What I Drew Sunday, September 27th - Top 3

In the last-of-the-year session of “What Shall I Draw Today?” I offered a list of 21 not-yet-drawn suggestions previous pitched this year. Last year, I branded this kind of thing as a “Rewind Day.”  This year I didn’t brand it as such, allowing for folks to also make new suggestions. On the day, I pulled from the poll starting with the suggestion receiving the most votes and trying to work in order down the list.

Here are the top 3 liked pieces from Sunday:

#1 - Christopher Robin-Hood: original suggestion by @ch_arles7762

 

The fully worded suggestion was as follows, “Christopher Robin-hood. Pooh and the gang posing as the characters from the cartoon Robin Hood.” This was the Number 1 voted of 21. The mashed name itself is fun enough to attract the curious.

As I do with mashed up groups, I wrote a column of name of the Hundred Acre Wood characters and a column for the Sherwood Forest characters. Then I try to match them up. Most everyone who is familiar with the Robin Hood tales knows that he led and band of “merry men.” The animated Disney film was a bit short on named merry men however: 3- Little John, Friar Tuck, Alan A-Dale. In contrast Christopher Robin has a tight group of 7 friends in the 100AW named in the Disney song about Winnie the Pooh, and then don”t forget about Tigger. Sorry, Kanga gets left out, as does Owl. I cast Roo as young Skippy- not a merry-man but it works. I cast Rabbit as Prince John, which is possible because they’re all playing. Thankfully, the antagonist gives the others something against which to react. And then Piglet is a poor Sheriff and a porter Sir Hiss. So he is cast as Will Scarlet, a named merry man in many adaptations including the Errol Flynn classic movie.

No need to get overly complicated with perspective and depth, when working with the Pooh characters. Trees with branches to sit upon provide great opportunities to place characters off of the ground. Even Rabbit gets to stand on a rock.

In another world, perhaps Tigger would have been cast as Prince John and then he would use his own tail as a puppet version of Sir Hiss.


#2 - Jasmine, Belle, Ariel and Elsa as Doctors and Nurses: original suggestion by @lindsey_baker28

This suggestion was number 5 in vote counts. You never really know what people are going to react to most strongly. I think in this case, the difference between the suggestion and the final drawing is an ethereal something that you didn’t know you wanted until you see it.

The suggester would later comment that these five are her sister’s favorites, and the suggestion was made on her sister’s behalf who is an x-ray technician.

The composition is very stock photo like. I mused about giving them a patients to attend to. I was leaning towards Aladdin, creating a humorous scene suggesting that the former street rat just took “one jump” too many. Ah, but I thought that was the wrong tone. Likewise, I opted not to have Ariel fiddling with her stethoscope, a thing to her that might be an entire mystery.

I made Belle a doctor, believing that she’d have the better grades. The other three ladies are nurses. Jasmine and Elsa nearly gets to keep their assigned colors. With her trademark hair color and large mass of hair swooping over her forehead, Ariel is always a quick read, no matter her outfit or fish tail.


#3 - Sorcerer Mickey as a Jedi: suggestion by @akoymdf

This suggestion was number 2 in vote counts.

This mashup reads like a good fit. On the one hand, you have good-gut Mickey Mouse wearing a magician’s robes and sometimes a magician’s hat. On the other hand, you have the Jedi, the fabled space magicians of Star Wars.

Never underestimate my eagerness to take an idea and make it more complicated, especially if it involves Disney characters. Enter, then, Peg Leg Pete as a Sith Lord. You can tell it’s him be the peg leg. The layout is a common showdown composition with the antagonist in the foreground with his back to the audience. In perspective, the hero is towered over by the villain, and his expression is clearly read as bravery and determination.


I decided to draw of these on the larger format of 5 in. x 7 in. The multiple character suggestions always work better given the room. But as this was a day of second chances, I wanted to give each drawing the best chance to shine.

Here are the rest of the 5 drawn on Sunday:

The Black Widows! Natasha, Yelena, and Melina
Original suggestion by @chujo9

Young Minerva McGonagall with her witch hat
Original suggestion by @akoymdf

All of these and more original piece of art will be for sale at my next comic convention showing, which, I guess, will be in 2021.

The next WSIDT session is happening in January 2021, as I take a break to turn my attentions to the end of the year holiday events. I still may pull from the voted upon list for inspiration for a fun drawing.

Thank you to everyone who pitched their fun drawing suggestions. Thank you for following my blog and/or Instagram (@Monstergram7) and/or Monster Enterprises Facebook page. Thank you for liking. 

All: Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.

“Christopher Robin-Hood” and “Medical Princesses” 17.78 cm  x 12.70 cm(7.00 in. x 5.00 in)
“Mickey Jedi” 12.70 cm x 17.78 cm (5.00 in. x 7.00 in.)

 

What I Drew Sunday, August 30th - Top 3

 I drew a total of six pieces over the eight hours of last Sunday’s session of “What Shall I Draw Today?” Could it be that I’m slowing down in my old age?

