A Journey into the Mind of Ben Durrell

Swamp things

2010-09-17T18:32:00.004-03:00

Wow, 2 posts in one week?
Scratch that, 2 posts in one month?
Wacky.

Swamp monster!

Back in Action

2010-09-15T13:32:00.007-03:00

I'm back!

a special thanks to all 2 of you who didn't give up hope and still check back every now and then. To mark my return, I decided to show a couple of different takes on my favorite little blue bomber.

If you don't quite get this last one, this actual box art for megaman 1 on the NES may clarify things.

that's it for now, but I'll be back soon. For real this time. Pinky swear.

Time for Some Drawlins!

2010-02-26T10:28:00.007-04:00

Oh, hello there, folks; I didn't see you there. Have some drawings, because I found a temporary workaround to my scanner problem. High five! Star Wars!

More heroes of time

2009-08-24T20:32:00.003-03:00

Hey everyone,

I decided to finally hop back on and put something on here. I got a new set of markers while I was in the middle of wind waker, so I ended up drawing link in the new and old colors. on the third one, I used peppermint larry's proportions. Good times were had.

Copsquatch

2009-07-02T18:08:00.000-03:00

Another in my [3 letter word]squatch series, This here is Copsquatch.

He just shot some street trash in cold blood, because he don't take no guff.

To Action

2009-06-27T18:43:00.005-03:00

Thwip!

Wakka wakka?

I've got nothin'.

Spiderman is really fun to draw.

Playin' Catch up

2009-06-27T18:28:00.005-03:00

Yeah, I havent really posted in a while. I'll try to get back on schedule soon.

This little guy's name is Catsquatch.

And also, heres a page of my last sketchbook people seemed to like, so here you go:

I'll be posting more regularly hopefully. have a good one.

Get Him Mr Bubbles!

2009-05-15T18:56:00.005-03:00

A big daddy done in watercolor pencil and brush pen, from what's pretty damned close to, if not being my favorite game for next gen consoles: Bioshock.

Kind of in a hurry, so I have to get going. Keep on keepin' on.

Remember Slash?

2009-05-09T12:46:00.011-03:00

I'm back, I had to take a break due to a death in the family, so I haven't really been around scanners much lately. I'm back and in full swing now, so don't worry your pretty little head about it.

Anyway, heres Slash, the evil turtle with the black bandana. The concept is pretty badass, so I decided to add him to the line of turtle drawings. I think Mikey is the only one left.

Side note, I've decided to jump on the twitter bandwagon, so if anyone is strange enough to be interested, My handle is Kid_Slickarus.

Have a good weekend, dudes.

The Real Turtles

2009-04-23T23:26:00.002-03:00

Sure, they're not as intimidating, but you really have to respect anyone with a figure like that who can master ninjutsu.

New Medium? Smoking Baboon!

2009-04-22T09:52:00.004-03:00

Here's my first crack at using watercolor pencils. Smoking baboon!

Have a good one, folks!

Doodle dee doooo

2009-04-20T10:13:00.003-03:00

Its not much, but I figured I had to put something on here. I will have more stuff for hopefully wednesday, if not tomorrow.

'Til then, have a good one.

Brother from Another Plumber

2009-04-07T23:34:00.006-03:00

So, Heres another drawing in what is unfolding into a series of game drawings with onomatopoeias for various sound effects. This time I'm giving a little love to the other super mario bother, Luigi. On a related note, this post title doesnt really make much sense in terms of brothers, but it sounded clever and it rhymed, so it stays.

Wild things?

2009-04-06T20:28:00.004-03:00

Howdy folks, sorry its been a while since i got anything on here. but I'm gonna try and get back to a regular schedule. Anyway, I was stoked after watching the trailer for the upcoming where the wild things are movie, so my doodles were very reminiscent for a while.

Quantum Frog in: Leaping Years

2009-03-19T23:14:00.004-03:00

Posting has been a tad slow, but next week, i'll be working on a quick short featuring this little fella. Quantum frog is the name i have for him right now, but its not carved in stone.

Til next time, have a good one.

Adventure!

2009-03-15T14:11:00.003-03:00

Howdy, folks.
Its a tad busy on this end, so I need to keep it brief.
Hey, look! Its flapjack!

Super fighing robots

2009-03-11T13:52:00.002-03:00

Heres the basic idea of the design I decided upon for the aforementioned short. Like it? Hate it? Why? I'd like as much feedback as possible. Sha-booyah.

If You're Into It

2009-03-09T21:52:00.005-03:00

Today we have my attempt at the likenesses of the Hiphopopotamus and the Rymenoceros, the flight of the conchords.
I need to brush up on likenesses, so I guess you get to see the fruits (and possibly poops) of my labor. this one was pretty quickly thrown together in flash.

Also, if anyone knows any good sites for adobe illustrator tutorials, dropping me a line would much appreciated.
have a good one, folks.

What have we done?

2009-03-07T18:18:00.004-04:00

I'm really not able to say or do anything clever today, so without further adieu: a picture!

