a week off

Hello all, Bill and I are taking this week off.

So until next week, enjoy this great Grimlock from Joel Carroll!



GAH! So awesome. When I told Joel what we were doing here, he jumped on the chance to draw Grimlock. I love it. Thanks, Dude.

You can find Joel on twitter, tumblr and deviantart as well.

Gatchaman - Jun the Swan

It's not hard to guess which character I like the best from BOTP.



Not hard at all.

Battle of the Helmets

Okay this challenge will delve deep into my childhood and pull out two of my most favorite things: Battle of the Planets and helmets.

Long before the lame Mighty Morphing Power Rangers and even before the well liked Voltron there was Battle of the Planets. G-Force was the original 5 person team with all the familiar archetypes : Leader Guy, Jerk Guy, Fat Guy, Hot Chick and Little Kid. I was really young when the show was on, but loved every minute of it. The best part was the fact they they dressed as bird people with... you guessed it Helmets!!!

I loved loved helmets as a kid. They were the ultimate accessory for any character to go from being okay to truly awesome. I'm fairly certain my love of helmets stems from G-Force. I wanted so bad to have a bird shaped visor. The closest I came was a C.H.I.P.S. motorcycle helmet.

The other problem with BotP was they didn't have any toys when I was young. My stand ins were a couple of Tonka Play People who were motorcycle guys. The other issue is that their helmets didn't come off. This was true of most toys at the time. It wasn't until GI Joe came along that toys finally got removable helmets.

So your probably asking yourself about now, if they didn't have toys for them when you were a kid, what is this weeks challenge going to be? Or you might just be saying to yourself, "Get to the point man!"

As I said the show was on when I was really young and as I grew up few people I encountered in Grade School or High School had ever heard of the show. Then the 90's came along and I went to art school and met tons of my fellow nerds. One such friend told me to look up Gatchaman on the new fangled world wide webs. Boom, all the memories came flooding back, plus I learned a great deal more about the show and it's popularity in it's home, Japan.

Then a mutual friend of both myself and Kir mentioned he was going to Japan for vacation and would we like him to pick anything up. Hells yeah! I told him anything Gatchaman that he could find. I had no idea what was available, but he certainly came through.

With Bird Boomerang

So Heroic

After years of pinning I finally had a Ken action figure. The little child in me beamed in happiness. Sadly the figures helmet doesn't come off, which I learned the hard way. He has a weird square shaped half head underneath. Other toy companies later came out with Battle of the Planets figures in the early 2000s, but the thrill of the hunt was over for me so I never purchased any of them.

So for this weeks challenge I'll expand it to include any of the characters because I know Kir's got a real soft spot for Keyop and 7 Zark 7.

Excuses excuses

Honest... I ran out of gas! I--I had a flat tire! I didn't have enough money for cab fare! My tux didn't come back from the cleaners! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR!!!
- Jake Blues

Okay so my excuses are quite as made up as the ones above but still ring a bit hollow. I have yet to finish this weeks challenge due to things like computer issues, financial issues and general work ethic issues. You don't want to hear about all that. You want art and toys! My Evil Lyn is in progress (I'm currently trying to learn Corell Painter after being a photoshop man for many years) but I thought I post some sketches to keep thing rolling.

Balcony Spellcasting

Screen capture from the latest episode of MOTU Houses. I need to get an offical transcript to be sure this is correct.
"This is the rear balcony. It has a lovely view of Snake Mountain, doesn't it? I come back here to relax and devise new spells. No, I don't allow HIM and his idiots here. Shall I show you what I'm working on?"

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This was a great challenge. I refined the pose over five or so sketches, created the setting and worked through numerous thumbnails. I spent several hours drawing and inking on Tuesday and I colored it last night. It's been a long time since I enjoyed this illustration process.

This blog itself has been a great motivator for me to keep drawing and bring quality work every week. I've been more productive in general lately, so thanks go to Bill for the idea and the invite to participate.

Evil Lyn

A conniving tart, Evil Lyn is a sorceress and the most competent member of Skeletor's crew as well as an inspiration for Bad Girls everywhere.

A stunning update from 2010:

Photo: mwctoys.com

I always liked her character but the original figure from 1983 left a lot to be desired. Her jaundiced skin, collared leotard, belt, boots and helmet were interesting and made as much sense as the rest of the MOTU line, but I never liked the clunky figure.


Photo: offmybirdchest.blogspot.com

Yeah, not quite there.

Mattel thankfully rebooted the series in 2002 with a new cartoon and figures, designed by Four Horsemen The boys at 4HM redesigned her beautifully, adding a new sophisticated aura and style. This is gold.


Photo: toysheik.net

A different color scheme. (don't know if it's shopped or a real variant)

Photo: toynewsi.com

I love this version and considered it my favorite until Mattel released the Classics line in 2010, with 4HM reworking the original costumes. Here's another shot from a different angle:


Photo: poeghostal.com

It might be nostalgia or just the simplicity of it compared to the 2002 figure, but this one captures the essence of her snarky character perfectly. I'm such a sucker.

The Challenge
For Me: Make a complete illustration, well composed with a background.
For Bill: Well, he says girls aren't his strong point. So this will address that.

A Different Direction and a Thank You

Okay so wow, Kir took this challenge and knocked one out of the park. I went in a very different direction focusing on a more cartoony style. I also went old school and pulled out the gouache paints. It's pretty rare that I paint these days and it always feels good to stretch the old skills. The only problem being there is no undo button.

On a separate not, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have stopped by and commented, added us to blog rolls or began following our blog. We are glad you are enjoying what we are attempting here and hopefully we will continue to bring a little fun into your day. I also want to thank my cohort for joining me on this endeavor.