Superman: Superman (2025) with David Corenswet

SUPERMAN:
David Corenswet

Of course I went and saw "Superman" (2025) the opening night, and I thought it was generally a great movie.  People have described it as the most comic book of comic book movies and I will agree with an emphatic "Hell, yeah!"

Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen were perfectly cast; Mr. Terrific was, well, terrific; Guy Gardener was exactly what you would think he would be; Hawkgirl was fun for the little bit she was in the movie; Lex was just a straight up villain; Jonathan and Martha Kent were perhaps dialed up a bit too much on the corn pone level but were still good people who raised a good son.  Krypto was also great fun (the part with Superman looking for Krypto and saying "He's not even that good of a dog" amused me, but he kept looking).

David Corenswet is a great Superman (so was Henry Cavill, but I felt he was failed by the dour story in which he was placed).  Gunn really got Superman right for the screen--and this is probably the best Superman alongside Christopher Reeve, full of hope, kindness, and there always being a way--although there were a few story plot points which rubbed me the wrong way (particularly the motivating action of the movie involving a Kryptonian video--I'll leave it at that).

Overall, I enjoyed it, had fun, found the funny parts funny, enjoyed the action and easter eggs; there were a couple plot points that I didn't care for, but those were mentally put aside for the good time and good vibes I had for the rest of the movie.

Hmmmm, one more digital Quick Paint and it would be a full week/seven pictures.  Ah, I have an idea related to Superman that should tie everything together.  Well, probably not that far, but it will amuse me (and hopefully y'all) nonetheless.  Stay tuned for tomorrow to see how we end this Super-Week!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the really quick, first pass with digital paint, done on a 2,000px x 3,000px @ 300dpi fine Gesso canvas in Rebelle 7.  Once again, I used the Oil Palette Knife brush rather than the Oil Filbert Brush for those of you who are curious.

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STEP TWO:  Here it is a little further along and more blended.  After a little while, I realized that I had the face a little off, so I did some quick Selecting and moving around--moved the face up here, shortened the nose a bit there, and then did some more blending and painting to fix it.

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STEP THREE:  And here's the finished digital painting.  Once again, I was a bit too quick on the draw (heh, pun!) and should have corrected the placement of the eyes/nose/mouth much earlier, rather than rushing into the fun stuff, building up the shading on the face, trying to finish as soon as possible, etc.  There's a lesson in there that I am sure I will fail to heed.  But, I did get mostly there in the end... mostly.  Then again, these are just Quick Paints, so won't be perfect.

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Done digitally in Rebelle 7

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Superman: Superman Lives with Nicolas Cage

SUPERMAN:
Nicolas Cage

Hey, it's turning into Superman Week here at the Blog, why not?  This time, let's go off script and go with something completely wacky: Nicolas Cage as the Superman that almost happened but never was collaboration with Tim Burton.  I will admit, that I was not vibing with this when it was announced, so wasn't too disappointed when it wasn't made (although, the movie 'The Death of 'Superman Lives'" did make me wonder...).  Sure, I would have gone to see it, but there were so many things which gave me pause, primarily the casting.  Then again, I may have been wrong and it could have been up my alley.  Heath Leger's Joker gave me pause before I actually saw it in the theaters and it was perfectly done; Nicolas Cage's Superman could have done the same, who knows?  (But, odds weren't favorable, if I had to guess.)

Cage did sort of get his chance to finally fight that giant spider at the end of "Flash" (2023) movie, which was not a very good movie, either.  Side Note: The Speed Force and running effects were just terrible after seeing them done right with Quicksilver in the "X-Men" movies (ironically, not very well done in the Marvel "Avengers: Rise of Ultron" (2015) movie).

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STEP ONE:  Here are the really quick, first pass with digital paint, done on a 2,000px x 3,000px @ 300dpi fine Gesso canvas in Rebelle 7.  This time, I used the Oil Palette Knife brush, rather than the Oil Filbert Brush for those of you who are curious.

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STEP TWO:  Here is the digital painting a little further on and doing what I can to correct initial errors when doing the general layout.

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STEP THREE:  And here's the finished digital painting.  I did color correct it, as there was a green color to the screen grab from the "Flash" movie.

