Happy April!

Okay, so it's a day late and a dollar short but that's pretty much the way I've been feeling these last few weeks. So, hopefully one day late won't bother anyone as I say Happy April!

I decided to use the Mr. Mucho piece I did a few weeks back for this month's blog header. It just seemed too good a piece not to use.

These last few weeks have been busy but, at the same time, I feel like I never really get anything done. There is always something more to do, something else I need to work on, and nothing ever seems like it's complete. Plus, I never feel like I have an actual day off so I really don't know what is going on.

Right now I'm still doing pages for the weekly OilCan Drive comic, doing freelance work for a few clients, and I just finished doing a convention appearance this weekend in Denver at the annual Anomaly Steampunk Convention. I will post some pictures from the convention and talk a bit more about it tomorrow.

So, it's been busy but hopefully I'll figure it all out soon.

But, for now, Happy April!

Sports Illustrated Kids March

 As I sit down to ink a few new sports illustrations today I thought it would be a great time to show off the illustrations I did for the March issue of Sports Illustrated Kids.

These are always so much fun to do and every time I get a new scenario sent to me my mind races with all the ways I can convey the action. Little things like using grayed hold lines on the background characters in the football piece or adding some motion blur to the runners in the track meet piece give me a chance to play a bit and see what I can do.

This issue of Sports Illustrated Kids is on the stands now so if you're a kid, have a kid, or are a kid at heart, pick up a copy and see if you can figure out what is the correct call on the field in my "What's The Call?" article.

Okay, I am off to ink the day away. Have a great one and I'll see you all soon!

Mister Mucho

Here is the finished Mister Mucho piece which will be on the first page of the newly redesigned OilCan Drive #1. Even though he will appear in black and white in the book I thought it might be fun to color him a bit and show him off.

I'm slowly getting all the additional pages for the book put together. With any luck, the 32 page book I debuted at the Denver Comic Con last summer will now be around 60 pages with the new material. I'm designing the pages a little bit at a time as I work on both client work and new OilCan Drive story pages. But, it should be pretty cool once it's all put together.

And now, with Mr. Mucho leading off the book, it just feels that much more right.

Have a great one and I'll talk to you all soon.

Finished For Now

The crazy page from the newest OilCan Drive booked has been inked and finished as much as possible by hand. Now I need to trim it, scan it into the computer, and do a little bit more work on it. I doubt this page will have any word balloons or lettering on it. Honestly, even if it did need words, I don't know where I'd fit them.

I know this page has taken me a lot longer than it should have but hopefully the final results will be worth the extra time. It should be dropping on the OilCan Drive web-comic site on Friday, March 28th.

And, just because I didn't want to drive myself too crazy with one page this week I did a quick doodle of Mr. Mucho for the new edition of the first issue of OilCan Drive I'll be putting up on Amazon later this year.

I've always wanted to do a book where the first page had an image and a "this book belongs to: xxxxxxxx" kind of thing. Earlier this week, while thinking about that idea, I thought Mr. Mucho would be the perfect character to put on that front page introducing the reader to the book. Plus, because it's in the OilCan Drive world, I thought a giant pair of goggles would fit perfectly.

Here are a few photos of the pencil sketch and the inked piece. Now, like the page above, this needs to be scanned into the computer and played with a bit. I can't wait to add some zip-a-tone effects my favorite little rag doll.

I hope you're all doing great. This month has started off really well for me and I hope you're all doing just as well!

Almost Finished

Now I just need to erase the pencils, fill in the blacks, do a little touch up with some white out, and this OilCan Drive page will be ready to scan and add grays.

I don't think I'll be adding any lettering or word balloons to this page. Honestly, I don't even know where I would fit them.

About Half Way There

I knew this page from the OilCan Drive web-comic would take more than a day to ink but, luckily, it looks like I'm a little more than half way through it.

No digital here, folks. Just a bunch of ink, a few micron pens, and a Raphael #3 brush. And lots and lots and lots of practice and time.

Okay, time to get back to it. This page isn't going to finish itself. Have a great one!

Happy March!

Happy March everybody! I woke up this morning to more snow and cold and ice outside so I guess my hopes that winter was finally done with us will have to wait another few months.

I finally got the Batman and Ryan piece all painted up late last night and popped it into this month's header. I wasn't sure if I would get it done but once I sat down to work on it I found I couldn't stop until it was done.

As usual, I did a version for the blog's header as well as a stand alone illustration. I really like the way the stand alone piece came out with the sunset background and the cool border that simply can't can't contain the Batman!

I originally did this piece to see if I could bring a little more attention to the OilCan Drive project by featuring my characters along side some well loved and established characters. And I figure who is more loved than Batman? Plus he's really fun to draw and provides a nice contrast to the OilCan Drive guys. I just hope I did old Bats justice.

We'll see how this little experiment works. Keep your fingers crossed. And, if my numbers go up in the next month we can thank Batman. And maybe the art...

Have a great month and I'll see you all soon!