The Hound

Decided to do a wind down sketch tonight after work. I've been listening to the season three soundtrack all week and I'd been itching to draw him. :) So you get two posts in one week. Maybe we're starting a trend?!

- Ryan

Arya Stark

I had to get this out of my system after last night's amazing premier episode! I'm so glad "Game of Thrones" is back! I hope you like my take on Arya. :D

I figured I should probably include a small life update as I've taken a new job and moved from Chicago to St. Louis, my hometown. Things have been pretty crazy as of late but I'm anxious to get back to posting more as things continue to settle down. So stay tuned!

- Ryan

Valentine's Day

I know I'm a day late but I wanted to give my friend the time to give his Valentine's Day gift to his special lady. He commissioned me to create a caricature of him and his girlfriend. I've actually never done this before but I thought my stab at it went pretty well. I wasn't going to go for a rendered look at first but I found it actually easier to paint it then to lay in flats. Go figure.

I've also tossed in a creepy cupid sketch above just for good measure. :) I hope all of you had a great holiday regardless! See ya next week and keep being awesome!

- Ryan

Scarecrow, Ogre and What?!

A light post this week but an update nonetheless! I started off the week pretty strong, drawing quite a bit. But as the week wore on the kiddo and I developed some pretty nasty colds that we're still recovering from. The drawing slowed as my wife and I took care of her and crashed in front of the TV as soon as we'd get her to bed. Parenthood. :) I hope you enjoy the post regardless! Thanks for stopping in! Sorry for the creepy guy at the end. I'm not sure where those sorts of things come from!

- Ryan

Happy New Year Sketch Dump!

I'll admit it. Ever since the PS4 came out I've been a gaming machine and have been totally slacking on personal art. I did manage a few random scribbles that I've pulled together for this post. I was hoping for a post I could be more proud of to kick off 2014 but this will have to do! Ha! Gotta get the ball rolling again!

Thanks to those of you who have been sticking by and wondering if I've been dead! Ha! I'm always on Twitter (@ryanbowlin) and of course there's my Facebook page. If you're looking for a return of regular blog updates I'm going to shoot for an update every weekend. Hopefully every Friday. So stay tuned!

- Ryan

Things I'm loving lately:

Ni No Kuni - It took me a year but I finally finished the main quest line. This wasn't just my favorite game of last year but probably one of my favorites of all time. Great art, sound, gameplay. It hit all the right notes for me. And walking around in a Ghibli movie is a dream come true! I'll continue to go back to it to grind out the side quests.

PS4/PSN - I loved my Xbox 360 last generation. But I recently upgraded my PS3 hard drive to 1tb, signed up for PS+ and haven't looked back. All of the free stuff they're dropping on us is ridiculous! It's also thrusting me into wanting all of my game content to be digital. I'll have to upgrade that PS4 drive as well for that though because games are huge. Loving 1080p gaming... finally.

Brush Pens - Ever since INKtober I've been enjoying my brush pen more and more. There's something really awesome about the loose, crude yet finished looking quality you can get from them. And it keeps me from getting the "render bug."

User Interface Concept - Fake Game

A few months ago I took a stab at creating a simple, fake video game interface after an potential freelance client inquired about my abilities. I took an evening to quickly design it and then another evening to animate this brief video in order to show how it might work. I love illustrating the most but this is often the sort of stuff that helps to get the bills paid for me.

If you're struggling with making a living with your illustrative work alone then I always encourage you to branch out and try other areas of development as well. You can learn a lot and it can help make you a more valuable asset to others! Hope you like it!

- Ryan

INKtober Monster # 22 - Mr. Abyssal

Name:

MR. ABYSSAL

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Giant Octopus

- With bat like wings

- Jewelry made from human skulls and bones

Bio:

"A monster from the deep that wishes he was Cthulhu. He has to satisfy himself with eating ships instead." - Josh Bouscher

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*My apologies to Josh. I drew this guy and was away from my list and did this one from memory. So he's missing his bat wings. Or maybe they're hiding, folded behind his back. :D

_______________________________

Well, I'm nine days behind and INKtober is drawing to a close today. But that's alright! I'm quite proud of all of the monsters I've made with you guys so far! And I'm going to try my best to finish up my last drawings post October. They're too much fun to not finish off the set. Only I think I'll be designing the remaining monsters myself! I have a few ideas kicking around that I'd like to try!

Thanks a lot to everyone who contributed monster designs and helped me keep these going! It was a lot of work but worth every bit of effort. Visitors from out of town and my whole family getting sick really knocked me off my target. But I hope you'll be looking forward to seeing me finish these off over the next week or two.

Thanks for supporting my work and I hope you had a great Halloween! Take care!

- Ryan

INKtober Monster #21 - Shayoré

Name:

SHAYORE

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Part seahorse

- Water dweller

- Flowing fins

Bio:

"The Shayoré is a cross between a sea horse and the mythological Scottish ashray (nocturnal water dwelling creature). It is a graceful swimmer with multiple flowing fins. Pictures of this rare creature are more highly sought after than those of Nessie, but even more infrequently captured." - Diana Highley Anderson

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

INKtober Monster #20 - Ol' Winky

Name:

OL' WINKY

Bio:

"After years of living under your bed Ol' Winky has found the that the tables have turned. No longer can he sleep at night without a trusty teddy bear that you'd give up for lost long ago." - Ryan Bowlin

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

* I have a few more entries from people that I'm still going to get through. But I thought I'd take a little break tonight and scribble something up of my own. It's kind of cheating, I guess. :D But I think the last week of October I'm going to treat myself to doing my own Monster designs. Here's the first a several to come. Those of you who are still waiting for your monsters, don't worry. They're coming! I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