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Done digitally in Rebelle 7

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Superman: Superman: The Movie (1978) with Christopher Reeve

SUPERMAN:
Christopher Reeve

Ah, "Superman: The Movie" (1978).  The tagline was "You will believe a man can fly," and while I wouldn't go that far, it had a profound effect on me watching it as a kid.  Superman is a truly totemic character to me--probably to an embarrassing amount--and this movie fully captured the inherent kindness and humanity to Superman as I understand the character and will always compare to other versions of Superman.  Of course he's an absolutely wholesome, big Blue Boy Scout and goody-two-shoes who will try to help everyone: He's Superman.

The sequel, "Superman II" (1980), was pretty great, as well, but I overlooked the silly, "Three Stooges" slapstick comedic parts Lester directed which really stand out like a sore thumb when I watch it today.  Ah, well, it's a good enough movie to overlook it.

Needless to say, the quality of the Christopher Reeve movies went down sharply thereafter, but let's not talk about that...

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STEP ONE:  Here are the really quick, first pass with digital paint, done on a 2,000px x 3,000px @ 300dpi fine Gesso canvas in Rebelle 7.  This time, I used the Oil Palette Knife brush, rather than the Oil Filbert Brush for those of you who are curious.

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STEP TWO:  Here is the digital painting a little further on.  Mostly, it was just blending and adjusting what was laid down in the First Step.  I realized that the chin was creeping into Frank Quietly territory, so I lassoed it and moved the face down a bit.

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STEP THREE:  After moving the face down, that seemed to correct something which was nagging my subconscious when doing the painting.  It mostly looked alright and seemed correct, but there was something about it which was making my Spidey-Sense tingle, if you will forgive me mixing my comic book franchises. 

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Done digitally in Rebelle 7

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Superman: Adventure of Superman with George Reeves (1952 to 1958)

SUPERMAN:
George Reeves

Now it's the ubiquitous Superman of my childhood.  Every once in a while, it would be syndicated on a local channel and I would get to catch some of the episodes of "Adventures of Superman".  Reeves version of Superman was more square-jawed and avuncular.  As cool as it was to see Superman on the small screen, I was always disappointed he wasn't able to battle the villains from the comic books.  Instead, it was Superman fighting other middle-age men in suits... Granted, they are probably the true bad guys in society, but I wanted to see his fighting Brainiac, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and assorted aliens and monsters.  Granted, I was a dumb kid with no understanding of TV Budgets or Special Effects limitations of the time (as opposed to now when I'm a dumb adult with only a marginal understanding of TV Budgets or Special Effects limitations).

Still, it was from a time when beggars couldn't be choosers when it came to super-hero fare on the ol' television, and I took everything I could get.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the really quick, digital pencils, done on a 2,000px x 3,000px @ 300dpi fine Gesso canvas in Rebelle 7.

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STEP TWO:  Here's the colors done under the pencils, which I duplicated and merged down onto a single layer.  I then duplicated the Layer to preserve it for the "Work in Progress", and started working over the digital pencils/paints.

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STEP THREE:  And here's the finished digital painting, done with lots and lots of back-and-forth and blending.  Mostly, it was done on a single layer, with an occasional added one which was then merged down, as well.

I realized that the nose was a bit short and the shape of the head should have been a bit more square.  It's another example of a 1/4" here and the 1/8" there (that a .6cm to .3cm to those of you who use metric) can make a real difference as to how a picture turns out.  Onward to the next one or two!

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Done digitally in Rebelle 7

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Superman: Serials with Kirk Alyn (1948)

SUPERMAN:
Kirk Alyn

It's time for another Superman digital painting, this time it is the Kirk Alyn from the first "Superman" Serial from 1948.  I've only caught a few of the black-and-white serials over the years, but Alyn always seemed like a happy-go-lucky, smiling, and ebullient version of Superman, which is how I always picture him in my mind's eye.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done on a 2,000px x 3,000px @ 300dpi fine Gesso canvas in Rebelle 7.

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STEP TWO:  Here's a quick black-and-white value study under the pencils, which I duplicated and merged down on the value painting.

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STEP THREE:  And here's the finished digital painting, done with lots and lots of back-and-forth and blending.  Mostly, it was done on a single layer, with an occasional added one which was then merged down, as well.

