Some Fairly Odd Paintings

Coloring an animated show can sometimes get a bit repetitive, but every now and then the board will call for special treatment on a scene, allowing me to play around and do something different for a bit. Here are a couple of such scenes from recent episodes I've worked on.

Also, I'll be hanging at Comic-Con booth 1034, selling copies of the Hard 8 graphic novel, as well as our new "Art Of Hard 8" issue. I should also have a few TMNT prints available, so please come by to check them out and say hello.

Bebop (Part II: Inks)

Aside from a half-hour game of frisbee with my puppy, the June gloom kept me indoors most of the day, and I was able to get some inking done this morning. I think I can safely say that this is my first time actually inking a entire finished drawing in a long while, probably since college.  I'm definitely diggin' the brush pen; surprisingly, despite the finality of ink, it made drawing more fun again, and I'm look forward to inking more stuff going forward. I'll have colors on this soon.

Bebop (Part I)

Here are two passes for my Bebop print: the initial Cintiq sketch and the final (pre-ink) Col-erase drawing. Not pictured are the other dozen or so drawings that it took me to get from point A to point B. I often re-draw the same thing over and over, tweaking one thing at a time until I like what I've come up with. Sometimes I can work things out in a couple of drawings, other times it takes a few more. Inevitably, there's always some sort of spark or energy I like in the initial rough which ends up getting lost in the translation, but I've learned to deal with it. There's also a photo of a practice page I used to try out a few different pens. For years I've cleaned up my drawings using a 4B pencil, but lately I've been getting back into using ink. In addition to my trusty Pentel Pocket Brush (the "Master Sword" of inking utensils), I tried out several new Japanese pens I picked up recently, including a Zebra, a Pilot Pocket Brush, and a disposable Kuratake. Some I dig, others not so much, but I had fun trying them out and hopefully I can find some time this week to ink the drawing for real. Ok, Conan's first Tonight Show starts right now, so thanks for looking. I'm out.

Bebop. Splinter. Bebop. Magneto?

♫♪♫ One of these things is not like the other ones, not like the other ones... Hey'a. A few random quick sketches from the train and whatnot. That is all for this transmission.

Rocksteady 4: Color (Finally).

Hey, remember me? I used to draw stuff. If you're still with me, I'm impressed, and I thank you. I finally got around to slapping some color on that Rocksteady drawing I posted ages ago. I could tell you it took forever because I've been swamped with the day job, but really I've just been playing Wii. Also, I wasn't really feeling my first color pass, so I just walked away from it for a while. When I finally came back to it, I ended up redrawing the entire lower half on the Cintiq to fix wonky anatomy (that's what I get for ditching life drawing classes). Anyway, it's nice to post something new again.

Other stuff:
I got a new puppy, and she's the bomb. Also, I swore I'd never join Twitter. That was a lie. If you're into this social network thing and you care to follow my nonsense, my feed is to the right. Peace!

Fairly Odd Title Cards.

I'm slowly getting adjusted to my new specks. The initial prescription was wrong, which is why I walked around like a drunk every time I put them on. Now that I've had them tweaked, I walk like I'm just mildly buzzed. Peeing is still interesting, but otherwise, it's better.

I haven't posted artwork since Thanksgiving (!!), no doubt due at least in part to the Wii my beloved wifey gave me for Christmas. I'll try to rectify that. To start, here's some stuff from the ol' day job. I've had the privilege of painting many of the Title Cards for Season 6 of Fairly Odd Parents, a job that I quite enjoy and am very grateful for. Seeing as they have all aired and are available on DVD (and some have appeared on other blogs), I thought it safe to showcase a few here. I didn't draw them (that honor belongs to our superbly-talented designers), but I did do all the color work. And of course, this stuff is all © the fine folks at Nickelodoeon/Viacom, Inc, whom I love.

Change Is Here.

Wow, blogosphere, it's been a minute. Happy new year.

"Change" arrived in a big way last week, and I'm not just talking about Socialism.  I finally got around to getting myself fitted for glasses. This is a big deal for me... Sometime in the late 1990's, I developed a severe (and completely irrational) fear of anything remotely related to hospitals and medical offices. I have no idea why it happened or what brought it on, but as a result, I've avoided doctors of every variety for well over a decade.  But in the last 3 weeks, I've forced myself to make it through 2 painful dental visits and an eye exam.  That's change you can count on.

I don't really "need" glasses.  Technically, I should wear them because my left eye is bad, but my right eye compensates for it so well that, for all practical purposes, my vision is perfect (I can read the smallest line on the eye chart with no problem). So needless to say, I was rather irked to find out that the glasses actually make me see worse.  I'm told I need to let my eyes "adjust."  That seems completely backwards to me, like breaking my legs so they can fit into crutches.