The Royal World: Frozen

sketches.

Red pencil and black ink on paper.

21.59 x 27.94 cm  (8.50 in.  x  11.00 in.)

Characters from Disney’s Frozen in the “Royality” style (more or less).

Characters ©Disney Enterprises.

Pack the Halls

b. merrie!

– b. mon

[digital color @ tumblr]

Have a Moving Holiday

sketch

Christmas 2013

New E 4 Me

b.t.w. I’ve got a new e-mail address.

That other one doesn’t work now.

Monster Sketches

Ball-point pen on paper.

More exploratory sketches of a monster.

[more]

Working Too Hard Can Give You a Heart Attack-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack

Scenes from my move from Atlanta Georgia (about Nov. 11), to Southern California and a new job as a character artist at Disney Consumer Products.

What once was my studio space.

The left overs.

Good-bye, house. 

Hello, Los Angeles (International Airport).

Orientation day at the Walt Disney Studio lot. 

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade - a peek at the final state of something I worked on this summer.

Thanks for the feast.

Hold That Thought, part 2

Thanks for 12 good years, Cartoon Network.

[color card @ .tumblr]

Hold That Thought

Hello.

My next scheduled posting will be December 2, 2013.

In the mean time, I’ll be moving - physically and geographically moving.

My heart-felt thanks to the folks at Cartoon Network, Atlanta, GA. Thank you for tolerating my weirdness and other social short-coming.

Now, I’ve got a lot of sorting and boxing ahead of me. I’ve got to turn things off, clean, paint, and figure out my situation on the other side.

When next I post here, I’ll be settled (some what) in California.

L B C N U

bryan.

Over My Header

Hello.

It’s been 59 days since my last posting here, or as I like to think of it D*C+50 - fifty days after my last convention appearance, Dragon*Con. True, that doesn’t help explain anything at all regarding why I haven’t posted any thing new earlier than today.

One of the things with which I’ve been playing I represent with these two sample headers.

And that’s all I’ll say about that, because it’s still too much in the concept stages.

Dragon Drawing

sketchbook explorations

For my print commemorating Merrill’s and my return to Dragon*Con this year, I wanted to feature Tuff-Girl fighting a fire-breathing dragon. After a few sketches, the editor in my head said, “well, that's just ridiculous”.

It’s a good thing that Merrill came up with Rip Tyler the reptile man. With T.G. & R.T. battling it out in front, an image in the back of a warrior woman facing off with a towering winged reptile could be a metphor. For additional visual differentiation, I fell on the “Wichita” cartoony style for Tuff-Girl’s reality. Then dumbly I drew what would become a background poster, in more the action-adventure style employed on the main feature “Tuff-Girl” stories in our comic Unstoppable Tuff-Girl. I say “Dumbly” because that doesn’t make sense  - if the “Wichita” style is a more simply drawn reality, then the poster too would be simply drawn too.

Uhm. – – – Oh, well.

Rip’s hand posing was swapped, because I didn’t like how in the sketch he appeared to be groping at her.

6 Days Until Dragon*Con 2013

Merrill and I have recieved confirmation that we'll have table space at D*C ’13!

** UPDATE **

Come and see us at tables #51 and #52 in the Comics and Pop Artists Alley in the Hyatt Regency, Exhibition Level, Grand Hall East.

Hyatt Regency Atlanta
265 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30303

Comic and  Pop Artist Alley hours:
Friday (Aug. 30)  -  1:00 pm–6:00 pm
Saturday/ Sunday (Aug. 31–Sept. 1)  -  10:00 am–6:00 pm
Monday (Sept. 2)  -  10:00 am–3:00 pm

TAGS July 25 & 26, 1994

  07/25: Din That Special

07/26: Deco-Rations

July 25: If there’s an art and/ or science to marketing a celebration, then the Disney Parks does it as well as anybody. As commentary, that may be why it’s the 26th anniversary and not the more recognized milestone 25th, and how Happiland isn’t going to let it pass with commemorative ribbons, button or little toothpick flags.

