Better Than Never

"Who's the dude writing blogs with so much emphasis?
Dirty Harry!
Who most liberally makes use of parenthesis?
Dirty Harry!"

Wow. I haven't posted in a mad minute!  So long I felt I needed a little theme song to usher me back in...Truth is, I ran out of cap like a day after I promised the pencil updates!  That's what you get when your eyes are bigger than your stomach... or in this case data bundle, I suppose.

Anyway I got a lot to get through so let's get into it before the analogies get any more painful:

 

I originally intended this guy to be a Spanish swordsman (hence the curly hair and the SWORD), but then that hat happened, and he was from then on dubbed the Creepy Magician. It kinda works, methinks.  Yes, I did another same-picture-but-with-variations thing, except this time I thought the variations could be a little more exploratory than a f*king line! Don't get me wrong, I love the line,but it's time to move on to bigger, better and more colourful things now... Hopefully those magic dust balls (or whatever) didn't completely ruin the picture... I seriouslsy worked hard on them... Sort of...

Next we have the super badass Blue Dude! I don't know what it is, but there's something about red sneakers... Anyway, I tried to give the character a little bit more of a dynamic pose than the previous one because... well because i got bored! But I learned that it doesn't always work as I find it's better to familiarise yourself with a character first before diving into poses. This image marks the first drawing where I was at ease around the gradient tool, so much so that In used it on EVERYTHING! And now I love using gradients! You can't pay me enough to stop using them (Well you probably could, but I think you get what I'm shaying (sic))!  Also, I started playing around with filters a bit. You can't really tell right away, but if you where to look closer you'll notice I used a canvas filter on it, with the intension of adding a little more depth and tightness to the image. Hopefully you can pick up a little of that in there...

And this would be a... zombie... Pirate-clown...?? I dunno! But I do know that it's probably my favourite pic so far.  I find I'm finally settling into a colouring style that I'm comfortable with.  Speaking of colouring, though, is it just me , or is purple quite a difficult colour to compliment.  By that, I mean that there's relatively very little you can do with it.  Sure, there's yellow (complementary colour. subtle difference), and green and orange kinda work sometimes, but overall it feels very restricting to me as everything I end up colouring  with purple as a key colour inevitably ends up reminding me of the Joker or the Green Goblin! Ironically, my frustration  hasn't prevented me from using it so often (perhaps I use it because it's so restricting, instead of in spite of the fact, in an effort to conquer it).

Lastly (No! Say it ain't so!), I have this unremarkable hulk.  Y'know, I really wanted to colour all these characters in chronological order, but due to all sorts of scanner mishaps (I don't care how desperate I get, there's no way I'm paying R5 a scan!), different sketchbooks were sent at different times and so now I just colour the ones I'm in the mood for. Hopefully, there isn't too big a gap in quality between the older and newer sketches. I know I cut a few corners in the beginning as I was settling into a style.  At any rate, about the image: As I said before I've gotten quite comfortable with muh colouring(justifiably so, I hope). And with comfort comes an ease in exploration (at least, that's the case with me).  As a result, a lot of the shadows and cloth folds were added in Photoshop, something I wouldn't have been comfortable with doing a few weeks ago. It's not exactly a gravity-defying leap, but... Progress. Yay.

Anyway, since I originally intended this to be a Christmas special, or whatever (I obviously missed that deadline!), I thought I should  at least attempt to tie some sort of festive message in at the end. So to anyone  who still reads this blog, thank you for sticking with it, I hope ya'll enjoyed it so far 'cause there's plenty more to come (in the near-ish  future) and I hope you had a Merry Christmas... There. That wasn't at all contrived.

Obsessed

I swear I'm not a Survivor fan!  But there's something about that Brenda, I tell you! Or rather there was something bout her, since she got voted out two weeks ago (at least Marty got the boot before her). Not so surprisingly, though, I haven't been nearly as enthusiastic about keeping up with the show since then(and by that I mean I haven't at all been enthusiastic about keeping up with the show since then!)...

However, breaking my Survivor fever did remind me that I was behind on posting all those those Mini Portraits I did of her (and a couple of other cast members) a while back, and so here we are:

At least she went out like the boss she is! No grovelling for this Queen Bee...
Drawing sill don't do her no justice!

This was a quick sketch I did from a still of the lovely Miss Lowe (How is a woman that fine still single??), sporting her trademark lower lip-licking face.  I actually drew this out of my frustration over not  being able to accurately capture her features while keeping her looking cartoony (Yeah I've become quite obsessed with nailing her... Her likeness, that is!), so instead I went in almost the complete opposite direction! Go figure. I tried to keep the colouring as basic as possible to try and bring that cartoony element back in. Maybe I should add a few more "facets" to it just to see where I can take it... Watch this space for more Brenda!

