Sketches and Mazes

Amazing puzzler? Not so much.

2009-07-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

I took last month’s jigsaw maze, glued it to some heavy paper and cut out on the jigsaw lines. The cutting was much more difficult than I had expected, and I had to re-glue a lot of the pieces.

Then I solved the puzzle, but since the cardstock was too flexible I couldn’t get it flat enough so that the pieces would lock together very well. Oh well, knowledge gained for the next project.

Peek a boo

2009-06-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

My first "guest post"

2009-06-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

The kid's got talent. Might not be in the Sunday papers at this rate, but he's onto something...

More fun with effects

2009-06-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Played with the effects options again in Photofiltre. This one's called "twirl" but it could be called "acid feakout." Makes solving just a little bit more challenging.

Emboss me!

2009-06-03T18:44:00.001-07:00

Did a quick-and-dirty maze (trying to keep the sweat off while drawing in the car today; no worries, I was parked in a lot). Played with visual effects just a bit, using a "flatten-emboss" feature, and then a "puzzle piece" function.

Print it on heavy stock paper, cut the pieces, then give to your kids to assemble and solve!

Thanks to Captain Beefheart for the blog title, from the song Debra Kadabra, played with the Frank Zappa band. His lyrics are WAY OUT, as usual:

Make me grow Brainiac fingers
But with more hair
Make me kiss your turquoise jewelry
Emboss me!
Rub the hot front part of my hair
with rigid unguents

Happy Birthday Lisa!

2009-05-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little late, and I have lots of room for improvement in the portrait department. For now, here's my humble first attempt at your lovely face (and spirit).

My future's so bright...

2009-05-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

Finally, the sequel to the "Glasses" drawing.

Kinda funny: I walked 30 minutes on a trail into the woods, and surrounded by nature scenes, I decided to draw...my sunglasses case. If you've drawn one leaf you've drawn a million.

World's simplest puzzle

2009-04-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

I was going to title this "His 'n' Hers" but that sounded a bit lewd. It's just nice when things fit together, and the temporary satisfaction of completion is achieved. Jeez, now I'm getting clinical. Anyway, go in one puzzle piece and come out the other, and you're done. No subtext here. Really.

I have yet to read this

2009-04-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

Ah, the book I've always been looking for! But where does it open?

More junk food inspired art

2009-04-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

This started while I was eating a rare (I swear!) meal at KFC last Monday. Drew the shape of the plate freehand (a bit carelessly, I admit), then started designing a pattern around and behind it. I don't know if "Life Tastes Better" with KFC, but I kinda like this result.

Maybe Europe next?

2009-04-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Traced a map, drew the maze over it, and then with an image editor (Photofiltre) darkened up the lines and filled in the states with colors.

Hint (?)
You don't have to go through every state to get to Florida, but you're sure to undergo some climate variation along the way.

Crosseyed, angry or surprised?

2009-04-06T23:37:00.000-07:00

Another one from the "olden days" (the 80s), when I was working with felt pens. No hidden meaning behind this one, just started with some circles and ovals and came up with something strange.

I prefer crullers, how about you?

2009-04-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Dr. Susan Jeffers' "Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway" on CD in my car today. To make a point about the power of gratitude, she used the phrase, "Focus on the donut, not the hole." Right up the road, I saw...a donut shop! When the cosmos speaks, it's good to listen. Tastes pretty good, too.

Highly recommended; friendly service:
www.sesamedonut.com/index.html

"If you have only two alternatives, choose the third."

2009-04-01T22:15:00.001-07:00

I read a very interesting article (pamphlet? manifesto?) online this morning, currently titled "The Revolutionary Pleasure of Thinking for Yourself" (http://deoxy.org/rst.htm) which got me thinking along these lines:

One key to close, another to open.

2009-03-28T00:34:00.000-07:00

An exercise in "scaling up." I haven't had that much practice sketching a smaller object, so considering that, not a bad result. One didn't seem enough, so I turned it and came up with another.

From "lock" to "unlock"

Another one...not so sure I'm getting anywhere with these

2009-03-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

Made another 3d maze freehand. I hoped to incorporate a pattern to add visual interest, but the need to create a path that works from start to finish kind of overrode that. These things really bog me down, time-wise, so I think I'll take a break and just do some regular old sketching for a while.

What's bugging you?

2009-03-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

One from the archives, drawn the same year as these songs were released:
The B-52s "Private Idaho," David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes" and John Lennon's "Watching The Wheels." Interesting year.

I titled this one Bug In The Fairway.

