Gilderoy Lockhart and the Basilisk

More Harry Potter sketches...

Mad Eye Moody

MAD EYE is the next installment in my series of Harry Potter sketches.  The challenge with sketching these guys is trying to capture their essence and not trying to caricature the actors. Often difficult since the actors bring so much of the character to life. My interpretation of Mad Eye is that of a bad ass wizard who hasn't had the luxury of pondering life philosophically. Mad eye doesn't prefer a wand like his peers. He follows in the footsteps of his wizarding predecessors of Tolkien's Middle Earth, Saruman, Gandalf and the other wizards who all carry staves. 

Mad Eye Moody from the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter

My attempt at Harry Potter.  For me the Harry Potter marathon begins with the Philosopher's Stone. Hence my younger version of Harry while watching the films. Since the films were usually released during Christmas time, I've carried on my own viewing tradition of watching the movies chronologically back-to-back. Occasionally a sketch  pops up, just like this one. It's so easy to be inspired by the series since its so rich with character development. On to the next one...

Young Harry and Hedwig

Dragoon Daily Sketch

Shazam

The only adversary capable of going toe-to-toe with Shazam (aka Captain Marvel) is Superman.  He is matched in strength, speed, and ability. Alex Ross deals with the dueling heroes in his two awesome graphic novel series, Kingdom Come and Injustice.  Of course we have our fan favourites. And a duel of this magnitude can go on for a long, long time.

Muscle Head

Back from HOLIDAYS and the work has PILED UP. Sun, sand, and seashores has come to a grinding hault-although my head is still trying to catch up to my current location-HOME.

On my travels I brought a moleskine sketchbook with me with the idea of being as portable as possible. That and my portable paint set, I set off to capture as much as I could. I soon realized that porability was too confining and looked forward to my regular tools.

Instead I took loads of pictures (which I will post on my pinterest site) and rediscovered the Canadian Maritime's seashore. I fell in love with a moment that I wish I could live out for as long as possible while staring out into the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. I pondered life through a Hemingway novel as the Old Man and The Sea. The potential to live our lives as simply as we want it to be without the trivialities and diatribes of everyday life that consumes most of our time.  Suddenly my lovely thoughts are replaced by the voice of Mr. Waturi, from Joe Versus the Volcano, saying, "NOBODY FEELS GOOD.  AFTER CHILDHOOD IT'S A FACT. I FEEL ROTTEN. SO WHAT! I DON'T LET IT AFFECT MY DAY.

So apart from philosophical repartee, today's daily sketch is MUSCLE HEAD.

Orinoco Crocodile

Reptilious Amazonius Daily Sketch

Daredevil

Daredevil Daily Sketch

Modok

Modok Daily Sketch

Sketch in June

Red pencil and digital render

Superhero Month: CAPTAIN AMERICA

Wouldn't it be interesting to do a mini series related to Heros and Parenting. Hmmm?  What a novel idea.  Hello Marvel can you hear me? 

While parents among us are everyday heros juggling several responsibilities and taking on several roles, not much has been done with our superhero counter parts.  Imagine Captain America coming home after a hard day's work with the Avengers only to take on the demanding role of parenthood: preparing breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, monitoring homework, facilitating sibling rivalry, sleep deprivation, picking up barfy messes, poop disasters, laundry and household maintenance, and doing it all with great enthusiasm and smiles day after day after day. My hats off to you Captain, and to all the countless parents who pull this stuff off with ease.      

Superhero Month: THOR

Thor  rockin' out

Introducing BITTERMOOR

Several months ago I announced to friends and colleagues the new project I was working on. A long-format strip (influenced by the format used by George Herriman to do Krazy Kat  and Winsor McKay's Little Nemo In Slumberland) that I was planning on releasing every month. Crazy I know, but worth a shot.

The strip originally was to be called, Lady Gertrude, which I later renamed it BITTERMOOR, the name of the city where the story takes place.  I haven't worked out all the details and the main character is still called Lady Gertrude.  There are also a host of characters that I've been working on and who will make their appearance as the story progresses.

Sorry for the delay, guys. The pressures of working around my family is my greatest challenge and my greatest joy. It often becomes a balancing act between a social life, late nights, and quality time all around. I'm often amazed at how proficient I've become managing my work deadlines, making time for side projects, and spending time with my family. And as my wife has often heard me curse countless times, of my dislike for multitasking I'm amazed at how often I find myself doing just that.

I'm very excited about this project.  I'm still fleshing out Gertrude in more detail but she will evolve naturally over time.  I've posted the first issue (with more to follow) and some character sketches of Gertrude's evolution and design development.  Working out the design process of which methods to follow, programs to use, and overall design and layout decisions has been a constant challenge and, I'm certain it will continue to prove challenging in the months to follow. Overall I'm very excited to be working on this project and it will be awesome to look back at its progression from time-to-time.

Check in often...

I originally was too over zealous at inking the font by hand until that proved futile. 

The text and colour were both done digitally using several different software programs. This process has caused me to adapt different ways of doing things as I continue to evolve my learning curve.

 First sketches of Gertrude, I used sticky notes to work out her design features.  

Her body continues to evolve as you can see from these sketches.

During life drawing classes, I sketched Gertrude often to the model's poses.  

The results are amazing and very helpful at figuring out what works 

and doesn't work from a design POV.  

SUPERHERO MONTH

March is SUPERHERO month at the household as my kids and I gather our favourite heros and villains and draw their awesomeness. It is an opportunity for me, especially me, and the kids to jump into my collection of comics and graphic novels and lose ourselves in the fun of drawing and talking about this genre. 

This isn't part of daily sketch, although technically it is, because some drawings I labour on a lot more than others. I'm posting a few samples of my work with more to come down the line. I will endeavour to draw and share as much as I can with you so for now enjoy, mate.

Self-generated character but fits into the comic theme.

Luke Cage with his super arm.

LIGHT IN THE DARK

DRAGON SKETCH

LOVE & MARRIAGE IN THE TIME OF DIGITAL

A rather sardonic outlook for a prelude to Valentine's Day. Sorry guys. 

Got a little ahead of myself. OOPs. 

DUFFLE MAN

Liked the idea of a suspicious character type that does jobs for a fee. It all seems to fit inside his duffle bag. Very little is known about him except for a calling card he leaves with you. The sketch below is the original pen drawing. I rendered in colour digitally.

Deep Sea Anglers

Some deep sea angler designs. Experimented with some layered watercolour washes.

And More Fish Sketches

More River Monster Sketches

River Monster Sketches

More River Monster Sketches

River Monsters

Happy New Year everyone. I began my new year with a fresh sketchbook and a new outlook (to draw my little heart out). I got into watching Animal Planet's River Monsters with the host Jeremy Wade. Its a really awesome show and it has inspired me to pull out my sketchbook and draw fish, fish, and more fish. I've taken liberties with my creations that would make Dr. Frankenstein drool. Stay tuned for several posts of crazy fish designs. You will find that they are indeed river monsters worthy of the show. Enjoy.

Caricature of Jeremy Wade catching a river monster.