Robots

The Walking Mech

~ J.Ho

SOOO… Have you been watching The Walking Dead all the way through the credits this season? If you have been, you might have seen the robots that I drew for Scott Gimple’s production company Idiotbox!

 
Been a little behind on my TV, so I didn’t realize this was already tagged on to this season’s credits–my eyeballs just about popped out of my skull when I saw it!

Fun Fact 1: Waaay back in the day, Scott was one of the folks who hired me at the day job, which is where I’m still working 18+ years later!

Fun Fact 2: This isn’t the first time I’ve drawn some robots for Gimple!

Bite my shiny metal fan-art…

~ J.Ho

Hey look, I drew a picture of that one robot that bends things, even though I’m not at work!

 

Before anyone asks–this is strictly fan-art, drawn and colored in my spare time for larfs!

It’s a lot of fun to take something that you draw on an almost-daily basis and put a new spin on it. I included the developmental sketches in the background so you could get an idea of how this drawing came to be.

I was able to bank some art during my time off over the holidays, so hopefully that means regular, timely posting for the next few weeks! See you back here on Friday, meatbags!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 21: FINAL ROUND!

~ J.Ho

Today I am presenting the twenty-first and final round of commissions that I’ve finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE and HERE

Here are the final 5 sketches for the honor system donors:

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From left to right:

This blog is like… 98.73% goofiness, but I want to seriously talk about all this for just a minute.

The Help The Cheerleader fundraiser was a success, and I’m proud to have been able to contribute something. Moreover, I want to thank every person who gave to the cause and/or helped spread the word.

I’ve never gotten into discussing the details of this case, because while I have done my best to stay informed, I can’t profess to be an expert. However, it does not take an expert to understand that sexual violence is prevalent in the world we live in. The statistics will leave you at a loss for words. We live in a culture that often turns a blind eye to these horrific acts, and even worse, will often persecute the victims of these acts, preying on their already compromised sense of stability, safety, and self-worth.

Be informed, be compassionate, and if you are able to (I know it’s tough with the economy), please donate time and/or money (within your means) to a charity that you trust and believe in.

As always, thanks for reading!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 15!

~ J.Ho ~ 1 Comment

Here’s the fifteenth round of commissions that I’ve finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

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From left to right:

UPDATE: Commissions are still closed for now, and the donations on the Help the Cheerleader page are on hold–the Cheerleader won one of her appeals, so the courts are recalculating her fees. As soon as we know what’s going on, you’ll see an update here as well as on the Help the Cheerleader page. But I’m still at work on the commission requests, and I’ll continue posting–stay tuned!

Moldy Oldies: Porsche + BONUS

~ J.Ho

Drawn for an animation pitch circa 2003:

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This is the last character in the series, and here’s a group shot of all the characters together:

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I’m back to posting fresh blog sketches starting next Tuesday! Yes, it is a holiday miracle.

Moldy Oldies: Tow

~ J.Ho ~ 1 Comment

Drawn for an animation pitch circa 2003:

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This design is my favorite out of the batch. I think I just managed to fit a little extra individuality into him. One more Moldy Oldie this Friday, and then it’s back to fresh blog sketches. Try to contain your excitement!

Moldy Oldies: Enzo

~ J.Ho

Woops… this post was actually prepared and ready to go, but I think I hit “save as draft” instead of “publish.” Culpa mea, again.

Drawn for an animation pitch circa 2003:

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I had a good long weekend… basically after I gorged on Thanksgiving dinner, I left my folks’ place, barricaded myself in my apartment, and did nothing but draw, watch Robotech (marathon style), and eat pumpkin pie. I’ve gotten a lot of blog pieces drawn, but I know I’ll slow down in the coloring phase. However, my plan to post Moldy Oldies, in order to get ahead behind the scenes, appears to be working.

Holy smokes–it’s December! When did that happen? @_@

Moldy Oldies: Mini

~ J.Ho

Um… wow, Friday is almost over, and I totally zoned on posting a blog. Culpa mea, dear reader. I blame pumpkin pie overdose.

Here’s another illustration drawn for an animation pitch circa 2003:

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Today’s drawing was the first in a series–this batch of drawings was a big turning point for me in terms of drawing, coloring, and generally being able to finish pieces. Okay, back to the pumpkin pie!

