Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

I wish the best to you and yours during this holiday season, and into the New Year! May love and happiness light your days and nights. 

Almost forgot to finish my Christmas card this year--that's the way things have been going lately. I did remember though. This illustration is a combination of pencil and acrylic on textured paper, with some Photoshop love to wrap things up. 

Thanks for stopping by!

© Chris Chuckry

Map of a Heart

Here is a piece from one of my sketchbooks. A quick editorial-type illustration mapping a heart's experience with some people and things we typically associate with love.

I spend most of my days working in comic book and related genres. As a result, when I sketch, many related themes and stylistic influences find their way into my drawings. While I enjoy comic, fantasy and horror art, I also love children's book illustration, editorial art and many schools of painting. Lately I've been feeling a need to simplify my work, in an attempt to communicate the idea with less distraction. That doesn't mean I'll give up doing more detailed pieces. It does mean that I'll try to be thinking more graphically from time to time.

This is a pencil and marker heart, drawn in one of my moleskine sketchbooks. It is © Chris Chuckry.

Thanks for visiting.

Snow Fall

It snowed the other day, November 18th, to be exact. It was the first heavy snowfall of winter. Big, fluffy snow flakes falling from the sky, blanketing the ground and anything else they landed on. It was very beautiful. After all these years, I still see the beauty in this. However, I don't think I've ever seen the beauty in shoveling snow.

Beautiful as it was, the snow fell too early for me. I prefer it to remain snow-less until after my birthday, on the 21st of November. It didn't snow on the day I was born. Instead, there was a significant hoar frost. It snowed on my second day of breathing. I know this because my father has told me this story many times. Usually around my birthday. This story reminds me to remember those important moments in life. Pay attention, try to set them in the stone of my memory. Make them last, so I can treasure them later.

I remember the days and details when my children were born. I tell them what their birth day was like, and I will continue to tell them. I will remind them, as my father reminded me, to remember what is important in life.

Thanks for visiting.
© Chris Chuckry

The Mighty Thor?

This is my warm up sketch from yesterday, which I colored today. Yesterday afternoon was interrupted by appliance delivery, clean up and moving etc. For about a month, we've been without many of our major appliances. They were toasted by power surges during a bad electrical windstorm in early October. The refrigerator and microwave were delivered yesterday afternoon, so I had to move things about and clean up some.

Needless to say, I fell behind in my other work. "Life happens," as they say. So, here's yesterday's warmup sketch, colored today. I kind of felt like this guy after last weekend's Convention. Thor is brought to you by pencil, Pentel brush pen and Photoshop. He is © Marvel Comics.

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Beware the Creeper!

A quick warm up sketch, finished between coloring comic book pages. Done in pencil and Pentel brush pen, and colored up in Photoshop. Some years ago, I colored a mini-series featuring the Creeper. I guess I kinda like him yet. I'm going to try to make these quick portraits a somewhat regular habit, in order to keep me drawing more.

Thanks for stopping by.

Creeper is © DC Comics

Crescent Moon Mob & C4 Con

I spent the weekend at the local C4 Comic Con and had a great time! It seemed like this year was the busiest the Con has ever been. I had a great time meeting new friends and catching up with old friends. I loved seeing all the costumed attendees.

Although I was quite busy taking in the sights and talking to a lot of people, I did have time to do some art. Some of the pieces were for fan sketchbooks--always a lot of fun to do. My overly ambitious plans of painting a few pieces in acrylic or watercolor, did not really come to fruition. I did finish one piece though. This one is a combination of ink and aquarelle water color pencil. One of these characters appeared in an earlier sketchbook of mine. I wasn't sure what to call them, but I settled on the "Crescent Moon Mob," for now.

Thanks for stopping by.

Art is © Chris Chuckry

Frankenstein Portrait

Here's a little bit of traditional media fun. I started this back in April as a quick, cartoonish warm up sketch. After I warmed up, I didn't stop messing with it and it became something more fully realized. The proportions are a little off, betraying it's start as an exaggerated cartoon. Now it belongs to my son, who likes things that go bump in the night--as long as they are not too scary.

I used marker, pencil crayon and chalk pastel on grey matte board for this piece.

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Fruit from the past!

I used to do more local illustration work--really. As proof, I offer this fruit for your consideration. I don't believe these labels were ever used. If they were, I don't remember seeing them. These pieces were all painted in Photoshop from reference.

The photorealistic approach required an attention to detail that I don't often use in my other illustration work. Although frustrating at times, it was a fun learning experience. It was also fun working with a local client for a change. I should probably send my portfolio around to local agencies, publications and printers, to let them know I'm around and available.

Seems I've been neglecting this blog, in favour of my "Spookeasy" blog. If you haven't seen it, check out the link to your right.

Dear Jon. . .

"As far as he travelled, he could not out run the echo of those words in his head. Nor, the sadness that followed." I think we know what happened.

Figured I would try to get one post in before the calendar flipped over to May. Here's something I whipped up in a few hours between deadlines and other pressing concerns. I've included the pencil sketch so you can see how he started. He was finished in Photoshop, and he is © Chris Chuckry.

Thanks for stopping by.

Convention drawings

Last weekend I attended a local Comic Book/Sci Fi Convention. In between visiting with old friends, and meeting new ones, I was able to complete a small number of drawings. Here are a few of them. Spiderman, the Thing and Black Cat were drawn with pencil and marker in a 9"by 9" sketchbook. The Thing was then colored with aquarelle pencil crayons. It's a lot of fun doing these quick, cartoon versions of popular comic book characters. They are all copyright © Marvel Entertainment.

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Wolves & fox

When I was a boy, I used to love drawing wolves, reading about them, and thinking about them. Like many things though, the passion faded. Lately, however, they have been popping up in my sketchbooks. Here are a few wolves and a fox. I drew them while waiting to pick up my youngest son from Kindergarten.

They are pencil sketches, colored in Photoshop. Thanks for stopping by.

© Chris Chuckry

Personal Piece

Here's a work in progress image of a personal piece. I did the original sketch a few months ago, in my medium sized Moleskine sketchbook. I scanned it into Photoshop, painted it up and added some scanned textures of ink wash and straw-blown ink. It's now at a point where it needs to sit and wait for me to figure out, or feel, what might come next. Maybe it's finished? I haven't decided yet.

Thanks for stopping by.

© Chris Chuckry

Birthday Season!

For his eighth birthday party, my son, Simon requested custom invitations, featuring the gangsters from "The Triplets of Belleville," a favourite movie of his.  Judging by his wide, hockey player smile (missing front teeth), he liked what I came up with.

This is a combination of ink and Photoshop color and collage.

Thanks for stopping by.

Handsome Devil

A handsome devil to start the New Year. This started as a pencil sketch in my small Moleskine. I drew it while waiting to pick up one of my kids from school. As I finished drawing, I heard it cry out for color. So, I agreed to help, and here it is.

Now that my diversion is over, it's back to work for me.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a Happy New Year!

© Chris Chuckry