more hassles

my blog is "off the air".... to the world... but the spam comments are still flooding in... it mustn't be the only one... blogger central is showing how to set up word verification... and i have sorry folks but it is to stop automatic software, bots & spiders posting comments



luckily i did back up my template stuff... and changed my password, just yesterday, so I still have access to the blog itself (and hopefully control)... the only bad bit is I will also have to change the public name I can not use cyclones_sketches... so now what to call it.... damn its the underscore that causing the grief.... ok what is something short & sweat and no spaces or underscores cyclonesart... better still cyart at last something that works


such is life

a strange visit

I guess if you are a regular... you'll have found out there has been a named change... WHY... good question... not really sure myself... the old site had a strange comment think is was in german... i got this much text out of a buffer

Verzicht: Das Thunderdome wird von Ihrem alten Mann des tediousness gebohrt. Lichter heraus.

there was also a symbol... like a copyright symbol with a diagonal line through it... thtas the last time I saw my blog working

So who is the Thunderdome and should I be scared... don't know.... all I know is my site name is now illegal and I can not recover it.

still talking

I'm trying out google talk... the beta version... its like Yahoo & MSN messanger but a lot simpler... plus its well integrated with gmail... which is the main email I use these days...the big advantage is it seems to work well at cyber cafes and remote places where i can only use dial up on gprs... you can use it from a variety of messangers including miranda & trillian.

I have plenty of free invite, just email me for one, if you'd like to try it out

2 moro

2 moro,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

heading south over the equator we pass the islands around mindanao, the home of the moro separatist movement... and it relatives ji and dural islam... its one of those essentially lawless regions that are developing all around the world... one chain of islands stretch back towards borneo... and it seems it is becoming a convent highway for all sorts of activity... this fuel tanker was just floating, it seemed abandoned... carrying scares of a close encounter with some one else a mid-ships.. as we drew near to interstage we heard automatic weapons and three speed boats raced towards us... after 2 hours we had either out run them... they had run out of fuel... or given up... such is life... high petrol price one day...fuel piracy on the high seas the next!

working on a Mac Tan

working on a Mac Tan,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

one advantage of travelling a lot and particularly the roads less trevelled... is I get to see some really cool places... Cebu in the southern phillipines is such a place... even better the little nearby island of mactan... a really idyllic spot.. here is phone photo of me having a 'sketching' break... life can be hard sometimes

another break

reflecting on the search for the goddess

My refelection cartoon has been blog in a really modern girls style blog... every women is a goddess... its a really well done and original place... worth a vist if you are a girl... and while you looking around why not check out other illustration friday submisssions.



Modern girls is becoming a bit of a sketching theme for me... perhaps there are true goddesses everywhere

in print

Created with the neat applet:: Magazine Cover



I kind of wish I had tried to publish this... nearly 200 views overnight... but would anyone really pay for it?

reflecting on originality

mirror,
originally uploaded by Mattijn.

As I travel around the net I'm starting to see that there are quiet a few original and creative people... like me... but uniquely different at the same time... but Marttijn is a bit scary he's much younger... much more accomplished... draws, paints & photographs... more colourful and all this will doing the standard thus a week for someone else

I'm only joking I'm not halos mate I love your art... I can see so many similarities in what you are doing to mine... and I didn't copy your ides for the reflection cartoon... I promise

ringrazia il mio amico

Gianita if a special friend from flickr.... she set up the Webcam selfportrait group... so its only fitting that I sketched her from her webcam... the sliht irony is this was sketched in Yahoo 260.... not from a flickr posting...

reflection

reflection
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

I trust I won't get in hot water with the Politically Correct brigade... (but I might be with my spelling & typos)...

I originally wanted to draw a BBW type looking at a skinny reflection... but I like this way better

for friday illustration: reflection

WOW I only posted it yesterday & its had 129 views in about 18 hours... the firday illustration thing must have a good following... better improve the art work on my next entry.

Nort On UR fone

mophone3
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

For those who must have the lastest... i've found a way to put my art onto your mobile phone... I've become a "beta tester" (not bad for an old bloke)for a new service called MoPhone... it's kind of flickr meets blogs & ringtones... and unlike those ads on late night TV you won't have to pay exhorbitant monthly fees... its essentially frees... providing to have a phone that can acess the interent (so you have to pay them the normal fees with your provider to do that)...

it is a community where you can share photos, screen wallpaper, ringtones ... even games and MP3 music

Just look for a group called NortOnURfone... or send me an email and i'll organize an invite

a great trip...

