Merry X!

(X=Christmas, Hanukkah or whatever).

Season Greetings! or Happy Holidays! if you prefer.

He hecho también una versión en español...

...e anche un'altra in italiano.

These are all the languages I speak (at the moment, now I'm studying french, maybe next year I'll make one more version).

Merry X to you all!

Closed books

The last one -so far- of the series of drawings from old doodles (other drawings of this series: "Little houses", "Dirty dishes", "1.001 faces" and "Crowd and snake").

This is the doodle page I improvised while watching TV:
New tracing after scanning the doodles:

From tracing paper to watercolor paper using a light box (actually and x-ray viewer):

Ink linework:

Final result after adding some watercolors:

STATS

Books: so many.

Data: a lot.

Knowledge: some.

Wisdom: uncertain.

Prints on sale here.

Home sweet home

Sometimes tight deadlines on my work don't allow me to take the time to sketch out from home. When this happens i often feel the need of taking a break of some minutes from drawing storyboards on the tablet and draw some sketches on paper. In such a little time I just can do sone quick takes of my home. Here are a some of them, all made in the last months.

The chair Roberta uses to work on the computer.


An angle of the living room with my favorite armchair.


My bedroom. I had a sudden impulse, so this was the first thing I did that day (apart having breakfast).


My working angle. This was really a quick break from work, I did not even stand up from the chair. There's another view of this here.

Little houses

Another one of the series of drawings from old doodles (other drawings of this series: "Dirty dishes", "1.001 faces" and "Crowd and snake").

This is the doodle page I improvised while watching TV:
New tracing after scanning the doodles:

Ink linework using a light box.

Final result after adding some watercolors:

STATS

Houses: So many.

Offices: unknown.

Streets: unknown.

People: unknown

Free space: 0.

Prints on sale here.

Before the 25th SketchCrawl

On the same week of the 25th SketchCrawl I happened to pass twice near the places of our meeting. I could say that I had started my sketching and crawling a couple of days before the actual date.

This was taken while waiting at the entrance of Sala Borsa Library. The tents at the center were being mounted for a fair about chocolate that should start some days after.

We were just 3 people on the bus when I made this: the driver, the lady with the greenish coat that phoned by the central door, and yours faithfully. I started drawing just on stops and traffic lights, but at some moment I forgot to take care of shaking. I think the drawing came more "real" because of this.

This is one of the classic sights of Bologna: the Fountain of Neptune seen through the gallery of Palazzo Re Enzo.

An easy quiz

25th SketchCrawl Bologna 21.11.2009

The days before I though it should be a not so good SC. Some people said they wouldn't come and no special route or place was decided. But at the end many new people came and it was a great day.

There was a stand of a local radio station too, with a stupid host shouting and putting on shitty music. I decided to ignore it on my drawing (it was on the right side of the building entrance) and so I gave attention just to the architecture.

We went to Piazza Galvani were I drew this statue of Mr. Galvani and since I finished it quickly I decided to draw my drawing fellows.

This is Viola watching a sketchbook (with drawings made by yours faithfully).

San Francesco's Church at dusk.

Left: people on the bus while I went to our appointment. Right: Andrea and Marco.

We ate at the Osteria del Sole. Left: people at the next table. Right: Benedetta.

At the end we went to Modo, a bookshop where there was the presentation of a comic book.

Left: Daniele Caluri, one of the authors. Right: people listening his speech.

It was a great day.

Dirty dishes

Another of the series of drawings from old doodles.


This is the doodle page I improvised while watching TV:


New tracing after scanning the doodles:

Ink linework using a light box.

Final result after adding some watercolors:

STATS

Saucepans: hundreds.

Glasses: thousands.

Dishes: millions.

Cutlery: billions.

Dirt: tons.

Prints on sale here.

Another interview

A couple of weeks after the interview i made for mag|zine, last monday I received a message from Ksenia Buksha, editor of MyMoleskine.ru (the "Russia-line magazine by My Moleskine", as they call theirselves) for making another one. It can be seen on this link, in the original russian language. Here is the funny english version (of my english-written answers, translated into russian) made by Google translate. Spanish version is much better: it changes my surname (Herranz) into "Vagabundo" (spanish for "wandering"). The italian one talks about me as a group of illustrators.

I love this internet's tower of Babel.

Non Place People

Many people prefer the shop in the shopping center, many other prefer the shop in the corner. My shop in the corner is a shopping center, what can I do. If I forget something and I must run to buy it, the closest place is the shopping centre.

This centre was made by Berlusconi in 1994, and it's an historic place because at the inauguration he announced that he would enter into politics (with the consequences we all know).

I don't love this place but I don't hate it. Maybe it's a non-place as Marc Augé call this kind of places, but it's plenty of life. Somekind of life.

It's not beautiful but it's real. When I cross its doors I feel like watching some kind of italian neo-neorealist film. Most of what happens today happens here in this places or non-places (in Italy and in many countries). Or it can be understood looking this film.

The Fortress of Vignola

These are drawings made in Vignola, a little town 30 km far from home. The main sight is the Fortress. I passed about 10 minutes to chose this angle...

...only to discoverer afterwards that I'm not so original: it is the angle of all the photos that illustrate the covers of every Vignola's guide. At least, no doubt it's the best angle at all.

This is the decoration of the arch over the entrance to the castle in the courtyard. Of course they are eagles spreading wings and legs, but while I was drawing them, I couldn't help thinking of electrocuted chicken.

Someone made me an interview

Some days ago Salvo Catalano wrote an article about Urban Sketchers on mag|zine, the magazine online of the School of Journalism at the Università Catolica di Milano. On that article he included 3 audio interviews: with Gabi Campanario, founder of Urban Sketchers, with USk Naples correspondant Simo Capecchi, and with yours faithfully.

It was the first time I heard my voice talking italian and I must say I didn't like it, I didn't knew I have such a terrible accent.

1001 faces

This is another drawing coming from doodles I made time ago, in this case about 2004.

These are the doodles:

I scanned the doodles, printed them bigger and traced the new version with an HB pencil.

I traced again on watercolor paper using a light box then I finished the linework and erased the pencil.

After inking:

I ended the work with some watercolors.

STATS:

45 men

23 women

Crowd and snake

I made this upon a page of doodles I drew one year ago traveling to Clermont-Ferrand for the Biennale du Carnet de Voyage. I knew that this was just some idea to work on some day, but I forgot it (as use to do) till the end of the spring in which I was looking for one of those poor forgotten ideas to make a proper, real, finished illustration.

Here is the doodle sheet:

I started copying the doodles on a tracing paper to develop the idea and fix the amount of characters and their positions.

Then I traced it again on another sheet to get everything clearer.

I scanned the second pencil sketch and made the linework in photoshop using a Cintiq tablet/screen.

On different layers I worked simultaneously on the tones...

...and the flat colors...

...to render some volume.

Then I put some lights to get the final result.

To avoid neck pain here is a view towards East.

This is the view towards south...

...and this towards west.

STATS:

1 surprised woman

1 lewd man

1 policeman

1 angry man

1 child

1 butler

1 worker

1 german waitress

1 chorus girl

1 diver

1 ballet dancer

1 obese woman

1 black panther

1 snake

1 lizard

1 afghan hound

1 white bear

4 women

7 men

1 child

5 animals


Prints on sale here