Krampus!

I did this illustration for the "Krampus" challenge over at the artorder.blogspot.com. I'd wanted to do a Krampus for some time but never had a good excuse until now. I've also wanted to participate in an Artorder challenge--so here I go, killing two birds with one stone again.

If you would like to know more about Krampus go here.

As usual, this was a pencil sketch, finished in Photoshop.

It is © Chris Chuckry.

Thanks for stopping by.

Illustration Friday - Hatch

"Which came first? The snowman or the egg?"

It's been a long time since I participated in an Illustration Friday challenge. I figured that I might kill two birds with one stone, and do a promotional holiday piece as well. I sketched this "hatchling" out in pencil, then finished him with some color in Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by.

© Christopher Chuckry

Promotion!

My friend Chris Quilliams, directed my attention to a Drawn.ca blog posting of my promotional video. This video was produced by James & Lisanne at Blink-Works, for the New Media Manitoba Business Showcase.

This event showcased eight businesses in the local new media community. I'm honored to be included in this group of talented people, some of whom I've only discovered through this showcase. I was surprised and proud to discover all this talent in my own backyard. I guess I should get out more.

You can check out the video at Drawn.ca  Frogrocket & Chris Chuckry. Visit the Blink-Works site to view the other video profiles, they are pretty cool. 

The Spiderman art shown in the first part of my video is by the very talented Mike McKone. Spiderman is © Marvel Entertainment. The other characters shown are © of their respective copyright holders.

Thanks for stopping by.

Dick Tracy villains

When I was a kid, my father bought me a large format, reprint collection of Dick Tracy comics. I devoured the stories and characters--they were so different from the superhero comics I had been reading. The bad guys are always the most interesting, and several made an impression on me. Here are two of them, "Flattop" and "Prune Face."

These quick pencil portraits were inked with a Pentel brush pen.

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The Rhino

I work in the comic book industry, so guys like these creep into my sketchbooks quite often. The bad guys are always the most fun to draw, and this guy was a nice little diversion at the end of a long workday.

The Rhino runs into things and people with his head and face. Rhinos are known for their poor eyesight and short tempers. On hot, dry days, they like to roll in the dirt.

This Rhino is © Marvel Comics, and was painted in Photoshop.

Sketch heads

Here are some recent heads from the sketchbook. They are marker & brush pen line art, with Photoshop color. Just a little distraction from the daily work.

Thanks for stopping by.

© Chris Chuckry

The Past.

The other night I went out to see some live music at "The Pyramid." I've been going there for ages, it seems, although, not so often now, as in the early to mid 1990's. I went with some friends to see Dinosaur Jr. and The Pink Mountaintops. Part way through this great show, I remembered The Crash Test Dummies, and this old album cover I had a credit on.

Members of the Dummies used to tend bar at the Pyramid, back when it was called "The Spectrum." It was also an early venue for the band. The art director on this project also worked as a bartender there. I was at my former company, Digital Chameleon, when we were approached about doing the production work on this album. It involved combining copies of old masters paintings, with photos of the band members. I recall this taking a long time, and being more than a little finicky with the old computer hardware and photoshop. These days, it would be a snap.

I only worked on the cover, unfortunately. I had a snowboarding trip booked, and had to leave before I could do the compositing work on the interior booklet pieces. I believe this album did pretty well at the time. It maybe the widest viewing of the work I have done. It's also a piece that slips out of my memory from time to time.

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Expression in color

Here is a color version of the earlier posted "Expression" piece. I'm still not sure about the way this piece is looking. So, I'll probably fiddle around with it a little, in the future.

Once again it is © Chris Chuckry

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Convention Sketchcards

I had a lot of fun at the C4 Convention over the weekend. It seemed a lot busier this year, and as a result, I didn't get to see as many people and things as I had hoped to. However, it was nice meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends. I'm already looking forward to next year's show.

Here are some sketchcards that I did for fun while sitting at my table in artists' alley. They are pencil and marker pieces 2.5" x 3.5" and are signed on the back. The characters represented are © DC Comics.

Thanks for stopping by.

C4 Convention

Here's a little illustration I did for the local comic convention, happening this weekend. It's being used for a children's "Safe Trick or Treat" promotion at the convention. I penciled it in a very loose cartoon style and finished it in Photoshop, with some watercolour techniques.

If you're around for the convention, stop by and say hello. I'll be at a table in Artists' Alley. I'll also be happy to sign any comics you'd like, or do a sketch for you.

Thanks for looking.

Batman, Robin and Batgirl are © DC Comics.