Here are the top 3 liked pieces from Sunday:

#1 - The Weasley Twins with Chip and Dale: suggestion by @nikkistar5394
 

Suggestions involving mashups with Harry Potter characters come in fairly regularly. Here Ron Weasley’s elder brothers Fred and George are paired with the chipmunk duo Chip and Dale. 

Always looking for a story to underpin the visuals, I pose the question, “what would happen if the chipmunks got their hands on a magic wand?” Would either posses the talent for anything to happen? I’m sure that the Weasley twin doubt that they do- or do they?


#2 - Wichita to be hangin' out with Scoob and Dynomutt: suggestion by anonymous

Scoob! (2020) was an enjoyable entry in a five decades old franchise. The Hanna-Barbera super team of Blue Falcon, Dynomutt and Dee Dee are fun additions which could have pulled focus away from the series stars, but are merged well with the story trajectory.

So what if these two talk-dog stars met with Wichita, the canine co-star of my own comic book Unstoppable Tuff-Girl? (UTG) I guess the new pack would hang out and play.

For kicks, Silky the squirrel from a Wichita adventure in issue No. 3 of UTG is added.

1x hidden seahorse.


#3 - Elena of Avalor coronation: suggestion by @hasirhas.art

 

Last week, August 23, Elena of Avalor aired on Disney Junior, its series finale in which the title character Princess Elena, finally become s queen. In the one image that I found, Elena has a blue dress with white opera gloves. That’s all I know and saw, which severely limits what I could draw with any confidence. I decidedly  kept it to a portrait of the new queen and more of a ball room full of dignitaries.


Here are the rest of the 6 drawn on Sunday:

Peabody and Sherman running into Doc and Marty
Suggestion by @akoymdf

Goku and Luffy eating food
Suggestion by @theweeabootrachmaster136

Oracle
Suggestion by @comicgeek97

All of these and more original piece of art will be for sale at my next comic convention showing, some time in 2021.

The next and last for the year WSIDT session is scheduled for Sunday, September, 27th.

Thank you to everyone who pitched their fun drawing suggestions. Thank you for following my blog and/or Instagram (@Monstergram7) and/or the Monster Enterprises Facebook page. Thank you for liking.

All: Black ink and color pencil.

“Weasley Twins & Chi n’ Dale” and “Wichita, Dynomutt and Scooby-Doo” on Bristol Board. 12.70 cm x 17.78 cm (5.00 in. x 7.00 in.)
“Elena“  on Bristol Board. 6.35 cm x 8.89 cm  (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.)

Cinder-versary

 Walt Disney’s animated classic, “Cinderella” marked the 70th anniversary of its premiere, February 15th, 1950.

Carmine red pencil draft on paper.

Black ink and color pencil on paper.

What’s a Clog and Why Does it... Clog?

Last weekend at D23 Expo 2019, Anaheim, CA, Disney celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the premier of the modern classic animated film, The Little Mermaid with numerous pieces of exclusive merchandise. From the Disney Store, selected art pieces were utilized for several different items.

My Mermaid art for the celebration was replicated twice. One was on one of a set of four ornaments, while the other on a large art piece printed on glass.

BEHIND THE ART:
In 2018, the Disney Store invited artists to contribute original art to celebrate The Little Mermaid’s 30th Anniversary, which officially lands in November 2019. Having been invited to contribute to similar calls for art, I am familiar that what general is liked best and then replicated on product are cute images of single characters with little backgrounds. My piece is not that, but a promotional poster for the movie.

Front and center is Ariel, the “little mermaid” of the story’s title, approaching a mysterious object that’s unmistakably from the human world - a shoe. That shoe is styled after the wooden clogs worn by Snow White in her introductory sequence of her own 1937 classic film. Faked perspective doesn’t quite hide the sense that it is a small clog. But I was only going to devote so much poster area to a clog.

Ariel is colored with the warmest palette and strongest white highlights. This palette choice and the mixed media treatment is inspired by the classic film poster work of Drew Struzan.

Ariel is encircled by her six sisters, her father and friends (from bottom left clock-wise): Attina, Andrina, King Triton, Arista, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Flounder and Sebastian. I cannot now remember my reasoning for the distribution of Ariels’s sisters. I did want them to each have different expressions. Some would rather have Ariel stay away from the alien thing, others are nearly as curious about it.

At the bottom right is King Triton’s underwater castle of his kingdom of Atlantica, made as bright and golden as I remember it from the movie. Compositionally, it may be too bright. The castle does contrast with the shadowy bottom left corner, from which peer the eels Flotsam and Jetsam as well as the glowing eyes of the sea witch, Ursula, further indicated by some of her emerging tentacles.

As an intended movie poster, you can sense that certain areas were left a bit void of details to reserve space for text and/or logos. That movie poster version never got completed.

As a total under-the-sea story, there is no room for Prince Eric or the seagull, Scuttle.


