Oh Snap! The Friggin Amazing J.Ho Sketchblog...

The end of an era, and the birth of a new one...

2012-01-01T03:02:00.000-08:00

...

SYSTEM ONLINE...

SCANNING BOOTLEGSKETCH.BLOGSPOT.COM... BLOG IS OBSOLETE. TO BE PLACED IN STASIS LOCK IMMEDIATELY...

SCANNING FOR UPGRADES...

... UPGRADE AVAILABLE:

click anywhere in this post to visit JASONBOT.COM

Please redirect your browsers to JASONBOT.COM and correct your bookmarks and readers as necessary! Thank you for visiting, and see you in the new digs!

*HIGH FIVE!*

Leftover Commissions! The Bat and the Breaker... and the repeats.

2011-12-29T20:33:00.000-08:00

(Oh hey, I was supposed to start posting twice a week, wasn't I? My holiday schedule has been a little crazy. To make it up to you, I'm posting a little extra today. ALSO, make sure you tune in on New Year's day for another post and an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.)

So, here's the part of the Help The Cheerleader commissions that I haven't really talked about yet... in addition to the 108 commissions that I completed and delivered, a lot of people who requested commissions never answered my follow-up emails. Which is no big deal. But as it turns out, I still drew a lot of those commissions while I was waiting to hear back from people. In fact I finished like 30 of them.

._.

The lesson here, kids, is never work on the project until you've heard back from the client/donor! Anyways, no harm no foul. I'll be posting the leftover commissions over the next several weeks (possibly months), and at some point I will probably be selling them off. Stay tuned for details! For now:

click above for larger view

From left to right:

ALSO… did I mention that within the leftover commissions, there were a few repeats?

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Batman
Batman
Batman
Batman

The Batman sketch that was paired with Bane was the last of the 5 Batmans in this post. The 4 Batman sketches directly above are shown in the order that I drew them, from left to right. The general way I drew Batman (and in fact, all of the commissions), is patterned after a Batman that I drew earlier in the year. Y'KNOW, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THAT SORTA THING.

That's all for now. Please do tune in on New Year's day for another post and the aforementioned IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

More Snow Than Man...

2011-12-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

As per the traditions of my people (my people = procrastinating nerdy illustrators), I'm posting a Christmas blog barely in time for the holiday.

Today's drawing is an homage to the holiday season, the Aurora Borealis, and to Shotaro Ishinomori, the father of the Japanese Superhero. Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the cyborg snowman, SNOWBORG 12-25!

click above for larger view

This was supposed to be quick and simple, but I got really into making it SHINY in the coloring stage. Since I haven't been doing much digital coloring recently, I think maybe this was exactly the right thing to get me to brush the dust off the old tablet.

Happy Holidays to you and yours, dear reader!

How to get ahead in villainy...

2011-12-20T22:10:00.000-08:00

Okay... things are sort of normalizing in my schedule. Kind of. Let's see if I can go back to the old posting-two-times-a-week routine. This week is gonna be a little weird, because I'm posting this on late Tuesday rather than early Tuesday and my post later this week will be Christmas-themed, and you can expect that on Friday or Saturday. But otherwise everything should be back to normal. Sort of. More announcements on that later. Probably.

Anywaaays...

A whiiile back, my buddy Dylan (AKA Super-Munkyboy) had a contest on the He-Man.org fan-art forums--the goal was to create a new "big bad" for He-Man's rogue's gallery, and the prize was to have the newly created villain drawn by Dylan, Jazyl (AKA Two-Bad), and myself.

The contest actually ended in a tie, and I posted the first winner some time ago. Here's my drawing for the second winner, Gbagok, who created an awesome over-the-top villain named Predicus Rex:

click above for larger view

Gbagok is an incredibly talented artist, easily one of the best on the forums, and that's tough competition. I thought it wise to not try to out-Gbagok Gbagok, so my version of his character is a bit simplified, falling in line w/ my usual vintage-style Masters of the Universe dawings, whereas Gbagok tends to go with the more elaborate 200x style.

You can check out the thread here, and see the other prize drawings here.

Slow News Day

2011-12-18T22:50:00.000-08:00

Today's post is a little something I drew up in marker for for my pal Kevin Church--a generous friend, a talented writer, and a peach of fella.

Here's New York's cantankerous J. Jonah Jameson hating on Metropolis's beloved Perry White:

Sorry for the late post; my hi-jinx will be less tardy in the coming week, I swear!

Post Script: Kevin was kind enough to tumblr this drawing, so if tumblring is something you do, please feel free to tumblr this to your heart's content. TUMBLRRRRR.

busybusybusy

2011-12-16T02:25:00.000-08:00

Very Busy. Will post a blog later, probably during the weekend! Sorry for the delay!

But wait, there's more!

2011-12-09T02:10:00.000-08:00

Some gifts and thank-you sketches that I drew after wrapping up the commissions for Help the Cheerleader.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Blah blah blah, more nerdy stuff next time blah blah blah.

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 21: FINAL ROUND!

2011-12-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today I am presenting the twenty-first and final round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE and HERE

Here are the final 5 sketches for the honor system donors:

click above for larger view

From left to right:

This blog is like... 98.73% goofiness, but I want to seriously talk about all this for just a minute.

The Help The Cheerleader fundraiser was a success, and I'm proud to have been able to contribute something. Moreover, I want to thank every person who gave to the cause and/or helped spread the word.

I've never gotten into discussing the details of this case, because while I have done my best to stay informed, I can't profess to be an expert. However, it does not take an expert to understand that sexual violence is prevalent in the world we live in. The statistics will leave you at a loss for words. We live in a culture that often turns a blind eye to these horrific acts, and even worse, will often persecute the victims of these acts, preying on their already compromised sense of stability, safety, and self-worth.

Be informed, be compassionate, and if you are able to (I know it's tough with the economy), please donate time and/or money (within your means) to a charity that you trust and believe in.

As always, thanks for reading!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 20!

2011-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Here's the twentieth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE and HERE

Here are another 5 sketches for the honor system donors:

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Tune in next week for the FINAL round of commissions! Thanks for reading!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 19!

2011-11-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Here's the nineteenth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE and HERE

As you may or may not know--the Cheerleader won one of her appeals and the courts are now recalculating her fees. For the moment, Help The Cheerleader donations are on hold because we don't know what the final amount is going to be--it's entirely possible that after the adjustments, the amount owed will be covered by what has been raised so far.

So, as of a few weeks ago, our goal was likely attained, but several people remained on the commission list. I decided to complete the remaining commissions and simply ask the requesters to donate $20 per sketch to the charitable cause of their choice, strictly on the honor system.

It was important to me to honor all the requests, because without the requests, we never would have generated the attention which brought in donors who gave to the cause even though they couldn't get sketches. The chain of events was fragile, and with any missing component, it's possible that we wouldn't have been able to raise such a huge sum.

Here are another 5 sketches for the honor system donors:

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Tune in next week for more commissions. Thanks for reading!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 18! AND TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS!

2011-11-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today I'm posting another round of commissions for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE. Before I get to the sketches, I have two announcements...

* * *

ANNOUNCEMENT #1:

As you may or may not know--the Cheerleader won one of her appeals and the courts are now recalculating her fees. For the moment, Help The Cheerleader donations are on hold because we don't know what the final amount is going to be--it's entirely possible that after the adjustments, the amount owed will be covered by what has been raised so far.

So, as of a few weeks ago, our goal was likely attained, but several people remained on the commission list. I decided to complete the remaining commissions and simply ask the requesters to donate $20 per sketch to the charitable cause of their choice, strictly on the honor system.

It was important to me to honor all the requests, because without the requests, we never would have generated the attention which brought in donors who gave to the cause even though they couldn't get sketches. The chain of events was fragile, and with any missing component, it's possible that we wouldn't have been able to raise such a huge sum.

Thank you, once again, to every last person who donated (whether or not they were able to get a sketch), and to every person who helped spread the word!

ANNOUNCEMENT #2:

As of earlier this week, ALL COMMISSIONS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND DROPPED IN THE MAIL!

