Scary Monsters, Just in Time for Halloween!

Been a little while since I've posted on here- trying to work on that.  I've actually been pretty busy lately working on, of all things, art projects!  Pretty varied projects as well, including character designs for a video game in development (nothing serious, unless it gets picked up), a book cover, and trying to get around to my next epic portrait.  I have a background on a canvas just staring at me.  Don't worry canvas- I haven't abandoned you.  

Anyway, here's a taste of some of the sketches I did for the "evil character" for the video game.  Creeped myself out a little bit with some of these!

  

Let me know what you think!  Happy Halloween!

Fantastic Fashion Redesign

Here's my entry to Project Rooftop's Fantastic Four redesign contest: 

I was really inspired by the suits worn by the characters in "Fantastic Voyage", and I felt that they fit with the science-adventurer feel of the Fantastic Four.

For Johnny I wanted to make him look volatile, a literal "hot head'.  His suit features vented sections over his shoulders, elbows, thighs, and knees, which allow his heat to escape, and also hearkens back to his classic look. 

Reed's the field team leader on their scientific expeditions, and he always makes sure to bring a backpack full of gadgets. 

I wanted to give Sue a 60s kind of look, feminine but practical. 

Ben was one of my favorite designs.  I drew inspiration from space suits worn by chimp astronauts- I kid you not.  I came across a bit of a predicament:  the other members of the squad had their "4" insignia and blue armbands, but I wanted Ben to be sleeveless.  But I figured "What the hell.  He wouldn't care to paint on his arm."  I kind of like how it looks.  

As always, let me know what you guys think!  Meanwhile, keep checking out Project Rooftop- hopefully I make Honorable Mention!  Fingers crossed

Notepad Sketches #2

Drew these after watching Kill Bill one night...

Back With Sketches

So it's been a while since I've posted to this blog, but that doesn't mean I haven't been drawing.  I recently got a new job with a consulting firm here in Lexington, and it's kept me especially busy.  Between working on a campaign for a local office, holding focus groups for the State and Humana, and of all things, selling comics online, I haven't had a lot of time to post any new art.  But, helping with the focus groups affords me some free time, and I've made sure to take my little sketchpad with me everywhere I go.  To keep from making one huge post, I'm going to spread the dozens of sketches over a few posts.  Hope you enjoy, and as always, if you have any comments/critiques let me know.

I wonder if Batman's going to throw that batarang?

 

Sketch #2,351 of my comic character.  Wish I could just settle on a suit already.

Wolvie getting the drop on a...ninja?

Just something Annie and me came up with one night.  I believe drinking was involved.

Oh Batman...

X-Men: First Class

Sorry Mr. Vaughan- your movie was fun and all, but this is the only First Class for me.  

Sharpie Saturday

Here are a couple old sketches I did in my sketchbook using sharpies.  So fun to use...

Break out those Sharpies!  If you have something you'd like featured on Sharpie Saturday, send it in and I'll happily post it!

Hulk...Get Smashed?

I found an old sketch I'd scanned in of old school Iron Man fighting the Hulk.  I figured I'd give it the coloring treatment:  

 And continuing with the Hulk theme, here's an old sketch of the Hulk I found on my hard drive: 

Clearly, I like to draw the Hulk. 

Destroy All Mutants!

Went back and colored an old sketch of mine, just for fun:

Marvel Redesign: Nighthawk

I was doing some sketching the other day and did this design of Nighthawk:

I actually really like the look of the original (though I'll admit it could be seen as a little over-the-top) so I kept the same basic color scheme and only simplified some of the details (the mask, chest emblem, etc.)  Here's the original for comparison, via http://marvel.wikia.com:

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Jubilee Redesign

Just messing around, trying some different styles- ended up drawing this Jubilee and decided to color it. 

 I went for her traditional "mall rat" look, but updated it to what I think she'd wear around a mall today.  Note the lack of the giant yellow trench coat. 

