Daily Sketch #37

False Starts

I had a number of false starts on today's sketch this morning. I think this is the third or fourth one attempt of the morning. Some days you just have more trouble getting the hand and the brain to connect I think. So here's another quick look at David's partner Steve from "Dead Inspector".

Oh and if you get a chance check out my buddy Andy's blog - www.pickabattle.com. Pretty entertaining stuff!

Daily Sketch #36

Superman Again

I finished reading the All Star Superman Hardcover the other day by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. I'd read most of the issues in single pamphlet format before but it was great to re-read them in one sitting. Not only do the stories have a great timeless quality and fabulous characterization, but Quitely's artwork is some of the best of his career. His Superman has an awesome Greek god quality and his Clark Kent is oafish and timid, but they still are obviously the same person to the reader. A really skilled bit of visual characterization.

Daily Sketch #35

Happy Memorial Day

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend and enjoyed the long weekend. We ran a bunch of errands but also spent some quality time at the neighborhood pool. Last night we watched "Flags of Our Fathers" in rememberance of the veterans that the day off is in honor of. Very well done movie, the story telling technique Eastwood utilizes is a bit confusing, but the story is fascinating.

Daily Sketch #34

My Favorite Superhero...

Is Superman.

He's the original, the first, and I've always enjoyed that being the most powerful guy is not what makes him super. It's the man raised in Kansas by Johnathon and Martha Kent. Never really been able to draw him in a way I find satisfying though. This one is no exception.

On another note, we watched the season finale of Lost last night. And I gotta say I thought it kicked ass. I found it pretty interesting because during the season I was WAY more excited about Heroes and kind of luckwarm about Lost, but when it came to the season finale's Lost gave us a much more satisfying ending. And Charlie is awesome. That is all.

Daily Sketch #33

Iggy Chillin'

I've been trying to come up with a decent concept for this week's Engine Remake/Remodel which is an obscure Captain Marvel character. But the original is just SO off the wall I can't think of anything decent. So instead, you get Iggy. Relaxin', probably in an alley somewhere.

On another note, I HIGHLY recommend "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang. I finally got around to reading it (after having it on my stack for about 8 months) and it is suberb. Really great stuff.

Daily Sketch #32

Cheat Day

I had to take care of another kitty uh-oh this morning which pretty much killed my time to do a morning sketch, so I'm going to cheat a little today. Today you get a detail sneak peek of the first promo art piece for Dead Inspector.

We're starting to scan in and clean up the original art to prep it for lettering and coloring and it's pretty cool to see how much material we have already.

Daily Sketch #31

Back to Dead Inspector

Jumping back to a "DI" sketch today. It's David's younger brother Bill. Bill's a writer in the series so I thought I'd try to capture a bit of that in this sketch.

Heroes Chapter 1 wrapped up last night. It was good, but the problem was that the rest of the first season was AWESOME. So in some ways it felt anti-climactic and a little disappointing. I'm wondering if they could have made a final episode that would have lived up to my anticipation. Just in case I didn't delete it from Tivo after watching it. Might have to go back and rewatch it for a second impression. For anyone that hasn't watched it though, I highly recommend renting it when it comes out on DVD.

Daily Sketch #30

Chef Duff

I'm a big Food Network geek. I watch way too many cooking shows and Iron Chef America. This season I also started tivoing "Ace of Cakes" because I noticed that it was based out of Baltimore. I don't know why, but I get a big kick out of seeing all of the local landmarks and places I recognize on the show. Plus Chef Duff Goldman and his staff seem like really cool, fun people. So today's sketch is a quick doodle of Duff done while I was watching last week's new episode.
And as a bonus, a little sketch of my cat Ender. Poor guy had a long weekend, his paw got infected due to an allergic reaction to the killer pollen in Baltimore this spring. The vet over at Northwest Animal Hospital took awesome care of him on Friday though and he's on the mend. But this morning he decided his breakfast didn't agree with him and ejected it all over the carpet in my living room... right in front of the couch. I suppose I should be happy it wasn't ON the couch...

Good Monday morning to all...

Daily Sketch #29

Madame Mirage Duex

Another quick sketch of Madame Mirage, Paul Dini's new character through Top Cow that's been building some very solid buzz online and in stores.

Congrats to my little bro Tim who's graduating from Loyola College tomorrow. I can't believe it's already been 4 years! Way to go Tim!

Daily Sketch #28

Watchin' TV and a Bonus

I asked Danielle what I should sketch for the blog last night and she joked "Draw me". So despite her protests, I worked a quick one up of her watching TV. The cat came and sat down about halfway through ready for his close up, but I didn't include him. He was not pleased.

