From Thoughts to Reality: My Journey into Live Character Drawing at Events

If you believe thoughts can shape reality, then I have a story for you. In the summer of 2024, I started attending conferences and workshops, not as a participant, but simply to document the event, capturing the energy and essence of the occasion through sketches.

Global Pets guest happy with their live character drawing portrait.

I thought: wouldn’t it be great to have someone hire me to do this sort of work for a corporate events, lectures and workshops? Incredibly enough, a few weeks later I received an email from The Head of Operations, Events & Marketing at Global Pets. She asked if I could create live character sketches during their January 2025 conference in Prague. This was completely out of the blue since no one had ever before hired me for this specific sort of illustration work.

Fast forward to January 2025, and there I was at the GlobalPETS Forum 2025 in Prague, spending three hours drawing guests live. I loved interacting with the guest and seeing their excitement as I sketched their likenesses.

I’m excited to explore more opportunities for live character drawing at events in the future. Whether it’s conferences, workshops, or private gatherings, I can’t wait to bring this unique blend of art and interactivity to new audiences. Stay tuned for more updates on this journey…

"Comics in Film: an uncanny relationship"

I recently attended an academic symposium on comics in film, hosted by Prague’s Faculty of Television and Film at FAMU. It was an intriguing event, filled with fear, mystery and bitter remorse. I tried to capture the atmosphere with some rough pencil sketches, which I later inked.

While I didn’t get to see every presentation, I did manage to catch some highlights. Below, you’ll find my inked sketches from the day. For a closer look, visit my Instagram: Instagram.com/iamkennash.

Prints now available at Hidden Giraffe

I'm happy to see that the sale of my original art at the Hidden Giraffe gallery is going exceptionally well. As pieces are sold, I'm continually updating the display with new works. In addition to the originals, Hidden Giraffe is now offering prints of my artwork in various sizes. These prints will soon be available for purchase through their upcoming online store.

Original artwork available at Hidden Giraffe

It’s been a while since I’ve had any original artwork up for sale. I’m not very self-motivated when it comes to selling original art, so it was a joy to have the Hidden Giraffe gallery ask to show my work.

Original mixed-media illustration from 2004 on display at Hidden Giraffe gallery in Prague.

These were illustrations that I’ve had hanging in my apartment for the past twenty years. It was time to say goodbye to them and make room on my walls for new work.

Hidden Giraffe will soon be selling postcards and prints of some of my Prague illustrations and cartoons. If you’re visiting Prague, stop by Hidden Giraffe, located on Nerdova Street, in the heart of Prague.

Crafting a Captivating Personal Brand Color Palette with help from ChatGPT

I've often advised clients on selecting their brand colors, but I never thought about creating my own until a friend suggested it. Curious what colors might suite my personal brand, I turned to that special someone that seems to know me better than anyone else — ChatGPT. Let me share the 12 carefully curated colors, along with their hex codes, that ChatGPT recommended based on my unique style and inspirations.

Vintage Sepia (#704214)
Subtle Olive Green (#556b2f)
Enigmatic Midnight Blue (#191970)
Playful Coral (#ff6f61)
Quirky Mustard (#ffdb58)
Thought-Provoking Mauve (#e0bOff)
Woodcut Brown (#8b4513)
Imaginative Lavender (#ебе6fa)
Charcoal Gray (#36454f)
Haunting Charcoal (#474747)
Vintage Gold (#d4af37)\
Mysterious Indigo (#460082)

These colors blend the sophistication and playfulness of your humor with the inspiration from your artistic influences, creating a unique and captivating personal brand palette that reflects your creativity and style.

I told ChatGPT that I didn’t believe those were real colors. It assured me the names might not be entirely accurate, but the hex codes were correct. Knowing ChatGPT can sometimes be a big fat lair, I looked up the hex codes. Two of them did not exist. But the others were there.

I have to admit, ChatPGT pretty much nailed it. Brown is my favorite color, followed by mossy green. I’m also quite into inky grays and blacks. So I thought, “Why stop there? Why not have ChatGPT write this blog post for me?”

I will not subject you to the drivel that ChatGPT produced about crafting your personal brand identity and how “creating a personal color palette can be a transformative journey that reflects your unique style and creative essence”. There are still a few things I can’t leave entirely up to ChatGPT.

