Thursday, March 14, 2024

March M.O.D.O.K. Madness 2024 #4

March M.O.D.O.K. Madness 2024
(Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing)

It's another submission to the March M.O.D.O.K. Madness Blog.  Go over and pay them a visit to see some of the other artists who also enjoy the exploits of everyone's favorite Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing!

Just in time for Pi Day/Pie Day, here's a parody of those classic Hostess Ads those of us of a certain age will no doubt recall, in which the day is saved by the hero tossing out several dessert cakes and pies!  Except, in this case, the "hero" in question is M.O.D.O.K...

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STEP ONE:  I did the digital lettering first in this case, and then quickly scribbled digital pencils done on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas.

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STEP TWO:  And here are digital inks.

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STEP THREE:  And here are the added colors, done on a layer below the digital inks.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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Monday, March 11, 2024

March M.O.D.O.K. Madness 2024 #3

March M.O.D.O.K. Madness 2024
(Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing)

It's another submission to the March M.O.D.O.K. Madness Blog.  Go over and pay them a visit to see some of the other artists who also enjoy the exploits of everyone's favorite Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing!

In my previous e-mail submission to the long-suffering Brendan and Pedro, I signed off with "Keep on Mindblastin'" and knew immediately what I had to do for my next March M.O.D.O.K. Madness submission: A parody of Robert Crumb's "Keep on Truckin'...", which was ubiquitous when I was a wee lad in the 1970's.  It also spawned another idea that I will also be submitting (hopefully) later in the month.

Once again, I managed not to do one of the many M.O.D.O.K. drawings I thought I had planned out, and instead went off in a different direction, which is leading to other directions beyond that (a couple of them rather unexpected).  I suppose it is to be expected but, oh, how my Train of Thought often jumps the tracks...

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STEP ONE:  Here are the very quickly scribbled digital pencils done on a 3,000px x 2,000px canvas.

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STEP TWO:  And here are digital inks.

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STEP THREE:  And here are the added colors, done on a layer below the digital inks.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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Monday, March 4, 2024

March M.O.D.O.K. Madness 2024 #2

March M.O.D.O.K. Madness 2024
(Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing)

It's another submission to the March M.O.D.O.K. Madness Blog.  Go over and pay them a visit to see some of the other artists who also enjoy the exploits of everyone's favorite Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing!

This one just started as a little doodle in Clip Studio Paint and sort of built up from there.  The mildly amusing thing is that I do have a few M.O.D.O.K.'s planned out, and this one sort of came out from nowhere, and actually sent me down a path for a couple more ideas.  Alas, I'm sure I have too many to even get to before the end of the month, but we'll see what gets done this time.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the very quickly scribbled digital pencils done on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas with a really chonky brush.

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STEP TWO:  And here are digital inks.  If I were smart--and I've never been accused of such a thing--I would have used the Symmetry Tool or something for the inks.  I did Copy-and-Paste a few items (such as the lights and the fins sticking out on M.O.D.O.K.'s chair).  It would have saved me a lot of time.  But, then again, some of the non-symmetrical parts give it is less "mechanical" look, I guess.

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STEP THREE:  And here are the added colors, done on a layer below the digital inks.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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Friday, March 1, 2024

March M.O.D.O.K. Madness 2024 #1

March M.O.D.O.K. Madness 2024
(Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing)

Hey, it's time again for everyone's favorite March-based bit of Madness featuring that wacky, hyper-cephalic Jack Kirby creation:
MARCH M.O.D.O.K. MADNESS!

This is the first of what I hope will be many submissions to the March M.O.D.O.K. Madness Blog.  Go over and pay them a visit to see some of the other artists who also enjoy the exploits of everyone's favorite Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing!

In my little sketches trying to figure out what to do for for the first submission, I kept having M.O.D.O.K. leaning out from the panel and yelling that it was time to get started for "March M.O.D.O.K. Madness", but then I jotted down "Here's M.O.D.O.K.!" ala Jack Torrance from "The Shining" (make the "The Shinning" for "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror" episode).  And here we are...

All work and no play make M.O.D.O.K....something something...

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STEP ONE:  Here are the very quickly scribbled digital pencils done on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas.