We initially had well over 150 commission requests, but may people never responded to our follow-up emails. By my final count, that's 108 finished commissions. This includes 88 commissions with donations going directly to Help The Cheerleader, and 20 commissions with donations going to the honor system (as outlined in Announcement #1, above).

I still have a couple weeks' worth of commissions to post, so please stay tuned! For now...

* * *

Here are the last 3 sketches paid for by donations to Help The Cheerleader:

click above for larger view

From left to right:

AND… the first 5 sketches for the honor system donors.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Tune in next week for more commissions. Thanks for reading!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 17!

2011-11-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the seventeenth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

UPDATE: Commissions are still closed for now, and the donations on the Help the Cheerleader page are on hold--the Cheerleader won one of her appeals, so the courts are recalculating her fees. As soon as we know what's going on, you'll see an update here as well as on the Help the Cheerleader page. But I'm still at work on the commission requests, and I'll continue posting--stay tuned!

Wolf Down All Your Candy

2011-10-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

Take note, waiters and waitresses: If there are colored pencils left behind at my table because children were amongst the previous occupants of said table, I will draw a werewolf on my placemat:

click above for larger view

Basic line-work was all finished at the restaurant, a few months ago. Further color pencil rendering, computer clean-up/effects/type were done this morning. Because I care that much about you, Dear Reader.

Happy Halloween! I'm gonna watch Troll Hunter and have a Newcastle Werewolf ale tonight.

AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 16!

2011-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the sixteenth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Corny.

2011-10-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

Still working on Help the Cheerleader commissions, naturally, but this week I'm taking a break to post something else...

If I happen to come across an orange and a yellow marker as a pair, my brain immediately sets itself towards the drawing of a candy corn-motiffed woman who is armed with a candy corn chained flail and vaguely Audrey Hepburn-esque style. And here she is:

I drew this several weeks ago, but since October and November is the season of the candy corn, I saved it until now.

Oops!

2011-10-21T01:58:00.000-07:00

Been sick all week, will post a blog tonight (Friday night)!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 15!

2011-10-14T00:41:00.000-07:00

Here's the fifteenth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 14!

2011-10-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the fourteenth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 13!

2011-09-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the thirteenth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 12!

2011-09-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the twelfth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Also, just an FYI for those who are curious--the sketches are NOT drawn to scale--I size them for the blog posts in order to give a sense of character heights. The actual sketches are all close to the same size.

I will continue to post new commissions next week! And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

Biting Wit

2011-09-19T04:50:00.000-07:00

An unscheduled random doodle--something I drew based on a brief Twitter exchange with @The_TCC:

Unless you're a serious Transformers nerd, this will probably not be interesting to you. But in case you're interested, I took a SHARKticon and turned it into a SNARKticon. I know, genius, right?

._.

Nothing to see here, move along...

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 11!

2011-09-16T01:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the eleventh round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 10!

2011-09-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

Here's the tenth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Kind of funny how a lot of duplicate requests crop up close to each other (I'm posting these sketches somewhat in order). Also, just an FYI for those who are curious--the sketches are NOT drawn to scale--I size them for the blog posts in order to give a sense of character heights. The actual sketches are all close to the same size.

I will continue to post new commissions next week! And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 9!

2011-09-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the ninth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

I will continue to post new commissions next week! And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 8!

2011-08-26T01:11:00.000-07:00

Here's the eighth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

I will continue to post new commissions next week! And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 7!

2011-08-19T05:03:00.000-07:00

Here's the seventh round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

I will continue to post new commissions next week! And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 6!

2011-08-13T02:49:00.000-07:00

Here's the sixth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

I will continue to post new commissions next week! And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 5!

2011-08-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the latenesss...

Here's the fifth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Yes, that's the second commission of Colossus that I've posted, which shows that the people requesting commissions aren't just awesome and generous, they also have excellent taste in X-Men!

I will continue to post new commissions next week! And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

Late!

2011-08-05T02:28:00.000-07:00

Big surprise, I'm late! My apologies, dear reader. A post will be up sometime during the weekend, hopefully sooner rather than later!

Lo-Fi Cosplay that I didn't do (Part 2 of 2)

2011-07-29T00:03:00.000-07:00

Very briefly, to summarize Comic-Con (and I apologize if you read my Twitter feed, because this will be repetitive... actually, I just apologize if you read my Twitter feed at all): It was a lot of fun--the most fun I ever had at Comic-Con, and anyone who knows me knows that I am not prone to engage in positive hyperbole when it comes to the beast known more formally as "Comic-Con International."

Exhibitors and attendees alike--everyone at Con seemed like they were mellower and doing a better job managing their biznizz. The weather was far more moderate than the blazing temperatures + wretched humidity that usually accompany Con. And probably, most importantly, I let go of any perceived obligation to "cover" the convention floor. I met and hung out with a lot of cool people, and I even managed to pick up all the nerd loot that was on my radar.

But, back to me drawing nerdy crap:

Continuing from last week's post, today I have yet another concept sketch of a lo-fi cosplay idea (that I have yet to actually execute). It's me as Marvel Comics' Super-Adaptoid! Or possibly the Super-Adaptoid's slacker son, Kid Adaptoid. Yeah, I totally copied the idea of Kid Amazo and made that up just now. Anywaaays:

Basically, this idea arose when I realized that you could totally buy up all the Marvel Comics role-play toys (Captain America's shield, Thor's hammer, etc), and spray paint them in shades of green to make a Super-Adaptoid costume. The mask would be a modified Wolverine mask (cut to resemble Hawkeye's mask) grafted on to a modified Iron Man mask.

I said "mask" too many times in that last sentence.

As I was saying, before I so rudely interrupted myself... The wings would be made from scratch (I'm thinking cardboard), and the rest would be pretty easy to figure out with little or no real costuming abilities. Perfect for my skill level! I hope I can get around to making some version of this costume, even if I just wear it while sitting in front of my computer at home. Yeah, I said it, so that you didn't have to.

Back to commissions for Help The Cheerleader next week!

Post Script: I am well aware the term "lo-fi" refers to audio quality and therefore would seemingly have nothing to do with a sketch or a costume. I hope you will pardon the verbal liberty that I have taken.

Lo-Fi Cosplay that I didn't do (Part 1 of 2)

2011-07-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I was contemplating some lo-fi cosplay for Comic-Con this year, but due to time constraints and, how you say... LAZINESS, I decided against it. However, since the beast Comic-Con is upon us, I figured that drawing up the cosplay concepts from my head would be appropriate. Here's the first one, me as a Green Lantern:

PRETTY NERDY, HUH?

I have truly been enjoying working on the sketch commissions for Help the Cheerleader, but being so entrenched in analog media, I've really been feeling a craving to do some digital coloring again. It felt good to stretch my Wacom muscles.

Tune in next week for a Comic-Con wrap-up and another costume concept. Also green-themed, but a bit more involved, and drawing from Marvel's fiction rather than DC's.

Post Script: I am well aware the term "lo-fi" refers to audio quality and therefore would seemingly have nothing to do with a sketch or a costume. I hope you will pardon the verbal liberty that I have taken.

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 4!

2011-07-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here's the fourth round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Shinken Red or the Red Samurai Power Ranger
Catwoman
Mystique
Superman
Colossus

And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

I might take a break from posting commissions next week (even though I'm still working on them). Perhaps I'll post something more specifically related to THE COMING STORM?

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 3!

2011-07-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the third round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

I will continue to post new commissions next week! And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 2!

2011-07-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the second round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

I will continue to post new commissions next week! And even though commissions are closed for now, remember it isn't too late to donate to Help the Cheerleader.

5-Second Review: "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (Plus Bonus Art!)

2011-06-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

Did you know that I'm that guy? I'm the guy who whenever there's Transformers related news (new film, new cartoon, new video game, etc), everyone I know comes to me. I'm like... the only Transformers pundit my circle of friends is acquainted with. So how could I not review...

* * *

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (In theaters now!)

Man, after watching this movie, I'm all: O_O

As in shellshocked. Very intense.

Basically, it's Michael Bay, you should know what you're getting into, so don't be hating. This one is better than the second one, and not as good as the first. If you've seen the other two, you have a good idea where your opinion will fall.

