Sketching sketches that sell

I'm more likely to do the typical fantasy illustrators "sketch" on a loose sheet of bristol board then in my sketchbook. For one, it's bigger and I like breathing room, and two, it's ready to sell when I'm done. As much as I'm kept busy with publishing commisions, I sometimes need to supplement my income with art sales through E-Bay (seller Fanvisions) or the awesome Heritage Auction galleries (HA.com) And when I do sell art, what sells best? You guessed it. Theres no question that the bare breasted fantasy female fetches better prices then anything else, and, while I can't be sure of the motivations of all the other fantasy artists who walked this road, while I do it because its lots of fun, I wouldn't if it didn't sell. More of these later, I promise ;)

Doodling- a mind altering drug?

I've always doodled at times I should be paying attention to something else. Put me in front of a teacher and I'll be doodling within moments. When my wife was recently hospitalized, The only way I could control my tension was to fish a small pad out and start in. The faces don't necessarily reflect my mood, just some sort of inner dial saying- draw a growling face, now a smiling one, now a laughing guy, now a shout. I draw weird bird when I feel self conscious about always doing another face.

More Doodles

You may notice in these scans that the paper is just a bit see-thru. I dont mind this, in fact, more then half the time the doodles on the left hand side of the page are inspired by what I can see showing through, so some times an evil twin is created, a happy version of a sad face from the previous page, or something suggested by the layering of multiple drawings.

The Doodle Book

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Here are few pages from my sketchbook- this isn't really a great introduction to my work, this stuff lacks ambition but certainly shows at times a virtuoso touch. I rarely go below the shoulders (why knock myself out?) This a place where i can allow myself to be goofy, lazy, gross, and experimental.

I'm Mike Dubisch, freelance illustrator, fantasy art and comic book artist; Welcome to my online sketchbook/blog, where I will be posting new art, ongoing projects, doodles, and sketches, as well as possibly some photos and updates from my life as an American living in the city of San Carlos de Bariloche, in Patagonia, Argentina.