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STEP TWO:  And here are digital inks.

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STEP THREE:  And here are the added colors.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Unwanted Valentines: Dune (1984)

Unwanted Valentines:
Dune (1984)

Hey, hey, time for one more "Unwanted Valentine", a Valentine so nerdy and built upon jokes so corny it will surely result in many a break-up and divorce if you were to give it to a loved one.  This time, it's based on David Lynch's "Dune" from 1984.  I was tempted to go for the slightly obvious, more ribald reference to "You can ride my Worm anytime", but decided to reference "The Spice must flow", instead.

Even though Lynch disliked the end result, I always thought his adaptation was fun and visually brilliant (the monstrous-looking Spacer Guild is amazingly grotesque and my canon view of the Spacers).  The latest "Dune" by Denis Villeneuve is also visually brilliant, but is something more clinical and missing some of the true grotesquery of Lynch (well, so far.  We'll see what Part 2 brings).  The first novel, "Dune", is among of my Sci-Fi favorites, and the ideas of the follow-up Frank Herbert series have a lot of great ideas.

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STEP ONE Here are the digital blue pencils, done on a 2,000px x 2,800 @ 300dpi canvas.

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STEP TWO:  And the digital inks, done mostly with an 8pt and a 12pt brush.

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STEP THREE:  The colors were done on the layer below.

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Done digitally with Clip Studio Paint

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Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Unwanted Valentines: Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

 Unwanted Valentines:
Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

It's time again for an Unwanted Valentine--Valentines so nerdy and built upon puns so terrible that no one would be pleased to receive them... especially a loved one!  This time it's Freddy Krueger from "Nightmare on Elms Street" (1984) saying the classic 80's catch phase for safe sex.  That may also tie in with my typical shortening of "Valentine's Day" to the initials "V.D.", which I do as a mildly amusing joke.  Emphasis on "mildly".

So, HAPPY V.D., Everyone!

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STEP ONE Here are the digital blue pencils, done on a 2,000px x 2,800 @ 300dpi canvas.

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STEP TWO:  And the digital inks, done mostly with an 8pt and a 12pt brush.

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STEP THREE:  The colors were done on the layer below.

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Done digitally with Clip Studio Paint

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Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Batman-uary 2024 - Interplanetary Batman

BATMAN-UARY 2024:
Interplanetary Batman

Just in time for the end of the month, it's another Batman-uary post!  This time it's Batman's costume from "Detective Comics" #165, featuring Interplanetary Batman.  Next year I think I'll do up the rest of 'em from the cover.  Although, I thought it would be mildly amusing to do Batman's Camouflage Costume of the North Pole just an outline of his white eyes on a blank piece of paper--that'd be a great bit of camouflage, one step up from a drawing of a polar bear in a snowstorm!

And it was done as a parody/homage to Steranko's cover to "Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." #6.

NOTE: Because I'm a numbskull, I just realized that I had a copy/paste error the first post for "Batman-uary 2023" as the Title for most of January 2024.  I just got around to fixing that just in time.  I'd hate to look quite the fool!  Sigh...

We'll do more Batman-uary next year: Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!

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Done digitally in Rebelle.

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Thursday, January 18, 2024

Happy New Year! 2024 - Batman-uary! - Knightfall

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Batman-uary - Knightfall

HAPPY (belated) NEW YEAR!

OK, it's a two-fer--both my first post to celebrate the New Year (sure, the first month is over half over, but let's not bring up the past), and something Batman-uary related.  It's based on the Knightfall series cover, "Batman" #497 by Kelly Jones.

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!  Out with the old and in with the new!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils.  I did them quickly using the Symmetry Tool in Clip Studio Paint (as much as I like Rebelle 7, it doesn't have a Symmetry Tool as of yet), exported it as a .png with a clear background, and imported it into Rebelle as a rough guide.

At first I was gonna just leave it as Bane breaking 2024, but decided to add in the Penny and T-Rex from the cover and make it a more close parody of the cover.  Also, I originally was going to follow Jone's way over-the-top back to Bane, but it starting looking weird as I painted it, so I tried to make it... well, "Realistic" isn't quite the right word when describing Bane.