It's a 4 hour plot crammed into a ~2.5 hour movie, and I felt like we were only watching every other scene--the burden is on the viewer to fill in the blanks in many instances. But you get what you're there for: crazy intense robot battles, hot cars, one hot girl, and plenty of 'splosions.

As promised by Bay himself, the toilet humor is pretty much gone (there were maybe three toilet humor jokes, and some innuendo, but nothing even as bad as the masturbation conversation in the first movie). And with that little modification, I did find myself enjoying almost every joke that was cracked.

Like the second movie, this one suffers from too many new robots with too little characterization. Let me rephrase that... there's no such thing as too many robots, but let's see some personality, yes? The old school cartoon had a cast of dozens, with distinct personalities established within the first handful of episodes. On the Decepticon side, the hordes of grey Genericons (some of whom were supposed to be "somebody") were pretty dismissable.

Another notable downside carried over from the second movie--Optimus Prime's moral compass goes beyond the Mortal Kombat mark, when it should really be closer to the Superman mark.

My last two complaints:
1) Why are Transformers so hairy and gooey? You'll see what I mean.
2) They are referred to as Transformers in dialogue, which is a huge faux pas to me. Transformers is the name of the franchise dude, not the race. They're Cybertronians. I know, pretty nerdy, right? Hi ladies.

And...

Verdict: Come on, who are you talking to here? It's me, Transformers fan numbah one. It was Awesome. Good pacing, intense action. I'm not downplaying the movie's faults, but like I said, we all know what we're getting into. If you can acknowledge significant flaws without letting it bum you out, and you're looking for some robo-centric eye candy, then go for it.

For More Giant Robots Getting Blowed Up Good: Real Steel is coming out in October, and oh my god it looks stupid and also, why do I have to wait until October??? ROBOTS NOW PLZ. K thx.

* * *

That was more like a 500 second review, but oh well. In unrelated Transformers news, I did this for my co-worker's son:

click above for larger view

Autobot insignia drawn by me. Child courtesy of Blabidibla, photo by Ruth666.

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 1!

2011-06-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

So I'm posting on a Sunday for what was supposed to be a Friday post. But at least my post was late becauseI was actually drawing, right? Right?? Anyone?

Anywaysss...

Here's the first round of commissions that I've finished for Help the Cheerleader. To read more about my involvement with this fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

click above for larger view

From left to right:

Status of commissions:

18 commissions FINISHED.
19 commissions inked and ready to be colored.
21 commissions pencilled and ready to be inked.

We rollin'. Come back this Friday to see more commissions. And I'll be prepared to post on time!

Big surprise, I'm late again!

2011-06-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

Yeah, sorry, just a little overwhelmed with everything, will post something later this weekend, for really realsies. I have plenty of sketches finished, just need to make time to scan them!

For those interested in such things, the current status of Help the Cheerleader sketches is as follows:

- 11 commissions FINISHED and ready to mail out.
- 19 commissions inked and ready to be colored.
- 8 commissions pencilled and ready to be inked.

Be back later this weekend with actual art,

-Jason

Quick message about blog updates...

2011-06-20T23:58:00.000-07:00

Until I'm done with the commissions for Help the Cheerleader, I'm going to post multiple sketches on Friday, rather than posting single sketches on Tuesday and Friday. Come back in a few days for the first of the commission sketches!

Code Blue

2011-06-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

Late again!

If you aren't aware of my commissions to Help the Cheerleader, then CLICK HERE.

Here's the last of the sample commissions. Next week I should start posting REAL commissions. For now, here's Jedi Master Aayla Secura:

Hurry back to your weekend, Dear Reader, and I shall do the same.

Stormy Weather

2011-06-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

This is late, I should have posted yesterday!

If you aren't aware of my commissions to Help the Cheerleader, then CLICK HERE.

The write ups about Help the Cheerleader have been incredibly supportive, and there have been some terribly kind things said about me, which I certainly do not deserve. However, I am grateful and shocked, to say the least. A few highlights (click to see each article):

Never did I dream that I would see a huge burst in my pageviews, and that the vast majority of the visitors would be from Ms. Magazine!

So, I have indeed started on the sketch commissions--pencilled about 23 of them so far. Nothing inked and colored yet, but I am making progress. In the meantime, here's one of my sample sketches, Ororo Munroe, AKA Storm of the X-Men:

Back to drawing for now!

No Disintegrations!

2011-06-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I was supposed to post yesterday, but I got a little busy. In fact, if you're here, you probably already know that I have 150 commissions to do for a very good cause.

If you haven no idea, this should answer all your questions: CLICK HERE

I'm going to talk a little more about it, particularly some of the incredibly gracious write-ups that have been posted, but since people don't troll the internetz as much on the weekend, I think I'll save that for early next week. Besides, I have a tiny bit of drawing to do right now.

So, here's the Boba Fett marker sketch that I did, that's been floating around the internet:

Predictably, some of the other sample sketches that have been floating around will make it to this blog in the next few weeks, and of course I will be posting all of the commissions as well. Please stay tuned, and thank you again for all of your support.

Back to it!

UPDATE!!! Help the Cheerleader Commissions...

2011-06-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

So, to recap:

There's a fundraising website called helpthecheerleader.com. If you haven't heard of them, please take a minute to read about their cause. The site is run by Jessica and Theresa, who work their asses off in their free time for a good cause. If you get a chance, tweet them, or drop a comment on the site to let them know what a great job they're doing.

A few days ago, they launched a fundraising campaign offering sketch commissions (by me) in exchange for a $20 donation.

We had a limit of 20 commission slots.

On the first day, we received about 15 requests. I was relieved that people were interested!

On the second day, thanks to re-tweets by many notable geek/comics bloggers and write ups from some well-known websites, we received over 130 requests.

Let me say that again, we received 130 requests in one day.

That puts us at a total of about 145 requests (I think we're actually closer to 150, but we're still sorting through them). So y'know, that's way past our cap of 20. We are truly overwhelmed and grateful for the positive response!

Let's cut to the chase here:

We are going to honor every commission request that was submitted before the website was updated to inform people that requests were closed.

So, here's how it'll work:

As we planned, the first 20 people who made requests are going to be given information on how to make their donation.
Everyone else goes on a wait list. Each person will be sent an email letting them know what number they are on the list. The people on the wait list do not pay up front, and they are under no obligation--if anyone wants to be taken off the wait list, just email us. No pressure, and no hard feelings.
After I finish the first 20 commissions, we will email the next 15 people on the wait list to let them know that they're up, and give them information on how to make their donation, and I will begin on their commissions.
After I finish those 15 commissions, we will email the next 15 people, and so on.
I will be posting commissions here on my blog as I finish them, so you can get an idea of how long you might have to wait if you're #142 on the list.
Please bear with us while we get this thing running smoothly. We just need to sort through all the requests/donations and then I'll be off to the races. I'm chomping at the bit to get started. This really unintentionally turned into a race horse analogy.

So there you have it.

Lastly, I just want to say a few words of thanks:

To everyone who requested a sketch (even if you didn't make it before we cut off requests), thank you for your generosity and compassion. This nerdy misanthrope is relieved to know that there are some good people in this world.

If you tweeted about this, re-tweeted it, emailed it to somebody, linked it in IM to a friend, blogged about it, re-blogged it, tumbled it, re-tumbled it, hell, if you opened up your window and hollered about it to someone passing by on the street, then I love you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is so hard to get the word out on a good cause, but you folks made it easy.

Here are some of the notable articles and mentions:

Laura Hudson, Comics Alliance
Andy Khouri
Kevin Church
Andrea Grimes
Oh No They Didn't
Sara Comito
The Mary Sue
Nerd Bastards
Let's Think This Through
Ms. Magazine
Girls With Slingshots
FemPop
Morning Quickie
The Bayou Blog
Houston Press
Dave Ex Machina
Retweets by Bonnie Burton, Paul Dini, Chris Sims, and many, many, many more.

If you wrote an article about this fundraiser and don't see it in the links, please leave a comment with a link! I will add it to the list.

Message and thanks regarding my commissions to Help The Cheerleader

2011-06-08T03:11:00.000-07:00

If you don't know what I'm talking about, please read this post.

