Cartoons, Cartoons!!!

As I've been working on these drawing collaborations lately, I've been tending more and more towards severe cartooning and simplification when it comes to my pencils.

Well... "severe" might be a little strong, but still, I'm finding that drawing like I was going to be drawing for animation (whilst acknowledging comics at the same time) has become very enjoyable, partially because I think I'm beginning to understand simplification better.

What you see above is just me putting down whatever comes to mind and going for it.

I know I was bemoaning tight pencils on here the other day and I suppose that's hypocritical as these pencils are fairly tight... for me at least.

It was a little nerve wracking in certain places here as I felt compelled to get my pencil line EXACTLY, but for the most part I think things turned out well.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more!!!

Electric Forest (Blanka Remix)

I said yesterday that I'm running out of nice things to say about Josh's work.

It's a new day, and I still find myself in the same predicament.

I was fortunate enough to see Josh working on this yesterday in the afternoon/evening and it was a real treat watching this piece evolve. Everytime I looked over to his side of the drafting table, something new and cool had been added to the piece.

This is by far one of the most successful collaborations that this little collective has produced. Josh and Schuyler should both be very proud of themselves.

The Return of In-Progress JOSHMO!!!

When Josh collaborated with us a couple of weeks ago on the Turtles pieces, this blog saw it's most consistent traffic since I was doing comic work April-May.

Coincidence?

Methinks not as Josh creates SUPERIOR work!!!

Josh came through a couple of nights ago and saw Schuyler's half-finished pencils from Street Fighter week laying out. He expressed interest in finishing Schuyler's work in ink and he came by last night to do just that.

Honestly, I'm running out of nice things to say about Josh's work. He's nailed the Blanka figure (props to Schuyler too for the pose and laying down the construction) and I can't wait to see what he does with the background.

Be sure to check back later in the week to see what he puts down!!!

Avada Kedavra!!!

Some part of me can't believe I'm such a geek and that I titled this post what I did.

Such is life.

As I mentioned yesterday, I can be a bit apprehensive at times when it comes to inking REALLY tight pencils. Charles tends to do REALLY tight pencils and I was worried that I'd be reduced to simply tracing his lines with my brush instead of actually embellishing them.

While Charles' pencils WERE tight, (see below) I was still able to add my own little flourishes in the inking stage. Inking this piece was also a great learning experience as I was forced to feather my ink lines, (something I don't usually do with my own work) and I found that doing so can actually be a lot of fun.

When it came time to color, I took a couple of different approaches before settling on what you saw at the top of this post (and again below). I initially tried a water-colorish approach for EVERYTHING but that wasn't really agreeing with what had been laid down in ink, so I opted to go a different route.

I'm really pleased with my color choices and how I handled the background. One of my roommates commented on this while I was still working, saying that he linked how I had the curse kind of enveloping Voldemort's hand as he prepared to cast it towards the light. I'm not sure if I feel the same way and I'll have to sit on it today and then maybe go back and change it.

My pencils for Charles will be up tomorrow along with one or two other things if all goes well...

Be sure to check back!!!

The OTHER Dark Lord o' Light

It's a new week and that means there's a new theme and a new guest collaborator on the blog!!!

This week, we are lucky enough to be collaborating with Mr. Charles Stewart III. Charles has turned in some brilliant pencils and declared, "Harry Potter" the theme for this week.

I was a little worried about getting these pencils at first because Charles likes to pencil REALLY tight.

It's hilarious too because he's one of the best inkers to come out of MCAD in recent years and I keep telling him to let go a little bit.

While the pencils you see above are indeed tight, they're looser than what he's shown me in the past. It's been very enjoyable for me to ink his work as a result.

On an un-related note, I made a trip to the figure drawing co-op yesterday and worked from a live model for the first time in a minute. I finished four of the models poses in pencil and I'll be doing simple ink and color illustrations this week (like the one below) to supplement the collaborative work.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for my inks and colors over Charles' pencils!!!

Light o' the Sith Lord's Lightsaber

^^^I can't get down like that.

When Dan gave this to me yesterday I about flipped out. I've long struggled with hard light and big black areas and Dan showed his absolute mastery of both in this piece.

Looking at this piece is a lot of fun. I was name dropping Charles Burns, Seth Fisher, and those folks in my last post where I spoke on Dan's work but this is more like an engraving or something... Lynd Ward by way of Frank Miller circa 1993... I don't even know.