Cautiously Embracing the AI Monster in the Room

As an avid explorer of innovative software, tools, and methodologies, I am constantly seeking fresh ways to enhance my craft. Like many professional illustrators and designers, I have recently delved into the realm of AI. Initially, I was underwhelmed by the results. Achieving the precise vision I had in mind seemed like an arduous task with AI.

However, what captivated me were the intriguing interpretations AI offered – at times bizarre, at times ingenious – which not only refined my own thought process but also inspired new creative avenues.

For more generic and straightforward requirements, such as a portrait shot, AI proved to be useful. Even amazing. For the poster below, rather than spending hours painstakingly digitally painting a portrait, I achieved my desired outcome within minutes using the capabilities of Leonardo.AI.

Utilizing Canva, a popular graphic design platform, I worked on a generic template for this event poster. While I still prefer creating bespoke designs through Adobe Illustrator, Canva provided a quick and dirty solution for creating the very generic look that I wanted. Canva can also be used for seamless collaboration with others. After all, zombies work best as a team.

Design clients of all shapes and sizes

California weed producers need logos too. Cooperating with MJ Harvesters was easy - super chill, laid back, tranquil... I created numerous designs until we narrowed it down to this character-based logo. It was a fun assignment, though I got serious munchies just working on this design.

New Music Track

Compared to Christmas, Easter is a teenage wasteland when it comes to pop music. Years ago, I wrote an Easter song for laughs. Every year, I make plans to record it and release it just before the holiday. But I never manage to doing it in time. Except for this year!

My ‘90’s Prague Post cartoons in Mark Baker’s Čas Proměn

A few years ago, the travel writer Mark Baker asked if he could reproduce some of my Prague illustrations in the upcoming publication Čas Proměn (CPRESS 2001). I was happy to oblige. The drawings had originally appeared in The Prague Post where I published a weekly cartoon back in the ancient 90’s. They appeared again in the publication Prague on 13 Beers a Day. Though it was more of a zine than a proper book, Prague on 13 Beers a Day managed to outsell Vaclav Havel at the Globe Bookstore. Lately, I’ve been working on some more cartoons of Prague. But more about that in an upcoming post.

I made a product!

I often use story prompts in my writing. For many years now, I had an idea for a set of cards that could be used for creative story prompts. During the pandemic, I started organizing my thoughts and designing a set of cards. I finally sent off my design to the printer and received my first few sets of cards.

Ken’s Story Prompt Cards are still in the demo stage. I plan to test them out on some creative writing victims and incorporate any feedback into the final version.

Ken's Story Prompt Cards

A surprise at Sunday brunch

Back in the 90’s, I did weekly cartoons for the Prague Post newspaper. It’s been a long time since then, so I was surprised to see one of my old cartoons recently. I was at brunch with my daughter at The Globe cafe and discovered once of my old cartoons on the cover of their menu.

Zizkov Noc Reading

Prague’s annual Žižkov Noc music and arts event took place late October. I was a real treat (not trick) to read some of my work along side four excellent fellow writer/performers. And a great opportunity for me to put on my tiger pants.

Prague 24-hour Sketchathon

Last month I participated in the Prague 24-hour Sketchathon, organized by Prague Urban Sketchers. I made it through 20 hours of the event. After a rolicking first 16 hours the group slowly dwindled down to the last several. At 3:30 am, I added one last sketch on the tram ride home.

Prague Night Tram

Urban sketching in Poland

I recently spent two weeks in Poland on holiday. I sketched within a smaller, narrower sketchbook than I normally use. I really enjoyed challenging myself to draw elongated scenes using the new page format.

I’ve posted some of my other sketches from Poland, along with my other urban sketching drawings, on my Instagram.

This came in the mail today

 
Čas proměn

In the 1990’s I did a weekly one-panel cartoon for The Prague Post. The cartoon was a foreigner’s eye-view of life in Prague. Mark Baker and his publisher asked to include a few of those cartoons in the book Čas proměn (title translation: “Time of Changes” or “Time of Transformation”). The book recalls what Czechoslovakia was like during the late 80s and early 90s and the author’s personal experience as a foreigner living in Prague. The book is in Czech, but you can read more about it on the author’s website, MarkBakerPrague.com.