FIRST, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: Huge thanks and big props to Jessica and Theresa of the LXL (AKA, the League of Extraordinary Ladies) who are managing the site and the fundraising for the Help the Cheerleader campaign. And a special thanks to LXL member Jenn, who facilitated my introduction to Jessica and Theresa.

I totally forgot to mention all that in my last blog post, which I apologize for. Jessica and Theresa were fundraising long before I ever approached them with my idea, and without them, none of this would be possible. They're doing an amazing job, so please shoot them a tweet, or drop a comment on the LXL site to let them know that!

SECOND: The first day of commission requests went great! As of 8:30pm, we had received 14 requests! Requests are being processed, and I will start drawing ASAP! Check back here for updates, I will be posting commissions as I finish them.

IN SUMMARY: Thanks again to Jessica, Theresa, Jenn, and the LXL. Thanks to all my friends on Twitter and Facebook who helped spread the word on this. Thanks to all the strangers on Twitter and Facebook who helped spread the word. And a BIG THANKS to the people who have requested commissions so far!

Full details on how to commission me: http://www.helpthecheerleader.com/commission-a-sketch/
Visit the site: http://www.helpthecheerleader.com
Learn more about the case: http://www.helpthecheerleader.com/about-this-case/

HEY! Commission a sketch from me for a good cause: HELP THE CHEERLEADER

2011-06-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

If you just want to get right to the specifics of the commissions, CLICK HERE.

The cause that I'm raising money for is http://www.helpthecheerleader.com/

From the site:

A Silsbee High School cheerleader took her school to court when they kicked her off the squad for refusing to cheer her own rapist.

The week of May 5, 2011 the Supreme Court refused to hear the case and is requiring her family pay the school $45,000 in legal fees.

We want to help – and we want to give you the opportunity to help too.

The less I say about it, the better, cause if I start talking about it, I'm just gonna get mad. Suffice it to say, this is utterly unacceptable, and if we can help, we should.

So for $20 bucks, you get a full color sketch from me and you help a good cause! And if you don't want a sketch from me, you can still donate to the site, that's cool too! Either way, please spread the word! Thank you!

Full details on how to commission me: http://www.helpthecheerleader.com/commission-a-sketch/
Visit the site: http://www.helpthecheerleader.com
Learn more about the case: http://www.helpthecheerleader.com/about-this-case/

* * *

UPDATE!!! Please click this to read more!

I bet he drinks Arrowhead brand water...

2011-06-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

... you see, because he's got an arrow tattooed on his head. COMEDY FUN JOKES!

It's Aang, AKA the Avatar, AKA the Last Airbender:

Return on Friday for more art and hilarity, won't you?

Grr, Snikt, Bub, etcetera, etcetera...

2011-06-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

Wolverine in marker!

click above for larger view

Brevity!

My Favorite Martian (Manhunter)

2011-05-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

Here's the Martian Manhunter in marker:

click above for larger view

It looks like MACHO WEEK wore off on me, at least temporarily. I'm feeling MACHO enough to see if I can go back to posting twice a week. No promises though! Let's see how this goes first...

MACHO WEEK!!! (Part 3 of 3, So long Randy, and thanks for all the Slim Jims)

2011-05-27T04:46:00.000-07:00

There used to be a cartoon called Powerpuff Girls, and before that there was a cartoon called Dexter's Laboratory, and that cartoon featured a segment called Dial M for Monkey, and one of the best episodes of that segment of that cartoon was titled, "RASSLOR." Macho Man Randy Savage guest-starred as the eponymous Rasslor, a masked neon-hued wrestler whose power was on a cosmic level.

So, here's Rasslor executing a Macho-esque flying elbow:

click above for larger view

And thus does MACHO WEEK draw to a close. I'll be back to "normal" posts next week. Until then, have a great weekend, and stay macho, my friends.

MACHO WEEK!!! (Part 2 of 3, The Moldy Oldie Edition)

2011-05-26T03:49:00.000-07:00

MACHO WEEK continues, with a piece of vintage nerdery from my archives, drawn and colored in 1999. TWELVE years ago.

Let's think about this people. That was before 9-11, before the dot-com bust, before the (still ongoing) energy crisis, before I owned a car or a DVD player. I was fresh out of college, just starting out full time at the day-job after interning there for 2 years (same day-job that I have today, by the way), and living in a tiny studio apartment that paradoxically had a huge walk-in closet (which I filled up with comic books and action figures--mostly Beast Wars at the time).

So... I confess, this was drawn to impress a geeky girl who I was talking to at the time. Believe it or not, the subjects in the illustration were our common points of interest--and there's the Macho One himself, front and center! Oh, and I'm in the picture too, inbetween Optimus Prime in Pikachu, because apparently I have a raging ego. For what it's worth, I think the girl was in fact impressed by this. However, things didn't work out for a number of complicated reasons which I will not bore you with. You know how it goes.

click above for larger view

Man, just look at this thing. It was one of the first things I ever colored in Photoshop, and I thought I was pretty hot stuff, using the Dodge/Burn tool to render the shading. WHAT WAS I THINKING?

And yet, here we are, twelve years later. My drawing is a little better, and my coloring is much better. And I still pretty much won't shut up about Macho Man, Transformers, Batman, Pokemon, Miyazaki movies, and Bruce Lee.

Tune in on Friday for the final installment of MACHO WEEK!!!

MACHO WEEK!!! (Part 1 of 3)

2011-05-25T03:06:00.000-07:00

I'm officially declaring this week to be MACHO WEEK. Make it a MACHO one everybody, for Randy. OH YEAHHH! DIG IT!

I tweeted that on Monday. Of course, I have no authority whatsoever, and I then failed to do anything about it for the first two days of the week. But better late then never, right?

Of course you've heard by now that Macho Man Randy Savage has died. The buzz on Twitter about him was overwhelmingly positive and affectionate. And if you ask me, it all felt pretty sincere. I apologize for obnoxiously re-tweeting myself, but I think my thoughts about Macho Man's passing are best summed up by my tweets on Friday:

RIP Macho Man Randy Savage; the best face, the best heel, the best talker, and my favorite peddler of Slim Jims.

Pomp and Circumstance and MACHO MADNESS!!! RIP Randy Savage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewOQQ8ZUSI8

Was texted on the way in to work with request to bring in Slim Jims for the office. Currently snapping into a Slim Jim w/ co-workers. #macho

Macho Man as the cosmic villain Rasslor on Dexter's Lab/Dial M for Monkey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klx3epFHlSs

Slim Jim is trending. :D

Heard Black Machismo retired his Macho Man gimmick, so I think I should live the rest of my life as Yellow Machismo to honor Randy Savage.

I love when Macho Man would turn his back to the camera while cutting a promo. So pimp.

Guys we should not be mourning the man's death but celebrating THE MADNESS! It's what he would have wanted! OH YEAHHH!

This one is for you Macho Man!!!

click above for larger view

Since I resumed blogging, I've only been posting once a week, but this week I will be posting not once, not twice, but THREE times! That's two more MACHO posts coming your way! OH YEAH!!!

Kal El

2011-05-20T01:25:00.000-07:00

Still red and blue, and there's several things I don't like about this one, but it's a big improvement over last week's marker sketch. And posted in a relatively timely matter. Unthinkable!

click above for larger view

Plenty of marker sketches on the way. I'm much more fond of the ones I did after this one.

Plumbing the Depths

2011-05-16T00:44:00.000-07:00

So I actually finished this drawing on Friday night, but didn't have time to post it until now, which is, you know, super-lame of me.

Aaanyways, here's everyone's favorite plumber:

I'm just playing around with doing some marker sketches (actually, there's color pencil in this one too). I do not consider this experiment a success. Will be playing around with markers on and off in the coming weeks, please humor me.

Puns & Ammo (See what I did there?)

2011-05-08T03:14:00.000-07:00

I'm posting super-late again, but at least it's a real post and not some cobbled-together BS. Here's a cartoony, but still very pissed-off Frank Castle, AKA the Punisher:

click above for larger view

Less talking, more sleeping.