Breaking Bats: Two More Contenders

I had so much fun drawing Harvey "Two Face" Dent that I decided to keep going with some of Batman's other rogues.  The obvious next choice for me was the Joker:

Because my Batman redesign was heavily influenced by police and riot-gear, I reasoned that my redesigned Joker should be an anarchist rioter. Visually I was influenced by images from the London riots, and I ran with The Dark Knight movie version of him as an agent of chaos.  Also, I had a line of thinking where maybe there are more than one Joker, even hundreds, similar to Anonymous in that they are one entity that all wear Joker masks and wreak havoc.  Of course there might still be one mastermind behind it all....

And speaking of masterminds, here's my version of Bane: 

I wanted to give him a practical look, but really wanted to make him look like someone you wouldn't want to mess with. I kept the same basic mask because darn it, I just think it looks cool. I gave him a weight-lifter's belt and gloves, riot gear shoulder pads, and tossed some wrestling boots on him for good measure. Plus, I gave him a more practical, less easy to mess with delivery system for his venom. I guess he finally learned from EVERY TIME HE'S BEEN BEATEN that he shouldn't have huge exposed wires sticking into the back of his head that can be easily tampered with. 

If you have any input on either design I'd love to hear it in the comments!

Justice League: Redesigned

Just for fun, here's a little group shot I constructed from each of my Justice League redesigns- sort of a way to bring the project to a close and tie it with a bow.   

 

Sue Storm Costume Switch-Up

I realized I need more practice drawing women.  So, I randomly decided to draw a version of Sue Storm, the Fantastic Four's Invisible Woman:  

 I mainly wanted to draw her in something practical but still feminine, so I decided to go with a skirt/tights combo.  The boots were meant to be comfortable and practical, and were semi-inspired by ballet shoes and leg-warmers.  I went without gloves because Sue's powers generally emanate from her hands, and because she's tough and I doubt she'd worry too much about breaking a nail.  I kept her in the traditional black, white, and blue of the Fantastic Four.  Pretty happy with how this turned out- I may get around to the other 3 members.   

Super Redesign: Superman

Last in my Justice League redesigns is Big Blue himself, Superman:

Superman's look is classic, iconic, and I really don't think it needs any redesigning period.  But, just for the fun of it, and because no Justice League would be complete without Superman, I took a crack at it.  


For starters, Superman needs the cape, S-shield, and boots, so I didn't mess with those much.  The cape I made of average length and gave a slightly pointed shape to so that it doesn't get in his way as much while he's moving around.  The S-Shield is basically the same traditional design, but I've opted to using gray instead of yellow to show his "Man of Steel" aspect.  I think it adds a certain toughness and sturdiness to his look.  I've also used the s-shield shape as a recurring theme throughout the costume: at the top of his boots, his belt buckle, and the larger blue shape around the s-shield itself.  The two-tones of blue help break up the large area of blue that is left by the lack of the shorts (which as a side note, I see no problem with the shorts, and don't understand why so many people seem to hate them.  I simply tried this design without them to see how I felt about it).  Lastly, the gray bands around his wrists are meant to evoke the imagery of a weight-lifter, which reinforces the concept of strength.  

Do I think this is what Superman should wear in his series?  No.  Was I happy with how it turned out, and think it's an interesting redesign?  I think so.    

 

Harvey Dent

At the suggestion of someone on DeviantArt, who after seeing my Batman redesign said they'd love to see me tackle some of Batman's rogues, I've taken a stab at Harvey "Two Face" Dent:

I really modeled him after Eliot Ness, and tried a few new techniques while coloring him in Photoshop.  I'm pretty happy with the results, and believed I achieved the darker look I was going for.  Here's the line art to show what it's like before my experimental coloring:

And the grayscale, to show where I laid in the values before adding color:

  
I've got a sketch for a Joker redesign that I'm looking forward to getting started on, as well as the last JLA redesign.  I think it's pretty "super".  Stay tuned!

New Year, New Leaguer: Green Lantern

Kicking off the New Year, here's my next to last redesign of the Justice League:  Green Lantern.  

Original Sketch:

And, with some minor changes, the finished product:

I didn't want to veer too sharply away from Hal's classic, iconic look, so I kept the same basic color scheme.  Because the GL Corp is an intergalactic police force of sorts, I gave him elements that suggested this:  the badge, the patch signifying which space sector he protected, and the shoulder bars that resemble the shirts that policemen wear.  Other than that, I tried to keep him streamlined, simple, but heroic.  Let me know what you think in the comments!