I left Dan to do pretty much whatever he pleased with regards to the background. I think he did a great job of isolating Darth Maul and also having the rancor blend in seamlessly with the background in certain places.

Tomorrow I'll be posting my pencils for Mr. TJ Nasti to ink...

Be sure to check back!!!

(Dark) Lord of Light

There's something about these Star Wars pieces...

I was initially taking a very traditional approach when coloring this. About a quarter of the way through, I had a change of heart.

I haven't done a lot of coloring where I've only used one real color and done subsequent rendering with various shades of said color.

I decided that particular method of coloring would be appropriate for this piece decided to give it a shot.

I cheated a bit here as I through some pink in for Darth Vader's lightsaber. I couldn't QUITE get the amount of color emanating from said light-saber correct though but it's a minor nit-pick.

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Also, credit must be given to Dan as his original pencils suggested such great lighting.

Speaking of Dan, he dropped off his finished inks this afternoon and they're pretty wild. His use of light is both incredible and enviable... he did a really nice job of making my pencils his own and I'll have his finished work up tomorrow.

Be sure to check back!!!

Ligne Claire, Ligne Claire... Barely There?

Should I attempt to have all my post titles this week rhyme?

*Listens to silence and crickets chirping*

Moving right along.

I had originally planned to get my Joe Kubert/Jordi Bernet on with this piece but it just wasn't happening.

Dan and I had a brief conversation while exchanging these and I told him (just like I tell everyone who I've been collaborating with) that should he desire to make some changes to my work, he should feel free to do so.

He gave me similar permission and I decided to take this one up and away.

I'm going to begin coloring this shortly and I'm going to do my best to replicate that which you see in European BD.

Better believe I'll be busting out my Moebius short stories and Geoff Darrow comics!!!

Sith Lords and Rancors (<--- RZA-style rhymin')

It's funny because as I was finishing this, I texted Dan (this week's guest artist, our third) and told him that he'd be inking Darth Maul in a stand-off with a Rancor. He responded almost immediately and told me that he'd drawn Darth VADER in a stand-off with a Rancor.

Great minds think alike, huh?

I'm REALLY excited to see what Dan does as he brought over a personal project of his (a very LARGE drawing featuring CONAN and a Rancor). He's getting some UNBELIEVABLY nice lines with a Sharpie and the things looks like the love-child of of Geoff Darrow, Frank Frazetta, Charles Burns, and Jim Woodring.

I know that's about the strangest cocktail of influences you could ever hope to see together but that's what it is.

Check back tomorrow for some of my inks over Dan's pencils!

FINISHED TOYTLES!!!

I thought a double post-would be a bit obnoxious so I'm laying both Josh and my versions in here.

This one is 100% me, from pencils, to inks, to color.

This is the first time that I've inked and colored my own pencils in QUITE awhile and I'm very pleased with how things turned out.

I've been wanting to try out this kind of coloring for awhile now and this piece served as a guinea pig of sorts for me.

I colored all the characters like they were cartoon characters in old-school cell animation. I then did my best to "paint" the background and the I think the juxtaposition works well.

Above we have Josh's inks and colors over my pencils. I already said quite a bit about this piece earlier in the week so I'm gonna skip all that here and just say this...

WELL DONE JOSH!!!

It absolutely thrills me that he was able to inject so much of his own flavor into this, really making it his own.

Again, well done.

Be sure to check back Monday for work by our THIRD guest artist, Mr. Dan Levar!

There's Black... and Then There's White... (Apologies to Steve Ditko)

I kind of want to have a Mr. A week now...

For those who DON'T know who Mr. A is, I'd direct you here.

TJ pencils for this were something that I inked with great enthusiasm as I wanted to see just HOW WELL his spatial relationships would work out when things were reduced to just black and white.

I think he's done this week's most unique drawing without a doubt.

It's also a personal favorite of mine as you can turn it every which way and get a composition that still pretty much works and in some cases tells a different story...

Schuyler was not too thrilled with the fact that this is FLAT and it is.

I tried coloring it and after awhile I came to realize that it just needed to be left as is...

In Black and White.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for Josh's finished inks and colors over my pencils in addition to my inks and colors over my pencils!!!

Casey Jones (Watch Your Speed)

Elias Koteas.

The name ring a bell to anyone?

In case you haven't already IMDB'd the dude (is IMDB'd proper English?) Elias Koteas played Casey Jones in the first and third Ninja Turtles films.

Dude's a character actor (he last popped up in the remake of Let the Right one in) but to me he'll always be Casey Jones.

