Saturday, March 30, 2013
Winter Window Redux
Now that its officially spring (even in Michigan) I thought I would re-color this winter scene.
I rescanned the original at a higher resolution, cleaned up some of the rougher parts of the trees and got rid of the frost patch from the original, as no one seemed to be able to figure out what that was supposed to be.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Reaching for the Stars (also Wonder Woman)
At the start of the month, Project Rooftop, a website known for redesigning classic superhero costumes, but recently has been having theme posts for various comic characters.
At the start March, they announced that they were doing a theme post for Wonder Woman. This seemed like a good opportunity not only to have some fun with an iconic character but to have some new people see my work. Not wanting to merely feature the famed heroine against a featureless background, so I began brainstorming what kind of situations I could draw.
My first idea involved Diana in a situation that was less "fish out of water" and more "big fish in a small pond, which her attending a classy museum exhibit featuring ancient Greek artifacts (perhaps an a exhibit on the Amazons themselves), with Wonder Woman in costume, standing between some bemused visitors, pointing to, or perhaps picking up an item from the display (a piece of pottery or something) and talking about it with some experience or memory.
At the start March, they announced that they were doing a theme post for Wonder Woman. This seemed like a good opportunity not only to have some fun with an iconic character but to have some new people see my work. Not wanting to merely feature the famed heroine against a featureless background, so I began brainstorming what kind of situations I could draw.
My first idea involved Diana in a situation that was less "fish out of water" and more "big fish in a small pond, which her attending a classy museum exhibit featuring ancient Greek artifacts (perhaps an a exhibit on the Amazons themselves), with Wonder Woman in costume, standing between some bemused visitors, pointing to, or perhaps picking up an item from the display (a piece of pottery or something) and talking about it with some experience or memory.
For a time I briefly considered having her converse with some famous statues in a museum setting, as originally she was a clay figure given life and power by the Greek Pantheon. Perhaps she could try and get in on the Three Grace's circle or make a joke about how the Venus Callipyge is always talking out her ass.
This idea didn't really seem to go anywhere, so I started considering some other options. These days with movies like The Dark Knight and the New 52 Reboot, comic book heroes have been geared towards more contemporary origins that can be "related to" by the reader, so I thought I'd make a effort to feature the character's titanic strength through a comparison to some force of nature.
Unfortunately, I think it may be an idea thats ambitious beyond my present ability, as attempting to polish up the rough has been exceptionally frustrating.
While its great to have an impetus for such ideas (especially ones that are more surreal and fantastical than my usual fare) , at this rate, I'm not going to make the deadline and may have to revisit these concepts at another time.
This idea didn't really seem to go anywhere, so I started considering some other options. These days with movies like The Dark Knight and the New 52 Reboot, comic book heroes have been geared towards more contemporary origins that can be "related to" by the reader, so I thought I'd make a effort to feature the character's titanic strength through a comparison to some force of nature.
I started adding color in these roughs too, like this one of Wonder Woman scattering stars in the sky.
However, I thought scattering stars like seeds would be more appropriate for Superman, who grew up on a farm. Then I remembered how the Greeks believed that the sky was a velvet dome, and the stars were holes to let in light in the evenings. So I hit on the idea of Wonder Woman literally cutting holes out of the sky with a pair of scissors, with the sunset producing red rays the resembled the American flag's red stripes to match the five point stars of her patriotic roots in World War II.
Unfortunately, I think it may be an idea thats ambitious beyond my present ability, as attempting to polish up the rough has been exceptionally frustrating.
Labels:
Color,
Comics,
DC Comics,
Idea,
Project Rooftop,
Rough,
Sketch,
Wonder Woman
Party of Two - Process and Progress
Its been a while since I've posted any finished work, so I thought I'd provide an update on what I've been doing lately.
With my last piece, I tried to streamline my process, but drawing directly over my pencils in Photoshop to save steps on inking, scanning and adjusting the appearance of said inks. Also, I got a new desktop computer to replace my dying laptop so I figured it might be high time to look into using my computer as something other than an oversized clipboard for my reference photos.
Using Photoshop, I started sketching roughs, were I could add or subtract details, scale elements up or down, and get a general idea of what I was after before I "get started" and better visualize what I was after.
Heres an idea I've had in the back of my head for a while, loosely based on an experience from my own life. Set just outside an apartment building were a loud party is taking place. In contrast we see young couple sitting on the front steps, shooting the chilly evening breeze and getting to know each other better.
For some fun on your way out, here is my "inspiration collage" featuring a number of illustrations that I looked at for subject and staging.
With my last piece, I tried to streamline my process, but drawing directly over my pencils in Photoshop to save steps on inking, scanning and adjusting the appearance of said inks. Also, I got a new desktop computer to replace my dying laptop so I figured it might be high time to look into using my computer as something other than an oversized clipboard for my reference photos.
Using Photoshop, I started sketching roughs, were I could add or subtract details, scale elements up or down, and get a general idea of what I was after before I "get started" and better visualize what I was after.
Heres an idea I've had in the back of my head for a while, loosely based on an experience from my own life. Set just outside an apartment building were a loud party is taking place. In contrast we see young couple sitting on the front steps, shooting the chilly evening breeze and getting to know each other better.
