Supe du Jour III: It's a Bird, On a Plane!

 
To Superman, everything has a thin candy shell.

7 days...

Fryd-Day 9: Bad Gas

Part 9 in a weekly series exploring the adaptation of a childhood creation into a new comic for TR!CKSTER's 2013 volume, Childhood Heroes.

Next Week: TurboCrop!

7 days...

Supe du Jour II: The Man of Twomorrow

Day two of my Superman sketch-a-day was a no-brainer: Two-Face. My Harvey Dent will always be Billy Dee Williams.

I'm kind of surprised nobody's done this gettup for ol' Dent Head.

8 days...

Sephilina

A fellow Pixarian story artist, Jamie Baker, had a stroke late last year and we're hosting an art auction to raise money for Jamie's recovery. The auction is Jamie-themed, so my piece includes two of his most beloved art subjects: pachyderms and his own character, Sephilina the Nautigirl.

You can also help Jamie by donating here. Thanks!

"Reflection at the Waterhole"
8.5''x11''
Ink and Pastel on Paper

10 days...

How Does He Shave? (Theory II)

How does Superman shave? The "active volcano" theory:

Pro: it gives Clark Kent an excuse to visit Hawaii every morning.
Con: he has to draw on his eyebrows. 


11 days...

Formal Robes

Robe fashion is a very subtle thing.

13 days...

Fryd-Day 8: The Chase!

Part 8 in a weekly series exploring the adaptation of a childhood creation into a new comic for TR!CKSTER's 2013 volume, Childhood Heroes.

Next Week: "Bad Gas"

14 days...

How Does He Shave?

The Man of Steel trailer shows a bearded Clark Kent and a clean-shaven Superman, which has caused quite a stir. Conan O'brien, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and the folks at Gillette are all abuzz with the question, "How does Superman shave his Kryptonian beard?" I think the answer is clear:

Talk about some serious gazer burn.

15 days...

Fantasy Football, Hockey Edition: Sharks vs Kings

I'll admit, I'm a bit biased on this one. GO SHARKS!

Look for more Fantasy Football artwork coming soon, including prints from last season which will be on sale at San Diego Comic Con. Any requests for favorite FF illustrations that you'd like to see as prints?

17 days...

Let's Give Him a Hand, Folks!

Why kill an opponent, when you can simply disarm them?

17 days...

Fryd-Day 8: Bank Haul-iday

Part 7 in a weekly series exploring the adaptation of a childhood creation into a new comic for TR!CKSTER's 2013 volume, Childhood Heroes. 

Next Week: The Chase!

21 days...

Amateur Armature

The beta version of my horror-themed boardgame, Camp Grizzly, is coming to Kubla Con this weekend. Our masked killer, Otis, is doing a little pre-show killing to warm-up for his debut. Knock 'em dead, big guy!

If you'd like to create your own horrific clay-mation, Here's a handy how-to:

It's helpful to keep a toolbox full of clays and armatures so you're ready to animate at a moment's notice. I recommend an oil-based modelling clay like Plastilina.

Next, twist yourself up an armature with soft aluminum modelling wire and prep some "guts." Guts are used to build up the form around your armature without wasting valuable colored clay. I usually recycle Plastilina from old animation to form the guts (hence the cool, swirly colors).

Once your figure is formed, it's time to create a color palette. I wanted a muted, grungy palette, so I mixed a lot of brown and grey into my colors.

Finally, you sculpt up your character! I'd recommend not adding too much detail, because once you start animating, your fingers are only going to smash it away. I'm still pretty new to stop-motion, so let me know if you have any other clay modelling tips. 

Have a bloody good time!

23 days...

Camp Grizzly This Weekend at Kubla Con

THE SCARIEST BOARDGAME OF ALL TIME IS FINALLY HERE.

Camp Grizzly, the debut title of Ameritrash Games, is a horror/survival boardgame for 1-6 players. The objective is to survive a night at camp with a supernatural serial killer on the loose! If this appeals to you: first seek help, then seek us out this weekend at Kubla Con in the Hyatt Regency SFO where we'll be selling beta versions of the game!

Ameritrash is a partner of Zombiesmith Games, one of the sponsors of Kubla Con. My co-creator, Jason Topolski, and I will both be available at the Zombiesmith Games booth Saturday-Monday, running games, doing drawings, and generally indulging in all manners of mischief and debauchery!

Ameritrash Games can be round at AmeritrashGames.com and here on Facebook.

25 days...

Chades Challenge LXXX: Klingons!

In anticipation for Star Trek Into Darkness (which was UH-MAZING), a few of us at work did a character design challenge. The subject: KLINGONS! The three sketches below are my take on the galactic mongols.

"Who ate the last slice of cake??"

To the Bat'lethmobile!

Which end goes up?

If you have any Dino-Riding designs of your own, let me know and I'll post them below, along with my coworkers' designs. Everyone is invited to contribute! Otherwise, you can join in May 31st for...

CHADES CHALLENGE LXXXI:

PULCHRITUDINOUS WHALERS

Louise "Bagel Monday" Smythe

Jeff "Lens Flare" Pidgeon

And my personal favorite from Christian Roman: "Cameo?"

26 days...

Fryd-Day 7: High Heist

Part 7 in a weekly series exploring the adaptation of a childhood creation into a new comic for TR!CKSTER's 2013 volume, Childhood Heroes.

Next Week: Bank Haul-iday

27 days...

The Death of Superman

Remember when Superman died and came back to life? I always thought that was the perfect opportunity to reintroduce him as Superlich.

He could have a glowing green Kryptonian skull. It would be rad!

If not reanimate him as the flying dead, at least rebuild him as a cool cycloptic man-machine. I mean, death's gotta come at a price, right? You can't just come back with longer hair.

In case you're wondering: yes, there are many more Superman sketches to come! And no, they're not all as ridiculous as these.

30 days...

Man of Steel meets Man of Iron

 

If I was Iron Man, I'd consider installing a rocketpack just to cut back on the RSI.

31 days...

Fryd-Day 6: Crops & Robbers

Part 6 in a weekly series exploring the adaptation of a childhood creation into a new comic for TR!CKSTER's 2013 volume, Childhood Heroes. 

For the next eleven weeks, I'll be posting a new page from the comic every Fryd-Day. Today, you get two (since you've already seen the title page).

35 days...

Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013)

I met Mr. Harryhausen while I was a student at CalArts. At the end of his animation lecture, a student asked if there was a trick to animating something as complicated as a seven-headed Hydra. Harryhausen simply cocked an eyebrow, gave a wry smile, and replied, "Yeah, you unplug the phone and CONCENTRATE."

Phones were plugged into the walls those days.

And animators were titans.

Farewell, Mr. Harryhausen. You will be greatly missed.

31 days...

Steel Arrow

"Hey, Superman. BOW before Hawkeye. Heh heh, get it? You look mad. Wait a minute, waitwaitWAIT!"

32 days...