More of a Girl and Her Pug

Due to numerous requests, I've added a blonde and brunette version of A Girl and Her Pug to my new Store.  So far I've added a mug, a keychain, a tote and a shirt.  I plan on adding a redhead and doing a boy version as well soon.

Representing Black Pugs!

So I wanted to rework one of my previous illustrations (A Wrinkle in Time) for my new store (Bah Humpug Store), and wanted to represent black pugs.  I always draw fawn pugs because I have two and most of my illustrations are based on them.  But also fawn pugs are easier to draw and color.  So I hope that people with black pugs like how this turned out - I tried to keep some features visible, especially the shiny eyes that peep out from their faces!

Below is the fawn pug version that I'll be adding to my store.

Big Announcement - I've Opened An Online Store!

Aw no need to be so sad lil girl and pug, because we have exciting news here at Bah Humpug - we now have a store!  I finally opened up a Bah Humpug Zazzle store this week after a year of thinking it over.  I have posters, mugs, keychains, totes, and shirts, but I'll add more stuff over time.  You can customize most items to a certain extent with various options.  If there are any illustrations or products you'd really like to see in the store, message me or leave a comment here.  While I can't do any personalized illustrations at this time, I'll do my best to accommodate requests for certain types of products.

Going forward you can access my store with the link on the left side under the heading "My Other Blogs, Pages, and Store."

Thank you for all your support, encouragement, and pug friendship!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to mothers of all kinds!

Don't Push Me

This is how I feel today. I hate it when people sit on things forever and a day (or in this case months) and then when they finally get their act together frantically send me things marked high importance and then proceed to harass me with calls and messages expecting me to drop everything and magically pull answers out of thin air in a few hours. Not cool man. Not cool! I feel like Sunny when she's just doing her own thing and then all of a sudden gets pounced on by hurricane Rosy.

At least it's almost the weekend.

Pack Lightly

I came up with the idea of pugs in bags for the phrase "pack lightly" because my pugs, especially Sunny, are anything but light and the idea cracked me up for some reason.  It was hard enough carrying or picking up Sunny when needed but now with two pugs it's even harder.  But as I was coloring this in I also thought of another meaning for this drawing and the phrase.  If there was ever an emergency and I had to pack only the things that matter the most to me, if all I walked away with were Sunny and Rosy I'd be happy and consider myself lucky.

I finally got some more markers and paper and was enjoying coloring in with better shades for me and the pugs.  My previous markers were too dark to accurately portray us so I'm a happy camper.  And good paper for the right medium makes all the difference!  Next step is to upgrade my scanner at some point.

One of the Pugs

Just a random little sketch as I wait for my new markers and paper.  This old paper wasn't so great so the coloring is a bit streakier than I'd like.  I came up with this drawing when I saw Minnie & Max The Pug's post about how after someone passed by them she said to their friend, "Isn't it weird how some owners look like their dog?" (to which the pugs took great offense).  Whenever I draw my grumpy face I often think that it resembles a pug's perpetual sad-looking face.  So here I am, among the pugs.  One of them.

Ninja Pug's Snack Attack!

Ninja Pug uses a snack attack to steal your food!

A Pug and Her Girl

I'm still waiting for more colors and new paper but I can't help but do some more drawings of this girl and her pug.  Or should I say this pug and her girl??

I found some old paper I hadn't used in a while and it was interesting coloring on it with the markers because it picks up the color really well and lends itself to blending but it tends to bleed a lot.  It's interesting how different these markers can look on different kinds of paper.

Lazy Sunday

My sister jokes that every weekend I post "lazy Saturday afternoon" or "lazy Sunday afternoon" photos on my Facebook page.  I won't deny it - I, Sunny, and Rosy all love lazing about on our weekends!  So here's a quick sketch of the girls snoozing.  They don't cuddle that much, so I had to take creative license here.  I want to explore Copic markers some more but I'm waiting for my order of more colors and better paper to arrive.  So for now I'm using what I have available but hopefully I'll be able to improve soon.

Hope everyone has a great last bit of weekend!

A Girl and Her Pug

I have a great idea for a children's book but it would involve illustrations different from what I typically do (ink only sketches of me, Sunny and Rosy).  I used watercolors when younger and with some of my recent color illustrations but I want to try out other different mediums.  These two are sketches I did with a slightly thicker pen than I usually use and Copic markers.  I've had these Copic markers for a while now but I don't use color often so they were sitting in a drawer until I recently decided to whoop them out and give them another try.  I really liked using the Copic markers because they bring back childhood memories of coloring with markers, but I think I need more colors and the blender marker.