No rulers allowed

2009-03-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

I drew this freehand, so it went faster and with less smudging than previous ones. I am now certain that I've exceeded my drawing ability from those college days of long ago, and that feels good.

For the next one, I'll try to incorporate a design or pattern. Hmm, any ideas?

Eyeyiyie!

2009-03-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

Funny what a late-night conversation with your ten-year-old son can inspire you to sketch. I might have to expand on this concept sometime (groan).

Another work in progress...

2009-03-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

Taking another shot at a 3D-in-space maze, but this time without graph paper or rulers. Good result so far! Getting better at "turning corners," which is maybe harder to draw than it looks. One would think the year of mechanical drafting at community college would've left me better at this visualization thing. Maybe that's why I'm "drawn" to this, because it's so challenging.

The root of the problem

2009-03-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

As often happens, I was trying to draw something else (a dry, cracked landscape) but it wasn't really working out, so it turned into a cup of liquid flowing through a maze of roots to a blooming flower.

What's this book about?

2009-03-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

I'm taking suggestions for what could go on the cover. A maze book? Perhaps, but a bit obvious.

(I get a silly kick out of drawing straight lines freehand. Up until this year, I always thought I needed a ruler to do a proper job. Now I know that rulers usually make drawings look less realistic. At least, that's my impression.)

Cubed oranges

2009-02-28T22:40:00.000-08:00

Added some dark lines and colored in yesterday's cubes. Looks better now.

Once you've solved it, pour yourself a nice drink...

Anybody remember Q-bert?

2009-02-27T23:30:00.000-08:00

I started sketching cubes one morning, and suddenly I flashed back to a fun video game from the 80s (the old-fashioned kind where you stood up while you played).

This took a couple of hours to finish. Had to be careful to keep the lines at the correct width and in the right direction. Goes in the category of "moderately challenging."

Made it a little trickier

2009-02-26T22:22:00.001-08:00

Added a few more paths to make the solution a little less obvious. Still have a ways to go to make it truly tricky, and still plan to add some visual features to make it more interesting looking.

If at first it doesn't work, look at it sideways

2009-02-25T21:24:00.000-08:00

I started with an idea from Devo’s album Shout but it wasn’t working out, maze-wise:

Then I noticed that if I turned the “sound waves” sideways it had potential as a marble drop puzzle. This might develop into something cool.

Rock Drummer Series, #1

2009-02-22T23:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no Oscar tributes tonight. I saw enough of that already. I drew this from an action shot of Neal Peart (Rush), circa 1977. Conclusion: Hands are hard.

Ready to solve

2009-02-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

Darkened up the lines. Print it, cut carefully along the lines, fold, glue/tape, and solve, from Eye to Door.

Here I give it a spin. Bonus points for guessing the album.

A little pyramidic help

2009-02-18T22:33:00.001-08:00

A new idea (for me)…a foldout pyramid maze. This is my first draft. I’ll cut it out and make sure the paths line up, then fill in the lines with darker pencil or ink (tomorrow). I think it might work!

Fainting in Coils

2009-02-16T21:08:00.000-08:00

Finished "coil maze" and added shading. Can definitely build on this concept.

Experiment with shadows

2009-02-15T15:44:00.001-08:00

Added shadows to a recent pipe maze. While adding to the 3d effect, I think it actually flattened the image overall (not good). Something to work on.

Workin’ in a coal mine, goin’ down down

2009-02-12T23:19:00.000-08:00

This took a couple of days, a bit at a time. It’s hard to focus on something rather abstract for long periods. I hope to come back to this soon and add some features to add visual interest.

Rock Singer Series, #3

2009-02-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

In the movie Wayne's World, when Wayne and Garth meet Alice Cooper they fall at his knees, saying "We're not worthy! We suck!" Well, I don't quite suck, but I don't exactly feel worthy of capturing Alice's classy blend of menace and merriment just yet. I might come back and try again at a later date. He deserves it.

What goes with me everywhere, but always stays in front of me?

2009-02-09T22:24:00.000-08:00

Funny, I've always drawn glasses from the perspective of at someone's face, but this is the way I usually see them.

I got a lust for life...

2009-02-07T00:10:00.001-08:00

No. 2 in my Favorite Rock Singer series...

I must say I'm pretty darned happy with this. Two in a row that turned out better than expected. Yay!

(And yes, he really could do that with his body, circa mid-70's.)

A blobby day

2009-02-05T23:36:00.000-08:00

At work today the subject of our company logo, nicknamed "The Blob," came up...

which made me think of the classic B movie:

And then I remembered that I had done a "blob" maze back in 1980:

DON'T LET IT GET YOU!!

