It was my girl friend’s birthday earlier this month, and if you are a long time reader, you may remember that for most special occasions I’ll make something for her by hand (if you are a fresh face here are some recaps).
She loves her small plants, so this year I decided to do up a little bonsai piece for her
I felt bad for making him an alcoholic last week, so I decided to make him not so lonely this time around
No plans as of yet, but I’ve still got two days to get that sorted. Can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas too! It’s such a shame that I find creepy things so much more enjoyable to draw; it looks like I’ll never get that job at Hallmark
Couldn’t decide which overall composition I preferred either, so help me out and let me know which you think turned out better.
In electronics, there’s an unspoken rule that microchips actually work on magic smoke, but once you can see or smell that magic smoke coming out of the chip, that chip is never coming back. 2016 is making my smoke come dangerously close to leaking. It’s probably not as bad as I think it is, but there’s just so many things I need to think about and I just don’t want to think about any of it.
Don’t fret though, I know my brain patterns and they’re cyclic. Give me a few months and I’ll be right as rain again.
Rick and Morty
Just finished season 2 of Rick and Morty and I’ve got to say, it’s a great show, just make sure you don’t watch it around young children or people that you don’t want to judge you. Alternatively, watch it around these people and don’t give a damn; it’s your life, don’t let others control you.
Did a big clean of my room today and tossed a lot of things out; it’s funny how physical objects so easily spark previously forgotten memories. I’m feeling pretty ready to move out though, just need to get my potential housemates to bite the bullet and agree to a goal moving out date.
Handwriting looks much better when intentionally bad
Found the time this week to finish up an entry for my town’s local pop culture convention art competition that’s happening next month. Overall, pretty happy with the end result. It was a bit of an experiment in drawing at A4 scale too, as I usually draw at A5. Understandably, it took about twice as long to complete, but I think making it larger in this case was the right choice.
Just for fun, here’s a little gif comparing my initial sketch to the final outcome:
Not too sure what was going on with this one. The constant struggle of running from responsibilities?
Sketch weekly will be back again next week after I finish nutting out a bunch of code for work. Until then, have a very merry week!
Focalisation – n. the act of bringing into focus
Focalisation – n
The act of bringing into focus
Some people just want to see the world burn; others want to be responsible for it.
And with that, I have another semester of uni finished too! So now, I’m officially over halfway to being an actual engineer. Just about to wrap up 8 months of work placement too, which is crazy. It feels like just the other day it was Christmas!
How’s everyone else going now that we’re halfway through the year; anyone kept to their new year resolutions?
Retrievement – n. The act or process of getting and bringing back something : the act or process of retrieving something
Retrievement – n.
The act or process of getting and bringing back something : the act or process of retrieving something
It’s legit not even winter here in Aus yet, but I’ve already gotten a cold. If this is a sign of what is to come, I think I’m in big trouble for when the temp actually drops a little bit…
Deposit – v. To place especially for safekeeping or as a pledge; especially : to put in a bank
Deposit – v.
To place especially for safekeeping or as a pledge; especially : to put in a bank
I think my wallet has a similar effect going on…
Do you have Instagram, Twitter or Facebook? Great, me too!
Insta (for pencils, behind the scenes, and art):
https://www.instagram.com/sammulhern/
Twitter (also for behind the scenes, but with the addition of my own ramblings):
https://twitter.com/MechanicalPen_
Facebook (really just more convenient for some people):
https://www.facebook.com/MechanicalPen
For those of you still here, check out some more Pokemon goodness for the 20th anniversary!
Syzygy – n
Astronomy. an alignment of three celestial objects, as the sun, the earth, and either the moon or a planet.
Syzygy – n.
Astronomy. an alignment of three celestial objects, as the sun, the earth, and either the moon or a planet:
Syzygy in the sun-earth-moon system occurs at the time of full moon and new moon.
