What I Drew Sunday, April 28th – Top 3

Here are the top 3 liked pieces from the “Marvel Day” edition of WSIDT:

#1 - Vision and Wanda: suggestion by @jonmpeterson

Wanda and Vision eating spaghetti a la Lady and the Tramp. Not yet having seen “Endgame,” I’m guessing that this does not happen in that film. Maybe it will in their Disney+ series.

For the non-comic literate, the couple would have a couple of kids. It’s complicated. Whether or not the iteration realized in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has developed either naturally or satisfyingly is perhaps debatable, but then romance isn’t what the MCU is about. 

As for Lady and the Tramp, the classic animated feature may be the Disney company’s first romantic comedy and may have stood as the only animated rom-com for decades until Tangled. Feel free to discuss.

So mashup the couple with the iconic scene and I give you this. NOW, they’re in love. Tony, start the music.

#2 - Stan Lee Cutting Thor’s Hair: suggestion by @bscomics

I’m hesitant to merely recreating a scene directly from film or television, but that’s pretty much what this is taken from Thor: Ragnarok. I just changed the framing (camera placement) for a better two-shot. And there wouldn’t have been much point to put Stan in civilian clothes like, say, a comfortable sweatshirt.

I think that I could have pushed Thor’s expression to be something more terrified. 

I considered and abandoned a layout that  squeezed in Thor’s response of “Please, no.” I opted for the story telling to play in the readers’ minds to its natural conclusion, rather than underscoring it with the obvious.

I also considered and abandoned widening the shot to include the wrist restraints that prevent Thor from defending himself as depicted in the movie. In proper visual storytelling, it’s an important omission. But I favored, concentrating on the expressions.

#3 - Tigger as Black Panther: suggestion by @elijones94

This is the denizen the Hundred Acre Woods dressed and the Wakandan warrior-ruler. Rather than the full-face-covering mask, he’s wearing something more akin to a kid’s costume.

Does it read well? Without fingers to pose as claws, a typical Black Panther pose seems pointless (pun!). 

Maybe he needs a big picture of Black Panther on his chest for clear branding that is found on halloween costumes in the 1960s and 70s?

And what to call the mashup creation? Black Pouncer?

And the remaining 7 of the 10 drawn:

Dazzler

Toddler Mystique and Magneto (Father’s Day scene)

The Falcon

Spider-Man and the DMV with his Spider-Buggy

Sgt. Fury

The Punisher

Top Dog and Joey Jordan

Per the usual, all 10 of these with be for sale at my next public show, which happens to be CTN Road Trip, part of the Burbank Arts Festival in Burbank, CA, May 18 & 19, 2019.

The next WSIDT is schedule for May 26th (corrected from May 19th).

You can check out my Instagram feed for more drawings @monstergram7

Thank you for following and liking.

All black ink and color pencil.

“Vision and Wanda” - on paper, 17.78 cm x 12.70 cm (7.00 in. x 5.00 in.)

“Thor and Stan” - on paper, 17.78 cm x 12.70 cm (7.00 in. x 5.00 in.)

“Tigger/ Black Panther” - on Bristol Board, 6.35 cm x 8.89 cm (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.).

What Shall I Draw April 28th?

WSIDT for April will be a Marvel Day! And why not? It just so happens that it’ll be the premiere weekend for Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame.

What Shall I Draw Today?

Sunday, April 28th, 2019

Marvel Day

Eastern Daylight Time:  12pm - 8pm

Pacific Daylight Time:  9am - 5pm

For this Marvel-themed session, I will be selecting drawing suggestions that feature Marvel characters for the entirety of that Sunday. Suggestions that are not Marvel-themed, will be bumped as fodder for things that I might draw in the weeks following April 28 to be shared on Instagram. I must warn you, that my schedule, as of late, has made it difficult to do such drawings. Nevertheless, if I find the time, then that’s where I will pull ideas.

Per usual, all suggestion from previous WSIDTs are voided. If I haven’t draw your suggestion form the last or previous sessions, then you may suggest it again. Even if I did draw you suggestion previously, you may suggest it again. I may have a different take on it.


Staring right now through the close of WSIDT Sunday, please post your suggestions at any of the following social media spots where you find the above prompting image.

Blog:  monotonae.blogspot.com (here in the comments. Please leave a name if you’re an anonymous guest)

Instagram:  @monstergram7

Facebook:  @MonsterEnterprises


Click on the WSIDT tab above for FAQ’s.