Way Past Random

~ J.Ho

While I was sketching over the weekend, I had the Sonic Underground DVDs playing in he background (yes, my life is ridiculous). An episode came up with a cool-looking robotic hair-dresser named Do-Bot, so I decided to make a quick sketch of her. The sketch turned out okay, so I quickly colored her with some color pencils. And here she is:

I adjusted the scan so that the colors match the physical piece and added type–other than those small changes, I’m giving this one to you warts and all. Typically I’m overly-focused on over-producing slick artwork, but every now and then I get some artsy notion that it’s cool and “raw” to show off the gritty details of reality, like the gibberish on the scratch paper that I drew on.

Lately I’ve been feeling the need for a more tactile sensation while producing my sketches, so maybe we’ll see some more quick and dirty traditional media in the near future? There’s no way to know for sure… I’m a wild card these days.

Bonus Post: Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals for awesome commercials…

~ J.Ho

After seeing a few cool CGI commercials and drawing some mascots, basically I immediately forgot all about the Olympics. But before it officially ends, here’s one more Olympic commercial from Stadium Astro (a Malaysian sports channel, I think?), featuring robots… transforming ones!

Of course watching one video on Youtube, always leads to another… here’s a soccer-themed transformer ad from Stadium Astro, promoting the Euro 2008 tournament:

And another transformer ad from Stadium Astro (apparently someone working there likes Transformers as much as I do?):

In summary, sports would actually be cool if there were more (or any) transforming robots involved.

Post Script: Decepticons as tweenage girls? Oh Japan, you so crazy (and that’s why I love ya… from TFormers.com)

Post Post Script: I actually found so many Transformer-related videos that I had to cut half of them out of this post. Expect another video post soon!

A Post-Comic-Con ‘Con

~ J.Ho ~ 2 Comments
Comic-Con was insane, as usual. The drive from Los Angeles to San Diego took almost 7 hours (yes, seven) instead of 3, and as a result, at one point, I whizzed in a bottle (yes, a bottle). For the record, it was an empty Vitamin Water lemonade bottle, which was nice because it gave me, you know, a sense of symmetry. The rest of the convention proceeded with no unorthodox waste removal procedures. I’m catatonic right now, so you’ll have to wait until my next post for non-whizz-related highlights from the convention.

For now, to commemorate the recently ended Comic-Con, a ‘Con:

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This is Shockwave, drawn with a modified transformation that I came up with. The original toy had a gun barrel which was essential for the gun mode, but served no purpose and had no venue of storage in robot mode–my revised transformation imagines that the gun barrel could split apart and slide back on Shockwave’s arms. That’s all. Sleepy-time now.

Flashback Friday, Again?!? WTF?!?

~ J.Ho ~ 3 Comments
Let’s face it. Lately, I have been S.T. Rugglin. Which means that once again, you get something that i drew and colored years ago, instead of a fresh selection from my drawing board today. I’m going to work hard this weekend to get ahead on my blog posts, because I know the 5.7 people who read this blog rely on me for 19 seconds of diversion, twice a week. I promise there’ll be all new stuff next week.

Until then, here’s a robot that needs no introduction, but gets one anyways–Optimus Prime, heroic leader of the Autobots:

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Current Mood: Gettin’ there
Listening To: The Long Black Veil
Reading: Just finished Kiki Strike Inside The Shadow City (which was awesome)
Watching: She-Ra season one
Playing: Possum
Eating: Nothing, I’m starved right now!
Drinking: Vitamin Water

Horrible Post Title #085367: Fangs For The Memories

~ J.Ho ~ 3 Comments
You’re reading this impossibly dorky blog, and asking yourself, what kind of a person is this enigmatic J.Ho? Well let me tell you something–the other day my boss gave me a Transformers pencil (because it’s well known throughout the office that I am a zealot for Transformers), and the first thing I did with that pencil… was sketch a Transformer. I did it, as if compelled by some greater force; as if inaugurating that Transformers pencil appropriately with a drawing of a Transformer was ensuring that all was right throughout the universe–nay, the multiverse. That is the kind of person that I am.

Here’s Grotusque, one of the Monsterbots:

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Though I never owned the Grotusque toy, I always thought the character looked cool: (sabre-toothed tiger) + (dragon) = WINNER, as far as I’m concerned. Unfortunately, because I don’t own the toy, I have no idea what color it really is–in various photos I found online, the main torso appeared anywhere in the range of magenta, maroon, or burgundy. In the end, I think my colors skewed too close to the magenta end of the spectrum. Oh yeah, there’s also no rhyme or reason to the light sources in this pic.

Close-up photos revealed that Grotusque’s face was molded with a slight texture–in my mind, this implied fur, so I decided to give my interpretation an organic face.

The wing is cut off because that’s where the paper stopped. And on that awkward note, I will end this post.

(Exeunt)