Month: April 2009

What the what?

~ J.Ho

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:

click above for larger view

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…

~ J.Ho ~ 2 Comments

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)

~ J.Ho ~ 2 Comments

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 (5 of 6): If you buy a translator be sure that it speaks Bocce…

~ J.Ho ~ 2 Comments

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!