Digital Thursday

This week’s Digital Thursday is a smorgasbord of digital drawing came from 2 different sources.

The first is from the weekly Ten Ton Studios Sketch Challenge. This week’s challenge was the Phantom from newspaper comic strips to comic book to film and back again. I have a soft spot in my heart for The Ghost Who Walks. This was a comic strip that I read in my childhood. The story lines would last for about 2 weeks and then a new story would start up. I decided to show the Phantom having kicked a white guy’s ass because so many of his exploits are about him kicking black folks’ asses. You see he is based in Africa. The child SRH didn’t mind seeing a white guy righting the wrongs in Africa while the native population sat by helpless. The adult SRH thinks that is a bit race-o-centric. Anyway… the Black and white version

And the color.

The second is something that Sassyfrass mentioned from yesterday’s comments. I give you the Fellowship of the White Star’s version of the Yeti.

Sassyfrass, I will send you the Hi-Res version this afternoon.

To recap:
Haven’t gotten the screws for the cabinets yet
I am a busy guy… you get the screws
Maybe we will watch a train this evening during dinner
Maybe we won’t
I have no idea what to do for dinner
A trip to the grocery store may be in order
Then again, so could a trip to Wendy’s
Maybe Mimma would like to stop by with food
I don’t know
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

Okay here we go. I do not traditionally do any desktop wallpapers, but since Little Man loves the Aquabats! So much and since I am taking quite the shine to them as well, I figured what the heck.

Two versions. First up is “Charge!”


And secondly we have “The Group Shot!”
To Recap:
It is nice to find bands that don’t take themselves too seriously
I feel like such a 7th grader doodling band pics on my Trapper Keeper
Kitchen is completely operable
Now we just have to figure out something good for dinners
This week has just been weak for digital stuff from me
Ack! I am so embarrassed
That being said, if anyone wants versions of these that are formatted for their screen, just email me
The email is in my profile
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

In honor of the unveiling of the new Captain America I whipped this up. The black and white version was for one of them there Ten Ton Studios’ Sketch Challenges. I didn’t win.


Let's be clear, I am like third tier talent over there.

My initial version had the wrong mask. It was like batman with an “A” on his head and little wings instead of bat ears.



For a second I almost went on a rant about the direction they have taken Captain America, but you guys wouldn’t care less.

My belly is feeling better, but my intestines are giving me some issues.

To Recap:
Going to work on the counter tops tomorrow
Wait… did he just say that his intestines were giving him “some issues?”
Ewwwwwww…. That’s disgusting!
DISGUSTING
I have work that I am neglecting
I guess I should get back to that
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

Over at the Ten Ton Studios forums the most recent Sketch Challenge was a Spiderman nemesis. This nemesis is Kraven the Hunter. In one of the posts someone explained Kraven’s costume thusly:

It's like Siegfreid and Roy meets WWE in a gay bar bar for drinks!

That person is very correct. Kraven’s costume consists of an open vest, leopard print tights, and ballet slippers. Later on someone mentioned something about Freddie Mercury, and I couldn’t get the image out of my mind.

So for all of you who have ever wondered:



Well, here is your answer.


To recap:
I thought about dropping Queen lyrics all over the recap, but decided against it
Instead, tell me your favorite Queen song in the comments
Mine is Flash Gordon
He saved everyone of us Oh-Oh
Happy Valentine's Day
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

Digital Thursday, it is nice to see you again.

Today’s installment of Digital Thursday comes at you in 2 parts.

Part the first.
The cartoon “The Challenge of the Super Friends” and its subsequent versions was a staple of my childhood. Saturday morning just would not be the same without watching Superman, Batman, and Robin thwarting Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom. It was one of the cartoons that got me interested in comic books and therefore into drawing. Thanks Super Friends! Bok! Bok! Anyway… there were all these DC marquee players on the show and then a cast of second and third tier schmoes. Sure the second raters sometimes had better powers than the primary cast, but that is beside the point (I’m looking at you cartoon version of Aquaman!).

