Captain America - In Color

Last night I opened up Photoshop and started to tinker around with some of my old illustrations. I wanted to keep experimenting with different ways of coloring my work. This time instead of trying to be detailed I thought about trying out a more speedy process, and this is what came out of it. It's not the cleanest, but it gets the idea across. I probably will try to refine this process and make it look a little better it I use it again.

Additionally I was messing around with my new digital brushes (Kyle Webster Brushes) doing some water color style paintings. This was before I started my Captain America coloring, so I just took out the sky and placed it in the background of Cap. Things are getting interesting and I promise new art is in the works!

Boba Fett Ink Illustration

Christmas came and went, which means that I received some new art supplies! Thanks family and friends! I'm starting to get settled into my new home in Florida and have time for trying out my new gadgets. So this is one of the drawings that I didn't get a chance to ink at the end of inktober. I wanted to take my time and enjoy the process with this one. I started out knowing that I wanted it to eventually be watercolor, so this is on watercolor paper. For Christmas I got some new Winsor Newton Series 7 brushes (size 0 and 000), aka extra fancy brushes that make fine lines. I was amazed how smooth and easy to work with they were. For the gun and some of the armor I used my quill pen and I am fairly happy with the results today.

The next step is going to be watercolor. I received some watercolors for Christmas that I am itching to use.

Daredevil Watercolor

Hello, today I wanted to share a watercolor painting from a few months ago that I had forgotten to post. I created this for my brother's graduation from TCU. He is a huge Daredevil fan and season 2 of Netflix's Daredevil had just come out. Unfortunately the photograph is through a glass frame, but you get the idea. Enjoy!

1990's Cyclops

This is one of the inktober sketches that I didn't get a chance to ink. I couldn't go to sleep last night so I finally got up and started to ink it. This was the version of Cyclops that I grew up with. Looking back now his costume is pretty weird and I wonder what is it's function. Why so many straps and pockets?

A Few of My Favorite Marvels

Hello again, it has been close to if not more than a week since posting last. I must say Inktober got crazy there at the end. I have been sitting on the last few sketches for a week now trying to get the energy to ink them. Come on it was Halloween and the World Series, what's a guy supposed to do. So this was technically Inktober Day 26's artwork.

I started this drawing as just a doodle on a sketch pad during work. Wolverine was the first character that I got down, then Spiderman, Captain, and finally Iron Man. I have drawn these characters so much that I didn't have to look at photos or reference in regards to their postures. So ultimately I felt good about that. When it came time to ink the drawing a few nights ago I realized that I had just drawn the characters and no background, so it looked like they were just floating around. I decided to draw a city.

I am trying to get better at spotting my blacks. This means finding those large areas of ink that are supposed to convey shadows or just conveying a dark colored object. I've always had a hard time with this because after I made all the linework (think like a coloring book) I always assumed that I was finished. What I am finding is creating shadows with ink gives the drawing depth and makes the finished illustration more interesting.

On a side note I have started to put my artwork up for sale on my etsy store:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AtelierLambert

Inktober Day 22 - Luke Cage

I finally finished Luke Cage on Netflix this weekend and I really wanted to draw the character! The show is amazing by the way. So this is Luke Cage aka Power Man, he is a Hero for Hire. When I was younger I really heard nothing about him, but eventually he was a playable character in video games and I was like who is this dude that just walks around in a T-Shirt? After working at a bookstore I got my hands on a reprint of Luke Cage's origin story and it was awesome. Since then I have a few "Power Man and Iron Fist" comics. His skin is impenetrable and he has super strength. I don't really want to say much more, just watch the series, it's great!

I needed to get this illustration finished rather quickly, so I stuck to my brush pens. Because I drew the pencils with line weights in mind, inking was rather quick. I liked how in the show his clothes had a tendency to become hole ridden, so I wanted to convey that and ricochet bullets.

Inktober Day 21 - Thanos

Gradually catching up! So this is Thanos, he is pretty much the ultimate villain in the Marvel Universe. I say this because of the weapon he is known for wielding, The Infinity Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is made up of Infinity Gems, basically the doomsday items in all the Marvel movies. When these Gems are put together in the form of the Gauntlet, the user basically wields the power of a god. If you are interested in Thanos or the Gauntlet I suggest reading "The Infinity Gauntlet" saga or just wait for the next Avengers film.

