New Pin-ups

X-23 and Mary Marvel. Both for sale.

Splash Woman from Mega Man

UDON Entertainment was taking submissions for their upcoming Mega Man Tribute book. Here's my submission that didn't get picked. I don't feel too bad, I think they said they had thousands of entries. I picked one of the few females in the Mega Man universe. A character I knew nothing about, Splash Woman. It was fun to do and at least it will fill a page in my next sketchbook.

Here is my version of her...
Here was my source material...

Voltron: United and Drawn has arrived

I got my comp copies of Voltron: United and Drawn in the mail today and they look great. My pin-up is on page 18. First thing I noticed was I didn't even sign the drawing. Oh well, it came out looking nice at least. There are a ton of cool illustrations in this thing, can't wait to go through it all.

I have two extras for sale - $30 each plus $5 shipping or you can order it online.

Live Art Show

I had a great time at Comicpalooza last night. Here's a look at my finished Harley Quinn piece, as well as a few progress shots. My biggest fear was that no one would bid on it but thankfully they did and it sold for $95. Thanks to Jeremy from Titan Comics for the winning bid. Thanks also to the Art Love Magic crew (Michael, Mario, David and Deb) for having me out. It was also great to see fellow artist friends Samax, Khalid, Michael and meeting a few new ones as well. It was a fun night.

Check out The Hero Initiative.

"Chew" Pin-up

A commission piece I just finished. The characters Tony Chu and John Colby from the comic book "Chew" by John Layman and Rob Guillory. This is one of those great looking books that I haven't had a chance to read yet. And after doing research for this piece, I think I need to pick this bad boy up. Seems like printed greatness.

I like how people have posted online who they think should play the characters. I saw a lot of Miles and Sawyer from "Lost", which I have to say I agree with from what I've seen of these characters. I showed this drawing to my lovely wife and asked her who she thought should play these characters and that's exactly who she said. Anyway, I digress. I hope I did them justice even though I wasn't super familiar with them. Apologies to Layman and Guillory if I missed the mark.

Voltron: United and Drawn

5finity is producing a Voltron coffee table book and I'm supposed to have a pin-up in it. I'm not that great with mechanical stuff, so I stuck with what I knew. I drew Princess Allura, who I had never heard of until this.

From the site..."5FINITY Productions, in association with Moonstone Books and World Events Productions, presents the first ever official art book based on the classic animated series Voltron: Defender of the Universe. An endearing blend of fantasy and mechanics, this legendary brand has fused itself into social and pop-culture history. To many genre fans, Voltron was the original transforming robotic action series and introduced an entire generation into the world of Japanese style animation. A mix of official brand history, original artwork, fan memories, celebrity testimonials, and more, this project will celebrate Voltron's influence on pop culture and beyond!"

Pre-Order Voltron: United and Drawn

Spider-Man Pin-up

Here is a Spider-Man commission I did for a friend's nephew.

My Influence Map

On deviantART, fox-orian started an "influence map meme" and they’ve been popping up all over different artists’ websites. I don’t really put the “me” in “meme” that often, but each time I saw one of these, I couldn’t help but think how nice they looked and how cool it would be to do one myself. I know I’m bit late to the game, but I don’t care.

I knew it would be fun to make but I didn’t realize how hard it would be. Man, narrowing this group down was a challenge. Some harsh, harsh cuts were made. I could’ve done one three times this size.

To make it easier, I decided just put in people (or groups) that create. Not creations. For example, Matt Groening instead of the Simpsons. So that helped by eliminating particular movies and TV shows. And I decided mainly to focus on art and only have a few musicians and directors. Mainly it's comic artists and cartoonists.

I turned mine on it’s side to fit monitors better. Hope you like it. Make one for yourself if you haven't already.

Ariel from Thundarr

Here's a quickie I did tonight. Princess Ariel from one of my favorite cartoons I watched as a kid, Thundarr the Barbarian. I wanted to draw something that I wanted to draw, not something someone else needed drawn. It's been a while since I've done that, so I just whipped this up. I've always wanted to draw this character, I might even do it again later when I have more time. Hope you like it. I would love to hear that Thundarr is being released on DVD, but I think it would have happened by now. So far, no release date.

Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn Pin-up

Here's a new piece I did in trade for a Spookytown pin-up. Went a little of my comfort zone with this one. I wanted to do it without the usual think black lines outlining everything and define the shapes with colors as much as I could. So after I did my rough sketch, I blew it up, light-tabled it under my Bristol board, drew it in blueline pencil and then colored it with markers. Here is the finished piece and the rough sketch. Hope you like it.

Old School Batman

There is a little boy that goes to church with my mom and he's really into Batman. My mom asked if I would send him a drawing. I went a little old school style for Bats on this one.

Comic Book Girl Pin-up

Here is a new commission piece I did for someone who will be giving it as a Valentine's Day gift. They requested a girl with glasses wearing button up shirt and panties reading comics. I hope I delivered. They ask for the original in black and white but I scanned and colored a copy for my own amusement. Forgive the hack 20 minutes coloring job.

Tiki Joe Mysteries Sketch

Here's another piece I recently did in trade for a Spookytown pin-up. It's for my friend and fellow comic book creator Mark Murphy. It's a character from his book Tiki Joe Mysteries. If you haven't checked out this book, you should. I mean seriously, I told you to a year and a half ago! What are you waiting for? Buy it already.

This was fun piece to work on. I love Tiki stuff. There is actually a scene in Spookytown that takes place in Tiki bar. I'm looking forward to drawing those pages. Anyway, this piece came together really quickly for me. A lot of times I labor over poses and layouts, but this one popped in my head, I doodled a thumbnail on a Post-it note and I was on my way. I wanted a retro feel, so I went monochromatic with the color scheme. It's done with pen and markers. Hope he digs it.

Ignacia from Wildguard

Here's a new sketch I did for the amazing Todd Nauck. It's his character Ignacia from Wildguard. Todd has graciously agreed to trade for a Spookytown pin-up. Can't wait to see what he comes up with, I'm sure it will be incredible. He did a Shades of Blue pin-up for me back in the day, which was really cool. Hope you (and he) like this.

Dash Bradley Pin-Up

Here is a new piece I did for my friend and fellow comic book creator Paul Milligan. Paul foolishly agreed to do a swap for a Spookytown pin-up. Who's the winner here? Me, of course. This is of Paul's character Dash Bradley. Who is Dash Bradley, you ask? Well, as his Facebook page explains....

Dash Bradley is the world-reknowned author of the Race Radford series of adventure novels. Unbeknowst to the public at large the true inspiration for Race Radford's unbelievable fictional adventures is the author himself, who has worked as a special agent for the U.S. Government since 1928. Since that time he has traveled to the four corners of the earth and beyond, battling Nazis, Communists, Martians and book editors to keep the U.S.A. safe and sound.

I did this one in black and white using markers to give it an old movie serial feel. And I left the background uncolored to help the figures stand out more. I really like how this on turned out. I don't think the scan does it justice. As always, I hope you dig it.

Pin-up in Dead@17 Afterbirth TPB

My pin-up for Josh Howard's Dead@17 "Afterbirth" TPB came out today. The Image Comics book collects issues #1-4 for the "Afterbirth" storyline. Here's a synopsis from the Image site...

In the latest chapter of the DEAD@17 saga, Nara and Hazy face their darkest hour. The insidious Abraham Pitch has returned and plots to open the Abyss, while Nara's crusade against the Marked has disastrous consequences for those closest to her.

This pin-up was lot of fun to do and I'm really happy with how it turned out in print. The colors look really great. Not that you can tell for the terrible quality photo I snapped of it. Anyway, go pick a copy of the book, Josh is putting some good stuff out there. Also, I usually play my cards close to the chest, but I should have some more Dead@17 news to announce later. So stay tuned to see what it might be. Have fun out there.

Blog Header Illustrations

Here are a couple of illustrations I was commissioned to do for this blog.

Dead@17 Nara Pin-up

Here's a pin-up I completed recently for Josh Howard's Dead@17. It's supposed to appear in an upcoming trade paperback collection. I post again when it comes out. It was fun to do, I like how it turned out. Especially the colors. Hope you like it too.

Emma Frost Pin-up

An Emma Frost pin-up I did for someone who commissioned it as a birthday present for a friend of theirs. He wanted it to be a little Halloween-y.

New Pin-Up

I did another pin-up for Lutu - Warrior of the North by Steve Coffin, published by Ronin Studios. I was in a Fall mood.