From the Crypt v.2, Item 3: Ripped (Off)

March 5, 1993. Seems like it was a pretty productive time for me, artistically. I really can't think back that far to what might've been going on, but at the very least I was drawing.

And what a drawing it was. sigh. See, this is everything that was good and bad about comics in the 90's (stop me if you've heard this one before). The 90's brought a real and lasting change in how comics were seen and perceived. This is when books stopped being about the characters and (frequently) became about the creators of the books- the comic book equivalent of the end of the studio movie system and the rise of the 'movie star', in my opinion. Sure, there were always very famous and popular artists (let's face it- people are pick up comics for the art initially) out there, but it became a whole other animal back in the 90's.

If there could be said to be a unifying style to this art, it was 'dynamic'. The artists themselves varied pretty wildly in the details of their art, but overall it had a real sense of action and vibrancy in it. Lots of useless detail lines helped. Also, over-rendering the people into something that looked more like an anatomical model of muscles rather than a 'normal' human being was a big difference. Super heroes always looked stronger than mere mortals; now you could see how each muscle was better. Hell, I remember there was actually an artistic trend in comics to draw the guys with bulging arm veins! Yep, true. One could ponder the meaning, symbolism, and effect it had on the average comic reader back then, but I'll spare you (for now).

Anyway, as you can see, I feel for this trend hook, (crosshatched) line, and sinker. The main culprit of this art style you see above was a guy named Bart Sears. I don't remember him always drawing like this, but there are some artists out there who can change their style to reflect current trends, and I guess he was one of them. Of course he pulled it off much better than I ever managed. My problems with this are like all my problems with drawing: I didn't have enough background to really understand what I was drawing. These weren't copied from anyone else's work, so I was left to figure out how the muscles were put together on my own, and figure out where the lines would go. I did okay, I guess, but really? that's just ridiculous. I never had the knack to really pull off these super-muscled people. So, when you see something I've done of late, just think: I could still be trying to draw just like this.

Back then, though, I recall being pretty proud of it- it was reasonably dynamic, and God knows I put enough lines in there. Bits and pieces I'm still pretty proud of, really. But jeez, how did these people digest food, with waists like that?

Music: "Them Bones" - Alice In Chains

"Fat, Drunk, and Using Adamantium Claws is No Way to Go Through Life, Son."

The Art Club got together a while back, as we occasionally do, and were trying to come up with things to draw. I don't remember why we decided what we did (pretty sure Sean had nothing to do with it), but we opted to draw Wolverine. I think we were talking about either artists or the movie or- oh wait, it was the new Wolverine comic that had recently come out (now like 8 or 9 monthlies, including at least 4 team books- pretty impressive for a loner).

So we talked about interpretations we liked, and naturally drifted to an old favorite of mine and Joe's, Havok/Wolverine: Meltdown. This came out in the early 90's, and was distinctive for two reasons: 1) it was published by Epic Comics, Marvel's "mature" imprint, so it had cussing in it, and more importantly 2) it was painted by two different artists, Jon J. Muth and Kent Williams. Each artist painted one set of characters; Muth painted Havok, Williams painted Wolverine. We loved this series.

Williams's take on Logan was like nothing we'd seen before. Gone was the ripped superhero with slick, yet pointy, hair. In his place, a pale, potbellied runt with broken capillaries (how much drinking does it take for a man who heals to get those?) and hair that looked more like a pelt than anything human. He painted him with these two wild tufts of hair that streamed out behind him, almost like antenna.

It was awesome.

So it was, as we sat down and started drawing, that I decided to go with this Williams-inspired look. To be perfectly honest, all the smoother, animated-style, cartoony work I put up isn't really how I draw. What's above is really how I draw, when I'm just throwing something down without worrying every little thing. It really lent to this version of Logan, as Williams's style is much rougher (though still magnificent) than many painters today. I had a blast drawing like this, as it indulged my comic geek side, while letting me stretch my artistic muscles somewhat.

By the end of the night, there were three Wolverines in the basement: my rough and drunk Logan, Joe's masked Wolverine (with Williams-inspired long pointy mask), and Sean's Hugh Jackman-styled Logan (no mask). It was a lot of fun to see how all three of us took the same idea and went running off in totally different directions.

