Inking & Coloring "cartoondavid"..

Hello!

Do you happen to know who "cartoondavid" is? If you've perused all of my Blog Links, then you would have already come across his artwork.. His name is: David Gemmill! A talented young cartoonist/animator, living in California..
I was first introduced to Dave's work, via his postings to 'The Drawing Board', many years ago.. But since then, his work has gotten exponentially better. And his popular Blog, has been a pretty regular pitstop for me, as I stumble my way thru the krazy InterNut-mo-sphere..

This is what some of his Drawings look like:

Mr. Gemmill's 'Funny Animal' creations, are amongst my very favorites.. I find them to be truly hi-larious! As I feel Dave has a very unique "take" on this normally staid & traditional genre. I'm always impressed by the way he's able to stylize his creatures.. A nice blend of lively/flowing linework, supporting fun Figure poses; which always feature an interesting set of contrasting shapes/volumes, to their overall proportions..

Unfortunately,-- very few examples of these critters have really been "nailed down" into finished Portfolio pieces. And the ones that are, have never been polished-up in a way that I (personally) feel suits them..
Not meant as a knock against Dave, by any means.. I just wish some of 'em had a lusher inkline around them. And were colored with more, than a purely "digital" Photoshop palette..
My guess would be that these ideas, simply don't interest David.. Or perhaps, that he just doesn't have the time to ink & color, every single one of them?

Either way, I wanted to take a stab at inking one of his Drawings, myself.. And though I've had this piece half-finished for many months.. I finally got 'round to getting the whole thing inked! Here' what it ended up looking like:
It may be important to note.. These 2 characters did not appear together, in Dave's sketches. I composited the pair together, because I thought it might make for a funny scenario.. Surmising the Poodle -type girl as a streetwalker.. With the little Fox/Wolf dude, as her pimp?! hah
To really sell the Staging, I needed to add some changes/edits to Dave's original work.. I hope that he doesn't feel like I overstepped any boundaries? Please lemme know Dave, if I have! I'll take the Post down, immediately..

As I'd taken it, this far.. I figgered what-the-hell,-- I might as well throw some color on them too..
Here's the final result:
I kinda like how everything turned out.. Though I think the Fox/Wolf guy's outfit, ended up making him appear more like a Vaudeville comedian, than a streetwise pimp.. I shoulda made the Poodle's tail the same shade of red/pink as her bouffant hairdo, too.. Oh, well.. Maybe next time.
'Til then, folks!

Beware The FACE!!

Hello!

Here's a quickie illo I did for the current Jam Thread in the "Superheroes" section of 'The Drawing Board'.. This month's Theme is entitled: "Appearances Can Be Deceiving.." In other words, characters that wear disguises, can change their shape.. Or, are simply pretending to be something/someone that they really are not..
I chose a character that I really know next-to-nothing about: "The FACE"!!
According to what I could find online about him.. "The FACE" was a WW2 war correspondent who fought America's enemies with his typewriter (as journalist Tony Trent).. And with his fists, as the crimefighting "FACE" alter ego!
He debuted in Big Shot Comics.. And was spotlighted in his own comic-book title, during the early WW2 years.. He later reappeared in 1948 and 1949 for a couple more issues, under his civilian name: 'Tony Trent, The FACE'!
The creator of 'The FACE' was Mart Bailey.. A solid artist, who earned a quick reputation for direct storytelling; though perhaps, without a lot of flair. Not much is known about him, really.. He worked as an Art Director on the children's comic-book series: 'Treasure Chest' thru most of the 50's.
Sadly, his career was apparently cut short sometime in the 1960's, after he endured a violent mugging..

I would never have heard of 'The FACE', had it not been for my good friend & fellow artist: Drazen Kozjan. He e-mailed me the following artwork as a JPEG.. An item that he'd purchased on eBay, a few short weeks ago..
"Ain't it the most, Daddy-O?!"
We both agreed that this fabulous image has a genuine Charles Burns "feel" to the overall Design & Inking.. Can't you just see Burns doing a riff on this guy? It'd be brilliant! Give 'em a crazy 'El BORBAH' -type crime story, with a lot of witty banter & fisticuffs?.. I'd definitely get in line at my retail shop, to lay down my buckaroos for that comic-book!

Happy Holidays 2008!

Season's Greetings, everyone!
Here is the 2008 version of my annual family Holiday Card..

This year, the Design was inspired by my cadre of l'il backyard critter "friends".. Done up in a very Frazetta-influenced "Funny Animal" style! The squirrel is pretty traditional-looking. But I was quite pleased at how the Blue Jay & Cardinal turned out.. I think it has to do with the more-realistic take on their coloring. Which I was able to accomplish, with the aid of one of Suzanne's helpful Bird reference books..
Most of the coloring is analog.. All of it hand done; except, for the Night Sky in the deepest part of the Background. Which involved a cascading series of Gradient Fills, applied with Photoshop. I also bought a few new juicy Prismacolor markers, which really helped things out.. Especially, with the large Foreground tree!