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STEP TWO:  After a lot of back-and-forth here's the finished digital painting.  I did each element on their own layer (Background, Penny, T-Rex, Bane, 2024, and one extra for Bane's hands on a top layer).  Because I was not paying attention and accidentally deleted the layer, I only have the pencils and finished picture rather than something at a halfway point.  One of these days, I'll learn...

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint and Rebelle 7

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Sunday, December 31, 2023

Bizarro Year in Review: 2023

2023 Year in Review
By Bizarro

Well, this year just flew by and was filled with all manner of weirdness--some of which were actually pretty cool and completely unexpected.  My art was accidentally used on an alternate Marvel Comics cover to "A.X.E.: Eve of Judgement" #1 by Mr. Garcin.  So, I guess I got to do a Marvel Comics cover in the most bass-ackwards, Rube Goldberg-esque manner... which is exactly the way I would expect it to happen for me, I suppose.

I was also invited to have some of my art on the Escape Motions Rebelle social media pages.  Again, that was cool.  I was also invited to Beta Test Rebelle 7, which was interesting and fun (I hope you're all sitting down, but I'm a nerd).  I found a few bugs, made some suggestions for future features, so we'll see how that goes.  Rebelle has replaced Corel Painter for myself, and has a great painting engine (particularly the Watercolor brush).  They also have a new Metallic paint effect that is pretty neat.  And the pricing isn't outrageous.  Rebelle and Clip Studio Paint are my go to Art Programs.

I also submitted every month this year to semi-local Art Magazine, "Moss Piglet", out of Kenosha, WI, for other art-based fun, and did a few other projects here and there.  Artistically, I think I'm vaguely getting better.  More practice, practice, practice, is needed of course.

After some of that attention, my Blog(s) seemed to take off for several months.  Normally, my Blog is very, VERY modest.  I get about 1,500 hits per month on average.  For a couple months, I was getting several hundred hits a day an a couple times when I had 5,000+ people a day (once as many as 8,000 in a day).  For a little bit, I will admit the numbers made me think I was gonna be popular and my star was gonna rise and all those other cliches.  But, oddly, as much traffic as it generated, I can't say it really moved the needle at all.  There was no real engagement, no new people following me, or anything else of the sort.  They were just numbers on a graph went up, making me wonder if they were just bots, if any of the numbers are real, and just the general existential questions we all ask ourselves.  Ironically, the added traffic dropped off a cliff and returned to mostly normal the day before I started my "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween", which I consider a pretty fun challenge.  Ah, well, again, I'm not sure what the numbers mean, if anything.  Shrug and move on, I guess.  😀

This next year, I'm hoping to expand things a bit more and push myself a bit further.  I have a few projects I'm hoping to do which may be fun, announcements forthcoming later in the year.

I just want to take a few moments to thank everyone who has stopped by to gawk at my modest Blog.  It is much appreciated, more than you can possibly know.  I'm hoping the New Year will be filled with Peace, Love, and all that jazz for everyone.

Peace out, y'all!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Done digitally in Rebelle 7, with a lettering assist from Clip Studio Paint

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Saturday, December 30, 2023

Merry Sithmas - Darth Zannah

 MERRY SITHMAS
Darth Zannah

Hey, hey, it's another Sithmas Card!  Always two Sithmas Cards there are... and this time, fittingly enough, it's Darth Zannah, the apprentice to Darth Bane: The original "Rule of Two".

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done in Clip Studio Paint.  It is a 2,00px x 2,791px document at 300dpi.  I used the Symmetry Tool to keep everything, well, symmetrical between the two sides.  Originally, I was going to do the outfit in red with white Santa-type trim along the collar, but then changed my mind and did a full on Santa-type cloak.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks, mostly done with a 15pt digital brush.

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STEP THREE:  Here are the colors, done in a variety of layers under the inked layer before the animation lights were applied.  For the animation, three images were imported into Photoshop in the Timeline, and exported as an animated .GIF.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint (with the animated .GIF produced in Photoshop).

