I have new sketches that I enjoy!

Last of the 30 characters

Ok, so I've been out of commission for awhile. First it was the holidays, the I was sick...but here's some stuff to tide you guys over.

I pretty much failed on the 30 characters challenge. Maybe one of these days I can shotgun like 20 characters. I mean I did a 24 page comic in a day, I should be able to do a handful of characters, right? Anyways, here's the latest one:

Mustache Robot!

30 characters: radishes and zombie killers

I've had a busy couple of days, but I didn't forget my 30 characters!

 This is Billy the Emo Radish. He's sick and tired of your bullpoop vegetable corporations, man. He cuts himself with a peeler. Dude's got problems, ok?

30 characters: Mikey

For today's 30 character challenge I give you Mikey!

This is Mikey. He's a basketball player. He plays basketball.

WHAT.  Hey they can't all be super zombie space martian ghost robots!! 

Also, I drew Jeffery Donovan from Burn Notice!

Even though I think I'm starting to get tired of Burn Notice, I really like how his face turned out. I think the facial structural really came out perfectly for him.  Seriously, if they have to keep explaining why things in the story don't work, it's just not a good structure, right? Well that's neither here nor there I guess.

Friday Tutorial Dump

I'm trying a new thing where I repost all the nifty blogs and tutorials I've read over the week on Friday for your learning pleasure.

Respecting (Game) design

This is from awhile ago, but I just discovered it, so perhaps you will discover it too!  It's a nice article about the current if what a designer should be, also this article, where I found this one from.

Morpheus Rig
Not really a tutorial per se, but there is a long tutorial on how to morph it. It's a really in depth rig not only with great controls but the ability to change the body type to make your own character! Very useful for your 3D animation reels. And it's free!

Hand Lettering your comic Part 1 and Part 2
An in-depth look at lettering your comic on the great site, Making Comics.  You are following Making Comics for all their helpful hints and tutorials, right?

The Flow of a Page
Also from Making Comics, but very useful. The first part on different ways to set up the composition of a comic page.

Animation Schooling Advise
This comes from the great blog, Animation Tips & Tricks. The Question asked was how important is a god animation school, but the director describes some good advise on how to go about teaching yourself animation techniques.

Interview with Character Designer Dan Seddon
From the awesome people at the Character Designer blog, a long but knowledgeable interview with Character Designer Dan Seddon.

I'm also going through Maya rigging tutorials, but I haven't gotten through them all yet. I'll let you know how it turns out. Also, I will have a new character up tonight, as soon as I create him, her or it. 

Rocket Viking

Today's character for 30 characters is Rocket Viking!

He is a viking. With a jetpack. Your argument is now invalid.

character challenge

Hey gang, haven't updated in awhile. Been busy. But now there is new stuff!

These Noiry people came out pretty darn good.

There's a thing I just learned about for the month of November called 30 characters in which you create 30 all new characters in 30 days, one for every day in November. I found out about it too late to register officially, but I decided to try it unofficially anyways because it seemed like a good exercise. So here's my first character!

She's a badass zombie killer. Haven't thought of a name yet. Pamela? She looks like a Pamela.

Also, there will be a new Barber and new Purple Boy and Turquoise Girl next week. Without fail. So there.

Radical New Barber Design

I was penciling a few new Barber pages(yes it is coming back once I have a nice buffer) and I was suddenly hit by some new designs. I've kept The Barber mostly the same from the start and I've always wanted to try some radical redesigns to get the most out of the character. So I started with these:

A little different in the head shape, kind of a sterner look. Then I got this crazy idea and ran with it:

SWEET MARTHA MOTHER OF BATMAN HE HAS EYES.

I mean, yes, it was always assumed he had eyes, but I originally wanted a more graphical look, so I kept the white glasses look. But this, this is so very different. It just completely changes the character. I also added detail to his head, changed up the mustache, and defined his jawline more.

I'm still working on it, and it's different from what I was doing, but honestly it's closer to the character design I want to be drawing. I can save the no eyes version for more graphical pages anyways. But for now, aw man is this cool.