Of all the Turtles affiliates or what have you, Casey Jones was always my favorite. What's not to love about a dude who runs around in a goalie masks administering beat-downs to baddies with hockey sticks, cricket bats, and golf clubs!?

I can recall drawing Casey Jones once before. It was a swipe straight out of the comics and he was jumping up in the air screaming "Gongolla, gongolla, gongolla," or something equally ludicrous.

I kept the jump for this drawing but the war-cry and pose have been changed.

This is probably the busiest composition I've ever drawn. It took me a LONG time to figure out the logistics of things but it was well worth it.

Young Soap aka Scrubblin Dubblin with be inking this and I'll be adding color. I'll also be inking and coloring my own version of this.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for my finished inks over TJ's pencils in addition to my inks and colors over my pencils from earlier in the week. TJ's come up with something REALLY unique this for you guys, it reminds me of the Japanese Ukiyo-e infused pop art of the 60s.

In-Progress Joshmo TOYTLES

TOYTLES?

Yeah... anyone remember Rocksteady and Bebop?

Moving right along...

These are Josh's in-progress inks and colors over my pencils.

As I said yesterday, seeing this piece, even in progress, made me feel like I was four all over again. Josh has done a really wonderful job so far giving the drawing life and a sense of playfulness that's enviable.

I can't wait to see him finish this and I look forward to working with him again in the future.

Check back tomorrow for pencils by me or TJ with potential inks by me over TJ's pencils!

Up From the New York Sewers!!!

I don't know where to really start with this so I'll probably ramble a bit.

Actually, I ramble all the time, so there you go.

This was a breakthrough piece for me with regards to my inking.

Last week when I finished Phong's Akuma piece, I was forced to ink in a way that I hadn't in a while. When I saw Josh's pencils for this, I knew I'd have to do the same thing.

It was A LOT of fun working on this. I was immediately pleased with my inks upon finishing them but I knew coloring was going to be a whole other ball game as the composition is pretty busy and the turtles all had to be different colors!

I had a lot of good continuous feedback from both my roommate, Schuyler Huber, and Josh himself as all three of us were working on our pieces last night. We had a great energy going between the three of us and hopefully we all get in the same room to do it again soon.

Speaking of those two, Josh is a bout half-way done with his piece and it's BRILLIANT.

Seeing him working on it last night, I was four years old all over again, ready to go outside in my "Sweater" (I couldn't quite say "Shredder" back then as I had a bit of a speech impediment) costume and practice all my best slashes, kicks, and punches.

With any luck, Josh's piece will be up in a day or two. Check back tomorrow for the pencils I'll be giving Schuyler or an in-progress look at Josh's piece!

T-U-R-T-L-E Power!!!

Above you'll see the pencils submitted by this weeks guest artist, Josh Engen.

In case it's not obvious, this week's theme is Ninja Turtles!!!

I don't think I've ever met someone who doesn't connect with these characters on some level. They're four of the greatest comic book characters ever and their world/rogues gallery are equally awesome.

Josh certainly brought some of that love to this drawing and I can't wait to start inking/coloring it. I've never seen Josh's pencil lines and I was amazed at how clean they are. Coloring his work is going to be a little bit daunting as Josh colors A LOT better than me and also a really unique way of adding value to his drawings. The little polygonish blocks he uses will be his calling card one day and the prospect of seeing him adding some of those to my pencils (as seen below) is really exciting.

This is one of the busiest compositions I've ever done. I would have had a ball inking and coloring this and I'm very excited to see what Josh does to it.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more work! With any luck I'll have Josh's piece completed...

いぶき (Come Around Sundown)

TJ finished up inking my pencils yesterday and I was presented with the daunting task of coloring them.

Now, when I say DAUNTING, I mean D-A-U-N-T-I-N-G as I've had great difficulty coloring underneath pen lines in the past.

This kind of coloring is NOT how I choose to color normally but I'm starting to enjoy it. I started making attempts at applying color this way last week when I was working on coloring the Boba Fett piece that I pencilled and Schuyler inked. I was pleasantly surprised when I finished things up then and I was even more delighted this time around.

TJ should be congratulated here as he exhibited a great deal of restraint inking this thing. He could have GONE TO TOWN on that telephone pole giving you the raunchiest wood textures this side of milky way but instead he just threw in a little detail and trusted that I'd see things through in color.

Tomorrow we'll have my inks and (and possibly colors) over TJ's pencils and hopefully my inks over Schuyler's pencils too...

