What I Drew Sunday – January 28th

Here are the top 3 liked pieces from Sunday’s session of “What Shall I Draw Today?”

#1 – Veronica Mars Teams Up with Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. Gang: suggestion by @alltookayleigh

#2 – Catwoman: suggestion by @bhagyashree.l

#3 – Young Balthazar Bratt (Despicable Me 3): suggestion by @lindsocolo

Oddly, perhaps, not one of the eleven pieces selected to be draw were Disney characters (not including Indiana Jones). This was not planned on my part. However, there’s always something interesting about the challenge of drawing something new. This contrasts with the results from the last held session in September where the top 3 were Disney characters.

When you’re trying to knock out as many drawings as you can in eight-hours, your tend to go with the first thing that pops into your head. Case in point, who should Veronica Mars unmask? Kristen Bells’s The Good Place co-star Ted Danson circa 2004 with mussed hair.

It was artist’s choice with which version of Catwoman to draw. As it landed as the second most-liked piece, maybe Michelle Pfeiffer’s version from Batman Returns was a wise choice.

There were also plenty of things which were introductions to me. Balthazar Bratt was one of those things having not seen Despicable Me 3. For another example, I’m not familiar with most video game characters, so with the suggestion to draw any character from Chrono Trigger, I went with the ponytail blond with the crossbow, Marle, because she looked interesting running abound with a crossbow.

I added a hastily fashioned WSIDT button to visually identify the pieces drawn during the session. It work like a charm because as an in-situ addition it doesn’t alter the artwork and it doesn’t depend upon digital photo editing, because who needs that added step? I will probably fashion something a bit bigger for next time, though.

And here is the whole set of 11 pieces drawn that Sunday:

You can see all of the drawings posted on my Instagram feed, @monstergram7

All of these drawings are going into the hopper of original art for sale that I tote to my comic convention appearances. Next con TBA.

Thank you to everyone to pitches drawing suggestions. "Leftover" ideas may yet pop up on @monstergram7 in the next few weeks before the next WSIDT session in February.

Thank you for following and liking.

Click the WSIDT tab above for this year’s schedule and updated FAQ’s.


All drawings black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.
“Veronica Mars & Scooby Gang” 17.78 cm x 12.70 cm (7.00 in. x 5.00 in.).
“Catwoman” and “Balthazar Bratt” 6.35 cm x 8.89 cm (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.).

monstergram7 Hits 3,800 Followers

Having quickly blown past the 3,500 Instagram followers milestone during the holidays, I take a few minutes in the less hectic January 2018 to celebrate 3,800 followers with a sketch of Hilary Rabbit. And I recorded the sketching process with a time-lapse video.

THANK YOU for following my Instagram feed and this blog, monotonae!

https://www.instagram.com/monstergram7/

Hilarity Rabbit (some times Hilarity Hare) is a character from my failed comic strip, Cartoon Mondays. Cartoon Mondays was supposed to scratch my cartoonist’s itch when I hired on at Cartoon Network’s marketing/ licensing group. The style inspiration was classic 1950-60’s Hanna Barbera, the Huckleberry Hound and Top Cat era.

I frequently miss the H&B mark by adding a lot of shading, a lot of details and a lot of hash marks. But that discrepancy sits well enough with me, since the drawings lack the benefit of animation.

This piece, I believe, represents the first time that I really had to assign color to Hilarity. So I went with Top Cat inspired yellow with, again, additional non- H&B details of shading and modeling. Obviously there’s something about Hilarity that appeals to me that she lives on past the short-lived comic strip in sketch books and doodles like this. Maybe she’ll hop in to something in my future work.

As seen on Instagram.

What Shall I Draw January 28th?

Here we go again with the first What Shall I Draw Today? session of 2018 happening this approaching Sunday!

Check out the WSIDT tab above for details, schedules and answers to  Frequently Asked Questions.
However, simply, this is a time where I draw other folk’s suggestions posted at any of the following:

• Instagram:  @monstergram7

• Facebook:  @I’m a fan of Bryan Mon #BryanMon

• Blog:  monotonae.blogspot.com (this thing here) in the comments.