Next we have Naonka:

Never a dull moment with her. From kicking over disabled people ("Screw yo' leg!") to flippin' da bird at Tribal Council, Nay KEEPS IT REAL (and gets her ass voted out)!  I just cracked up so hard at this "Say wha-??" look she pulls so often that I had to do a drawing of her! Ironically, even though I drew this almost thoughtlessly, during the colouring process it became one of the closest examples of the style I've been trying to achieve. Hope the attitude's all there...

And Unfortunately that's all I got for now!  It's not much... but it's December goddamnit! Also, I'm out sketchbooks for now, so the character drawing thing is on hold for a while.  But at  112+ characters drawn, I think I can find a somewhat productive way to fill up all that free time (Clue: It rhymes with Shmotoshop). Now,can somebody point me in the direction of a goddamn scanner THAT WORKS! 

A Certain Romance

Where is the love?? I seem to have been gone for a minute and I've been awfully cold towards my dear blog, but now I'm back.  Evidently.  And I'll have you know that my time hasn't been spent idly. (Is that correct English? I'm not sure! Good thing I'm not getting graded  on this, I suppose!) No, sir.

I have recently committed muhself (finally!) to drawing at least 4 characters a day. I know that doesn't seem like much but lemme tell you: 3 weeks and (84 drawings) later, the demands for consistency (the magic word here) and variations that come with this task start to seem more absurd by the minute!  And these are just pencils I'm talkin'bout! I'v only recently began to factor in Photoshop time! Now I'm not complaining. (who would I even complain to? I brought this on myself!) I'm just painting the whole picture so the irregularity of my posts seem a lot more reasonable... I'd like to think that's a perfectly acceptable thing to do.

So what do I have to present this time (other than mouthful of whining)?  Just these:

     

Well, not just these.  I've still got more! But I'd like to say a few words first. Firstly, I didn't post the same picture twice. If you look closely you'll notice the second one has a distinct white... shadow-line... thing. I couldn't decide if the picture looked better with or without it so... I know it's a very subtle difference. But I guess I'm just indecisive like that. Secondly, I should say that I've started Photoshopping (seriously, WTF?) straight from my pencils, as opposed to to tracing them on Illustrator first.  I'm still planning on using Illustrator for some of my more simplistic stuff but I feel like a lot of the personality and life of the image is lost when you vectorise drawings like these...and it takes way too F*%KING LONG!

Then we have these:

Once again, I have slight variations of the same thing.  This time though I happened to stumble into (onto?) the variation when I accidentally deleted my pencil lines. I thought it looked cool anyway so, why not show both?

Aaaand:

Yeah. the white-line-shadow thing again. And no. This wasn't even remotely inspired by Rihanna's new do!  Now. I should probably mention that none of these characters have anything  to do with anything. They're not for a story and they're not somehow related. Other than through the fact that they were all drawn by me. All this character design merely serves the purpose of honing them grossly underdeveloped skills of mine.

Not to get all sentimental (which is exactly what people who say that sort of thing end up doing! ), but recently, I've come to realise that I've been treating this art thing like far too much of a burden.  It's weird that  these 3 weeks of drawing have let me appreciate the concept of working hard at something and getting better at it because it's something you want to do and not just because some f*king curriculum requires it! I'd almost completely forgotten  how much I love this sh%t!  It's truly an exciting time to be doing what you love. And everyone should get to do that.  After all: If there ain't no romance,  then why bother?

From now on I'll try to post the pictures as I complete them so it's not all at once like this and over long intervals. And maybe, if the internet cap allows  for it (not everyone has an unlimited ADSL line!), I'll post the pencil scans at the end of every week  so the blog doesn't get stale. I gotta keep all 5 of you loyal fans entertained.  As for now : Giggidy! Giggidy! That's all folks!

Hail! The Spectron Lord!

It's been a while. I don't know why I haven't updated this sooner but... better late than never, I suppose.  It's time to add yet another entry to what is probably the most self-indulgent sketch(y) blog ever. So. What do I have today?

Yet another picture I drew last year! (yeah. I got lazy!) I was planning on doing... Something with it! I have no idea what! But I do know that I didn't get round to it(obviously), so instead I did this with it:

Woohoo! Bravo Photoshop! Thought I'd try to mix in a little organic shading with the cell shaded look I've been going for so far. I didn't push it too far as I didn't want to stray to far off my usual path. After all, in this industry (the whole "comic book/illustrator" industry) consistency is key. Plus I just kind've (that's not a word!) wanted to toy around with gradients and burns and stuff to see how that worked out for me...

