It's Been A While....

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. Mainly due to the fact that I'm fairly sure no one really cares what I'm putting up here. When no one really cares, it feels masturbatory more than anything else, and even masturbation gets to be boring if you do it often enough.


Anyway, I did a little piece recently for the Conan O'Brien show. In November they're going to NYC for a week and doing the show there. They wanted artwork from people that was NYC related, so the first thing that came to mind was the Empire State Building. Then superheroes. Since Conan has a superhero alter ego, I decided why the hell not do something with that. Here's the end result.

I had to piece the scan together, that's why there are blotchy square spots. I drew this out on watercolor paper, inked it, and then used watercolors, gray tone markers and even some white pencil to pull it all together. I also designed a costume for Andy since I figured he'd be the Flaming C's sidekick. Anyway, there it is. It's been submitted.

Enjoy.

Or don't...whatever.

  

Captain America Window Display Is Up

For the upcoming Captain America movie, I did another window display for my friends at The Comic Outpost. Here are the pics:

The Window Display

Cap and Skull Face Off

Cap

Red Skull

M.O.D.O.K.

So there you have it. A fairly good representation of the comic book characters if I do say so myself. 

As usual, half inch foamboard hand cut, Gessoed, painted with acrylic paint and finished with Sharpie markers. Also, these guys are for sale as are all the cutouts I do for The Comic Outpost. Cap and Red Skull are $350 each or $600 for the pair. M.O.D.O.K. is quite a bit smaller so his price is $150. So if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, stop on by and take a look at the window displays and all the other cool stuff they have in the store.

Enjoy.

The Flaming C Done At Last!

If you're a regular browser of my blog, then you probably saw the line art I put up two weeks ago of the Conan O'Brien comic book character The Flaming C. Well, I finally got around to painting it today, and I'm pretty happy with the results. 

I used the same pose from the old Ahnuld movie, Conan the Barbarian (the poster pose). 

I liked the pose, I liked the background colors, and I liked the play with Conan's name being the name of the movie (yes, it's cheesey, just deal with it). I didn't like the birds in the background, so I left them out. 

Everything was done in watercolor, except for the original line art. Tell me what you think in the comments down below.

Enjoy. 

M.O.D.O.K.

One thing about doing these window displays bothers me...lots and lots of leftover scrap foamboard in irregular shapes. Sure, there are times when I get to use the scrap to reinforce one of the displays (like Thor's outstretched arm), but for the most part I've got a lot of bits and pieces that I'd like to make something from. So I decided that since the villain side of the displays were a little less than the hero side, that I'd make a few of the lesser known villains. 


First up, M.O.D.O.K. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing). M.O.D.O.K. is a villain that started off as a serious baddie, but soon became more of a punchline in the comics. He's been associated with Captain America, who (surprise, surprise) has a movie coming out next month. So you can all guess what the next window display will actually be up at The Comic Outpost in a few weeks. Anyway, enough backstory, here he is in all his miniature glory...M.O.D.O.K.

Taken with a flash

Taken without a flash

Same specs as the others, 3/4" foamboard, hand cut, painted with acrylic paint, and finished with markers. Every now and then I get the inquiry as to how much one of my pieces would go for (since they are all on sale), and this little guy is priced at $150. Yes, I know it isn't cheap, but neither are the hours put into making a one-of-a-kind piece.  

Enjoy.

Wonder Woman

Doing a little bit of artwork for a friend of mine. Here's the final inking of it.

With a flash

Without a flash

So that's my take on Wonder Woman. Still not done with this piece yet, since I'm going to color it with watercolors (hence the thicker looking paper). Oh, and her magic lasso spelling out the letters 'CME' was by request, in case you were wondering what that was all about. I'll post the finished picture soon. Let me know what you think of the piece so far.

Enjoy.

Green Lantern Window Display Completed

So last week I posted a few pics of Star Sapphire (a Green Lantern villain) that I did for the Comic Outpost window display. Here's a reminder:

Today, I finally finished the Hal Jordan version of Green Lantern for the other side of the window display. Here he is:

Taken without a flash

Taken with a flash

Want to see the whole thing together and with lights? Sure you do:

A little bit of glare on the windows...

Later on into the evening when the lights could be seen a little bit better.

So there you have it. Green Lantern and Thor vs. Star Sapphire and The Destroyer. Yup, these are movie related theme windows that I'm doing for the Comic Outpost. 

As per usual, these are all done on 3/4" foamboard, hand cut, Gessoed, painted with Acrylic paint and finished with Sharpie markers. Each one is unique, and did I happen to mention that they're for sale too? Anyway, enough whoring myself and my artwork out. 

Enjoy.

Another (Half) Window Display Piece Done

With Wondercon coming up in two weeks, and the announcement of Marvel Comics return to it after a 10 year absence, and the first of the comic book movies coming out in May, Thor was a no-brainer for the window display. 

Thor Without a Flash

Thor With a Flash

Mind you, this is only half the window display. The other half still hasn't been painted as of this posting. Hopefully I'll be done with the other half either on Sunday or on Tuesday at the latest. And yes, I realize that the picture without the flash is brighter than the picture with the flash. That's just the way it worked out. 

On to some technical aspects...I used King Kirby as the reference for this one, since I'm really starting to become comfortable with his awkward poses (which I'm convinced he did on purpose). The right hand and the hammer (Moljinar) didn't come out like I wanted, but considering it wasn't too far off the mark I'm happy with it. I also tried out Sharpie's new paint pens, since the industrial pens were giving me headaches and nausea. Well...the paint pen kind of sucks. If you're trying to draw out a long line, paint comes pouring out along the applicator and pools onto your artwork. Never a good thing. Lucky for me, I had some other non-stinky Sharpies to use in its place. 

The semi-circular hammer arc was a bit on the difficult side too, given that the hammer is in forced perspective. But I'm happy with the result overall.  It has that movement I was looking for, and was a bit different from previous window displays. 

Finally, the specs...3/4" foamboard, acrylic paint, and marker. It stands about 2.5' tall and about 3' - 3.5' wide. 

Let me know what you think below in the comments section. Enjoy.

Breach is clear, commence loading of ammunition

Hello, and welcome to my blog which may or may not get frequent updates. Essentially this is part vanity project, part whoring myself out for art jobs, and probably part therapy (I guess there go the art jobs!). Anyway, relax and enjoy.

First up, I thought I'd post the pictures from my last window display. This is currently up in the window at The Comic Outpost out on Ocean Ave. in San Francisco.

These little guys were hand drawn on 3/4" foamboard in the style of the comic book, cut out, painted with acrylic, and inked with a Sharpie marker. The hearts were done with window cling and acrylic paint. 

Currently I'm working on a new window display for another comic book related title. This title will be seen this fall as a tv series, and is probably the most anticipated series I've been looking forward to in a while. Hopefully I'll have that one done and up in the window by next weekend so I can share with you both the title and the artwork. So for now, I hope you enjoy the pictures, and I'll see you again soon.