Cue Danny Elfman

2011-04-29T04:08:00.000-07:00

I sketched this up for Dustin last weekend during the Long Beach Comic Expo, inked it up when I got home, and colored it this week. And here I am posting in a reasonably timely manner, as promised:

click above for larger view

I did my best to channel Alex Toth, Bruce Timm, and Derek Fridolfs when I drew this (please go to Derek's DeviantArt page, look at his awesome black and white ink sketches, and give him some compliments--it makes him very uncomfortable). There are some other influences at work as well... the general leanness of form is from Neal Adams (whose influence I've discussed previously), and of course the crescent moon eyes are from Dick Sprang. I think there's a little Jeff Matsuda in there too.

This started out as a pretty static sketch, but I'm trying to be more dynamic these days, so I consciously tried to move away from that. The big experiment for me on this one was spotting blacks heavily. I usually do all my lighting in the coloring stage because I'm uncomfortable with my ability to execute heavy inks. I feel okay about the result though--you can tell because I was actually willing to show you what the original lineart looked like.

(For those who care about such things--of course he has the yellow oval on his chest.)

Squawk.

2011-04-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, like a jerk, I waste hours and hours playing Angry Birds, a game meant to be a casual distraction, which has instead become an obsessive... obsession. Other times (still like a jerk) I post a super-late blog. Here is such a blog post now:

On Friday night I was too tired to draw, so I went to bed with the intention of playing a few levels of Angry Birds and then going to sleep. Fast forward to: me staying up until 9:30am, when I finally went to sleep (cursing at myself all the while). Woke up a few hours later and headed to the Long Beach Comic Expo, where I hung out with Dustin and Peter Nguyen (they are not related!), and drew this. Peter was kind enough to lend me a pen so that I could ink it. I drew another piece too, which I came home and inked, and will be posted this week in a timely manner, unlike today's sketch.

I've been in sort of a rut lately, in addition to being busy with assorted other things. It was very eye opening to me that I was able to go hang with some friends, and even on very little sleep, bust out two drawings very quickly. I guess even weirdo recluses such as myself need to occasionally leave our secret lairs and get a change of scenery.

(But seriously, Angry Birds is really fun.)

Who's got two thumbs and hasn't posted a blog yet this week?

2011-04-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

THIS GUY!

*gesturing to self*

Blog is painfully late, but will be posted tomorrow (Sunday).

Parlor Tricks

2011-04-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

Hey kids, look! A super simple drawing (which I had lying around) dressed up to appear to be a real blog post! But at least it's super late as well!

I want you to know that I'm giving myself a judgemental look:

e_e

Brother Vs. Brother

2011-04-09T00:57:00.000-07:00

OKAY. Late, but here it is. Mega Man versus his brother Proto Man:

click above for larger view

I drew this on my iPad. It's an improvement over my last two iPad sketches, but I'm obviously still getting the hang of it.

Powering Up.

2011-04-02T03:33:00.000-07:00

I'm powering up right now, which is my shifty and dishonest way of saying that today's post is merely a preview of a real post. Started an iPad sketch that got a little too ambitious to complete with time in short supply, so here's just a portion of it:

The entire complete sketch should come next week! Sorry I'm such a lazy slacker these days!

Ever dance with the (Dare-) Devil in the pale moonlight?

2011-03-26T02:13:00.000-07:00

A late post, a multi-layered nerdy title, and another practice sketch from my iPad 2:

All is right in the universe. Or not, but what are ya gonna do?

Pokeballs To The Wall

2011-03-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

Been a looong week (note extra O's), so I'm about to give myself a little break and get started on my copy of Pokemon White. Before I go, here's a little something I drew in Sketchbook Pro on my new iPad 2, with a capacitive stylus from Boxwave:

This is rather primitive, but it was fun to draw. I will be posting the progress of art that I produce on my iPad over the next few weeks and months, and I might even write up a super boring post detailing my thoughts on the device. But for now.. TEPIG, I CHOOSE YOU!

Have a good weekend, and please donate to Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief in any way that you can. Here are a few ways:
- Text REDCROSS to 90999 to Give $10
- Dustin Nguyen art auction
- FansProject Blessser

In case you were wondering...

2011-03-18T02:45:00.000-07:00

Time is in short supply. Work on vaguely referred to stuff continues. Come back for a real post late Friday or early Saturday. Word is bond.

Bang Your Head

2011-03-11T00:24:00.000-08:00

Heh... heheh...

Been a little busy, working on stuff not yet ready to share, and I found myself banging my head against the wall trying to figure something out. I figured it out though! Will share progress as soon as possible (which won't necessarily be all that soon). Love, Me.

G.I. Ginger

2011-03-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

In a bit of a time crunch this week--here's something I drew while the blog was on hiatus:

click above for larger view

In the interest of full disclosure: the gun was loosely photo-traced for the sake of pseudo-accuracy--that's not a technique that I typically employ. And for those who are interested in such things--it's a Heckler and Koch UMP 45. And lastly, I will end this post with... an awkward sentence... thing... like so.

Robot Chicken (not the one you're thinking of)

2011-02-24T02:34:00.000-08:00

Today's post features Scratch from The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. He's the cohort (and brother) of Grounder, who I posted a drawing of last week:

click above for larger view

As I did with Grounder, I interpreted Scratch with more of a Super Robot feel. This time I was specifically going for a look that resembled the animal-themed Mavericks from Megaman X. I think the final result is a little more tough-looking, while (hopefully) maintaining the cartoony fun of the original.

More Sonic fun coming over the next couple of weeks... but not next week... in case you were wondering.

._.

Treading Lightly

2011-02-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

For the sake of expediency, I spare you from excessive rambling, Dear Reader. The subject for today's post is Grounder, one of the villains from The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. I revised and elaborated upon his design as per my own sensibilities, with the intention of giving him more of a Super Robot look:

click above for larger view

Enough! It is the weekend at last; go and be merry!

FYI...

2011-02-18T00:01:00.001-08:00

Crushing sinus pain + cumulative sleep deprivation. Post will be up late Friday night or early Saturday. So swears J.Ho!

[RABBIT PUN OR ROBOT PUN HERE]

2011-02-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

I set up another Sculpey project for my niece and I, very similar to last year's project. It's not just the Year of the Rabbit, it's the Year of the METAL Rabbit, so I chose a robotic rabbit as our subject. Here are the results:

click above for larger view

The gold rabbit with the red eyes is mine, the silver one with the dark blue eyes is my niece's, and the terra cotta one at the bottom is the prototype that I made while planning the project. If you're curious about the process, please check out last year's project (the process we used for this year was very similar). I would point out that my rabbit has extra "rivets" in the ears--I wasn't sure how I felt about that (maybe it's too busy?), so I didn't have my niece add that to her sculpture. All in all, I think these turned out nicely!

One of my brothers-in-law observed that the rabbits have a Cylon-esque quality. However, knowing myself, if there's any subconscious sci-fi influence at work here, it's probably from the Daleks! For the record, if this post had been made a month later, the title would have been EASTERMINATE!!!

Wascally.

2011-02-03T02:43:00.000-08:00

Today is Chinese New Year's Eve, which means tomorrow is Chinese New Year, which means the Year of the Rabbit is nigh! Nigh, I tell you! Here's a drawing to commemorate the occasion:

click above for larger view

I crafted this piece to stand in contrast against the one I drew last year. And yes, her bling is a gold carrot pendant. Hey... carrot, karat! How clever am I? That wasn't even on purpose! I am crushing it today!

Gong Xi Fa Cai, you nerds!

Fish-Brained Schemer

2011-01-27T22:41:00.000-08:00

A whiiile back, my buddy Dylan (AKA Super-Munkyboy) had a contest on the He-Man.org fan-art forums--the goal was to create a new "big bad" for He-Man's rogue's gallery, and the prize was to have the newly created villain drawn by Dylan, Jazyl (AKA Two-Bad), and myself.

The contest actually ended in a tie, and one of the winners was Patreek, who I have previously drawn a fan character for. Here's my interpretation of his character:

click above for larger view

You can check out the thread here, and see the other prize drawings here. Art of the other winner will be posted soon!

