Sketchy

Gavin at Baseball Card Breakdown recently did a cool Aaron Judge sketch card, and it inspired me to do one as well!

So I grabbed some paper and sat down and quickly sketched this out during a Yankees game.

Ehhh, not my best work. But in fairness to me, I haven't drawn in a few years. I miss doing art, so maybe this will get my butt into gear to start sketching and painting again. I actually have a painting project I want to do for someone else, so once I get back from vacation, hopefully I can find the motivation to actually do it.

A scary contest win

A few weeks ago, I was a victor in the awesome Halloween horror film sketch card contest over at Pack War, run by Corky. I was lucky enough to have first pick, and as tough as it was, I think I made an awesome decision:

Freddy Krueger!

I love how Corky make Freddy a silhouette, and used the red background to accentuate some of Freddy's features. Plus, it's just a downright scary pose. It's really well done! The back is really cool too. I'm not sure if Corky orders these or prints himself, but it's a great touch.

Corky also sent me this Tino which I definitely didn't have. I don't even recall seeing it anywhere. I love it when a blogger can dig up a Tino that's completely new to me. It happens a lot!

Thanks, Corky!

Sketchy-ness: A humbling experience

The other day, I drew Derek Jeter and Mike Trout sketch cards, each highlighting an amazing catch they have made in their career. I don't know why, but I feel like these types of moments aren't captured on cardboard very frequently, although Gypsy Queen has been doing a good job with their Wall Climbers and Glove Stories inserts. No qualms there. Credit where credit is due.

There are some amazing sports artists out there who make a living drawing and painting. I've always been envious of their skill. So, I did something I've never done. I put these cards on eBay.

I didn't expect big bucks. There are far better sketch/painted cards that don't even fetch much money. I'm talking very beautiful masterpieces. There are some very established artists that churn out sketch cards pretty frequenty, and do sell for $30-$40 each. Not bad. Being unknown, I figured mine might sell for a few bucks each.

The Jeter went for just north of $5, while the Trout went for a little over $3.

I don't have much of a right to be disappointed since I was expecting much. It's a humbling experience. Gratifying to know that someone would fork over a few bucks for something you created from scratch, but also a bit disappointing that it was "only" worth a few bucks.

Will I keep doing this? Maybe. I know I'll never make much money doing this, it's not why I do it. But it is a nice way to add a few bucks to the Paypal account while doing something I enjoy. Mostly, I just need practice so I can improve my skill. I love drawing and painting, and while painting is currently something that takes a lot of time and space, sketch cards don't. It helps my relieve my artistic itch.

Contest time!

I haven't done a contest in a really long time. A few years, to be exact.

I also haven't done a sketch card in awhile. By no means am I the best artist out there, but I do enjoy doing a sketch card from time to time, and have done some for a few bloggers out there. I have found that I'm a bit more motivated when doing one for someone else, so that's where you come in.

The contest prize? A sketchcard of the player of your choosing!

To enter, all you have to do is:
1. Follow my blog (most of you already do).
2. Comment on which player you'd choose if you win.

That's it. No additional entry opportunities. No pimping needed (although I won't say no if you want to share the contest on your blog or on Twitter). Just one simple follow and one simple comment, and you're in! Contest entries close at midnight PT on Friday 6/20.

Here are a few sketch cards I've done in the past to show what yours might look like:

 

 

New sketch card: Eric Jagielo

A friend of ours, Zippy Zappy, has been unnecessarily generous to me as a fellow Yankee collector. As a small thank you, I did a sketch card for him of one of his favorite players, Yankees first round pick Eric Jagielo.

A lot of my sketch cards use the same design, with subtle changes. I like to make the players the focus, and shade a little in the background.

Here's to hoping that Jagielo moves quickly through the Yankees system, and finds himself in the Bronx as a long term solution at 3B.

A surprise Griffey Jr RC from the Junior Junkie

A few weeks ago, The Junior Junkie held a contest for a 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr rookie card. I really wanted to win. I've never imagined actually owning such an iconic card. For those of you who did not enter, you had to write three sentences about Griffey that satisfied what TJJ was looking for. He wanted to be brought to tears. I decided to try and bribe him by including my three sentences on a Ken Griffey Jr sketch card:

Well, I didn't win. It was a valient attempt, and for that I received honorable mention, which I was still proud of.

Well, yesterday I received a PWE with this hand-drawn marking on the back:

I've seen this marking on many blogs, but I've never been on the receiving end. When I opened it, a Griffey RC fell out! So what if it isn't the 1989 UD? It's a 1989 Donruss RC, and to me, is still a very cool card. I have Griffey's Fleer RC, and I'm not going to wasting any time adding this to my son's binder.

