Sketching in Public!

So here are a few fun sketches done at public events for people. One event was a mini comic show at the Kitsap Mall in Silverdale a few weeks ago, and then yesterday I as sitting outside of The Nearsighted Narwhal indie books, comics and zines store for their Grand Opening. There is also a shamelessly narcissistic shot of myself posted next to the cotton candy machine during the GO event.

A PLATYPUS OF MARS!

A couple of years ago, I decided to experiment with a "sketch comic" for lack of a better term. I was getting geared up to participate in 24-Hour Comic Day and was trying to work out a faster style that was loose and interesting, yet would seem sophisticated...ish. The key point being that each page had to be created in under an hour. I ended up doing something different, but I had these 6 pages on hand so I used them to make a little single page folding 'zine that I give away to kids at comics shows. It has instructions on the back about how to fold the zine and a little how to draw a superhero, and of course, my website info and such, so it became a little promotional item. I also experimented with fast and loose coloring techniques in Photoshop. So each page was drawn and inked in an hour or less and the color was added later with 15 minutes or so spent on each page for that.

Anyway, I haven't posted them here before for some reason, so I thought I would go ahead and share them. Especially since I am planning to embark on a similar, but far more ambitious "experiment" shortly! Stay tuned for details on that.

^0^

And now, here is the 6-page 'zine: "A Platypus of Mars!"

Dragon Gold Playmat

Just wanted to share the actual scan of the Dragongold playmat that I finished (and promptly sold through posting it on FaceBook) while I was doing a small comics festival in Olympia last weekend. I got a bit carried away with it and it ended up taking a good deal more time than originally intended. The "gold" was actually done with a gold gel pen. Ah well...it was my first one. I will probably use a different style on the next one I do.

Long Overdue Update!

Just thought I'd better post a few recent sketch things I've done so people don't think I've entirely dropped off the planet!


This was something I completed over the weekend while I was attending Olympia Comics Festival. It's a playmat for card gamers.

Here is a birthday card I made for one of my nephews. If you can't tell, he likes Mario and football. Next is a sketch card I did on the back of a "Mine Layer" MTG artist's proof card for a fella all the way down in Australia!

Finally I have included a new little cartoon of my furry side (a chubby little koala bear--but with a snow leopard tail because he has delusions of grandeur!) I was inspired by some amazing ink-brush work by an artist named Robb Mommaerts! He does beautiful drawings and it compelled me to take up my brushpen again and get back to practicing with it!!

Finally, as an added bonus, here is a cartoon I did for one of our CLAW meetings. I was given a specific theme and had to draw a cartoon strip based on it. It all had to be done in an hour!After that is a cartoon I did for one of our CLAW meetings. I was given a specific theme and had to draw a cartoon strip based on it. It all had to be done in an hour!

Tanuki Samurai

This is a painting I put together last year for the RainFurrest art show. It didn't sell there, so I will probably have it on display at this year's RainFurrest as well. It's a mixed media piece. I started with watercolor and color pencil. Later I added gouache and acrylic to finish it up after it had sat in a drawer unfinished for over a year because I wanted to have a large original for the art show.

Recent Work

First a bit of news--I recently became a member of another cartoonist's group. I'm still a member of C.L.A.W., of course, but I have long wanted to join Seattle's far older group Cartoonists Northwest and was given the opportunity to give a talk about my career (such as it is) at one of their meetings. As a consequence, I was inducted into the ranks of "card-carrying cartoonists"! (Yes, I was actually given a membership card!) I've known about CNW for many years, but as I never lived in Seattle, I never got around to joining. But now I am finally a member of that 35 year old organization and am very happy to be!

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything...way too long in fact! So I figure I'd better share several recent pieces I did for the last couple of conventions I've done, including this year's Emerald City ComiCon! These pieces go well together because they follow a similar theme, which is to say they are all basically quirky cartoon critters.

First we have yet another "Darkwing Duck"! I DO enjoy drawing him.

"Doctor Hooves" (Because I can never resist a good pun, even if I didn't come up with it.

This "Howard the Duck" drawing was fun to do. The movie was horrible, but I love the comic book character!

And finally, in deference to the upcoming movie, here's a character I've never drawn before.
"Rocket Raccoon"

I'm also including the April Fool's gag I perpetrated on my FaceBook page and that a few people actually fell for as far-fetched as it might seem. (Although to be fair to those folk, the actual posting was made to look like a press release because I thought that would help sell the story.) Basically, the gag was that DC was going to hire me to illustrate a duck-world version of Alan Moore's "Watchmen". In support of this fallacy I drew a "Watchducks" piece showing some of the characters and the title. I thought it was funny. I later colored it and reposted it as my wallpaper.

"Mystic of the Crystal"

Another piece to add to my growing collection of work done in this style on the neat toned card-stock I picked up a while back. I'm really enjoying the way these pieces turn out. The ink with highlights and minimal color in color pencil. I've always liked this type of drawing, but for some reason, it took me a long time to get around to actually trying it myself. Now that I have, I find it to be very intense and alive! It's a very satisfying way to do these types of character study drawings!

My intention is to have a nice collection of this and other types of art to sell as prints at the comicbook and fantasy conventions I like to frequent. A lot of artists sell pin-ups of superheroes and other fictional characters at artist alley tables, but I never really had a lot of these types of prints to show at cons (except for the furry conventions), and I think it's time I corrected that oversight.

Anyway, I really enjoyed creating this drawing of one of the gentle Mystics from the world of Jim Henson and Brian Froud's "The Dark Crystal". I might also do one of Augura, the crazy old astrologer, perhaps with a sketch of her amazing observatory in the background. Or perhaps a piece featuring the charming Gelflings. But I must admit that the Mystics were always my favorite characters in the movie. I wish more of it had focused on them and their lives...but I suppose that would have been too dull for a movie. They weren't exactly like Shaolin priests or anything. All they did was lope along quietly making potions and sand paintings and songs...not exactly fodder for a thrilling movie spectacle.

At least they make nice subjects for drawings. ^0^