So as you can see everyone here at draw loves to bring up sketchbooks, doodles and above all music. Why the common theme? why do we cite music and art as going hand in hand through the whole process(stay tuned; you'll soon find out!) until then I wanted to do a little artist spotlight on a person I personally look up to, and someone who really got me into art as a teenager. Most people know him as Brandon Boyd; lead singer of the band Incubus, but what a lot of people don't know is that Brandon is also an illustrator, and a really good one at that.

As I was a kid in high school I looked up to Brandon, from the art he drew, to the way he sung, to the lyrics he wrote; I ate it all up. Every chance I could get to see the band, every dvd,c.d.,book and piece of art that I could get my hands on; I would. He has a very distinct style and it's something I tried to copy a million times. I would copy his every clothing style, his every drawing, all in an attempt to be as good an artist as he was. I mean I was young, and it seems silly now but at the time he was a person to look up to. He was even one of the main reasons I ever even wanted to get tattoos on my forearm.

As I got older I still followed where he was in the art community, I still love every album Incubus has ever come out with and in the last few years Brandon Boyd has released his sketchbooks for people to buy. He's come out with two volumes and each one of them has shown a lot more personal side of the singer/artist.

I find sketchbooks to be fascinating, they are little personal books that tell the stories of who ever owns them. For the non-artist they're called diaries, in the art community we call em' sketchbooks, but regardless they can be the most personal, intimate things a person can own.

Here are a few pages of Brandon Boyd's sketchbook/diary. If you guys get a chance go to http://www.brandonboydbooks.com/ and pick up one of his sketch books, they're really good. Until then...keep listening to great music open your sketchbooks and

DRAW.

(all photos taken from www.brandonboydbooks.com)

From the time I wake up to the time that I go to bed I've got some tune playing either through my ipod, computer, or that little radio in my head (makes me sound slightly psychotic...). Music is said to be another type of art form, and I have to completely agree with that. It's another medium for people to express themselves, just instead of using your eyes to see what it is the person is trying to convey, you use your ears.

What I love about music is just how it can make me feel. Depending on the tempo and key of the music it can evoke different emotions, as corny as that sounds, and it's so comforting at times. Music can speak to what it is you are going through, pick you up when you're feeling like shit (or if your just feel like it can be a song that makes you feel even more like shit...which we must admit we do at times), pump you up for those workouts you really don't want to do, and mellow you out when you want to just chill out on the couch at home.

I had to share this because a few weeks ago I went to a Gym Class Heroes concert and Travis was talking about how their song, Viva La White Girl, is more about how music is like a drug. You can't live without it. The other day I was driving in my car and found myself skipping through my ipod (I have a 2G nano...so I just shuffle through all my songs I selected to put on my ipod) to find songs to kind of fit the mood I was in - wasn't the best mood. It's not a concious effort and this wasn't my first time coming to this realization but it just made me really consider how much music plays a role in my life.

We're all about art here at draw as we keep mentioning and music is one of those art forms we're all obsessed with. Speaking for myself, I can't really say I'm too musically inclined, though I used to play the viola and sang in chorus (however if I could have one wish come true it would be the ability to sing ). Since I'm not so talented in the art of music however, I show my appreciation in any way I can.

I know people who love music because of the lyrics, those who love it because of the beat, and those who love it because their friends do and it's cool, etc. Personally I'm one of those who love it for multiple reasons, whether it be the beat is just right, the lyrics are amazing, or I just like the way the tune makes me feel when I listen to it.

I don't care really about bands, about who it is that sings it...because honestly I could really hate who sings the song, but if it's good I'll listen to it. It's not to say that if I really love all the songs a band/singer puts out and have for years, I'll definitly know who they are. But I hate it when people don't give a band's music a chance just because it's considered to be in a category that to them isn't cool or they're afraid what their friends might think of them. What's the point? You're missing out on good music!

I could begin to get off topic with that, if I already haven't. Basically, music is my life. I love it. I can't live without it. Try listening to music and doodling and see what you come up with, it's pretty crazy how music can influence what it is you draw.

We've all had our obsessions when we were younger, and saved up all our allowance money for weeks to buy the newest thing that would add to our collection. For me it was Beanie Babies (I had a ridiculous amount .... and yes, I still have some), I had a single Tamagatchi (before you could buy 12 for $1), boxes and boxes of Crayola crayons, a ton of Sega games, and probably my most prized book collection ever.

I used to get a $1 a week as a kid, before I started doing more chores around the house to up my allowance to $5 a week, and saved up for a month to buy the newest book in my collection series.

There was this author named K.A. Applegate and in rivalry to the Goosebumps series, which I also did read but didn't collect as avidly, she wrote this series call Animorphs.

It was about these 5 kids who obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch; they name themselves "Animorphs", the name meaning "animal morphers". Using their ability, they battle a secret alien infiltration of Earth. The characters grow up throughout the series, struggling to cope with the horrors of war, the acts which they commit, and the compromises and retreats they must make to win the war (and sometimes, even just to survive).

Okay, I know. I know what you're thinking. But I swear, these were the coolest books on the face of the earth for all 5 years they were around. I started collecting them when I was 8 and I have the complete series for a total of 64 books, which now belong to my 15 year old brother.

The book series no longer continues, but they're still around. Now you can buy them for about $.01 on Amazon, but they were $4 when they first came out and a month of saving was completely worth it in order to have another one.

The covers were also super cool because each one featured the transformation of one of the characters into the animal that they used the most in the book, and no two covers were ever the same.

Below is the very first cover of the series, with the illustration from inside beside it. The cover was always die-cut for the animal's face to show through, and the illustration was always something that happened within the book.

Nothing beats childhood toys.

Unless, of course it's tees from
Draw.

I remember when I was growing up Hook was one of my favorite movies to watch on VHS when I came home from school. This is by far my favorite scene in the whole movie. I loved the idea of a land where you could think up every single food in the world, its like the greatest game of pretend...only the best part was, it ended up being real!

This scene, and this movie is a true testament to keeping that childlike side of you. I'll let you in on a little secret...

Most of the draw staffers are actually lost boys themselves.

Whens the last time you Bang-a-ranged?

and better yet why not close your eyes, think happy thoughts...and DRAW!

I have a folder on my desktop called "Cool Ish", which is where I store a bunch of great things that I find from all over the internet. It holds everything from type design to posters, to logos to random notes that make me laugh.

I happened to show off some of my Cool Ish items to a few of the other members in the Draw crew, and because of the illustrations below, they wanted to know who the artist was.

I thought I had him bookmarked, but because I didn't I had to run and do a Google search for "beard illustration". What I found was so incredible that I just had to share.

What I also found was Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy from London who's a freelance illustrator and amazing artist. She also has a couple friends, Sarah Dyer and David Foldvari, that also deserve some super kudos for their doodles, photos and sketchbook work.

So I pretty much never found the name of the above illustrator who drew those pictures and so many superb others, but below are some images from my "beard illustration" search. I can't really give the appropriate credits because I don't remember what sites I pulled them all from, but if you do the same search that I did you'll be able to see the piece and the rest of their related work.

The styles range considerably, as well as the application methods, but I think they're all wonderful. They all hold something unique about themselves, and it shows the range in possibilities for just one idea.

So when looking at our themes and trying to come up with your own creative interpretation of it, don't fret; we'll love each and every one that you send in.

Grow a beard and,
Draw.