A sad note...

This is running late even for me, but better late than never , eh?

Initially I wasn't going to do anything , but it seemed wrong not to note Michelle Nicastro's passing in some way. So I chose to do a request of my own.
Michelle Nicastro was the voice for Princess Odette in The Swan Princess, but oddly enough, even though she's known for her singing voice, she didn't do any of Odette's singing in the original film. The Swan Princessdidn't do very well in the theaters, but I know it meant quite a bit to a lot of people. In fact, while trying to refresh my memory as to what Odette looked like (you'd think after all the drawings I did of her I'd have her image ingrained forever in my memory) I came across quite a bit of fan art as well as several Cosplayers.  Once I started drawing Odette it all came back very quickly.

This suggestion was for the 1941 version of the Black Cat and since I've got kind of a thing for period superheroes and this one caught my attention.

Chun-Li is not character I know much about (other than the basics) since I'm not much into video games, but she'd been requested quite a few times and it seemed like it was time to do another video game character.

The Thundercats were actually a show that my oldest son used to like when he was very young and I kind of admired the animation in the opening credits. So this is my take on Lion-O though I'm sure it will upset a few purists, but hopefully not too much.

Season of the Witch...

...though Elvira says she's not a witch and I guess we'll just have to take her word for it. She seemed an appropriate suggestion considering what night this is...though Halloween is almost over. I have to really hand it to Cassandra Peterson for being able to take what was a silly little gig and make so much more of it and making it a lifelong career.

I also have to hand it to Neil Patrick Harris for not just ressurecting his career as an adult, but actually becoming a much bigger star now than he ever was when he was playing Doogie Howser, MD.

For those of you who don't recognize the Iron Maiden it would be well worth your time to do a little research into her history and the period when Wally Wood created the Thunder Agents. The Thunder Agents were some of the first comics I read as a young kid that I looked at in awe at such fantastic draftsmanship. Draftsmanship that I still look at in awe.
I find this odd, but this is the second time that PhotoBucket has decided that an image of mine was unsuitable for viewing. And the very strange thing is there is absolutely nothing racey about it that I can discern...or am I nuts? So I just uploaded it directly. The old fashoined way.

I hope you like this week's Fan Request Friday drawings. I have a couple of other cool projects that were suggested and will hopefully get through them before the week is out. So stay tuned...

Catching up...still...

...I had planned on doing two of these last week, but ran out of time so I decided to finish them this weekend. It also helped that one of them was suggested again this week.
To be absolutely honest someone suggested I draw Stephen Colbert, but I decided to draw his comic/animated personna Tek Jansen. The Cobert suggestion seemed to make sense to honor his March to Keep Fear Alive rally (which has since combined with Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity. Consider it my little contribution to restore sanity - or keep fear alive.

Nightcrawler drawn as a pirate seems to be a popular suggestion and it appears to have some comic context though I must have missed that particular run of comics.

And I also missed the entire on and off comic career of Cloak and Dagger. I've seen some images of them, but have no knowledge of their history other than what I just read on Wikipedia.

The ticking clock...

When I woke up this morning I had fully intended to do several pictures for Fan Request Friday. I even picked for out and roughed them out, but as the day wore on and other things came up. Time started to get away from me and I only had time for this one before I needed to dive back into the freelance. I'm hoping that throughout the week I'll be able to find time to finish the other three and post them.
The good news about one of the activities that I was involved with today is that I found an entire unopened box of my first sketchbook -Expressions & Attitudes 1. I thought I had virtually sold out of these and had even removed the link from the side of this page to purchase it. I'll have to add that later when I have a few minutes, but in the meantime if you want it just use the link for my second sketchbook and include on the PayPal instructions to let me know you want sketchbook 1.

Anyway, this weeks choice is Vampirella. It seemed appropriate with Halloween coming up...

Monkeying around...

When I was young the Planet of the Apes series was one of my favorite reasons to go to the movies (yes, I'm that old) and it wasn't until much later that I realized that only the first movie was really any good. I'm sure the fact that it was written by Rod Serling probably had something to do with that and Charlton Heston's over the top, stilted acting was actually acceptable (not something you could always say about his acting - Moses? Really?)
Taylor and Nova have been suggested every week since the time I started the Fan Request Fridays by a friend so I thought it was time to reward his persistence. I'm not sure I completely succeeded in capturing Heston or Linda Harrison but I damn well nailed the rifle.

Can you see the Thundarr...

Thundarr and Ookla have been suggested several times so it seemed like it was finally time. I thought I'd toss in Ariel just to make sure I was covering all the fan bases.
Thundarr the Barbarian was a show I was only sort of aware of and that was mainly due to Jack Kirby's involvement. In fact I don't think I ever saw a single episode. Maybe one of these days when I have some free time I'll give it a look...free time? Who am I kidding...?

Step by Step, Slowly I Drew...

Awhile ago someone asked if I'd post a "step-by-step" on how I create the illustrations for the HarperCollins books that I draw. Since I haven't posted anything in awhile other than my Fan Request Friday selections I thought it was a good idea. Unfortunately due to my heavy schedule it's taken me a couple of weeks to actually get to it.

