Festus D. Zuniga

I love how every once in awhile, a sketch will come out of pretty much nowhere. This one isn't EXACTLY like that, but it's pretty close.

I've been trying to design a possible nemesis for Captain Aristotle Cooke forawhile: A stone-cold strategist and cool thinker like Cooke... with his own "moral" code, sort of similar to Cooke... but unlike Cooke, this guy is a ruthless killer. I don't have too many characters that are really THAT evil (which is probably good), but I've been playing with ideas for one. Yesterday he emerged... while I was preparing to work with young children.

Sigh.

Don't worry, I put this sketch (and any thoughts of creating evil people) away before the kiddies sat down. After work I finished him up though, and aside from a strong resemblance to a smooth-headed Klingon, I think he looks pretty wicked. I guess we'll see if this pitiless bounty hunter, part-time assasin, and former war profiteer takes any jobs in the future.

Bada-Bing

One of the lesser-known members of famed super-group The Professionals appears today: The Atomic Suit. I've tried a few times to draw him, but he always ends up proving more of a challenge than I anticipate when I first sit down. Tonight's drawing was no exception, but for once I'm pleased enough with the result to share it. Fedoras are NOT easy to draw, by the way.

The Atomic Suit is a wise-guy, but not THAT wise. Although he's not always the "goodest" of the do-gooders, he's a valued member of the team and certainly holds his own when the going gets tough: The hi-tech circuitry and space-age fibers woven into his fantastic Italian suit allow him to fly, absorb energy, and fire blasts of intense power at his foes.

Click the thumbnail for a larger view:

Adventures in Confusion!

... because, apparently, it's just more fun to draw Commander X as slightly perplexed. Maybe it's because the character confuses (and surprises) me so often. The Commander has been my "flagship" character for years and drawing him has taught me quite a bit about creating comics. There's still so much to learn, though; not the least of which is his TRUE character. I seem to change him around constantly, which doesn't do much for his stories. That's one reason I haven't drawn too many of them lately.

I'll figure it out... eventually.

In the meantime, I'm much happier with this sketch of Commander X than I am of the last one I did; click the thumbnail below for a larger view:



Check back for another sketch tomorrow: I've still got to do one more for this week to keep on schedule!

The Meta-Human Millionaire

I'm a bit tardy this week, so I'm skippin' directly to the fully-colored image. I'll still post at least two more pencil sketches, but I've been working on this one for a bit anyway and I'm excited to post it.

Ever since I finished my Wozar "action" shot, I've been planning to give the other heroes from The Professionals that sort of special-effects treatment. Naturally, the first one I considered was Fab CEO. This is NOT that image (I'm still working on it mentally), but I did a quick sketch of him last week at work to get back into the groove of the character (and he's certainly groovy, I hope you'll agree). That sketch (on a 3x5 note card) turned into an inked-and-colored study in FABULOUSNESS which I now present to you. My friend Jim always knew how to create fun characters and this one is still my favorite. Enjoy this "classic clipping" from an old issue of The Professionals, and watch for a high-powered image of the Meta-Human Millionaire coming soon.

Exhibit 1066-N.01a

Artist's Rendition; Original Undergoing Restoration

Oak wood and iron shovel/voltaic string instrument

Between 900-1280 AD
Origin unknown (presumed Great Britain)

---

This piece remains a mystery to modern-day scholars and archaeologists. Although it clearly started its life as a simple garden tool, it was modified by a skilled craftsperson to become something much more. The iron of the shovel head is much denser and tougher than most iron alloys used during this time period; additional components have been welded and/or bolted to it as well. A simple galvanic plate in a flat box on the underside of the shovel provides limited power for musical performances. The sound quality of the instrument is of a high caliber even by today's standards. Some experts have termed the small pivoted extension below the six strings a "whammy bar" (there is great academic controversy on this point). Chemical analysis has shown that the source of the discoloration beneath this "whammy bar" is a dried fluid of some organic origin; this may possibly be bloody evidence of some long-ago battle.

Aside from the damaged etching "Narw..k" on the underside of the shovel's handle, there is little evidence of the item's creator, its owner(s), or its ultimate origin.

---

This item donated to the British Museum 4 December, 1893 by the famed explorer Sir Phineas Meriwether Hornsby IV, Air-Colonel Third-Class (Ret.) of Her Majesty's Thirty-Eighth Armored Zeppelin Division

Ain't That A Kick In The Head?

