Holiday Wrap-up

Well, I like the hips, anyway. Happy New Year everyone!

A New Do

Different hair style, new boots, same gun.

Machine Gun Kelli

Someday I'll start using reference for these drawings. Another gun-girl from earlier this month.

The Son-King

A quick sketch of the heir, earlier this month. A great way to get children to sit for a portrait is to have them suckle at the TV for a while. A child without this kind of distraction will soon want to talk to you, share their thoughts, ask to spend time with you, etc., -no no no- take my advice and avoid this by leaving the TV on most of the day.

Bing Reloaded

This is what happens when you spend a week trying to capture a likeness of Bing Crosby, then take a break and watch the Matrix with your son. There's only one reason why Der Bingle would have Trinity's body, of course .... glitch in the Matrix! Note: Caricature is not the reason I'm on this planet.

Der Bingle

Sorry for the late post, I've been bogged down watching my wife try to keep up with holiday poop- exhausting! We lucked out with a white Christmas this year, where the Missouri and Mississippi rivers meet. Anymore, snow is all I really want for the holidays. Merry Christmas!

Don't Ask, Don't Ask

I know, I know, it's another girl wearing underwear, gloves and boots lugging a vintage machine gun, so what? Look, I have no control over this, certainly no agenda! This stuff just belches out of my little immature brain and onto the page!
Not that I advocate girls clad only in underwear serving in our nation's military, no sir. I'd be happy to think about it when our military leaders say they're ready for it and then only after an exhaustive review by the military itself .... and then, still, probably not. Our lads have enough to deal with in combat without worrying if some scantily clad girl next to him is going to try to some hanky panky!

Rash of Dog Drawings

As you can tell, I haunted the dog for an evening or so, stoking her paranoia. This is a sketch where I tried to regain some aggressive line work and ignored the softer shading capabilities of the #2 pencil. At the back of the dog's head you can make out the ghost of a false start.

The Dog, Ignoring Me

A recent drawing of the Dog, no doubt concentrating on how to shed the maximum amount of hair between my semi-annual vacuuming. Resisted the urge to shade using the edge of the pencil for some reason. I tend to approach pencil rendering as if I'm going to finish a drawing in ink eventually. I'll talk to my therapist about it.

Dog Tones

A few weeks ago, the dog doing what she does best; pouting. Regular #2 pencil, getting a bit bogged down with grey tones, I'm afraid.

Hyborian Age II

In my April 24 post "The Hyborian Age", I told the tale of my Dad making a "barbarian helmet" for me as a surprise when I was 13 or 14. This is pretty close to what a farmer in Mid-Missouri could have seen if they'd spotted me striding through the fields .... "A Thief, a Reaver, a pimply teen with Great Melancholies ...." my apologies to Robert E Howard!

The Cooler King

A week and a half or so ago. Topper and I are currently at war. He has rescheduled his breakfast time for 4:30 a.m., and can't understand why the rest of us aren't on board with it. So any harassment before 6:00, earns him time in the garage. Let's hope he figures this out before we have to change his name to Steve McQueen! (heh-heh-heh that's a "Great Escape" reference for us oldsters out there) It's going to be a long winter.

Invincible IronMan Zombie

From a few weeks ago, my son and I are killing time waiting in the car and we're talking, naturally, about zombie superheroes. At his request, I attempt a zombie IronMan (below) from memory. When I checked my reference at home, I was compelled to draw another.

It's Pneumatic Man!

Yep, it's Pneumatic Man. From a few weeks ago. This is what happens when you start drawing without a plan.

Warm-up

From a few weeks ago and later. This is an example of a warm-up page from my sketchbook. I'll frequently start an image for no reason, lose interest, then return to it from time to time to pick at it while I'm stalling on another project. Notice the varying pencil types I've played with over the course of the image. Kind of reminds you of those crappy comics from the '90s doesn't it? When everything was bad-ass for no reason? It should be named "Death-squat" or "Trauma-bot" or something.

A Softer Pencil in Combat

From 2 days ago, I think, it's all a blur to me. In combat situations, it's important to wear the right gear .... like gloves and boots.

Sour Kraut

A few weeks ago. I try to keep my sketchbook on my lap while I watch TV, you never know when inspiration will rear it's ugly head. While watching a documentary about WWI, I was struck by the appalling cut of these German overcoats.