So long 2009!

As we say goodbye to 2009, I hope everyone has a safe and fun evening. I hope to see you all here tomorrow!

This is Post #803

Form over Function

I think it should be safe to share this now. Probably not any crossover traffic between my client's site and this blog. :)

I did some work a while back for a marketing company in Los Angeles. They came back to me recently with a request for me to modify some of the art I did for them into the above. I don't know what you actually call these planes but they are the ones that are printed on a foam material and you punch out the shapes and slide the wing through the fuselage. When you throw it, it flies! Sadly this one is designed to just look nice as part of their mailer. It was never designed to actually fly. Hence the title of today's post. :)

The artwork was done in Adobe Illustrator CS3.

This is Post #802

Rise the demon Etrigan!

This is the commission that I mentioned yesterday. This was done for Stephen and I believe it is the first time I have ever drawn The Demon. I had fun doing it and it seems to have worked out pretty well. :) Thanks Stephen for the commission!

This is ink on 11"x17" Strathmore Smooth Bristol Board.

This is Post #801

Sketchbook Monday

Another sketchbook Monday. I was pretty busy today but I managed to start on the new commission list. It's ready to be inked but I didn't get to it today. But it looks good for tomorrow. It's a character I don't think I have done before and I think I nailed it. If I can get it inked, scanned and emailed to the person who commissioned it, I should be able to post it here late tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

In the mean time, here is a page from my sketchbook. Just some warm up doodles that I did this morning before starting into the commission.

This is Post #800 (ish)

The Legion Founders

This is another commissioned Christmas gift done in fluid acrylic on 11" x 17" illustration board. This was commissioned by Patrick, for Patrick. They know who they are. :) I think everyone that visits this blog knows how fond I am of the original Legion of Super-Heroes. So asking me to do a painting of the Legion founders doesn't take any twisting of my arm. I think I have drawn just about every version of these three by now with the exception of how they looked in their very first appearance. Back when they had their names on their costumes, which had different color schemes, and Cosmic Boy wore a bubble on his head.

I always do roughs for the pricier commissions. Especially paintings. So I thought I would share them here. Below are the three ideas I came up with for this piece.

Thanks again to Patrick for the commission. I hope the gift was well received.

This is Post #799

Princess Leia - Alderaan Ale Girl

While some of you are still recovering from Christmas, and others are standing in line somewhere attempting to return a gift or two, I am back to work. Lot's to do in the next 6 weeks. Gonna get bumpy so buckle up.

But right now I am happy that I get to share a commission that was done for a gift. One of my favorite tech journalist/author/comic fan, Andy Ihnatko, commissioned this for a friend who is both into microbrew beer and Slave Leia. Nice combo, I thought. Andy suggested "Slave Leia as a cute/sexy barmaid". I ran with that idea to create Leia as the Alderaan Ale version of a St. Paulie Girl. You probably can't read the details on the labels but it does state that this is a limited run and there is a "Our Story" on the back depicting the Death Star wiping out the Alderaan Ale microbrewery. Oh, and the rest of the planet as well.

Thanks again to Andy for the commission. I hope it was well received.

This is Post #798

A Little Stocking Stuffer

Merry Christmas! I hope that everyone is enjoying the day with family and friends and getting lots of goodies.

This is something I did this morning for todays post. Our little stocking stuffer is done in pencil, ink and acrylic paint on a 9" x 12" 140lb sheet of Arches Watercolor paper.

This is Post #798

Sketchbook Thursday - Mister Freeze

After seeing how much snow is falling north of us, Mister Freeze came to mind. This was done in my sketchbook with Copic markers and some Photoshop effects.

Time to check the Santa tracker. :) Have a good night everyone.

This is Post #797

Sketchbook Wednesday - Mister X

I was up ridiculously early this morning, which gave me a big jump on finishing some work. So I did this piece of Mister X in my sketch book using Copic markers.

I worked on Mister X in the 1990s for Caliber Comics. This series and Maze Agency were the two I really petitioned for when they were picked up by the publisher. And I got both. This was such a fun project to draw. I had no clue what the writer was doing and neither did the editor, but it was really fun to draw. If you would like to see some of the art from that series, my friend Tom Fleming (art dealer and comic store retailer extraordinaire) has my original art on his site at Fanfare-SE. Take a look if you would like to kill some time. :)

This is Post #795

Sketchbook Tuesday! - Brainiac

Just a Brainiac from my sketchbook today. Some Copics and some computer graphics were added for fun. Long day, time to relax and rest for tomorrow. :)

This is Post # 794

Sketchbook Monday - Lex

I did this after finishing a piece I was doing today for DC. Like most things in my sketchbook, I started drawing without knowing who or what I was doing. When the bald head was there, I thought Professor X. Then Mister Freeze. Then Lex Luthor. After working out the shading with warm gray Copic Markers, I still didn't think it was finished. Sure Lex is ticked off, but why? The shadows of the prison bars across his face was the final element that was needed. You can almost tell he his watching Superman fly by. It's fun when a sketch can tell a story.

