Happy (belated) Superman Day!

Superman Day - 2026

I don't know why I don't realize these things until they are too late, but last week on April 18, 2026, it was Superman Day.  With Superman being my moral North Star since I was but a child (some would argue I have yet to grow up and I can't say they are entirely wrong), I thought I'd do up a painting of Christopher Reeve as Superman, why not?

After my mentioning I think I've been a little too heavy on digital painting of late in my last post, I figured I had to do up something with traditional painting--in this case it is another Acrylic painting.  Although, I wish I had a better scanner, as the colors are a bit more harsh than they are on the original.

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STEP ONE: Here are the quick pencils done with a blue pencil on an 11" x 14" piece of copy paper.

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STEP TWO: I was going to bust out the light box and trace it onto some watercolor paper and thought "Hey, why don't I just scan it in and print it out on some extra-heavy cardstock?"  Also, it was a bit larger that I was intending and shrunk it down to 8" x 10".  I converted the Blue Line to Black, darkened the lines, and printed it out to paint with Acrylic Paint.

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STEP THREE: And here's the first pass with Acrylic paint.  Mostly, just to lay out the basic shapes and colors and give the next layers something to stick to, as Acrylic seems to adhere better when going over top a previous Acrylic layer.

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STEP FOUR: And here's the final painting.  Alas, the finished painting is much more subtle in color and blending than the scanned image shows.  Ah, well...  I guess it's OK.

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Done traditionally with Acrylic Paint on 8" x 10" extra-heavy cardstock.

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Superman: Super Grover

SUPERMAN:
Super Grover

He is faster than lightning, stronger than steel, and smarter than a speeding bullet--Oh, and he's cute, too!  Look, up in the sky!  It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's (said disappointedly after he crashes) Super Grover...

Yes, that's right, it was one of my favorite segments as a kid watching "Sesame Street" because, y'know, it involved Super-Heroes.  I figured it was a fun way to end the unofficial Superman 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.

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STEP TWO:  Here it is a little further along and more blended.

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STEP THREE:  And here's the finished digital painting.

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Done digitally in Rebelle 7

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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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Happy New Year - Superman-uary

Happy New Year!
Superman-uary

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

It's a New(ish) Year, 2025.  Sure, it's week-and-a-half old, but it still has that New Year's smell.  Mostly.

Just a real quick note to thank everybody who stops by to look at my meager Blog site (probably more akin to rubber-necking at a 20 car pile-up on the I-90, but I'll still take it!), and a special shout out to the people who have graciously been following my work.  It's mind-boggling to me that over the past 13 years I've been doing this, one-third-of-a-million people have stopped on by and taken a gander (it's 91 people shy of 333,333 as I write this, so it should be over that number by the morning).  It's all very humbling and a heartfelt thank you to all: Past, Present, and Future!

With the New Year, I'm kinda hoping to do a few larger projects here on this Blog, along with some of the usual shenanigans.  So, stay tuned and check back often.  Not too often, of course, we don't wanna be weird about it...  Y'know, casual often.

I know I'm a little late to this party (hey, I've been busy with other projects), but I must have watched the James Gunn "Superman" Teaser Trailer at least 50 times so far (no exaggeration, alas).  It is probably my most anticipated movie of the year, to be honest.  In spite of it showing Supes just getting wrecked every time he's on screen, it did give me something missing from the more recent incarnations of Superman on the screen: Hope.

Speaking of, here's to hoping things go well for everyone this year.  As I mentioned, I have a few big things I wanna try, so you know I've got the New Year's Delusions of Grandeur, which I'm keeping right next to my Delusions of Resolutions!

Also: Superman-uary?  Don't worry, I won't try to make that a thing; this was just a one-off.  The next post will be back to our regularly scheduled silliness, Batman-uary style!   

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Because I was goofing around with a few Apps I hadn't opened in a while, and I did this all on a single layer, I wasn't paying attention and didn't save a "Work in Progress".  Given all the programs it passed through, that would have been a mess to save and show.  I mean a mess worse than usual to save and show.

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Done digitally in Procreate and Art Studio Pro, with as assist in Photoshop for the lettering.

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Covered: Action Comics #256

Action Comics #256

Here is the original cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.