And as a bonus, here's a panel in progress from "Dead Inspector". Or it's another bit of insight into my morning ritual with the coffee cup. The one with Chuck Norris on it. Don't be jealous.

Daily Sketch #27

KHAN!

So, feeling a little cranky this morning and decided to recreate this famous scene from Star Trek II starring me. It's my own fault really, it all started with me deciding to quick chill a can of soda in the freezer yesterday afternoon... and then forgetting about it. Yup, I'm a genius!

Daily Sketch #26

Remake/Remodel: Carnacki The Ghost-Finder

Another Engine remake/remodel project, this one a fun 1900s Ghost Investigator. Check out the link for more info on the original and then let me know what you think of my take. Kind of fun I think.

"An occult investigator using the cutting edge of Edwardian technology to exorcise London homes"

Daily Sketch #25

Wow... 25!

25 daily sketches. I gotta admit I'm pretty proud of that! They're not all fantastic, but I'm really enjoying doing them and I think the act of doing a daily sketch is more important for me than how they actually come out. Not even sure if anyone is looking at these and again I'm not sure it matters. For those of you looking - thanks!

Oh, and David from "DI" has a gun. And he thinks you look kind of shifty.

Daily Sketch #24

Iggy Wins

Dead Inspector writer, JC Vaughn and I had a great meeting last night over a couple of beers to strategize our plans for launching DI. I came out of the meeting pretty excited about this little project we're cooking up. We fleshed out some more story concepts, planned out our time table in more detail, and determined that our "mystery character" will take the Iggy Pop look rather than the Big Lebowski look I was playing with. Before JC arrived I was sketching out another Big Lebowski head sketch, but it seemed wrong to put it up by itself now that I know that the look won't be used. So I did a quick Iggy head sketch this morning as well. Two daily sketches for the price of one today - Iggy wins.

Daily Sketch #23

Remake/Remodel: Buck Rogers



Over at the Engine, this week's Remake/Remodel is Buck Rogers. I thought I'd take the classic sci-fi futuristic hero and put a current spin on him. Buck Rogers wakes up in a world where global warming has gone unchecked and the world is largely covered in water as glaciers at the poles have melted at increasingly alarming rates. Humankind has finally switched from fossil fuels and Buck's soldier uniform is powered by solar and hydro power and gives off no polluting gases. The intense sun requires him to remain completely covered from head to toe and special goggles are required to go out during the day. A breathing unit protects him from the toxic air. Fun!

Daily Sketch #22

Take Two

Here's another concept for my "mystery guy" from Dead Inspector. More Dude from Big Lebowski than Iggy Pop.

Daily Sketch #21

Supergirl Redesign

Jumping on board with another one of Warren Ellis' Engine "Remake/Remodel" threads, here's my take on Supergirl. I decided to go with dark hair to match up a bit more visually with her cousin Kal-El pulled back in a ponytail so her hair stays out of her face when she's flying. The rest of the costume is a bit pilot inspired with a little bit of teen fashion thrown in. Pilot-esque boots and most of the body covered up seemed to make sense for the flying bit. Instead of a cape, a red "hoodie" and instead of a skirt I figured a teenage girl would probably prefer some stylish jeans.

Back to work after taking Friday off for a wedding (congrats, Lee & Christy!) and playing my first golf game. Had a ton of fun... might have to do it again!

Daily Sketch #20

Paul Dini's Madame Mirage

Today's sketch is one I did while I was manning the booth in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Madame Mirage is a new property we're launching at Top Cow (First Look is in stores on May 9th for only 99 cents) by Paul Dini and Kenneth Rocafort. This series is gonna be great and the character is visually fun so I thought I'd drawing her a try.

Daily Sketch #19

Not the first and certainly not the last...

Here's a glimpse at the case that David in Dead Inspector is investigating. This poor girl is not the first victim and unfortunately she won't be the last.

I'm really pretty pleased with how this sketch came out.

Daily Sketch #18

Back from the Pitt!

... or more accurately Monroeville, PA.

Howdy, all! Sorry about the break in coverage of daily sketches. I left Thursday morning for the Pittsburgh Comicon and got back late Sunday. It was a really fun show and Michael & Renee take incredible care of their guests at the show plus raise a ton of money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The funny thing is that I actually completed sketches for Thursday and Friday, but forgot to scan them in before I left. D'oh!

Here's the first one - a quick head sketch of Captain America.