Powerguy and the Slope Intercept Form

This piece is a chilling diatribe on the struggle of good against evil, rendered in four-part harmony with subtitles for the hearing impaired. If you carefully examine Powerguy's face, you will see all of the emotions of humanity, etched in his features and fed into the power of his attack. The elongated body shape translates the desperation and passion into line art in two-dimensions: X and Y. You can find Y rather easily if you have X, the slope (M) and the Y intercept (B) with the equation Y = MX + B. This simple slope-intercept form describes a line and art is made of lines.

Superheroes

These are some characters that I draw somewhat frequently. I waited awhile to post them because I was afraid that if I started right off with this cast of characters, the sheer awesomeness would drive readers away. As it is, by posting a chunk of the cast of characters at the top of this post I violated Awesomeness limits in three states.

Multi is a sort of tortured soul. Her super power is ghost-like facets of her personality that assist her. She's mostly bad but not necessarily because she intends to be. She had a rough childhood and you should give her a break.

Powerguy is the superhero's superhero (like a man's man but on a mutant level). He basically trained Superman, Spiderman and a lot of others. Powerguy is the good guy. He mostly keeps a low profile, usually appearing only now and then in the margins of notebooks and meeting agendas to fight Darkscary. Which brings us to the third character.

If you don't largely understand Darkscary by the picture and his name you should probably take an IQ test and maybe don't reproduce. He's dark. He's scary and he wears a powerful robotic suit. He's the bad guy.

Lobotomy is neither good or evil. He's really clueless and really lucky. He's a sort of wildcard. You could be fighting a dude and right as he tosses you in front of a freight train the train derails, missing you by a fraction. Or maybe the train hits you but a fragment of your exploding body embeds itself in your enemy's skull and he dies too. It's a tough call. So, nobody really wants him on their side but they don't really want the enemy to have him either. This character was not my idea, I credit a mysterious force called the "Jackotron".

The last guy is the mandatory genius professor. This bores me. Darkscary might kill him and ressurect him as an evil robot. That would be more interesting. And I could draw more robots. I like to draw robots.

Realism Causes Confusion

It's Friday-Four-for-One day! The theme of today is super-heroes. It's a well known fact that the comic industry is really flagging lately. There hasn't been a new comic-based movie for at least a week and now all people are thinking about is Megan Fox Transformers and GI Joe. As such, most of the top comic publishing companies have been hounding yours-truly for days*.

Basically, they want a more playful superhero that can still convey the deep emotionality that is present in the modern comic. Artists such as Brian Ching** are stuck in a rut of realistic artwork and have really taken the "comic" out of comics. Many readers are confused about the line between reality and comics. When Spiderman came out there were four men in their twenties that died after leaping off of a tall structure, only to realize that the radioactive spider that bit them did not, in fact, bestow any web-slinging abilities. One female was injured when an upside-down kiss went awry.

It gets worse. Immediately upon the release of Wolverine, James Heller, 35, of IA was rushed to the hospital to have steak knives removed from between his knuckles, doing serious damage to his right hand.

To help people understand the difference between comics and reality, top publishers are moving to a much looser, cartoony style to counter the ultra-realism of the big screen. A spokesperson from a major publisher (who asked not to be identified) told me:

"Basically, most of our artists are stuck in realism and it's confusing our customer base. We feel like if superheroes had Popeye forearms and giant anime feet, people would be less confused. You never see Japanese people actually trying to build robot suits or fighting with swords. This is because people realize that the figures in anime, with their ridiculously giant eyes and weird-shaped heads, are figments of imagination. This is where we're failing."

With this in mind, I have been working to train top artists in the industry to be more loose in their style and purposefully exaggerate more areas than simply muscles, hips and boobs. This collection is not for sale as part of the terms of my agreement with top publishers.

Piece Details
Media: Black Bic on Mead notebook paper
Size (rough): Various
Price: Under contract

* Comic publishers, please don't take this serious and file a lawsuit.
** Brian Ching is actually my favorite artist. If I ever meet him I will eat his brains and take his knowledge.

Our Smoking Gun

Some people think that drawing robots represents a love for science fiction, technology or some other obvious physical representation. In some cases, this might be true. In my work, a humanoid robot is a blank metaphor for humankind as an individual.

This robot is incapable of a handshake, holding hands or offering comfort. Where it should have hands it has guns. And they are smoking. I am guilty, you are guilty, we are guilty. Are you guilty enough to pay $275.99 for this masterpiece? If not, global warming, starvation and genocide are probably your fault.

Piece Details
Media: Black Bic on Mead notebook paper
Size (rough): 2.54 x 4.6 inches
Price: $275.99

Echoes of Pollock

I decided to experiment abstract art again recently and this is the result. I've been fascinated with abstraction since I first egged a house at the age of 12. The peeling paint over aluminum siding, splattered with fragments of yolk and shell really stirred something inside me. I think that was the point where I determined to become an artist.

Anyway, I created this piece by mixing my own blood with ink. I then blindfolded myself, dipped the toes of a live turkey into the mixture and scribbled blindly in my sketchbook. Rorogwela, playing in the background, helped set the mood for the work.

If you look closely at the final piece, it almost resembles a robot on a jet. I attribute this to elements of my subconscious, presenting themselves through the freedom of the abstract. Due to biohazard concerns, this piece is not available for sale.