Also, deserts!

ahead of the sketches(see what I did there)

I just really like this sketch from my review of Delicatessen over at Sketched Screenings. But there's more stuff!

A few weeks ago I said that if I hit 150 fans on twitter I would draw Optimus Prime riding a unicorn. So....

The Look and the Looker(legible version)

A few people have commented that they can't read my handwriting(read all) So I redid it with text.

So here it is! The version you can read it! I'd really like some feedback on the story. I'm really excited about it, and I'd like to think it's good, but it's a female main character and her perspective, so I may just be pulling a Zach Snyder here. I promise tomorrow I will post about something completely different.

Page 1

24 hour comic sketches

Hey all! I was able to finally scan in my sketches for the 24 hour comic, so here they are without grain!  There are some minor spoilers for the comic, so if you haven't read it yet, you can read it here.

 Here you can see the start of my main character. I knew it was going to be some sort of sci-fi noir, but I wasn't sure on my main character. At first I was going to use a handyman type guy(on the right) but then I came up with the lady design with the long nose and bowler derby and I just sort of fell in love with her(I'm left handed so I sketch right to left).

The Look and the Looker

So here is the full rough version of my 24 hour comic. I hope it's mostly legible and that you can understand what's going on(please tell me if you can't read the dialogue so I can go over it with text). More than that, I hope you enjoy it. Please tell me if it's good or not as I really can't tell when I'm this excited about soemthing.  And any feedback would be nice.  I put it after the jump because it's rather long to display on the site.

24 hour comic: update: FINISHED

Wow. I didn't think I could do it for awhile there. But 24 pages penciled. Granted, I wanted to in them as well, but in the most basic sense of the term, I have a full 24 page comic. Not only that, a comic that I love. I haven't felt this proud of something in awhile.  Of course it could be terrible, who am I to say. I'm sleep deprived and my hands hurt. But I didn't feel like this at the end of the sketchbook project. I kept it simple, one main character, planned it all out, and had a story with some nice twists. I'm going to ink and color it at a later date. But for now, I'm going to go rest. Good luck to all those still sketching!

24 hour comic: 7PM update

I've completed 15 pages, too busy to even take pics and upload. You should follow me on twitter for around the clock updates(If you scroll down you can see 'My tweets' too).

24 hour comic: 2PM update

Ok, I've just completed penciling page 6 and I'm really doubting I'll be able to get to inking. Also, I think Page 6 will be a lot of people's favorite.

Also also, I've come up with a name for it I like. "The Look and the Looker".  Wish me luck!

24 hour comic: 11AM update

Hey guys! Last night I got the whole layout worked out, and this morning I did some warm-up sketches and penciled the first 2 pages.

Grainy warm-up sketches!

My master plan. Trust me.

Page 1

Page 2

Yeah they're grainy. I'll scan them in once I'm finished and the 24 hours are up. My plan right now is to go pee, eat breakfast, then sketch all the pages out, then ink everything in. I'd rather have a rough full story than an incomplete inked story. Plus with the story I have, some pages don't need to be inked.

More updates soon!

24 hour comic: start

I've started doing my 24 hour comic for 24 hour comic day!  If you don't know what it is, click the link. Basically, I have to make a 24 page comic in 24 hours, starting roughly 2 hours ago (it's 2:15 now). I'll be updating throughout the day on my progress. So far, I have a story, the main characters, and sketches!

I know they're horrible quality, they were uploaded from my phone. NO TIME. You can see the main protagonist in the first one on the left. Her name is Tameron and she's a burlesque dancer(not a stripper, there's a difference). Also, it's a sci-fi futuristic noir.

With all this starfire/catwoman craziness going around, I wanted to do something that proves you can have a sexy character who isn't just all about boobs and sex. I think I have an interesting story. I don't know if it'll work. But at least I'm trying something different. Even just looking at the character sketches now, I can already tell I've bitten off more than I can chew. I've tried to keep it simple(simple for me that is).