As for the illustration, I really enjoyed using the sable brush on this. I tried something new today, instead of dipping my brush into the ink well, I poured out the ink in to a shallow bowl. Turns out I was picking up way too much ink and it was hard to control my line quality. Now I can see how much ink I am picking up. I decided to just ink in the background and leave his body without any shading so I could look at my lines.

Inktober Day 13 - Cable

This is Cable from the X-Men. Honestly his whole history and power set are confusing to me. Also "Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men" podcast hasn't reached his history yet, so I am a little clueless about him other than some key points. To my understanding, Cable is the son of Cyclops and the clone of Jean Grey "Madelyne Pryor". Cable's real name is Nathan Summers, as a baby he was transported into the future where he became a warrior and time traveler. Sometimes he has telepathic powers and sometimes not due to his techno organic infection. Additionally he is a brilliant tactician. Thanks Wikipedia.

Captain America - Somebody Get That Kid a Sandwhich

Today's special word is "hungry", which made me think of that line that Tommy Lee Jones says in Captain America The First Avenger, "Somebody get that kid a sandwhich." This of course is before Steve Rogers gets transformed by science into Captain America. Not 12 pm yet here in Texas!

For this drawing I originally had the idea to include skinny Steve Rodgers and have him be shadowed by the current drawing. I started drawing this out and then realized that I was subconsciously recreating this awesome Alex Ross poster I had seen and I really didn't want to be a copier. I left the brush alone on this one and used a pen. I like how it looks, I felt more freedom in translating my line work. Enjoy!

Inktober Day 3 - "Look Sir Droids" Stormtrooper

Today I have a Star Wars drawing featuring a Stormtrooper. This is the point in the movie where C-3P0 and R2-D2 crash onto Tatooine. These Stormtroopers are trying to find them and this dude comes into frame and yells "Look Sir, Droids!" Technically these are Sandtroopers, they have all this stuff on their back so they can survive on planets with harsh environments. I have a copy of the Star Wars encyclopedia and listen regularly to the Star Wars Minute Podcast, so I can keep these fun facts coming all day. I'll be nice and spare you, Enjoy!

Intober Day 2 - Hulk vs. Abomination

Day two and I am still here! Today's code word is "noisy", anytime anyone says that word now you have to scream and wave your arms around. No, that's Pee-Wee's Playhouse and this is Inktober. So the word noisy made me think of Hulk. Anything the Hulk does is noisy, plus I have been reading vol.1 of Peter David's Hulk run and I am loving it!

For this drawing I stuck with a smaller sable brush, a size 1. I have been trying to use a better made size 3 for a while because I watched Paolo Rivera ink and he said that you can get more variation in line with a larger brush. Unfortunately I do not have that kind of control yet, which means all my lines end up being super thick. I'll keep practicing but I'll stick to the small brushes for now. Enjoy!

The Thing's Time Off

This is "The Ever Loving, Blue-Eyed Thing". Benjamin Grimm, aka The Thing, is a member of the Fantastic Four. I have been listening to Fantasticast Podcast a lot lately and I have been really wanting to draw The Thing. He is one of the most fun characters to draw. I often like to look at a single issue and count how many times the stones on his face change around. I would think it would be hard to keep it all coordinated from panel to panel. I drew him smoking a cigar because I seem to remember always seeing him with one. Not sure if they have changed that in the comics.

 This was a relatively quick inking job. I am trying to practice on my inking skills and try out different tools. I started out using my sable brush to ink this, then moved on to using my Kuretake Bimoji pens. Eventually I ended up using Photoshop to add some highlights instead of using my white paint. In all I think the lines came out way thicker than I wanted. The Debate was on in the background while I was inking this. I think I was half paying attention to what I was doing and pressing down too hard. I just stuck with it to see where it would go. I plan on coloring this piece in with some Kyle Webster Watercolor brushes, but my Photoshop is being extremely slow. Enjoy!