Tough As Nails

2011-01-20T21:56:00.000-08:00

Real quick like: For those who enjoyed the step-by-step walkthrough from the last post, I've compiled it into a single huge image file--you can get it on my DeviantArt account here.

But back to today's post...

I yammered on forever in the last blog, so I think I'll try to keep it brief today. It's Red Claw from Batman: The Animated Series:

click above for larger view

During a typically nerdy late night conversation, I was talking about B:TAS with Josh, and was reminded of this bad-ass villainess, so I decided to draw her. Sometimes it's just that simple!

Step by step and day by day (that's two ABC TGIF references in a row--I promise this won't become a trend!)

2011-01-14T01:28:00.000-08:00

(EDIT, 01/20/2011: for those who are interested, I've compiled this step-by-step walkthrough into a single huge image file--you can get it on my DeviantArt account here)

I talk a decent amount about my artistic process on this blog, but I don't think I've ever really given you, Dear Reader, an actual step-by-step glimpse at what my process looks like. So I thought today it would be nice to take a look at how a finished drawing by J.Ho comes together. Let's get right into it…

* * *

STAGE ZERO: The assignment and the character.

The "assignment" in this case was not a blog post (although it has become, a blog post), but rather a cover illustration for a book. My old crony Charles produces an e-zine of speculative fiction called If-E-Zine (pronounced Iffy Zine). He was planning to compile some of his work into a book, and I offered my services for the cover.

The cover was to feature the e-zine's mascot and sometimes 'host,' Iffy the Ifreet, a horn-mohawked, skull-faced demon, garbed in leather, chains and spikes (very metal). Charles has dressed as Iffy for Halloween a few times (link, link, link), but always with a slightly different appearance, so I was given free reign to come up with a unique character design, as long as I met the basic criteria.

STAGE ONE: Basic concept for character design, and rough thumbnail for pose.

click above for larger view

At this stage I'm just loosely sketching Iffy, figuring out what he's going to look like. Combining my favorite aspects of Charles' past Iffy Halloween appearances, I'm able to decide on the proportions of Iffy's face, and the configuration of his horns. I sketch him with a powerful build, and very quickly I stumble upon what will become Iffy's pose for the final illustration--Iffy will be a menacing figure, stalking towards us, with a dangerous warhammer hefted over one shoulder, and a hand aglow with mystic fire.

I start working on some of the details of his costume and his weapon's design, but before I get any further, I send what I have to Charles, to make sure he likes where it's headed. He gives me the go ahead and I move forward...

STAGE TWO: Working out costume details.

click above for larger view

A character like Iffy should have a costume that isn't to symmetrical, but on the other hand, you want the elements to feel balanced so that no one area feels too busy or too bare. One of the changes I make here is to change the barbed wire to razor wire for a more streamlined visual read.

STAGE THREE: Rough cover layout.

click above for larger view

Not much to see here--I just take the rough pose that I've come up with, and put it in a template matching the dimensions for the cover, so that I can figure out how the type will match up with the illustration.

STAGE FOUR: Color study.

click above for larger view

Now I'm ready to start the actual drawing… but not really. I'm planning on a very particular backlit color scheme, and I feel the need to do a quick color study over the rough cover layout. This piece isn't crazy-involved, but I want to make sure that what I've got in my head (in terms of layout, type placement, and color) will actually work out on paper. Once I'm satisfied with it, I clear it with Charles, and start drawing…

STAGE FIVE: Loose pencils.

click above for larger view

This probably seems like a complex step, but once the costume details and pose are set, fleshing out the drawing is relatively straightforward. If you look carefully, you can see that I'm contemplating a flame pattern emblazoned on Iffy's coat, but I'm not crazy about how it's looking. Charles decides the flames on the coat are too busy, so the final version won't have them.

When I'm inking my own work, it's usually unnecessary to tighten the pencils further than this, so I leave it as is and move on to the final inks...

STAGE SIX: Type treatment + final line-art in layout.

click above for larger view

When I finish the final inks, I scan them, clean them up in Photoshop, and place them in the rough cover layout. Charles wants a retro-horror-looking title font, so I research some, and hand-draw a treatment for the title. I place that in the rough cover layout as well, and now we've really got an idea of how the final piece is going to look.

STAGE SEVEN: Colors.

click above for larger view

I ~~might have mentioned~~ never shut up about what a slow colorist I am, so for me, this step is particularly time consuming. Someday I'll make a step-by-step post about my coloring process, which is a whole thing unto itself, but for now I'll just give you the basics.

Usually I just start slopping some colors around to nail down my color choices. Once I've got that figured out, I clean everything up. To keep things flexible for revisions, I tend to keep like-colors in separate layers, and give lighting effects (like the green flame and green highlights) their own layer as well. Color-wise, the important thing with this piece is the dramatic lighting created by the backlight and the green flame, so that's my focus as I bring this illustration to a close.

Charles is happy with what I've done, so that means the illustration is finished, and I just need to finalize the cover layout...

STAGE EIGHT (FINAL): The result.

Charles gives me a template for the cover, as well as all the pertinent copy for the front and back covers. I make a blown-up, faded, monochromatic version of Iffy to use as a design element for the back cover, and insert that, along with all the copy. Behold, the final result:

click above for larger view

You would like to buy a copy, yes?

To purchase a copy for a mere $10.95: https://www.createspace.com/3483698
For more info: http://lordshen.blogspot.com/2011/01/tales-from-ifreet-now-available-for.html
If you'd like to see the walkthrough as one consolidated image file, you can get it on my DeviantArt account: http://bootlegsketch.deviantart.com/#/d37o73t

The only Dave Coulier reference I will ever make: Cut! It! Out!

2011-01-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

I have a cool Cutman trading figure sitting on top of my scanner, so I was inspired to do my own take on him:

I was just sort of working out how I would interpret the character, and randomly decided to take it a step further, and render him with markers and colored pencils. This was fun and quick to do, and as always, it feels nice to bust out some traditional media rather than the same old Photoshop stuff I'm used to. Plus, I feel like being on graph paper inherently improves a drawing of a robot.

By the way--some time last year I finished using up the cache of scratch paper that I mentioned in this post. However, I have since found another sizable cache of old college papers and homework... so today's piece is drawn on the backside of a piece of graph paper containing my Chinese vocabulary words. Zhen de!

(That means "Really!")

The Big O (neither the giant robot anime, nor the tire store, nor the other thing)... Also: Tron, and Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T03:10:00.000-08:00

First off--if you're here because of my Tron Calamari post from two weeks ago, welcome! I got a few re-tweets regarding that post, not the least of which were from renowned Twitter maven Bonnie Burton, and the official Star Wars Twitter account! So a big thanks to Bonnie, the folks at @StarWars, everyone else who re-tweeted me, and everyone who dropped in to look at my blog (both new and long-time readers). And of course, another big thanks to my crony Dave, who came up with the title Tron Calamari.

Secondly--I was in a bit of a rush last week, so I didn't get a chance to mention what I thought about Tron: Legacy--so how about a five second review?

* * *

Tron: Legacy (In theaters in 3D and IMAX 3D)

The dialogue was mostly very standard for a special effects blockbuster, with occasional moments of brilliance (often via Jeff Bridges' unexpected moments of channeling the Dude/himself). The 3D was uneven and generally not a big deal--though I've heard a lot of people say otherwise--your mileage may vary, as projectionists at individual theaters may not have their gear properly calibrated. The pacing and performances were strong, and the special effects and art direction were pitch perfect. But most importantly, this movie knows what it is, where it came from, and isn't ashamed of it.

Verdict: Awesome. I had fairly high expectations, and was pleasantly surprised to have those expectations satisfied. A big bucket of black glass, neon piping, and FUN!

For More Computer World Adventure: Track down the original Tron, or watch some Reboot (coming to DVD soon, by the way!).