So I have the story planned out and most of the characters drawn(OH GOD WORLD BUILDING) , the plan now is to work out the layout for the whole thing, get a few hours of sleep, then work all day until midnight tomorrow to finish it. It's not going to be colored, and if I do it right, it'll only need to be half inked.

I can do this.

More crazy noir

Well hello there! Did you expect to see more sketches on a friday night? Well you're gettin' them all the same!

I really liked the idea of that robot detective, so here's a more designed out sketch of him, his uptight partner, and some sort of robo-gangster. I also like the idea that maybe these are organic robots and metal, organs and clothing are all somehow fused into one.  He's metal on the outside, but he can still bleed and feel emotions, but also he can press a button and instantly change his clothing. 

Almost an evil alien Watson with gills and claws, and a bored looking space damsel. 

I like doing funny expressions and I need to work on my extreme characteristics. Also, bug with a mustache. Didn't see that comin' did you? 

I also just finished my review of Drive over at Sketched Screenings! Here's the original illustration before I switched it around:

For the final draft I flipped the lady around so they were staring at each other. Halfway through inking, I realized leaving it like this made it look like she wanted to be with him but he was scorning her, which is actually the opposite of the move. Interesting what a difference it makes, no?

fat cat and friends

I have done More sketches! So many sketches this week! 

I made a card for my aunt with a character called Fat Cat and these are some sketches of him. It took awhile to get it down, but I really like the design.

Spiderwoman

I've been experimenting with pen more. Here are some Spider-Woman sketches. I really enjoy how they turned out. 

Spidermen

Hey, you remember this sketch of Skinny Spidey, right?

 Well, I've been working on a few different versions over the last week...

Batgirl!

Hey guys, just a quick update, I FINALLY got to inking this Batgirl/Killer-Croc sketch! I'm pretty psyched with how it came out. I don't usually explore this kind of shading, which is just a darn shame.

Also, I have a review of The Debt up in Sketched Screenings, and should have another review up there this week soon. Expect more sketchy things this week!

The fabled return of the Wonder Couple

Hey guess what interneters.

PURPLE BOY AND TURQUOISE GIRL ARE COMIN' BACK THAT'S WHAT!

Rickety PB and TG

Sketches ahoy! The third update this week! What does this mean?

 Not sure, I just felt like drawing a boy over an open landscape. It's a good metaphor because there's so much more after the jump!

Conan the Barberarian

I did a review over at Sketched Screenings of Conan the Barbarian, and you should totally read it. It's pooptastic. But then I got the best idea ever:

Who wouldn't rather watch this instead?! Especially with the little bow-tie and possibly suspenders? Look! He thinks he's people!  I kinda really want to put him in my barber comic.

Alice and more

 A friend of mine said she was thinking of being Alice form Alice: Madness Returns for NYCC, but thought the look had been too done. So I suggested the obvious conclusion: Steampunk Alice!  She wanted to know what that would look like, so I took the liberty of sketching up a few possible designs.  Colorwise, I'm thinking lots of brown, dark faded blue, and dirty white. Basically, it's Alice's regular attire but with gears and leather and a corset. The corset is integral to the steampunkiness for some reason.

heroes and barbers

Hey guys, I have produced more sketches for your amusement. Actually, this is so I can practice. I don't really care for your amusement. If I did, I would be a funny cat video. 

Starting out with the basics.

 You guys. This was Christopher Walken once. The Walken had abs. how crazy is that.

Tuesday surprise update

Aha! I didn't do an update last week, so I'm doing an update today! Short update. Also, I have a review and sketch for Attack the Block over at Sketched Screenings!

 More Skinny Spidey! I'm actually working on a vectorized version of this. Stay tuned!

