Superboy WIP

This is how I do that thing I do:

Simple sketch:


Adding the lines in Photoshop w/ circle tool:


Erasing lines to start forming the figure:


Continuing on with the circles and the erasing:


Pretty much done with the figure:


Quick blocking in of colors:


Hey, add some shadows why don't ya!


Back to the sketch and start thinking about the BG:


Tweak the figure to give more character. In this
case Red around the pupils (heat vision):


Back to the BG and start moving lines to form buildings:


Behind bldgs needs some sky texture:


Blend building and sky:


Add back my figure:


...and the FINALE! VIOLA.

Teeny Titans, Part 11

Red Star


Wendy & Marvin


Red Hood (Jason Todd)


Pantha

Rudy

Rudy says, "Merry Christmas, y'all"!

Let's Make A Headboard!

Last summer I went exploring in the barn and underneath a pile of debris I found an old window frame. It was literally screaming to be re-purposed in some way and after playing with a few different ideas over a couple of months time I finally decided it needed to be in the guest room as a headboard.

I had no idea how to accomplish this but decided the only way to figure it out was to dive right in. A hand saw, sandpaper, a pail of extra paint and some determination is all it took. Of course I took pics along the way! :)


This was the frame as found:



First thing I did was to measure the correct height and then cut off the bottom.



I then spent a few days chipping along the panes removing the window putty and the tiny nails that held the glass in place.



I sanded and scraped and pulled and sanded again until all the edges were smooth characters. Then I primed it with an off white.



Originally I wanted to add something more decorative into the open panes, maybe even fabric. But for now I just made some simple panels out of extra flooring I had. I can always go back to this step and switch things up fairly easily.



Here it is with the panels added and the entire thing primed again.



All that was left was to paint the bad boy. I was really wanting to go a bright green or a crazy sunflower yellow - something wild like that. But I was in a hurry to put it up and all I had was a chocolate espresso brown. I am fine with the color but seeing as how it was an experiment anyway it really should be more bold. Ah, well. There's always later.



And finally on the bed.


It was a fun and easy project. Next time I would like to go a bit bolder and add molding, etc to really up the ante. But it was a great first attempt. It is always very rewarding to visualize something and make it happen!

Teeny Titans, Part 10

I haven't posted these lil' comic book friends in awhile. Here's a few more from my ever growing collection.


Baby Wildebeest


Supergirl


Mirage

Professor Pyg, updated

Halloween time again. I always have such big plans for Halloween and then either because I wait too long or because my costume never works out I usually end up bailing on our plans and sit at home watching scary movies. NOT THIS YEAR! My friends, Zach and Leann (who always do such great costumes) are going as Penguin and Catwoman so the rest of us decided to follow their lead and make ourselves into Batman Villains! This was something I could really get excited about! I chose a relatively new character for my costume, Professor Pyg. He's psychotic and deranged and makes an awesome visual!


As usual, it turned into a fairly large undertaking but luckily I started early enough!

I found this mask at Wal Mart for about $5 to use as my base:


I cut off the lower face & chin, created ears from wire I had laying about, made a pig nose and enhanced the cheeks and brows out of molding clay. Finally I taped it all off with painters tape:


...trying it on for size and drama!


I then papier-mâché'd the whole thing to give it more stability:


After sanding down the rough edges it was prepped and ready for paint:


I painted it pink (of course)...


...and immediately hated it. Too pink and the texture was really awful. After researching online I discovered a good "smoother" was artist gesso - which I happen to have abundance of - so I gesso'd a few layers (lightly sanding between layers to buff it out):


Finally I was ready to try painting again. I mixed pink/white but this time added a bit of yellow and bloop of green to get a more realistic 'pig' color. I used a darker version of the pink to make the brows and frown lines stand out and also to sink the eye holes in a bit, trying to make it look as menacing as possible.


I spent a bit more time blending in the darker areas and and adding to the nostrils. End result:


...and finally me in my full costume:


Too much fun!

From the Art Table

I haven't been painting very much lately, summer and all. I finally got my studio room all set up and now that the rains are back I decided to force myself to sit down at least an hour day and work on some things that have been bouncing around in my brain.

I watched Barbarella (for the 100th time?) recently and thought it might be fun to take my style of whimsical women and interpret them into campy space vixens. Here is my first WIP!