SHARED ON INSTAGRAM:

Princess League

This is what happens when I mashup Disney Princesses with DC Comics’ Justice League super-hero team. The image above was digitally stitched together from 5 separate panels. There are 19 mashup character featured here.

Here’s how I matched them up (alphabetically by Princess):

Princess Anna (Frozen) / Fire

She’s all fired up for an exciting adventure, but mostly she pals around a human ice-machine. 

Princess Ariel (The Little Mermaid) / Mera 

She’s an under-the-sea princess.

Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) / Black Canary

She has a powerful voice (that can be heard for miles).

Belle (Beauty and the Beast) / Cyborg

She’s pretty good with machines.

Cinderella (Cinderella) / Captain Marvel a.k.a. Shazam

She had a magic being help transform her to an improved version of herself.

Princess Eilonwy (The Black Cauldron) / Zatanna

She has magic!

Queen Elsa (Frozen) / Ice

She creates things made of ice.

Princess Giselle (Enchanted) / Miss Martian - Martian Manhunter

She arrived in this world from her own through a portal and probably loves dark chocolate cookie sandwiches with cream filling.

Princess Jasmine (Aladdin) / Batgirl - Batman

She is the offspring of the community’s wealthy family and sneaks out on nighttime adventures.

Princess “Kida” Kidagakash (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) / Hawk Woman

She’s good with weapons.

Princess Merida (Brave) / Green Arrow

She’s got a bow, a bunch of arrows and she’s probably the heiress of a wealthy family.

Moana (Moana) / Green Lantern - Jessica Cruz

She’s a way-finder, which is a bit like a pilot, going on an adventure with a strong will to see it through.

Mulan (Mulan) / Booster Gold

She took on a new identity and found herself on a new adventure.

Pocahontas (Pocahontas) / Wonder Woman

She is a noble warrior who inspired peace.

Princess Rapunzel (Tangled) / Firestorm

She can transform the old to young and the sick to healthy, and she tends to talk to herself.

Princess Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) / Supergirl - Superman

She the first, wears a cape (on occasion) and can wear an “S” emblem.

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) / The Flash

She’s quick on her feet and is trained to mix thing up in a lab (kitchen).

Princess Tiger Lily (Peter Pan) / Vixen

She has a wild spirit.

Princess Vanellope (Wreck-It Ralph) / The Atom

She’s micro-sized and can travel through telephone lines.

Here’s the line up with suggested mashup names.

Lastly, here are the individual 5 panels of the quin-tych.

What do you think?
Can you think of clever alternate mashup pairings?
Do you miss Blue Beetle?
Should Nancy Tremaine be included and if so, then which League member would you match her?
Would Ariel’s 6 sisters be relegated to different colored lanterns?

Beauty Again

Disney Theatrical, which produces stage high-end stage entertainment, launched in a big way when its interpretation of Disney’s animated feature premiered on Broadway on April 18th, 1994. Last week, it marked the 25th anniversary of that event.

The production kept to a safe path by sticking closely to the animated source. It’s not a too off critique to view it as a more elaborate, lavish and expensive version of those mounted in the company’s theme parks, like for example, the 30-minute, long-running production in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World, Florida.

The two-act libretto with intermission, is extended with several new songs. Not the least of which is a subtly re-worked version of “Human Again” which lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken had originally created during the production of the animated feature. Basically, it’s seeing Belle’s and Beast’s relationship develop from the point of view of the Enchanted Objects including  Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and Chip.

When the anniversary snuck up on me, I quickly came up with this image to celebrate the musical. It’s a moment from “Human Again” where Belle reads to the Beast the tale of King Arthur and his knights of the fabled Round Table. No Enchanted Objects here to pull focus from these leads.

Here, I again demonstrate in red pencil how loose my sketching stage can be when my inking part is to happen right on its heels. The pillow in the Beast’s left arm is an invention to help sell the idea that he reflexively needs to protect himself in sympathy of protecting the characters of the story that Belle is reading. It’s not used in any of the few images that I’ve seen from the stage play. The stack of books to the left, is a last addition to help balance the composition.

In that inking stage, I employ my developing style of broken and doubled lines, with dots, dashes and bubbles. Light shading with the same red pencil used in drafting the art, is used to add areas of contrasting tone and suggest some volume to forms with approximate shading.

As I’ve detail previously, the choice of a red pencil has mostly to do with red being “R” in RGB which is the three channels that typical scanners (and digital photography devices) record images. So then the red channel reveals a pretty high contrast version of what is black and what is not (the white and red parts). The human eye probably likes red  as an association to “warm” and living mammalian things. I like that artist in the past drew with red pencils and crayons in the explorative comprehensive stages. It seems to be a color that’s easy or cheaply produce for drawing painting.

Did you find the hidden Mickey?

Do you agree with the reasons behind the pillow and stack of books?

Wallpaper version at “monotonae Annex” on Tumblr.
http://monotonae.tumblr.com/post/184350426590/celebrating-the-25th-anniversary-of-the-premiere