So here it goes.
Much like a comic, it all starts with the editors at HarperCollins sending me a script. They also send a pdf of the layout for the book that will usually include suggestions of what should appear on each page. Sometimes the suggestions are very specific and sometimes just ideas> I work witha  really good edito and his input is invaluable.

I then take a quick pass at some roughs. Being on model at this point is really necessary. I'm mnore concerned with layout and trying to get enough information onto the page as well as creating a good visual flow :

Then I get a set of notes based on that and sometimes a rough revision is necessary. In this case the revision was more of a PhotoShop fix than an actual re-draw:

Once that rough is approved I then put everything on model and go to final ink with any editorial corrections:

And once the inks are approved I then go to color  - or send it to my son for color (this partiucular book I did the color myself). First I lay down flat/base color. Unfortunately I no longer have the ffile where the BackGround was only flat color:

I then add shadows (and background details and texture):

and from there I had highlights and any effects and tadah...it's finished (after final approval, of course);

I might post a couple more of these if I have time, but I hope this has answered a few questions - or raised some questions (like why do they give him the work and not me...)

Getting closer...

...to having all my current deadlines met, that is. And that is, of course, my excuse for not posting the step by step for my DC/HarperCollins illustration that I've been promising. Don't worry though -  I should have some breathing room this week to do it. In theory.

In the meantime here are the two Fan Request Friday suggestions that I decided to go with this weekend.
I, unlike many artists I know, haven't drawn Mike Mignola's Hellboy too often. In fact, this might be only the second time in about 5 or 6 years I've drawn thsi character. The first was when they were looking for a designer for the DTVs - and we all know how that worked out - and this is the second. I think this one came out a lot better than that first one...

This second picture was done as sort of a gift to a nice couple of ladies that enjoy Cosplaying quite a bit for one of their birthdays. But since it was suggested as a FRF I thought they wouldn't mind if I posted it here...



Bah ba bum bum...

I'm actually running a little bit earlier than usual this week (though that might have more to do with the fact that I started a couple of these last week and never finished them...). And by early I mean before midnight...

This week I present the finished Attack of the Flying Monkeys  - though all that was suggested was Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion. I decided to kick it up a little by including Dorothy, Toto and the flying monkeys...it's a little busy and if I had more time I'd rework it a bit, but overall I think it works.

The Oz piece and this next piece were both suggested multiple weeks, but that doesn't always guarnatee I'll choose them, but it probably doesn't hurt. I wasn't familiar with Pietro's daughter Luna and didn't even have any idea that he'd hooked up with Crystal. Shows you how bad a fanboy I am...
Though it did give me an excuse to try something a little sweeter...

This last one was sort of a dare. I'd seen some Sketchcards drawn by J. Scott Cambell fom the Indy movies and was really impressed with how well he'd captured Harrison Ford in them. A friend suggested I give it a shot as well  - even after I admitted to being terrible at capturing likenesses (as you can see from some of the other FanRequestFridays I did), but I decided to try anyway and figured if it didn't turn out okay I just wouldn't show anyone. But, at this point, I think it did turn out decent  - though I might change my mind a little later..

And don't worry I haven't forgotten about last week's promise to post a step by step on how I do my HarperCollins illustrations. I found the materials I wanted to use I just have to get around to posting them. Soon I promise!

Darkness on the edge of the weekend...

With no serious deadlines pending (just wait till next week - oi vey) I spent a little more time than usual relaxing. In fact, I actually went to a movie. Not a very good one (Going the Distance), but, still, we went to a movie and that's something we don't do too often...

Anyway, this week I was doing a lot of reminiscing about my years on the Black Cauldron (since it's about to be re-released on DVD) and when someone suggested Darkness from Legend those horns were just too hard to resist.

There were several others that I started, but ran out of time on (I'm talking about you TinMan and Pietro) that I'll hopefully get to finish later, but I did decide to tackle my first ever Star Wars themed drawing. You'd think that after all these years I would've drawn even a Luke or a slave bikini Leia, but you'd be wrong.
So here is a female Tie fighter - not exactly canon (since she's female), but the uniform is pretty canon - I think....

And a special request GeekGirlDiva. She'll know what it means and maybe some of her friends will also...

I'm also planning a very special post that details (somewhat) how I create my DC heroes illustrations for HarperCollins so until then good-bye and L'shana Tovah to all the MOT!

Racing through Labor Day...

This week's choice for #FanRequestFriday is Race Bannon and Jezebel Jade from one of my favorite Hanna-Babara shows, Jonny Quest. That show was unique in so many ways especially those great designs by the late, great Doug Wildey - not to mention it also had that great title music. If I have time this long weekend, I might try to squeeze out another. Several freelance deadlines are coming up fast so they have to get my full attention for awhile. I'm also working on a group shot that will take some time - not sure how long.
Well, I hope you all enjoy the 3 day Labor Day weekend and especially those of you at Dragon-Con

The Liberty Post...or the Washington Meadows...?

