You're on my Chiklis...

I know I did the rough draft of this guy a while back. But in honor of finishing out the series last night - incredible, by the way - I thought I would finish ol' Vic Mackey up.

This was fun.

Play me a song...

Sometimes, you just have to branch out and do something a little different. From time to time, I like to put the pencil down and explore an avenue I don't often venture down. And here's what happens...

I've been picking at this for about 3 days now, on and off, using a program called Reason. A lot of the instruments in the program don't sound as authentic as the real thing, but the piano is pretty nice. I've thrown together a couple of concoctions here and there in the past, just dorkin' around. So, it's always a trip to see what my spare time develops. I'm not as musically inclined as some of my friends, but I think I know a thing or two. It's not finished. But I like where it's heading. I especially like the way the ending turned out. Click the witty link below!

Jazz is not just an Autobot!

Enjoy!

Vic Mackey layin' down the Smackey.

Vic Mackey, from The Shield.

It's not finished yet, but I started watching the series today, even though it's been over for a while now. Thanks, Josh. I got midway through episode 2 and decided that Michael Chiklis was an interesting looking guy. So I drew him.

More as it develops...

Sweet Home Chi-blog-o!

Had this on my mind last night before I went to bed, so I cranked it out this afternoon.

And they all lived...

And the final piece.

Thanks to Jeff (and here!) for helping me balance out the background (as well as some of the foreground colors) in this piece to help the characters pop. And a special thanks to Mark for giving me some morale boost. I was informed that sometimes, I'm too hard on myself when it comes to my artwork. I can't disagree with that, but I don't know how to change it either, really.

Anyway, here is the final. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and I think a lot of it has to do with the revisions I made on Snow White and the dwarves. I completely redrew the character to make her a little more appealing all around.

It's interesting, too, but Jeff pointed out a plethora of styles working in this piece. I can't fault him for that, because J. Scott Campbell, Doug Tennapel, and Joe Mad all had a hand in this whether they knew it or not. Onto the next piece!

My, what big progress you have!

Thought it might be neat to post the progress.

I started where I left off (in the last post) at about 8pm tonight...er...yesternight. It's rolling onto 4am now. But I guess that's how you know what you love.

For the coloring, I didn't know how I wanted to do it. But I knew I wanted to approach it from a more painterly/comic book style since I intended on leaving the brush lines very apparent. I haven't colored anything in that vein in a while. But I think this is turning out nicely. I still have a lot to tweak (and finish altogether), like the tortoise's hand, obviously. Once that pig-creature is complete, and a few more this-n-thats, I think it'll be ready to post, finished.

I have until 10pm tomorrow night...er...later tonight to finish it all up. Hope you like it so far!

Once Upon a Try...

I'm a struggling artist.

And when I say "struggling," I mean struggling to better myself. I struggle to "get as good as that guy" or to try and advance to the next level in whatever I'm doing. I struggle to keep my edge as an illustrator, so that my craft doesn't get old and boring...or, God forbid, redundant. I'm also broke. So...just in case there was any confusion, yes, I do fulfill that stereotype.

And with the struggle comes new challenges. Like this one. This is a piece in progress. It's another entry for sketchoholic.com. This week's interview is with Humberto Ramos. The theme is "Fairyquest." That's actually the title of Ramos' book, but with the open theme, it leaves a lot of play for interpretation. So this is what I've got. Take a shot at guessing the fairy tale creatures before you read any further.

Down front, we have the tortoise and the hare in their never ending race, of course. Snow White (who will be possessed by evil apple vapors) surrounded by some mecha-dwarves. On the other side, we have a jacked-up Pinocchio and, above him, an evil Japetto pulling the strings. And finally, in the center, is the big bad wolf and his 3-headed pig monster in the background.

I'm really happy with how it's going so far. We'll see if it ends happily ever after...

Leaps and Bounce...

When there's no doubt in your mind that you didn't do your best work on a piece, and you posted it, it just eats at the back of your head. So it was with this one. It's still not my ideal composition, really. But for what I created it for, I think it works just fine. I'm constantly bothered by artists who openly admit, "Oh this isn't the best I can do. But (insert excuse)." If it's not the best you can do, then fix it.

Yet, on the other hand, it's always refreshing to see artists make honest mistakes, or confess to shortcomings. I know that when I admit a mistake out loud, it's both liberating and humbling all at once. Not that I'm some force to be reckoned with. And maybe I'm just (insert excuse). Nevertheless, here's round 2 of "For the Love of Bunny." Yeah, I called it that.

I rehashed the entire turkey character. He just wasn't "jive" enough, I don't think. Plus there was nothing really pushing any sort of mood in the background. That wasn't imperative, but I wanted...something. Throwbacks from MC Hammer and Parliament on iTunes probably assisted in that on some level. So, despite a pressing workload, this is what I concentrated on today. Something about taking a break and doing something for myself - even if it's essentially the same thing I'm doing for others, professionally - is something I need sometimes. It keeps me grounded and reminds me that I do this because I love it. And when I can recapture that desire to create, it makes the jobs extremely more enjoyable. And when the jobs are more enjoyable, the final product is something both sides are happy with.

I decided to leave the below post up, just for the fun of seeing the process. Enjoy!

Ya dig...?

Well it's been quite a while since my last post.

I've been quite busy with things these past 2 months. Some miscellaneous projects, some freelance. So to give myself a break from work, I decided to do some more...work...

Right.

Anyway, this is my entry for an upcoming Sketchoholic contest. Francisco Herrera will be interviewed by Bobby Chiu - both incredible artists. I'm relatively new to how it all works on the Sketchoholic website (I just joined yesterday), but I thought it could be really interesting to see the interview, as well as who wins the contest (which will be announced during the interview). Anyway, this little illo ate up a whole night of mine. So tomorrow, it's back to the grind!

Well, the other grind...

The Radical Squadron.

So here's the final piece. I decided to go with a more graphical approach to the background as opposed to an actual environment. There's just something about the grittiness of these characters that lends itself well to backdrop like that, methinks.

I'm debating on doing a series of these...maybe with other characters from my childhood. Dunno yet. Anyway, enjoy!

Razor's Edge.

So, here's Razor...also incomplete. Just some minor tweaks here and there. I almost didn't include the pencils, but then I thought it might be kinda cool to see how far he departed from his original sketch. I was having issues with the perspective on the original drawing - namely the hand with the glove (glovatrix) on it. Not that I couldn't get the perspective right. I just didn't like the way it was positioned, plus it didn't seem very interesting. Same with his other arm and both legs. So, really, the only thing that stayed pretty close to the original sketch was from the chest up. I just think he looks more...put together...in the new pose.

I was afraid he wouldn't turn out as good as T-Bone. But I'm actually equally pleased with him. How's that for a little fan art? Ted Turner let go of a couple of gems when he canceled this show.

Aw crud!

Yup. It's a SWAT Kat.

Still some adjustments to make on him. And don't you worry your little whiskers. The other one's on the way...

A little too campy, maybe...?

Well, with a handful more of small tweaks to be made on the final piece, as well as the fact that I get as giddy as a school girl when I finally have something new to post on here...I decided to go ahead and post this. The absolute final piece will be on my site. So if you're reading this a week after I've posted, or you've traveled back in time and completely missed your mark (see Flux Capacitor User's Manual), you can check it out on my website.

And since the lady at the barber shop gave me a chopcut that can only be likened (get it? LIKEN...like a werewolf?! Trust me, it's a good joke) to a lost member of the New Kids on the Block, I figured I owed myself one. I'm typically a hat wearer, but now my headwear has a purpose. It's kind of like the Phantom of the Opera, but from the forehead up...and I can't play the piano. And if I could, I'd write a song to the lady at the barber shop entitled, "Short on the Sides and Some Length on the Top is Not Necessarily Up for Interpretation. Please Have Your Eyes Open Next Time. Nevermind, I'm Never Coming Back Here Again." Or something along those lines. It'd be a gangster rap, too. And some piano, like I said.

So this illustration was fun. As I posted before, this is going to be used as a prop in a short film I'm involved with. The book doesn't actually exist. So we're mocking one up. And since I hadn't tackled an illustration in a while, I thought I would go all out with the prop. The story isn't really based on anything. I think I just wanted to draw monsters. Not sure what the next illustration will be. I actually really like the way the little boy's bonfire looks in that chalky brush. So I may try something more along those lines. We'll see. At any rate, this post was loaded with fun words like 'LIKEN' and 'NECESSARILY'! Oh, and some art.

Here's some pRAWRgress...

Well, it has certainly been a while since I've posted. Seems to be the pattern as of late.

This is a work in progress right now. It's a childrens book cover for a book that doesn't really exist. It's going to be used as a prop in a short film I'm working on with some friends of mine. But I figured while I'm doing it anyway, I may as well make it the best it can be. It's another slight departure from what I'm used to. But that's what makes it a challenge, as well as an interesting piece to my portfolio.

As art usually does, this has sort of taken on a life of its own since the pencils - which were slightly less involved than what I usually draw. But I was planning on the color and rendering style of this piece carrying the art anyway. So here's what I've got so far!