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

monstergram7 Hits 4,500+ Followers on Instagram

To mark the recent event of my Instagram feed surpassing 4,500 followers, I drew Tuff-Girl and her dog Wichita celebrating that same event. She just happened to be dressed in semi-western attire. The construction sketch and inking was caught in a time-lapse video (above).

Follow me on Instagram: @monstergram7

Hitting 4,000+ July 2018

Hitting 3,800+ January 2018

Hitting 3,000+ August 2017

Hitting 2,500+ April 2017

Hitting 2,000+ November 2016

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

What I Drew Sunday, March 24th - Top 3

Here’s what ranked in this pre-WonderCon WSIDT:

#1 - Buzz Lightyear / RoboCop mashup: suggestion by @realmarkd

The respective designs for Buzz Lightyear (Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story franchise) and the eponymous RoboCop share so much in common that, for sure, this mashup must be everywhere on the internet. A quick Google image search reveals the answer of, “nope.” Look at them: 1) hard exo-suits; 2) black accordion abs; and 3) accessories that pop out with push-button ease.

For the Toy Story 2 licensing style guide, I did a bunch of Buzz Lightyear drawings. I actually composed a series of how-to-draw model sheets for Buzz and Woody. Maybe someone at Disney still has copies. So, I’m saying that I can draw a reasonable Buzz on the fly. As for the other, this is the first RoboCop, whole or in part, that I’ve drawn.

I had considered replicating the original 1987 RoboCop movie poster, but he’s stepping out of a patrol car and very profile. To turn the camera to reveal the chest plate just seemed to make it more Back to the Future than RoboCop. Besides, I didn’t want to draw the car anyways.

#2 - Elphaba and Glinda as Hogwarts students: suggestion by @akoymdf

Witches are the same as wizards in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter world/universe, right? Judging by the comments I get regarding how I assign/sort characters to one of the four houses of Hogwarts, I don’t know my HP stuff as well I could.

Elphaba and Glinda from the Wicked, Broadway musical (and the book that inspired it) are witches in training, and probably would have fared better in Hogwartz than they did in Oz.

I put Glinda in Ravenclaw only because it was Gilderoy Lockhart’s (Kenneth Branagh) house. I put Elphaba in Hufflepuff because Slitherin didn’t sound right, and Hufflepuff is a more fun word than Gryffindor, even if the mascot is a badger.

#3 - Lin meets Megara: suggestion by @oliviamn14

Lin (Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away) and Megara (Disney’s Hercules) were both voiced (in English) by the talented Susan Egan. You may know Ms. Egan as the first Belle in Disney’s Broadway sensation Beauty and the Beast.

I wonder if I draw a lot of people eating. On Sunday, as it happens, I drew Olivia Moore from iZombie* eating utilizing chopsticks. I wonder secondly, if this meeting passes the Bechdel test? I approach these meetings with the questions “what would they do?” and “what would they think of the other person?” What, I don’t have time for that? I guess they’re eating.

* The suggestion was to draw Olivia Moore from iZombie the TV series that was based on a DC Comic book. What I didn’t think to research was whether the main character for each were the same, they’re not, and I happily based the drawing more on the lead character of the comic. I think the Ariel-esque character design might be interpreted as a caricature of the actress Rose McIver. Not a lot, but maybe a little… if you squint.

and the rest:

Olivia Moore (iZombie)

Captain Marvel vs Maverick

Camila Mendes

Rita Farr (a.k.a. Elasti-Girl) arm wrestling Giganta

All seven of these original pieces of art will be for sale at my WonderCon, Anaheim appearance this weekend.

Please check out my Instagram feed for more drawings @monstergram7

Thank you for playing, liking and following.

All: Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.
“Buzz/RoboCop” - 6.35 cm x 8.89 cm (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.).
“Elphaba and Glinda” - 12.70 cm x 17.78 cm (5.00 in. x 7.00 in.).
“Lin and Megara” - 8.89 cm x 6.35 cm (3.50 in. x 2.50 in.).

What Shall I Draw March 24th?

The March edition of WSIDT returns to the standard Sunday schedule, and as the regular non-themed session.

What Shall I Draw Today?

