A Month of Sketches Begins (last week, technically)

So this month is NaNoWriMo and, yeah, I'm not doin' that. I'm kind of tempted, honestly, but my plate is a little full. But, I like the idea of a Month Of Something, so I had this idea: I'd draw a new illustration every day. I put some rules on it: They'd be small. They'd be black and white. And, they wouldn't be licensed characters.

My thought is, if this goes okay, I might like to make a little book of the artwork. Black and white is cheaper to produce, and no licensed characters means that I'm clear to print and sell however I want.

Yes, today's the eighth. I've already done seven of these. I'm not going to necessarily show every one here. Some I'll save for the book, if I do it. And while I'm trying to post a lot more her, I think once a day is enough. So if I have a better story or something, I'll probably post that instead.

I think it's good to force yourself to try new things. So I'm using this as license to experiment. Some of these I'll do completely on computer. Some of these will me be trying new things with my brush, or new techniques or new styles. Who knows? But I think it'll be fun. Let's see.

Get Hooked Up logo

I've been going through some of my older files trying to archive them in preparation for getting a new computer before the end of the year. As a result, I've seen more than a few projects I've forgotten about. Here was a logo for a towing company, "All Hooked Up." Generally, I'm not a fan of drawing cars, so I'm pretty happy with how I handled these.

Illegitimates and their Logo

One of my first jobs in comics was lettering, and I still do a bunch of it. I letter Deadbeats for Claypool, Skyward for Action Lab, and now I'm lettering Illegitimates for IDW. The book is by Taran Killiam and Marc Andreykoand involves a cool spin on the James Bond archetype.

I also designed the logo for the book. Here it is…

I thought maybe you'd like to see some of the process of the creating that logo. The basic starting point I was given was to turn the double-L's into guns. I tried a few different variations on that before we locked in the final. I think they've all got some cool aspects to them. Click to see them embiggened.

"Rimbatmn!" That's Christian Bale for "I'm Batman!"

This was a commission for a friend of mine at Wizard Ohio. I don't draw a ton of Batman art, with most of my world being My Little Pony these days. It was fun to get into the harsher lines and stylized design of the Dark Knight.

I'll Be at the Akron Comic-Con

You thought my convention season was over, didn't you? Hah! Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends! I'll be at the Akron Comic-Con this coming Saturday, November 9th along with bunches of my friends and other cool people. I've got one more appearance after this, at Marc Bowker's excellent Alter Ego comic shop. More details on that soon.

Heroes Hanging Out, Drinking Coffee

One of the more interesting New York Comic Con commissions I had was this one: Draw Power Girl and 80's Disco Collared Nightwing hanging out the way Crusader and Darkblade do in Love and Capes. It was a lot of fun to figure out the staging. Power Girl, for instance, wouldn't hover or have the same standard pose as Crusader does.

A lot of you know that Love and Capes is on a break right now. I'm trying to get some new stuff out into the world this year. But there's something about this piece that makes me think "Wouldn't a Darkblade and Amazonia series be pretty cool?"

In Brightest Day

A quick one today: Green Lantern! This was done at the New York Comic-Con and I had fun stylizing the linework and the pose. I wanted to make it cool and graphic. I also used some Copics to shade, but used them sparingly.

1.21 Babywatts!

There seems to be a growing trend at comic conventions to trick out strollers and their occupants. I, of course, approve totally. Check out this Back to the Future themed stroller and kid. Of course, at that young an age, I don't think he understands the complexity of temporal mechanics. Then again, neither did Marty McFly. The blue piping here actually lit up, which probably isn't obvious in this photo. Also bonus points for the Einstein. (Or Copernicus.)

Happy Halloween with a Ghost Hunter Commission!

I've had a couple people come up to commission me at shows to draw an actor or actress who is appearing at the show and have them sign the art. They're certainly more unique than just the standard publicity shot. And it's been a blast for me, too. I got to meet Ian McNiece, who played Winston Churchill on Doctor Who because of it. At Wizard Ohio, I drew Ghost Hunter Grant Wilson hunting a different kind of ghost. Mariann, who commissioned it, loved it, and so did Grant.

Happy Halloween!

Pinkie Pie! Enemy of the Republic!

I was at New York Comic Con, and a gentlemen came up with his very Star Wars son in a stroller. I think he saw my Han and Leia piece in my display portfolio. He said that his son loved both Star Wars and My Little Pony and wanted a drawing. Immediately, my artist brain starting thinking of ponies with lightsabers and so on. "Who's your favorite Pony?" he asked his son. Pinkie Pie. "And who's your favorite Star Wars character?" General Greivous. He then turned to me. "Can you do a combination of Pinkie Pie and General Grievous?

Suddenly, the cute little Jedi ponies I had in my mind exploded. Pinkie Pie? Grevious? That's not a chocolate and peanut butter moment, that's a chocolate and wood varnish moment. How do those go together? But, I like drawing and I like money, so I said "Yes, I can do that."

What happened was not the drawing I expected, but it might be my favorite drawing of the show. When you get things thrown at you like that, the creative solution is something original and something you weren't capable of just a few minutes ago. So I figured out how to combine everyone's favorite party-obsessed wacky Pony with a killer four-armed droid with a breathing issue. And I loved it.

So did the boy. Look at how happy he looks!