EROL OTUS - keeper of the old school flame

I can get pretty crazy about certain artists. I have quite an extensive list. And I'm pretty particular, too. But there's this superfly, old school, mofo that I've been trying to keep tabs on that I've only recently found more of his stuff.

Good old Erol Otus. Dungeons and Dragons wouldn't have been the same without him (eternal hails to Gary Gygax for being the penultimate Dungeon Master though, RIP). He is like the Jack Kirby of RPG artists to me. There's even a strange esoteric nod to Cubism and German Expressionism in his style that also reminds me of Kirby.

Maybe I'm just fishing but I am obsessed, no doubt about it. I just acquired some sweet images that I'll share with you here. These are from a generic d20 RPG system by Goodman Games from their Dungeon Crawl Classics, keeping it old school. Check it... radness.

The Sunless Garden

Mysteries of the Drow

Crypt of the Devil Lich

The Mysterious Tower

Citadel of the Demon Prince

So, nothing of mine to show on this blog despite being at the drawing board most of the day. I've been pounding out pencils and inks for the Thundarr the Barbarian piece I'm doing for the Velocity Comics DRAW! contest. The theme is Jack Kirby this go 'round.

I'm an obsessive Kirby-phile and I thought about this and that for the project. I thought New Gods to start, a nice piece with Orion and Darkseid squaring off amidst chaotic devastation and cosmic battle. But I figured with the Death of the New Gods arc that DC is running that I wouldn't do that.

So many good Kirby characters. The Demon would've been sweet but I came to the conclusion that Thundarr was it.

In about a day or two or three, I'll have my piece drawn, inked, scanned, colored and layed-out, not to mention printed and submitted to the contest. I'm having fun with this. Word!

Ookla the Mok

This is a character design sketch for a Thundarr the Barbarian piece I'm doing for Velocity Comics' DRAW! contest. I just squirted this little puppy out but the fangs make nursing... uh... really tender. (Sorry about the crap scan.) Rarrrarrrrarrrrrrr!

another little flyer

here ya go. cheers.

Super Dork

I've been running around like a crazy person lately with work, errands, dodge ball play-offs, roller derby, shows, yadda yadda yadda... It's been kinda hectic but manageable anyways. I've got work just dropping in my lap and really cool things in the works coming up. I think the running around is going to slack off so that I can actually get some more art done.

Speaking of which, here's my latest little installment in promotional items. It's for my buddy's band in Roanoke, VA. I probably won't get to the show but I'm sure it'll be a good time.

I'm really looking forward to cranking out some more pieces. Right on.

ROLLER DERBY

Sorry, I'm blogging on commercials while watching Lost.

Here's a flyer I did for the Richmond Derby Demons. I did the main artwork and graphic design. The logos were all pulled off of the web.

Here's just the picture.

Flowing East, the Sea Devil

I feed my mind and the well is filled. And so I cast my bucket deep.

These books are informing my latest project: Pirate-Ninja Yarri-Kari.

The Book of Pirates, is a tome of beautiful illustrations sprung from the fertile mind and able hand of one of the august creators from the golden age of illustration, Howard Pyle.

Pyle's interpretations of the lore of the sea dogs is the standard for all that we think of when we think 'pirates.' (To be fair, N.C. Wyeth was hardly a scurvy slacker to this end, either.)

The romantic rebel rabble is represented with nothing less than grit, blood, and intrepid tales of fascination and thrall.

At 320 pages of paperback portability, which I purchased from the bastion of beauty: the Brandywine Museum, boredom is belayed and adventure is played.

(Yeah, I'm a dork.)

Aside from that half of my character's profession, I've started delving into the mysterious world of the ninja and ninjutsu.


The 1980s saw a slew of skillful assasins slinking stealthily across movie screens. This was due to the introduction of the ninja to the U.S. by Stephen K. Hayes.

The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art, first published in 1981, is an account by Hayes of the meeting of and training with 34th generation master of the Togakure-ryu ninjutsu tradition, Masaaki Hatsumi.

Eastern esotericism is described with succinct clarity within the 156 pages. History, tradition, techniques, and weaponry lurk between the ambivalent paperback covers of this sweet pick.

I'm awaiting the arrival of subsequent books on ninjutsu also purchased on Amazon.com.

By now, you know about my obsession with books. Well, today I picked up another gem.

Ukiyo-e, a Phaidon book by Professor Gian Carlo Calza, was a tasty find at the Barnes & Noble today.

So far, Phaidon books have yet to disappoint me. This gem has over 600 illustrations which is more than I could imagine for a book on ukiyo-e.

There's plenty of Utagawa Hiroshige (my favorite), Katsushika Hokusai (not a slacker), and a new favorite of mine, Keisai Eisen.

