Wishing You a Fantastic Christmas!!!

It's been awhile since my last post. I've been swamped with work and family stuff so I haven't had much time to sit down and doodle. (probably why I'm posting this at 3am) So I figured I would do my version of a Christmas card. I mean come on, who doesn't love a Christmas card with superheros? This is a quicky I did with colored pencil. Hope you like it.

This is my favorite time of year. I can't wait to see my little buggers tear into their gifts. Watching them makes me feel like I'm a kid again. The excitement and anticipation is torture when you're a kid. I remember how hard it was to fall asleep on Christmas eve. I had a blast Christmas shopping for the kids with my wife this year. They are at such a fun age, and it was nice to get some one on one time with wife. She is truly amazing and I thank God for her and the kids every day. I'm looking forward to some time off with the Fam over the next two weeks.

So, from my family to yours Merry Christmas, and may God watch over and bless your family this holiday season.

Captain and Mary Marvel

I love this character. Mike Kunkel's "Billy Batson and The Majic of Shazam" has sparked my interest in Cap. I recently read Jeff Smith's "Captain Marvel and The Society of Evil", so now I am officially hooked on the character. As a kid I would always pretend that I could change into a super hero, and fly around the house like a wild man. I've launched myself face first off the couch, and much to my brothers dismay, a flight of stairs or two. Hey, he's the one that told me to do it. Turns out I can't fly, and thank God my brother can catch.

Now that I have a daughter of my own I can really appreciate Caps little sister, Mary Marvel. She reminds me of my little girl. She's fearless, full of spunk and constantly driving her older brother crazy. Yup sounds just like my little buggers. So I did this pic as a tribute to my fearless little Maggie Marvel and her big brother Captain Michael Marvel.

I posted the first rough sketch, and then final that I did in colored pencils. In the next few months I want to start dabbling with the digital painting. Let me know what you think. Hope you like it. Take care.

Willard

Here is another character concept for my next project. It's a quick pencil sketch. Still trying to work this one out in my head. I should have a few more posts in the next couple of days, been a little busy. Let me know what you think.

Quickies

Here's some quick sketches I did when I had a few minutes between appointments this week. These are both character concepts for my next project. They are real rough. I did them with a ball point pen on a legal pad. Let me know what you think. Take care.

eventually I'll have some time to post a few colored pics.

Rough Sketches

I've been pretty busy between work, family and finishing the last page of Rocco and Joey so I haven't had much time to draw lately. I try to find time to doodle whenever I can. (I actually did these while I was on a teleconference)

These sketches are a good example of how I develop most of my characters. I did them on a standard legal pad with a ball point pen. They are real scratchy since I can't erase. I have to work the mistakes into the picture.

Any free second I get (which isn't much) I try to doodle or work on my stories. Since I spend a lot of time in the car for work I use the window time to fine tune the stories in my head before I put them on paper. This usually leads to a mental image of a character that I try to sketch later in the day.

The first pic is Og, one of my favorite characters for my next project. You might have noticed him in some of my earlier posts. Hope you like them, let me know what you think. Take care.

My Little Artists (we're startin em young)

Here are my two little artists. My wife and I took the kids into the backyard and let them go wild with some paint. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. They went crazy, and after painting the canvas, then each other, they decided to move onto dad.

They are everything to me, and I thank God for them every day. The last picture sums up my life; crazy, messy, and full of love and laughs. Take care.

So, if you are looking for some family fun, grab some paint, towels and a lot of soap. Take care.

Skottie Young Takes on Oz

I figured since I talked about Mike Kunkel in my last blog I should follow up with my other favorite artist, Skottie Young. Like Mike he has a style all his own. He takes traditional comic characters and puts his own twist on them. He mixes digital and free hand work with ink washes. It's incredible.

Right now he is taking on one of the greatest stories ever writ en, The Wizard of Oz. Like it or hate it everyone has seen it. If not you are missing out on an American classic. It left an impression with me as a kid. I was scared to death of the flying monkeys. I think I actually like the movie more as an adult. (probably cause I know flying monkeys are not sitting out side my window)

I was so fire up when I heard he took on this project for Marvel. I was blown away by his version of the Oz characters. His scarecrow is amazing. Sooo, I figured in light of one of my comic artist hero's taking on Oz, I'd throw out a sketch of my own. Let me know what you think. I'm no Skottie Young but I'm trying. Check out Skotties' blog www.skottieyoung.blogspot.com

Take care.

Shazam! Here's more Mike Kunkel.

My last post I mentioned Mike Kunkel has just taken on Captain Marvel. So far it's a great series. He writes and illustrates the stories. I thinks it's great. He brings such talent to a traditional hero, and makes it appropriate for all ages. I love his artwork and the simplicity of youth he brings to each of his stories.

Here are a few I did of Captain Marvel along with some if Mikes' characters and mine. The first one I did with Colored Pencil, and the second is just Prisma Color markers. I have a better feel for the pencils, but I'm trying to dabble in a few different mediums. I'd like to eventually get into ink washes and digital painting. I just need to add a few more hours into the day.

Here is Mike Kunkels' site for Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! Check it out. Take care.

http://www.kunkelshazam.blogspot.com/

Huge Mike Kunkel Fan

I think every artist has their Heroes. One of my favorites is Mike Kunkel. He is the author, creator and illustrator of Hero Bear And The Kid. For those of you who have not had the chance to read this book you are truly missing out. His stories are from the heart, and simply amazing. Hero Bear is one of my all time favorite books.It's a graphic novel/comic book fit for any age.