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Done digitally in Rebelle 7

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Superman: Fleischer Studios (1941 - 1943)

SUPERMAN:
Fleischer Studios

With the James Gunn Superman movie arriving later this week (I'll be there opening day, of course--Superman is probably the most totemic character in making me the person I am today, for better or worse), I figure it's time to do several Superman Quick Paints, why not?  In this case, it's a tribute to Fleischer Studios version of Superman.

Every once in a while when I was a kid, I would see some Fleischer Studios "Superman" cartoons show up on TV, and they were a beautiful jewel showing up--smooth and brilliant animation, highly artistic, and thrilling stories when compared to the typical animation of my childhood.  They would show up out of nowhere, randomly, and I would have my mind blown at their greatness, then it would go away for a while until the next time I would see them.

They used Rotoscope and highly rendered backgrounds.  I cannot believe there would be the Bruce Timm "Batman" cartoons without Fleischer Studios "Superman".

As the Fleischer Studio "Superman" cartoons are in the Public Domain, feel free to watch them HERE on Archive.org.  ENJOY!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done on a 3,000px x 2,000px canvas in Rebelle 7.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks.

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STEP THREE:  And here is the color plate, done on several layers.  I almost treated it like and animation cell, with a rendered background and flat character in front.

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Done digitally in Rebelle 7

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Thunderbolts* (2025): What About Bob?

THUNDERBOLTS* (2025)
What About Bob?

OK, this semi-obvious joke was the first thing that popped in my mind with I saw the trailer for "Thunderbolts" (2025), with Bob/Sentry/The Void: A mash-up of the "What About Bob?" (1991) movie poster with Bob and Sentry shaking hands in the foreground, and The Void choking out Bob's shadow in the background.  Yes, it seems obvious, but it only seems that way because it totally is.

Here's the "What About Bob?" poster.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas done @ 300dpi, done in Clip Studio Paint.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks and the lettering.

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STEP THREE:  And, finally, the colors done under the ink layer.  Nuttin' fancy, just semi-posterized coloring done with an ink brush and minor blending of the skin tones.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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Moss Piglet (April 2025): Westerns

 Moss Piglet (April 2025):
Westerns

Hey, hey, it's yet another post about a submission I made a few months ago to "Moss Piglet", a small art magazine out of Kenosha, Wisconsin I've been contributing to the past few years.  They use a monthly theme for it's publication and this time it was "Westerns".  I have to admit that I was not all that much of a fan of Westerns until Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" (1992) (a great movie about how revenge destroys you, IMHO).  Sure, there were some other Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns that were entertaining, but most of the time it was a "Skip!" from myself, in search of something which had Robots, or Aliens, or Monsters.

Anyhoo, I was trying to think of something to do with "Draw!" as a shootout comic page, but could only think of the most obvious easel in the street and the two "gunfighters" draw pictures.  Eh, very obvious and has been done a ka-jillion times.  So, I kept thinking on it and drawing a blank for the longest time... Of course, the entire thing popped in my head fully-formed the day before it was due (my stupid brain just has to wait until the last minute, I swear).  In this case, I pictured  the panels steering toward the obvious "yeah, yeah, he's gonna draw a picture...", but when "Draw!" is yelled out, the easel spins up a gun shoots down the outlaw on the street while everyone celebrates.

It was an idea so dumb, I will admit that I laughed at the absurdity of it (that's right, I laugh at my own dumb jokes, sometimes; I have to do it since no one else will).  Anyhoo, I did it up as a comic page (which is why I figured it would also have a home here on my Comic Book and Assorted Nerdery Blog).  And here we are.

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And here is an alternate one that I submitted to "Moss Piglet", which is more Arty-Farty, based on Magritte's "The Treachery of Images" (best known as the painting of a pipe saying "This is not a pipe").  Since "Moss Piglet" is more of an Art magazine, I figured I'd reference the Magritte with the "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" ("This is not a Pipe") and then, after a pause, I thought I should have the canvas also say "Ceci est un pistolet" ("This is my gun"), and then the drawing/painting of the gun do the shooting.

It amused me; not that it takes much, of course.

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For those of you interested, here's the link to the Homepage for "Moss Piglet": https://www.krazines.com/

You can also view previous issues online at: https://www.krazines.com/archives.html  This one was on the back cover for those interested.