I'm just back from a great trip... sailing from melbourne to sydney... to deliver a new yatch... the stormy weather at the start was a challenge.. especially as i didn't want to break anything... AND (pause for fanfare)... i did manage to work out how to blog from my mobile photo (sorry the photos are a bit small)... I also managed a couple of quick sketches along the way with my trusty chinesse ink sticks(I love its delicacy of shade, but strength in the shadows)

fair weather & onward

fair weather & onward,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

The sun is out .. the swell has turned timid & the wind behind us ... should be a fast run to eden

sheltering from the storm

sheltering from the storm,
originally uploaded by sigh clone.

it has been more than exciting over the past few days , rather than risk any damage out at sea . we just have hope the new owner can wait for his yatch.

off for a while

damn... it looks like my blog template is playing up again... are there any young nerdy types... preferrable female & tolerant of older blokes... that can help me diagnose what is wrong...

a change of venue

Kimmie showing her charm

The pace of all the groups (& egos) in flickr is gettuing tome a little and as usual i've done a bit of a wander and settle down in another place... Yahoo 360... lets see if it is a good place to do sketching

red & yellow.. & (purple?)

cleo03
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

Cleo, or Cleopatra to her flickr friends, was keen for me to sketch her... i loved this pose... and now I hope I have gotten the delicate angelic quality... i must admit i copied the colour scheme for my favourite cincy watercolour and i do think it suits... for those that are interested the yellow in an underpainting gives any light scarlet wash over it a very rich glowing skin tone... the red does the same for shadows and especially the darks in hair... i just think this sketch doesn't need any of that extra overpainting ...

but cleo has reminded me the angelic quality... might not be her preferred status... and her nose is smaller ('blush' yes she is right, betteer do better next time)

Musing (2),
originally uploaded by miss cleopatra.

fun with a few colours

Silky angela having a bit of dress up fun... does anyone else fondling remember daisy duke?



Watercolour can be a get fun media when you keep it light and simple... (reminding myself to keep away from the heavy dark muddy colours)

least interesting

wcl02
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

flickr have a great new feature called interesting'ness. Being a lover of the contrarian, this is my 200th least interesting photo... flickr stops count at the 200th... from what i can judge it is a magic measure something like the "favourite to view ratios" but with a sprinkle of comment thrown in...

AND buggar that reminds me... where the heck did i leave that webcam anyway?

ok... no-online play till the scannings finished

damn... how boring... maybe i should play with an idea for the cleavage group...




sorry... i'll do the scanning

a bit of fun with mosaics and flickr tools

more cinderellas

Does anyone recognize n&k (thats what i wrote on the back) or maybe her name was suzi?



i guess i can't put off catching up on my backlog of scanning any longer...

unfortunately i'm so far behind i've forgotten more than one of two faces... who thwy were and how to contact them... so i'll just run a couple of "missing person" / Cinderella posts... if you recognize them, please send them this blog address or my email addy... i do prefer to ask before i post peoples sketches in here...

how ideas happen

original idea
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

The developement of an idea into an artwork...

this post is meant to show you graphically how an idea happens for me on paper... I wasn't asked but after sketching a coule of the lovely girls from there I got the idea of developing a buddy icon for the FlickrWhores group (they don't have one at the moment)... my original idea was just a few strokes of my brush with my favourite purple for shadow wash... it gives a nice shodow to skin tones... i then quickly sketched in some outlines with a fibre pen... and stood back... yes it has promise



next I redrew it in pencil... tidying & simplifying a few lines... then "ïnked" it with a fibre pen... I then scan this into coreltrace and do a trace outlines... which is loaded into coreldraw... a few more tidy ups on line work.... and coloured

hmmm pity this lacks something....




yes a little better... more vampy... more fun... maybe a fraction to complex



ok i like this one... simple yet a litle flirty & a hint of wicked

anyone for that on a t-shirt

missing friends

watercolour of a pensive carrie (Carebear)



the closure of yahoo's private chat rooms... it happend a while ago... was supposedly designed to stop pedophiles contacting childern (certainly an admirable objective... but the reality was it was due pressure on the advertisers



the unfortunate consequence is that a lot of perfectly normal friendships has been disrupted... i miss regular chats with my friends from the Big Bellies^& Admirers room... i miss my favourite models

krissie's pout

krissie01
Originally uploaded by sigh clone.

I loved krissie's expression... especially the intensity of her lipstick & painted eyes... very inspiring

I think this watercolour turned out well and it is a definite for my modern girl's series... in fact she is a very special modern girl... what Flicktionary (a glossary of Flickr terminology, on Flickr central) calls a FlickrWhore... a term for a person posting links, tags and "tease" photos that most certainly brings other members to their photostream... krissie is both glamurous and has a fine photostream

to be honest i'm an old bloke and i have no idea what makes a modern girl... I just think krissie is a perfect example of one :)

original photo
uploaded by krissie p.