Even as a kid some of what should have been the supporting cast got too much air time. The stupid bumbling kids in the first season, and the Wonder Twins in later seasons. How is it that Superman and Wonder Woman couldn’t defeat the Legion of Doom but 2 twelve year old kids with homemade costumes and a talking dog, or a bucket of water, a wooly mammoth, and a semi-understandable monkey could? I guess somethings are better left unknown.

Anyway… just above the kid centric main characters who were invented for the show were the second tier heroes of the Super Friends. These were characters created just for the cartoon to give the heroic cast more of a United Colors of Benetton feel. Hanna Barbera (The animation company) decided that there needed to be more color in the cast and added Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, El Dorado, and Samurai, because stereotypes are something to strive for. Anyway, between the jive and broken English, these heroes somehow assisted the heavy hitters in their quest to do good.

I have already shown you my version of Apache Chief, today I shall give you Black Vulcan!




Nice pants!


Part the Second:
B over at e-lah posted up this meme. Now, I typically don’t get all memelicious, but this one is kind of fun. So without further ado, the meme:

The Visionary Album Cover Meme

1. Go here, and take the title of the article that comes up as your band name.

2. Go here, and take the last four words of the last quotation as your album name. (Fell free to refresh the page a few times before you get four words that make sense. Others have fudged on the number four.)

3. Finally, go here to this randomized assortment of nifty photos, and take the upper-right-hand photo as your cover photo. Bonus points for squaring the image to make it look more albumish.

Here is mine.



I went with 5 words in the quote instead of 4 since it needed the first word to make a real phrase.

I look forward to seeing Dustin’s

To Recap:
Today is Wifey’s last day at work
Now I expect her to be barefoot and in the kitchen
The pregnant part is taken care of
We are having the delivery of the appliances postponed til Monday
The cabinetry gets here tomorrow
The countertops are already here
The kitchen is about to get much much cooler
I think my hands need moisturizer… but I am a guy
So that ain't happening
Hey, B: BEST MEME EVER!
El Dorado is the next up in my colllection of culturally innappropriate Super Friends
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

So, Tuesday of last week, Little Man produces a dinosaur that he has put together whilst in preschool. It is made from 5 pieces of construction paper. The head and neck, body, tail, leg one, and leg two comprised this Jurassic marvel. The pieces were joined together with those brass paper hole filling bendy things…

Yeah, those things. Anyway, by using the “Brass Plated Fasteners” the dinosaur has some degrees of movement associated with it. Needless to say Little Man is rather proud of its existence. So Wifey and I asked him what kind of dinosaur it is. Without missing a beat, he told us it was a Stegosaurus Rex (ergo Wednesday’s post from last week).

Today’s digital Thursday is dedicated to the oft maligned and mostly unknown Late Jurassic dinosaur, the Stegosaurus Rex

Can you see why it is the king of the stegosaurs? I can.

This was built from 3 separate images found on the interwebs. It took about 20 minutes of time to do. I am happy with it all except for the low amounts of detail on its head.

I have to be honest with you reader folk, I am not sure I like Digital Thursday. I am the paragon of ambivalence when it comes to Digital Thursday. There are times that it is wonderful. Times that I am very proud of what I am posting. There are times when I feel like the work being presented is really my “A Game.” There are other times, however, when I feel like I have just slapped some pixels together and forced something upon you fine readers that you may not want. What I am getting at, is that I would like people, if they are willing, to weigh in on whether or not Digital Thursday is working for you, as a very very interested reader.

To recap:
Little Man is a bit under the weather today
He is just a little coughy
Not to be mistaken as a small coffee one might order at a restaurant
And definitely not a “Short Americano,” to use the lingo
Yet he is a short American
Skinny too
Yet he eats like we haven’t fed him in weeks
Yeti eats like a barbaric pig
WTF!?!!? Wifey just posted?
What's all THAT about?
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

This week's installment of Digital Thursday is an illustration I did for the Fellowship of the White Star role-playing game. It is of a Thunderbird and some guy who doesn't know there is a 30 foot bird flying above him.


Oooooh dramatic angle. I should have separated the bird's head from the guy's head to get rid of that trap in the lower right corner. Other than the trap, I am really happy about how this one turned out. This one is about 4 or 5 layers and was done completely in black and white.