TJJ, thanks for your generosity!

Yasiel Puig sketch card

I'm about to do a new painted sketch card as part of a trade with another blogger. I haven't done much artwork recently, so I wanted to sharpen up a bit and practice. I decided to draw baseball's current most interesting player, Yasiel Puig. I found a photo I liked, and start drawing.

Overall, it came out ok. There are several things I could have done differently, but not bad for 30 minutes worth of work. His signature is pretty basic, and was an easy add to take up some dead space.

Now, what to do with it? Just set is aside in my collection? I checked eBay, and far nicer sketch cards of Puig go between $10-$20. Much, much nicer ones. Maybe I could get $5 or so for this one. Is it worth listing and see what happens?

For Pat Neshek

I’m sure I’m late commenting on this, but the Pat Neshek story has me very emotional every time I see him pitch. As a father to a nine month old, I cannot image the situation that he and his wife recently went through.

Below, I’ve included a post that I did last February about a TTM success from Pat Neshek. Based on my math, Pat and his wife probably found out they were having a child right around the time he answered my letter. I actually noted to him in my letter that I had a new son, and asked that one of the cards he signed be personalized to my son, Joey. Pat, being the TTM legend that he is, honored this request.

I know that Pat will be an amazing father one day, but for now my heart aches for him, and hope that baseball is providing him a temporary relief from real life.

Feb 27, 2012:

Pat Neshek is one of the coolest pro athletes out there, not to mention one of the greatest TTM signers currently in the game. He is an avid autograph collector himself, and if you send him ANY signed card, he’ll send you another signed card of himself. Sorry for the crappy scans below.

I thought it would be cool to do two sketch cards of Pat. I did one in the 1986 Topps look, and another in the 1993 Upper Deck design. I included a note and asked him to keep one for himself, and kindly sign one for me. He ended up keeping the ’86 Topps and signing the other for me. It looks awesome! It’s very rewarding to have a pro athlete sign my artwork. 

I also sent him a 2011 Topps and asked him to sign it for my son, Joey. Pat was nice enough to do this and even inscribed it. Very awesome!

Lastly, I included a few random TTM dupes that I had – no one who was a very big name, and Pat graciously sent me two more signed cards. 

Mr. Neshek is a class act, and I thank him very much for this success.

Sketch card - Andrew McCutchen

I recently made a trade with Brian from Pirates Treasure Room. I did an Andrew McCutchen sketch card for him in exchange for a Jordan Cote (Yankees prospect) auto. I am lazy and have yet to highlight the trade on my blog, but in the meantime, here is the sketch card that I sent Brian:

Trading sketch cards with No One's Going To Read This Blog

Jeremy from “No one’s going to read this blog” and I recently traded sketch cards. It’s the first time I’ve ever done this, so I was pretty excited. We didn’t tell each other what we were drawing. Jeremy just said he likes the Mets, Yankees, and old school Brooklyn Dodgers.

I was initially going to draw an old school Brooklyn Dodger, but when Gary Carter passed away, I decided to draw him instead for my end of the trade. I think it game out decently, and I like that I put his signature in the top corner.

 Jeremy’s sketch card blew me away. For one, I wasn’t expecting color, so this is really cool. Two, it’s Mantle! And it’s REALLY good. I cannot and will not draw faces, so I’m incredibly envious of Jeremy’s skills. He captured it well. It’s definitely the coolest Mantle I own.

Jeremy, I really enjoyed the trade. Hope you like the Carter. Thanks again!

New Painted Sketch Card: Chris Getz

Martyn of Arbitrary Crap, one of my favorite blog names, and I recently traded a few cards. I didn’t have a ton to send him, so I decided to throw in a painted sketch card as well. Please note, I’d never send a sketch card in place of real cards – I just include them from time to time as a fun bonus. I still feel like I owe Martyn some cards from our deal, despite what he says

Anyways, Martyn collects Chris Getz cards and is working on the 2011 Kimball Champion set, so I decided to put the two together. Getz wasn't in the original checklist, but he is now:

The size of the card is the same as a Kimball Champs. I tried to follow the same style and colors as the real things. The bottom half turned out pretty good. The face – ehhhh. It’s progress, as I’m afraid to draw/paint faces, so at least I gave it a shot. Based on other cards from this set, the face/head on mine is a bit too big, unless it was Kevin Mench.

I'll showcase the other cards Martyn sent later this week.