Sons of the Bat… Part 3 (of 5)

It’s Friday night before a long weekend. I don’t know what you nerds are doing, but I’m posting a blog about a Batman character. Jealous?

Continuing in order from the previous segment, here’s Tim Drake, AKA Oracle:

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  • Age: Late 20’s
  • When Barbara Gordon returned to action as Batwoman, it only made sense for someone else to take up the mantle of Oracle and provide information and support for the heroes of Gotham. Initially Tim took up the role as a temporary position while injured, but he assumed the role permanently when he realized how well suited he was for the task. Since becoming Oracle, Tim has been working closely with Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox to research and develop new technologies. Perhaps most notably, Tim was instrumental in the development of the hard light melee weapons. Tim keeps in shape for the occasions where he must return to the streets and rooftops of Gotham. This isn’t a regular event, but it happens often enough that the criminal underworld now fear Oracle’s agility and precision as much as they fear the reach of his intelligence.
  • Tim has had several costumes in both comics and animation that have dropped green out of the design, leaving red as a dominant visual. As stand alone designs, they were fine, but the color red just doesn’t suit Tim in my opinion. Tim is well-adjusted, centered, and cerebral–he’s much more of a green than a red. It’s those same attributes that lead me to assign him the vacant identity of Oracle.
  • The emblem on his chest is very similar to Barbara Gordon’s Oracle symbol, but modified to resemble the “face” that was often found on Batmobiles (and other Bat-vehicles) of the 40′s and 50′s, just as I did with the Red Hood’s emblem.
  • I always thought of Tim as being a little bit more “kung-fu” than the rest of the Batman family, probably because his early adventures and rogue’s gallery featured a lot of DC martial arts characters, so hopefully the costume reflects that.
  • Overall this costume is strongly based on his original Robin outfit, as a reminder that Tim will always be strongly associated with that alter ego, arguably more so than anyone else. While many “mainstream” fans of the Batman franchise will think of Robin as Dick Grayson, I think most actual comic readers think of Tim as Robin, and Dick as Nightwing. But I digress.
  • I purposely excluded visual nods to Tim’s current Red Robin costume–I actually like that costume a lot, but it always felt too reminiscent of Doctor Mid-Nite, and the emblem felt too reminiscent of Hawkman’s.
  • Tim’s signature close combat weapon (a bo staff) is now a hard light construct.

As you can see, I had a little bit more to say about Tim than Dick and Jason. Just around the time that I was really getting into comics, Robin #1 came out, and Tim quickly became one of my favorite characters. I think I followed Robin longer than any other monthly book.

(2 more missed posts to make up. Hopefully I’ll be able to wrap up this series in the next few days and close out that debt! We’ll see…)

Sons of the Bat… Parts 1 and 2 (of 5)

I know, I’ve continued to be bad at updating my blog in a timely manner. However, at least this time I can say that it’s because I was actually drawing and coloring and I didn’t want to stop to write a blog post!

Today I’m presenting the first two parts in a series of re-designs of Batman’s many “sons.”

I’ve been thinking about Batman a lot since I watched The Dark Knight Rises (which I loved). My enjoyment of the movie really just led me down a path of remembering how much I love Batman and his extended ‘family.’ I started doodling Batman characters in my spare time, and it wasn’t too long before I started messing with their look.

My doodles started taking shape when I started to think of them as an assignment for a hypothetical cartoon series. These re-designs imagine a future timeline combining elements from the comic book continuity (pre-New 52) and the Bruce Timm animated universe. For context as to how far in the future this timeline exists–Damian Wayne is in his mid-20s. More on him in a future installment!

For now, let’s kick things off with Dick Grayson, AKA Nightwing:

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  • Age: Late 30’s
  • Dick is the heart of the Batman family. He stepped out of Batman’s shadow with ease and confidence, and is his own man. Even-handed, approachable, and reliable, he’s a de facto big brother and field commander to the other heroes.
  • Color symbolism is very important in these costumes. I kept Dick in black, blue, and yellow, because it symbolizes that he’s completely graduated from Robin status, and he is truly Batman’s peer.
  • I brought the collar back as a nod to the first Nightwing costume, which was itself a nod to the Flying Graysons’ costumes. It’s a subtle reminder of Dick’s non-vigilante heritage.
  • Batman Beyond-style retractable wings allow for gliding.
  • Batons are hard light constructs which can materialize almost instantaneously.
  • The crescent eyes, scalloped wings/capes, and hard light weapons will be unifying motifs through out these re-designs. I definitely didn’t want to stray into the realm of matching uniforms for these characters, but I did want a few elements to tie everything together visually. Additionally, the wings and hard-light weapons are there to help push the idea that this is a future timeline.

