Saturday, December 26, 2009

Happy Holidays

From OMAC—One Man Army Corps (and me)!

I have a list of things to do quite long to prepare for upcoming events. Yet, I suddenly got inspired to color this drawing of OMAC I had done some time ago.

Perhaps not the most festive of holiday greetings, but there it is.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

PC cleaning #5: lost love letter

Some time ago I started sketching out a love letter to Liz Phair. It's the type of project I'll probably never get to do with all my other projects going on. So for now, I publically declare my adoration with this sketch.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

PC cleaning #4: another monster

If you read Something Fishy This Way Comes, you know I enjoy drawing well-dressed heinous women enjoying a drink. Here's another monster in a cocktail dress I did while practicing with my brush pen. I love the thick-thin effect on the arm fat.

UPDATE 9/22: This sketch now serves as my visual inspiration for the lead villainess in my mini comic I am working on with Greg Lockard. Saphrid was described as "Jabba the Hut in Princess Leia slave garb." So here we go, imagine this lovely lady in slinky/skanky clothes.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

PC cleaning #3: The Doctor

I was visiting my grandmother perhaps early fall, and was mindlessly drawing in my sketchbook. This image of Doctor Who was the result. It's not great or anything, but she was amazed. While she's seen my published art, I don't think she's seen me draw since I was 11. A year or two ago, she gave me a huge stack of drawings I did at her house over the course of my childhood. Perhaps I will scan some for you.

Monday, December 21, 2009

PC cleaning #2: the couple

OR, what should we wear today? En route to Toronto for TCAF (Toronto Comic Arts Frestival) this spring, I spotted a most intriguing duo getting on my flight at Boston's Logan International Airport. Matching dye jobs framed their faces; one slightly man-ish, the other slightly girlish. Their body shapes were concealed by matching outfits: tie dye shirts, leather jackets, jeans, freedom ring necklaces and rainbow accessories. I had convinced myself they were women until they spoke, and I was confused afresh. I concluded whether they were men, women, FTMs, MTFs, Is, or any combination, they were unmistakably a couple. Again, I had intended to color this nicely. Instead, you get a simple color job to illustrate their well-planned look.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

PC cleaning #1: Jeff

Today we got about 2 feet of snow in Boston. It was great!—very pretty, got a good workout shovelling, and trapped at my apartment, widdled down my 'to do' list!

On the list was to back up my hard drive to my external hard drive. Along the way I ended up scanning through my scanned sketches folder to see what drawings I had intended to post, but for whatever reason, I never did.

Among them is today's post: 'Jeff' from the UK show 'Coupling' (yes, the US version tanked after 3 episodes or something, but the UK one is great!). I was very happy with this drawing, and had intended to color it and add some crazy pattern to the shirt. Never did, so here you go.

I like this because I rarely draw actual people, and when I do, the drawing rarely looks like the people I intend it to. But here, I really think it looks like Jeff. Though, Jeff should be a bit more bewildered than sly looking.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Lilith & Gnaark

Here's another commission I did a little while ago for a fellow early '70s Teen Titans fan. After I finished the line art, the commissioner added some nice colors, appropriate from the series. I was then inspired to play with Painter and add chalk-y colors. I try to purist but I still prefer these alternate colors for Lilith and Gnaark. The original Titans' jumpsuits were grey for the boys and Lilith sometimes wore green or pink. I think not until the series was revived in 1977 did Mal wear an orange jumpsuit. Anyway, Lilith and Gnaark are among my favorites, and I liked my brushwork on the figures.

I've sketched Mal with his girlfriend, Bumblebee, but nothing I am yet happy with. Maybe someday I will capture their relationship as well as I have captured Lilith and Gnaark's here. Time will tell.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Filmation Batman

I was recently given on loan a copy of Filmation's 1977 masterpiece "The New Adventures of Batman" which for some odd reason I'd not really seen before. I mean, I knew it existed and specifically recall watching one episode as a kid at my grandmother's house. But considering my super-hero fanaticism at an early age, it's odd I didn't follow it. Perhaps it was on too late in the morning.

It's really pretty awful. They spent extra money on fancy use of a mutliplane camera, and many of their stock backgrounds are quite nice. However, the stock animation used repeatedly, even when it didn't make sense (e.g. Batgirl running looking over her shoulder, frightened, even when nothing is chasing her) is tough to watch.

The writing is bad but also funny. There's actually sexual inuendo between not Batman and Robin—but Bruce and Dick. Maybe Dick's name doesn't help, and neither do their matching leisure jumpsuits or gym outfits as they play video games or with their toy race track. Or maybe I have a dirty mind.

The character design and characterization (noted above) further mystifies with with District Attorney Barbara Gordon always deferring to her father, the Police Comissioner Gordon who has NO idea she's Batgirl. The villains are mostly voiced by the same actor, except Catwoman who is voice by the same actress who voices Batgirl.

And of course there's Bat-Mite. With his catchphrase "All I wanted to do is help!" whenever he gets in the way, he annoyingly pops in, does nothing (despite his powers) and then pops out. He may have been the reason I didn't watch as a kid. He made the show too juvenile for 7 year old me.

Funny because these days I love Bat-Mite—rather, the comic book version who idolized and tested Batman's abilities rather than bungling a case.

Here's my version of the Filmation Batman Family cast!