Man, I have been having WAY too much fun today.

I don't know what the deal is; normally this holiday bums me out. I've been WAITING for it to bum me out. Somehow, I've ended up in this crazy state of euphoria. Most of which I'm currently attributing to Whitesnake. This is seriously the funniest Valentine's Day I've ever had. I'm barely even gonna mention St. Valentine's Day Massacre like I normally do every year. This year I have Big Plans.

I created a fully-penciled, -inked, and -colored piece of "art" today. Most of this was done while listening to crazy 80's hair metal bands and so-bad-they're-good "love" songs. After I post this, I'm goin' downstairs... I'm gonna fire up the Guitar Hero III... and I'm gonna blast every cheezy rock ballad that game has. Then I'm gonna go to work (not my favorite part of these Big Plans, but whatever). Then I'm gonna get some Chinese food, come home, and watch a gangster movie. The entire time all of this is happening I will have the biggest grin on my face, mainly because I'm dodgin' this guy (as the J. Giles band once said: Love Stinks):



Quoth Cluracan of the Fair Folk: "It's amazing how much one can accomplish in an evening, if one is willing to expend a little effort, and to walk briskly."

The Helm of Nabu

Today's hero (from regular-ol'-boring Earth-1, or whatever it's called now) is Doctor Fate. I'll let Wikipedia sum it up, since it does it so well:

Doctor Fate is a succession of DC Comics sorcerers who also generally function as superheroes. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940).

This was Kent Nelson, the best known and longest used Doctor Fate. He was the son of an archaeologist who died discovering the tomb of the mystical being Nabu [Hence the title of this post -- Ed.]. The orphaned boy was trained by the ancient entity in the arts of magic.

Of course, as a kid, I didn't know any of that. I just knew that Doctor Fate had a wicked-sweet costume and did karate-chops on purple demon-squids or something.

Below is my rendition of the hero, sticking relatively close to the original. They redesign the costumes every other week anyway, so I'm sure it's close enough.

Click on the thumbnail for a larger view.

What's My Motivation In This Scene?

... you folks are, among other things.

Alright, no sketch tonight, but let me "lay it on the line." I've been frustrated with myself and my art lately. Haven't been doin' much lately (as I'm sure you've noticed) and it bugs me. I was chatting with a good friend this weekend about doing some comics or something, and I realized the following

TRUE FACTS:

• I haven't posted a new comic at BrandXCreations.com since December '06. Yikes.
• I haven't scripted (let alone DRAWN) a comic in nearly that long.
• My penciling, my inking, and my coloring have IMPROVED. A lot.
  

I don't like to brag. It makes me feel like a jerk. But all of you, my friends and family, have been so supportive I feel like I can and should. I also feel I should do something with that support.

I've been saving some cash and thinking about buying a new computer (RAPID TOPIC CHANGE). I'd like to use it for art, drawing with a tablet and doing more with PhotoShop and maybe other high-end programs. So I'm making a deal with myself and with all of you, if you'll help me.

I want to post at least THREE new drawings a week (two pencil sketches and one full-color image). Starting tomorrow, Monday February 11. I'll keep this up for a solid four weeks. If I can do that, I'll buy myself a new computer for my birthday.

This post is getting REALLY long, so I'll try to wrap it up. I'd like to ask all of you to keep me on the straight-and-narrow and make sure I do this. Comment and critique if you like; make your requests for sketches; give me grief in person. Whatever. I just miss drawing and I think NOT drawing is makin' me crazier than normal (which I'm sure you all know is really sayin' something). I'm hoping this will help motivate me and that I can have some fun in the process.

Alright, thanks for listening to me rant. Expect a drawing tomorrow (or later today, depending on when you read this). Thanks again to all of you who support me and put up with me.

More of the Folly of Youth...

Ah, some more creations from my younger days, updated and revitalized and made dorkier. Agent Crackshot and The Paladin were the special agents I created when I was in junior high school after my grandfather gave me my first rubber-band gun (it's a wacky story, but it's totally true). They were the head of their own special group of hi-tech espionage agents; they had flying cars and laser guns; they were always on top of every situation; they were everything I thought was cool.

... it was not until years later than I realized I had just re-created Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.. Oh well.

Anyway, here they are, recently re-drawn and updated. Sometime I may post the original designs (and those for Whiplash), but they're semi-embarassing. So probably not. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view: