69 - and an end to the year!

And here we have the send off to the year. Another set of eyes from the pages of the Chris Hart book I am working my way through. Guess I'll just keep wasting my time with this until I have a better idea.

Goodbye 2010, hello 2011.

68 - with new eyes, girly eyes that is

And we get the good with the bad. Good for me I finished another page and bad for the world as The Walking Dead Season 1 has come to an end. I thought it would be a fitting tribute time so after doing my natural/realistic eye versus simplified female eye I decided to grab my Walking Dead TPB #4 and try to re-draw one of the first images that Charlie Adlard did of my favorite TWD character, Michonne. She hasn't shown up on the TV show yet but we call all count on her making an appearance as those of us that have read the novels know they won't be able to have TWD without Michonne and her fine blade skills. The woman is dangerous and deadly.

And now that season 1 has come to an end and we have to wait months for season 2, it's sad, but at least we all have something great to look forward to. If you are a fan of The Walking Dead or just zombies in general I would suggest a fantastic way to get your zombie fix whilst awaiting the next season would be to over to iTunes and download Walking Dead Cast. It's full of great zombie goodness and the hosts are fans of Kirkman's The Walking Dead. You can also check them out at walkingdeadcast.com, cool stuff to check out. And remember, in the word's of the walkingdeadcast folk, don't get bit.

67 - male eyes part 2 or the second thumb to the eye

Keep plugging away. Of all the tips I have ever read, all the advice I have ever heard, it is to just keep putting pencil to paper and burn through the first 2000 or 3000 bad drawings that we all have within us to get to the good stuff. One more step along the way, one more page done.

66 - male eyes

A page of male eyes to continue as I work my way through the Hart book, enjoy.

65 - And the eyes have it

Still going on with the Christopher Hart book, now we start on the eyes. The page had a nice version of realistic versus the more simplified form. I did those and then figured why not throw down a sketch of the man that's all eye. For those that don't know, and SHAME on you if you don't, this gentleman is Allen the Alien. One of the coolest characters ever and one of my very favorite supporting characters in the wonderfulness that is Invincible.
Flat out if you are not reading this book you don't actually like superhero comics. Invincible is the best thing out each month for the capes persuasion and Allen has always been a crowd pleasure whenever he shows up.
Go out and get this book, right now issue 75 is on the stands and has some serious doings inside as the Viltrumite War kicks it into gear. Though the best idea is to go back and read it from the start, I figure if you start now, you will go back and read it from the word go as it is just that good.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER - never get between a Unopan and his grubs!

64 - well they ain't tails

Two more and away we go...
Just more heads from the Christopher Hart Simplified Anatomy book. I'm really enjoying the book and it's nice to actually be enjoying drawing again. Sketches, tattoo designs for friends and redesigning a beer company logo, things are good.

And to bring back on old fav...
SAT-Spoiler Alert Theater: Saw 3-D
Did the yearly outing to see Saw 3-D with my friend Valynn and I have to say it was well worth the extreme theater prices for a 3D movie. Great traps, the fun of having body parts flung at the screen off of saw blades tearing into bodies. Nothing like watching a film in 3D that was shot specifically for 3D, especially a horror film. If you ever enjoyed a Saw film I would recommend seeing this one in the theaters and paying for the 3D glasses, it is well worth it. If they are actually ending the franchise with film as they advertised it will be a fitting end. And if not I will see you guys next year Saw - Jigsaw Reborn!

63 - Nothing like a striking image...

Flipping through a back issue bin over at Captains Comics, on Vista in Boise if you wanna stop by, and was struck by this great image of a scary ass clown and a small child. I had to check it out, and when I saw that it was a Joe Kubert cover I knew I had to own it. One more great image in my collection.

And to somewhat continue a theme, we have a sketch page of heads from Christopher Hart's Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist. Good stuff, but now we must increase the speed captain!

62 - Sometimes you just need to get back to the old stuff...

Of all the different things I have worked on I had almost forgotten how much fun designing a tattoo can be. Once again like my days in the Navy I have a friend who wants to get some ink done and I get to come up with the design. For all the artists out there that don't know, it is an amazing feeling to see something you created put into someones skin forever! I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance.

61 - Damn stack of books...

On my book case I have a giant stack of books on How to Draw. How to Draw the Marvel Way, How to Draw Monsters, How to Draw Cutting Edge Anatomy, big ol stack of books and I have never gotten around to really doing anything with them outside of using them as reference for certain drawings. Add that to what I believe to be probably my biggest deficit as an artist, a lack of filled sketch books and I think they add up to a simple answer. I simply need to increase my output, after all these years I still don't think I have gotten the bad drawings out of my system, I still haven't found my "style".
So that's the new goal, in between projects now I am going to do my best to just put out some pages, ease up on trying to do perfect drawings and just draw. If I have heard one constant from all my art teachers and all the artist blogs I have read and tutorials I have seen it's that sheer numbers are the best way to go.
So as it stands now I have Simian beer labels to design and monkey motif t-shirts to work on and when I'm not doing that I am going to try to draw my way through this big ass stack of books.
These sketches are from the first book I'm working my way through, Christopher Hart's Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist, the idea of this one is to make characters with the more streamlined look ala Michael Oeming's Powers. I have a bunch of Hart's art book's, nice step by step instructions now it's just up to me to do the work.
Anyways critiques are always appreciated, that is if you made it through this diatribe, blah blah blah indeed. Now back to the monkeys...I shall return...

60 - Scott Pilgrim vs all the movies out this weekend...

Spoiler Alert Theater again-

Enjoyed the hell out of this. Edgar Wright has now done for teen comedies with Scott Pilgrim what he did for zombie flicks with Shaun of the Dead. This one will have to have it's own genre, it just won't fit anywhere, fun as hell. The soundtrack, the one liners, the super-powered vegans, the editing-this movie is worth seeing for any one of this reasons and it has all of them!
Any who doubted the power of Michael Cera will have to admit his ability after seeing this flick, he's still the lovable loser you cheer for but in this movie he seems to pull it off in a completely different fashion, it's enjoyable just to hear the cadence he gives to the characters speech, stumbling, interrupted, and naturally unfiltered is how it comes across.
We can also not forget the other great appearances in this film, to many to get into but the girls in Scott Pilgrims life our brought to the screen by some fearsome actors, cute + powerful equal Scott being in trouble from credits to credits.
If you at home doing nothing right now, get up, get out and go see this movie. You won't regret it.

P.S. And just so we're clear I am still planning on seeing The Expendables and The Other Guys, Pilgrim was the group choice for our Friday night outing.

59 - And back to it, tutorial time!

Back into the action and I felt like running through some tutorials, as I've found a couple thousand online that look like fun. Found a couple of great ones and went through them, this pic came from:


Tutorial written by Greg Martin - http://gallery.artofgregmartin.com/.

This was actually done with his star field tutorial and planet tutorial combined, I used my results from both to make this image. I think it turned out pretty good for my first shot at a bit of sci-fi, never done anything like this before and I have to say I like it. If you don't, don't let me know cause I'm not interested.

58 - Friday night was the right night for Predators!

And away we go with another round of Spoiler Alert Theater! Round 4 if I'm not mistaken. Went out for a nice dinner and a movie with the wife on Friday and the pic was Predators.
Predators-now first off I have to say I'm a huge fan of Robert Rodriguez and don't like funny faced ol' Adrien Brody at all so this movie started off as a toss up for me. Great starting scene, the thing opens with the characters awakening in free fall, wind rushing and the ground rushing up to meet you, hell of a wake up call. Ignoring Brody's goofy looks, there are some great actors in this flick and some people in roles you wouldn't normally expect to see them in. Great casting gives up a bunch of bad asses with various weapons, good stuff.
All in all the movie is fun, great action, and some really cool effects. When you get the time check it out, for fans of the first 2 Predator flicks this is a must see.