Getting this thing printed, was another story.. And, an adventure in itself!
I usually get 'em done at a Kinko's in downtown Toronto, in the wee overnight hours. When it's a lot less busy. And you can rely on the counter help to really focus on what you want done..
But when I dropped by with my burned CD.. I was shocked to find out that they'd turfed the few remaining Mac computers, that they had on-site. They've gone strictly PC. Which meant that my CD just wouldn't open. And hence, they wouldn't be able to print my Image File..
So, back to Scarborough I drove.. To burn a 2nd CD that would open on a PC platform. Back downtown to Kinko's.. Only to find, that the Christmas Card image STILL wouldn't open?! Grrrr....
Anyways, one helpful Kinko's gentleman (named "Bobby") suggested that I simply e-mail the File to them. As either a JPEG or PDF.. So, back to Scarborough, again!
This time, things worked out.. But of course, I still had to travel downtown for a 3rd time to approve the "proof" for the 100+ Cards which I needed. The yellows turned out slightly "green", I thought. But overall, I was pretty happy with the results.. And ecstatic, to finally have the Cards ready for mailing!

Today, is also my 46th Birthday.. And for whatever pathological reason, I always leave creating my Christmas Cards, to the 11th Hour. For me, any Christmas Card done BEFORE my Birthday, is a raving success story. So, if you're on my Card List.. Okay, it may not arrive before the 25th. But at least it'll be postmarked, before then! Which is why I refer often refer to them as "Seasonal Cards".. It covers my ass, if arrives before New Year's Eve!! har har

I hope everyone has a terrific Holiday Season.. Best Wishes to all of you, for 2009!

The "Queen Of Curves" is gone..

I read with a bit of sadness that Bettie Page died this morning, at the age of 85. She had been quite ill with pneumonia, for a number of weeks.. Before succumbing to a heart attack. I never met or knew this woman.. But enjoyed seeing her images, in many of the vintage Men's magazines I've collected over the years..
It seems (to me, anyways) a rather ironic coincidence, that she should pass away in the same year Dave Stevens has.. And during the very week that also saw the release of the much-anticipated Stevens coffee table book: 'Brush With Passion'.. An artist whose work in the early 1980's, was likely most responsible for her re-emergence as a Pop Culture icon?

While it's true that his 'ROCKETEER' comic-book, had a character modelled after Betty Page.. And re-popularized her, with a wider audience.. It wasn't the 1st time, that Stevens had featured her in his artwork. That distinction, is held by his spoof of Frank Frazetta's 'THUN'DA' comic-book cover. An illustration that Stevens drew on a lark, as a Portfolio piece!
How odd it must've been for him, to later meet & become friends with Ms. Page in real life? And to then use that Portfolio piece as the cover for a comic-book, featuring fictionalized stories of Bettie?! haha
While there were long lines of unscruplous ne'er-do-wells exploiting Bettie's newly-rediscovered popularity, for their own interests.. It was Dave Stevens that made a point of personally trying to "repay" Bettie, for his use of her image in his comic-book. And generally, because it was a decent thing to do!
So, besides the "Bettie Page Comics" project.. Dave also created (or served as Art Director on) a variety of Dark Horse merchandise.. Licensed items, designed to ensure that Bettie made a little bit of money on her own image, as well!
The Jim Silke books, come immediately to mind.. And Dave also designed a really nice Kitchen Magnet Set, featuring Ms. Page.. Which I think was the last "Bettie Page" merchandise he worked on, if memory serves..

In her most recent interviews, Bettie always referred to Dave as "my best friend.." And if you've seen any of the many Bettie images that Dave has created over his career.. Then you're probably already aware that he must've thought she was pretty special, too!
Here's one of my favorite images of Bettie.. A signed print that Dave gave me, many years ago..
That's all for now.. TTYLater!

My Furry L'il Critter Friends..

Hello all!

I know. A bit of a drought, between Postings?
My apologies. I've been trying to chase down some decent Art jobs..
I figured I'd compensate by sharing a few Quicktime Videos with you.. Featuring some of the exotic Wildlife that exists here in the otherwise staid suburbs of Toronto.. A veritable Scarberian "Wild Kingdom", as it were? Enjoy!

I'm not sure how I fell into this particular habit.. But I've begun feeding the many squirrels, that roam thru our backyards. It's an amusing pasttime. And their (the wee critters) antics can be highly entertaining.
Suzanne has become a bit concerned that my "hobby" is quickly getting outta hand. As some of the braver souls are now practically knocking on my sliding glass doors each day, demanding their daily allowance of peanuts, etc..
Suzanne took some Footage, to show a few of these visits..