Please support Extra Credits

Hey guys, no sketches right now, i just wanted to talk about something important. If any of you guys have watched or are familiar with the web show "Extra Credits" on the Escapist, you'll know it's a great show about teaching people about the gaming world, the gaming business, and game design.  But sadly, they will no longer have a show on the Escapist. James Portnow on twitter(@ExtraCreditz) revealed there was an ugly argument with bated lawyers about payment.  I just wanted to repost most of what James has said on twitter(it's still going on as I write this, expect edits) so you guys know what's going on and don't have to back scroll through twitter to find out what's up.

From James: "Last thursday was our final episode on the escapist. Dan and I work on it for free and I pay Allison’s salary out of pocket each month, then, in turn, The Escapist was supposed to pay us- not much, but enough to cover Allison’s wages - unfortunately they were never able to. That meant when Allison hurt her arm I was out over $20,000...which is why we had to turn to all of you.

And that week really was one of the best of my life. Better than releasing games or speaking at GDC. Unfortunately, I had to ask the Escapist to send me some of our money then to help Allison (this was before I put up the Rockethub) when, after a lot of wrangling they sent us $1000, we asked them if we could trade them some of what they owed us for our IP back. Because the contract they had us sign made us give up all the rights to the show. We actually thought we were operating in good faith and getting the IP back so we could do things like make Tshirts would be easy. But they shot back informing us that they felt like they were entitled to 75% of the Rockethub money. And that, despite having paid us once over a year, we actually owed them $9500.

Yeah. This was probably one of the most disappointing moments for me in quite some time. I thought we were all playing for the same team. After that there was a lot of ugliness that I won't go into. The short of it is we told them we wanted to discuss our IP and they gave us a long run around saying they magically found money and wanted to make sure we got paid before we started to talk IP (which would have basically ensured that we didn't get our IP back). But the money never materialized and so we gave them notice two weeks ago and terminated our contract last Friday.

We're looking for other outlets at the moment, but we promise we'll keep doing the show on Youtube until we find one. I'll be on Thursday to post a link(But for legal reasons I haven't been able to talk about the show or the rockethub or anything for a while). And that's really the worst part. All of this takes away from actual good things we could be doing...

Of course this means that the rockethub rewards will have to change (no Escapist Club memberships) but we promise we'll find something. I just hope everyone else on the escapist is getting better treatment than we did...

We could use your help thursday to spread the word when we post the Youtube link. I don't want to let down people expecting an episode. (I've now spent more on lawyers than we were ever paid for the show...this isn't what I wanted at all) Also, there are still a lot of good people doing a lot of good work on the Escapist. I don't want to see this screw over any of them.

(also, it struck me as a funny last moment when the Yahtzee fundraiser came up for...$20,000...a day before they said money would appear) People are asking if this can be discussed. The die has already been cast; if there's any blowback from this it'll be from me talking. The Escapist is still claiming our IP and our back catalog of episodes as "work for hire", though we weren't paid ;_( I'm sorry all this energy can't be channeled into something more productive. On the plus side, I'll probably be on twitter more now ; ) Yup, all of that is potentially part of the IP as well as every episode ever created.

But it's going to be costly. It'd probably sink the Escapist (assuming they really don't have the money to pay us) and leave me broke. I'm just worried because I run a company & have lawyers, I'm working under the assumption that the other shows are getting better treatment. But if they're not I really don't know what some of those guys can do."

They want their audience to know though, they don't want anyone boycotting the Escapist, or taking away from other great shows on the site.

"In fact, I think that there are a lot of people still doing a lot of good work on the site. I don't think they should get any less views."

Alexander Macris, publisher of the Escapist, has released a long statement on their facebook account, which you can read here, stating that more or less, it was a miscommunication, they did everything in their power to make them happy, and that with the recession, they're strapped for cash themselves. Both Alexander and James have agreed that if they could meet and release all the emails it would clear the air.

EDIT: A number of people have pestered James into replying to Alexander, which he finally did on the Extra Credits facebook page. You can read it here. There seems to be a bit of backlash from people for him responding(well damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess), but James still wants to release all the emails so "the truth will come out".