Bonus Material - to start I just have to let everyone know that even though I do enjoy Jason Howard's work I am firmly with Shark, Ryan Ottley is one of my fav creators! If you don't know what I'm referring to, and the Shark pic above doesn't tell you enough, then head over to: www.theygotmixedup.blogspot.com to learn a thing or ten, fun for the whole family.
And the next - 1 problem, awful commercials, 2 offenders - Volkswagen tv spots and KIA dumbass radio ads.
A: Volkswagen - these stupid commercials that have people punching each other as some weird looking SUV drives around a neighborhood, unacceptable. You can only play slug bug when you see a Volkswagen Bug, a Beetle, not just any old Volkswagen. You hit me after seeing something that isn't a Bug, you better cover up cause you just picked a fight.
B: KIA - they have this awful radio spot with a gravelly voiced guy trying to convince us that Idaho cowboys are driving around in a KIA vehicle that he refers to as "smart and sassy". If someone is driving around in a KIA, a smart and sassy KIA, they might be driving their boyfriend up to Brokeback Mountain, but that in kn way makes them a cowboy.

57 - ENVY

Jealous. That's the word you're looking for jealous. At the Captain Comics Anniversary sale my wife earned major points when she said it would be okay to drop a few sheckles on a copy of The Incredible Hulk #181, which the fan boys know is the first full appearance of the Wolverine!. A book I have wanted for a long time and I now own! Life is sweet!

56 - Jerry Obit

55 - Party today!

It is time for a house warming bar-b-q! Beer and brauts, chips and dips. The yard is mowed and the grill is ready, still got a couple of things to put on shelves but after that we are ready to go. If your are reading this you are welcome to stop by. The beer is being provided by Simian Brewing Company, best beer in the Treasure Valley, I'm gonna get me some.
Have a great weekend all!

54 - Simian goes international!

So sweet! The shirt I designed for Simian Brewing Company of Nampa, ID was spotted on a patron field tasting ESB's in the UK! Thanks to Ian Barkley for taking my artwork international.

53 - SOOO MUCH TO DO!

We signed the papers yesterday and now it's all down to the move. Going to transfer all of our crap form the apartment to the house, most of it today. Tons to do but so worth it for Danielle and I to have a great place all our own away from this damn apartment neighbors.

So now that almost all the packing is done comes the sad part, taking down the desk and computer. Though it is a sadness that won't last as they will rise again in a new location, triumphant and ready to take on the world!

Okay...that was a bit much....

Have a day.

52 - Simian is alive and well...

The tasting this weekend at Brewforia seemed to be a rousing success. I personally had few cups of some great beer. The new t-shirts and hats sold well and everyone seemed to really enjoy the beer, which was of course the point. But before we get to the new stuff how about we take a look at the first Simian Brewing Company t-shirt design. It was nice but ended up needing some adjustments. The print of this first shirt lead to the redesign of the logo and the nice new shirts.

51 - S.A.T.s Round 3 and News

And now the news...

Started the day off feeling awful and ended up at the doctors office. Seems I might have me a nice little staph infection, hooray for me! But I got me some nice new meds and hopefully everything will start feeling better.

And on to another round of Spoiler Alert Theater

The past couple of weekends have made for some great movie watching. I'll try to keep most of these short and sweet:

Clash of the Titans - a great remake/ re-imagining and probably the film they would have made years ago if they had been able to create these special effects back in the day. Liam Neeson gives an enjoyable performance as Zeus and when we soon get to see him as Hannibal in the A-Team remake he might just become the king of the 80's remakes.

Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - another remake/ re-imagining this time in the vein of all 80's slashers returning to the big screen ala Leatherface, Michael Myers and Jason. This time though we actually do get a few new ideas thrown into the mix and some great special effects. Haley goes a different route in his Krueger performance, it's not the amazing madman that Robert Englund introduced us to in our childhood but it is also not a crappy imitation. Haley gives his Krueger his own mannerisms and pacing, movements and speech patterns. All around it was a fun remake, the only problem I had was in the retelling of the origin were this time around Freddy is something I found a bit more disturbing then him just being a child murderer, I know it sounds weird but I liked the old story better. I actually won't spoil it here as it's something everyone should see and then decide for themselves, go see it if you ever liked any of the slashers, it's well worth the price of admission.