3 more shopping days folks. Better get going if you are not done yet. :)

This is Post #793

Sketchbook Sunday - Emma Frost

Another rough from my new sketchbook. I started with the figure and the attitude just seemed to fit Emma Frost. This piece is a bit more angular than most of my work these days but still fun.

I think this is the first time during this life of this blog that I cannot share anything I am working on. Not one job allows for it. So for the time being there will be more than a few sketchbook postings.

This is Post #792

Sketchbook Saturday - Black Canary

Back in 1972 I knew little of Black Canary. I think I had seen her in the Justice League. I don't think I had seen the Green Lantern/Green Arrow issues that she was in. I really didn't think too much of her until I came across Adventure Comics #418 & #419.

Alex Toth drew a two issue back up story starring Black Canary (written by Denny O'Neil) that really caught my attention. I don't recall if this is the first Toth art I encountered but it was the one that stuck with me. I have always liked Toth's version of Black Canary. There is something very strong about her but with a soft exterior. The way he drew her hair, the way it flowed, she looks like a pin-up bombshell and yet she hits like a bombshell.

Above, left side, I was doing a quick study of the way Toth drew Black Canary in the first splash page. The way she is standing is so natural. The figure has weight to it. She looks relaxed but ready to strike at the first opportunity. Artists today would probably draw her knees bent, back arched, rear end pushed out, chest out, teeth clenched and hands making fists. Not just other artists, myself included, I'm afraid. Subtlety is a lost art.

So in my brand new sketchbook, I did the sketch in the center and wasn't all that pleased with it. So I opened up the Black Canary Archives and looked at those pages that Toth drew and found inspiration. Taking a moment to study what he did and why he did it. Doing my little studies around the edges of the paper was fun. And a good exercise.

This is Post #791

Scrooged again

I forgot to share this. This was the first Scrooge piece I did and I wasn't happy with it. A number of things were bothering me as I worked on it but I figured it would work out. It didn't. So I did a new one that was posted a few days ago. I like to show works like this to remind everyone that artists don't just magically produce their art. It really is work. But hey, I get to draw all day and I'm not complaining. :)

If anyone can figure out the numbering system that Google and Blogspot uses I would appreciate an explanation. When I post, my dashboard has a running total number of posts. Which does not correspond to the amount you get if you add up the numbers on the right side of the blog. I would really be interested.

Have a good weekend!

This may or may not be Post #790

Iron Man 2 Sketch Cards 10-18

Here is another round of approved sketch cards for the IRON MAN 2 set. I have been working on the cards in the evening this week. This is after I have put in a full day on my other projects. I have another 27 cards done but I won't be submitting them until the rest are done. I am doing a total of 75 cards and all have to be in house by the 31st. Shouldn't be a problem. That also means there will be some more cards posted in January.

This is Post #789

Iron Man 2 Sketch Cards 1-9

WooHoo! My first batch of IRON MAN 2 sketch cards were approved today so I can share them here. These were done using Copic Sketch Markers and Copic Black Multiliner pens. Hope you enjoy!

This is Post #788

Brown Eyed Girl

Kind of rushed this one today because of my workload. But that is the beauty of this blog in that I will show the pieces that don't work out as well as I would have liked. :)

This is Post #787

Blue Eyes

More Copic Marker fun today. I did this in between the batch of Iron Man 2 sketch cards I was working on today. I'm using the Copic Markers on those as well. I am enjoying the process of learning but I do find that working small is best with these markers. For example this image is 3 inches wide and 5.5 inches tall and is on the same sheet of paper that yesterdays post was drawn. The markers are rather expensive and they don't cover large areas very well. Or rather I haven't discovered how to cover large areas yet. For me it is like trying to paint a large area with a small inking brush when I should be using a 1" wide brush. More to learn I suppose.

This is Post #786

Seeing Red

Just some Copic Marker fun today on a sheet of Canson Drawing paper. I was trying out some blending and some layered techniques. Nothing I have seen or read, just putting the marker to the paper and seeing what happens. :) The original art is 4.5 inches wide and 6 inches tall.

I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.