And that sketch rounds off the end of another complete sketchbook! I wish that now gave me a reason to go art supply shopping again, but I have so many books saved up from previous splurges that I really shouldn’t…
Cafeacute – n.
a coffeehouse; a restaurant; also, a room in a hotel or restaurant where coffee and liquors are served
Cafeacute – n.
a coffeehouse; a restaurant; also, a room in a hotel or restaurant where coffee and liquors are served.
My town had a regional comic convention last weekend, and after speaking to a number of the exceptionally talented indie artists there, I decided it was time to kick my butt into gear and get some comics out there.
So, instead of my regular “Sketch Weekly” this week, here is a dump of a whole bunch of practice work I have been doing in preparation for my final minicomic/zine.
With everything going to plan, I should hopefully have the final piece inked by tomorrow (after doing the pencils all tonight)! In the mean time, here are the thumbnails for the comic, so be warned, spoilers below!
Excuse the piece of hair that’s been scanned in. Should wear a hair net next time…
Verbaroscines – n.
Singing birds a group of the Passeres having numerous syringeal muscles conferring musical ability
Verbaroscines – n.
Singing birds a group of the Passeres having numerous syringeal muscles conferring musical ability
Jaundice – n.
a mental state of bitterness, jealousy, and ill humour resulting in distorted judgment
Jaundice – n.
a mental state of bitterness, jealousy, and ill humour resulting in distorted judgment
Bisulcous – adj.
Bisulate
Bisulcous – adj.
Bisculate.
(Which also means: Cleft or cloven, as a hoof)
That’s right, thanks to everyone this little blog just ticked over 100 followers last night! Threw this together as a little celebration in my sketchbook.
Thank you for all the support, onward to the next 100 and many more blog posts to come!
Quat – n.
A pustule
Was a bit on the fence with this one, as I wasn’t too sure how I wanted to interpret the word and if my ability to present my thinking would work out. So have two takes on the word this week: one politically motivated and one on the reflection of vanity.
(All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to the current Australian prime minister is purely coincidental)
Just watched Bee and PuppyCat for the first time and fell in love straight away, so I threw together this quick little sketch. But now the long wait for more episodes!
Check it out here if you haven’t already:
Bullfight – n.
A traditional Spanish, Portuguese, or Latin American spectacle in which a bull is fought by a matador, assisted by banderilleros and picadors, in a prescribed way in an arena and is usually killed.
Perseus – n.
a hero, the son of Zeus and Danaë, who slew the Gorgon Medusa, and afterward saved Andromeda from a sea monster.
Perseus – n.
A hero, the son of Zeus and Danaë, who slew the Gorgon Medusa, and afterward saved Andromeda from a sea monster.
Uni has been pretty hectic again this week. Exam block starts next Monday so I’m fairly sure the lecturers conspired against us and made all the assignments due within three days of each other this week.
What is sleep?
So in the mean time while I write another article, have some nice bubbles. Have been considering using this as my new header, let me know which you prefer?
Whirl-blast – n.
A whirling blast of wind
Whirl-blast – n
A whirling blast of wind.
Sometimes people just want to look at pretty pictures…
when they should really be looking at reality.
Watched Eurovision over the weekend too, it was absolutely fantastic. Was hoping to get a review post out for it, but alas, university got the better of me. Next time Europe!
Fairily – adverb.
in a manner suggestive of fairies; delicately.
Fairily – adverb.
in a manner suggestive of fairies; delicately.
Finally had some free time, which means finally some time to doodle!
Random thought of the day; there is now a generation of children who don’t understand what the save icon represents anymore.
Wretched – adj.
Deeply afflicted, dejected, or distressed in body or mind
Wretched – adj.
Deeply afflicted, dejected, or distressed in body or mind
After falling behind because of uni assignments last week, finally back up to date again. Woo!
Auditorial – adj.
Of or relating to an audit or an auditor of accounts
Auditorial – adj.
Of or relating to an audit or an auditor of accounts.
Conductance – n.
The degree to which an object conducts electricity, calculated as the ratio of the current which flows to the potential difference present. This is the reciprocal of the resistance, and is measured in siemens or mhos.
Conductance – n.
