Animating Siri.

I was holding off on installing iOS6 on my iPad but finally caved cuz I need it to check the development progress of my Pickle Weasel app. No sooner had I done so when a voice emerged from behind the glass asking if I needed help with anything. It was Siri - the intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator.

It wasn't long before the 12 year old boy had commandeered the iPad and began to explore the entity.

He was leaning towards deep and philosophical questions about life.

Naturally, Siri responded with information.

I thought the boy was being a little rude to Siri and began to reprimand him. I worried that her feelings were getting hurt...as if she was real.

But she stayed cool and even gave back some cheek.

I can't help but attach emotional reactions to such things.

Maybe it's because I'm an animator, but when I heard Siri's voice, I thought I detected subtle nuances of feelings. Eagerness, sarcasm, and even sadness. I was compelled to draw her, to give her a face - and once drawn...well, then she is alive. For what is an "animator" if not someone who breathes life into drawings?

I may explore Siri's personality a bit more. Meanwhile, what do you think about artificial intelligence?

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DOG Daze.

Here's my dog doing some more funny stuff.

She's very clever. But she doesn't like to show off by doing tricks.

If you think this is 'submissive' posture you are wrong. And if you'd like your fingers to remain attached to your hands, you should not interpret this as an invitation.

Multi-tasking? My dog can sing and do the bum-drag at the same time.

I love my dog.

I drew these on my iPad, using Paper and a Wacom Bamboo stylus.

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Limitations = FREEDOM. #MadeWithPaper drawing app review.

You may have noticed a slightly different style appearing in some of my drawings here since I got the iPad 3. I bought several drawing apps – they’re luxuriously cheap and some have nearly all the bells and whistles of Photoshop or Illustrator.

But my special favorite is a very simple app called Paper by 53. You can’t zoom in it… …there are no layers …you can't change the brush size...and the colours are limited. So why do I love it so?

Just download the free app and take a look at the books.

Choose one and open it up. It feels nice.

The ink drivers flow beautifully, and the limitations actually force a creative thought process.

I find I don't want to be bogged down by too many choices.

I can tear away from the temptation of time-consuming perfection and detail.

Working within restrictions can somehow set you free.

I guess drawing in Paper is a lot like drawing on paper, but with a really great eraser!

Here’s a quickie guide:

• The tool tray slides up and down. 
• The quill is speed sensitive – the faster you draw, the thicker the line. 
• The water colour brush will deepen the longer you linger. 
• All colours are transparent, except black and white.  
• A circular motion with two fingers on the screen counter-clockwise will undo. 
• The page is not white, so white ink shows nicely. 

Everyone who draws with Paper can't help smiling.

I would change two things though – first, I’d offer more colour palettes. Not unlimited colours, but more trays of set colours. The current colours are starting to bore me; it’s hard to differentiate one artist from another cuz we're all using the same colours. Prolly good for the initial branding of a drawing app but it's getting old. And  secondly, since I’m a cartoonist it would be useful to make copies of drawings; that way I could work on a succession of drawings, with subtle changes between them.

The basic version of this app is free but if you want all the brushes they cost about $2 each. A whole $8. Also... Paper just won an Apple Design Award yesterday - Congrats!

I drew my three children on my iPad, using Paper and a Wacom Bamboo stylus.

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My Funny DOG.

Here's some funny things my dog does.

You can set your clock by her.

She knows how to get what she wants.

She's a tad delusional.

I love my dog.

I drew these in a bar, on my iPad, using Paper and a Wacom Bamboo stylus.

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Dogs.

This is a poem about dogs.

I love dogs.

I drew this on the plane, with Paper for the iPad.

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England - Cloudy with a CHANCE of showers.

Here we are in England land! Normally we stay with my MIL down in Cornwall, but this time we're here for a funeral so we're staying in a hotel near Ascot (horse races, big hats). This hotel was built in the 1940's and the plumbing is, er...interesting.

Yes indeedy, I have been confronted with some difficult decisions during our stay - to shower or not? I decided to take my chances.

I never did get to rinse the shampoo out of my hair.

The shower experience is a little random for sure, but hey, at least I'm clean!

I drew this one using Paper, on my iPad.

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How to #DrawSomething in 10 easy steps.

My strategy with the game is to keep you guessing until the very end, and hopefully make you laugh. So I plan what I'm going to draw and leave out the crucial details until the end. Here's how I play Draw Something in ten easy steps:

Step 1: choose the widest brush and fill in the background, if there is one. In this case, I want black, to set the mood.

Step 2: Add any details to the background using smaller brushes. Note that the new update to the Draw Something app has a single stroke undo, which is really useful if you choose the wrong brush size. I was so glad to see that cuz I'm constantly using the wrong brush and having to repaint over my mistake.

Step 3: I like to put Pickle Weasel in all my drawings. So here's where I block him in. I'm already thinking about his final pose in the drawing, even at this early stage.

Step 4: Block in the colour areas on the character's body. It's important to do this before the outline stage, cuz it's hard to fill in colour in this app. I suck at keeping in the lines, so I like to do it this way.

Step 5: Add the outlines! Not all character's need outlines, but Pickle Weasel does. At this point I also throw in the facial details: eyes, nose, mouth etc. I have to get his expression just right - if you've played with me, you prolly notice I spend more time on this part. Or maybe I just imagine that.

Step 6: Now I paint in the details on his "costume".

Step 7: A few clues begin to creep into the drawing!

Step 8: Adjustments to Pickle Weasel's pose by adding his arms.

Step 9: Lastly I may add some text - this part is a great opportunity to inject humor.

An artist needs to stay in shape. Playing Draw Something is like exercise for me. It forces me to create a funny drawing with limited drawing tools, in a short time. It's like getting really good abs.

I also like the idea of doing a drawing just for someone else, and I enjoy getting others to draw too. Drawing is good for your brain.

Step 10: It's a 3-letter word. And here's your letters below.

What's the answer?

Play Draw Something with "The Animated Woman".

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Addicted to #DrawSomething.

I'm pretty sure I have an addictive personality. So when I first got this iPad 3 a couple weeks ago, I was wary of getting addicted to playing Draw Something. A few people (you know who you are) were trying to get me to play with them - but I knew that Draw Something is basically a gateway to harder games, so I said NO!

Then @Void_Liminality suggested I include my Pickle Weasel character in my drawings. Next thing I knew I had to have my daily fix.

Wanna play? Start a game with "The Animated Woman".

Lemmeno which is your fave - mine is "TINTIN".

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