Where To Next?

So, here's a good question. Can anybody recommend additional platforms for promoting the Three Random Words designs, blog, and videos? I'm trying to get this design project shared on as many platforms as possible. Here is a list of where you can find the images or get information about he project currently:

Blogger: http://bit.ly/Kcnyvv
YouTube: http://bit.ly/LPvi5A
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/KFKfGS
DeviantArt: http://bit.ly/JrzmoM
Twitter: http://bit.ly/Kpwwox

Leave a comment and let me know where you think I should put it next.

-Rob Signed Off

Furiously Annihilate Nighttime

Oh man, I love today's design. The idea for the image came to me as soon as I saw the words generate.  The stars were the Wifelette's idea, and she actually drew the "face" of the sun, owing to the fact that I am no good at drawing eyes...or mouths...or expressions...or really anything for that matter.

I drew and inked the whole thing here in Pennsylvania and I was also able to color it and send it out to the interwebs because we remembered to bring the laptop along. The colors for the moon, though boring, are actually sampled from a photo of the moon and its craters.

Hope you enjoy the design as much as I do, now it's time to go enjoy the rest of the day. Remember to check out BearFood.com to vote for the design, it will be up in a few moments. Thanks!

-Rob Signed Off

Comfortably Ejected Pelican

Whoa! Three designs in one week!? That's right, I sat down last night and decided that this needed to happen, and it did. So now, you have all day to enjoy this design (not as much as that pelican, but hey).

So, when the words "Comfortably Ejected Pelican" came up in the generator I almost literally did a spit take. Alright, so it was "Afterward" instead of "Comfortably." They're my designs, I can change the wording if I want.    The original thought was just to have a pelican strapped into an ejector seat, but I drew the chair a bit large and a bit too squishy, so I decided to roll with and change the word to "Comfortably" and have that pelican enjoy some time on his favorite flame-bottomed recliner.

I wasn't sure I'd be able to draw a pelican, but I took a look at some illustrations on Google Images and got the basic concept down...I think the only distinguishing feature you really need to get right on a pelican is the beak. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

This will be going to The Oatmeal's new linking site BearFood. You can also check it out and join in the conversation on the Facebook page or go over to YouTube and check out today's video log about the piece (and anything that comes to my mind, really).  Links are below the signature, which is coming now:

-Rob Signed Off

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/threerandomwordsdesigns
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/3randomwordsdesigns

Go to BearFood.com and "Love" the image.

Experimentally Troubled Void - Sans Words

Alright, I've heard back from a few people on this, and they like the idea of the design without the words. So here it is.

-Rob Signed Off

Experimentally Troubled Void

Last night's design, due to popular vote (of 4 people), was Experimentally Troubled Void.  I know it doesn't look like much, and I know there is a bunch of text to get to the heart of the three random words, but the more I look at it, the more I like it...especially that little bow tie.

I went into this design with some small amount of trepidation; out of the three designs available to vote on, this was the one that I had no ideas for. When I finally came up with an idea, it was really dumb. It involved a voided check being put through a number of scientific tests...but the design would have still relied on some text to get the punchline across I think...or maybe I really just wanted to do something like a single frame comic. Who knows?

Once again I drew this in pencil, then inked the outlines in pen, scanned the image into Photoshop and began coloring it. I was almost done when Photoshop locked up about five minutes. I had the inclination to start sobbing dejectedly onto my keyboard, but when I looked back up, Photoshop had decided to continue working and I decided to save it right away. Seems I haven't learned my lesson.

If you haven't seen it already, I started up a (hopefully) daily vlog on YouTube to talk a little bit more about the designs (really, I think its because I like showing off my ugly face, bad haircut, and less-than-grizzly beard). You can check that channel out at  http://www.youtube.com/3randomwordsdesigns. There will be a video about today's design going up...today.

-Rob Signed Off

NCT - The Design

After a week of being sick and, quite frankly, not wanting to do anything other than eat really bad food and lay on the couch, I finally managed to finish the Nervously Changing Turtle design. This design changed quite a bit. Originally I was going to do something along the lines of a turtle without its shell, which was covering itself and blushing as a girl turtle (indicated by a bow) had a good laugh. But to me, that seemed more like an embarrassed, changing turtle, so I scrapped it (Photoshop helped by crashing and making something like 2 hours of work just go away).

