Holiday UK #7 – Slow Worm

Posted on 18/07/2013 by bighair63

Excerpt from holiday diary 29th June:

“It was beautiful coastline. The sky was blue and the sun warm. We looked for basking adders but had to make do with a slow worm…”

Holiday Uk 6# – Planning a Walk

Posted on 17/07/2013 by bighair63

Excerpt from holiday diary 28th June:

“We ummed and ahhed over which walk to do. L flatly refused the 5 miler that was described in the book as ‘some of the most treacherous bog on Dartmoor in bad weather’. It wasn’t bad weather but having experienced more bog than we cared to endure in a lifetime, we opted for a more gentle walk along the river Plym through old clay quarries up to Dewerstone“.

Holiday UK #5 – National Marine Aquarium

Posted on 16/07/2013 by bighair63

Holiday diary excerpt 27th June:

“…We caught the Park and Ride from Coypool into Plymouth to explore the ‘Ocean City’. First impressions: grimy, durgy, unattractive. We walked to the Plymouth Hoe, down to the lido and past the crumbling features of what I think are the remains of concrete Victorian beach huts built into the cliff face (see picture below to illustrate…).

…We spent the remainder of the afternoon in the National Marine Aquarium gawping at moray eels, upside down and moon jellyfish, baby sharks wriggling in their egg cases and frog fish that look exactly like pieces of coral. I loved it”

Holiday UK #4 – The Ravens

Posted on 15/07/2013 by bighair63

Holiday diary excerpt 27th June:

“Yesterday we hauled our aching limbs to Dartmoor once again. Our chosen destination was Burrator Reservoir and a circular walk around Sheepstor. It was a steep climb up Sheepstor to experience 360 degree panoramic views of the moor and reservoir. Thankfully there were no bogs.

We happened upon a sheep carcass being devoured by Ravens and decided to stop so I could take some photos. The one day I decide not to take my telephoto lens, was the one day I wanted to use it!…”

Frustratingly I didn’t get any good pictures due the lens issue and I still question whether they actually were ravens. Perhaps you’d like to decide. They were huuuge!

Holiday UK #3 – Pebble Beaches

Posted on 14/07/2013 by bighair63

Excerpt from L’s diary entry 25th June:

“Bright blue skies! Off to the seaside at Beesands, a very quaint and quiet village with a huge pebble beach. We followed yet more of the SW coastal path over to Torcross where we lowered the average age of the tourists by about 40 years. Torcross butts up to Slapton Ley, a freshwater lake separated from the sea by a pebble beach…”

Excerpt from my diary entry 25th June:

“Give me a pebble beach and like a child, I feel compelled to collect the most perfectly round pebbles I can find. I LOVE pebble beaches but by the end of our walk, my rucksack was laden and my shoulders groaned under the weight of my collection…”

Today I must mention that it’s my parents 40th Wedding Anniversary! How fabulous is that? Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad – in it for the long haul!!

Holiday UK #2 – Dartmoor Bog

Posted on 13/07/2013 by bighair63

Except from L’s holiday diary entry, 24th June:

“Up on to Dartmoor today via several stops for Amy to gawp at horses and take photos. We a parked at the Postbridge information centre to start the rather boggy walk up to some standing stones with picturesque views of the moors. We ended up meandering around a peat bog for a bit before giving up and following a wall to the obligatory water feature challenge of the holiday…” NB. We often find ourselves traversing fast flowing water courses on our expeditions.

My response to L’s diary entry:

“I think L has underplayed The Bog. We were walking for 8.5 miles and for at least 5 of those miles we were ankle deep in bog. At one point we found ourselves lost in the middle of a vast expanse of moorland (as far as the eye could see) with no visible path in sight. I was secretly calculating our water rations in case we started to sink into the stinky, relentless bog and had to wait for rescue…”

I must mention that today is my mum’s birthday. Happy Birthday Mum!

Holiday UK #1 – The Hole Incident

Posted on 12/07/2013 by bighair63

Excerpt from the holiday diary 23rd June:

“We’re sitting in the Pilchard Inn, a tiny pub perched on the edge of Burgh Island, home to a posh hotel where you can stay for a mere £400-600 per night. If you want to come by helicopter, there is a convenient helipad in the grounds. The ‘Rif Raf’ are welcome on the island but only if they walk across the sand bar when the tide is out or catch the giant sea tractor…

We walked from Ringmore along the SW coastal path dotted with flowers and pretty grasses. The winds were high but they blew the forecast showers over our heads and inland. L has become adept at simultaneously pointing out wildlife and dangerous obstacles…”

We recently returned from a great holiday in Devon and Cornwall. Not usually ones for taking a summer holiday in the UK (due to unpredictable weather) we decided to risk it this year and it paid off. Clear skies, turquoise seas, belting sunshine, rolling moorland, white beaches – If you could always guarantee weather like this, who needs to go abroad, there is so much to see right here?

As always we kept a running commentary of the holiday by way of a diary and this year I aimed to draw a cartoon a day to supplement the entries. For the next few days I’m going to share a few short extracts from the diary and a quick cartoon. Don’t expect beautifully penned, Wordsworth-esq, descriptions of the holiday. Sadly, I lack the vocabulary to paint a picture, instead, I draw cartoons.

Old people

Posted on 19/06/2013 by bighair63

I’ve been desperate to create good looking cartoons using Adobe Illustrator. I’ve known the basics of the programme for quite a while but up until now, I’ve been too lazy to spend the time researching how to use it to its full advantage (and I doubt I will do more than just scratch the surface).

Most of my cartoons are drawn by hand, scanned into the computer, then coloured in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet. My hand is a little unsteady at times and Illustrator is the perfect tool for creating smooth lines and a professional look. But, I’ve really struggled to find a way to easily create shadows without a lot of faffing about.

Today I spent some time sketching some old people in my sketchpad, before deciding to experiment with Illustrator (with a little help from YouTube). I came across this little gem, The Ultimate Inking and Colouring Tutorial. There are some really neat little tricks to help with shading and highlighting, it really speeds up the process and I LOVE IT! (I’m sure you seasoned artists are chuckling to yourselves…I’m slow off the mark).

So here are three practice attempts – I’ve still got a lot to learn. The first one was before the tutorial – it was painstakingly slow. The second two were after I’d watched it several times.