Welcome to my sketch blog!

I am a cartoonist, illustrator, designer, and painter. I'd like to say a professional one, but I'm still working on that. Welcome to Step One of that process: my own personal sketch blog! Its purpose: to keep me drawing, and hopefully, to provide art for others to enjoy. Please feel free to leave comments- I appreciate any critiquing of my work. Just try not to completely tear me a new one. Also, I do commissioned projects! If interested, contact me at tonyaros1@gmail.com. As you can see I draw comic characters a lot, but I also paint and draw just about anything so hit me with your ideas!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

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!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

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. 

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

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!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

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.   

 

Thursday, January 12, 2012

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.   

Sunday, January 8, 2012

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.    

 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

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!

Monday, January 2, 2012

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!