The design you seen now was drawn in pencil first. This is different from the last three designs because they were done completely on my Wacom Graphire 3 using Photoshop. This time I thought it might be better to actually draw the design, then ink it, then scan it in, and then color it in Photoshop, which is what I did. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out except for one thing. The tail.

Originally I had been shooting for a fish tail, but once I scanned the image, I realized I had done something more like a dolphin tail (and by "more like" I mean "exactly like") and it was late and I didn't want to go back and redo it. But the more I look at it, the better I think it would like with a rainbow trout tail. The Wifelette thinks so, too. I might go back and change it, just to see how it looks, but for now, you get dolphin tail.

Voting for the next design is still open at the Facebook Page, so if you haven't voted (and let's face it, only five people have voted, and I was one of them), then head over to the page and vote for the design you want to see next.

-Rob Signed Off

Nervously Changing Turtle

I wanted to get this design up before Midnight so I could still claim it was up on Monday. Check back tomorrow for more information about the design.

I can't believe I finally got a new design up...

Edit: You can vote for Wednesday's design on the Three Random Words Facebook Page by going here: https://www.facebook.com/ThreeRandomWordsDesigns

While you're there, hit that "Like" button. I enjoy seeing the numbers go up...it's a thing...don't judge me.

-Rob Signed Off

Waiting for Monday

I'm actually glad that Photoshop took a nose dive on me the other day. Weird, right? Well I've actually come up with a better design idea for Nervously Changing Turtle, we just have to see if I can pull it off. The original design was going to be something along the lines of a turtle without its shell being laughed at by other turtles...but I think that was more of an embarrassing situation than a nerve inducing one. The new design will...WAIT...but you thought I was going to give it away. You'll have to wait for Monday and see if I was able to actually finish the design.

Check out the Facebook page to vote for next Wednesday's design. I'm serious about this. Go do it. Do it now. (This is where I should say "Get to the chopper!" but I'm just going to let it go.)

-Rob Signed Off

P.S. While you're at the Facebook page (seriously, you aren't there yet?) make sure to like it. I promise the update schedule, and the work, will be better in the future.

The Lurgy

I am officially declaring this week a bust for Three Random Words designs. Because of the malady that has plagued me all week, I've been in a state best described as zombified and worst described as "the lurgy" (for an explanation, watch the linked video at around minute 3).

I did put together most of the design for Nervously Changing Turtle only to have Photoshop decide that now was a good time to lecture me on the importance of saving by crashing to desktop and erasing two hours of work. Lesson learned, Photoshop, lesson learned.

So, with any luck, I"ll be back in complete health by the weekend, and you lot will have a new design come Monday. Also, don't forget to vote for Wednesday's design. Experimentally Troubled Void is still out in front, but there are 4 or 5 days between now and when I sit down to do the design, so if you'd rather see Momentarily Layered Doe or Needlessly Split Salt, get over to the Three Random Words page and vote.

Sickly Excuses

Ugh...I managed to catch a cold over the weekend and so I still was not able to finish the design for today. For taking this long, it better be the best design ever (though it probably won't be). 

If you haven't liked Three Random Words on Facebook yet I encourage you to hop on over there and do so, while you're there don't miss out on the opportunity to vote for the next design (assuming I ever get this one finished). Voting will go right up until the point I sit down to do the design. Right now, Experimentally Troubled Void is leading with two votes. If you'd rather see Momentarily Layered Doe or Needlessly Split Salt make sure to check out the Three Random Words (http://www.facebook.com/ThreeRandomWordsDesigns) page and vote for the design you want.


-Rob Signed Off

Half Finished Turtle

I'll have to apologize for missing my own self imposed deadline of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only two weeks into working on this design project. Mother's Day weekend was a bit more jam packed than I originally thought it would be and I wasn't able to put together the whole design for Nervously Changing Turtle. This is the part where comic artists like Jeph Jacques would insert something witty that makes you go "aww, it's alright, we still love you." Hopefully I can get it done tonight and post it before midnight and still claim that I kept to the schedule. Until that time, here is a picture of a badly drawn turtle shell.