I wasn't done, of course. Once I finished the drawing, I decided to take it a bit further and try to color it along the lines of Williams's fantastic watercolors. Doing subdued coloring in Photoshop is a lot harder than I would've imagined. As you can see from my past coloring efforts, loud primary colors are a lot easier to do than subtle variations- at least for me. I've seen other digital artists whose work made me want to cry. In time, perhaps... but I'm pleased with the result, though as always I'd like to change things here and there.

Thanks to Dean Wormer for the quote.

---

Welcome back. Sorry it's taken so long to get this post up. Getting the picture to the point where I wanted to post it took longer than I expected, as well as life getting in the way. All's good, though.

See you next week.

Music: "Friends in Low Places" - Garth Brooks

Lines of Force

Hi, everyone. Welcome back after a long weekend. Hope everyone had a good time spent with family and/or friends. I managed to do both.

Nothing too fancy to post this time; I'm going to try to go back to a (mostly) chronological posting of what I've drawn. That'll last probably as long as I don't find something else to put up, or something comes along of more interest to me.

Anyway, this was just a simple exercise I did a while back. Since one of my many weaknesses when drawing comic characters is their complete rigidity (talk about a stick up the-), I like to try to goof around every now and again with loosening up the posing, and just look for something dynamic, regardless of things like anatomy, look, or anything like that. This was such a thing.

There are actually a number of books on the market addressing such things as force and motion in drawing. I have a few of them, but haven't found/made time for them yet. However, this is a little like what you'd see in those books, except very poorly rendered. I threw in a couple sets of lines in here, to show what I think is the 'skeleton' of the figure (where the limbs will go, how they're posed, etc.), and to show the sense of motion I'm going for. A good artist can make a perfectly static image look like it's about to leap off the page. I'm not such an artist, but I did enjoy doing this. If only he had someone to hit...

That's about it for now. I'll probably have something up again either Friday or next week...

Oh hell, let's be honest: it'll be up when it's up.

Music: "Time and Motion" - Rush

From the Crypt, 2

Second in a series, collect them all.

Well, looking back at this... um, well, it was the 90's. Crazy stuff like cyborgs and huge bladed weapons was all the rage back then. And, judging by looking at this pic, small feet were also apparently in. And body modifications (poor guy lost his whole right forearm on a whim!)

No real idea where this came from, other than like I said, it was the 90's. I don't recall any real backstory to him, but back then, I didn't often have need for it- as long as I had an idea of something to draw, I was pretty happy.

---

Sorry for the delay of game on getting this posted; believe me, there's no shortage of old crappy 90's-style drawings to post, but I've had a real problem with the computer of late. Hopefully it's back running for the time being, and I can continue to regale you with trips to the crypt.

Cheers!

Music: "Holding Out For A Hero" - Bonnie Tyler (80's, I know, but appropriately bad)

Mayhem and Milestones

This is Mistress Mayhem... or Mayhem, as she'll be better known (reporters can be lazy, and the full name distressed concerned parents...). Mayhem is a natural fighter, brilliant tactician, and the emotional heart of the group (which is easy when The Knight's Blade can be too intense and the Captain apparently has no emotions).

Since you're here, let me tell you- this drawing was cake. I mean it. It's kinda scary how easily this came together. Up until about 8:30 or so, I had no idea what was getting posted tonight. I was completely expecting to half-ass a sketch or something, or dig out a scrap of something I scanned in a while ago. But no. I'd been thinking about this character for a while now, in terms of pose and such- I was completely stuck on what to do. I had all kinds of reference poses, but none of them really worked. Then 8:30 rolls around. Pencil, check. Paper, check. Inspiration via bolt from the blue, check. It took me about 30 minutes or so to go from first non-photo blue layout to finished pencils, then another 15 to ink. Went beautifully. I was a little scared, it all worked out so well. Then I started erasing. That's when the friggin' erasers started smearing the non-photo blue lead and pulling up the ink! sonofa... So instead of getting all pissed and dejected, I stopped, re-inked it, and carefully erased random pencil lines (luckily, since the drawing came freakishly easy, there weren't lots of linebits to clean up). Scanned it in, and colored it. I opted not to do anything too funky with it in terms of the coloring, mostly because the really clean lines lend themselves to the simple colors and lack of textures. So yeah, I'm very pleased by how well it turned out.

