Tim Boo Ba!

Another old Marvel Comics monster, from Amazing Fantasy #9. Tim Boo Ba! He was an evil, war mongering, ruthless dictactor. He was the mightiest warlord of them all, and mercy was unknown to him! Too bad he was microscopic in size, and lived on a scale model planet in a pre-teen boy's room. His world was washed away by a careless drop of water, by Tom, the boy's brother.

Tim Boo Ba was originally drawn by Steve Ditko. I've been doing these monster sketches during afternoon breaks from coloring comics. Usually, they coincide with periods of low energy, on my part, hence the break from work. Unfortunately, Tim Boo Ba fell victim to my tired state. I gussied him up in Photoshop, but still failed to fully capture his terrible awesomeness.

IF- Pet Peeves

The latest Illustration Friday challenge is "Pet Peeves." I'm sure that I have more than a few--the tardiness of Spring is definitely one. The most recent, and trivial, pet peeve for me is the thievery of bird seed by the local gang of squirrel hooligans. They steal it right in front of my window too! The nerve!

Here, a furry thief is making off with some tasty sunflower seeds, while all the birds can do is watch.

This illustration is a pencil sketch, finished in Photoshop.

Groot - The Monster from Planet X!

This is an old Marvel Comics monster, originally appearing in "Where Monsters Dwell," issue six, in a story by Stan Lee, with art by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. I discovered it in the Marvel Monster Masterworks collection. I hope to do portraits of all the monsters in the collection. This is the first.

It is a pencil sketch, with Photoshop color.

Pro Squid Clown

Here's the enterprising squid, trying to find gainful employment as a clown--since squidding has gone down the tubes. He's still got some practicing to do before the big audition though. I hope he survives the colour storm.

This was an older ink drawing, that I finally felt inspired enough to finish with color and texture, in Photoshop. Most of the texture is scanned, greyscale brushwork on paper and box cardboard, layered over the image and set to color burn or overlay. Playing with the color was a lot of fun.

Illustration Friday - Heavy

Latest image for the IF challenge, on the theme of "Heavy." There are heavy decisions and responsibilities facing working mothers, who quite often run too low on energy to get everything done.

I wanted this to look like a wind up tin toy, unable to reach the winding key. I came up with the idea in a life drawing class a few years ago, and filed it away in my head. It tossed and turned until it was ready to come out. This week's IF challenge was the excuse I needed to complete it. It's a pencil sketch finished in Photoshop.

Now I need to do an illo depicting working dads in a similar predicament.

Thor - For Funs

Another cartoony interpretation of a comic book character. In this case, "The Mighty Thor," (Marvel Comics ©). Done in a similar style to the Spiderman vs. Venom, I posted earlier. Just trying to get more comfortable with this style and to have a little fun in between jobs.

Illustration Friday - Garden

"They knew it was time to leave the garden when the whispers began. Suddenly, the world did not seem enchanted anymore."

I decided to use this IF topic to finish a sketch that I had done in late October. It wanted to be finished, and kept bothering me until I relented. A pencil sketch finished in Photoshop.

Illustration Friday - "Leap"

"On her third attempt, and with a mighty leap, Bossy finally jumped over the moon. Much to the moon's relief."

Another quickie for Illustration Friday. Pencil sketch, colored in Photoshop.