Stay tuned!!!

Some NASTI In-Progress Work...

These are TJ's partial inks over my pencils from the other day.

It's always cool to see someone finish my work with a pen because I really make an effort to use ONLY a brush if possible. Also, I don't know how to color pen drawings AT ALL so figuring out how to make this work is going to be an interesting little battle.

The finished version of this should be up tomorrow with any luck... if not, I'll have Schuyler's pencils for the week or me finishing TJ's pencils of Dhalsim from earlier in the week (more on that when I post).

Be sure to check back!

Acrylic Akuma

When I originally handed this off to Phong, he was planning on finishing it in colored inks. While I would have been fine with him finishing this that way, I was holding out all along for the acrylic treatment. I'm glad that he changed his mind.

I can't use acrylics to save my life and Phong has been using them (and using them brilliantly) for the better part of five years.

I pencilled this in a way that would leave a lot up to Phong and I think he delivered in every sense of the word. The background has been WORKED over and he turned my figure into something really wild, exaggerating what I gave him very successfully.

Check back tomorrow for TJs inks over my pencils (hopefully with color by me too) or Schuyler's pencils (which will eventually be inked by TJ and colored by me).

Sittin Sidewayz (High School Ninja Assassin Remix)

Mood Music

Alright, so that song doesn't have anything to do with this post but it popped into my head for a second and WHA-BAM!!!

This is my second pencilled piece for the week. I'm passing it off to Mr. TJ Nasti to finish in ink and I'll be adding color (get ready to see a PAINFULLY beautiful sunset in the background).

Ibuki is a characters who from what I understand, doesn't get a lot of love from the Street Fighter fan base. I've always found her to be cool though. Her animations in SF: 3rd Strike are GORGEOUS and the idea behind her character is pretty cool too... I mean, what's NOT to like about a high school ninja assassin?

Check back tomorrow for Phong's inks over my pencils!

Dhalsim and Mr. Nasti

I saw TJ working on this today almost threw a tantrum.

Why?

BECAUSE SCHUYLER GETS TO INK THIS INSTEAD OF ME!!!

TJ's pencils are pretty ideal. They're tight enough that you're not gonna get lost in the sauce (crunchy style) but they're also kind of open leaving a lot of room for the next person to add their own embellishments. He also has a real knack for exaggeration and it's made especially apparent here.

Check back tomorrow for either a SECOND pencilled piece by me (which will be inked by TJ and then colored by me) or Phong's inks and colors over my pencils.

豪鬼 (天)

Whoa... Lotso Japanese in that title, yeah?!

Anyways, today marks our collective's first collaboration with someone outside of our apartment.

The guest of honor this week is Mr. Phong Nguyen, who supplied with me a drawing Akuma of Street Fighter fame!

I've always enjoyed Phong's work because it it truly PHONG's work.

His work features consistently engaging compositions, brilliant use of color, and a vision that is his and his alone.

When Phong gave me the pencils for this, I was both terrified and excited... terrified because we have almost no stylistic over-lap, and excited because working on this piece was going to push me somewhere I probably hadn't been before.

He left a LOT up to interpretation in his pencils and I really wasn't sure where to take them. At first, I was inclined to do my regular whispy brush work and throw in a bunch of extra detail.

Ultimately, I decided to go for simplification and "graphic excellence" (<--- bit o' sarcasm folks, note the quotation marks) simplifying and distilling what I had to work with.

The end result is one that I'm incredibly happy with. Later in the week, Phong will be taking my pencils (seen below) and finishing them as he sees fit... I've been promised a MIND-BLOWING fireball in the background and I know he'll deliver.

Check back tomorrow for more work!!!

Even One More For Mandalore

Schuyler inked up his piece today and it's SOMETHING else.

When I saw this, I thought of it as some mash-up between Richard Corben/Vaughn Bode (something about the thug), Roger Dean, and Jim Steranko (Steranko LOVES the floor grid and Scrubs acknowledged said love in the lower left hand corner).

I already talked about Schuyler's unique handling of drapery and the environment so I don't think more needs to be said about THAT particular subject. He did a great job embellishing my original pencils in ink (as seen below).

When I sat down to color this, I knew I was going to have to do something different than usual. Feeling the Vaughn Bode/Corben influence... I did my best to imitate the kind of coloring you might see in Metal Hurlant back in the 70s. I'm pretty pleased with how things turned out, the clouds in particular...

Our first guest artist's pencils as finished by me debut tomorrow morning...

STAY TUNED