FROM THE SKETCHBOOKS: Titanic sketches

From one from my sketchbooks circa 1997/98. Almost 30 years since I did this portrait drawing of Leo from Titanic. I was blown away by the film at the time and just started sketching one day for fun/practice. Once it started to come together, I just stayed with it till I was done. This type of work got better, and shortly after, it would get me regular freelance work at The Franklin Mint, and in mid/late 1998, I was invited into the art department where I had a little cubicle. My own little open office amongst the creative folk. Good memories! 

I used to use a bunch of soft pencil leads (HB, 2B, 3B, 4B) at that time but I've changed my process a LOT since then. I use mostly HB and harder (lighter) pencil leads due to working in licensing art. Keeping it clean and easy to erase is key.

I still have this drawing, although I did cut it out of the sketchbook it was in. Sketchbooks can build up fast and take up space, so I scanned the drawings I liked and then cut and saved the physical pages I really wanted to keep. This made the cut. I still like it. It really pops off the page holding the original in my hands.

It also set my preference as to why I don't like to draw in bound sketchbooks anymore. You do something better than average and it sets the bar higher where I felt I was competing with this when I did every other sketch. Since 2000, all my sketches have all been done on separate pieces of paper and I just kept the ones I liked in a box. I can go through a LOT of paper trying to work something out, and since I work mostly on cheap copy paper, the waste basket next to my drawing table is usually always filled.

Below is another Titanic sketch I did that I cut out of a sketchbook. Drawn around the same time and all done in pencil. It's another one I hooked into and stayed with till I thought it was done.