INKtober Monster #19 - Frankenberg's Monster

Name:

FRANKENBERG'S MONSTER

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Stitched together from old, dead body parts

- The body parts weren't as high quality as the classic Frankenstein's Monster

- Not symmetrical

Bio:

"Frankenberg was a scientist who was always in competition with Frankenstein. Unfortunately, Frankenstein had a monopoly on all the high-quality standard-sized corpse parts to make his monster with, so Frankenberg was reduced to building his monster with parts of questionable quality-- some were much more rotten, some of the parts came from fat people, some from skinny, different heights, some had physical deformities, injuries, etc. The result is that Frankenberg's poor monster is more mismatched and misshapen than that hotshot monster of Frankenstein's. The monster deals with it by drinking." - Tyler McCall

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

INKtober Monster #18 - Killer Polygon

Name:

KILLER POLYGON

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Low Res

- Triangle Monster

- Modeled after Godzilla

Bio:

"It's what happens when 3D beats you and corrupts your world." - Aron Zoellner

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

INKtober Monster #17 - Slammin' Sam

Name:

SLAMMIN' SAM

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Huge oversized fists

- Big chin with a large underbite

- Fit but with a bit of  hunchback

Bio:

"Slammin Sam was nothing but an honest brick layer. Father was a brick layer. Mother was a brick layer. His entire family was a brick layer but you know what? Sam is tired of laying bricks... Instead, he now SLAMS bricks. If he's walking and sees some bricks, SLAM! Ain't no bricks there. Now Sam is really is a fun loving guy but ask him to lay some bricks and he might bury you in them!" - Brandon Alderman

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

*I'm a few days behind but I'll be catching up! So stay tuned! - Ryan

INKtober Monster #16 - Boudro

Name:

BOUDRO

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Hound dog

- Alligator

- Cajun

Bio:

"From Louisiana lives in the swamp, this reclusive character is talked about having voodoo powers, thought to have been created by a voodoo priest, as a punishment for not believing in Voodoo, merged a person, his dog and the nearby alligator!" - Ken Salinas

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

INKtober Monster #15 - Sugary Sneak

Name:

SUGARY SNEAK

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Slimy

- Tiny

- Bad teeth from all of the sugar

Bio:

"Sugary Sneaker lives with all of the other monsters in the closet, or under the bed. But it does its best to go unnoticed, because it doesn't really enjoy scaring kids. Instead he sneaks out night to eat sugary kids cereal and is the one responsible when little Jimmy gets accused of stealing all of the marshmallows from the box of Lucky Charms." - Kristen Cook

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

INKtober Monster #14 - Bearkin

Name:

BEARKIN

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Head and body of a bear

- Face and legs of a chicken

- Loves jelly beans

Bio:

"In an effort...Look, it's the unholy blend of a bear and a chicken. The creature is mad (crazy, not angry) and thinks it's the direct descendent of Little John and Maid Marion's lady in waiting. It probably watches too much TV." - Jeffery Johnson

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

INKtober Monster #13 - Topher

Name:

TOPHER

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Gargoyle head

- Giraffe neck

- Troll body

Bio:

"It's neck is able to go from normal to ten feet! He's very strong and breathes fire." - Dan Conway

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

INKtober Monster #12 - Hydra

Name:

HYDRA

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Multiple heads

- Dragon-like

- Lives in water (Somehow I missed this one in the illustration! Ha! Sorry, Jen!)

Bio:

"Because of multiple personalities, is difficult to predict, and is oftentimes the life of the party." - Jennifer Dutton

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

INKtober Monster #11 - Drake

Name:

DRAKE

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Muscular

- Spines down his back and tail

- Stand erect

- Secretes toxin through scales and saliva

Bio:

"An everyday lizard who was subjected to nuclear waste from a truck accident that leaked into a nearby marsh he called home. After undergoing rapid growth he now lurks in a nearby city feeding on any unfortunately passerby that crosses his path now that insects and small fish no longer satisfy his growing hunger for blood. " - Ryan Troske

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

INKtober Monster #10 - Walrupino

Name:

WALRUPINO

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Has the tusks of a walrus, the horns of a rhinoceros, and the spines of a porcupine

- Horns and tusks are comically oversized for its body, causing a great deal of difficulty with balance and movement 

- Eyes are big, round and welcoming, juxtaposing the harshness of its other features

Bio:

"No one's quite sure how he came to be, but hunters tell that Walrupino has been spotted on more than one occasion stumbling awkwardly through the forest and causing commotion. A tortured hybridization of a Walrus, Rhinoceros and Porcupine, he finds himself constantly getting stuck between trees and wedged in tight spaces due to the extreme size and unwieldiness of his tusks and horns. Though he appears to be fiercely dangerous, he's really quite friendly. All he wants is that which his deadly defenses have long denied him: a simple hug. So if - as you're jaunting through the forest one night - you hear his questioning bleat and feel the ground quake beneath your feet, know as you run to safety that you flee not from a monster, but from a gentle creature too cursed and misunderstood to live in commune as we do." - Jay Miller

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)

INKtober Monster #9 - Swingy the Beast

Name:

SWINGY the BEAST

Three Physical Characteristics:

- Tall

- Spotted

- Hairy

Bio:

"Swingny the Beast loves to wander around old jazz club and listen to swing music. He prefers nights over days, but you can still see him stroll in New Orleans streets when he wants to go and eat some ''Beignets'' at the ''Café du Monde''... you see, he loves music, and sugar!" - Katleen Rousseau

Original Ink Drawing FOR SALE - $20 Shipped (Contact for Purchase)