All-righty then!
Lets get this party started. I recently did this sketch of an old American Greetings property called My Pet Monster. Did he look like this? NAH! He was a tad cuter, but what can I say. I draw what I like.
I challenge the rest of my Sketch-O-Rama cohorts to this: Draw a My Pet Monster, or any other cute and cuddly critter from TV, movies or toy product. Do it any way you want. Big and bad, soft and cute, hot and horny,...I don't care.
THIS IS A CHALLENGE!!! Okay, Sketch-O-Rama-ites, you know who you are!!
P.S. AWESOME Thor piece, Jorge! Can't wait to see how these skills continue to develop!! Thanks for keeping it alive!
My take on the god o thunder. Check out the progress work and details over at my blog Random Bits
Man, has it been a long time since I did a sketch-o-rama drawing!!
Carlos Villagra has finally succeeded in prodding me into putting down my freelance for a few minutes and doing a sketch of one of my favorite Marvel Comics heroes:
THE MIGHTY THOR!
And, by crazy coincidence, the trades have just announced the name of the man set to direct the big screen motion picture debut of the Thunder God.
Kenneth Brannagh
Mr. Brannagh is best known for directing a number of Shakespearian film adaptations, as well as the mediocre 1994 Frankenstein film starring Robert Deniro. Though Frankenstein is not a good indicator, the man is an interesting director. Besides, the Thor I grew up with spoke alot like someone who walked out of one of the works of The Bard.
Anyway, heres my Thor, inked by hand and colored in Photoshop.
BY ODIN'S BEARD!
So a couple of us here at AG and my good friend and ex-co worker Jorge Lacera decided to do a hulk piece. Sometimes when i commit to these challenges the good illustration bug doesn't ever really strike so I end up with these endlesss sketches of randomness. Anyways I figured I'd post them anyways, I am working on an actual piece but it's iffy right now so I'm not sure if it'll ever get posted. I hope you guys like the random sketches anyways , enjoy!
Detail.
-DAY4-
I had two or three more sessions on this painting without updates to have a bigger leap from the last stage to the final painting. The background was the hardest element to figure out.
It was a challenge because I didn't want it to be too painterly and take away from the figures and I also didn't want it to be too graphic. The figures was just a process of building on the light areas and finally adding the final highlights and details. . I definitely wanted Ultraman to be the focus of the piece so he has the most details and strong bold colors. I made the background lighter so the silhouette of the figures could stand out. Now I need to find the right frame for the piece and varnish it when its all over. The varnish will bring out all the dull colors and unify the piece making it glossy and giving it that wonderful wet look. Hope you guys enjoy the final painting and I hope I didn't bore you too much with my rants about painting. I will start work on a new painting but this one will move a lot slower and it will be a fairly big piece. ENJOY AND DROP ME A LINE IF YOU DIG IT!!
-DAY3-
I worked on the piece for about 2 1/2 hours today. First I worked on the grey areas of Ultramans costume, keeping it simple and not trying to get too light or detailed. Then I worked in the red and got it pretty far along just needing the final touches and highlights/reflections. I established a neutral background color which I will later develop into maybe smoke or something that will give interest without taking too much from the figures. I want the final color of the background to be brighter as well, because I feel it will fit the subject matter better. I glazed in a violet color on the shadows of the monster and worked a bit more in the light areas defining them a bit further. I need to let this part dry so I can go in the piece and start defining areas better with more detail and color. I'm thinking one or two more days and the piece will be finished. I'm enjoying this piece and will hopefully carry momentum into more paintings, i need to paint more and maybe it will lead into a gallery show later down the line.
On another note I saw "The History of Pixar" at the Cleveland film festival and it was amazing and inspirational. If you have a chance to check out this film please do, it's a must for any artist with a need to create quality original material.
-DAY2-
This part is where the fun really begins. Now my focus is on applying my basic light areas on the monster and a dark tone of red on some areas of the ultraman figure. Note that the light areas on the monster are very loose and I let the brush do a lot of the work for me. My objective is not to scrub paint but let the paint dictate what it wants to do. This part of the process gives the monster an organic feel and it creates crevices and other fun things that will later guide me when I am refining the light areas. Also note that the light color is still very much a mid tone just to define my lights and darks. Now I let this stage dry overnight.
I don't mean to ramble on but I figure it would be nice to share my painting process, hope you enjoy it!
-DAY1-
Day 1 was a short day of work on this painting because of pesky freelance jobs. I was basically just able to put down my acrylic base coat and once that was dry, my basic figures in oil. The trick about painting in oils is having patience, so I let this stage dry over night so the next day I am able to apply paint without the worry of taking off paint that is already there.
ULTRA MAN!! He's great, spending his time fighting monsters the size of buildings and saving the life of thousands while he's at it! I'm really exited about this piece and I'm glad to say this will be my first oil painting in a long time. This image is actually a photo of the sketch already down on the masonite ready for paint! I've never really painted anything this stylized in oils before but I'm confident I can make this work and I feel up for the challenge. Maybe I will post process pics as I go along but I haven't decided. It feels great to step away from the computer and get you hands dirty. There is so much going on as far as work and freelance so forgive me if the final takes a while but I'm hoping I can buckle down and grind this one out. Everyone stay fresh and if ya DIG IT drop a comment and say hello!
My version of Ultraman vs. Gudon. I won't lie...I don't know Ultraman to well, so I searched google until I found what I thought was the coolest looking monster. I dig the whip hands.
Some Ultraman action is brewing at the ol' Sketch-o-rama! Here's my take on this giant police officer from space....I was inspired by the classic 60's version and traditional japanese woodblock prints.
Can't wait to what what everyone else comes up with.
JL
