reproduced. I looked at pictures online to see how Shaesphere had been depicted by other artists, and then gave it my own particular flair, as I did with the period clothing, after researching that. Google and YouTube make research like this a snap.

I couldn't resist adding the skull as a accessory, and within a few hours, I had a character design but artist, and client could be proud of.

What I love about assignments like these, is the opportunity to draw people and things I wouldn't ordinarily draw myself. Another great benefit if drawing William Shakesphere, is the potential of bring new viewers to my blog who come, not necessarily because they like art, per se, but because they like William Shakesphere. Hopefully in the process of viewing this illustration, they will be encouraged to check out the rest of the blog.

I'm giving a subtle hint here, fellow artists, so listen up.

If you want to increase traffic to your blogs start including pop culture pieces, as well as "traditional" drawings like Will, here. The goal is to get new people looking at your work, and if you're selling something, hopefully, they will be impressed and encouraged to buy something.

Speaking of buying... It's time for another...

UNAPOLOGHETIC SUBWAYSURFER CALL TO ACTION!

If you are impressed with this character design and have a project that you feel my talents are suited for, don't estate to let me know! Prices are not "cheap" but they're negotiable, and more affordable than you think!

Newsletter illustration of couple on Jetski

Just completed this assignment of a couple on a Jetski for their company Newsletter. The hardest part was drawing the Jetski jussst right! they loved it.

As an artist, I have been fortunate to have rubbed shoulders with, taught by, influenced by, and even "stolen from" some of the best caricature artists in the world, all of whom have contributed to, influenced, and enhanced by approach to caricature.
One of my favorite character artists, is Terry Dunnett, affectionately known as TEL from Australia. (http://www.terrydunnett.com.au/Tels_Caricatures/Home.html)
In addition to being an excellent draftsman, Tel is a master of drawing accessories. By "accessories" I mean supporting items in a picture that the main characters interact with. Examples of accessory items, are cars, planes, snowmobiles, and jet skies. Prior to being exposed to Tel's work, I focused pretty much on the individual figures, and pretty much "winged" everything else. Even though my clients did not complain, I knew deep down, I had compromised, and given into lazy drawing. In comparison to Tel, whose accessory items were just as meticulously detailed as his caricatured. Visually, this added to the overall unity to his pieces as well.

That's when I started really concentrating on getting the accessories correct.
If a client takes time to mention they want a particular car or golf clubs in a picture, then obviously the item is an extension of them. This is the Bain reason why they should be given as much attention that you give to your favorite part of the drawing.

This particular jetski took me days to get to my satisfaction. It's not perfect, but definitely better than I might have done, years ago.