This is Post 785

Scrooge

A little holiday themed piece of art for today. I did this today for one of Dakota's classmates. He needed a drawing of Scrooge for a class project and asked for my help. This was done with ink and Copic Markers on a sheet of Canson Drawing paper. Bah-humbug! ;)

This is Post #784

Sketchbook Friday - Kitty and Lockheed

Just a little sketch of Kitty and Lockheed in another one of my sketchbooks. This is the sketchbook that I have done the Copic sketches in so there is a good chance I will do this one as well.

Looks like I have a full plate of work this weekend. I just added some more to my workload as of today. For one client I will be doing 35 illustrations for a book, due in mid-January and for a marketing company I have worked with before, I will be doing some art that will be used to create one of those cardboard planes. The ones where you punch out the pieces and slide the wing through the fuselage. That is due next week. Add that to the commission list which is full again, and the work I am doing for DC, and I am a very happy freelancer. Have a good weekend everyone.

This is Post #783

Sketchbook Thursday - Cyborg

A really, really, long , long day so just enough time to play with the Copic Markers a bit. This was done primarily with the Warm and Cool Gray markers to get a feel for them. And a couple of red areas too. :)

This is Post #782

Sketchbook Wednesday - Challengers of the Unknown

Sorry for the short posts lately. It's been a bit busy around here. Not just work, but family stuff and holiday related activities have been taking up more time than normal.

Today I decided to do a sketch of one of my favorite teams. Not the Legion this time, but the Challengers of the Unknown. I was first introduced to them when they were in the pages of DC Comics title SUPER-TEAM FAMILY. James Sherman on pencils and Jack Abel on inks. I'm a big Jim Sherman fan and it was his work that drew me in. I really like the concept of this team: All four were should have died in a plane crash but came out unharmed. All of their wrist watches had stopped at the time of the crash. The summed their lives up as living on borrowed time and proceeded to live life to the fullest. All four were in the top tier of their professions already and now they banded together. Fun stuff. Check out the SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN for some of their early stories and background.

Side note, I own several original pages from that SUPER-TEAM FAMILY run. Maybe one day I will get some more. :)

This is Post #781

Space Ghost

This is something I did for fun in my sketchbook today and wanted to make it big and bold with the color and lines. Alex Toth made it look so darn easy.

This Post #780

Sketchbook Monday - Hellboy

I believe this is the first time I have attempted a Hellboy sketch. Pretty average fare but it is a first time. :)

This is Post #779

Sketchbook Sunday

Today was filled with a bit of work (art wise) and a lot of work around the house. Also finally framing some original art to hang in my studio. Some of the work I was doing was another commission that will be given as a Christmas gift so I won't be able to share that one for a while.

I did get an message today through my eBay account from Chuck who says I need to do some more Black Canary pieces and put them on eBay. I can't think of a reason not to so I played around with some poses today in my sketchbook. I don't know if any of these will make the cut but I thought I would share anyways.

I hope everyone had a good weekend.

This is Post #778

Starfire - Canson Cutie Finish

Here is the final art I finished this morning. I hope it was worth the wait. :)

I'm real pleased with this one. It was fun working in stages. I will be putting her up on eBay tomorrow for anyone who is interested. I will also be putting the Star Girl Canson Cutie from a few weeks ago. I thought she was sold a couple of times but I never heard back from the potential buyer. I will post the links here.

Starfire was done with ink, color pencils and fluid acrylic paint on a 11" x 17" sheet of Canson Mi-Teintes Paper.

This is Post #777

Starfire - Canson Cutie Progress

I had a full day of work, proposals and a proposal accepted. Busy, Busy, Busy. So I only had a short time to work some color on Starfire and snap a picture of her.

More tomorrow!

This is Post #776

Starfire - Canson Cutie Inks

I was working until 5am this morning, got a couple of hours of sleep and back to work on some other projects, so I only had time to ink this but not get to the color pencil stage. I hope no one minds the snails pace I am work at on this. :)

This is Post #775

Starfire - Canson Cutie Pencils

I only had time to blow up my sketch, print it out on 11" x 17" copy paper and transfer the sketch to the Canson paper on my light table today. But it is mostly ready to start inking. There are a few tweaks I want to do first. Sorry the line art is so light. If I try to make it darker it will cause the paper color to change as well. And then it wouldn't be a very good representation. Naturally it will all stand out better after the ink stage.

More tomorrow.

This is Post #774

Starfire - Canson Cutie Rough

Little John (Sometime commenter here and full time tweeter on Twitter) made a suggestion of a Starfire Canson Cutie for the 700th day of this here blog. It was too late for me to do that, but I really liked the idea. So here is the beginning of the next Canson Cutie. I will try to put some time into her over the next couple of days and post the progress.

This pencil rough is in my sketchbook with some Photoshop colors.

This is Post #773