Sunday, March 24th, 2019

Eastern Daylight Time: 12pm - 8 pm

Pacific Daylight Time:  9am - 5pm

This happens to land on the weekend prior to WonderCon, Anaheim. As such, I’ll try the following experiment: If you’re planning on attending WonderCon and have a 1 or 2 character sketch idea, then tag your suggestion with #WonderCon2019, and I’ll bump it up in consideration. Should I sketch your idea, I’ll hold that sketch through Saturday for your option to purchase at the con.

Of course, whether or not I sketch any suggestion is time permitting.

Please post your suggestions at any of the following social media spots where you find the above prompting image - from right now through the close of WSIDT Sunday.

Blog:  monotonae.blogspot.com (here in the comments, please leave a name)

Instagram:  @monstergram7

Facebook: @Monster Enterprises (exclusively*)

*To make thing less unwieldy (for me at least), I request that you please not contact me through my personal FB page, nor through FB Messenger with your WSIDT suggestions.

Click on the above WSIDT tab for FAQ’s.

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

WonderCon 2019

Hey, folks!

It’s me, Bryan Mon, Disney artist and co-creator of “Unstoppable Tuff-Girl” here to announce my return to this year’s WonderCon, Anaheim.

Here are the details:

Bryan Mon

Small Press: SP-80

WonderCon, Anaheim

March 29-31, 2019

Anaheim Convention Center

800 West Katella Ave.

Anaheim, CA 92802

Special Saturday appearance by

Merrill Hagan

Writer & Producer

Teen Titans GO! (comic book and TV series)

Here’s a map of the floor. Find Me!

 2019 CONVENTION PRINT 

New this year, is this 11" x 17" (27.94cm x 43.18cm) poster print. This print will be available exclusively for all my 2019 convention appearances. In previous years, each convention appearance had been commemorated with a uniquely designed limited edition mini-print.

Some of you may be able get a free copy. See below for information.

Also NEW for 2019:

 ASHCAN - SKETCHBOOKS 

“Sketches” by Bryan Mon, Vol. 2.2

48 color pages of stuff collected from my notes and sketch books.

2001-2006 (roughly my first 5 years at Cartoon Network)

This is a more affordable reprint of the hand bound Vol. 2. 

“Sketches” by Bryan Mon, Vol. 3

48 color pages of newly collected stuff collected from my notes and sketch books.

2007-2011 (roughly a middle 5 of my 12 years at Cartoon Network)

 POSTER / PRINTS 

“25th Anniversary of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”

11" x 17", re-composed for the poster.

Popular on Instagram, this watercolor painting is now available for purchase as a poster/print!

“Mickey: A Classic” and “Minnie: A Classic”

both 11" x 17" re-composed and subtly colored for these 2 poster/prints.

 APPAREL UPDATES 

All of the “Tuff-Girl” “logo” shirts and sweat shirts have been enhanced with original Tuff-Girl character art on the backs. Now your back will show your friends what the action hero looks like, while the front declares that you are your own “tuff” girl!

 COMMISSION DEALS 

(UPDATED Mar 20, 2019) I no longer will be accepting more pre-show commission for pick-up and payment at WonderCon. Stop by my table early, to get on by commission list.

Criteria:

• A single character or 2-characters on 1 sheet.

• No or very limited backgrounds.

• Ink and color pencil on 9" x 12" Bristol Board.

• One order per person.

• $54 single character. $135 2x characters (10% off 2018 prices).

• Payment made at pickup at WonderCon.

 ORIGINAL ART DEALS 

This is more an arrangement than an actual deal.

If you are the confirmed Idea/suggestion originator of a “What Shall I Draw Today?” piece, then I will hold that piece for you to purchase at WonderCon (provided, of course, that I have not already sold it as of today). 

You may DM me through Instagram.

L B C N U

Bryan.

What I Drew Sunday, February 23rd - Top 3

The activity that forced me to reschedule the Disney themed WSIDT from Sunday to Saturday ended up delaying posting these top 3 results a couple of days plus one more because I was just too tired to post this Tuesday.

Drum roll please. Here are What Shall I Draw Today’s top three liked pieces:

#1 - Waddles on a Pirate Ship (suggestion by @snowspuppet)

Waddles is Mabel’s pet pig in the animated television series, “Gravity Falls.” He lands squarely in a blind spot of my Disney fanship: Disney Channel and Disney XD. I hope that a couple of short YouTube short caught me up enough to depict the fellow properly. 