Also of note: this marks my official 100th post to this blog. I knew it was coming up for a little while now, and I had all kinds of plans to put up some crazy-complicated picture I spent days working on, that would melt your eyes with the complete coolness of it. However, life (and the other posts) got in the way. And I'm glad. I was able to put more into the regular posts, and as a result, got more out of them. And, with how much I enjoyed this sketch, it seems like a wholly appropriate post.

It's pretty hard to believe that I've actually posted to this thing 100 times. When I started posting, I was about overflowing with sketches, and ideas for sketches, and ideas for posts and writing, I thought I'd never be able to get them all down. Well, it's been quite a roller coaster ride for me since those first posts. I've run completely out of drawings, out of time, out of ideas, out of patience. And, I've since drawn more drawings, made more time, found more ideas, and taught myself more patience. This site has really been the kick in the metaphorical ass that I've needed. It's been so much fun to re-discover this long-buried passion for art and creation, and it's been a complete joy to be able to share it with you. I plan on sticking around on here for as long as I can, and I hope this blog continues to be a pleasant stop on your travels through the web. Thanks for stopping by to visit, whether it's your first time, or your hundredth time.

-Steve

Music: "Dreamline" - Rush

...and the road goes ever on...

The Knight's Blade

Brawler. Swordsman. Scientific Genius. Knight-Errant to Arthur of the realm of Avalon. Leader of the most powerful group of people ever to walk the earth.

This is The Knight Blade.

Also, best friend to Captain Apathy. But that's not something he likes to brag about.

So yeah, this picture about killed me. I spent approximately 9 hours working on this, mostly all at once. It started out easily enough, another directly digital design. However, the more I thought, and the more I looked at it, the more complicated and convoluted it got. So much of PS is still new to me, so I'm always trying and learning (and unlearning) new tricks and abilities. As a result, I tend to have to backtrack and rework different parts of the picture until I get it right. Not to mention, working until 4am is never good for the art. But, it was totally worth it. This is one of the most successful pictures I've done, in terms of goals set and goals accomplished, as well as lessons learned (see "working until 4am").

So, there you go. Number 2 in a series of indeterminate length.

Music: "Spirits in the Material World" - The Police

Whatever.

This is Captain Amazing. I guess.

All his friends call him Captain Apathy. Not that it matters.

He's supposed to be one of the world's greatest heroes. Or something.

As long as he's making the world safe, the people don't care. And neither does he.

Later, I suppose.

Music: "The Hand That Feeds" - Nine Inch Nails

Art Department Strikes! 2

Well Dan, I hope you're happy.

Continuing with this week's theme of "Art Department Strikes!" (not to be confused with 'UAW Strikes!' different stories altogether), here is another blast from my past. Conceived back in those heady days of college, this character was yet another half-formed idea that had no home. However, unlike most of the others in my notebooks, I gave this idea away to my friend Dan, in the hopes that he would do something cool with it.

(listens to sounds of crickets)

But, since he's been on my case for the past hmmm... 10 years to do something about any of the ideas I'd/we'd had back then, I figured he wouldn't mind if I borrowed the character back for a return visit.

Let's see if I can remember the gist of the character... oh, wait, I remember now. Pretty much I came up with the name, 'technopire', and left it at that. Pretty sure I couldn't copyright that... okay, a little more detail. I think I came up with the basic idea back in one of our biology classes back in the start of my college career. Something about a bunch of evil government scientists (my favorite kind!)getting their mitts on a real vampire, and attempting to make a supernatural predator into some manner of controllable weapon. Let's just assume for the sake of argument that the plan wouldn't work out and some manner of over-the-top action/violence would ensue.

That's about it, really. Yeah, honestly, a lot of these ideas weren't exactly groundbreaking or visionary. I kinda feel like the Jerry Bruckheimer of daydreamt story ideas. Except without, you know, money. Or connections. Or power. Or Kiera Knightley's cell number. You get the picture. But, they were a lot of fun to work on- again, that world-building I love so much. Even more fun was the collaborative process with my friends. It is a tremendous amount of fun to brainstorm with friends- ideas will build on top of ideas, and the craziest of them seem perfectly reasonable, and everyone is always more than ready to take it to even higher levels- things you would never have thought of, and things you only dreamt of, all seem to fall into place like they were meant to be, when working out these ideas with your friends.

That, my friends, is gold.