See you Sunday.

What Shall I Draw Today?

Sunday, January 28th, 2018

Eastern Standard Time:  12pm noon - 8 pm

Pacific Standard Time:  9am - 5pm

“Dizzy”
Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.
6.35 cm x 8.89 cm (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.).

Princess Powered

Much of this I’ve covered in the previous post “Earth’s Mightiest Princesses” (Oct. 29, 2017). However, the only one of the five parts of the series to receive a Top 9 position features Tiana as Captain America.

I began with the center piece which 1) partly addresses the What Shall I Draw Today? suggestion of the mash-up, 2) compositionally it is balanced enough to stand on its own, and 3) leaves me the out, should I choose, to never followup with drawing all of the mash-ups.

Working from a rough list of mash-up that I developed, here I go expanding on the idea. I’m sticking with the official Disney Princess list of 11 girls.

Naturally, I followed through with the panel to the left of center, fulfilling the official 11 Disney Princesses of the franchise. I also attempted to use Avengers members depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe of films.

Now, I’ve gone and done it and embarked on the expansion panels, going beyond the franchise’s 11 princesses to include some of the popular modern princesses. Elsa, of course, is weather controlling Thor, and the Avengers must have a thunder god/ goddess. I’ve also had to expand my Avenger choices to those from the comics having run out of those translated to screen.

And I finalize it all with some of the “lost girls”: Atlantis: The Lost Empire’s Princess Kida, The Black Cauldron’s Princess Eilonwy, Enchanted’s Princess Giselle and Peter Pan’s Princess Tiger Lily. If you eliminate the princesses from the various animal kingdoms of Disney and Pixar animated features, i.e. Faline (Bambi),  Nala (The Lion King) and Atta and Dot (A Bug’s Life), it leaves Ariel’s sisters, Nancy (Enchanted) and arguably Meg (Hercules) as unrepresented “lost girls.” But then, if Mulan can be a princess then...

Oh well, I'll leave that for another time.

ANNA, ARIEL, AURORA, BELLE, CINDERLLA, EILONWY, ELSA, JASMINE, KIDA, MOANA, MULAN, POCAHONTAS, TIANA, TIGER LILY, RAPUNZEL, SNOW WHITE, VANELLOPE © and TM Disney. MERIDA © and TM Disney/ Pixar. ANT-MAN, BLACK PANTHER, BLACK WIDOW, CAPTAIN AMERICA, CAPTAIN MARVEL, FALCON, HAWKEYE, HELLCAT, HULK, IRON-MAN, MANTIS, QUICKSILVER, SCARLET WITCH, THOR, TIGRA, VISION, WAR MACHINE, WASP and WONDERMAN © and TM Marvel Comics.

monstergram7 Best 9 of 2017

Here are the best/ top 9 liked posts in  2017 on my Instagram feed, @monstergram7, as tallied and posted on said Instagram in early December (because I wasn’t expecting the stats to change over the holidays).

Read more about each of the nine on the following blog posts:

Mulan & Mushu

Jack Sparrow (as a woman)

Aurora

Remy meets Winston

Princess/ Avengers mash-up

Pocahontas

Lilo, Nani and Stitch

Harry, Ron and Hermoine

Harley Quinn

Thank you for following and liking.

Bryan

Lilo-Go-Round

The Disney animated feature Lilo and Stitch celebrated it’s 15th anniversary last year!

I drew this in response. Thinking that Lilo’s big sister Nani doesn’t receive her fair share of the product spotlight, I made sure that she was involved.

With a lot these sketches, there hangs a “maybe one day” as in “maybe one day I’ll throw color on this.” For now I’m busy with other things.

Black ink and carmine red pencil on paper.
21.6 cm x 27.9 cm (8.50 in. x 11.00 in.)

LILO, NANI and STITCH © and TM Disney.