A Wrinkle in Time

I posted a photo recently on my Facebook and Tumblr pages of Sunny and Rosy (see below) that I love partly because of all their face and body wrinkles. The pug's forehead wrinkles get a lot of attention but my favorite wrinkles are the ones they get on the side of their face when they turn to the side. All their loose skin makes for some very cute wrinkles! 

In honor of the other less talked about pug wrinkles, here are a few more photos:

The Many Faces of Pug 2

After posting The Many Faces of Pug recently, I thought of some more pug faces that Sunny and Rosy make.  So here's a second part to The Many Faces of Pug.  Don't you just love their weird, funny, and expressive lil faces?!

Ninja Pug Is Back!

A while ago I did a quick sketch of a character I named Ninja Pug (see Ninja Pug's first post here). I loved the idea of a chubby, clumsy pug taking herself way too seriously and thinking she's a superhero ninja defending her home and neighborhood.

Before I got Rosy I did a few drawings of Sunny turning into Ninja Pug every day after I leave for work. I think I'll start doing some more drawings of Ninja Pug and maybe introduce Rosy as her sidekick. But for now, here's one of the illustrations I did a while ago of a rotund and not-so-stealthy Ninja Pug.

The Many Faces of Pug

To people unfamiliar with pugs pugs may appear to have only one facial expression. For the first two months I had Sunny my 3 year old niece and nephew kept asking me, "Why is Sunny so sad??" But pugs are capable of a wide array of hilarious and adorable faces. Here are a few of Sunny's and Rosy's favorites.

The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side

Sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side.  And it just needs some pug pee on it to kill the grass and turn it yellow.

I am having fun with the sketchbook app again.  In some ways it's easier than doing it on paper but in other ways it's harder and takes longer.

Smelly Pug

I recently started playing around with a drawing app on my phone. Having a larger screen and stylus makes it a lot easier and more fun. A quick doddle ended up becoming my new header. I've been meaning to update it for a while to include Rosy so now it accurately reflects my two-pug household!

Lately one or both of the girls have been letting loose some really stinky farts. Some have been so bad they'll sniff their butt in surprise and then walk away leaving me gagging in disgust. Here's another sketch from the Sketchbook Mobile app!

Pug Yoga

After hearing about the Boston Marathon bombing, I came home sad about the tragic events. When things like this happen I become obsessive with reading all the news updates. Luckily this time around I have Sunny and Rosy who managed to bring some brightness into my day. They seemed to know they were needed and proceeded to have the snortiest, funniest, and laziest pug battle ever. My thoughts are with the people of Boston and those affected. At the same time I know that we must endure and continue to find the good, even the silly, in the world.

So in keeping with this mentality I wanted to post a new drawing I did inspired by the girls' favorite yoga poses. Sunny's favorites are the kinda lotus pose and the sloppy tree pose (aka dancing and reaching for treats). Rosy's favorites are downward facing pug, upward facing pug, and pawstand (aka peeing handstand weirdo).

Here's Rosy doing a downward facing pug.

Followed by a smooth transition to upward facing pug.

Here is Sunny doing a sloppy tree pose for some baby carrots.

And Sunny's all time favorite is the kinda lotus pose.

Unfortunately I don't have a photo of Rosy's pawstand because people tend to look at me funny when I take photos of my dogs while peeing. I still try but it's hard to capture the pawstand since it happens so quickly!  I do have a photo of Rosy doing a pawstand! I had forgotten about this one.  She can get her butt even higher in the air sometimes!

And here's a video of the girls' silly fight that cheered me up.

Viva La Pug Resistance!

When my pugs don't want to do something they use various resistance tactics.  They have done all of these at one point, but Sunny and Rosy definitely have their preferred methods.  Sunny's a fan of immovable object, dead weight, and pretending to not hear me.  Rosy on the other hand is a fan of the tucked butt run and stink eye.  But they both love the wiggle defense which makes nail trimmings and wrinkle cleanings a joy.  I thought of this theme after posting a recent video of Rosy's tucked butt run when I was trying to wipe her bottom.  She runs around crazy fast and I only halfheartedly try to catch her because I'm usually laughing too much.

Viva la pug resistance!

When Sadness Covers My World...

I fight back and cover myself with pugs!

Last night I was watching a King of the Hill rerun where they discover Kahn's manic depressive when after a crazed manic phase of building a mega grill with Hank, they find Kahn curled up in a fetal position in his dark house as he mutters, "Sadness cover me like a blanket. Tuck me in. Let me die." I find this scene hilarious and yet it accurately captures what depression feels like with three simple lines.

I often feel down sometimes for real and specific reasons but sometimes for no solid reason at all. When this happens I try to focus on the little things that make me feel happy each day. The one thing that always makes me feel better no matter what is spending time with my pugs, Sunny and Rosy. Even though they both came prenamed (with different spellings) their names really are perfect because they make everything seem sunnier and rosier!