I have a serious obsessions with octopi. 

Inconsistency, Inconsistency...

It would seem that Christmas has gotten the better of me; no worry, I'll make up for it.

I recently saw True Grit, and it made me want to draw dusty textures. Also, I really want to draw crackle-faced old folks.

I couldn't get Jeff Bridges' eyes, but this was from memory, so this is really just my impression of the film.

Man, that is some serious man-scraggle.

In other news, this is Business Tycoon Odin. I read that Wagner's Ring Cycle was reinterpreted for modern audiences, and that just sounded cool. I tried to insert the ravens somehow, but I could only get in one of the two.

That's all for today.

Have a good one,

James

St. Brutus, Saint of Zombie-Killing

One more Christmas card, for my friend Sam. She digs Victorian-era gentlmen, and also monster-hunting.

Have a good night!

Christmas Cards!

So, one of my favorite things to do for my friends on birthdays is to draw them an offbeat birthday card. I usually improvise the whole card the moment I sit down to draw the thing, and it is always a ton of fun. It's also cool because my friends are the kind of people that appreciate time, care, and personal gifts.

Another plus is that I don't have to spend money, which is often a necessity for me.

Anyway, this year I decided to do a slew of Christmas cards for my friends. They were a blast to do, and while they may not always look pretty or polished, they are definitely from the heart.

Sorta.

Well, at least I did them myself.

Anyhoo, here are the first few I did that I liked! I channeled Mike Mignola for some of these, so that was cool to do.

By the way, I did write heartfelt notes for all of these, I just covered those up before posting 'em.

Merry Christmas!

Some Volunteer Work...

Hey everyone,

So I occasionally do work for my local church. It's usually not huge or time-consuming, but it's always nice to contribute my gifts for free. This particular drawing was for a series that our youth pastor started centering on parable of the house in the sand. I spend an evening sketching this from a photo, then inking it. I actually enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I'm not much for architectural drawings, or anything that isn't human, honestly. In this case, it was a swell time and the inking didn't seem too bad. I think I was subconsciously aping Michael Cho's beautiful work, whose blog is linked to on the right of the page. Seriously, I recommend taking a look at his stuff if you want to see something like this, only several million times better.

So that's it. What I enjoyed most is the pointillism I did on the sand on the house roof.

Later!

Return to Posting!

Hello, future faithful readers. It's been a long time. While I have not continued consistently with the minicomic project, it has still remained percolating in my mind. The idea that has stuck with me the most is the Western cowboy/Arthurian narrative mash-up. It kinda speaks to the things I love. Which reminds me...


True Grit! Seriously, the American story is built on the idea that a man creates his own destiny through force, through sheer will (and sometimes a gun). Not something we can always be proud of, but gosh darn it, if it doesn't get my red, white, and blue blood running, nothing will.

Also, that is President Millard Fillmore
standing in for the horse's anus.

In the meantime, I've been apprenticing at the Studio, and it has been truly educational. I've learned so much, both through experience and direct instruction. I recently did an assignment which allowed me to draw a cartoon artist painting a horse's arse. It's not exactly the highest concept that man can aspire to, but it was a blast to do, and I got to cut my teeth on the coloring part. From step 1 to 13, this assignment was 100% me, a major turning point in my studio career, as far as production goes.

Also in the meantime, I've been working on a superhero project that that has been slowly building in my mind since high school: The Terminals. I'll scan some character sketches later and put them up on here. The basic premise is that a mysterious organization has gathered a group of superheroes who are each suffering from terminal diseases. This organization, represented by a Benefactor, offers this team all the resources they need to make the last few months of their superhero careers the most effective, meaningful, and fulfilling missions they have ever completed. The catch? The missions they accept are the "suicide missions," the ones that other heroes don't mention. These are the ones that, if revealed, would collapse the economy, cause a global panic, and end civilization.

In a choice between succumbing to disease and a glorious end, these heroes are choosing death on their own terms. But what does the Benefactor truly want? What are the motives of this mysterious organization?

Read it...once I finish writing it, that is...

Behold...The Man-Bear-Pig! (Well, my version, anyway...)

Yeah, its a slow news day for me, I suppose. It's been a productive couple of days, with thumbnails among other things, but its all stuff I can't post. But hey, at least I'm making this blog look somewhat cool, yeah?

But yeah, thought I'd throw this up. Inspired by Mike Mignola's style.

This would be an AWESOME thing to do...

An idea I had a year ago, and never got around to actually doing...

Storytime!!

So, a while ago, I drew a sketch of a guy who looked rather bitter. The drawing was okay, but what I loved about it is that I managed to infuse a personality and a story into a facial expression. At the heart of comics is telling a HUGE amount of story through a SMALL amount of drawing. Thus, I feel like this drawing has accomplished this.

                                                          

Anyhoo, I have yet to actually create something for this guy. So, over the next few days, I'll just make up what comes to mind. And at some point, I will write a story about him.

'Til next time!