Sketchpad neeping and Games Club

That batch of sketches last week marked the end of my Strathmore sketchpad. I’m pleased; I used to leave a trail of abandoned half-full (or less) pads behind me.

Last night I tried out some dramatic lighting in a cheap new pad — “Art Alternatives”. It’s got most of what I look for: spiral-bound along the long edge, hard covers, and not too thick. But the paper’s just not right. It feels overly dry and scratchy. I’ll shift back over to that Michael Roger Press heavy-weight pad.

( Yet another Melorne sketch )

Didn’t play anything new at GC. One game of San Juan (I managed to build City Hall, Guild Hall, and Triumphal Arch with Statue and Victory Column, winning handily, but that was largely luck), one of Call My Bluff (where I got bounced out fairly early), and filling in for a dropped-out player in a game of Puerto Rico (managed to come in second with a shipping strategy).

Hating winter

Ooof, woke up real late today. Slept through most of the day’s sunlight. I hate winter and it isn’t even here yet.

Spent the dwindling day at Ground, reading Superman for All Seasons, which I bought for the Tim Sale art. The story, well, eh. It’s mostly by-the-numbers. Here‘s some small-town family stuff, here’s Supes rescuing Metropolis from a submarine-launched nuclear missile, then grabbing the sub and depositing it at a nearby military base, then implying that Lex Luthor had something to do with it, never explaining why the hell Luthor would want to blow up his own city. Here’s a viral threat that doesn’t make any biological sense, that’s actually a carrier for an emotional attack on Superman that doesn’t really make any sense either. Like I said, eh. The only above-average bit of writing was Lex Luthor’s internal monolog, in which he describes the city of Metropolis as his lover, and Superman as a rival for her affections.

I did some more sketching, still trying to figure out how to work with patches of black. I’m not happy with that leather jacket in the first sketch.

( Sketches from Ground )