Expression

This is a piece that I've been working on, in fits and starts, for the past two years. Recently, I found the inspiration to take up the challenge again. This painting is a perfect example of not being talented enough, initially, to create the image I wanted to. So two years later and lots of repainting and ruminating finds me here. I think it's coming along quite nicely now.

There is a lot of significant imagery in this painting, and some more subtle in nature. I'm still working on it and will glaze it with colour eventually. In the meantime, I'm trying to get some comments or constructive criticism on it. This is proving to be more difficult than I thought. My usual forums for posting have been relatively quiet about this piece, and those who have replied are congratulatory, but not offering anything constructive. I guess I'll keep working away, and keeping a eye out for peer group of like-minded artists. I guess I have to get out more and mingle.

Thanks for stopping by.

Image is © Chris Chuckry 2009

Sea Serpent Wild Thing

I haven't seen the movie yet, so I'm still making do with my own drawings. This is a pencil sketch, colored in Photoshop.

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Wild Moishe

One of the movies I'm really looking forward to is "Where the Wild Things Are," based on the book by Maurice Sendak. The book is terrific and the movie looks like it's going to be lots of fun. I like monsters, and basketball so, here's wild thing Moishe--a quick sketch I drew while watching some basketball this afternoon. I colored him up in Photoshop before bed.

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Bitter Ashes cover

This is a cover illustration for a book about the Canadian effort and experience in World War II. I took this illustration to approximately 95% completion in late April. At that point the publisher deemed it good enough to use, but I wasn't totally happy with it, and planned to give it a little more polish.

Unfortunately, it took me four and a half months to finish it. I'm not sure if it was just a lack of time in my schedule, or a lack of talent and confidence. It was probably a combination of all those factors, since I'm sure I've picked up some knowledge along the way that helped me put this piece to rest.

If you are interested, the book is called "Bitter Ashes," and is published by Napoleon/Rendezvous Press.

This painting is © Christopher Chuckry.

Thanks for stopping by.

Spirit Mask

Even though it was warm enough to go to the beach today, Autumn is just around the corner. With Autumn comes Thanksgiving and Hallowe'en. This is definitely one of my favourite seasons.

Here, as a foreshadowing of Hallowe'en is a spirit mask I drew a few months ago. Masks of all kinds are interesting to me, so they pop up in my work now and again.

Thanks for stopping by.

© Christopher Chuckry

Gargoyle Genie

Seems I'm on a bit of a Gargoyle kick here. This is a quick sketch, inspired by a photo of a gargoyle, that happened to be on my drawing table. I took the photo somewhere in Europe, maybe Paris, I can't recall. I have recently assembled a set of flat file drawers for storing and organizing my artwork, and was able to clean up my studio a little. The kids were anxious to see how things now looked in "Daddy's office," so we spent some time out there this evening, exploring and having a bit of fun.

I drew this with chocolate colored Derwent drawing pencil on 50 lb. Strathmore. It is © Chris Chuckry.

Thanks for stopping by.

Gargoyle

Well, I've been really distracted when it comes to updating this blog. So, here's a new piece. It was originally intended for Illustration Friday, but I couldn't finish it by the deadline. I was going to use it for the theme "Missing", but was late. Then I thought I could use it for "Hollow," but missed that deadline too.

In order to overcome my drawing/painting inertia, I've joined the Visual Literacy program, offered by the Illustration Academy. It's an online learning environment with a bunch of great illustrators and teachers, who are able to offer personal critiques and advice. I'm hoping it will help me get to the next level in my career. It should also improve the frequency of my posts here--I hope.

This piece is a pencil sketch with Photoshop colors. It is © Chris Chuckry.

Thanks for looking.

Up! The movie.

In early June my wife and I took our two boys (four and six years old), to see "UP!" It was a great movie that we all enjoyed. I'm sure I'll see it again. It was written by Pete Docter, of Pixar. Seeing his name again reminded me of his visit to my studio some years ago. He wasn't in town specifically to see me. He was a special guest of the University of Manitoba, and was here for a speaking engagement. Fortunately for me he was interested enough in comics to accept an invitation to drop by the studio that I shared with Doug Wheatley, the next day. The right personal connections definitely played a big part in getting him to the door.

Pete Docter, of course, had done "Monsters Inc." years earlier. I loved this movie as well, and have seen it many, many times with my kids. When "Monsters Inc." was released though, I was disappointed, since I was working up my own monsters and hoping that something would come of them. The movie though, was much different from any of my concepts and I quickly came to love it.

So, it was an incredible opportunity to have such an inspiring guy pay me a visit. It was also a little overwhelming. The visit was short, but memorable, and I'll probably never have something like that happen again. Pixar's movies are a wonderful source of entertainment and inspiration, bringing a little magic into our lives--and Pete Docter is one of the creative heroes brining that magic to the screen.