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Friday, December 29, 2023

Merry Sithmas - Darth Sion

 MERRY SITHMAS
Darth Sion

Hey, hey, it's a little late, but here's yet another Sithmas Card!  This time, it's deeper into the lore with Darth Sion, The Lord of Pain.  And dry skin, no doubt; he needs to up his skin care routine.  Darth Sion first appeared in 2004 with "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords" video game and has shown up in some comics.

Hmm, with the position of the necrotic-type skin on his torso, I just realized it almost looks like he is wearing a tank top or suspenders.  Sigh... Oh, well.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done in Clip Studio Paint.  It is a 2,00px x 2,791px document at 300dpi.  I used the Symmetry Tool to keep everything, well, symmetrical between the two sides, then turned it off for the hat and a couple other random bits.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks.  They were mostly done with a 15pt digital brush.

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STEP THREE:  Here are the colors, done in a variety of layers under the inked layer before the animation lights were applied.  For the animation, three images were imported into Photoshop in the Timeline, and exported as an animated .GIF.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint (with the animated .GIF produced in Photoshop).

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Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Day 31: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
It's the Great Pumpkin,
Charlie Brown (1966)

Hey, hey!  I made it to the end of
"31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" 2023!

Although, ironically, this was the latest I posted a "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" for this year.  In each of the previous years, I had several times where I didn't finish up my drawing or painting and get it posted until 10:00pm or so, and I think one time it was after 11:00pm.  So, dangerously close.  This year, however, I was able to keep up the the schedule and had them posted by 10:00am at the latest (well, except for this one, which is posted at 4:00pm), even though the actual paintings kept incriminating up in time to the point where I was spending an average of about 6 hours per painting.  

I will admit it's a lot of work and I take the "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" embarrassingly serious.  Oh, well, it's great practice.  This year, most of 'em turned out not too bad; a few of them are actually better than OK; and there are also a few stinkers in the bunch that I am slightly embarrassed by.  Y'know, the usual.

Anyhoo, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  👻 🎃 💀

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STEP ONE:  In Clip Studio Paint, I created a 2,000px x 3,000px digital canvas and scribbled out the digital pencils.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks.  I exported the digital inks as a .PNG file, which I then imported into Rebelle 6 to do the coloring.

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STEP THREE:  Just for fun, here's the color plate which I did in Rebelle 6, which I then exported as another .PNG file, sized to fit under the Black Plate from Clip Studio Paint.

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STEP FOUR:  In Clip Studio Paint, I imported the color plate and placed the black plate over top.  I tweaked a couple minor spots to add shadows to the Great Pumpkin and such and called it good enough.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint and Rebelle.

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Monday, October 30, 2023

Day 30: Wicked City (1987) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Wicked City (1987)

I will admit, that when I looked at the Blog this morning, ready to Post today's "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" drawing, I almost fell outta my chair trying to figure out why the posted number said I was at 28 days of HELL-O-Ween so far.  After feverishly making sure I didn't forget to hit "Publish", checking to make sure the latest painting was up on the Blog, and trying to figure out how I missed a day.  After about a minute of panic, I realized the real problem is that I cannot count to 30.  I had accidentally typed in "Day 28" for two different posts.  Sigh...  I'll learn to count beyond my fingers and toes one of these days.

Anyhoo, here we are--one more day to go!  Today's feature is from the 1987 Anime, "Wicked City".  I remember watching this a while back and being impressed with some of the animation and the wild and crazy storyline.  The amount of Anime in America at that time was still limited.  This featured demons, half-demons, and all manner of wild creatures.  Oh, and nudity, as well.  In this case, it was a spider demon with... let's just say she was nude and had a toothy spinneret.

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STEP ONE:  In Clip Studio Paint, I created a 2,000px x 3,000px digital canvas and, using the Symmetry Tool, hastily scribbled the digital pencils.

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STEP TWO:  I used the Transparent color for the ink brush as an eraser of sorts.  I really appreciated the Transparent color option to change any brush you are using into an eraser in Clip Studio Paint.  Every art program should do that, IMHO.

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STEP THREE:  And here is the finished, colored digital scratchboard.  The color was done overtop using a Multiply Layer.  I exported the layers to Photoshop and put in the logo and called it good.  Tomorrow's the last day!

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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