But when asked if anyone else at the escapist wasn't getting paid, a number of people came forward:

James: "Anyone else have any dealings with the escapist where they weren't paid?"

@LaScaldaferri: I was scared to say anything but I realize it's morally worse not to. The Escapist hasn't been paying me either.

@DTPlaythroughs: I wrote for The Escapist for a couple months. They owe $890 and never respond to my emails. It sucks :( I'm on your side.

@Jimtopia: I'm was the animator for Creature Caster Masters, and it took The Escapist 6 months to pay me for the work I did.

@Chris_ToyTma We're still new, but thus far...you can guess.

@urealms: Welcome to the club. Oh by the way. I "Mutally left" the escapist after about 6 months of none payments.Took another 14 to get paid everything else

Also, right after James started his explanation, the Escapist website was down for about an hour. Strange coincidence.

So that's all what's going on so far. I probably won't stop watching the Escapist, it would be wrong to punish other hard working creators for the publisher's mistakes, but I'll think twice about how I support them, and I DEFINITELY won't be trying out for any of their video or comic contests any more.

What you guys should take away from this, is that the Extra Credits group is a great bunch of gamer guys and gals, who would put you, the gaming populace, before any of their personal needs. They're smart, they're funny, and just generally good people. Please support them by following them on Twitter (@extracreditz), show some love on their facebook page, and subscribe to them on youtube.

Thanks guys! Sketches tomorrow, I promise!

More sketches!

I did more sketches. Because I love you.

This guy is bored of being a sketch.

 Random action poses. This guy wants to throw a rock at you.

Scarlet skinny Spidey! The urbanist Spidey of them all! Because he wears a hoodie.

Special Friday post!

Oh man! A post that's not on Friday! What is this I don't even!  Anyways, check out these funky fresh sketches starting with more Skinny Spidey!

I love Skinny Spidey. He's my favorite kind of Spidey! Screw that overly muscley movie version, I want the agile swingin' cartoonish skinny version! Maybe that's why I've always liked Spider-Man out of all the superheroes.  He was a scrawny little teenager, and even after he gets his powers he's still probably the scrawniest superhero. But it's ok because he uses his scrawny ass and agility to effortlessly evade attacks and swing through the streets!

Wednesday Weekly Something Something

I don't even do this on purpose, it just keeps ending up I update on Wednesdays. But anyways, sketches!

I tried this thing in which I started out by copying from a photograph and then slightly cartoonized the sketch. I like the guy but I gave the girl way too big lips.

Hey, I did a blogpost over at Rocket Powered Dragon with some Barber sketches. You should go check it out because I'm too lazy to repost them all here.

Also, over at Sketched Screenings, I did reviews of Cowboys and Aliens and Summer Wars. The latter was good, the former, not so much. Check them out!

Hmm, not as many sketches as I thought. I will have to do more for tomorrow.

Weekly Wednesday WebDump

Catchy, no? This is getting to be a habit. Maybe I should just shoot for updating on Wednesdays? Well anyways, sketches galore! And naked chicks. Because hey, why not.

 While watching the completely awesome new Avengers cartoon, I sketched Black Widow, and what started as a robot and ended as a strange version of Ironman. More after the jump!

batman and friends

So this is what has become the weekly sketchdump.

After finishing reading Batman:Year One, I was like, "Screw you paper! I'ma draw batman on you!" And so I did. It's not the hero paper deserves, but the hero paper needs. More sketches after the jump!

crocs and reviews

So I forgot to do an update last week.  Boo on me.  But that's also because I haven't had the time to do some col sketches and then share them. But hey! Sketches anew! And links! So many Links you don't even know!

 First off is this random sketch of Batgirl and Killer Croc. It's weird, there are so many superheroes I adore, but when I want to sketch some, I draw a big blank.  Anyways, I've been trying to stretch my cartoonized superhero muscles, so I came up with this. Croc has an irregular head which gave me some trouble, and it took me a bit to give a batgirl a dynamic pose with some good flow, but I think I finally got it down.