Sketching in Photoshop also gave me the advantage of being able to plot out a grid for perspective. However, a problem that I came across was measuring out a set of steps that our couple could comfortably sit on. Along the same lines I had trouble figuring out the proper proportions of these kids to the rest of the building. I'm working my way though the tutorials for Google SketchUp to help me out with the architectural consistency.
Labels:
Couple,
Illustration,
Inspiration,
Night,
Process,
Progress,
Rough,
Sketch
Monday, January 28, 2013
I Have A Headache!
This is another entry for WeLoveFine's Power Ranger's T-Shirt contest, playing on a double entendre with Rita Repulsa's catchphrase and the implications it could have on her marriage to Lord Zedd. While I sketched this out in traditional pencils, finished linework is completely digital, a first for me.
While I thought that this entry, since it didn't involve tracing a pre-existing logo, would be the jewel in the crown of my submissions. However, much like "I Got a Frog", I received an e-mail from WeLoveFine. “We like your concept, however, since this cartoon is aimed for children,
we cannot add your design into the contest. Is it possible for you to
rework it so that maybe Rita isn't lying down in a bed, but maybe sitting in
her chair? Once you rework the design, we'd be happy to enter it into the
contest.”
While this sounds like a frustrating let down, after reading it I had a
strange realization, “If its rejected before the contest… Then it can’t
be a failure!” Yeah... just keep telling yourself that. Though it is subtly amusing to me that a gag about rejection is ultimately being rejected.
I've got a week before the deadline to submit something else, so I just have to decide if it's worth the effort to compose a new image from scratch. With that kind of time crunch though, I might just let it go and be thankful I didn't go with any gags about "Make my Monster Grow."
I've got a week before the deadline to submit something else, so I just have to decide if it's worth the effort to compose a new image from scratch. With that kind of time crunch though, I might just let it go and be thankful I didn't go with any gags about "Make my Monster Grow."
Labels:
Contest,
Funny,
Mighty Morphin,
Power Rangers,
Sentai,
Sleep,
T-Shirt,
We Love Fine
Friday, January 18, 2013
Let's Make A Show Of It!
Captain Marvelous' catchphrase from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger juxtaposed with the classic "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters. These pirates may not care much for "Keeping Calm", but they know all about carrying on.
Originally this was something I just did on a lark, but it was a big hit on tumblr, so I decided to try submitting it to WeLoveFine's Power Ranger T-Shirt contest, even if it is based on a Sentai series. Well low and behold, this design was approved and is eligible for voting when the polls open on February 18th. Here is a link to the design page were you can share it on Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus.
http://www.welovefine.com/vote.php?id_contest=32&m=gallery&id_submit=11203
Labels:
Captain Marvelous,
Contest,
Digital,
Gokaiger,
Keep Calm,
Parody,
Poster,
Power Rangers,
Sentai,
T-Shirt,
We Love Fine
Thursday, January 17, 2013
ZYUniversity
Now here's one of my T-Shirt entries that did manage to make the cut. Its a parody of the classic "NYU" shirts from New York University, replaced with "ZYU" referring to Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, the series on which Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was based.
I was originally going to put a bar under the Power Coin Logo saying something like "Est: -170 Million" or "Est: 1992" but thought that would be confusing since Mighty Morphin' uses in 10,000 years and/or 1993 as its years of establishment for that particular team.
Regardless, the design is viewable here: http://www.welovefine.com/vote.php?id_contest=32&m=gallery&id_submit=11177
The voting period begins on February 18th, but you can also tweet, facebook like, or share on Google plus any time before then to help promote my hard work.
I was originally going to put a bar under the Power Coin Logo saying something like "Est: -170 Million" or "Est: 1992" but thought that would be confusing since Mighty Morphin' uses in 10,000 years and/or 1993 as its years of establishment for that particular team.
Regardless, the design is viewable here: http://www.welovefine.com/vote.php?id_contest=32&m=gallery&id_submit=11177
Labels:
Contest,
Digital,
Parody,
Power Rangers,
Sentai,
T-Shirt,
Vote,
We Love Fine
I Got A Frog
For the past month now I've been working on entries for WeLoveFine's Power Rangers T-Shirt contest to celebrate the franchise's twenty year anniversary. Since my generation was on the ground floor of this series when it first started, I figured I could give it a shot.
This was one of my first entries for the contest. The joke is taken from a line in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie when the team is receiving new power animals. While the others get strong creatures like the wolf, the bear or the falcon, Adam expresses disappointment in being given a frog.
It reminded me of another expression of disappointment from my childhood TV viewing;
However, shortly after I submitted this entry I received a message from WeLoveFine that stated;
"Although we love the idea of merging together two classics like 'Peanuts' and 'Power Rangers', this is something that we unfortunately can't proceed with due to licensing terms."
Fair enough I suppose and its certainly understandable. I guess it didn't occur to me that the juxtaposition could be a problem, especially given this company's other pop culture mash ups particular with their Doctor Who/ My Little Pony crossover shirts, but those are of a different sort. At least this design didn't take as long as some of the others I worked on.
Labels:
Charlie Brown,
Contest,
Digital,
Halloween,
Parody,
Peanuts,
Power Rangers,
T-Shirt,
We Love Fine
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