Mike also has a book called The Land of Sokmunster, it is really unique. This is another great story to share with your kids. I can't get enough of his work. He is currently working on a series for DC comics called Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam. The first two issues are currently available. My son and I read at least one of his books every night. Here is the link to one of Mikes' web sites dedicated to Hero Bear and Sokmunster. http://www.theastonishfactory.com/ Check it out.

I did a couple of quick sketches of Hero Bear and Tyler. I threw one of my characters (Joey) into the second sketch. These are rough pencil sketches but fun to do. I'll post some more sketches I did of Mikes' characters later this week. Hope you like it, take care.

Bane

Here is another character concept from my graphic novel. This is an early sketch of Bane. I keep changing him around. Quick sketch, I used ink and colored pencil.

Do these pants make my butt look big?

Here is one of my characters that I have been constantly changing over the years. This one if from the more "mature" graphic novel I want to do.

I drew this a few months ago, but there is something about it I like. It's another rough sketch. I colored it with a few Prisma Color markers I had laying around. Let me know what you think. As always any comments are appreciated. Even the bad ones.

Quick Sketch

Here's a quick character concept I am working on for my next project.

Little Rusty

Here is another rough sketch I did on the plane this week. Since I started Rocco and Joey most of my focus has been on picture books. So I'm a little rusty with this type of style. I figured I'd sketch out a few of my favorite heroes to work out the kinks.

Ever since I was a kid I have loved comics. Yup, I'm man enough to admit that I still love to read them when I get the chance. I love to do this type of stuff. My ultimate goal is to do a full graphic novel. I wrote to story about four years ago. It's a little mature compared to the picture books and kids graphic novels I'm currently working on. I need to figure out how to do the color digitally, so it will be awhile before I get around to that project. I'm planning on getting painter some time in the next few months and spending some time figuring it out. I'll post one of the characters later this week. Hope you like it. Take care.

Work in progress

I just got back from training in Arizona for my job. I hate being away from my wife and kids. The only good thing is that I get a chance to doodle on the plane. I'm almost done with my first Rocco and Joey book. I'm going to send it out to the publishers some time in mid September.

In the mean time I have been slowly writing and doing character development for my next project. It's actually a comic book/graphic novel for kids. I'm a huge comic book dork, and wanted to do something that my kids could enjoy. I actually have three different titles I'd like to do. But for now, I'm focusing on this one.

It's still in the early stages, but here are a few concept sketches. The second one didn't scan very well so it's a little blurry. Hope you like them. I love drawing 'em. Take care.

Ebenzer and his friends

OK, its' been awhile. Things have been absolutely crazy lately. I have been in and out of town for work over the last two months. Not to mention the chaos I call my home. With two incredibly entertaining little ones running around I have to wait until the wee hours of the night to doodle.

Here is a quick sketch I did before I left for Arizona. I love these characters. Ebenezer, Tommy, Lulu, Sylvester and Scarlett are all the brain child of my good friend Hanna Budic (Purdy). I made a last minute change to Scarlett that I'm not really happy with, but I like the way Lulu came out. As for the bee, he's actually a yellow jacket. I just added him in since Hannah, her husband Tim and I all graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College. Our mascot was a yellow jacket. Yeah, not the most manly mascot. It gets worse, my high school mascot was a bee. Oh well, go Jackets! Take care.

Monkeying Around

Here is a really rough sketch. One of the things I love about other artists blogs is when they post their really raw, or rough sketches. It kind of gives you a feel for their personal style and a pure look at their work. One of the reasons I started this sight is so I can post some of my rough stuff, not just my fine tuned images.

I have a full time sales job. I work really hard at what I do, but we go to a lot of meetings. There is ton of clinical data, numbers and figures. Unfortunately I have been cursed since birth with CDDS. Other wise known as Chronic Day Dreaming Syndrome. (hey you never know, people make up new ailments every day. This could be one). Sooo anyway, at one of our meetings I drifted off and did this quick sketch. It's silly, I know, but there is something about it I like. Hope you do to. More to come.

Oh yeah, and in case anyone from work is reading this. I was intently listening every second and taking diligent notes.

Meet Ebenezer Flea

A good friend of mine from college, Hannah Budic (Purdy) recently published a book "Ebenezer Flea and the Right Thing To Do". It's a great story, especially if you have little ones like myself. My son loves the book, and the best part is that there is a moral to the story. One of those life lessons that is never the easiest to learn. One that I still have a hard time with even today. You know, admiting when you are wrong. I'm finding out since I've been married this is something I have to do alot.

Anyway, I love the characters that Hannah has created and I asked if she would mind if I doodled a few of them. Here is my first one, Ebenezer the Flea. It's a quicky, and I'll have more to come. I have some rough sketches of Lulu, Tommy and Scarlett. Haven't gotten to Sylvester yet. If you want to know more about Ebenezer and his friends, check out http://www.ebenezerflea.com/

Thanks Hannah not only for the great story, but letting me post your characters. More to come.

First Run

Well, here is my first post for this blog. Some of you may be asking "why does he need two blogs?". Good question. Acutally I wanted to start a seperate blog from Rocco and Joey in order to post some of my other art work.

Over the past four years I have been messing around with a few different projects. When my brain just isn't in sink with Rocco and Joey I work on some of my other stuff. I'm a comic book dork and have always wanted to write and illustrate one. This blog will allow me to post some of those samples since they are intended for a more mature audience then my children's books. I have a ton of different story lines in the works for comics, graphic novel (for kids) and some more children's book stories I'd eventually like to do. So, that is what you can expect from this site.

This first image is one I did for a friend who was working on a children's book, but it never really got off the ground. I fell in love with the two characters and may do something with them in the future. Let me know what you think. There will be more to come.