Superman Vs. Braniac

I guess this is as close to sketching in the "animated style" that I get. I freakin' love the Bruce Timm DC animated universe and I am pretty sure that I once saw Braniac use all kinds of crazy mechanical tendrils to attack the Justice League. In any case, I decided that Braniac should be huge... because giant robots are much scarier than people sized ones.

Too many nude women does not a perv make

In the interests of not seeming overly pervy (since I am trying to get the hang of drawing women) I am posting some non-nude, non-female imagery.

There is no substitute for good reference, I have learned, when drawing stuff like this. Thankfully I have a couple of spacesuits in my closet.

No, really - I do.

T3 - another go at this pose

Memorial day weekend. Lots of fun around here, I have fun neighbors. So I didn't get to draw anything until late. So, I figured I'd take another crack at that topless pose I tried and posted here twice before.

I like this better than the previous iterations. I didn't like the face on the last one, this is much better. Better face, better hair. This works, I think.

A little more cartoony

Animation art, highly stylized art, really fascinates me - in the way that drawings of beautiful women fascinate me. It's all in the economy of line I think. Using as few strokes as possible to really describe something almost perfectly.

I saw a sketch on another blog with a great pose, so I swiped it. My economy of line is not great here, but it's less than I usually throw down.

T2

So, here's another go at that same pose. First one was using photo reference. Second one was using my own drawing as reference, changing the angle of her face a little bit. I should have gone back to the photo for her hair. Not that I did the hair that great the first time. I'd like to get it right, but I can't get that simultaneous sense of individual strands and overarching structure at the same time. I need to pay closer attention to this (among other things).

In the end, I really don't like this one. But I'm posting it anyway.

Tits and Ass

I'm trying to work the rust out of my drawing skills, so I am attempting to post at least one new drawing here each day.

As I'd said, I am just doing this for myself. Some kinda motivation/satisfaction thing. Not really clear on it myself - but if you happen to stumble upon this blog and like the drawings - do feel welcome. I'm not trying to keep anyone away - I'm just not letting anyone know of its existence.

Continuing on the theme of "Drawing pretty women is hard"...

Finished but pointless 3

Finished art for Page 4.

It really was a cool story. That's one of those things that I'll come back to, given the chance.

Finished but pointless 2

Finished art for Page 2 of the Graphic Novel that was never meant to be. Figures by me, page layout and design/direction/whatever by me, backgrounds by my kickass artist pal.

Joe Kubert had this hanging on his wall.

Probably my greatest artistic achievement to this day. I was 12, had taken Joe's advice to draw from life - so I drew my Kenner Alien. He liked it so much he asked if he could have it and, with me in his office, hung it on his wall.

Conceivably, he could have taken it down the moment I left, but it was (for however long) hanging on the wall in Joe Kubert's office.

I'd like to fantasize that he still has it... and looks at it each day while sipping a bordeux. All I have is a creased photocopy of it - but I still have the Kenner Alien.

For those of you who don't know who Joe Kubert is - shame on you.

What I was doing at 1:18 A.M. on Aug. 27th 1985 -

I was drawing this.

I'd have been a junior in High School. I'm glad I took the time to record... the time.

I used to draw this guy all the time. He was my Superman rip-off character.

He's Superman - if Jor-El had skipped the whole 'rocket to earth' idea and fashioned the Fortress of Solitude into an armored suit that would allow young Supes to survive Krypton's explosion, leaving him to wander the universe all alone.

His only vulnerable part was his exposed head, but he could get it literally splattered apart and it would just regrow, muscle wriggling its way over bone... He'd be fine. His consciousness was maintained by the suit. He'd get destroyed and the suit would rebuild him with whatever materials were available. I think in the second drawing he's been remade from minerals or something. By the look of it, this happened sometime in October of 86.

He was kinda cool now that I think about it. I called him 'Protector' which is a stupid name and really relates more to the suit than anything.

I can actually remember drawing this, what my world looked and felt and smelled like at that point in life.

Crazy how time flows and we sink as we surf its wave. Ooooh so deep... so cool.

If these posts don't make sense -

Tough. I'm not editing them for grammer or spelling - or coherence. Theoretically, no one was supposed to be seeing any of this anyway.

Here is a cool drawing of a character I created and should get around to doing something with at about the year 2026. Maybe sooner if I manage to pull off the things I am trying to pull off with my career.

One never knows.

Sometimes when women fall down, their dresses just burst open.

It happens.

This was a quick sketch I did off a photo of a woman named Chloe something or other (I think I found it on Sexoteric.com - which is a NSFW blog that often posts some artsy stuff. From Vargas to Klimt).

Point is she's a french model who is happy posing in all kinds of compromising positions - and I just happened to really like this one.

Unfinished

Sometimes you just say "I like that, I'm gonna stop there."

Also - it's become evident that, somehow, at least one person is reading at this blog.

The question of why I am posting all of these pics all of a sudden might sprint to ones mind...

Well, first off - I've never had all that many people look at my stuff, I've never been published anywhere (despite come close a couple times) although I've done artwork that served as the basis for the creation of other, mostly physical works. So, I have a lot of stuff and I figure I ought to do something with some of it.