Gerry (beaver, 3th appearance), Corina (poodle, 6), Fern (kangaroo, 5)

July 26: Herein is the first and last appearance of manager, Monica, for the sole purpose of having a “suit”/ authority figure. Also for the role, the suit characters are taller than the regular TAGS cast. If you think about it, the height difference, while visually convenient for communicating hierarchy, doesn’t make a lot of sense, when the TAGS cast aren’t intended to be children as Charlie Brown and gang are in Peanuts.

Barron (teddy bear, 14), Hans (fox, 5), John (greyhound, 3)

Stop Dragon My Heart Around

“Dragon” poster element for commemorative Tuff-Girl print for Dragon*Con 2013.
Color pencil and India Ink on Bristol Board.
43.18 x 27.94 cm (17.00 in. x 11.00 in.)
2013.

Dragon*Con, 2013

DRAGON * CON

Downtown Atlanta, GA * Aug. 30 - Sept. 2, 2013

Hyatt Regency Atlanta * Atlanta Marriott Marquis * Hilton Atlanta

Sheraton Atlanta Hotel * Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel

Monster Enterprises

Bryan Mon (Artist: Unstoppable Tuff-Girl, Cartoon Network) &

Merrill Hagan (Writer: Unstoppable Tuff-Girl, DC Nation)

Comics & Pop Artist Alley

Table #TBD

[poster w/o supers @ tumblr]

Dragon*Con 2013 - Advanced Commissions

Dragon*Con

Aug. 30 - Sept. 2, 2013

Downtown Atlanta, GA

Hyatt Regency Atlanta / Atlanta Marriott Marquis / Hilton Atlanta

Sheraton Atlanta Hotel / Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel

Dragon*Con is less than a month away. Although Merrill Hagan and I are awaiting official confirmation of a table, I am accepting advanced orders for commission sketches.

 
Order Your Commission Sketches
I am accepting a limited number of advanced orders for sketches from now up until Sun. Aug. 23, 2013.

For the super reasonable per-character rate of $15, I will draw, ink and block in color with color-pencil on 9 in. x 12 in. Bristol board.

Orders are for pay-and-pick-up at this year’s Dragon*Con, only. I apologize that I will not be accepting pre-orders for commissions on special paper or sketch books.

I will be limiting orders to 2 characters per-person.

I can be contacted via e-mail at bryanmon@att.net or check the “View my complete profile” on this blog. I look forward to a terriffic time in Atlanta.

See you there.

WONDERGIRL TM and © DC Comics.

THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN TM and © Universal.

PRINCE NAMOR TM and © Marvel.

Heroes on My Mind

 

Here are some recent super hero themed sketched - you know, what with the San Diego Comic Con fervor and all.

The Superman and Supergirl sketch was done following the weekend I watched the DVD movie “Superman: Unbound” (2013), the one based on the Brainiac arc by Goeff Johns and  Gary Frank. The storyline was solid enough. However, my enjoyment of the story was hampered by the distraction of the frequently poor draftmanship of the elongated character designs and other odd choices in art direction. In effect, the sketch is my 10 minute response.

[details @ tumblr]

Superman - 75th Anniversary

“Look Up.”

Digital color with India Ink.

2013.

This year, Superman is celebrating his 75th anniversary (DC Comics). In recognition of this event, I composed this piece and submitted it for publication to the souvenir book that San Diego Comic Con International issues (happening this week).

India Ink on Bristol Board.

Per my training in commercial art and consumer products illustration, I drew and inked the base art on  27.9 x 43.2 cm (11 x 17 inches) board. This layout was done knowing that I would be cropping in tightly for the finished piece. Meaning, there wasn’t any more of the Metroplois sky line planned than three generic buildings and the Daily Planet.

Carmine red pencil on Bristol Board (detail).

Not having fully accepted the his modern uniform design (Jim Lee), I feature the hero in his classic uniform design. Anyways, for argument sake, that’s kind of more appropriate for the anniversary.

