Dan the Doodlebug ✏️ GAME OVER

Dan the Doodlebug Presents: 

Game Over 

I'm really having a good time with this series and it's proving to be somewhat of a distraction from the demons dancing in my skull, so I'm pressing on with it. This instalment is getting a blast from the past when I sketch out a Gameboy Color Tattoo design! God, it's so strange spelling colour that way...As you all know, I'm a nostalgic kinda guy, so it should come as no surprise that I've decided to sketch out something that reminds me of some of the good parts of my childhood. My Gameboy Color. I got one from my nan when they first came out, I had the original Gameboy as well. My favourite games to play were of course, the Pokemon ones. On car trips, I would spend hours playing the games as the road stretched out behind us. Those were the days. 

I always like to start off with the centre of the drawing and build my way out. I dunno why, I usually start that way or I work from the right in after I have a basic sketch of the centre dimensions. You can't have a Gameboy tattoo without the game carriages. One game is never enough. I settle on two of the game cartridges falling down, partly covering one side of the Gameboy. I like to have a lot of detail in my sketches, but since it's a tattoo outline, I didn't fill in the centres of the games, they'd be hard to tattoo small images, so in the event, I do get this tattooed, I would probably put hearts in them or Pokeballs. Simple yet creative. <Also, yes! I'm back to using a mechanical pencil! I'd been out for quite some time, but I got my hands on a few. The way they work compared to a regular pencil is so different, the lead is harder and creates thinner lines most of the time which I like. I'll probably go back and forth between a regular pencil and the mechanical ones for later Dan the Doodlebug series instalments.> 

I want to add a sort of timeless background to it. I was originally thinking cherry blossoms since the origin of the game system is in Japan, but I figured that might be a little too, I don't know, I mean I could swap the roses out for cherry blossoms later or even add them in should I really want...of course we go with roses. I wanted it kind of poking-lol cool pun there, but not intended-out from behind the Gameboy and the cartridges.
I like things that are symmetrical, it's just something that is satisfying to me. Balance. My mate says its because of my star sign and I think she's full of it. I don't put any kind of stock into astrology. It's great for kids and that's about it. Oooh, I was born under this placement of the stars so I'm destined to be an asshole or an actor. Actually, I don't think there's that much difference between the two.
I add a budding rose raising out of the fully bloomed rose and add the Japanese text for Pokemon above the Gameboy before sketching the rest of the gaming device. As I'm sketching I'm thinking of colours for the piece, maybe a violent purple and pink combination for the roses with a hint of red, vibrant greens for the leaves and the Gameboy would be a deep turquoise colour, just like one of the original ones. Mine is green. I have it my bedroom somewhere. I think it may be in my travel bag since I love to bring it when I travel. Actually, I may turn this into a print to sell. I like the idea of doing that, I'll need to clean it up a bit.
It still feels as if something is missing as I draw the flowers on the bottom half of the drawing. Still going with the symmetrical vibes of the design, I pencil in GAME OVER in a cool old school gamer font. It feels complete now.

Going back to that original thought; I think I might do a colourised version of this. add some minor little details and do them as prints.  I'm not sure if I'd do them with paint or coloured pencils, maybe even oil pastels? Do you guys have any suggestions for how I should colour this? Are there any other sketches or drawings that I've done that you guys would want to see as prints? And as always, if you get one of the drawings or designs tattooed, I want to see the finished pieces! I love seeing my ideas and artwork living on people.  I don't know when the next Dan the Doodlebug will be up or what I'll even draw, but keep an eye out for another instalment that I may want to turn into a print as well!