In the meantime I have listed The Bob O Show over on the Artcast Network . If you haven’t seen the show yet the first thing you’ll probably notice is that I like to have a lot of fun when I’m on air. I keep it loose and don’t worry too much about technical difficulties. I’m always happy to pause and answer technical questions… and as far as projects go each one gets the Super Official Bob Ostrom Studio stamp of approval before going on air.

Please check Twitter or on the Artcast Network for future broadcast announcements. See you on the next Bob O Show.

I’ll be posting my Ustream schedule on this site to start with. Once I’ve got everything set up and running I will also try to list on a brand new fantastic website brought to you by the very talented Dani Jones from Dani Draws. She’s gone ahead and put together a new website featuring artists Ustream listings. It’s a great collection of super artists. I’ve seen a few of the artists listed there and they are all extremely talented as well. Great collection. Please check them out if you can.

I’d also like to thank Dani for the handy Ustream  tutorial she put together. It explains in simple terms how to set up a Ustream show and even has pics to help you with everything you need to know…. Thanks Dani.

For future reference you can find my broadcast here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bobostromstudio

I started out with a pencil sketch and then outlined it with marker. I usually wait until the end to do my ink but I had this cool new non-bleed sharpie marker that I was dying to try out. After the line art was done I began adding light washes of blue, green and purple to the background. Once I had a basic idea of how I wanted the light and shadow to go I went over the colors again this time darkening and adding deeper tones. The basic idea with watercolors is to work in washes, gradually building as you go.

I added a little Dr. Martines Die to my watercolors to help punch up the color. I used Rose-Carthame and Magenta to pump up my reds and then added a little Cerulean Blue to help out the background. You have to be careful with Dr. Martins. The pigments can be difficult to reproduce (especially with a cheap scanner like mine). Since this piece was just for fun I wasn’t too worried about reproduction.

The trick to working with Dr Martin’s dies is to add them sparingly. A little bit of die goes a LONG way. They can easily overpower your artwork if you don’t thin them down a bit. On the other hand they punch up your colors nicely and can really put down a smooth wash. Oh, and one last note of caution: These dies can fade over time if exposed to direct sunlight. If you take good care of your artwork though the vibrant colors will last a long time.  I have a few Magic School Bus pieces I did way back in 1995 hanging in my office and they still look great after all these years.

[View with PicLens]

If there is something you’d like to learn about art or illustration and you’re not seeing it here please let me know and I will be happy to consider it. Just fill out the handy form I have be clicking on this link and let me know what you’d like to learn.

Suggestions

I love getting fan art…especially if it’s in color. So if you have some art and you’d like me to post it on my Fan Art Page please feel free to send it to me anytime.

In case you forgot I also have a handy form set up right on the bottom of the Fan Art Page you can use to send it too! It’s really easy to use and I’ll be sure to add your art to the fan page if you you do.Click here if you want to use the handy form

Hope to see your art soon.

The old self promo

I’ve been meaning to do a new self portrait/promotion piece for a while now. I really like the one I did for my pod-cast a few years ago but it shows me wearing a pair of headphones and talking into a headset mic. It worked great for the pod-cast but when I use it for other things people wonder whats up with the whole headset thing.

So last week I busted out the old sketchbook and started working on a new one. Once I had a sketch I liked I dragged it into Illustrator to clean up the line art. I use CS4. It’s a great program and you can’t beat the brush tool for nice clean lines and strokes.

Here’s what I’ve got so far. I’ll probably end up cropping in a little tighter on the portrait part of the drawing but so far I kind of like what’s going on here. What do you think?

Do you have self promo piece you’d like to share?  If so pop up a link in the comment space below. I’d love to see what you’re up to. I’ll feature a few of the best ones in a future article so don’t be shy.

Carlos Castellanos

Cedric Hohnstadt

Jesse Justice

Fian Arroyo

David J Billings (also known as Sparky Firepants)

To visit the artist’s website just click on the icons to the left. Enjoy!!!

So not too long ago I asked my friends at CI Sketchbook.com to do an illustration about Star Trek. Here’s mine. I haven’t seen the new movie yet. I’m sure it’s great and my kids will love it but to me there’s nothing better then an old episode of the original Star Trek.

Let's face it all the episodes were great but my all time favorite was the one where Kirk fights the Gorn.

Quick sketch of my dog Jack