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And here is my version of the cover I submitted to Robert at the Covered Blog.  I was VERY tempted to create this as a watercolor/gouache or acrylic painting in a pulp magazine style, but I just didn't have the time at the moment.  Besides, doing some of the colorized pen-and-ink posts for the Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Reduxe Edition reminded me how fun it is doing stuff "Old-School".  Well, as "Old School" as scanning in an inked drawing and colorizing it in PhotoShop can be, anyways.  ;-)

I have a great fondness for the Silver-Age covers and stories.  They have great creativity with their premise mixed in with an underlying, "goofy" charm which borders on amazing pop-surrealism.

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STEP ONE:  I pencilled and inked the drawing on 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock.  Then scanned it in and cleaned it up.

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STEP TWO:  I imported it into PhotoShop, created a MULTIPLY Layer over the pen-and-ink image, and then applied the flat color layers.

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STEP THREE:  For this step I did a little bit more than I usually do.  I created a new MULTIPLY Layer and did a gradient from white in the center to purple at the edge for a radial focus on the picture.  I erased the gradient over top of Lois, so she would stand out a bit more from the background.  I used the BURN Tool in PhotoShop to darken the edge of the glass bell jar Superman is standing in.  I lightened the two striped on either side of Superman and added a NORMAL Layer to build up a glass-looking highlight with white and light blue.  I then went back to the original color flat layer and started adding lights and shadows.

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STEP FOUR:  I added the lettering and called it "DONE!"

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This was done with pen-and-ink on 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock and colored digitally

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A mildly amusing afterward: I was listening to Kevin Smith's Podcast (SModcast: Episode #221 - Orlando Calrissian--definitely NSFW) while working on coloring this drawing.  He played his Q and A from the Star Wars Celebration IV in Orlando, FL, and mentioned in an offhand way how great it was to be able to direct both Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"

After Kevin Smith said that, I looked at my drawing and, seeing the giant fist on Superman's right-hand, realized that I had just drawn Superman as the Cock-Knocker -- the super-villain in the movie played by Mark Hamill who, well, the name sort of says it all...

POW!  Right in the nads... :-X

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Superman #233 - Cover Replica

  Here is my cover recreation for Superman #233 -- the great "Kryptonite Nevermore!" cover by Neal Adams.  As always, click on the pics below to embiggen!

Here is the original cover:

Just for fun, here's the process.  I took plenty of pictures step-by-step this time around and, once again, my camera seems to have done funky things as far as coloration, etc.  I did some minor color correction, but then again, my monitor isn't color-corrected so I didn't bother over doing it.  :-)

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STEP ONE:  First, once again, I glued a 22" x 30" sheet of  Stonehenge paper to a 20" x 30" hardboard.  I trimmed the extra and used a combination of size (glue) and gesso to prime the board.  I then gridded out the board and started drawing the basic shapes.  I inked some of the outlines so the lines would still show up when I painted over them.  It sort of worked...

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STEP TWO:   Here I started painting in the large shapes in flat colors.

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STEP THREE:   More painting.  I also started doing the linework with black acrylic paint thinned with waterproof black ink.

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STEP FOUR:   Lettering!  I HATE LETTERING!  :-)  I drew the letters and logo and with pencil, painted in the flat colors, and then used a Sharpie Marker to outline the letters/logo with the help of a straightedge.  Of course, as soon as I finished the outline of the logo and it was far too late to change it, I realized it should have been about a 1/2" higher. Sigh...

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STEP FIVE:   Lettering and lines!  Lots and LOTS of use of the Sharpie Marker this time around.  I finished painting the letters, outlined the letters with the Sharpie, and then broke out the 18" ruler and spent several hours drawing out the radiating lines--again, with the Sharpie.

I decided to use Sharpie for lettering and the radiating lines since I just don't trust my my ability to ink lines with a brush and ruler.  I can do it for a limited amount of times before the lines start to drift on me.  And, in this case, if I goofed up the lines at this stage, I would have pretty much had to start over again.  So, I wanted to keep as tight control as I could.

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STEP SIX:   FINISHED!  The little Superman up in the corner looks a little wonky, and I wish I could move up the "Superman" Logo up about a 1/2"...  But, overall, I think this generally turned out OK.  :-)

20" x 30" on sized and gessoed Stonehenge paper glued to hardboard (Medium Density Fiberboard) and done with Acrylic Paint and Sharpie Marker.

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