To recap:
So I was insanely busy today
I have no idea why
I need to find a snack for the evening
I want something sweet
Goodness it's late
The recaps have sucked this week
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday is upon us yet again. I have a smattering of things for everyone to look at today. By “smattering” I mean two.

Thing the first: A while back I showed you the beginnings of a new Godzilla post. Well, here is the finished product. I have titled it “I Come from the Water.” Initially I was going to have the big guy going through a Tokyo streetscape, but then I realized I don’t have the talent to pull that off.


The final file ended up being 12 layers and rather beefy in file-size. I took longer to do since I re-organized it in the middle of working on it. That is why digital is a much better media for me than others.

Thing the second: This is a quick digital sketch I did of Ewan MacGregor. The final version is what you see here. I didn’t layer this one at all. Just raw digital painting on a black background. I think I spent around 30 minutes on it while waiting for a 2 x10 foot (61 x 304 cm) plot to finish printing.



I used this photo as reference.

I think the image has taken on a more Liev Schreiber vibe than an Ewan vibe



If I could find a picture of Liev Schreiber wearing that suit and standing in that position. I would be spot on.


To recap:
Not sure what is for dinner tonight
It might be leftovers
I am still rather tired
Penguins are funny because they waddle
We are buying a skylight tomorrow
Weeeeeeeee... Skylight
The counters for the kitchen should be here the last week of January
New appliances are being delivered February 1
We still need to get countertops
This kitchen is going to kick so much ass
It should because it is a kick in the wallet
It also means that I need to paint
Soon
Very soon even
No, sooner than that
Picture, if you will, slate gray cabinetry with lime green walls and a stainless steel counter top

That is nothing like what our kitchen will look like
Factoid: Liev Screiber narrates the PBS show Secrets of the Dead
Have a great weekend everyone.

Digital Thursday

Who is Ookla without Thundarr I ask you? No one, that’s who.

This digital Thursday is the addition of Thundarr to the Ookla pic. This was a rough one because Ooklah turned out so well. Thundarr had to be really well drawn. I missed a bit on the “really well” part. He is “drawn” though, so that has to count for something, right? Here is the pic. Draw your own conclusions now before I start to dissect the things that I see as being issues. Go ahead look at the pic, I will wait…




Okay firstly, It was very difficult to get the correct amount of texture on Thundarr’s arms. No one knows for sure what the texture is of a Mok’s arms, so Ookla’s works, but Thundarr’s arms don’t quite work. His face is a bit wonky as well.

All that is left is Ariel, the sorceress.

To recap:
Car started fine this morning
Jumped it yesterday evening
Drove it for about 45 minutes to an hour
Now it starts even at lower temps than yesterday
Slept for crap yesterday night
Maybe I will sleep better tonight
Been stuck in print hell today
Print hell sucks
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

Okay, there is this show on Nick Jr. that is absolutely fun. Yo Gabba Gabba is a throwback show to the kids’ shows of my youth. It is like Electric Company on steroids. Associated with its good clean camp fun are some good messages for kids. The show has pretty high production values for its stuff, but has enforced a cheap aesthetic on the set and costumes. The animations are pretty colorful and slick while the costumes on the characters have visible zippers and the like. It is an odd blend to say the least.

It is an odd assortment of characters on screen and chock full of wondrous music. The bands that have been on this show are all pretty well followed bands in their own right on the indy scene. Most of the bands have cult followings of their own. The Aquabats!, The Aggrolites, The Salteens, Supernova, and Leslie Hall to name a non-exhaustive list of the guests that have appeared just on the segment called the Super Music Friends Show.
Now, a while back ago Marvel Comics came out with their "Ultimate Universe." It was supposed to be the gritty more realistic version of the current Marvel Universe. In doing so they updated a bunch of the the story lines to be more "current." The heroes are now flawed and many of the villains have become more sympathetic.

Anyway... an idea hit my whilst in the shower about a week ago. What would an Ultimate Yo Gabba Gabba look like...

I still need to work more on the background.