It's Show Time!

2009-03-07T00:58:00.005-04:00

So yeah, missed it by about an hour, but still. I'm gonna keep trying to update as much as I can. It may not be every day, but hopefully at the very least once a week, ideally once every few days.

This one I nearly forgot about. Its Beetlejuice! Huzzah! Betelgeuse if you want to be one of those film douchebags, but whatevs. I decided to add Lydia after Beetlejuice was fully done. I don't much care for her design, but beetlejuice, with a bit more tweaks, etc., I think I could be onto something.

Have a good one, Ladies and Gents!

He's Got a Flippin' Gun for a Hand

2009-03-05T22:34:00.005-04:00

You know who has 2 thumbs and posted again today? This guy.

I guess that doesn't work in text. I'm supposed to point at my self with my - You know what? Its not that funny regardless.

Anyway, so I'm a tad late today, but it still counts! Here you see our favorite little blue bomber as I pictured him whenever I drew this, while playing Megaman 9:

What a rascal. Anyway, I'll try to be back tomorrow and stuff.

Donatello Does Machines

2009-03-04T17:53:00.003-04:00

Yup, so here I am, as promised. I'm back on the blogosphere and I've gotta tell you, its pretty swell.

So here we have our old friend Don; he does machines. The only one left in this series is Mikey, so that might pop up at some point sooner or later. I might also do leonardo again on paper as opposed to flash.

Ladies and gents, I'm gonna keep this constant update train in motion as long as I can, so stay tuned.

Send Me the Best You've Got

2009-03-02T20:46:00.007-04:00

As 3 of you may know, I'm putting together a short for the song "Sons of Fate" by the protomen. considering how long ago that idea was hatched, it'll definitely be a while before things really start to take shape.

If anyone outh there has any real consturctive criticism of any of the designs I put up, I implore you to go ahead and let me know what youre thinking. In other words, im not looking for "it sucks, change it."

anywho, heres the first of what will probably and hopefully be a lot of megaman designs.

Check back tomorrow, I'll have a FRESH BAKED post for you to FEAST your eyes on.

See what I did there?

Sorry 'bout the Hiatus...

2009-03-01T21:05:00.005-04:00

Guess who finally got a scanner!
Uh... well, I think steve already has one. Good guess, though.

I'll be scanning stuff like a madman for the next while, or at least a mentally unstable one.
I'll try not to leave you guys hanging for months on end for a while, but since I tend to do that, I can't promise anything. On the upside, that's part of the adventure!

This post feels super cheesy, but I'm just so doggone excited!

For now, check out some venture bros drawings:

I decided to christen my new sketchbook with 21 and 24 doing their thing.

This one was drawn almost directly from the head models I found online, and I didn't notice until it was inked that I still managed to make the mullet too long. Oh well, I still think it looks alright.

Check back in the next couple days, there should be more stuff by then.
Stay classy, planet earth.

A (not so) quick post from (not) the iPhone

2008-07-29T23:18:00.003-03:00

EDIT: here's the whole thing. I'm not a fan of trying to post from a mobile phone, what with the amount of unnecessary steps involved.

Oh yeah, I have a blog.

2008-04-28T22:09:00.003-03:00

Its been a while since I've posted anything here. like February or something. sorry about that, Tara. I drew this here Sweeney Todd today in my sketchbook coming home from work, and I liked it, so i figured you folks might, too. I'll start posting regularly again soon enough, so bear with me.

theres more to the drawing, but i tried cropping it out and it turned out looking better. So yeah; plus the scanner blurred the left edge, and I kinda like that, too.

Thats all I'll put in this post, but hear you me, the next one is going to be massive.

Sketch Jam: Whistler Edition

2008-02-02T18:11:00.000-04:00

Howdy folks. its been a while since I put anything up here, so i figured i'm due.
Here's a couple of my favorite drawings from my plane rides to and from BC.

The line quality is all over the place, but I can blame some of that on turbulence.

Raph! I said i'd put up another ninja turtle here eventually, so here it is.

EDIT: I guess I didn't say that after all.

The more I look at it, the more something seems a little off about it, but i like it anyway.

These robots are recurring pretty often in my sketchbooks, and they have been since early high school, but i dont think that ive put any on the blog.

Eh, wha? You still readin' this?

Collidea-Penguin

2007-12-04T20:20:00.000-04:00

everyone at collideascope was supposed to make a penguin of themselves to go onto a christmas card. I was late, because i'm awesome like that, but i did one anyway. Maybe it'll make it in, maybe it wont. who knows. it was fun either way. good times were had by all.

Gigapig!

2007-11-16T22:36:00.001-04:00

This character and all the following ideas are the stemmed entirely from hearing what Mike said wrong. I heard gigapig, but I guess he said something different. This is what came to mind.

Hallo-what?

2007-11-02T09:36:00.001-03:00

This was a project I regrettably didnt have the time to finish this year, but i still thought it was pretty neat.

Happy belated halloween, everyone.