I gave him one of the promotional t-shirts that I had in the studio. Luckily I had his size--an extra large--since he is a tall guy. Fittingly, the shirt had a monster on it--the space monster shown above. Maybe it's time to revisit these characters and see what they've got to say to me now.

Thanks for visiting. All images are © Chris Chuckry.

Pear Lover

I reworked piece, that was initially done a couple of years ago, for a local zine. Originally printed in grey tones, I had always intended to finish it in color, one day. Keycon is a local Science Fiction/Fantasy convention. I'd been aware of it for years, but never really participated. This year, I decided to enter the art show, and realized I needed some more finished color pieces, in addition to the ones I had completed for the World Horror Convention. Thankfully, I remembered this piece and I tried to finish it in time. I'm not entirely sure that it is finished yet. But it's fine for now. It is © Christopher Chuckry.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Red Skull

I've been feeling bad about not posting more often. I'm trying to get a handle on a bunch of work, and don't feel that I have enough time to do something worthwhile. So, for now I'm posting a Red Skull speedpaint. Red Skull is a Captain America villain. He is also © Marvel Comics.

Thanks for stopping by.

World Horror Convention

The World Horror Convention will be in my city in late April and early May. I've decided to take advantage of the opportunity to do some pieces for the juried art show. These pieces are my first attempts at doing horror. They are kind of fun to do, in a challenging way, and they take me to places I haven't been before. I'm hoping to have six or so pieces on display and for sale. I'll try to post a few more here as I finish them. I'm definitely feeling the deadline pressure with these paintings, since I have to do them around my day job.

Thanks for stopping by. © Christopher Chuckry

Spectrum 16

I finally resolved to submit a piece to "Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art." This is a beautiful, yearly art book that I've bought since it was first published. It's full of work by many artists I admire and respect, as well as a bundle of talented people new to me. It has always been a great source of inspiration.

This is a competition though, and the art submissions are juried. This year the jury had over 5000 submissions, and from those, selected just over 300 to appear in the book. Needless to say, I'm quite excited about making the cut.

The majority of my work is coloring comic books. Illustration almost seems like a hobby to me, because I enjoy it very much, and don't do enough of it to earn a living from it alone. I've always felt though, that I could be pretty good at it if I could just put in the time and effort. I've still got a long way to go on this journey, but moments like this are enormously encouraging and validating. It gives me a little more spring in my step as I travel down this road of artistic enlightenment. I'm already thinking about doing a better piece for next year's edition, and hopefully one day, I'll be able to turn this hobby into a career.

You can click on the title of this post to view a complete list of artists in this issue of Spectrum.

This is the piece the jury accepted, it is © Christopher Chuckry. Thanks for stopping by.

This is me. I am happy. I am a green alien. Please don't tell anyone.

Pastel, ink charcoal on cardboard. © Chris Chuckry

Illustration Friday - "Time"

"The time wasn't all he had on his mind."

A quickie for Illustration Friday, on the theme of "time." Tougher than I thought to come up with something for this assignment. I must be out of practice.

As per usual, this is a pencil sketch, finished in Photoshop. It is © Chris Chuckry.

Thanks for stopping by.

Surinam Horned Frog

I've been a little busy catching up on some work, so I haven't had too much time to draw. However, I've managed to do a little. Here is one recent effort, the "Surinam Horned Frog," from "Frogs of the World." This is a quick pencil sketch, colored in Photoshop. It is © Chris Chuckry.

Thanks for stopping by.

Spiderman meets Barack Obama!

Normally, I wouldn't post my comic book color work here, in my illustration blog. However, this latest cover I colored has garnered some serious worldwide attention, so I thought I'd share. The cover art is drawn by the very talented Phil Jimenez, and colored by myself.

It started innocently enough in December, when my editor contacted me to ask if I could color a cover overnight. I agreed, and was relieved to see that the art was relatively simple. I quickly finished it, and after some minor revisions, the next day, it was good to go. I initially did two different backgrounds--the blue one, seen here, and a golden one. The golden one was used on the second printing of the book, and the blue on the initial printing. I've just finished another variation, with an American flag in the background, that will be used on the third printing.

I thought this book would garner some extra interest in the comic book industry, and a little note in the mainstream media. However, people who have never bought a comic book before are lining up for hours in the freezing cold. That's how huge the demand for this issue is. Looks like Obama-mania is giving Spiderman a big lift.

The reaction to this cover has been a nice surprise, and it's been my pleasure to be part of the team responsible for it.

Spiderman is © Marvel Comics.