Anyhow, this big guy right here is a character I created for a comic book did back in high school, partially based on one of my good friends. (you know who you are!) He makes up one half of the villainous duo: The Spectons. I know. The Spectron name is pretty cheesy! But I guess all the good names have already been taken! These guys were supposed to be in the second (and final) chapter of the story, which I never got around to finishing, even though I had the characters and script already mapped out. Hmmm... Perhaps it's time to revisit that ol' familiar road...

That was a relatively short entry. But it's all been said. Hope ya'll enjoyed. I gotta get back to... partaking in all kinds of skullduggery. If you've made it this far, you can give yourself a pat on the back.

Triple Threat (Cage Match)!

I'm not a fan of Survivor. I mean, if I catch it playing and I got nothing better to do, then I'll watch it. But I'm not really a fan. However, Season 21 has got it going on! Rather, I should say, a certain someone on Survivor season 21 has got it going on!

Everyone, Ms Brenda Lowe has made me convert! (for just one season) I am unabashedly infatuated with her and let it be known that this generic little bit of fan art I cobbled together in her name pales in comparison to the real thing.

I didn't manage to capture her likeness on this one (She has very odd features that are difficult to stylise,while keeping her looking hot) but I put it up anyway, because I feel it does somehow still manages to exhibit her rare combination of hot 'n cute. Am I right? I've got a few more that I'm working on (yeah, I've become obsessed with nailing her) which I  might approach differently. So look out for that.

Then there's this sucker trying to kick her off!:

Look at him don't you just hate him already?! TF, Marty?! I basically just drew him cause I had channel my intense dislike for him in some way so... Also he does have a very interesting face. I actually found him a lot easier draw than Brenda (Although I got really lazy on the hair,I know!). He translates very well onto paper... Bastard.

Ok. Enough Survivor! (For now) I was gonna end it at that, but I might as well throw this in as well:

Yeah,boi! It's muh man, Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park!(In case you hadn't guessed, I was drawing all of these at the same time) Although they aren't really my favourite band anymore (Gasp!) I still think dude over here is a f*king GENIUS.  Without him they'd seriously be the biggest douchebags around. I tried to do it as a vector drawing at first,but certain things just didn't translate well (Especially the beard) so I just went straight to Photoshop. Very quick. Very raw. Kinda reminds me of L from Deathnote...

And that's all you get for now! Hope you're enjoying my long-winded, loosely art-related rants,so far. "Cause I'm just getting started... Booyakasha!

2wo Beetles

How come that still reads as "two"? I mean it shouldn't. But it does! Weird... Alright, I been away for a bit (not that long really) so I got quite a few things lined up for the blog. I figure I'll just ration them out over the next week or so, just so it looks like I'm super busy. Can't give out everything at once...

So, what have we got today?  A little bit of fan art for all you comic lovers.

Ha! Screw You, blogger.com! I have circumvented your no uploading bullsh*t! Man will always triumph over machine! (and over programmer incompetence!)

Now, about this image (which I've been trying to upload ALL WEEK!): Anyone who knows anything worth knowing (yes,knowledge of all mainstream comic book superheroes is on that list) will recognise both figures as the Blue Beetle. The dude on the left is Ted Kord, the old Blue Beetle who died tragically and heroically during the epic Countdown to Infinite Crisis event a coupla years ago. And the one on the left (camera left, obviously) is Jaime Reyes, the new Blue Beetle, who got his costume n powers during the actual Infinite Crisis...

I won't even bother to explain the humour in this as it would take way too long, and quite truthfully isn't that funny anyway. But, I will discuss the image itself: It's the first image I coloured in Photoshop (all previous images were done in Illustrator).  I gotta say it took some getting used to, but in the end I found it much easier, and therefore much faster. I still haven't actually timed myself (I take way too many breaks!) so I can't even give a loose time-frame,not that that would be of any interest to you,but still...It's also one of the first images I drew specifically for the purpose of working on it on muh PC. Instead of just tweaking old images... Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Oh! Look out for the Blue Beetle TV show that's about to drop soon. It focuses mainly on the Jaime Reyes Beetle. Trailer looks dope. I don't know much about it,but I think it's gonna be along the lines of Smallville (hopefully with less f*king about!) although it's probably gonna follow the comic book storyline pretty closely. 

And that's about it, I think.  That marks the end of the biggest geek freak out session so far. Hopefully I haven't just lost half muh followers, bringing the total down to about... ONE! Next one might be more accommodating...but probably not! 

The Return

Yo. Just thought I'd add in another quick drawing. Y'know. Striking while the iron's hot, and all that. This late night lurking's becoming more productive by the day. And I'm liking it! Hope ya'll are too (whomever "ya'll" may happen to be)...