First up, is a female I've named: "Squirrely".. See how "creative" I am? Can't you just TELL that I'm an artist? *groan*.. Squirrely loves her peanuts. But she's still pretty skittish around me. I've only got her to take a peanut from my hand, on one occasion. Her usual tact is to approach cautiously, 'til she's inches away.. And then to stop & look at me plaintively.. Scratching for mites with her hind leg, 'til I drop a peanut on the Terrace! heh
In fact, I think you can even hear Suzanne say something in the audio, like: "Just PUT the peanut on the Deck!".. Yes, darling.



The 2nd squirrel is an aggressive male, that I've named: "Blackie".. See how "creative" I am? See, he's a BLACK squirrel.. So, I thought to myself: "Say,-- Blackie would be the PERFECT-est name ever!!" *groan*..
Blackie is a real piggie-for-peanuts. Sometimes he'll see me from WAY across the backyard. Sprint over and snatch the peanut right out my hand.. And without breaking stride, sprint back out across the lawn, looking for a good place to stash it.. Almost like he's running a Relay Race, or something..
He's on you, as soon as you step out on the Deck. And I'll admit I've been concerned I'll lose a finger, on occasion. He also has been known to impatiently "tap" on the sliding doors with his little nails, when he sees me working inside at my Drawing Table..
It's amusing to take a short break to feed him. But like I say,-- he's a little piggie. So, sometimes you just have to draw the blinds and alert him to the fact: the Peanut Ristorante is now CLOSED, 'til further notice!

He seems a bit more skittish in the following video.. But I think that's only due to the fact that he was trying to figger out what Suzanne was up to..



Anyways, that's all I got to show for now..
My new favorite thing, is to feed shelled nuts to the many Blue Jays in the area. They love the unshelled peanuts, too. But it's a constant race between the Jays and the Squirrels, as to who will get to them first? I'll see if I can't get some Footage of that stuff, later..

See ya!

The DOLLMAN!

Heya!

A long time between Posts, I know. Been busy trying to track down some solid employment..
To keep my skills sharp, I jumped onto this month's JAM Thread in the 'Superheroes' section of 'The Drawing Board'.. This month's Theme is: "Weird Science".. In other words, any character that is featured as a Scientist. Or, the creation of a Scientist..

Well, being a HUGE fan of Golden-Age characters.. Particularly, anything that was done by Reed Crandall or Lou Fine.. I chose to add an illo of "The DOLLMAN" superhero; who happened to be both a Scientist, as well as his own creation!
Part of me thinks (also), that perhaps my choice may have been influenced by my fiancée's current obsession with Barbie Dolls? If you haven't checked it out, yet.. She started a new Blog that's JUST about that subject. Click HERE to give it a look-see!

Yup.. It was in 1939, that scientist Darrel Dane (working in the Lab of his mentor: Professor Roberts) developed a serum that was designed to shrink a man down to the size of Doll.. But rather than go thru a series of ultra-boring "testing",-- he decides instead to play the role of Guinea Pig, himself.
The serum works.. And he immediately shrinks down to approximately 6 inches in size! But his mind can't cope with the rapid change. And initially, he goes a little insane.. nearly killing his colleague/mentor: Professor Roberts..
Fortunately, he soon masters the ability to change size.. And can eventually do so, at will. But rather than gaining wealth & power as a criminal mastermind.. He decides that these amazing skills must be exploited, for the wider Good of the World. And commits himself to devote his newfound powers to "crusade against all Crime & Evil!" *yawn*
Just kidding..

On the upside for him, apparently his girlfriend Martha (the Professor Roberts' daughter, natch) has no real problem with the fact that he's now hung like a gerbil!! ha ha
Pretty understanding of her, don'tcha think?! *wink*

See y'all later!

Police and Thieves!

Okay, here's a couple of 'Noir'-esque doodle pages..
I do these when I'm bored. Or sometimes, when I'm trying to get out of a drawing funk. A bit of both, in this case..
Essentially what I do, is drag out a bunch of my favorite Golden-Age CRIME comics.. And start drawing the Faces & Figures that strike me as the most interesting/intriguing. Sometimes, I'll do a straight facsimile. But more often than not, I'll attempt to "push the pose" by distorting the proportions. Or even, change Heads & Costumes from one character to another..
It's fun exercise & a great way to build an understanding of another artist's process!

As usual, most of the Ne'er-Do-Wells on these sheets, were inspired by looking at a lot of early Will Eisner & Jack Cole artwork.. It's a mix of Cops & Robbers. But as you may have noticed,-- it's mainly the Gangsters that got the full "inked" treatment. I suppose I just find the Bad Guys more fun to finish.. Humble apologies, to John Law!

Most of the Gunsels on this 2nd Page, look like they're from an early installment of Eisner's 'The SPIRIT'.. Probably from the Jack Cole period of that comic-strip series. I can't get enough of his slick cartoony artwork. Fun poses, always. But also, always beautifully drawn!

I'm not entirely sure where I pulled the crazy walleyed Lummox on the Bottom Right from? He definitely looks like trouble with a capital "T", though!

Hope you likey.. Talk to y'all laterz!