Return Of The Journal Doodles!

Back in 2010 I bought a journal (it's not a diary!) that contained calendar pages at the beginning of every month. I live a simple life here at Bob Canada's BlogWorld and had no use for the calendar, so I started filling up each day on the calendar with a doodle.

Sadly, the 2011 journal (it's not a diary!) that I bought didn't have calendar pages, so there were no doodles last year.

But this year's journal (it's not a diary) features the calendar pages again! Huzzah! The Daily Doodles are back! Enjoy the January Doodles!

Denouement December

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for December. Sadly, this will be the last of the calendar sketch page posts. I bought a new journal (it's not a diary!) this week, and it doesn't have calendar pages in it.

There's Broccoli Head on the 4th, and Furious the Snowman on the 8th. The kid on the 14th is sporting a patented Beiber Hair Helmet®. There's King Vitamin on the 16th next to Psychotic Kermit on the 17th.

That's Cyclops Rooster on the 22nd next to Spider Head on the 23rd. That's Homeless Santa on the 29th, and me on the 31st.

Jumpin' January!

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for January. I don't know why I'm posting them out of order like this. I started with August, then started working backwards. Who needs order?

Apparently I was cold a lot in January, if the 3rd and the 10th are any indication. I was also tired a lot, according to the 5th and 20th. Looks like payday was on the 8th and 22nd.

That's Jay Leno on the 7th, sweating over all the drama about his failed prime time show. Is that an Elvis sighting on the 14th? Und dat's not AH-Nuld on the 23rd!

Ferkakta February

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for February. I don't know why I'm posting them out of order like this. I started with August, then started working backwards. Who needs order?

The guy on the 6th has something inappropriate growing out of his forehead. That's George Jetson's first wife Estelle on the 8th. Something stinks on the 11th. Happy Valentine's Day on the 14th! The guy on the 21st looks like his mustache is doing bicep curls. The gentleman on the 24th doesn't care for our feathered friends. That's Davros, creator of the Dalek race (from Doctor Who) on the 22nd. Yes, I'm a nerd.

Mopey March

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for March. I don't know why I'm posting them out of order like this. I started with August, then started working backwards. Who needs order?

Some weird baby snuck onto the calendar before the month even started! Is that a sparkly teen vampire there on the 5th? That guy on the 6th is a real blockhead.

The guy on the 17th needs some Proactiv, while the one on the 22nd is a big star. Despite the fact that they're of completely different species, the 19th and 24th look related somehow. The guy on the 30th looks a little "tired." And I believe that's a member of avant-garde rock band The Residents there on the 31st.

Anguished April

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for April. I don't know why I'm posting them out of order like this. I started with August, then started working backwards. Who needs order?

I guess that's the Easter Bunny there on the 4th. That's a very suave dog there on the 12th. And is that Joan Rivers next to him on the 13th? I don't know what that's supposed to be on the 20th. Some kind of half man, half robot thing. Hey, I do these in pen, so I only get one chance to draw them, and if they don't come out right, I'm stuck with them.

The guy on the 21st is upset that "Secretary's Day" is now apparently known as "Administrative Professional's Day." I don't blame him. There's RoboCop on the 24th, inaccurately drawn from memory. The guy on the 26th has appears to have had too much fat injected into his lips. There's Angry Gumby on the 30th. And the guy who snuck in on the non-existent April 31st has been censored.

No, No, November

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for November.

That appears to be the Tin Man on the 1st. The guy on the 6th feels pretty. The monster on the 7th is pissed that he has to set his clock back an hour, while the guy on the 11th is doing some housecleaning.

Odd October

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for October. Lots of monsters and Halloween related doodles here.

We've got the Bride of Frankenstein on the 4th, with a steam powered Frankenstein monster on the 9th. That's supposed to be Boris Karloff on the 7th, but he didn't come out very well. I was trying to draw Peter Cushing on the 13th, but he ended up looking a lot more like Tony Randall! Always use photo reference, kids!

There's Ookla the Mok on the 18th, with a vaguely Vincent Price-esque figure on the 21st. That's Nosferatu down there on the 27th.

Morose May

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for May. I don't know why I'm posting them out of order like this. I started with August, then started working backwards. Who needs order?

I guess that's supposed to be Tough Soldier Beetle Baily on the 2st, with Steven Seagal on the 7th. The guy on the 27th looks like those weird half dog, half men that were always in Carl Bark's Duck comics.

Jerkish June

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for June. I don't know why I'm posting them out of order like this. I started with August, then went to September, then July. Who needs order?

I think that was an attempt at Frankenstein's Monster on the 28th. The 9th and 29th look like 1950s advertising characters (minus the prehensile tongue on the 29th). It looks like the 24th was the inspiration for this.

Juvenile July

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for July. The August pages were full of primal drawings dripping with barely pent-up rage. These doodles don't seem particularly angry, just weird.

Uncle Sam looks a bit beaten up there on July 4th, reflecting the state of our beleaguered country. That's supposed to be Clint Eastwood on the 13th, drawn from memory. I was watching the first season of the Partridge Family on DVD in July, if you can believe such a thing, so that's a not-very-good likeness of Danny Partridge on the 17th, and his manager Reuben Kinkaid on the 21st.

Surly September

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for September. As you might recall, I had an unpleasant August (actually the whole year so far ain't been all that great) and the the calendar doodles from that month reflected that... with gusto.

So far September's been a little better. We'll see how it goes.

Angry August

I've got this daily journal (it's not a diary!) that contains calendar pages at the beginning of every month. Since I do the exact same thing every single day of my life, I have little use for the calendar pages, so I've been filling each day's square with a doodle.

Here are the calendar pages for August. As you might be able to discern from the expressions on the faces in the various boxes, August was not a good month. Nothing worth going into here, but let's just say I'm not sorry to see August 2010 scram.

Note: September's not looking much better.

Sketchbook Pages Part II: The Sketchening

Here are some more pages from my sketchbook. Some of these will eventually become full color illustrations. Others will go into the garbage where they belong. I'll let you decide which is which.

Note that some of my sketches are actively critiquing my work. That's normal, right? Not a sign of schizophrenia or anything?

Sketchbook Pages

Looking through my posts, I noticed that I'm always talking about my sketchbooks and how most of my illustrations are based on doodles drawn inside them. So I thought I'd scan a few pages and post them. They might give you a "behind the scenes" glimpse into my thought process when I draw. Or you may well view them as a cry for help.

Those of you with small children may want to leave the room now.









Although they look like I used a pencil, they were all drawn with a plain old ball point pen.

These pages actually did come from a sketchbook, but the majority of my sketches are just scribbled on note pads, Post-Its or any other papers that hold still long enough for me to draw on. I've got folders full of loose pages of sketches in my file cabinet, waiting for me to have time to turn them into illustrations (although some of them should probably be tossed out!). Maybe now that I don't have cable TV anymore, I'll have more time for drawing.