The degree to which an object conducts electricity, calculated as the ratio of the current which flows to the potential difference present. This is the reciprocal of the resistance, and is measured in siemens or mhos.
Ironically, what stopped me from working on this drawing earlier in the week was my Electrical Engineering assignment. What are the chances of a random word generator pulling something so closely related to what I was doing?!
Just a little sketch I threw together whilst procrastinating doing my circuit analysis assignment. First attempt at drawing a mech; little on the fence with how it turned out, but practice makes perfect.
Just doodling with my new fountain pen a little more. It’s definitely weird having such a smooth feeling as I am so used to sketching with fine liners. I don’t think it will fully replace them, but it is nice to be able to draw with a new medium.
Server – n.
a computer or program that supplies data or resources to other machines on a network.
Server – n.
a computer or program that supplies data or resources to other machines on a network.
On a side note, I don’t think I’ve ever used that much ink in a single drawing before, phew!
Testing out the new fountain pen. Angling will take a bit of getting used to, but I definitely like the feel of it.
Went out to an office supply store today and saw that they were selling Parker fountain pens. I just couldn’t help myself, so $50 later I had bought myself a new pen, 5 ink refills and 3 new Moleskine Cahiers journals.
Parker fountain pen, ink refills and brand new Moleskines
(P.S. Also bought a new scanner/printer so hopefully low res sketches with weird lighting are a thing of the past)
Diatribe – n.
An angry and usually long speech or piece of writing that strongly criticizes someone or something
Diatribe – n.
An angry and usually long speech or piece of writing that strongly criticizes someone or something.
Queue – n.
A line or sequence of people or vehicles awaiting their turn to be attended to or to proceed.
Queue – n.
A line or sequence of people or vehicles awaiting their turn to be attended to or to proceed.
As always, I’d love to see your take on the word (found out it also means a braid of hair, the more you know). So be sure to post a link in the comments; I’ll definitely have a look.
A quick sketch for Draw a Bird Day. I can probably count on one hand the number of birds I’ve ever attempted drawing, so I’m quite happy with how this one turned out.
It was Draw a Bird Day yesterday (8th April); a great event to inspire drawing to remember the sad passing of a young girl. I’m a day late because I only just found out about the day itself after seeing Mel North’s post about it this afternoon, so if you’re late or just finding out too, don’t let that stop you from taking part either!
Datively – adj.
Of, relating to, or being the grammatical case that marks the recipient of action, that often indicates the indirect object of the verb, and that can be used with prepositions or other function words corresponding in meaning to English to and for.
Datively – adj.
Of, relating to, or being the grammatical case that marks the recipient of action, that often indicates the indirect object of the verb, and that can be used with prepositions or other function words corresponding in meaning to English to and for.
If you’re anything like me, trying to decide on which TV show to watch next or whether or not you should try a new music genre, feels like the whole fate of the world rests on your choice. It doesn’t, but it feels like it, and good god, never take me to an ice cream store… But that’s where this blog steps in.
MechanicalPen is a little pet project of mine where I’ll present my views on some of my current favourite albums, comics and games, in the hope that this will make future decision making easier for the both of us. In addition to this, I’ll also be posting about some other life tips I’ve learnt through experience, covering topics such as how to save a bit of money on the side and interesting hobbies that don’t involve a screen.
My biggest problem with decision making isn’t that the decisions are intrinsically difficult, it’s just that there is so much choice out there! This is why I hope to be able to narrow down some of the vast amount of media out there, giving you a great place to start investigating for yourself.
Finally, MechanicalPen will be the place where I will be uploading my weekly sketches (ah, the blog name all makes sense now!). Each week I set the task of looking up a random word and drawing however I interpret that. There are definitely some… intriguing words out there, to say the least, so hopefully we both find the end results interesting.
So I hope you enjoy this little venture as much as I do! Feel free to leave feedback, and join me in the weekly sketching shenanigans too, I’d love to see how others take in the same topic but put their own unique spin on it.
– Sam Mulhern
mechanicalpen 