If you're able, subscribe and tell 'em John D. sent you!

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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Moss Piglet (March 2025): Ordinary Adventures

 Moss Piglet (March 2025):
Ordinary Adventures

Hey, hey, it's another post about a submission I made a few months ago to "Moss Piglet", a small art magazine out of Kenosha, Wisconsin I've been contributing to the past few years.  They use a monthly theme for it's publication.  This time it was "Ordinary Adventures" (no excitement allowed!) and I figured the result would work just fine for my Nerdy/Geeky Blog as it is a faux comic book cover in a mock "Tales From the Crypt" and Daniel Clowes-style mash-up.  Except really, really boring.  Like most of my life, now that I think about it... 😳

Once again, I managed not to save any work-in-progress steps for the "Moss Piglet".  Something I seem to forget to do with my "Moss Piglet" submissions.  Usually 'cuz I'm scrambling at the last minute to get an idea and then get it finished...

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For those of you interested, here's the link to the Homepage for "Moss Piglet": https://www.krazines.com/

You can also view previous issues online at: https://www.krazines.com/archives.html  This one was on the back cover for those interested.

If you're able, subscribe and tell 'em John D. sent you!

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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May the Fourth be With You 2025 (Belated)

May the Fourth be With You 2025
(Belated)

Hey, hey!  Sure, I'm just a smidge late to the whole "May the Fourth" thing... What's that?  SIXTEEN days?  Great googly moogly, that **IS** late!  Oh, well, I'm sure I'll be on top of it next year for sure...

This time it is in reference to the alleged and apocryphal story of George Lucas himself wanting Jaxxon removed from the Marvel "Star Wars" comics series, mixed up with the "Somehow, Palpatine has returned" meme.

To re-explain everything about Jaxxon (and to copy-and-paste this part from last year's Blog), he's part of my continuing--although not as Quixotic as it used to be--quest to make Jaxxon, the "Star Wars" version of a green Bugs Bunny, into something vaguely popular.  Jaxxon started in the Marvel Comics "Star Wars" #8, taking place after "A New Hope", in a pastiche of "Seven Samurai"/"Magnificent Seven" and...  And it's a long story.  He's a 6' tall, green rabbit which was loosely based on Bugs Bunny, that was in "Star Wars" comics.  Now he's appeared in comics (sure, the "Star Wars: Adventures" line, but I'll take it as a win and say he's officially canon, now), and apparently even has a Black Series action figure.  He also is the star of the "Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories" one-shot with Dark Horse Comics last year (with an awesome Mike Mignola cover).  So, shall I declare myself the winner and say I'm done?  Oh, I'll probably beat that dead horse a little more!

I just did the picture on a single Layer and completely forgot to show the progress until it was too late.  Yeah, I'm sure I'll be on top of that, too, someday...

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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Tron: Legacy (2010) - Gem - Digital Quick Paint

Tron: Legacy (2010)
Gem

It's yet another "Tron: Legacy" (2010) Quick Paint, this time for Gem (who may or may not be a hard-light hologram... [Insert "Jem and the Holograms" pun here].  She was another character that compelled my attention when she was on screen--something striking about her appearance... or, maybe it was just the contrast of the white costume with the dark backgrounds of The Arena.  Again, nothing to do with a skin-tight catsuit with glow sticks on it.

I am hesitant to call this one a "Quick Paint", as this one took a bit more time, but here we are (alas, whenever I start with something like this, the first one is a couple-a-few hours, and then the amount of time begins to increment up and almost doubles and doubles again, etc.).  Also, it didn't help that I had to do a lot of back-and-forth to get everything in the correct proportions.  I was guilty of rushing the layout so I could get on with the fun of the painting the character, Gem, but then spent a lot of time just fixing the proportions I should have corrected before I started getting serious on the actual Digital Painting.  Ah, well.

And, yes, I broke out the Light Pen just to use the Light Pen for the sake of it being a "Tron" pic.

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STEP ONE:  Here is the quick layout, done in Procreate on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas @ 300dpi, done in Procreate with a Conte Brush.

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STEP TWO:  And here it is a little further along.

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STEP THREE:  And the finished pic, for better or worse.  I did some Adjustment Layers in Procreate, and then a slight color correction in Photoshop to warm up the colors a little bit more.  The color looked good in Procreate, but were nearly absolutely blue on my other screen (it's not color calibrated or anything fancy like that).