Gruaaah...

2007-10-03T13:12:00.001-03:00

Heroes in a Half Shell

2007-09-27T10:21:00.000-03:00

I can't stop drawing ninja turtles.
But hey, its not my fault they're so awesome.

Haven't done any harbor hobos stuff lately. I probably will soon, but then again, I always say that.

Thats all for now. Have a day.

The Terror!

2007-09-02T03:43:00.000-03:00

The Enemies of freedom mixed with some sort of physical augmentation is a terrifying notion indeed.
Below are quick drawings of your worst nightmares. be afraid.

Oh yeah, and they may or may not be possible harbor hobo villains.

for the most part, they were an excuse to try out my new markers, but I scared myself with the thought of being ruled by radioactive nazis and/or communist masters of the dark arts. let your noggin process that for a bit. if youre not afraid, you should be.

I've been drawing more lately that i have been for the past while, so theres a chance that the frequency of posts will go up.

Thats all for now.
You folks have youresleves a nice weekend! Y'all come back now, ya hear?

The Yuriycast

2007-08-31T00:39:00.000-03:00

Ok, so this isnt a drawing of mine, but we had a coming up with it. To you guys, it might seem like a "you had to be there" kind of humor, but its kinda short anyway, so check it out.

Have fun in Toronto, buddy.

Harbor Hobos Part 2

2007-08-21T23:12:00.000-03:00

Here's the second guy. This design was a bit rushed, so he might be switched up later, but you get the gist of it.

More to come eventually. I'm going to have a team of 3 to 5, then I'll start working on villains.

harbor hobos Part1

2007-08-20T12:25:00.000-03:00

Ok, so heres the deal. a while ago, we had a drawing challenge at the studio about what would happen if you fell in the ridiculously polluted Halifax harbour. Soon thereafter, i was heckled by a hobo on my way to the bus, and it just clicked: a team of hobos that fell into the harbor and got superpowers. The harbor hobos are going to be developed over the next while, and then I'm either going to start a short comic, or an animated short, depending on the time I have free.

This is the first one. I don't quite have a name for him yet. I'm setting up a back story as I go along. I'll put more designs and whatnot up as soon as i have them done.

I'm not dead, just busy

2007-08-06T10:49:00.000-03:00

Ok, so i havent updated in a couple months. I'm a busy guy. I havent really done much new stuff, so i guess i'll have to give you couple bits of filler, old sketches that you may or may not have already seen.

this one is probably my favorite snippet from the ol' travel sketchbook. the scan blew it up huge. It's really only about half the size in real life.

This one's actually about a year old. I know i should have shown you earlier, but it just slipped my mind. You know I wouldn't keep this from you on purpose! Honest! You know I love you, baby. Let's never fight again.

This is my first encounter with Alias sketchbook pro, And i must say, I really like it. I havent got around to finishing this one. I wanted to put the black webby thingies in the red part of the costume, but I... you know... didn't.

And finally, I'm still wondering if its a good idea to put this one up. its a gesture i whipped up in flash on a 10 minute break, a few days before 300 came out. I guess I don't see any harm in it. The dude holding the head? Yeah, Him. I might actually clean that guy up.

Hey, It's Paul!

2007-04-10T22:54:00.000-03:00

I was playing around with character design, trying different styles. I Call this guy Paul.

I've noticed a trend lately that all the characters I draw have been facing left. I've also noticed that considering the blog address, i should get on putting more animation on here.

I'm gonna work on those.

Self Portrait

2007-04-03T00:17:00.000-03:00

I decided to draw a self portrait in flash today. I ended up making myself look badass completely by accident, but decided to roll with it anyways.

Flash Cleanup

2007-03-30T15:54:00.000-03:00

This is my own cartoon rendition of Beetlejuice, drawing more from Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice than the already existing beetlejuice cartoon character. this was a drawing scanned in and cleaned up in flash.

This is a character of mine named rugged ron. He's basically an updated version of the character in the stop motion video below. this drawing was done entirely in flash.

Video Time!

2007-03-30T01:13:00.000-03:00

Here are some videos I have ready right now to post, and i'll find more in the next day or so.

This is a stop motion short I did at the end of my first year at NSCC truro. It won 1st place in the experimental category at the animediafest last year.

A rough animation of a character named dillon (courtesy of collideascope animation studios) climbing a rope. the details are a little hard to make out at this resolution.

Another rough animation of the same character, this time doing a laugh lipsync. The video synced up with the sound before I uploaded it onto youtube.

Yet another rough animation, this time a very quick one of a simple human figure doing a backflip.

this one is my first attempt at a lipsync test in Maya, using a pre-modeled head.

In other news: man makes blog, posts things

2007-03-30T01:02:00.000-03:00

Howdy, everyone.
Welcome to the new blog! I'm gonna take a bit to add some videos and pictures so I can make this sucker look a little more inviting. I'll add what I have, and then find other things I wouldn't mind you people seeing in the next short while. It'll start to come together soon.