* * *

And now back to our abnormally scheduled nerdiness:

So, the tradition around here is that I draw up a Skeletor or He-Man (or some version thereof), and post it to commemorate the New Year. Well, I wasn't sure which version to go with, and as I sat here looking at the menagerie of action figures on my desk, it occurred to me that the Masters of the Universe Classics version of Orko (character info/figure) would probably be the only figure I would keep if I had to sell off my He-Man collection. This in turn made me realize that Orko is one of my two favorite He-Man characters (the other being the Sorceress). True, Orko was most often relegated to the role of goofy sidekick, but I always thought he looked cool, had a cool species backstory (he's a member of the inherently magical Trollan race from another dimension), and as a character, he always had the potential for more. Anywaysss... here he is:

click above for larger view

I threw in some costume elements from the 200x version of Orko, but mostly kept his classic proportions. The big "O" on his chest, while iconic, was always a bit too goofy for me--so I styled it as a circular magical ward. Yes, I know, I'm splitting very nerdy hairs in regards to what's goofy and what isn't. Perhaps most significantly, I changed up his eyes, to give him more of an otherworldly quality. I don't think Orko should ever be played as "dark" or creepy, but giving a character an alien look can add a little edge to him, without changing his personality.

I think this is a huge improvement over my earlier depiction of Orko's lady friend, Dree Elle.

Happy Nerd Year, everyone! (Note: that was intentional, not a typo. You nerds.)

Also posted on the He-Man.org fan-art forums. My post is here, the entire thread (including some of my previous sketches) is here.

There's No Business Like Snow Business

2010-12-24T07:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

click above for larger view

I'm back, but more importantly: TRON x STAR WARS

2010-12-17T03:13:00.000-08:00

Very briefly: I'm going to start posting again, but I think I'm going to ease into it first... let's see how one post a week goes until I get back into the swing of things, shall we? I'll talk a little bit about my hiatus in a future super-boring post, but for now (if anyone still reads this thang), let's just get right back to the main event: ridiculously dorky nerd art.

So, Dave and I were talking about Tron and Star Wars action figures, and the following happened:

6:40:11 PM ME: so i opened my white light cycle
6:40:14 PM ME: and it's awesome
6:40:21 PM ME: but i had two thoughts
6:40:39 PM ME: 1) white light cycle would match ackbar's white uniform
6:40:42 PM ME: or
6:41:12 PM ME: 2) blue lights would match a blue mon calamari, but i would have to put the mon cal head on a tron body w/ blue lights
6:41:16 PM ME: ._.
6:41:18 PM ME: just sayin
6:41:35 PM DAVE: lol
6:41:37 PM DAVE: oh man
6:41:46 PM DAVE: you ponder that some more
6:41:47 PM DAVE: or DRAW IT
6:41:52 PM DAVE: and put it on your sketch blog
6:42:04 PM DAVE: TRON CALAMARI
6:42:06 PM DAVE: omg
6:42:13 PM DAVE: i basically just gave you that for free
6:42:15 PM ME: O_O
6:42:18 PM ME: NICE

And thus was born a custom figure created from Star Wars action figure Ibtisam (info/figure) and Tron: Legacy action figure Sam Flynn (info):

click above for larger view

I'm not an experienced customizer by any means, so this was a pretty basic head and arm swap. First, I used the boil-and-pop method to remove the relevant body parts from the original figures. Ibtisam's forearms plugged right into Sam Flynn's elbows, but as a result the custom's arms are a bit short. The socket in Ibtisam's head was too big, so I bummed some Epoxy putty off of Hammers to partially fill in the socket, and then used the superglue method to make the ball joint fit tightly. Aaand then I drew this:

click above for larger view

So, for those of you keeping track at home:

I have purchased Tron: Legacy toys.
I have made a custom Tron Calamari figure.
I have drawn dorky fan-art of Tron Calamari.
I am listening to the Tron: Legacy soundtrack at home, in my car, and at work.
I have been flipping through the pages of the Tron: Legacy artbook.
I have not seen the movie yet...
... but have tickets for a 3D IMAX screening on Saturday morning.

It feels good to blog again. If you're reading this, thank you.

Big thanks to Brian Warmoth and Comics Alliance! And an apology for my terrible timing!

2010-07-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

Brian Warmoth wrote a very generous article about this very blog over at Comics Alliance, which came completely out of the blue!

Please check out both Comics Alliance and Brian Warmoth's personal blog:

I cannot thank Brian Warmoth and Comics Alliance enough for putting my art in front of so many viewers. But I will try: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

However, this means that I have chosen a terrible time to put the blog on hiatus, which I apologize for. Unfortunately current circumstances are what they are, so I'll still need a bit of a break. Rest assured, that with encouragement like this, I will definitely be back sooner rather than later. See you soon, folks!

This isn't "goodbye"... this is, "see you later, after an undetermined interval of time... probably."

2010-07-16T02:07:00.000-07:00

With a heavy heart, I am putting this blog on temporary hiatus.

At the moment, I kind of feel like Life is stepping on my neck. I'm just a little too busy with the day-job, a little too burnt out overall, and a little too dissatisfied with some of the lazy posts I've been putting up. Plus there's all the other stuff that goes on in life, miscellaneous things that I'm trying to work on outside of the blog, not to mention Comic-Con coming up next week... woof.

So I'll be taking off an unspecified period of time, with the intention of refreshing my outlook, and renewing my dedication to this blog, and to my productivity in general. Before I go, I leave you with this:

click above for larger view

Of course long-time blog readers will recognize this as a callback to a much older post. Sure, I might be a big baby who can't take the heat... but at least I've improved artistically, right? I think it must be destiny for me to take a break--as I finished this drawing, I realized that I was in fact wearing that shirt.

Thank you for your patronage, Dear Reader. With any luck, I'll be back soon.

Lazy Summer Afternoon

2010-07-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed a relaxed, lazy summer afternoon this past weekend:

click above for larger view

Please pardon the frosty palette--we have been blessed in Los Angeles with some nice overcast days and cool temperatures. The blistering heat will arrive soon enough, so I'm enjoying this while I can.

Not Quite Cuckoo

2010-07-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

I've been itching to get back to some sculpting, and finally had a chance over the long weekend. This was supposed to be a cuckoo, but the crest got a bit too big, and instead it looks like some kind of gold-colored cardinal:

click above for larger view

The burnt tips on the crest and tail feathers are strictly a happy accident--I let this thing cook for too long! The gold Premo Sculpey that I used was a bit harder and slightly more crumbly than the other types of Sculpey I've tried, and unfortunately there were a few cracks after the baking. I don't think volume or size was the problem, as my previous tiger project had no cracks whatsoever (the bird is just under 2 inches tall, while the tiger is closer to 3 inches tall, and obviously much longer). The transition between the neck and chest is somewhat awkward, and the head got flattened a bit along the way, but overall I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.

Sculpting is a lot of fun. Maybe it's because it's a change of pace, or because I'm not so familiar with the process of it, but I find the whole experience to be really relaxing. Hopefully I'll be able to set aside some more sculpting time in the near future!

For, Forer, Forest

2010-07-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Just had an itch to play with some color in Photoshop. This probably took me about an hour:

AND BY THE WAY: all image links are now officially fixeddd! Enjoy all the super nerdy drawings on my super nerdy blog, from the present day stretching back continuously into the ancient, ancient past of early 2007! Thank you for your patronage and patience.

Pun-ishment

2010-07-02T01:44:00.000-07:00

When I am IMing with Dustin in the wee hours of the night, this happens:

1:31:00 AM Dustin: [CENSORED]
1:31:04 AM Jason: LOL
1:31:06 AM Jason: wth???
1:31:10 AM Dustin: lol
1:31:11 AM Jason: you are a sick sick man
1:31:12 AM Dustin: just sayin...
1:31:27 AM Jason: yes, you are indeed just sayin
1:31:38 AM Dustin: like dragon ball z man
1:31:41 AM Dustin: just saiyan
1:31:47 AM Jason: hahahahahaah
1:31:51 AM Jason: +700 nerd points to you
1:31:55 AM Dustin: lol
1:32:44 AM Jason: lol.... you should draw a picture of goku shrugging and at the bottom it says "just saiyan"
1:32:57 AM Dustin: YOU should

And thus:

click above for larger view

I did some research, and as it turns out, we were not the first two geniuses to stumble upon this pun. But I still felt that this particular version required rendering. Just saiyan.

The H-Word

2010-06-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

I think I'm out of vague teasers for the moment, so let's see if I can get back to the regular nerdy fare for the moment, yes?