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Done digitally in Procreate on an iPad (with a slight assist from Photoshop for some minor color correction).

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Tron: Legacy (2010) - Quorra - Digital Quick Paint

Tron: Legacy (2010)
Quorra

I'm still just goofing around with Procreate and having fun with the Tron series, so it's another Digital Quick Paint with Tron: Legacy (2010).  Olivia Wilde as Quorra was a sleek, cool character that I've always been meaning to draw/paint.  She was absolutely magnetic on screen, IMHO, and I'm reasonably sure the skin-tight leather light suit had very little to do with it.

That said, I will probably just do one or two more "Tron" themed ones and move on to whatever else catches my eye,  next.

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STEP ONE:  Here is the quick layout, done in Procreate on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas @ 300dpi, done in Procreate with a Conte Brush.

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STEP TWO:  And, since I wasn't paying attention and forgot to save one of the mid-steps, here's the finished pic.

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Done digitally in Procreate on an iPad.

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Tron: Legacy (2010) - Flynn - Digital Quick Paint

Tron: Legacy (2010)
Flynn

I'm having fun with the Tron series, so it's another Digital Quick Paint, this time for the sequel, Tron: Legacy (2010).  It's in like Flynn, with Jeff Bridges doing the Bio-Digital Dude, man.

"Tron: Legacy" was far more visually striking, showing how far digital effects have come; it's the move up from the Atari 2600 of my youth and to the latest X-Stations and Play-Boxes of the kids today.  I always had a soft spot for the Tron franchise, and I thought "Tron: Legacy" was pretty good and had great special effects.

Alas, I didn't get to use the Light Pen in Procreate.  Aw, well, maybe next time...

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STEP ONE:  Here is the quick layout, done in Procreate on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas @ 300dpi, done in Procreate with a Conte Brush.

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STEP TWO:  And here it is a little further along.

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STEP THREE:  And the finished pic, for better or worse.

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Done digitally in Procreate on an iPad.

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Tron (1982) - Sark - Digital Quick Paint

Tron (1982)
Sark

It's another Digital Quick Paint from the original "Tron" (1982).  This time it is Sark (SARK-ES-1117821), the Second in Command to the bad guys, but he was more visually interesting to me than the Master Controller Program, IMHO.  Again, just goofing off in Procreate and figured I'd post it.

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STEP ONE:  Here is the quick layout, done in Procreate on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas @ 300dpi, done in Procreate with a Conte Brush.

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STEP TWO:  And here it is a little further along.

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STEP THREE:  And the finished pic.  I used the Light Pen in Procreate to do the Light Effects on the costume.  Once again, I went a little overboard, but didn't completely over do it like the last one.

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Done digitally in Procreate on an iPad.

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Tron (1982) - Flynn / Clu - Digital Quick Paint

Tron (1982)
Flynn / Clu

Hey, hey, the other day they dropped a teaser trailer for "Tron: Ares" and I figured what better time to do a series of digital quick paints for "Tron" and "Tron: Legacy", why not?

The original "Tron" (1982), while revolutionary for its time for visual effects, is rather slow-moving and mostly on the dull side through today's eyes, however, there is something within that I find compelling about it.  There are bits (and bytes!) that are more clever than they should be, and the late, great Syd Mead's digital designs are amazing.  I do have a warm fondness for the series, nonetheless.

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STEP ONE:  Here is the quick layout, done in Procreate on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas @ 300dpi.  Some marginal noodling around with some oil-style brushes I got to play around with and see how well they worked.  They are OK, but not quite what I was looking for (alas, the curse of most brushes--when will I learn it is not the tools, per se, but the practice that is more important?  And why is the answer to that question NEVER?).

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STEP TWO:  And here it is a little further along.   Shortly after this point, I decided to use a Conte Chalk Brush, instead.

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STEP THREE:  And the finished pic.  I used the Light Pen in Procreate to do the Light Effects on the costume.  I will admit, that pen works pretty slick when it comes to making it look like illuminated, neon lighting on the costuming.  And, yeah, I admit that I went a little overboard with the lighting on the helmet for no apparent reason.

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Done digitally in Procreate on an iPad.

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