MACHO WEEK!!! (Part 2 of 3, The Moldy Oldie Edition)

MACHO WEEK continues, with a piece of vintage nerdery from my archives, drawn and colored in 1999. TWELVE years ago.

Let's think about this people. That was before 9-11, before the dot-com bust, before the (still ongoing) energy crisis, before I owned a car or a DVD player. I was fresh out of college, just starting out full time at the day-job after interning there for 2 years (same day-job that I have today, by the way), and living in a tiny studio apartment that paradoxically had a huge walk-in closet (which I filled up with comic books and action figures--mostly Beast Wars at the time).

So... I confess, this was drawn to impress a geeky girl who I was talking to at the time. Believe it or not, the subjects in the illustration were our common points of interest--and there's the Macho One himself, front and center! Oh, and I'm in the picture too, inbetween Optimus Prime in Pikachu, because apparently I have a raging ego. For what it's worth, I think the girl was in fact impressed by this. However, things didn't work out for a number of complicated reasons which I will not bore you with. You know how it goes.

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Man, just look at this thing. It was one of the first things I ever colored in Photoshop, and I thought I was pretty hot stuff, using the Dodge/Burn tool to render the shading. WHAT WAS I THINKING?

And yet, here we are, twelve years later. My drawing is a little better, and my coloring is much better. And I still pretty much won't shut up about Macho Man, Transformers, Batman, Pokemon, Miyazaki movies, and Bruce Lee.

Tune in on Friday for the final installment of MACHO WEEK!!!

Moldy Oldies: MEOW!

Still not 100% set-up on the new computer--bear with me folks. This piece isn't terribly old, but it isn't terribly recent either:

Drawn for a friend who was obsessed with her neighbor's cat.

Moldy Oldies: Porsche + BONUS

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

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: Humvee

Drawn for an animation pitch circa 2003:

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I tried some forced perspective here, doing my best to make an epic GaoGaiGar type pose.

Moldy Oldies: Enzo

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

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!

Moldy Oldies: Child Star

Drawn for an animation pitch circa 2003:

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My brain is checked out--I'm ready for Thanksgiving vacation. Nothing further, your honor.

Moldy Oldies: Obsolete Tech!

Drawn for an animation pitch circa 2003:

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Other than the fact that this kid is holding some kind of PDA, I think this piece holds up pretty well, six years later. Geez kid, get a Blackberry or something, will ya?

Moldy Oldies: Like A Rock!

I was strong as I could be!

Drawn circa 2000 for an animation pitch:

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Probably one of my very earliest (completed) attempts at digital coloring.

Moldy Oldies: Pamcakes!

A commisioned piece for an animation pitch--a surly beaver with an eyepatch who wants you to stay away from his pancakes:

You'd better do what he says!

Moldy Oldies: Taken for a Ride

Drawn circa 2006...

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The colors on this one were problematic as well, so I adjusted them to be suitable for posting. VROOOM!

Moldy Oldies: Pissed Off Elf

I believe this is the first 100% digital piece I ever did, circa 2003-2004. The colors were pretty awful and over-saturated, so I adjusted them.

That elf sure looks pissed off about something. He's probably angry beause his favorite sketchblog decided to run old artwork for the next few weeks.

Moldy Oldies: The Pits

It was not so long ago that I expressed regret over the amount of old artwork that I have been posting. Well, sadly, I've been treading water since then, barely able to complete my posts in a timely manner. So instead, I've decided to strip-mine my art archives, and post an extended series of old artwork in order to give myself time to catch up and stockpile new posts.

Many of the pieces in the coming weeks were drawn for friends, some were drawn for pitches and projects, and none of these pieces has ever really been seen by more than a handful of people. In other words, this art should be new to you, dear reader.

First up... a get well card drawn for a friend, circa 2005.

It seems like everyone I know has been sick multiple times this year, and I myself have been transformed into a plague-infested bag of putrid virulence on at least three (3) separate occasions this year (feeling well currently, knock on wood). So if you've got a sick friend, send 'em this pic! The terrible pun and intentionally over-saccharine image will either make them feel better... or finish the job. Okay, maybe you shouldn't send this to anyone.

Flashback Friday Returns... Yay?

I posted a picture of a lumberjack some time ago, which was originally commisioned by my friend James, as part of an animation pitch. Here's a forest ranger from the same pitch:

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I'm still pretty happy with this piece, I think it holds up alright--but let's be honest folks, my blog posts this year (so far) have been all over the place.... tons of last minute posts and Flashback Fridays. I'll endeavor to (metaphorically) provide fresher produce in the future.

Flashback Tuesday!? Booooooo!

Drawing myself in a bacta tank must have helped, because I'm feeling much better. But I'm terribly short on time this week. Here's a sketch from quite a few years ago, inspired somewhat by a slick-looking billboard that I saw on Olympic Blvd every time I drove home from ye olde daye jobbe. That billboard was up for so long it eventually faded to the point of being nearly unrecognizable.

This was completely done in Photoshop. I really should probably post more pieces like these--not super old stuff from the archives, but spontaneous sketches that aren't so planned out. Thinking aloud stops here.

Going Green (Part 4 of 4)

When I was kicking around this impossible-in-reality idea for the Green Lantern Corps, the idea of using alien species from non-DC Universe franchises, was really just for flavor--I had some actual plot ideas as well. The biggest plot point was that Sinestro would be reinstated into the Green Lantern Corps (as he had been during the events of Emerald Twilight). The key to this idea was that it wasn't a short term turn of events to be quickly undone, rather it would be the new status quo--whatever his intentions, Sinestro would have been working with the good guys for an extended period of time:

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Believe it or not, I drew this sketch some time ago, long before the Rebirth storyline--so the resemblance to Sinestro's current uniform is actually just a coincidence. Of course, as a result of the aforementioned Rebirth storyline, it would be difficult (if not impossible) to write a credible story rehabilitating Sinestro in any way, shape, or form. I'm okay with that, because not only do I dig Sinestro's current uniform (I even drew it once... sort of), I think the storyline of the Green Lantern(s) has been hitting all the right notes in recent years. But if Geoff Johns ever gets sick of his job, I'll be glad to take over.

Going Green (Part 3 of 4)

Today's post is probably my favorite of the set (I know, I always seem to shoot myself in the foot by posting my favorite sketch in a set second-to-last, but there's a good reason the next post is the last in the set). Anyways, here's a rookie Rodian Green Lantern:

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For my first take on this guy (left), I gave him the traditional Green Lantern insignia, but on the second take (right), I gave him Kyle Rayner's insignia, to emphasize his rookie persona. The next post is NOT a Green Lantern whose species originates from outside the DC Universe.

Going Green (Part 2 of 4)

Following the Skrull and Wookie from my last post (doesn't Skrull & Wookie sound like the name of a really nerdy tavern?), here's a Klingon Green Lantern:

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My apologies to hardcore Trekkies, the Bat'leth and D'k tahg were drawn without reference, so the details are a little sloppy. Stay tuned for more nerd synergy!

Going Green (Part 1 of 4)

Let's dial up the nerdiness here... a while back, I had an idea for the Green Lantern Corps which could never ever be officially made--the gist of it was to populate the Corps with aliens from various science fiction franchises. And even though it could never be officially produced, I still drew up a bunch of character designs. Yes folks, this is how I choose to spend my free time.

These sketches were done quite some time ago--for the first installment, a Skrull and a Wookie:

As you might notice, these are blue pencil sketches, hastily inked and colored with marker. I basically just wanted to get these down on paper, rather than stress out over them. I'm not trying to make excuses though--that Skrull's foot is terribly contorted and way too big. The next installment will be better, promise.