Cornelius, Zira, and baby Caesar, from the Planet of the Apes:
I wish I had a chunk of time to expound upon my deep fondess for the Planet of the Apes movies, but I don’t. Consider yourselves lucky!
Going Ape (Part 2 of 4)
Author: J.Ho
Going Ape (Part 1 of 4)
“Lawgiver, who knows the future?”
In case you were not aware, this is the Lawgiver, a character from the Planet of the Apes movies.
Do I have a figurine of the Lawgiver, as a constant reminder that ape must never harm ape? Yes, I do. Am I the world’s biggest dork? Likely.
It’s a Stretch…
Resident yogi from the Street Fighter series, Dhalsim:
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My previous Street Fighter pieces have all been pretty static–starting with this one I’m trying to pepper in more dynamic/interesting shots. Okay, I’m tired and busy, I spare you from further rambling!
Fascinating.
Let it never be said that I can’t admit when I’m wrong. And yes, that was a double negative.
A year ago, if you had asked me about the-then-upcoming Star Trek movie, I would have said, “Why bother? End the franchise, it’s over.” Star Trek had been dying slowly for years, and I was not a fan of Alias or Lost, and therefore not a fan of J.J. Abrams.
Well, I watched Star Trek over the weekend–it was good, and the franchise is back. Not only was I wrong, I’m glad that I was wrong. Mr. Abrams you now have not only critical and financial success, but also the respect of this nerd. I’m sure that must mean the world to you.
Here’s Spock:
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I may have enjoyed the new movie, but just to be clear, this is Leonard, not Zachary. Or Spock Prime as they’re now calling him.
Not So Secret
He’s the least secret of all secret characters, but he’s still bad-ass. From the Street Fighter franchise, Akuma!
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Akuma’s greying temples are seen in some of the offical art from Street Fighter III, but generally are not standard. I decided to include them, because I like the idea of this being the most ‘current’ version of Akuma, relative to his imaginary age. I don’t even know what I’m talking about anymore. Bedtime!
FOR RENT: tower of untold mystical might, 2000 bed + 2000 bath, spacious, Battle Cats okay, street parking.
Drawn for a re-design challenge at the He-Man.org fan-art forums. The thread is here, and my post is here. The voting thread is here
The subject this time around is an environment–the Three Towers of the Eternia Playset. It’s probably a safe guess that the Three Towers were an attempt to one up Tolkien. I however, found myself short of time, and was only able to draw up one of the three–here’s the Central Tower of Eternia:
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The subtitle comes from the He-Man mini-comic about the Three Towers.
Landscapes and environments are not my strong point, so this was a good exercise. My take on the Central Tower is an attempt to ground the playset in ‘reality.’ The griffin statues were gold on the original toy, but I gave made them less eye-catching in my version to avoid drawing attention away from the Guard Lion, who really is the main attraction here. I tried to create a sense of the epic size of this thing… to give you a better idea of what I had in mind–ten adults could stand comfortably abreast in each of the windows located near the top of the tower.
By the way, does anyone else think the Central Tower must be cousins with the Cave of Wonders from Disney’s Aladdin?
No Apologies
THIS IS A SPOILER ZONE FOR TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED… YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
I claim to be such a huge Transformers nerd, and yet I don’t believe I’ve mentioned how much I enjoy Transformers Animated–I’m caught up on season three, which has been amazing. Both the series and the toyline are easily amongst the best incarnations of the franchise since Generation One (for anybody keeping score, I do enjoy the two most controversial incarnations of the series–Beast Wars and the live action movie). Transformers Animated has introduced a fresh asthetic, invigorating a franchise that was in danger of stagnating. The new, cartoony look is largely the doing of Derrick Wyatt, who’s quickly becoming one of my favorite character designers. The asthetic has been translated into the toy line masterfully by the team at Hasbro, and provides a great visual counterpoint to the gritty realistic look of the Transformers live action movie(s). It is a good time to be a Transformers geek.
Today’s post features the Autobots’ half human, half-Cybertronian sidekick, Sari Sumdac:
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I elected to draw Sari in my own style, because I think it would be foolish to try and out-Wyatt Derrick Wyatt. Sari is depicted in her powered-up teenage form from season three, though I did take some minor liberties with her costume. I tried to make this one a bit more dynamic, since I know static-ness is an on-going poblem with my art. Sari’s costume makes her look like a RAcaseal from Phantasy Star Online, which is definitely a good thing.
- Please check out the fantastic blog of Derrick Wyatt, bad-ass character designer, and genuine Transformers fan: A Delightful Tedium
What the what?
Question 1: Is this the dumbest thing I’ve ever posted? Probably.
Question 2: Is this the nerdiest thing I’ve ever posted? Almost certainly, but I have every intention of trying to continually out-nerd myself.
Question 3: In spite of being both dumb and uber-nerdy, is this also the most awesome thing I’ve ever posted? I think so, yes.
For reasons unfathomable even to myself, here is Darth Vader, if he were an Alpha Lantern of the Sinestro Corps:
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If you’re still reading, you’re probably still asking yourself, why? Well, I’ve been enjoying Green Lantern since the Sinestro Corps War, and I really like the idea of the Sinestro Corps having high-profile members like Superboy Prime, Mongul II, and Hank Henshaw. So my naturally nerdy brain was scanning its archives for other characters capable of instilling great fear, and since I had already crossed over Star Wars with the Green Lantern mythos, once or twice–I came up with Darth Vader.
Before you protest–yes, I’m aware that this concept wouldn’t really work in the continuity of either Star Wars or the DC Universe due to the fact that Darth Vader died a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… long before the Sinestro Corps had ever been formed. If I had to come up with an explanation, I would say that the ghost of Anakin Skywalker was psychically controlled/driven insane by Parallax, and had regressed into the psyche of Vader once more. With his spirit trapped in the hollow shell of his suit of armor, and powered by a yellow power battery, Darth Vader is now forced to serve the Sinestro Corps as perhaps their most powerful enforcer.
It had occurred to me that Vader could have made a good Red or Black Lantern. However, I’m not so into the Red Lanterns, and I’m not entirely sure how the mechanics of the Black Lanterns work. Overall, I find the fear-based Sinestro Corps to be more compelling.
The really scary thing is that these hyper-nerdy thought-processes basically all occur without conscious effort. I’m just walking around doing normal things, like drinking Vitamin Water and playing with Legos. Meanwhile my brain is running these dorky match-ups between continuities in the background, and I’m only aware of them in a vague semi-conscious manner. BAM, next thing I know, I’m drawing Darth Vader with a yellow lantern embedded in his chest. It’s a blessing and a curse, people. A blessing and a curse.
Say it with me…
IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME!!! Here’s the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing, the Fantastic Four‘s cantankerous, yet endearing tank:
My year has so far been filled with plenty of travel (not bad) and illness (not good)–I’m feeling fine now (with no further travel on the horizon), but I’m still playing catch-up. So, tonight’s post is a quick exercise in the rare (for me) traditional media. I sketched it in red and brown color pencil, colored it in marker, then went over the lines again with color pencil, and finally added some highlights with a white color pencil. Scanned it, managed to adjust it to match the original pretty closely, and here we are.
Any real understanding I have of color theory has been picked up while working in Photoshop, so it’s a refreshing change of pace to apply what I know to traditional media. I think this piece needed more contrast to bring out the larger forms of the Thing’s features, like his brow, nose, and cheek bones (cheek rocks?). Recently, I feel like I’ve been struggling with contrast… having trouble getting it right the first time, and making a lot of adjustments. My sense of color is a bit off too, again, something that I’ve been getting wrong on early tries and making many adjustments to.
My artistic senses might be dulled as a result of doing a lot of cheap blogs that don’t require artistic brainpower, and also banking a lot of blogs ahead of time rather than working continuously. When it comes to drawing, taking moderate breaks can actually help me out–when I come back to it, I feel energized. I suspect coloring is something that I’m still drilling into my brain, and I need constant exposure to the act of coloring, or I start to regress.
Just thinking aloud here, carry on…
Actual Size (Okay, not really)
My ally today has been Mucinex.
This is not an endorsement. Consult your physician and clergyman before using drugs, didgeridoo, or mustelids of any kind. Side effects may include blogs of poor quality, typing in small italic print, and writing satirical side effect warnings. Other side effects may include technically inaccurate use of the word satirical (but you get the point), and excessive rambling on. Do not operate heavy machinery while under the effects, including, but not limited to, Zambonis, Mazinger Z, or your mom.
This is a pretty poor representation of a Mucinex pill actually. Other than the fact that the real pills do not advertise my blog, i also got the shape pretty wrong. And the face of the tablet should be noticeably convex. However, it was a decent painting exercise, just for larfs and practice.
Star Wars Lite (6 of 6): Ukle nyuma cheskopokuta klees ka tlanko ya oska.
To wrap up this series, here’s everyone’s favorite Corellian smuggler:
And for your enjoyment, here are some wallpapers, available in both fullscreen and widescreen formats:
click above for 1280 x 1024 (Fullscreen)
click above for 1920 x 1200 (Widescreen)
Star Wars Lite (5 of 6): If you buy a translator be sure that it speaks Bocce…
I was just reading over the past few posts and realizing how monotonous I have become with saying how I had nothing to say. And yet, I have nothing to say! Here’s C3-PO:
See you on Friday for the conclusion of this series. I’m not sure what will follow immediately, but I have a bunch of Street Fighter pieces in the works, a neverending supply of He-Man stuff (naturally), and a smattering of other random nerdy sketches. And as always, thanks for looking in!