Up next is the troubled Jason Todd, AKA Red Hood:

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  • Age: Mid 30’s
  • Whatever may have transpired in the past, Jason has found some degree of redemption and inner peace, and he’s now ‘back in the fold,’ as a trusted member of the Batman family. However, he’s definitely the “Wolverine” or “Raphael” of the group–a maverick who does what he sees fit and frequently comes in conflict with the others.
  • This probably doesn’t qualify as a re-design, really it’s just a minor tweak of the Frank Quietly-designed Red Hood costume. To me, the white, black, and grey represent the ill-defined boundary between right and wrong, which plays into Jason’s persona perfectly. The red symbolizes Jason’s connection to both the Joker and Robin, but also represents the violence in Jason’s life.
  • I did however change the emblem on his chest from a skull to a more abstract face. It’s meant to invoke the “face” that was often found on Batmobiles (and other Bat-vehicles) of the 40’s and 50’s. Just a little something to tie the design closer to Batman’s visual motifs.
  • In imagining a rehabilitated Jason Todd, his appropriation of the Joker’s former identity as Red Hood is even more powerful. I’ll probably always think of The Killing Joke as the definitive Batman story, so the poignant irony of Red Hood as a ‘good guy’ really strikes a chord for me.
  • His kris is a hard light construct, and a nod to his past connection to Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Shadows. No longer armed with pistols, his holsters hold non-lethal weapons–perhaps a dart gun and a taser?

I should mention that the pieces in this series are colored with a Photoshop gouache brush setting that I picked up from an excellent tutorial on DeviantArt.

I’m having fun with these, so I hope you’re enjoying them as well, dear reader. I would say tune in again, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel, but I’ve been posting so erratically, I can’t guarantee the time. But I guess it is the same Bat-channel no matter what. Listen, I’m over-complicating this. Just come back soon, okay? THANK YOU!

(These 2 drawings cover the end of last week and the beginning of this week. Still hanging in there at 2 missed posts, BUT, it looks like I’ll be able to zero out that deficit with the rest of this series. ALMOST THERE.)

His theme goes with everything…

Here’s one of my favorite Street Fighter characters, Guile!

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I lieu of me rambling at length, just listen click on the video below and get psyched for whatever you’re doing:

(This is a late post for Friday. Hanging in there at 2 missed posts. I feel like catching up on those last 2 posts is the procrastinating blogger’s equivalent of “losing the last 10 pounds” for a struggling dieter.)

The Anti-Life Equation and HIMYM

I’ve been doodling a revised costume for Darkseid on and off for several months (because that’s how I entertain myself), but I finally hunkered down and drew a finished sketch:

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You’ll note that I have changed Darkseid’s mini-skirt into a tunic over leggings. I kept the go-go boots though, because girlfriend can pull them off. The Omega motif refers to Darkseid’s Omega Beams naturally, but also refers to, you know, the end of all existence. I imagine this as some sort of triumphant future version of Darkseid

I have been sleeping poorly, but on the plus side, I’ve been drawing a lot while marathoning How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. The show is not without its faults–but the cast is strong, and the narrative structure is compelling. I confess that after shotgunning five or so seasons in the span of less than two weeks, I’ve started to get wrapped up in the lives of these characters. Also, I get emotional if I’m alone and have been sleep deprived. So when the episode about the death of Marshall’s dad came on at 2am while I was drawing Darkseid, yeah, I cried like a little baby.

I DENY THE ANTI-LIFE EQUATION, DARKSEID! WITH PERFORMANCES BOTH MOVING AND LAUGH-INDUCING BY EARTHLINGS SUCH AS JASON SEGEL, I SEE THAT EXISTENCE IS NOT FUTILE! DO YOU SEE, DARKSEID!? EVEN A WEIRDO RECLUSE SUCH AS I WILL SHED TEARS FOR THESE FICTIONAL MORTALS!

I DENY YOU, DARKSEID! I DENY YOU!

Okay, time for bed.

(Still behind by 2 posts! Working on it!)

My Diminuitive Equus

Do you follow me on Twitter? Occasionally hi-jinx happen there. For example, last week I tweeted:

Guys… am I EVER going to get my cutie mark?

And longtime friend of the blog @ChaosMonkey replied:

Your cutie mark is the furry underpants from Masters of the Universe. Now you must draw yourself as a pony. Congratulations.