A Drawer of Aurora

In this sketchbook drawing of the Princess Aurora, I wanted to capture some of the design elements that legendary Disney animator and Imagineer Marc Davis put into his designs of the Princess. Perhaps most Disney fans haven’t picked this up when they visit the Parks and Disney Stores and see Aurora on sweat shirt and etc., but as a Consumer Products staff artist, I’m not called upon to draw Aurora like Mr. Davis did, but to go with a more flowing style and a fantastic, puffy skirt (glitter optional). For better or for worse.

That said, I feel that every once and while, it’s good to go back to the original stuff, if a bit humbling.

Ink and red pencil on paper.
15.24 cm x 22.23 cm (6.00 in. x 8.75 in.).

AURORA © and TM Disney.

A Little Mischief

If Pocahontas’s name loosely translates in to the English “Little Mischief,” then why don’t we see more of that in her own Disney film? Obviously, depicting that side of her personality wasn’t the intent of the filmmakers.

As another fun sketch of another Disney Princess, I considered what haven’t I drawn this girl do. Honestly, I’m not called upon to drawn Pocahontas very much in the first place. How about I just make her be happy? And without that scene-stealing, self-absorbed Meeko.

Black Ink and Carmine red pencil on paper.
21.6 cm x 27.9 cm (8.50 in. x 11.00 in.)

POCAHONTAS and FLIT © and TM Disney.

Needs Salt

I can always count on a bounty of interesting ideas to flow through my What Shall I Draw Today? session. For example this one: Remy from Disney/ Pixar’s Ratatouille meets Winston from the Disney short Feast. It’s all about food, right?

Artist’s tip: you can always unify disparate styled things in a different other style. Meaning, you need not try to recreate Winston to look like he’s in Remy’s CGI world, nor vice-versa.

So what has Remy cooked up that interests Winston so much? It’s a meat ball, but fancy meatball. It’s quick and easy story telling. I try not to overthink things in a WSIDT session.

Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.
17.78 cm x 12.70 cm (7.00 in. x 5.00 in.).

REMY © and TM Disney/ Pixar. WINSTON © and TM Disney.

Washed and Wary

I would think that all artist of all mediums, seek to do something different than what they’ve done previously. If that’s true, then it should be of no surprise that when drawing the Disney Princess, as I now do as a Disney staff character artist, given the chance I begin with the notion, “What haven’t I drawn this girl do before?”

I’ve neven drawn Mulan from that scene in the movie where she washes a day’s filth off in the river – with disapproving Mushu nearby. Not until this summer. You’re welcome.

Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.
22.86 cm x 30.48 cm (9.00 in. x 12.00 in.)

MULAN and MUSHU © and TM Disney.

Sea and Be Seen

As suggested during one of last year’s What Shall I Draw Today? sessions, I depict the fictitious event of Moana meeting Ariel. What might they have in common? They both love the sea don’t they? They both have fathers who are rulers of their respective kingdoms/ tribes who have strict rules on how their daughters should behave.

Yeah, go with something sea-themed.

Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.
12.7 cm x 17.8 cm (5.00 in. x 7.00 in.).

MOANA and ARIEL © and TM Disney.

Quinney Con Harley

Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad (2016)) juggling a few lit bombs. She’s dangerous enough without the bombs.

Some times during a comic convention, especially on a Sunday, I don’t have much to do other than draw any thing I want. The caveat is that in the end I’ll have a drawing that I’ll hopefully want to sell.  Alternatively, it will be a drawing that I hope some will want to buy. So “any thing” ends up narrowed to a short list of things that I sold in the past. Harley Quinn, in all her costume iterations, has always been on the short list since I’ve been doing comic conventions.

The juggling comes in because, at the time, why not?

Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.
22.86 cm x 30.48 cm (9.00 in. x 12.00 in.)

Harley Quinn © and TM DC Comics.

Jaqueline Sparrow

Captain Jack Sparrow from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie series – as a woman? Of course that idea came in during one of last year’s What Shall I Draw Today sessions.

The transformation happens mostly in the face and longer hair, having chosen not to make her overly busty. All of the accessories, jewelry and costume props are taken form Sparrow’s look in the first “Pirates” movie.

Maybe the next movie should eschew the Jack Sparrow story lines and tell story about a female captain?

Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.
6.35 cm x 8.89 cm (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.).