Drawings, Paintings, and other bits of art which are (mostly) related to comic books and other pop-culture ephemera. I hope to post something at least every week or two, so check back semi-often.
Click on the pictures to embiggen.
Unwanted Valentines:
The Lord of the Rings (2001)
Here's another Unwanted Valentine, this time featuring Sauron from "The Lord of the Rings" (2001).
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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 10pt and a 15pt 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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Unwanted Valentines:
The Matrix (1999)
It's another Unwanted Valentine, this time from "The Matrix" (1999), with an obvious Viagra joke. Is that joke obvious? Then you know I'm gonna make it!
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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 10pt and a 15pt 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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Unwanted Valentines:
Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)
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 we're starting with an obvious Pirate pun with "Pirates of the Caribbean" (2003).
Also, I decided with a PG-rated joke, rather than on that is rated... ARRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrr! After that terrible joke, I'll show myself out...
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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 10pt and a 15pt 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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Unwanted Valentines:
RoboCop (1987)
It's couple more Unwanted Valentines from "RoboCop (1987)". This is one I've been sitting on for a couple-a-few years, now, always meaning to do it, but never quite getting to it in time. It is probably the filthiest "G-Rated" one I've done. And, I kept going back and forth between the movie accurate quote, "Dead or alive, you're coming with me!", to the also amusing inversion, "Dead or alive, I'm coming with you!" So, since I couldn't decide, I had the bright idea to do 'em both.
I did consider spelling "Coming" with the sexual variant, but figured it works best as a double-entendre with plausible deniability. After all, that's part of what makes it amusing and, also, the Unwanted Valentines should just be unwanted and not actionable as part of a Restraining Order... 😉
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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 10pt and a 15pt 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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Unwanted Valentines:
RoboCop (1987)
It's another Unwanted Valentine, this time it's the melting guy, Emil, from "RoboCop (1987) who drove into a container of toxic waste. Don't worry, it didn't last long; he was soon turned into a splash of chunky, red water after being run over with a car... Eeeeewwwwwwwwww!
I have one more RoboCop Valentine I'm working on for tomorrow. Here's to hoping.
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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 10pt and a 15pt 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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Unwanted Valentines:
Alien (1979)
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! I'm revisiting "Alien (1979)" for this Unwanted Valentine, calling back to my (by far) most popular Unwanted Valentine featuring a Facehugger. Rather than the "Hugs and Kisses" Facehugger, it's a Chestbursting overflow of Love!
Yeah, I know the Chestburster is a lot bigger than in the movie, but I'll just say it is enlarged to show texture, as they say on the cereal boxes!
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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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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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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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Unwanted Valentines:
Motel Hell (1980)
It's another Unwanted Valentine--Valentines so nerdy and built upon horrible puns that no one would be pleased to receive them... especially a loved one! This time it's Vincent Smith (Rory Calhoun) wearing a pig's head from "Motel Hell" (1980). Hmmm, I guess I could have gone a little more blue with my pun and mentioned the "Special Meat".
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STEP ONE: Here are the digital 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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Unwanted Valentines:
Labyrinth (1986)
'Tis the Season for an Unwanted Valentine--Valentines so nerdy and built upon horrible puns that no one would be pleased to receive them... especially a loved one! This time from Jareth the Goblin King from "Labyrinth" (1986).
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STEP ONE: Here are the digital 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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Unwanted Valentines:
It Conquered the World (1956)
Hey, one more Unwanted Valentine for V.D. (does the "V.D." stand for "Valentine's Day" or "Venereal Disease"? Why not both? You to decide! Oh, boy, talk about "Unwanted Valentines"...).
This time, it's Zontar from "It Conquered the World", another of the steady diet of B-Movies from my youth casting its long shadow over my adult, er "adult", life! This movie, like "Invasion of the Saucer Men" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space", were ones I watched as a child and stuck deep within my psyche (what little there is). And, yes, as a kid I found them terrifying. As an adult, they are terrifying, but for different reasons... 😱
That said, the movie isn't terrible (of course, it isn't that good, either). Lee Van Cleef and Peter Graves are featured in the movie, before either one of them became semi-cultural icons. Another case of Roger Corman launching the career of many a movie star in his B-Movie crew. Something about Corman's "Let a thousand flowers bloom" attitude actually worked with his stable of actors and directors.
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STEP ONE: Here are the blue-line, digital pencils on a 2,000px x 2,800px @ 300dpi canvas.
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STEP TWO: And here are the digital inks...
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STEP THREE: Finally, here are the colors, done on a separate layer below the inks.
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Done digitally with Clip Studio Paint.
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Unwanted Valentines:
Pennywise / "It" (2017) and (2019)
It's time again for "Unwanted Valentines"--which are so nerdy and unwanted I'm sure would lead to divorce and break-ups a plenty if you were to actually give them to a loved one! Anyhoo, this time it's Pennywise from the "It" movies (and based on Stephen King's novel, of course).
"We all float down here..."
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STEP ONE: Here are the blue-line, digital pencils on a 2,000px x. 2,800px @ 300dpi canvas.
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STEP TWO: Followed by the digital inks...
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STEP THREE: And here are the colors, done on a separate layer below the inks.
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Done digitally with Clip Studio Paint.
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Unwanted Valentines:
Ex Machina (2014)
Another Unwanted Valentine! This time, it's based on the 2014 movie, "Ex Machina", which I liked quite a bit. It's the age-old question about what it means when you can't really tell the difference between "real" human emotions and the machine equivalent. Are the robots in the movie actually conscious, or just programmed to think they are conscious? Is there a way to tell the difference? Is there even a difference to tell? After all, my brain--the seat of my alleged consciousness--is the most important organ in my body; I know this because my brain tells me so.
I often think we'll be disappointed when machine learning truly passes the Turing Test. Not because they will be so smart and clever, but rather because they will be so dumb and annoying that we will think only humans could be so stupid and bothersome.
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STEP ONE: Here are the digital pencils, created on a 5,000px x 7,100px @ 300dpi canvas in Clip Studio Paint.
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STEP TWO: And the digital inks. I had a hexagonal pattern, which I was able to warp around a little bit to minimally follow the form. I then traced over the pattern to give it a more hand-drawn feel. And, boy, did that take a long time!
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STEP THREE: And here is the finished color, which was done beneath the inks.
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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.
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