Secondly, I'm going through a stressful time. I've spent the last year working on a new project that my partner and I have sunk everything into. If it works, we're golden. If it fails in the market... well, we've bet the farm.

So - this is stress relief for me, in a weird way.

Museum Batman

While waiting to moderate a panel discussion at a museum in Manhattan, I sketched this Batman on the back of one of the sheets containing my opening remarks.

In fact, you can nearly read some of my opening remarks through the paper - printed huge so I could easily find my place at the podium.

There's a lot wrong with this drawing, but I like it anyway.

Cabs

It turns out I have a lot of drawings on my hard drive that I had forgotten about.

I started this by trying to draw Times Square - but the buildings ended up frustrating me so I just drew the cabs instead.

Finished but pointless

Here's a finished page from that nonexistant Illustrated Novel. The backgrounds were done by the aforeunmentioned kickass artist. The figure work, the more organic stuff (people, blankets, later in the story - trees and fields) by me.

Not sure why, but it looks like blogger is reversing all the colors. It shouldn't look that way. The colors were excellent - and I paid the color guy so I am pretty sure he's still fine with me.

Tough little guy

My second son was born very premature last winter. For a long while we didn't know what would happen and, to be honest, right up until just a few weeks before he was discharged I didn't think he'd come home. Once he was out of the Isolette (incubator) I began to feel much more positive and even got up the courage to draw him... although why I brought a sketch pad and a pen I will never know.

Drawing pretty women is hard 3

Here's a drawing of a chick in a bra. Not apeing anyone else's style or pose or anything, so I guess this is just my own "style".

Coulda, woulda, shoulda

A few years ago I had a book agent and two art-related book projects in the works. One was a SF illustrated novel/GN with another incredible artist and one was a book on toys with a great photographer. At the same time, I bought an old house with a big yard and started clearing away 30 years of vegitative neglect. And I ended up getting really sick, not able to move around, not wanting to get out of bed. I wasn't doing anything, and I wasn't really communicating well with anyone.

Turned out I had Lyme disease. It also turned out that I spoiled my relationships with the agent, artist and photographer. So those projects died on the vine. To be fair to myself, none of those people picked up the phone and called me to see what was happening during those 3 months I vanished... of course, I may not have given them my new phone number...

This post features a drawing I did for the illustrated novel/graphic novel which never was.

Ray Gun

This is enjoyable. Lookit me. Validate me. Lurve me.

A few years ago, I drew Reagan. Worked out nice, I had to do two versions, but it's a good likeness and his seam-filled face was fun to draw. This was probably around the time he died - because I don't spend a lot of time thinking about Reagan.

Robots as Biopsych notes

I realize that the way I am writing this doesn't exactly make it easy to tell what drawing I am referring to... but, who cares?

Ok, in this post we've got an old pen sketch from a college notebook.

I will admit it - Machine Man is my favorite Marvel Comics character. Growing up, my Dad worked for the company that owned Marvel. I got every comic they published free. Every month. Even that black and white Conan magazines that my Dad should have looked inside before giving to me.

And for some strange reason, I bought Machine Man comics. I bought them. I went to Hero's World and paid money for the 2001 comics and then his own run.

He's a Jack Kirby creation, he has telescoping arms and legs and bubble eyes and everytime he got smashed apart he'd put himself back together again. Machine Man and Micronauts. My favorites. Pearls before swine.

I am no Adam Hughes

That last one (below) really does look nice - because I ripped off Cho so completely. For those of you imaginary people reading this who don't know, Frank Cho draws a comic called "Liberty Meadows" that features a bunch of cartoon animals and a hot chick. Kinda like "Peanuts" but Sally's scorchingly hot and has gigantic breasts. Genius.

Emboldened by my success here, I tried to do the same with Adam Hughes (results above), rip off a pose and draw away... but his dynamic perspective and poses made sure that I couldn't come close. I'm not posting his original here - not for copyright issues, but I just don't want to humiliate myself.

I can rip off Frank Cho

Well - that actually worked. So I am going to post more. Because I am at the lame point in my life where just that little act of creating something, a blog post showing something I created, and that otherwise would only remain unseen in my sketchbook or a desk drawer, gives me some satisfaction.

In this day of projects involving dozens of people, doing something myself feels very good.

I am rusty these days, but even at my height I was never all that great at drawing women. I know the rule - less of everything, but its still hard. So, I figured I would try and shake the rust from my fingers by trying something real hard.

My two favorite artists, when it comes to drawing women, are Adam Hughes and Frank Cho. Adam Hughes's stuff is enough to very nearly make you want to just give up, because you're never going to come close - but I made it through that crisis of confidence to try and rip off Cho directly first.

First post

Well... this is my blog. I can't believe I am blogging. I disgust myself, I'm such a follower. Thankfully I am not giving out the URL to anyone, so no harm done.

I'm drawing a lot lately, it kinda soothes my nerves as we go to market with the "project". If it doesn't work, I am sunk, so I gots nerves.

I'll see if I can figure out how to attach images.... if this works, we'll see the Batman image I see to the left. If not, who cares? Anyway, that's a Batman I sketched around the time the first Burton/Keaton Batman movie came out. I was in college.