Piece Details
Media: Black Pilot Precise V5 ink with blood on Mead Legal Docket paper
Size (rough): 1.59 x 1.12 inches
Price: It would be like selling one of my children.

Futureville

The science fiction of a half-century ago promised flying cars, pristine, space-age buildings with beautiful fountains and gardens under gracefully-googie glass domes. Instead, we were given global-warming (or not, apparently whether or not the Earth is heating is purely political), the Hummer H3 and the same ol' space shuttle that first flew in 1977. Innovation moved from physical to digital and the cars of today are not far removed from the cars of 1920.

I still dream of utopian domes. This impressive work of art brings those dreams to life. Smell the variety of flora growing in those arching domes, taste the sweet honey of the Manuka tree or just sit by the fountain on cool tiled marble and listen to the falling water of the crystal fountain and the hum of hovering saucers overhead. All of this on a small piece of legal paper, attractively priced at $499.98!

Piece Details
Media: Black Pilot Precise V5 on Mead Legal Docket paper
Size (rough): 3.4 x 2.4 inches
Price: $499.98

Xenocidal

The extermination of alien species is a big concern for me these days. I have heard a lot about illegal aliens in the news and I am very passionate about this subject. How can they make being an alien illegal!? They cannot help the fact that they were not born human.

I did this piece to build awareness of humankind's tendency to be xenophobic and violent. If you like this piece, I urge you as an academic and enlightened individual to write a letter to your congressperson today, protesting making aliens illegal. We should embrace interstellar travelers...not attack them!

Piece Details
Media: Black Bic on Mead notebook paper
Size (rough): 3.3 x 3.6 inches
Price: How could I put a price on a cause?

Bunny With Chainsaw

This is one of my recent works that I have titled "Bunny With Chainsaw." This piece utilizes a macabre juxtaposition to communicate the danger of taking things at face value. For instance, a lot of people don't know that the whimsically-cute Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is actually homicidal when exposed to gasses released by the combustion of chainsaw fuel. So, in one fell swoop I have exposed both the literal and metaphorical faces of American fauna. It's art, it's education and it's yours for only $259.99.

Piece Details
Media: Pilot Precise V5 black on Cheap copier paper
Size (rough): 3.2 x 2.3 inches
Price: $259.99 framed

Grizzled Grandpa

One last piece for today, to make up for my long weekend.

This is a very recent piece that I did to help Todd McFarlane gain a better understanding of the more subtle uses of pen and ink. The graceful chiaroscuro emphasizes the use of 3D in a 2D space and shows the emotional power of the chosen medium. I'm particularly proud of the masterful ink work in the beard: you can almost smell the crumbs of the salami sandwich this gentleman had for lunch.

Many thoughtful critics have pointed out another, eerie quality to this piece: the head is simply floating on the paper. By leaving out the neck and body, I have emphasized the isolation of this gentleman. It really represents the detachment, or feeling of being cut loose, that this man has experienced as he has aged. Well done to the informed souls that noticed that!

Piece Details
Media: Pilot Precise V5 black on Tops Docket legal paper
Size (rough): 1.2 x 1.5 inches
Price: $150 framed

A15 Gauss Study

So, I decided to do a couple of posts today because I know that I won't be able to post tomorrow or the next day.

This is a rough study of a model A15 humanoid attack robot, equipped with high-velocity gauss rings. The messy lines and quick style really capture the action of the moment. The discharge aura has a particular quality to it that I haven't seen another artist capture in quite this manner. I would also like to call the viewer's attention to the larger cybernetic eye. The savvy aficionado will recognize this as an aftermarket modification, which I was able to represent with a single circular stroke.

This study had to be conducted with quick, sure lines as the A15 series are known for shoddy targeting systems and their guass rings can be dangerous.

Piece Details
Media: Pilot Precise V5 black on Tops Docket Legal paper
Size (rough): 2.2 x 1.9 inches
Price: Not For Sale

Welcome to the Doodlesphere!

I started life as an artist. As soon as I could reasonably maneuver a pencil I was drawing. I went to school for graphic design and realized that I'm not actually a good artist (though I'm a decent designer when I put my mind to it). Some people can do amazing, lifelike work. Other people invent new styles that spawn an entire genre of art. That is not me.

Somehow, though I started out in design, I journeyed through programming and ended up in marketing. I still do programming on the side, I build websites on a freelance basis and program indie games for the xbox360. And, inevitably, I cover any piece of paper I'm working on with doodles.

At some point, a coworker told me I should start a blog of all the doodles I do. So, I lazily started cutting them out and storing them. Another coworker offered to scan them if I promised I'd post them on a blog.

I agreed, and will attempt to post new doodles frequently. My subject matter has been too repetitive lately: I draw way too many robots and am always looking for new material. So PLEASE SEND REQUESTS! The weirder the requests are, the more likely I'll doodle one at the next opportunity. Requests like "I want you to draw a bunny" probably will not get answered. Requests like "I want you to draw a bunny riding a robot that's fighting 3 ninjas" will probably be responded to with enthusiasm.

Piece Details
Media: Pilot Precise V5 black on cheap copier paper
Size (rough): 0.4 x 0.9 inches
Price: Not For Sale