Futurama is a series that my son Logan and I have probably watched all the way through at least twice. It's an excellent show that goes in some weird, bind-bending directions sometimes. But that's why we love it. I knew that I wanted to draw a Futurama piece for quite some time. As I was planning out the drawing I started writing in characters I wanted to feature and that list got longer and longer and longer. The show has SO many great characters it was hard to narrow it down to just 33 characters. They have hundreds to choose from! Even though you can't see much of the city scape I spent a lot of time on that as well since it's very iconic and almost a character unto itself.

I drew this as a companion piece to go along with my earlier Rat Fink Frankenstein's Monster Hot Rod. Eventually I'll drawn an entire series of these black light classic monsters driving crazy hot rods. I tried to keep his Egyptian origins in mind while designing his vehicle. Like a chariot on steroids. Plus check out that Egyptian mud flap girl...classy.

Go ahead and click on the illustration to see it on a black background. It looks much better that way.

Well now I am super late in posting this. But late is better than never. This book has a lot of figure studies. I was reading Andrew Loomis' fantastic book "Figure Drawing for All It's Worth" and it is no doubt the most helpful drawing book I have ever read.

I did an Elektra painting a few years ago in this style and I thought Jean Grey would be another good subject for that style. Her costume is so bold and iconic that I thought seeing it in negative space would be interesting and effective. Plus I wanted to see her bright red hair pop against the green background. As always it started as a pencil sketch. Then I brought that scan into Manga Studio to lay down colors and shading.

(click for full size)

Close up.

Another show that my son Logan turned me on to: Gravity Falls. I liked the show after the first episode I watched. The animation is charming, the humor is clever, and the it has a a great cast of interesting characters. Some of the thing sit deals with are so wonderfully weird: zombies, ghosts, clones, alternate dimensions, vide game characters come to life, ANYTHING can happen in Gravity Falls!

But what I like most about it is the overlying story arch.

Nothing quite like the feeling of accomplishment you get from a completed sketchbook. You get that same feeling after running a marathon. Or so I'm told.

A few things that i really love are monsters, creative design, and practical effects. Hellboy 2 has LOADS of beautifully designed creatures achieved through practical effects and makeup. Also, Hellboy 2 was oozing with style, action, and even humor. Hellboy exists in a strange and wondrous world and Hellboy 2 allows us to visit that world ever so briefly. It's a living breathing universe made of beauty and decay where nothing is boring and we get to live there for a short time.

Not only did the 2015 Mad Max movie bring us awesome action, great stunts, and incredible art direction, it also introduced the world to one of the best new characters I've seen in a long time: Imperator Furiosa! I love stories about strong women. Women who don't play the victim role, women who do what it takes to survive. Furiosa is the perfect example of that. While Charlize Theron is undoubtedly a beautiful actress that has absolutely nothing to do with her character.

Who doesn't love Calvin and Hobbes? Nobody that's who!

I was trying to duplicate Bill Watterson's watercolor style in this piece. Using Manga Studio's watercolor and india ink brushes while keeping my brush strokes loose I think I was able to get close to the more traditional aesthetic I was searching for on this piece.  I also used more vibrant colors for the fantasy aspect since fantasy seems to be where Calvin really thrives.

I think I had this sketch join my sketchbook for over a year until I finally decided to go back and ink and color him. Inked and colored in Manga Studio 5.

Check out the layer breakdown in this movie.
Loading