And so, here we are:

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It was fun to try and capture the essence and color palette of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Visually, the show is really beautifully crafted, so hopefully I did it justice.

You will note that the inherent telekinetic abilities of a unicorn grant my pony avatar the means to draw nerdy-ass fan-art, in spite of having no opposable thumbs. I assure you there was no other motive in drawing my avatar as a fantastic, graceful, and majestic unicorn. None at all. Ahem. I used longer and leaner proportions to indicate age–I think it’s safe to assume that my pony avatar would be significantly older than the main characters of the show. And the slightly longer ears hint at some possibly asinine ancestry.

I MEAN… sure, in the past I have put the show on in the background while I draw. And yeah, my favorite characters are Rarity, Spike, and Princess Luna AKA Nightmare Moon,. But it’s not like I sit around and ship the characters, or draw the ponies as humans.*

So does that make me a “brony“? Pfft, I dunno, whatever. Like I even care.

(*Note to self: start drawing the ponies as humans)

(EDIT: Oops… I almost forgot to include my rambling tally of productivity–this sketch brings me down to 2 missed posts. Almost there!)

Twice As Crabby

Today’s sketches are two versions of one character–the twisted and indestructible crab/robot warrior known as Rampage, from Transformers: Beast Wars. On the left we have a sketch based on his animation model, and on the right a sketch based on his toy:

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These sketches are a thank you gift, and I started out basing my drawing on reference photos of the toy. It’s been a while since I watched Beast Wars, so I didn’t realize that the animation model was so different–many of the character models in Beast Wars are more similar to their toy counterparts. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I finished inking the sketch that I figured it out.

I could have scrapped the toy-version sketch, or jury-rigged it by using the colors of the animation model, but it was so close to being done I just decided to finish it and then start the proper version separately. The cartoon portrayed Rampage as a distinct character with a bit of complexity, so I wanted to acknowledge that with a more accurate drawing.

(These sketches will count as my two for this week. Holding steady at 3 missed posts. More in the pipeline, so I should catch up soon… )

A Random Assortment

As is occasionally my custom, I will draw some gift/thank-you sketches for my various cronies and co-horts. Here is a selection:

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From left to right:

Yes, that’s two back-to-back posts on this blog referencing ALF/Melmac. What can I say, I’m living the dream.

(For those tracking my productivity deficit…

Let’s count one of these sketches as last week’s missed second post, and then count another two of these as the two posts for this week. The Rocketeer is a gimme, since I’ve drawn commission busts of him before–my policy is that “repeats” don’t count towards my weekly posting quotas. That leaves one “extra” sketch, which will bring my total deficit down to 3 missed posts.

I’m getting there, slowly but surely. I know this pedantic accounting is interesting to no one aside from myself, but please humor my attempts at staying statistically productive.)

JLF

JLF, as in “Jedi Life Form.”

I’m continuing to mine old drawings for coloring practice/blog posts. This gem is a nerdy mash-up from about 9 years ago, and features a Melmacian Jedi. Melmacians being from Melmac. Melmac being the home planet of Gordon Shumway. Gordon Shumway being the full name of the alien known as ALF.

Listen, people, I don’t have any explanation for my behavior, past or present, so let’s just go with it, okay?

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I’ll be honest, when I drew this, it was pretty much for a cheap larf. As such, I didn’t do the requisite research, which would have revealed to me that Jedi Padawan only have one braid. Would two braids mean that this guy skipped a grade? Or was held back? Man, I don’t know.

Anyways, flash forward to the present… I colored this particular Melmacian with dark skin and sun-bleached fur so that he would look distinct from ALF. I mean come on folks, a Melmacian Jedi is one thing, but it’s just plain laughable to think that Gordon Shumway would become a Jedi. For starters, the Star Wars movies took place in the past, so we don’t even know if Jedi exist in the present. And second, it seems highly unlikely that Gordon would have the discipline to become a Jedi. I’m just saying.

Ahem. The background was cobbled together purely in Photoshop with some digital smoke and mirrors. You know–cheap parlor tricks. However, I think it more or less works, and adds some appropriate atmosphere.

In conclusion, all I can say is…

Ha! I kill me!

You see, because that was ALF’s catchphrase… I should just go now…

WAIT A MINUTE, this is MY blog! Why don’t YOU go!?

Wait, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it–I want you to stay and take a look around. Let’s be friends.

*transcript continues on for another 10 pages*

(This counts as post #1 for this week. Keeping steady at a deficit of 4 missed posts.)

