PIRATE NINJA YARRRI-KARI COMIC

A few things really... 

Tonight I was working on art & design for the Ft. Myers, FL roller derby bout in June. I'd only had a bowl of oatmeal for breggies and was loopy-famished. My plan was to hit the vegetarian buffet at Panda Veg at 5pm and go to figure drawing afterward.

I crushed 3 fat plates at the buffet with serious diet soda 

washdowns. Just as I was thinking I was the champ, the radio played the Rocky theme just for me, no lie.

I got to figure drawing an hour late because I thought it was later than sooner. Cue Redd Foxx, "You big dummy!" I got 2 decent sketches in.

Then Patrick Godfrey and I went to pick up Tom and go to the Team 8 Designs meeting for the Creator Showcase comics they're publishing.

I've hinted at my project previously, but here's the actual working material. Team 8 is screen printing covers with 3 color ink and color bristol cover with offset press b/w interiors. I've breathed enough life into my lark character, Pirate Ninja Yarrri-Kari, to be satisfied presenting an initial public offering. I'll be illustrating a 21 line poem penned by an anonymous 14th century samurai that is commonly known as the "Warrior's Creed." My biggest influences for this project are ukiyo-e prints and the beloved Samurai Jack. Stop me if you've heard this one...

So here you go. A peek of the character design (probably still in development) and I'll be finishing the cover in a few days. Feedback more than welcome. Cheers.

old art series - b/c I'm way wicked busy...

So it's a cop out. I've been very busy with many tasks, activities, situations. I've been very tired. I will be kicking some A before long though. Speaking of which, look at these guys getting ready to do just that.

old art series - OUR LADY OF CAPITALISM

old art series - I WANT YOUR SKULLS!

old art series - 2001

I've recently closed out my myspace artwork album and I'm in the process of posting that stuff on this artwork blog. Makes sense...

Here's a piece that I did for my junior year at VCU. Obviously it's a redesign of one of our favorite movies for a digital drawing class. The piece is pencils with digital coloring in Photoshop. I was just learning some more Photoshop tricks and this is actually my first digital coloring, pre-Wacom tablet. So I colored this jank with a freaking mouse.

It is what it is...

howdy, stranger...

Oh, it's been a while since I've blogged. I've been working my ass off at work and doodling a little when I'm on lunch breaks or at home or Beth's.

March 14th I started a new sketchbook, with better paper than the last piece of crap sketchbook, and I've filled about 28 pages with sketches, doodles, anatomy, and gestures.

So, I suppose the obligatory sketch dump is in order. Here goes...

I've been working on my main weakness as per usual: anatomy. One day I will be extra special good at it. This is from Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck. It's a pretty good paperback that I carry with me frequently.

These two are from different ukiyo-e prints from my Ukiyo-e book mentioned in a previous blog. I used the Pitt brush pen, Microns, and Prismacolor markers.

Here's a quick and dirty for my roomie's band The Black Times. Jim wanted an homage to the Ramones but with esoteric imagery a la Freemasonry, alchemy, etc. The triangle read '33' with the Freemason image but has been changed to a billiard rack with the 8, the cue, and the 4 balls for '804.' With time run out in the hourglass, a clutch of lightning and a scythe, the whole thing is roped off with an inverted ouroboros. Black times indeed...

Finished this one today on lunch break. Femur studies from the same anatomy book. Figured I'd mess around with some hatching too.

In an effort to improve my skills, I've been going to figure drawing sessions for about 3 weeks now. On Friday I go to the Visual Art Center on Main Street from 6:30-9pm. On Sunday I go to Ghostprint Gallery on Broad Street, just a few blocks from my apartment.

Actually I missed last weekend's session. Just plain forgot. But the first session yielded this drawing, inked with the Pitt brush pen and watercolored.

I see the glaring errors, and my old figure drawing teacher would probably bodyslam my ass, but I feel alright about it. Just alright. I feel better about the watercolors than the anatomy/figure drawing.

Let it go...

DEMON DOGS!!!

Oh, yeah. Here it is, batches! I've had a stiffy for this piece ever since I came up with the idea (dare I say it) months ago!

After beating my head against the composition of the characters, environment, and major supporting elements like, I don't know, style- I've finally created this post-apocalyptic nightmare for mass consumption.

So eat up!

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!