Iron Man 2 - this had to have been my favorite sequel in the last 5 years. Robert Downey Jr. was born to play Tony Stark, the parallels between the two aside it is still just great casting. He puts in another fun performance in another great popcorn blockbuster. No reason to bring your big thinking cap to this one, just sit back and enjoy the cool suits, great fights, explosions, and of course a couple of cute girls in small outfits. Mickey Rourke puts on a great showing as Whiplash and Scarlett Johansson does a great job as the Black Widow even though she isn't actually called that in the film. The big surprise is Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer he is equally impressive as the arms dealer and the sore loser. After seeing Moon which was possible the greatest one man showing in a movie I have ever enjoyed Sam Rockwell does a hell of a job in this flick giving us a character that you love to hate. The big winner though is Don Cheadle, his performance as War Machine is a blast, it's so much fun to watch it actually makes me feel bad for Terrance Howard, boy did he miss out. The suits, the tech, new and old, and all the great little easter eggs make this a hell of a joy ride. Go see it twice just to make sure we all let Jon Favreau know how much we appreciate what he has been able to do with Iron Man for us the fans.

50

Today is the day people! Drop what your doing and get yourselves on over to Brewforia on the corner of Eagle and Overland for the first ever Simian Brewing Company beer tasting. The Owner and Brewer of Simian Brewing, Marvin Kinney will be there letting people sample his fine potions and concoctions. It's real good stuff people.

49 - IRON MAN 2 ROCKS!

IRON MAN 2 ROCKS!

GO AND SEE IT NOW!

That is all

48 - FCBD! Free Comic Book Day is here again!

Free Comic Book Day is here again! One of the greatest events in the history of man, and now that it's an annual event it is one of my favorite days of the year. So if you are in the Boise area heading over to Captain Comics on Vista Ave and get yourself some great free reading! And while your at it look around the store, they have some great stuff there.

47 - S.A.T.s Round 2 - the Losers!

Spoiler Alert Theater again, great weekend for the movie goers as the New Nightmare on Elm Street is hopefully doing gangbusters right now. And for me I had the day off so I went and saw the Losers this morning, nice quiet 10'o clock showing, just me and 3 other people which was nice as a packedhouse usually makes me annoyed. Short and sweet, the Losers is a great flick.
If you liked the comic, go see this movie.
If you like action flicks with comedy, go see this movie.
If your a lady that like starring at Chris Evans, go see this movie.
If your a guy like me who likes looking at Zoe Saldana being hot while kicking ass, go see this movie.
Basically everyone over the age of 10 should go see this movie, it's just plain good.

46 - More great News

And how couldI forget, even more great news. Getting my comuter back with a nice new bigger hard drive in it was nice but this is great, we got ourselves a house. Went looking last Saturday and put in a bid on Wednesday, little back and forth and as of Sunday they excepted our last offer.

So come the end of next month we will hopefully be closing with no problems and I will have me a great new place for me and the wifey on, get this, Toni street!

Life is a riot.

45 - Kick Ass, it did indeed and the introduction of Spoiler Alert Theater

Alright so I hope you are all ready for the S.A.T., Spoiler Alert Theater as I am going to call it. Don't know if I'll keep up with doing movie reviews but it seems like a fun idea at the moment. So we will start with:

KICK ASS

Kick Ass, oh yeh I had to be there on opening day to see it. And I know what I the comic fans out our thinking, how we got burned soooo damn bad on what Hollywood did to Wanted. I'm not saying Wanted was a bad movie, it was good, it just should have been called Assassins and they should have gotten someone to make a film out of the comic book Wanted that was filled with frickin super villains, not assassins. That would have been awesome but I digress...