From left to right I give you DJ Lance, Plex, Muno, Toodee, Foofa (hovering), and Brobee

I really didn't keep good track of the time this took. I would say that there is about 2 hours per character though. Initial sketches were done by hand on a sketch pad, then I scanned those sketches in and did all the final work in Photoshop.

To Recap:
Sorry this is so late
Yo Blogga Blogga is the show's official blog
I had a boatload to do at work today
You know with the consuming of free food and all
This auction needs to go big!
That's right it is ksig from commenting fame probably 2 years ago
Give the man some love
Buy his signature
Steal his identity
I am going to take the week off from blogging next week
It’s the holidays
I am sure to regale you with tales of holiday cheer and such when I come back
Yes, I will even post on New Year’s Day
Cheers
Have a great weekend everyone and a great week and the following weekend as well

Digital Thursday

Oh, Thursday, where would I be without you? On today’s installment of Digital Thursday I will be demonstrating the card making process for the Christmas card this year, as well as giving a full scale representation of the fine fine Christmas card for the year.

The process starts out with a color digital picture which I process to be like a black and white picture. I mask out Little Man and then darken the background to establish a stronger figure/ground relationship. I copy and paste the blocked out Little Man and make him only 50% opaque (this reduces his saturation and makes it look like the black and white image has been tinted). Finally I distort a scan of an ultrasound print to fit where the TV currently is. Viola! Picture for the Christmas card. QED

Here is the card in all its glory.


To recap:
I wish it were snowing today instead of this crappy rain
Next week’s Digital Thursday should be a blast
This is rather unfortunate
I could soooo easily fall asleep at my desk right now
I won’t, but I could
I just want everyone to know that
I think we are going to attempt to re-create Wendy’s Chili this weekend for Little Man
He has expressed interest in making some chili
Mimma cannot help but make her chili blisteringly spicey
Wifey and I are not huge chili fans
Aiming for Wendy’s Chili seems to be the correct course
Seriously though, does anyone know what a mummy does after it has exacted revenge?
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

It is Digital Thursday and all I have for you fine readers is a couple of half started things. Little Man doesn’t really allow me to spend any significant amount of time in front of a computer painting or really doing anything other than doting on him constantly. He is like that being four and all.

Anyway… here we go with my Batman entry into the Sketch Challenge this week. This is a pencil drawing that has been inked (sometimes sloppily) with a vast array of black Sharpies. I should invest in some microns, and I should invest in some brush-pens. I should invest in the stock market. I should invest in all sorts of stuff, but that is beside the point. Anyway, for what it is worth, Batman.


Okay the hard crits here:
1. What is going on with that cross-hatching?
2. Where are his feet?
3. Would a background kill you?
4. I am not even going to start on the anatomical issues

My intention was to digital up this bad boy for today’s post, but I slept last night instead.

Up next is a “work in progress.” I love me some Godzilla. I mean, what is there not to like? Here is a set of pics to give you some idea of my “digital painting process.”

Step 1: Rough line work

Step 2: Rough color work

Step 3: Refined color work (I have only done his head so far)

I haven’t gotten to steps 4, 5, 6, or 7 yet. I might make those available in the coming weeks.

To recap:
The banana mini muffins were a hit at pre-school today
I successfully fought off a migraine today
Eat that Fluffy!
Had orange rice for dinner
Used ground chicken instead of beef
Made it surprisingly palatable
Another Papa/Little Man day tomorrow
That makes me happy
It also makes my PTO bank a little sad
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

As a kid I loved the cartoon Thundarr the Barbarian. I mean really, what is not to love. It was a show based on a post-apocalyptic Earth with barbarians and weird creatures and technology and magic and Ookla the Mok.


This is a completely digital one that I painted in Photoshop. I think it ended up being seven layers in total. From bottom layer to top: Background color, light effect, Ookla silhouette, Ooklah color, Ooklah eyes, Yellow highlights, and light effect. In total it took about 2 hours to finish. Eventually I would like to add Thundarr and Ariel to it as well.



The year 1994: From out of space comes a runaway planet, hurtling between the Earth and the Moon, unleashing cosmic destruction. Man's civilization is cast in ruin.

Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn...

A strange new world rises from the old: a world of savagery, super science, and sorcery. But one man bursts his bonds to fight for justice! With his companions Ookla the Mok and Princess Ariel, he pits his strength, his courage, and his fabulous Sunsword against the forces of evil.

He is Thundarr, the Barbarian!*



Anyone who knows anything about the show knows that the only reason to watch the show was Ookla.

To recap:
Wifey leaves on a jet plane early Sunday morning
That makes me sad
I happen to like her
Bunches
She will be back late Wednesday night
In the meantime I will let the house go to Hell in a hand basket
A big enough for a house hand basket
I will get some good lovins from Little Man though, so that will be nice
Next week's Digital Thursday will probably be Batman
Have a great weekend everyone


* There are so many fun things about this intro. In fact, there are too many to go into.


**Update**30November2007
Okay, after doing some checkbook and bill paying stuff last night, Wifey says, "I just wrote a post"
So, she has updated for all of you who have been waiting patiently as well as impatiently
She, of course, waiting until I was done posting for the week to post
She is like that
She is also traveling for most of next week
Followed closely by a training the rest of the week
So don't expect another post for a but as well

Digital Thursday

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and much food was eaten by all. My mom and dad, sister-in-law, 2 nephews, Mimma, Wifey, Little Man and me ate turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, ham, stuffing, stuffing caserole, cranberry salad, and someone put some yams on the table, much to my chagrin. For today the drama seemed to be left at the door, but I am sure that will change for tomorrow.

I spoke with my brother in Iraq. He seems to be doing well. I also saw a recent picture of him and I guess his could be used as a light repelling surface by NASA because, damn, them's some pasty legs. He ran a 10 k today, which I guess is just to give the insurgent mortar teams practice shots, but today is not a post about my borther in Iraq, today is Digital Thursday.

Today's digital feature is a Wonder Woman digital painting I like to call, "Please Don't Hit Me Again, Lady"

It took a fair bit of time to do this one because I have chosen for some odd reason to only work with weird perspectives. This one is for Bomber, she asked me to do a Wonder Woman a while back ago... and now my wife is pregnant... bu-dum-tish Heeeeey-oooo! Thank you! I will be here all week. Please tip your waitress.

To recap:
Food coma
Different than Food comma, or Food,
Little Man did great all day long
All should be proud of him
For that matter, all should bow before him on bended knee
ALL!
Have a great weekend

Digital Thursday

Oh, Digital Thursday, how you make my blogging life so simple, yet so hard. Digital Thursday simplifies my life because I do not have to come up with a topic to write about. Yet, it does make me create something digitally. This past week I finished up this particular pic.


Okay, motivation for this one…. I have always liked Daredevil. The intent with this painting was to create a pin-up-esque pic of DD that was a bit non-traditional in posing. I wanted it to look like he was actually listening forward instead of looking forward, so his head goes to the side. I did not want his figure to be overly muscled so I toned him down just a bit.

Anyway, this was done 100% within Adobe Photoshop CS3. Sometimes I draw something by hand and then scan it in and digitally modify it, not with this baby! There are 7 different layers within the piece itself: the background black, the rough colors, gross shading, refined shading, color dodge highlights, color burn shadows, and the black line work. I am very happy with this result.

Things I would like to add eventually. A cityscape background, texture to the cloth, maybe some varied lighting sources. Who knows. I might jump on this one again later.

To Recap:
The final vote for Comic Book Idol 3 are going on right now
It is a doozy
The voting ends at 3pm EST today
Had a lunch seminar today
I think I would have done better with a nap
Next week is Thanksgiving Week
The house needs so much cleaning, it is not even funny
Then comes the cooking
Little Man has discovered board games
Yesterday when I went to pick him up, he was playing checkers
He asked for my help with the checkers
Wifey will giggle with glee about this, for I have no skill with the checkers
I didn’t really help him too much
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

Because I am a superdork, when I was in college, oh so long ago, I did a series of drawing of different character types that can be found in almost any fantasy genre. Since then I have scanned a few in and reworked them a bit digitally. What was once black and white on faded copier paper is now in vibrant color capable of being printed anywhere.