I'll give you one guess...

2009-02-04T23:35:00.000-08:00

I think he would have approved; I took about 10 lbs off...

Cubes in space

2009-02-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

Not sure if this concept is worth pursuing. There's a point where I can tell whether I should invest more time to finish, or expand, on an idea, or whether it's not really working and move on. Hmmm...

Great theater

2009-02-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Steelers. Sorry, Cardinals.

Starry night

2009-02-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

I took a day off. Here's one from last fall, based on the Rush album "2112."

1 down, 11 to go

2009-01-31T23:50:00.000-08:00

End of Month One…sketched at least 30 minutes a day. Haven’t noticed a dramatic improvement in skill, but ideas are coming a little easier now, and that’s huge. I’m turning off the light and going to bed.

Wheels within wheels, in a spiral array...

2009-01-30T23:58:00.000-08:00

I think this is a good concept. Time will tell if I can fashion it into an interesting maze.

Plumber's nightmare

2009-01-29T23:55:00.000-08:00

More adventures with over and under pipes. When you drop down, you can go on either side below it.

I'm thinking that a good balance is to alternate sketching "real" objects, with "mind-only" geometrical mazes. Some of each should eventually yield some cool integrated designs.

Tower, trees, down & up

2009-01-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

Did some quick sketches while walking around today (about 10 minutes each). I like the idea of capturing an essence of something without laboring over details too much. The nature picture is a little disorienting…

Later, drew a circular stairway coming down, and going up slightly lower on the left. It’s interesting that while I’m working on a particular section, I often lose focus on where I am or what I’m drawing, and only when I pull back do I see the stairway again.

When you get to a number, jump to the other same number

2009-01-27T21:54:00.000-08:00

With pencil on graph paper:

After computer enhancement, which took about twice as long as drawing it:

Playing with graph paper

2009-01-26T23:51:00.000-08:00

The fun part here was drawing the lines freehand. I've always thought I had to use a ruler to do this, but this is so much faster (and I don't smear the lines).

Getting red-y

2009-01-25T17:59:00.000-08:00

Colored over the lines with a red marker…certainly more Valentine’s Day ready.

Experimented with the “mouse trail” in the four walls. Not sure whether different colors are better to orient which wall it’s in, or dots/dashes/etc.

To the heart of the matter

2009-01-24T22:58:00.000-08:00

Start at the top left and work your way through the pipes. Where there’s a gap, you must stay in the same direction (no 90 degree turns) across it. See if you can identify a shape in the design.

Here's lookin' at you kid

2009-01-23T18:16:00.000-08:00

I sketched some circles with the idea of creating a "time tunnel" type thing, but ended up with big glasses instead. Good to go with it sometimes.

Long meeting at work today

2009-01-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

Spent some time listening to voices from England on the speaker phone, so I sketched it. (It's sitting right near the juxtaposition between four conference tables.)

Came out fairly recognizable, unless you didn't know what it was, then you might think it was a pastry or an alien head.

Finished one

2009-01-21T22:16:00.001-08:00

I'll call this "phase one" because I'll come back to it later and add shading, or colors, or something.

Happy Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T19:05:00.001-08:00

Enter on the Right and come out on the Left.

Progress, and a see-through house

2009-01-19T23:57:00.000-08:00

Did a little more work on the "pipes" maze. Felt a little easier to link them together, which is exciting in its own way.

Glancing through an architectural magazine this evening I saw a "see-through" house (only good for warm & dry climates, obviously). I sketched it from memory, then thought "what if I have a mouse digging around in the walls?" Could turn into something interesting.

"No one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself."

2009-01-18T22:22:00.000-08:00

I set up a matrix of larger and smaller circles in between plays of NFL games today, and started to design a maze into it. Might try designing this straight to computer, too. Should work pretty well.

Better in color

2009-01-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

I used some freeware Photoshop-like software to color in yesterday's maze. I like the result.

Also experimented a little more with yesterday's concept. Coming up with some fair ideas to pursue in following days.

Adding to an idea

2009-01-16T22:39:00.000-08:00

Against my urge to come up with something new every day, I built on yesterday's "hedge" concept, but this time making them true rectangular tunnels and adding pipes to create alternate types of paths. Solid black was a nice choice, as I just drew the rectangular paths first, then filled in the black pipes over them - no erasing necessary (except for the part that I messed up badly). I might even try adding one more dimension to this concept tomorrow.

