Unwanted Valentines: Jason Voorhees

Unwanted Valentines:

Jason Voorhees

This time, it's a Valentine from Jason Voorhees from the "Friday the 13th" franchise.  Most of the "Friday the 13th" movies are in the "let's get naked and split up" vein of the killing teenagers genre.  They were OK when I watched them growing up, although I am probably one of the few that thinks "Jason X" (ie. "Jason in Space") is probably the best of the bunch.  Not that it is saying much, of course, but I am always a sucker for self-reference and meta-humor.

I debated doing the "We're a Machete Made in Heaven" as "We're a MATCH-ete Made in Heaven", but thought the misspelling would be more confusing.  Saying puns is one thing; spelling pun is something else entirely.  Oh, well.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done on a 1,500px x 2,100px at 300dpi.  I used a blue-line layer in Clip Studio Paint to quickly scribble the image.

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STEP TWO:  The digital inks were also done in Clip Studio Paint over top the digital pencils.

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STEP THREE:  The coloring was done in Clip Studio Paint on a Normal Layer below the inked layer.  As much as I like using Clip Studio Paint for everything, it turns out (unsurprisingly) the .jpg engine works much, much better in Photoshop.  So, I imported the project into Photoshop, the canvas was re-sized to 200dpi (which dropped the size down to 1,000px x 1,400px) and saved each layer as a separate .jpg. 

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint with an assist from Photoshop.

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Unwanted Valentines: The Joker from "The Dark Knight" (2008)

Unwanted Valentines: 

The Joker from "The Dark Knight" (2008)

This time around, it is an Unwanted Valentine from "The Dark Knight" (2008).

I will admit I really wasn't sure what to think of the first production stills that were released showing Heath Ledger's version of the Joker.  I was a little apprehensive at first, but when I saw it in the theaters, it was a great performance.  (And, no, I don't buy all the nonsense about how Heath Ledger got in too deep with the darkness of the character and that's why he died.  Nah, that sounds like bubblegum, pop-psych B.S.)

Anyway, his version of the Joker really blew the other versions out of the water.  I thought the high-watermark was Jack Nicholson's version, but he seemed goofy and cartoonish next to Ledger's version.  Normally, I find dark, angsty comics/movies rather boring (I got my fill of those in the 90's, after all).  But, in this case, it really worked, firing on all cylinders--A scary, nihilistic terrorist who has absolutely nothing to lose and wants to watch the world burn.

"Let's put a smile on that face!"  Yikes!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done on a 1,500px x 2,100px at 300dpi.  I used a blue-line layer in Clip Studio Paint to quickly scribble the image.

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STEP TWO:  The digital inks were also done in Clip Studio Paint over top the digital pencils.

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STEP THREE:  I finally got around to figuring out how to do the same lettering effects in Clip Studio Paint as I do in Photoshop, with the wide stroke/outline around the red letters.  I also used various brushes to color the image.  Then the canvas was re-sized to 200dpi (which dropped the size down to 1,000px x 1,400px) and saved each layer as a separate .jpg. 

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint

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Unwanted Valentines: Kuato from "Total Recall" (1990)

Unwanted Valentines:

Kuato / "Total Recall" (1990)

It's time again for Unwanted Valentines!  Y'know, those super-nerdy Valentines you would give to your loved ones, if you wanted them to give you a semi-quizzical look and mutter "What the %$#@ is this $#!&?".

This time around, it's the mutant, parasitic twin, Kuato, from the, um, "classic" featuring Ah-nold, "Total Recall" (1990).  Actually, I do have a soft spot for "Total Recall", as well as "Robocop" from Paul Verhoeven.  ("Starship Trooper" is also mildly amusing.)  Kuato asks Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to start the Turbinium Reactor to bring the atmosphere back to Mars.

Also, lemme tell ya, Kuato is ripped!  Lookit those abs--you could shred cheese on 'em!  I guess, when you're a mutant, parasitic twin, all you can do is hang around all day and do crunches...

Oh, and **SPOILERS** for a nearly 30-year-old movie: I always thought the movie was a dream, starting when Ah-nold went under at Rekall, Inc.  Mostly 'cuz one of the techs before he goes under says something to the effect of "Huh, blue skies on Mars... that's different," caught my attention; at the end of the movie, blue skies on Mars.  Tada!  It's all a dream!

**SPOILER (Part II)** For those curious out there, "Total Recall" (both versions of the movie) in almost no way resembles the Philip K. Dick short story the movie was based on, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale".  Shocking, I know!  :-P

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done on a 1,500px x 2,100px at 300dpi.  I used a blue-line layer in Clip Studio Paint to quickly scribble the image.

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STEP TWO:  The digital inks were also done in Clip Studio Paint.  The ink brush engine in Clip Studio Paint works fantastic, IMHO.  Very close to a true ink-brush look... or what passes for an ink-brush look in my hands, anyways.

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STEP THREE:  The coloring was also done in Clip Studio Paint, and then it was imported into Photoshop for the lettering across the top, then re-sized the canvas to 200dpi (which dropped the size down to 1,000px x 1,400px) and saved each layer as a separate .jpg. 

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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