Author's Note: I stole the idea of the green bar behind the figure from another artist. Just flat out stole it. I am quite the thief.

That is about all I have today. Thanks for all the well wishes for the new kid on the way. I would comment directly to the comments from yesterday, but alas and alack I am blocked at work. Maybe tonight I will get to those comments.

To recap
Little Man is doing better
But he is still a bit under the weather
I am starting to get some better sleep
That is a positive
But not an appositive, a descriptive phrase set off by commas
That would be a grammatical impossibility since there were no commas in that statement
An appositive in that sentence would look like:
I am starting to get some better sleep, a period of at least 6 hours of uninterrupted deep slumber involving periods of REM
But not the band REM
Although if I had to pick a period of REM I would go with the 1987 and 1988 watershed year
REM put out 3 albums that year Document, Eponymous, and Green
Although I don’t think anyone actually bought them as true “albums”
A better way of phrasing it would be “REM put out 3 CD’s…”
But not “put out” like a cheap date
And not “put out” like people do with animals at night
I mean produced, marketed and sold
Not to say that REM “sold out” so to speak
They seem to be a very principled band
More likely they became more “watered down” than having actually “sold out”
Am I still babbling?
I guess I need more sleep, a period of at least 6 hours of uninterrupted deep slumber involving periods of REM
I am positive of that
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

So today I decided to go with something a bit more artsy fartsy for Digital Thursday while still remaining grounded in the comic book medium. I decided to give a silhouette treatment to the Fantastic Four (Generic comic book FF not the movie FF).

This is still a work in progress so please bear with the areas that still need work.


I need to work on my Thing… ummm… that just sounded all wrong. The figure in the lower left needs some work. I also think I need to do something more interesting with Mr Fantastic. The invisible woman needs something as well. It is difficult to adequately silhouette an invisible person. Basically I am only happy with The Human Torch at the moment.

To recap:
Dinner tonight shall be something of Little Man’s choosing
It will most likely consist of something root beer-ish to drink
And something that reacts well to ketchup as a main course
I am not certain of this… just playing the odds
But before I can attempt to make dinner, I will need to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher
For they are stacked and taking up great space with their food encrustedness
Blessed be the dish scrapers
For they assist the dishwasher in its cleaning
Have a great weekend

Digital Thursday

It is digital Thursday and I am going to regale you with some Scarecrow pics. All of these are of the Batman super villain, the Scarecrow. Ooooooh scary.

The initial offering was what I posted in the sketch challenge that I attempt to enter into weekly. It is all graphite on paper, and done by traditional methods only.

The second offering is the same pic having been tweaked for color rather quicklyt in Photoshop.

The third offering is the final version with some textural touches added to it.

That’s all for Digital Thursday

To recap:
Wifey is heading out of town tomorrow morning
She will be back Monday afternoon
I will miss her greatly
Little Man will miss her more
Because Little Man will be stuck with me
Knock, Knock
Who’s there?
It’s an insane sinus headache!
Have a great weekend everyone

Digital Thursday

Not much to show for Digital Thursday. It is even more lackluster when you realize that I am posting at 9pm. Oh well.

First up is a finished piece highlighting the Wonder Twins from the late 70’s and early 80’s classic cartoon The Superfriends. I tried, albeit a bit unsuccessfully, to give them a serious edge like they had to go rescue Gleek or something. There is some wonky anatomy going on and some truly ridiculous footwear, but other than that I am overall happy with how they turned out.

Second up is a work in process of a Wonder Woman piece I am working on. Think that you are looking at her just after she has knocked you on your butt. You are looking up at her uncoiling the lasso of truth after kicking your ass. Why she kicked your ass in a forest is a different question entirely. I don’t know what it is about me and odd perspectives these days. I guess it is because I never even attempted them as a kid.

Oh well, that’s all I got. I was going to whip up a barbarian named Webinar, but that just wasn’t in the cards today.

To Recap:
The company is having a hog roast for lunch tomorrow
My company confuses me
I need to clean up the kitchen some
Orapred is in full effect
Have a great weekend everyone