Avoiding dressing Waddles in a pirate captain’s uniform; sought to place him on a ship or at least imply the ship. Other considerations passed up were “Waddles next to a cannon,” “Waddles next to cannon balls,” and “Waddles at a sailing ship’s steering wheel.” 

In the end, the extreme low camera angle would allow the inclusion on a Jolly Roger pirate flag. The perspective is faked but communicates the scene. 

#2 - Lumpy the Heffalump and Roo as Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse (suggestion by @akoymdf)

I had read the first part of the suggestion and had drawn Lumpy alone. After posting that, I caught the whole suggestion and proceeded to work on this on a large scale (5” x 7”). Additionally, Lumpy, like Waddles, was a character that I had to rely on YouTube to gain more familiarity before tackling the drawing.

A couple of iconic Dumbo & Timothy set ups would prove difficult to replicate due to the differences in relative character size proportions. Roo is too big to sit in a hat. And he’s too big for him to lead Lumpy by his tail and have it be as cute as as a tiny mouse leading a baby elephant.  

It then became a circus themed scene, imagining the declaration, “Ladies and gentlemen...!”

I don’t know if it’s obvious but I deal with the mottling of quick color pencil sketch work by avoiding approximating flat color and rendering things with shadows and highlights. It’s funny how it’s easier for me to use a rendering style that results in a richer appearance. 

#3- Mer-Stitch (suggestion by @playrunreadcat)

A.k.a. Stitch as a mermaid/man/alien. I thought that there was no reason not to draw his antennae’s and 4-armed alien form. I also thought that a little bit of story always helps- add seahorse. 

Do you think mer-stitches eat seahorses?

Here are the rest:

Thumper and Meeko have Tea.

Princess Marisa and Prince Marzel
from Elena of Avalor

Zazu (The Lion King) and Iago (Aladdin)

Knowsmore (Wreck-It Ralph 2) and/vs Prof. Ludwig von Drake

Doorknob (Alice in Wonderland)

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)

Queen Elsa (Frozen 2)

Teen Kristoff (Frozen)

Lumpy the Heffalump (Pooh’s Heffalump Movie)

All 12 if these original pieces of art will be for sale at my WonderCon, Anaheim appearance in March.

Please check out my Instagram feed for more drawings: @monstergram7

Thank you for playing, liking and following.

The next WSIDT is scheduled right before WonderCon.

All: black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.

“Waddles” -  6.35 cm x 8.89 cm (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.).

“Roo & Lumpy” - 12.70 cm x 17.78 cm (5.00 in. x 7.00 in.)

“Mer-Stitch” - 6.35 cm x 8.89 cm (2.50 in. x 3.50 in.).

What Shall I Draw February 23rd?

Saturday.
Saturday! 
SATURDAY!

For February, WSIDT a.k.a. “What Shall I Draw Today?” hits Saturday 23rd instead of the originally scheduled Sunday. Life happens and schedules change.

What Shall I Draw Today?

Saturday, February, 23rd 2019

Eastern Standard Time:  12pm noon - 8 pm

Pacific Standard Time:  9am - 5 pm

DISNEY DAY

But wait! It’s going to be Disney Day for WSIDT! This means that for that Saturday Disney themed suggestions get first consideration over non-Disney themed ones. To be clear, “Disney” will include Disney’s feature films (animated and live action), short subjects, Disney Channel, Disney Parks and sure Pixar, Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures too. Okay I’ll consider Muppets too. 

Not for consideration on the day, however, are Marvel and Star Wars (Lucas Films), if only to leave open the possibility of a Marvel Day and/or a Star Wars Day down the line.

If you can’t resist tossing in a non-Disney suggestion, then those may subsequently pop up in the following weeks as a random daily sketch.

Also, since I am planning to have a table at WonderCon, Anaheim in March, you may think you’re being clever by suggesting something that you might be able to pick up at said WonderCon. Well, I’m not saying that you can’t do that. I’m neither saying that being at WonderCon will help your chances of me drawing your suggestion.

So, please post your suggestions at any of the following social media spots where you find the above prompting image from right now through the end of WSIDT Saturday:

Blog:  monotonae.blogspot.com (here in the comments, please leave a name)

Instagram:  @monstergram7

Facebook:  @Monster Enterprises (exclusively)

Click on the above WSIDT tab for FAQ’s.

“The Unexpected X-Smurfs”
Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board.  
17.78 cm x 12.70 cm (7.00 in. x 5.00 in.).