Oh, one last thing- he never had a name before. This one is an homage to a well-known comic and gaming artist, Tim Bradstreet. When I first started drawing this out, I was very definitely trying to emulate the stark, detailed style he's made his signature, while keeping it true to my own particular artistic quirks. And then I got all Photoshop on its ass. Visit Tim's site here.

I'll be out of the labs this Friday (even a mad scientist's ghost needs let out now and again, especially when it's to vacation with friends), so there will be no post then. However, since I like y'all, I'll post something up Thursday.

Until then...

Music: "Supernaut" - 10,000 Homo DJs (with Reznor vocals)

Art Department Strikes! 1

A long time ago, I used to be a fairly imaginative guy. An 'idea man', if you will. As I mentioned in my first post, you could often find me around work with a scrap of paper (or cardboard) in hand, jotting notes down for one epic idea after another. The ideas usually came out in a plot form with lots of dialogue and scenes laid out (known as a 'scriptment' in Hollywood). They were to end up as either a story or as a comic book. I would usually catch on one basic idea (the "hook", if you'll allow the continued Hollywood analogy), then hang the plot around that. Sometimes the hook was nothing more than a quote I'd heard somewhere, or a basic question I wanted to answer. Then, characters to fill the needs of the story. Then, and this was my favorite part, the world-building.

One of the things I love best about books and comic books, and to a lesser extent, some movies, is the amount of world-building that goes into it. To me, the world-building is all of the history, science, culture, characters, and whatnot that goes into the world the story inhabits, but doesn't necessarily directly influence the story itself. This is most common in science fiction- Peter Hamilton's "Night's Dawn Trilogy", for example, uses some 600 years of future history to explain current events in the series, but only indirectly mentions those events. It's left to the reader to make the connections, and create the history. Some better examples of this world-building include J.K. Rowling's Wizarding world in Harry Potter (him again!), Gene Roddenberry's 23rd-century Utopia in Star Trek, and most famously, J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, in which Tolkein actually created the entire history of Middle Earth, along with languages, people, lands, etc., most of which never ended up in the main story.

I think the reason I love this part the best is that it makes those worlds feel that much more real to me- like it would only take finding the right road to wander down to end up in Middle Earth, or Godric's Hollow, or any of a thousand imagined worlds. So, I used to spend plenty of time developing the worlds my stories would inhabit- histories, technology, historical characters- all of them were worked out beforehand. To be honest, I frequently spent more time on the world-building than the story itself, which would explain the lack of actual stories.

Where was I? Oh, yeah, the picture.

I decided, since I was drawing again, to go back and revisit some of those ideas that had been rattling around either in my head or in a box somewhere for the past 15-20 years. This is the first of the sketches looking back at those old ideas.

This guy is called the Dragonheart. Why? Well, cause he has the heart of a dragon.

(Time for an aside- this name may sound familiar to you. "Dragonheart? Wasn't that some crappy movie from the mid-90's with Dennis Quaid and Sean Connery?" Why yes, it was. However, I actually came up with the idea for a character who possessed the heart of a dragon some 3-4 years before the movie came out. This happens an appalling amount of time to any creative types who focus on genre-specific stories. Oh sure, you can write an O. Henry-ending to just about any old movie and get away with it, but try to write another story with a guy who's got a dragon's heart and see if you can avoid the cries of "rip off!". sigh... welcome to genre entertainment...)

Anyway, this guy's got a dragon's heart for his own- and as a result, he's immortal, can throw around fire, and some other stuff I can't remember. His outfit is more an attempt to show he's been around a long time rather than any specific design/costume idea. It's meant to show a number of eras (pocket watch, armor pieces, etc.) And no, that's not a robotic arm- it's armor covering his arm. A cyborg magician? That would be silly... He's one of those times where I came up with a character, but he had no story to go with him. See, he had plenty of backstory, but no story. So, he languished, until I came up with another idea into which his story could play out. But, that's a tale for another time.

Alright, seriously, this went on longer than expected. Carry on now. I'll be back Wednesday.

Weekend viewing highlight: "The Fountain", by Darren Aronofsky, starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. An amazing movie, and one I need to watch again, since I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Recommended.

Music: "Please Stay" - Warren Zevon (because of the movie)

Bonus cut: "Radio Nowhere" - Bruce Springsteen