No, it’s not a gigantic sketch this morning. I’m trying something different with my blog. In the coming posts, I’ll take this sketch and bring it to a finished illustration.

This is a doodle out of my November, 2010 sketchbook. Lately, I’ve been documenting my sketches with a program/web service called Evernote. I highly recommend it for anyone who has a lot of notes and are trying to find a way to organize it all. It is a service on a web, but also an application for Windows and the Mac. You can also access if from your iPhone, iPad, Android or other smart phone.

The Mac version has worked very well for me. You can scan or take photos of your handwritten notes and sketchbook pages. If your writing is legible, Evernote will recognize the text and make it searchable.

I liked this sketch because it will complement the vector style I’ve been experimenting with. I’ve noticed my drawing style has changed while I’ve been drawing in Adobe Illustrator. I am paying attention to simpler shapes and how to design an illustration.

I’ve been a designer since college along with an illustrator. But I’ve noticed how the two disciplines are complementing each other. When I was younger, I thought the primary purpose of illustration was to accurately and convincingly portray an object or scene. That’s ironic, considering I’ve always preferred a cartoon style. Cartooning is all about exaggeration. If anybody in the real world looked like a cartoon, they’d stop traffic, and it wouldn’t be because they were drop dead gorgeous!

Now I see that an illustration needs to be designed well just like a well designed book or web page. That’s my epiphany for the day.

Next, I’ll get a more polished sketch together. Stay tuned!