It is perhaps very evident that my idea of what he looks like is how Neal Adams drew him in the 1970’s - it certainly became evident to me, at least, after finishing the pencil stage. The thought did occur that I should try to draw Superman with the features of Christopher Reeves as Gary Frank has done on his run. Expedience, more than any thing else, made me move forward with the drawing I had.

By the way, the piece was in fact selected along with many others to be in the souvenir book.

[detail @ tumblr]

Tiki Fifty Tiki Room

Happy 58th birthday to Disneyland

Celebrating Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room’s

50th anniversary.

[detail @ tumblr]

[detail @ tumblr]

Lions, Sharks and Bears

Here are some recent sketches, all ink pen on paper.

[detail shots @ tumblr]

Tiny Teen Titans

sketch cards

Color pencil and ink on Bristol Board.

2012

I'm not especially fond of big-headed character design (also know as “super-deformed” in Manga circles), at least not to the point where I’d make it my primary style. I’ll admit, however that what looks good on 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" cards are big heads, either as portraits or Charlie Brown proportioned folks. As I prefer to draw full poses over portraits or busts, I started to draw this style for cards.

Here toward the end of one of last year’s conventions I drew the Teen Titans of the 2002 animated series’s designs. This was before I’d seen any thing of the DC Nation shorts and much before the new, yet-to-be-announced Teen Titans GO! series.

I was hoping to sell the cards as a set, but later Robin and Raven would be sold separately breaking up the set.

[bigger @ tumblr]

TAGS July 04 & 05, 1994

07/04: That’s What Sneeze Said

07/05: Polly Alley Sniffle All Day 

July 04: Polly (penguin) suffers from the symptoms of seasonal allergies, and yet manages to conduct herself for a positive guest experience by stifling it just long enough. This certainly is derived from my own struggles with pollen season. It’s been almost a dozen strips since Monster had been placed in a prominent roll in TAGS. This was an effort to develop the cast of character more. There’s not particular reason that Polly was chosen to have hay fever. If anything, I must have felt it was her time to by featured in a couple of strips which converged with my want to try some allergy gags.

July 05: If it isn't the sniffling and sneezing that comes with hay fever that gets you, then it’s the drowsiness and other potent symptoms of the counter-acting medicine. Carolyn (raccoon, 6th appearance) is the front-of-house lead doling out breaks. In her hands is an over-sized break sheet which are really more pocket-sized. One would think the size was necessary to contain the word “BREAKS”, but it just reads better that a tiny scrap of paper. Polly (22) has has marks on her nose which if successful stands in for a red, irritated nose. If not so successful, Polly looks like seagull. Oh for the want of color.

This second strip in particular is another example my fascination with using sound effects as visual elements. The joke structure there may require a fourth panel payoff. Sara at what is referred to as “bevees” has had two previous appearances, but obviously doesn’t need to bee seen (i.e. take up valuable panel space) here. See, there’s a reason for almost everything?

Off of the top of my head, I think my technical pen must have been clogging up or some thing. That’s the only reason I can think of for the scratchiness of the art. 

Mini Heroes

Ink on paper

17.78 x 16.193 cm (7" x 6.375")

I definitely had the Heroes Convention on my mind when I did these steam of consciousness doodle during a morning meeting.

[Robin detail at .tumblr]

Red Capes

HEROES CONVENTION, Charlotte, NC June 7-9, 2013 — I had another spendid time a Heroes Con this past weekend. It’s encouraging to get a few folks looking for new adventures of Tuff-Girl, which I had with last year’s issues number 2 of Unstoppable Tuff-Girl.

I did plenty of commissioned convention sketches too.

And when not busy doing that, I did some speculative sketches, often featuring my go to subject, Supergirl.

At one point on Sunday, I sketched up Big Barda of Jack Kirby’s New Gods. If I didn’t sell it by the end of the Con, it was something that a friend of mine might like to have. Well, my friend is going to have to wait for another time for me to draw Big Barda.

[bigger images at monotonae.tumblr]

SUPERGIRL, SUPERMAN and BIG BARDA TM and © DC Comics.