Any who even from the trailers it was good to see that they were actually making a movie version of Mark Millar's Kick Ass and not an interpretation. Tons of action, great buckets of blood, not for kiddies, great stuff. But so everyone knows going in they did make some changes. A couple of plot points from the book show up differently in the movie and a few instances go down different, but not in what I would say is a bad way. And in a way the changes are kind of cool cause going into a movie were I would have known everything that was going to happen might have been a little bit of a let down. One of the biggest changes was that Hit Girl plays a much bigger role in the movie than she did in the book, but the actress is great, nothin quite like a cute little girl lobbing off body parts with a smile, great great stuff.

As it was the whole damn thing was a blast from front to start and anyone with the stomach should go see it as it is well worth your movie money.

44 - Tax Day

April 15th and the only thing I am finding taxing is waiting for my computer to get back from the shop while having to many projects on hold. Perfect time for my hard drive to crap out on me. But if all goes well then I will have all of my old data on a brand new 500 gig drive tomorrow.
I guess we will just have to wait and see...so many projects...so little time...

43 - Amazing Spider-Man #625...simply amazing!

This has to have been the best issue of Spidey I have read in a long time. The entire Gauntlet story line that has been running in ASM has been really good, with the exception of the new Vulture - he has been the low point so far.

This single issue I believe can make anyone a Rhino fan. During this story they have been bringing back the classic Spidey villains and giving us new takes on them. But this issue has by far been the best. A confrontation between the old Rhino and the new Rhino which has been brewing for a bit now. It all comes to a head and you will actually feel for a "villain".

Anyone looking for a great story needs to pick up the Gauntlet, you won't be sorry. And specifically this issue, Joe Kelly writes probably the best story of his I have ever read and Max Fiumara lays down a very unique visual take on the Spidey world. Go get this issue people!

42 - and look at that...actually artwork..

Hey to all the funny peoples. Actually got a new piece done. There is a great new game called Allods Online, it is awesome! It looks a bit like WoW and plays like it as well, but it's FREE! Great game to check out if you have a couple of hours to kill and don't want to spend any money.

Anywho they had a contest on the Allods Forum and I thought it would be a nice opportunity to do a digital painting. Grabbed my Wacom and fired up Corel X for the first time in awhile and got to work. I am even happy with the results. Good stuff, enjoy.

41 - My left foot...

As we know sometimes time on the couch is well spent. After a great class at Team Hardcore practicing checking leg kicks I found reason to spend time on my couch. I found about 2 days after class that the goose egg on my leg not shrunk, in fact it had gotten bigger and I had a nice pool of blood in my ankle. But no worries, went to my doc and everything is good. Hot rag under a heating blanket couple of times a day over the last week and a half and I have a normal leg again. So...
Back to the gym on Tuesday, the fun will commence. And even better I get to go back with all my new gear. Got my self some new stuff with the tax return and my awesome wife went and bought me some new gear for our anniversary. She got me a nice rash guard and a cool new mouth piece. And I even got some nice new shin guards, which we can see I needed.

40 - Team Hardcore

After over a year of sitting on my fat butt due to the closing of the great ATA school I was attending with the remarkable Kyle family I have finally put a foot back into training. Tuesday the 12th of January was my first day of training at Team Hardcore. I made it back on Thursday night so I put in 4 hours of training this first week back and it felt like it was going to kill me a few times.

It's amazing how fat and out of shape you can let yourself get in a year, man I am a slow slug. But now we are on the path to change all of that. With time in the gym and changing the diet a bit the goal is to be back in fighting shape by next January. On Monday this week my starting weight was 231 lbs of pure fat ass.

Step one is dropping this 30 lb beer gut to get down to a healthy 200 lbs, that would be good for my frame.

Step 2 will be trying to push a bit with a goal weight of around 185 lbs. Though this goal might change, we have to see how I am feeling after dropping the first 30.

Lots to look forward to, it's great to have some new goals.

Going to be even better when I reach them...

39 - The POWER of power rings!

You have got to love some of the great give aways that come with great comics. Thanks to the Blackest Night and my favorite store Captain Comics right here in Boise, I have almost as many power rings as I can fit on my hands. There is room for a few more...