This week for the Fan Request Friday someone suggested I draw the characters from Liberty Meadows in honor of the great article about its creator Frank Cho in the Washington Post magazine this week.
I've been a fan and have admired Frank for quite awhile and would love to be him when I grow up (except for the being really short thing - I don't think I could handle being any shorter than I already am at 5'8"). He's finally getting a lot of the recognition that he deserves (including a big art show in France) and it seemed like a good idea to finally take a swing at Brandy and some of her friends. If you want to see what they should really look like and see how funny they can be then click on the links attached to the names above and by some of the compilations.

True Powers...

I know I've said this before, but the variety of suggestions I get every Friday always leaves me wishing I had enough time to do more of these. For the last few weeks I've been doing several of the suggestions, but I'm going to have to return to the original plan of doing one every weekend because my freelance workload is nearing some deadlines. Of course, if it looks like I can reach those deadlines easier than I think I could return to multiples again.

Anyway, this week a couple of these have been requested several weeks in a row and one of them is a suggestion I've never seen before.
That 'never seen suggestion' is Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim from Powers by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. I've only read a couple of the TPBs, but I like what I've read. If you haven't read any of them you should check the book out.

The lovely Dr. Mrs. The Monarch (formally Dr. Girlfriend) from The Venture Bros. has been suggested several weeks and by different people. I actually started this a couple of weeks ago, but ran out of time. So this week  here it is:

And since I've already drawn Buffy and Angel it seemed only fair to draw the current (mature) vampire hearththrobs. Sookie and Bill of True Blood.

A glut...

This weekend it seemed like I actually had some spare time - mainly because there were no immediate deadlines for other work looming - so when I started the drawings for Fan Request Friday I thought I'd have a little fun and see how many I could get done before the weekend was over. Obviously I misjudged my time and that's why I'm posting a little on the late side.

I even decided to wrap up a drawing I had started last week and never finished (the two Storms). Both of these specific Storms were requested by different people and I thought it would be interesting to combine them in one drawing. The old S&M version (as I refer to her) and the latest version.

I also tackled several requests that I was able to combine (Logan, Kitty, Rogue) and instead of doing the usual X-Men: Evolution version I decided to go with the Astonishing X-Men design - I don't think I've ever drawn these characters in any other looks than X-Men: Evolution or Wolverine and the X-Men so this was a fun way to explore something new and to satisfy several suggestions at once.

I also took the opportunity to draw a couple of characters I've never drawn before: Kilowog of the Green Lantern Corps and Red Monika from Battle Chasers.

Unfortunately I was so ambitious, I also started a couple of drawings that I found I'd not allowed enough time for and I'll try to finish later in the week or next weekend.

Saving face...

I wasn't really happy with the faces on the latest Fan Request of Atom Eve and Invincible so when I finally got a moment I re-visited it and tought I'd give them a face lift. I think these look a little better....

Real He-men and girl...

It never ceases to amaze me the diversity of suggestions that come in for Fan Request Friday. It always leaves me in a quandary as to which to do and I often start the weekend thinking that I should do a half dozen or more. Unfortunately by the time I actually start to do the drawings I find myself short on time. If only weekends were longer.

Many weeks it seems like I end up doing a female - oddly enough a majority of the suggestions tend towards female characters. I guess there's no real surprise there and it's not like I mind doing them either. So when He-Man was suggested I thought what character could be more male than He-Man, eh?
But, since I never really cared for the way Filmation had handled him, I thought I'd throw a little of a Frazetta vibe into him. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm not quite sure it works for the character after all.

Before I ran out of time and had to get back to work I was also able to squeeze one more in. Invincible and Atom Eve have been suggested many times over the last few months and though I'm not very familiar with them I've always have liked their designs and the way Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley have drawn them - so I wanted to take a crack at them.

To draw a Mockingbird...

This weeks choice for Fan Request Friday was chosen because I used a Cos-player's pose to help out with last week's pic (Danger Girl) so it seemed I sort of owed her one. I hope she likes it though I'm not sure my Mockingbird comes off as well as her Mockingbird.
Up until recently I'd never even heard of this particular character and then a couple of months ago I learned about this Shield agent and then when I came into contact with Jen Richards (aka Mockingnerd) via twitter and FB it seemed to be a character that was forcing herself on me in a way. So I very well might have chosen to draw her regardless of my feeling like I owed Jen one or not.

But I don't want it to appear that I'm playing favorites so I also decided to draw a request that seems to have been mentioned almost every week since I've started this. I'm not sure I've done Angel and Buffy justice, but it's not too far off. Maybe I'll revisit them again later and give it another shot.
I was kind of late to the Buffy/Joss Whedon appreciation society and only started watching Buffy once I started working on XME at the suggestion of the producer, Boyd Kirkland, since that was sort of the model he wanted to base our show on - or at least try to. I started watching after the whole Buffy and Angel storyline had basically played itself out and just revisited those episodes in re-runs and after they were released onto DVD.
In fact the show and the characters made such an impact on me that many of the XME characters were somewhat modeled after several of the actors on Buffy. Jean/Charisma Carpenter, Kitty/Alyson Hannigan and Kurt/ Seth Green.