Supergirl: Ice Work If You Can Get It

a) Concept.

Red rollerball ink on pre-printed note pad paper.

17.8 cm  x  25.4 cm   (7.0 inch  x  10.0 inch).

2008.

b) Digital color over scan of India ink.

2010.

More Supergirl fan art.

From the concept drawing shown, I drew a new, tighter drawing, inked it and colored it digitally. I’m in the habit (or have assumed the procedure) of building the art on layers for future re-manipulation, tweaking or re-coloring. For example, Supergirl, the iceberg and chain are comprised of 6 layers: one for the line work, another for flat base color and four for effects or lighting and shading.

Mo Momo Con

a) Tuff-Girl and Wichita, digital color over scan of black ballpoint pen on copier paper, 20.3 cm x 25.4 cm (8.0 inch x 10.0 inch); 
b) alternate re-color; 
c) detail, 4.1 cm x 5.1 cm (1.6 inch x 2.0 inch).
d) rough drawing, scarlet red pencil on copier paper, 21.6 cm x 27.9 cm (8.5 inch x 11.0 inch)

Here is the full render of the anime style drawing of Tuff-Girl done for the MomoCon advertisement mock up. As I have been accustomed to doing with my work in consumer products and marketing illustration, both with Disney and Cartoon Network, the pose was designed as an asset, which is to say it is not intended to be final in its layout and cropping, but for use with in another layout. This partly explains the drab, flat gray color behind Tuff-Girl and Wichita. For the alternate re-color, I put a little more effort in the background.

The decision to use a ballpoint pen for the final line lies mostly in my comfort with the tool. Because the ink doesn’t bleed, it’s a passable substitute for a darkened xerographied or scanned pencil line, which to the best of my knowledge is part of the anime aesthetic. Because I drew the final ink line on top of the red pencil rough, the high resolution scan is the only way that stage of the art now exists.

The dramatic re-color done for the final ad, was mostly the result of playing with some of Photoshop’s capabilities- you know, because I could.

MomoCon, 2011

Heads up, ya’ll!

This will be my first convention appearance of the year - MomoCon.

I hear it’s got a large anime component, so it seemed appropriate to try my hand at an anime style over Tuff-Girl and Wichita.

I’ll be a guest in the “Media” track, due to my day job - staff illustrator/ character artist for Cartoon Network. However, you can be sure that I will books and drawing to sell.

Admission cost: FREE!

I hope to see you there.

MomoCon, 2011
March 12-13, 2011
10am to Midnight (Sat)
10am to 10 pm (Sun)


Georgia Tech Square
5th Street and Spring
Atlanta, GA



http://momocon.moonfruit.com/

Covering a Cover

(a. Red pencil on paper, 8.5 in. x 11.0 in. 

b. Digital color and composite over clean scan of ink on paper)

Simply, here is my take on the cover of “Supergirl” #60.

TAGS, January 01, 1994

“Ski Trip”

Digital color over clean scan of ink on paper.

I created this piece of art for one of the covers of “monotony.” I’m very certain that I colored it with water colors and of which a black and white copy was reproduced for that cover. As of this writing, I could not find that original water color. Here in its stead is my digital color pass of it.  Being digital, I could then make the accompanying legend is quick order.

Guy’s “87” jersey refers to the first year I worked a summer at Disneyland.  The paper lunch sack supposedly contained charcoal briquets for the snow-critters, which is an odd and otherwise unexplained detail to include.

At one point I was very concerned about which characters would wear boots. Biologically, I don’t think I got all of that detail correct. Also, I now wonder if  Bingo and Bill would really enjoy the winter fun?

Marketable Skills

“The French Market Restaurant Cast Poster, Summer 1989”

Black Xerographic reproduction on white paper

91.4 cm x 61.0 cm (36 inches x 24 inches)

1989

Here is one of the biggest self-started projects on which I worked relating to my days as a Cast-Member (i.e. employee) bussing tables at the buffeteria restaurant “The French Market” in New Orleans Square, Disneyland.  Each of the 107 Cast-Members is depicted as her/his critter-caricature or as I coined, “critticature” (or crittature), which were originally developed for my fledgling comic strip series, “Back Stage,” of which I have discussed previously.

I don’t know if almost 22 years later I need to apologize for any of my critticature selections, but I can say that none of them were out of meanness. On the opposite extreme, none of my critticature selections very much gained me anything. I didn't even have much in the way of rules of going about it, save for trying to never use the same species or breed twice. Some were actually because they reminded me of an animal or cartoon of an animal. Some were merely alliterative with either their first or last name. The worst were because I had never used a particular animal before.

The poster was as big as Kinko’s copiers, at the time, could reproduce. I drew the original at 100% scale on illustration board as a single, sprawling piece of art and pasted on the names in the legend at the bottom. To my chagrin, the large copier’s rollers would not accept the large board, and I had to peel off the top layer. I ran off 200 copies for sale I guess. I would later frame the original and give it to the department supervisor to put on display in the office, where unfortunately it got water damaged when some pipes burst (or something). In all, I sum it up as some thing I did. I didn’t even seek official permission from the park to do it. I never followed up the poster with updated or expanded versions

Disneyland being a place of seasonal employ, for some on the poster, this was their first and last season at the Market, so I think I remember about half of these people, with a few more in the “oh, yeah” edges of memory.

Merry Christmas

This season’s Christmas greeting for Monster Enterprises in three flavors.

Click each to play the animate GIF.

Saving Screens

“Unstoppable Tuff-Girl: Los Angeles”

computer screen desktop

1920 x 1200 pixels

Back in August, I shared a desktop image featuring a photo-composited image of Tuff-Girl in front of old Las Vegas.  Well, Tuff-Girl appears all over the American South-West.  The re-used Tuff-Girl image over-laid with warmer tones stands in front of Los Angeles’ skyline in twilight, although not an old Los Angeles.

A Little Like Christmas

“Tree” squibbill Christmas greeting

Carmine red pencil on paper.

“Bear” squibbill Christmas greeting

Carmine red pencil on paper.

“Sing” squibbill Christmas greeting

Carmine red pencil on paper.

Here’s a teaser on what is my current project. After a few years of putting Tuff-Girl on my Christmas cards, this year I’m using my TAGS characters again: Monster, Rodney (lion) and Polly (penguin). 

I am also returning to the idea that I would do it as a series of multiple designs, a thing I started when I worked at Disneyland and was giving out upwards of fifty cards. The variations seemed to be intriguing to my friends and co-workers.

Ready and Wilson

Little Tuffy and Wilson
sketches
Color pencil and ball-point pen ink on paper with Digital color over cleaned scan.
21.6 cm x 27.9 cm (8.5 inch x 11.0 inches)
2010.


Surfer girl Little Tuffy has a pet Shar-Pei, Wilson.

Why a Shar-Pei? Because when I thought about it, I couldn’t think of any other cartoon or comic strip that ever had a Shar-Pei. Think about it.

Done?

Right, so L.T. would have the first cartoon Shar-Pei. I started in earnest designing Wilson one month ago, with little success. One month later, attacking the challenge only twice more in between, here above is pretty close to what he’ll look like.