A Polaris-izing Issue

So back in the early 2000’s, I believe this was when Kia Asamiya was drawing X-Men, Polaris had her outfit redesigned drastically. The result was that she looked a lot like Morrigan from Darkstalkers:

 
I drew this for my pal Molly last weekend at Comic-Con. What you’re looking at is actually a photo snapped from my ancient flip-phone, rather than an actual scan. For a old-ass phone, it takes pretty decent photos!

Okay, time to sleep.

(This counts as post #2 for this week, so I’m keeping steady at a deficit of 4 missed posts.)

Here Comes An Old Challenger!!!

I am not a winner.

No, seriously, I entered the Masters of the Universe Classics Create-A-Character Contest, and I didn’t win. But now have some art to post for my blog, sucka! WHO’S THE WINNER NOW??? (Hint: still not me.)

Ahem. My design was actually just an update of a fan character that I created a few years ago. You can see the original version here. And now, the fairly new (from December 2011) updated version:

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Maybe I would have more to say, but let’s face it, Comic-Con just ended, so I’m just grateful to not be peeing in a bottle or trying to use silverware as a straw.

(This counts as post #1 for this week, so I’m keeping steady at a deficit of 4 missed posts. Perhaps I’ll be able to catch up before August… )

Mummy Knows Best

Here’s yet another ~10 year old piece, brought to life with new colors:

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Man, there is… a lot going on with this drawing (good, bad, and ugly). I don’t know if I can talk about this coherently, so let’s just take an inventory of some of the weirdness here:

  • Cartoony proportions on the heroine are executed poorly, making her look like a big boobed dwarf. Maybe that’s not so bad? I’m undecided.
  • Blunderbuss with skull-and-crossbones relief sculpted on the stock. The execution isn’t great, but come on, that’s a decent idea, right?
  • Crop-cricle-esque patterns on the mummy’s sarcophagus, implying an extra-terrestial aspect to the mummy. Just a little bit of extra intrigue thrown in at no extra cost.
  • The mummy’s bandages are way too skinny. What the heck!

At the time that I drew this, I was pretty much maxing out my skills, so even though I can draw much better now, I’m glad I that I could bring some competent colors to the piece. The me of 10 years ago would be pleased, I think. I learned a lot while coloring this, and I’m in one of those creative phases where I feel like I might actually possibly know what I’m doing. Don’t worry folks–such phases are short-lived for any self-respecting artist.

(This counts as post #2 for this week, so I’m keeping steady at a deficit of 4 missed posts. I’m posting early because Comic-Con is later this week, but I’ll be on-track to continue catching up on my missed posts when I get back. I know no one cares about this except for me, but what can I say–if I don’t keep me honest and working, who will? See you on the other side, folks! *dives head first into Comic-Con*)

Test Patterns of Terror

Today I’ve got another ~10 year old piece, freshened up with new colors:

 
It feels good to color these old pieces. It’s great coloring practice, plus I’m taking care of unfinished business with more proficiency than I ever could have when I actually drew these pieces.

(This counts as post #1 for this week, so I’m keeping steady at a deficit of 4 missed posts.)

I Know What You Did CAST Summer

(Maybe the worst pun-title on this blog ever, and that’s saying something.)

Last summer I drew an Autobot symbol on my co-worker’s son’s cast. You can see that HERE.

Well, as it happened, he had to have his cast re-done before his arm completely healed, so I ended up doing a second cast-drawing for him. However, I was in the midst of the commission-frenzy last summer and had no time to post a photo of it. And then I just plain forgot about it. Well, here it is (and don’t worry, the kid’s arm is totally okay now!):

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Art by me. Child courtesy of Blabidibla, photos by Ruth666.

This cast was a different material, and the deep blue color made drawing on it difficult, so I put down a layer of white paint first. After that dried, I sketched out my drawing, and filled it out in marker. The first cast-sketch was definitely better executed, but this one has a better concept (AUTOBOT GAUNTLET OF POWERRR).

This was a lot of fun. BUT THAT DON’T MEAN I WANT YOU KIDS BREAKIN YER BONES! BE CAREFUL FER CRYIN OUT LOUD!

(After this one, 4 missed posts to make up!)