I wanted to do something quick, fun, and 100% digital, so here's a super deformed Hellboy done in less than two hours (my sloth-like idea of "quick"):

Please forgive any inaccuracies--I drew this without looking up any reference.

Vague 5: Vaguezilla Returns

2010-06-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Blah blah blah:

Blah blah!

Vague 4Ever!

2010-06-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

He looks a bit gruff, but actually the service is superb:

I promise that these vague updates will not last forever! At some point this blog will have super nerdy fan-art again! Or possibly full-blown reveals rather than vague previews and teasers! And continued exclamations!!! Please humor this temporary lull folks! See you on Friday! Bye!!!

3 Vague 3 Squirrelous

2010-06-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

Um, I should probably explain something... these posts aren't necessarily building up to a big, immediate reveal. After I'm done with it, there will probably be a bit of a delay before I can actually post it here. Err... until then, enjoy these cryptic glimpses?

Squirrel!

Vague 2: The Revaguening

2010-06-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

Please bear with me as I offer another sneak peek of "thing that I am working on which may or may not ever come to fruition":

Oh damn, somebody just bought nunchuks!

I'm a delight, I swear!

2010-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

If you talk to my close friends, it's pretty well understood that I prefer a stern talking-to over a kind word. And unfortunately for my friends, I give what I wish to receive. I made this hand-drawn card for a dear friend (link unavailable) who's going away for a few months:

click above for larger view

It'll be like I'm right there the whole time, nagging away!

Vague.

2010-06-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

In regards to my previous blog post, the weekend was a success. Fun (Pokemon), and productivity (drawing/coloring) were had.

I'm working on something, and this is all I'm willing to show for now. I'm not trying to be a tease--I just don't have anything else to post! Stay tuned.

RAAWR

2010-06-04T05:49:00.001-07:00

For those of you keeping track at home...

2010-06-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

... I've finally returned to my task of fixing dead image links in blog entries from 2009 and older. I went back as far as April 2008, so anything older is still full of dead image links. I'll try and fix the rest ASAP! Please bear with me.

Your BFF,

-Jason

Robotech Tuesdays: Lynn Kyle

2010-06-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

People think Minmei is the worst Robotech character, but they forget about this dude:

His name is Lynn Kyle, and he's a sullen, cousin-kissing, peacenik hippie, draped in a fringed leather jacket. He doesn't even have a wikipedia entry. 'Nuff said.

Gallifrey Fridays: K9

2010-05-28T01:28:00.000-07:00

Eat your heart out AIBO, it's the original robot dog, K9:

And by the way, K9 had shutter shades long before Kanye ever did.

Woof!

Robotech Tuesdays: Baby Dana Sterling

2010-05-25T02:23:00.000-07:00

It's Max and Miriya's daughter, the rambunctious Dana Sterling:

Her spacesuit is from the episode Viva Miriya (episode 30) and the toy she's reaching for is a Minmei doll.

Gallifrey Fridays: The First Master

2010-05-21T00:47:00.000-07:00

As I am ornery and unpleasant, I rarely take requests or even suggestions. However, my good pal Jacob suggested the first incarnation of Doctor Who's nemesis, the Master, as portrayed by the late Roger Delgado--this was too good of a suggestion to pass up:

Note to self: Start shopping at the same suit store as the Master, Han, and Blofeld--it's step one towards becoming a bad-ass 70's super-villain.

Original Barbarian

2010-05-18T03:52:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, I talk about He-Man a lot on this blog. But for those who don't know, there would be no He-Man without Conan the Barbarian. And the visual language of Conan, and indeed of all Sword & Sorcery fiction, was defined by one man, Frank Frazetta.

To commemorate the passing of the once and future master, here is my humble rendition of Conan the Barbarian:

click above for larger view

Additional inspiration provided by my pal Derek Fridolfs and his superb take on the barbarian.

Pushing The Envelope

2010-05-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

A quick doodle on an outgoing envelope that I decided to scan into Photoshop and slap some colors on.

Sleepy-bye time!

Robotech Tuesdays: Miriya Parina Sterling

2010-05-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

The infamous Zentradi ace who fell in love with an Earthling (Max Sterling) and defected, Miriya Parina Sterling:

In the actual anime, Miriya doesn't show up in this uniform much--so it was tough to find reference for the colors. The uncolored design for the uniform, which differs slightly from the one that the female bridge officers wear, was in one of my Robotech art books. In the instances where Miriya is wearing this uniform, the colors are inconsistent, but I found some images on the internet (possibly screengrabs from a Macross video game?) that backed up a particular version of the colors that I liked best, so I went with that. And that's how my boring story ended!

Gallifrey Fridays: The Eleventh Doctor

2010-05-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

The eleventh and current incarnation of the Doctor:

This is a decent likeness, even if I do say so myself. Of course, it helps that Matt Smith has a pretty unique look. With that giant head of hair, he's almost like a palette swap of Conan O'Brien. At any rate, I think he's doing a good job as the latest Doctor.

R.I.P. Carl Macek

2010-05-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

There are a handful of key figures who are responsible for the popularity of anime in the Western world--Carl Macek was one of them--he passed away last month.

click above for larger view

Most notably, Carl was responsible for combining three unrelated series into one saga, and introducing them to America under the title Robotech. For an entire generation of nerds, including myself, this was our introduction to anime.

Thanks for everything, Carl!

Oh Snap! The Friggin Amazing J.Ho Sketchblog...

The end of an era, and the birth of a new one...

Leftover Commissions! The Bat and the Breaker... and the repeats.

More Snow Than Man...

How to get ahead in villainy...

Slow News Day

busybusybusy

But wait, there's more!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 21: FINAL ROUND!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 20!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 19!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 18! AND TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 17!

Wolf Down All Your Candy

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 16!

Corny.

Oops!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 15!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 14!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 13!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 12!

Biting Wit

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 11!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 10!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 9!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 8!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 7!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 6!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 5!

Late!

Lo-Fi Cosplay that I didn't do (Part 2 of 2)

Lo-Fi Cosplay that I didn't do (Part 1 of 2)

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 4!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 3!

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 2!

5-Second Review: "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (Plus Bonus Art!)

Help The Cheerleader Commissions, Round 1!

Big surprise, I'm late again!

Quick message about blog updates...

Code Blue

Stormy Weather

No Disintegrations!

UPDATE!!! Help the Cheerleader Commissions...

Message and thanks regarding my commissions to Help The Cheerleader

HEY! Commission a sketch from me for a good cause: HELP THE CHEERLEADER

I bet he drinks Arrowhead brand water...

Grr, Snikt, Bub, etcetera, etcetera...

My Favorite Martian (Manhunter)

MACHO WEEK!!! (Part 3 of 3, So long Randy, and thanks for all the Slim Jims)

MACHO WEEK!!! (Part 2 of 3, The Moldy Oldie Edition)

MACHO WEEK!!! (Part 1 of 3)

Kal El

Plumbing the Depths

Puns & Ammo (See what I did there?)

*Cue Danny Elfman*

Squawk.

Who's got two thumbs and hasn't posted a blog yet this week?

Parlor Tricks

Brother Vs. Brother

Powering Up.

Ever dance with the (Dare-) Devil in the pale moonlight?

Pokeballs To The Wall

In case you were wondering...

Bang Your Head

G.I. Ginger

Robot Chicken (not the one you're thinking of)

Treading Lightly

FYI...

[RABBIT PUN OR ROBOT PUN HERE]

Wascally.

Fish-Brained Schemer

Tough As Nails

Step by step and day by day (that's two ABC TGIF references in a row--I promise this won't become a trend!)

The only Dave Coulier reference I will ever make: Cut! It! Out!

The Big O (neither the giant robot anime, nor the tire store, nor the other thing)... Also: Tron, and Happy New Year!

There's No Business Like Snow Business

I'm back, but more importantly: TRON x STAR WARS

Big thanks to Brian Warmoth and Comics Alliance! And an apology for my terrible timing!

This isn't "goodbye"... this is, "see you later, after an undetermined interval of time... probably."

Lazy Summer Afternoon

Cue Danny Elfman