Star Wars Lite (4 of 6): You must do what you feel is right, of course.
The great thing about Star Wars (I’m talking Original Trilogy), is that the characters really require no introduction.
I’m feeling so laconic these days, so I guess you’re spared from my yammering once again.
Star Wars Lite (3 of 6): The princess? She’s here?
This series of sketches basically requires no explanation. Here is today’s:
Due to exhaustion, words fail me. Peace!
Star Wars Lite (2 of 6): It’s not wise to upset a Wookiee
He’s puzzling over a Dejarik problem, I think:
Me being busy = you being spared my pointless words. Soak it in.
Star Wars Lite (1 of 6): That little droid and I have been through a lot together
Plug first, sketch second–you all know my crony/chum Hammers, right? He’s better known to the world as Nathan Hamill, and he’s been interviewed on StarWars.com regarding his participation in the most recent series of Star Wars Galaxies trading cards. Click HERE to read it.
Notably, the article mentions a non-Star Wars item–Nathan’s upcoming foray into designer toys, with a bad-ass vinyl racoon. You read correctly, a bad-ass vinyl racoon.
And as an unintentional coincidence, I’ve prepared a series of Star Wars sketches for the next few weeks. Here’s R2-D2:
You can imagine what might be coming up in the ensuing weeks. And if Star Wars isn’t your cup of tea, you philistine, stay tuned for more Street Fighter and He-Man after I wrap these up.
Brought to you by the letter Q…
My love of obscure characters is no secret. In fact, I hardly ever shut up about it. From Street Fighter III, here’s the mysterious Q:
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Q doesn’t exactly fit in with the assorted commandoes, kickboxers, and karatekas of the Street Fighter universe. Judging by his name and face mask, he appears to be based on Shotaro Ishinomori‘s character Robot Detective K. However, he also bears a strong resemblence to Mitsuteru Yokoyama‘s character Iron Mask (from Babel II), and Osamu Tezuka‘s character Pero (from Astroboy and Metropolis).
Incidentally, all three of the mangaka that I just mentioned were contemporaries. Ishinomori was Tezuka’s assistant at one point (this is well documented), and I’ve read the same thing about Yokoyama (but I couldn’t find a reliable source on that). If you’re a fan of manga, anime, tokusatsu, or even Japanese-made video games, I highly recommend that you check out the works (and derivations there of) of Tezuka, Ishinomori, and Yokoyama. Their influence on is tremendous, and continues to this day.
Think of him as "Malibu Ryu"
The Street Fighter fan art deluge continues–in sharp contrast to the subdued Ryu, here’s Ken:
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This turned out better than Ryu did, but the forced perspective was still unconsciously blunted by my inner desire for boredom.
Red Hot
If my sketch of Ryu represents the Street Fighter franchise in general, today’s sketch represents the most recent installment. Fresh from her debut in Street Fighter IV, here’s Crimson Viper:
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When I first saw the screenshots of this character, I wasn’t that impressed. Her braid seemed a bit too reminiscent of Cammy, while her outfit seemed more appropriate to Street Fighter’s rivals over at the King of Fighters series (not that I have anything against King of Fighters, it just felt like an odd fit). Well, a few rounds of unleahing her bad-ass flaming split-kick (quarter circle back + kick, executable in mid-air) changed all that. Now I’m totally won over by her extravagant pompadour, her Morpheus-esque nose-pinching sunglasses, and yes, her exquisite wardrobe.
You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance
A few weekends ago, I had a chance to play Street Fighter IV at a friend’s house. Had I been wearing socks while playing, those socks would in fact have been knocked off.
I’m a big fan of Capcom in general, and of their fighting games specifically–however, playing Street Fighter IV really pushed those characters and that franchise to the forefront of my thoughts. I find myself humming the music constantly. My mind has been desperately trying to create scenarios where I can justify buying the game itself, a console, a new television, and two tournament quality arcade sticks. Of course this is all going on while I draw fan art until the sun rises. Here’s Ryu, perhaps the single best-known of the Street Fighter cast:
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I’m going to be honest with you… this one didn’t turn out terribly well. The perspective was supposed to be much more forced and dramatic, but I have this problem where apparently my brain strives desperately for mediocrity, and while drawing, I unconsciously make things moderate and boring instead of extreme and dynamic. Regardless, it’s nice to draw a character like Ryu every now and then–he’s very recognizable in spite of being so visually plain. Those factors make me feel comfortable drawing him from a rare rear view, because I don’t feel like we’re missing any interesting costume details from this angle, and I’m also confident that he’ll still be indentifiable. I thought that showing Ryu’s back turned helped emphasize his aloof demeanor. Likewise, I tried creating poses-reflecting-disposition in the other Street Fighter pieces I drew… which will be flooding this blog shortly. Stay tuned!