-Rob Signed Off

Vigorously Programmed End

Procrastination, it's a killer.

The Wifelette went to bed around 9 last night, so I didn't get started on this until about 9:10pm. Maizy (who we call Poo Face sometimes, okay, well I call her that all the time) kept walking over my USB extension cable and turning off my pen tablet, which ate up time as I had to fight to get the thing working again. All of that, and you get exactly what you see above. It's not so bad, right? Okay, it is, but hey, I got it done.

So, at first, I started drawing the keyboard with my Wacom Graphire 3 and I thought to myself, "wow...this is really bad."  I'd like to completely blame the fact that I was using a really small pen tablet to draw on a 42 inch screen, but I'm pretty sure that most of it comes from my shaky drawing ability.  I just decided to keep doing it and then I started coloring it and I thought, "well, okay, it looks kinda cartoony, I'll go with it." Then I bled the color outside of the actual image of the keyboard and thought that it looked nice.

Once I finished with the monitor and started doing the shading, I felt a little better about the design (because it was around 10 o'clock and I wanted to be done). I tried to draw a blurry hand typing on the keyboard really fast, but it wasn't turning out well, so the post it notes are my attempt to capture the "vigorously" part of the phrase.  I did have some other ideas for this, but I went with the one that I first started drawing.

I showed it to the Wifelette this morning and she didn't burst into peels of laughter. She actually said that the cartoony look really worked with the colors. That's enough to make me proud.

Anyway, leave a comment with ideas for what you might have drawn for this phrase...or anything really, I'm not picky with my social engagement.

-Rob Signed Off

Update!

I think I'm going to go with a Monday, Wednesday, Friday design schedule, unless that turns out to be too much for me to handle or if the Wifelette drags me to bed early or something, though, she likes this idea, so she probably won't begrudge me the opportunity to work on my skills and post these funny little images.

I've found the next random set of words: Vigorously Programmed End.

Check back in tomorrow for the design.

-Rob Signed Off

Heavily Promote Film

Remember when you had to buy consumable memory for cameras that had to be loaded into the back and couldn't be touched by the sun? Dumbbells do, and they want all of us to know that they love film! If you love it as well and have millions of little black sun-defying tubes squirreled away in storage, leave a comment in support of this fifty pound picketing free weight.

-Rob Signed Off

Delicately Doodling Invader

The alien overlords are here and they...are...what? Are they drawing flowers?  Where are the laser death rays and the probe-tastic abductions? Guess we should count ourselves lucky!

All humor aside, thanks for viewing the first design for Three Random Words.  If you like the design (or hate it, as I suppose could happen as well) feel free to leave a comment!

-Rob Signed Off

Three Random Words: Begin Generating!

A few months back I stumbled across a YouTube series called Cute Win Fail that stars Toby "Tobuscus" Turner. At first, as with most things, I thought he was a bit annoying, but the content was funny and the longer I watched the more his style seemed to mesh with the show.  So I decided to check out some of his other work and before long I found myself keeping up with Tobuscus on a regular basis.

I think I enjoy his work because I find his motor mouth, say-whatever-comes-to-you style to be refreshing, not because it isn't present on the Internet, but because it inspires me to take something of the same tact with my own work, which has been horribly lacking as of late. Most of the time, I have an idea (good or not) and I just hold onto it, wondering why I should ever actually act on it, because it is likely that nobody will see it, nobody will like it, or everyone will chastise me for trying it.  Mr. Turner has changed my mind on this.

So, I am now introducing this blog (feeble as it may be right now): Three Random Words. Here I will take, you guessed it, three random words from whatever word generator I find online and I will make a design or illustration out of the phrase or object that those words create. In order to make sure this works out as smoothly as possible, I'm going to stick with finding one random adverb, verb, and noun, because, I can't really do anything with three random adjectives or three random verbs.

The next post will feature the very first of these designs.  So, thank you for reading and please feel free to comment.

A special thanks to Tobuscus, if he ever reads this.

-Rob Signed Off