That's right! Good old lovable TJ is back! In his classic incarnation! Red, white 'n me, baby! As some of you may know (and by some,of course, I am referring to approximately... ONE of you) this guy is a character I created back when I was 12... 13ish (God,when was Happy Acres??) and is my cartoon alter ego. TJ FuZioN. (I know) I haven't drawn him in a while. At least not like this, anyway. (Curse you, Dirty Harry persona!) So this image marks his triumphant return. In colour! 

While we're at it, I think I promised an explanation for the whole "FZN" signature. At this point it should be obvious, but I'll spell it out anyway. This character, TJ FuZioN, who happens to be my cartoon alter ego, became a moniker of mine throughout high-school (Until that wretched Dirty Harry came along) so I would sign my drawings with the abbreviated version of "his" surname. The letters "F","Z" and "N"... Eh? Eh?!(That wasn't patronising at all!)

Not the most detailed or intricate of drawings,but I thought some might get a kick out of the "cuteness factor" and the little back story that came with it... I know I did!  Yep...So there you have it.

Like a Back-Scratcher...

I'm back at ya! That's a little Lupe for ya. I'm not sure I got  it right,though... But I'm back none the less. Incorrect quoting and all. I been trying to get this out for a while but it's been difficult this week,what with my internet acting up and crazy komodo dragon-related emergencies... (Excuses. Excuses) Even with all that, I   got around to finishing my next "piece" and posting it for all to see. 

This isn't it! But this is where I started. Last year somewhere. (I really need to use some more current images!) So I scanned went to work on it with a little Illustrator magic and...

Yep. A little better,if I do say so myself. (Which,of course I do!) This was a lot quicker than the last time. I've refined a coupla techniques and learnt even more this time, but I'm still still not quick enough! I'm getting there, though...You may have noticed (but probably not) that I scribbled "War"  next to the original pencil sketch. That's because this is my version of the Horseman War.

That mask with the phallic nose is a Japanese Tengu mask. Tengu are fighting demons apparently descended from birds, hence the connection with War, and also the birdskull attached to his sword. The green thing is one of those bath tokens from Spirited Away. Except it's green whereas the ones in Spirited Away are red. (in case you were wondering!) Don't ask me why! Maybe the Horseman of War spends his time off at the Bath house from Spirited Away. And has a special "platinum" token... I don't know!

Back For the 1st Time!

I call her Scissorgirl. No she's not a lesbian! Just a girl holding a pair of scissors. I drew this sometime last year and I'd been planning to do a painting of it... Yeah. I didn't get around to it! However, I did end up making a vector sketch on Illustrator. Is that what they call them? Vector sketches? Well, that's what Ima call them from now on! Anyhow, here it is:

TADAAA! Yeah...It's not that impressive, and it took a hell of a lot longer than it should've, but there it is. (I say that A LOT!) I did learn a quite a bit doing this, though. I'm a lot more efficient and organised now. (I like think so,anyway)

About the picture: There's a lot of subtle symbolism in it. She's female. And she's holding barber scissors. Her eyes and hair glare(?) and overall body have a "digital" feel to them... I don't want spell anything out but those elements all intentionally reveal details about the meaning of this seemingly random picture...

Oh. And the markings on the bottom right are meant to be the letters "F","Z" and "N"... Which is what I always sign my pictures with... Which is a self-made abbreviation of FuZioN... Which is another explanation all together! For now just go with it. 

And finally: I just have to openly admit (before it comes back to bite me in the rear) that the design for the FZN signature you see before you was TOTALLY stolen from the artist Red Bear, who is an absolute genius and an inspiration! I just hope he comes out with something soon! At any rate, I'm done for now. Dirty. Out.

1st. Pic. Ever.

Well,not really. It's not only NOT the 1st pic ever, it's not even the 1st pic I've done! (...Very lame joke I know). But this picture features 2 characters from a series/universe type deal that I've been working on since I was 13. It's nothing solid yet (obviously!) but the characters and stories are pretty much set. (talk about contradicting yourself!)

The guy at the top is called Malik and the dude with the red jacket and wings is called Raziel... No, not like the guy from Soul Reaver! I'll have you know that Raziel is a pretty common name where I'm from... It's like... John... or Mustafa... Hopefully you'll be seeing plenty more pics of them. They're not the main characters but they do play a big part in the story... And they're twins... Sort of.

ANYWAY, the picture itself was done with a mixture of black and red ink (for the characters) and guache paints (for the very plain background). And there it is.

To ANYBODY Out There...

I've Finally started a blog! I't's pretty crappy at the moment, and it needs a LOT of work... But I finally ddi it! And I'm pretty psyched about it! What's this blog all about, you ask? Well about drawing mostly... I'm going to post up just about everything I do over here... For... People to look at... And I;m gonna talk about it... Pretty straightforward, I think... So this is it!