Multiple Incarnations

If you do something like give me a pair of cool-looking goggles from Restoration Hardware because I couldn’t find them myself, chances are I will write you a thank you note with a drawing on the envelope. And if the first syllable of your named rhymes with hell, that drawing will probably depict you as Hellboy (Hellvin), and me as Abe Sapien (Jabe Sapien?):

 
This is from several years ago, which you might have guessed from the date in the signature, and from the fact that I’m depicted without my passé-but-still-present mohawk. The background you see is actual envelope (with minor touch-ups), which I left in for flava. The computer colors are new, and were laid in just this past weekend.

A few years ago that same friend was coming up on a noteworthy birthday, and his wife (also a dear friend) asked me to design a mini-statue of him to commemorate the occasion. I whipped up a quick turnaround for her sculptor:

 
And here’s what the mini-statue looks like:

 
It’s a lot of fun to see your work translated into the 3rd dimension! My apologies, I don’t remember the sculptor’s name/URL–that info will be added here if I can find it.

(This post contains two pieces of artwork by me, so that brings the total count of missed posts down to 5!)

A neon gorilla…

Look at me, posting multiple times in one day, as if I were a productive person with any kind of creative output at all! See, told you there’d be more art coming!

 
This is a very old drawing, from just under 10 years ago. I don’t ink this way anymore, but I still like the drawing (maybe just because I still think gorillas are awesome), so I decided to use it for a coloring exercise.

It’s interesting and a bit strange to be coloring myself from 10 years ago, because it feels like I’m coloring another person. A person I know very well, but another person nonetheless. I’m very aware that this art came from a place that still exists somewhere inside my head, but ten years of separation creates a very real level of detachment.

I have some more of these older pieces that I’ll be coloring. It’s a nice change of pace for me, and a good way to get out of my head and focus a bit more on the colors specifically.

(After this one, 7 missed posts to make up.)

In space, no one can hear you ARRR…

Asteroid-alloy sword, check
Laser-flintlock, check.
Space treasure chest full of cosmic coinage, check.
Robot skull-and-crossbones, check.
Leggy space pirate, check and CHECK.

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Avast, you scurvy space dogs, we be boarding Friday with our daggers in our teeth and our cutlasses at our side, and we’ll be raiding the weekend for all it’s worth! FORWARD, LADS! THE SOLAR WINDS BE AT OUR BACKS! ARRRRRRR….

(Yes, I have lost my damn mind yet again.)

(I almost forgot–still treading water at 8 missed posts to make up. More art coming soon, promise!)

“I gather darkness to please me…”

Hey, looks like I can reveal one of the things I was working on:

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This is a cover that I drew for an exclusive edition of Marceline and the Scream Queens #1 (an Adventure Time spin-off), published by BOOM! Studios. This exclusive is debuting at the Southern Maryland Comic-Con (this Saturday, July 7th!), and will be available at the other cons run by Awesome Conventions.

A gold star to whoever can name the album cover that this is an homage to!

(Information for those who follow this blog regularly: still treading water with 8 posts missed, but I have things lined up. Stay tuned for more stuff… )

T & A stands for toons and art… right?

Hey, look at me, posting sketches on my sketch blog! Whaddaya know!

Many moons ago, I posted a sketch of Jessica Rabbit. In a very delayed fashion, I am now following that up with a series of drawings featuring other cartoon bombshells. Here’s the original vintage cartoon pin-up girl, Betty Boop:

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Betty Boop is usually depicted in a red dress, but I decided to give her a black dress and pale skin that would be reminiscent of her original black and white appearances. The colors on this piece are not as strong as the other pieces in this series, but I’m happy with how the drawing turned out. I think I did a decent job of translating Betty Boop’s features and proportions into my style.

Next up is Jessica Rabbit’s cinematic contemporary, Holli Would (from the movie Cool World):

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I’m pretty happy with this one. The pose has some energy, and the colors worked out.

I’ve got a few more characters in mind for this series, but if I’m gonna be totally honest here, I don’t know when I’ll get around to them. I guess you’ll just have to stick around and keep reading this blo–no wait, don’t go…

Man. :(

(Let’s consider these pieces my two updates for this week. I’ll be posting more art this week, and those will go towards making up my missed posts. Keeping pace and treading water at 8 missed posts… )

The art of updating without updating…

(8 posts behind as of this writing)

I literally spent all my free time this week drawing/coloring pieces I’m really proud of… that I can’t show yet. However, that said, I spent my weekend watching movies and listening to podcasts whilst drawing/coloring stuff for blog posts. My goal is to completely catch up by Comic-Con (July 11), at which point I’m sure I will promptly fall behind again.

I could post a blog sketch now, but it has a companion piece, and I want to see if I can wrap up that one as well and post them together. Art soon, I promise!