Landscaping 101

2009-01-15T22:43:00.000-08:00

I started my own attempt at a hedge maze today while waiting in a long freeway ramp line. Not sure what I was thinking because with a hedge maze you travel between the hedges, not in them. It's also ridiculously easy-to-solve, but was a nice compromise between "easy" 2D drawing and hard (so far) 3D perspective drawing. Kind of relaxing. A little more pre-planning might help next time.

Maze on a cup

2009-01-14T23:07:00.000-08:00

Had some time to kill in a meeting today so I started drawing on a water cup. Finished it off later tonight. Start at the top and work your way to the bottom. Unfortunately, you have to be holding the cup, because it's basically impossible to follow from picture to picture working back and forth, left to right.

Map experiment, with mixed results

2009-01-13T23:02:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd try a quick topographic map, using the lines to make a maze. The hill on the left (west) started out okay, but the finish on the right (east), not so good. Anyway, it's another entry in the idea bank for another day.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

2009-01-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

Practice, practice...yeah yeah yeah. So I start with a simple concept: A couple of rings to be joined by straight pieces. Suddenly I can't figure out where the lines go to connect them properly. I realize this would be a lot easier if I set up a model to copy but either I'm lazy or masochistic - I try to figure it out with just pencil on paper. I figure that once I get it, it will be worth the struggle. Maybe tomorrow I'll try it another way...

Circle concept

2009-01-11T23:12:00.000-08:00

Didn’t have much time for drawing today. Starting with the arches idea from yesterday I tried drawing (freehand with mental picture only) some concentric circles with links between them. Hope to build on this later. Hard to tell which way is up without any shading or coloring.

Time at the mall

2009-01-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

As I waited for my brakes to be fixed nearby, I took a walk at the nearby mall. There’s an archway at the entrance of the Hot Topic store that caught my eye. I tried to copy the nearest one, but it’s a little tricky in that one side goes straight up but the other side curves under near the bottom, to while my brain wanted symmetry it didn't match reality so I ended up somewhere in the middle (i.e. lopsided). Once the near archway was completed, I left and later did some more arches further in. Nothing very maze-like or exciting, but it helped generate some ideas for a future one.

Heart and mind

2009-01-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

I was driving home today thinking of "heart vs. mind" in making life decisions. So tonight I sketched some "hearts" and "minds" and then I figured that decisions of the mind have to go through the heart before they can be validated, but of course that happens in the mind again (this time on the left side, perhaps).

Getting a little easier

2009-01-08T22:51:00.000-08:00

From a freehand sketch made about a week ago, I filled in the lines and corrected a bunch of corners. That's one of the hardest things for me at this early stage, but just a week later I can tell I'm starting to get better at it. This is starting to look visually interesting and have a fair amount of structural integrity (though far from perfect!).

Triangle tower

2009-01-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

Decided to take another shot at a 3D maze again (hey, only 29 years since the last time!). The idea for this one came from a photo of a power tower taken from the inside, ground toward the sky. Not sure this went well, but maybe I can build on it later.

A sketch with a bad punchline

2009-01-06T21:52:00.000-08:00

I sketched this view from my parked car, where I saw the first "people ahead" sign. I made up the next two (the last one is an alien head, heheh). No maze again today, but got some needed practice at perspective drawing.

Hearts under fire

2009-01-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

When in doubt, I start with a heart. At first I thought I'd go with a theme of protecting your heart behind a wall, but soon the hearts were on sliders and pies were being flinged at them by slingshots. A metaphor for your heart's desire being under attack, but not by anything fatal, just some silly pies. Didn't turn this into a maze...yet.

Nothing happening

2009-01-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

No luck today. Tried several approaches in a 3-dimensional space and nothing came of it. I'm tired and I'm thinking about going back to work after 2 weeks off. Not a conducive state for creativity, unfortunately.

Less internal resistance

2009-01-03T23:05:00.000-08:00

Today went much better. I reserved a "quiet room" at my local library for 30 minutes and went right to work, using yesterday's late-night session for the seed of an idea. A plane flying in from the left and branching off in many directions. Tried to introduce "3D" to the drawing, by making the width go narrower to imply going "back" into the page. Fair result for little effort.

Procrastination avoided (barely)

2009-01-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

I was kind of out of it physically, so I frittered the day away, while in the back of my mind not forgetting my promise to get some maze work done. So, while laying in bed at the end of the day, I pulled out my sketch book and started this. Didn't get it completed but did the 30 minutes and some ideas for later.

It's a start

2009-01-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

Day 1 of my goal to draw maze-related artwork at least 30 minutes a day. Nothing spectacular here, just kind of forced myself to get it done. Staring at the blank page, I didn't have any great ideas, so I drew an oval, which turned into a trampoline, which I started "jumping" off of with my pencil.