This One Goes to Eleven

Here's the ridiculous rock-star wannabe I had hoped to post yesterday, for you to laugh at tonight. Not much to say about this, other than to state the obvious: Drawing silly hair, stupid pants, and HUGE boots is "FUN."

That, and I screwed up on the speaker.

Oh well. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view.

Maniacal Metal Monday Night

Alright, I was tired after workin' today and didn't get a sketch finished. The hair rocker I was preparing for y'all is still in my desk at work; hopefully I'll finish it tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this INSANITY that Ken found.

Laser gun-slingin', kung fu-fightin', mystical-mojo space cowboys fighting to insane "metal" music. This will either improve your life immeasurably, or destroy your MIND. Either way, PREPARE YOURSELF.

I seriously have NO IDEA exactly what the heck this is. I'm pretty sure it's the distilled essence of AWESOME.

Maynard's Bowsprit Ornament

Okay, I usually put somewhere in the blog "I'm happy with how this one turned out," because I so seldom actually AM. I'm a huge critic of my work, as most of you know already. Today, though... maybe it's the spirit of the holiday. Maybe I've reached a new artistic plateau. Maybe I'm an arrogant pirate at heart. I don't know.

I freakin' LOVE this one.

I wanted to post some older pirate sketches I'd done in the past, but they were too light to scan properly, so I drew this at work. Ol' Edward Teach, BLACKBEARD himself. Well, most of him anyway; I only drew his head. Which I didn't remember until later is terribly fitting, seein' as that was all Maynard left of the salty sea dog & terror of the high seas. So don't let the flaming wicks tied into his beard, his wild eyes, or his fancy hat scare ye'; click the thumbnail for a larger view.

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Y'aar... and there be more t' come, lads and lasses. In honor o' this most auspicious day I'll be postin' more piratical-type sketches later this afternoon or evenin'. In the meantime, clickin' the picture above'll lead you to history on this most roguish of holidays. Yo ho!

"He's Just a Dude, Really"

Today's addition IS a sketch, but not one of mine. My good friend Kevin has allowed me to post this MOST-EXCELLENT sketch of his creation, Thomas Deckard, on my blog to share with all of y'all. Next to it is my digital ink-and-coloring of it. As I mentioned before, I'm trying to practice doing more of that to save me time at the drawing table (when I do eventually get back to it).

Deckard is a cool character Kevin runs with online; he's a retired Marshal makin' his way through the cosmos as best he can, tryin' to follow the straight-and-narrow when those around him can't even seem to find it. My friends always come up with great characters, and (if they'll let me) I'll try to ink-and-color, then show off, some more coming up soon. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view.

Ninjas, NOT Banditos

This is an older sketch (a Brand X Classic ^TM), but it's a theme I often go back to: Ninjas riding dinosaurs. This is different than the work of the folks at Dr. McNinja, who use BANDITOS riding Velociraptors. The other key difference, of course, is that Dr. McNinja's creator, Chris Hastings, can draw dinosaurs that look like ACTUAL dinosaurs. But I digress.

At some point I'd love to do something completely ridiculous comic-wise with these guys, but for now I'm content to keep them a fun running joke amongst friends. Click the thumbnail for a larger view.

Dumb Muscle, Smartly Dressed

Not sure what I'll ever do with this guy, if anything, but he was sure fun to draw. It's always entertaining (to me at least) to take a big buff guy and put him in a suit. I usually draw those guys in torn t-shirts and biker jeans, so this is a bit of a departure. His anatomy is ridiculous, but when is that NOT true in my art? I go with it. Also, I stole his tie from Serenity's Dr. Mathias... but he's dead, so he won't care, right? Click the thumbnail for a larger view.

Fuzz of The Future

I plan to start drawing some Commander X comics again soon, but I want to put more time and effort into designing their world first. One of the things I never liked about the "Fortune-Cookie Fiasco" was how little time I left myself to flesh out the world I had them running around in. The police cars that chased them were especially lousey, so I started there to have them ready for the next comic I needed them in. This was a quick sketch so I'm not too bothered that the lettering is crooked, but I'm going to have to try and make the next flying car I design look a little less like a DeLorean (the kids were very supportive and complimentary, though). Click the thumbnail for a larger view.

"How do I look?" "Like a hood ornament."

I did these sketches awhile back in the hopes that they might appear in the Comic-Con program this year (or some more finalized version of my take on Cliff Secord, anyway). Every year the Con organizers accept submissions for properties celebrating anniversaries that year, and this year was The Rocketeer. I ended up not submitting, though, when it was decided we wouldn't be going this time. I'm still happy with how the designs came out, though, and I may do something with 'em yet. Click the thumbnail for a larger view.

More Fedoras

Alright, again, NOT a sketch... but it was news to me and OH HOLY CRAP:



This is in addition to the actual LEGO sets being released early next year, which you can read more about here.

"Four playsets based on the classic trilogy are slated to launch in January 2008. Three sets based on iconic scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark include: Temple Escape ($49.99 USD) which brings the legendary rolling boulder scene to life in LEGO form as Indy faces spiders and poisoned darts in his search for the Golden Idol of Fertility. With Race for the Stolen Treasure ($29.99 USD), kids build two desert vehicles and recreate Indy's truck-hopping fight to save the treasure. Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb ($19.99 USD) recreates the eye-popping suspense of Indy rescuing Marion from slithering snakes in an Egyptian tomb. And based on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade action, Motorcycle Chase ($9.99 USD) depicts the scene where Indy and his father escape with the map to the hidden temple.

Four more constructible playsets based on the fourth movie will launch in May 2008, with suggested retail prices ranging from $9.99 to $79.99 USD."

1060 West Addison

So this isn't exactly a sketch... or completely NEW... but I was inspired and I went with it. I'm also hoping if I start responding to comments, you folks will continue to post 'em... so this one's for YOU, Mr. Adams.

I'm very pleased with how this came out, especially since I digitally inked the Brothers using my USB tablet and PhotoShop. I don't usually do that (this is the first time I've done it and been happy with the results). Quite a few web comics "pros" do it that way, though, so it's about time I practiced. As always, click the thumbnail below for a larger view.

It's 106 Miles to Chicago...

Yesterday, Tammy and her family were kind enough to invite me along to the Sunday Gospel Brunch at The House of Blues in Anaheim. Needless to say, it was RIGHTEOUS (literally and figuratively). In honor of this most-excellent experience, I thought I'd post a sketch I did at work a couple weeks back. One of my students was talking about The House of Blues, and the other kids at my table didn't know who The Blues Brothers were when I commented about them. I whipped up this quick sketch to educate 'em, seein' as how that's my JOB. Click the thumbnail for a larger view.