The landscapes are absolutely wonderful. The compositions are incredible. The characterizations are amusing and the ghosts and erotica are downright entertaining.

I'm positively overwhelmed by the quantity of pictures, so much that I tried to just sit down to read the history associated with the prints, but the Mexican food in my belly curtailed any information absorbtion. This book is a definite must have for anyone into ukiyo-e or the culture of Nippon.

In closing I'd like to mention that the apocalyptic CBS television series Jericho is quite entertaining and is back for its second season which premieres this Tuesday the 12th at 10pm/ET. Likewise, the ABC television series Lost is pretty freakin' rad and absolutely worth watching. If you're not up to speed on either series then don't frustrate yourself with trying to pick it up where it is now. Rent all the dvd's from the beginning and marathon those suckers until your head spins. It will be a ride well worth it.

Oh yeah, my next blog will actually have some of my artwork, in case you were looking. Sorry for not sharing but I'm still researching and developing characters, backgrounds, and stories.

Update, no artwork to show- yet...

I've been working at this new job now for 3 weeks. It's quite strenuous and my arms feel like they're going to snap off at the shoulders at times. It's draining my physical energy, so my mental/creative energy usually follows suit.

I've cranked out a number of thumbnails for Pirate-Ninja Yarri-Kari. And, as is my bent, I'm delving into the research necessary for me to feel like I'm doing my project justice. My sketches are developing well, but I've slacked off this week as above energy issues have been at hand.

But the weekend is here and some mental reinvigoration has begun to commence. Last night brought me out to the First Friday art walk. I'm usually bored and skulking at this but I saw 3 things that entertained my jaded ass. And as I crawled out from under my proletariat-grey rock to cavort (read: stalk) amongst the night-goers, I ran into some estranged, but welcome faces.

Of note was my friend Lewis of the local pop/punk/metal band I Live With Zombies. We rapped outside Rumors boutique inbetween band sets. Then I set out for the Camel to catch The Amoeba Men and Ho-Ax, but saw some more peeps at the Village. Of course I had to say hey and then tromped off to the show.

Finally at the show, I ran into old Lynchburg and Roanoke crewe: Danny, Derek, Chris, Mike, Bill, Jason; and Richmonders: Sean and the Mullarneys. All swell peeps, for sure. Time was short as I was obliged to shuffle homeward for rendezvous with my lady.

But Bill's drumming in The Amoeba Men looked like he was in a voodoo trance tangentially enhanced by the daishiki he was wearing. I was expecting spit sprays of liquor, smoking cigars, candle wax, and spatters of chicken blood. But alls I got was some kinetic, bombastic, avant garde, synthpunk. Shucks.

Anyway, I'd like to close by endorsing Cloverfield. This has to be one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, aside from documentaries. I was impressed. I loved the concept, the execution, the use of angles, the pacing, colors, etc... This movie took it to the next level for me. I'm hard pressed to give such glowing endorsements (refer to above 'jaded ass' statement, third paragraph), but this did it for me. But, if shaky camera work makes you sick, take a dramamine before seeing it. The whole movie is shake-tastic. But filling.

MAGICAL UNICORN BUTTER!!!

My girlfriend's into dodgeball. And after watching a couple of last season's games, now I'm into it, too.

I hadn't played since 7th grade. My buddy, who had turned me on to punk rock, and I would run amock all over the court and give our battlecry: "WAKKA-DING-HOY!"

But now I'm on a team again. At 35 years old. Beth is on two teams. She's on my team and on another called "MAGICAL UNICORN BUTTER."

So I had to design a logo/mascot for a little battleflag...

Master Otake

I am obsessed with books and fascinated by martial arts. In my collection you'll find a decent selection of martial arts books such as The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere, and one titled simply The Martial Arts. It is from this last book that I have referenced and drawn.

The Martial Arts was picked up at a terrific bookstore on Baronne Street when I lived in New Orleans. The book title itself seems fairly generic but its overview is a rich exposition of the martial arts culture, particularly Japanese, Okinawan, and some Chinese.

These drawings are of Master Otake, a budo swordsman. In trying to understand the drawing of Asian features, Master Otake's face was an enjoyable study for me. I can only guess at the interesting experiences he has had. His quiet intensity certainly bears the stamp of a man that has committed his life to the mastering of a martial art.

These two were layed out in orange color erase pencil. Then I inked them with Faber-Castell Pitt brush pens. Above I was going for a slightly more cartoony look with a nod to Jack Davis. Below I wanted to retain the light and shadow dynamics of the photograph, but rendered graphically.

The same applies to the martial arts as to the drawing arts, dedicated practice and honest evaluation will manifest satisfying results.