Cyclops and Havok

This drawing was inspired by my love for the X-Men. I frequently find myself looking through my old X-Men comics. I love the X-Men and their supporting cast. If you don't know Havok and Cyclops are brothers, thus why I drew them together. One shoots stuff out of his eyes, the other can kind barely direct his blast. They were separated at a young age in a tragic plane crash that "claimed" the lives of their parents. It wasn't until later in life that they met up again. Fun Fact: there is a third brother, but I chose not to include him because he is kind of lame and I pretend he never existed.

For this work I wanted to draw the relatively old school X-Men costumes. Yes I know Havok has a weird hat thingy...believe it or not that is how it is supposed to look. I used ink, pro white, and love to create this piece.

Cyclops and Havok

 

Whosoever Holds This Hammer - THOR

Hello, I am back with a new drawing! The Mighty Thor, God of Thunder.

For years friends from everywhere have been telling me how awesome Thor is to read. For most of my life I have thought Thor was kind of weird. I just didn't understand what was so appealing about with character. Eventually I got my hands on some Jack Kirby comics and man was my mind blown. Thor was no longer a blonde pansy but an epic space action hero. While the stories and art were fun I still wasn't too interested in the Norse god of thunder, that was until I found...Walter Simonson's Thor! If you have not had the privilege of reading Simonson's run on Thor then you are totally missing out. For me it is a harmonious mix of art and story. It plays out like an episodic grand adventure and less like a villain of the week comic. It's no wonder that I am inspired! Now for the art...

For this piece I started out with just a quick ball-point pen sketch. I ended up using my light table to use my new sable brush. I have had that thing for about 5 months and it felt great to finally put it to use. Well that's about it and it's kind a late. If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Storm Sketch

Here's the latest. My sister is staying over and working on some art so I figured I'd make some of my own. Sorry for the picture quality, I made this one in a sketch book so my scanner didn't pick it up correctly. So this photo is from my phone.

Continuing my work on the female form, I decided to draw Storm. She a member of the X-Men. I don't think I need to explain her powers, kind of self explanatory. Enjoy.

Marvelous Women

It's been awhile! My absence has paid off though. I finally finished courses and earned a web developer certification. We shall see how that goes, but you're not here to hear about all that! All you need to know is that I'm back in the saddle. Let's get to the Art.

Recently I decided to work on some of my weak points. I have been studying architecture, cars, and the woman form. All stuff that kinda psych me out. None of which really are as difficult as I've made out in my mind. More drawing of that stuff soon, but for now here are the women!

The first drawing I will share was created today. I have only had time to create the pencil work, but look for some ink soon. The goal what to study the female form and try not to get so much of a superhero or supermodel form. I am more interested in challenging myself to draw diverse body types with women, instead of just having a go to form. I was using some cheap sketch paper that I bought second hand at work. It has a tendency to smudge, so I prettied it up as best as I could. This is Captain Marvel by the way. Ms. Marvel has superhuman strength, the ability to fly, and can shoot out energy beams. As for her history, I'm even a little confused on it sometimes. If you are really interested I would suggest reading her introductory comics written by Chris Claremont.

Here is the second drawing. This was done back in January, I know I've been a little late getting this one out. Just as before I was focusing on the female form yadda yadda. I don't think I mentioned this but I used a very helpful reference site for both drawings (posemaniacs.com). This drawing was created on bristol board with pencil. The character is names Phoenix. She was one of the original X Men. She was telekinetic and telepathic powers. She also was possessed by an alien energy thing called the Phoenix force, which took her over and then she died. Then she came back, then she died. I see a pattern here...

That's all for today, until next time!

Retro Iron Man

Here is a drawing that I have been waiting to complete for a few weeks, I have been a little busy lately. This is Iron Man, or at least what he looked like in the 1980's comic books. If you are unfamiliar with the origin story of Iron Man, you probably should pick up the 2008 movie titled Iron Man. Please do, I'll wait...

Ok so for this drawing I started out with a rough sketch in pencil and then scanned it into Photoshop to finish off some of the designing. I originally had the character straight, but decided to tilt him counter clockwise in order to give the drawing a more dynamic feel. While still in Photoshop I changed all the pencil lines into blue lines, so that after inking I could use the magic of Photoshop to make them disappear. For this inking process I used a quill pen although I normally try to use brushes exclusively. The benefit of this is that a pen tends to give a more steady and less organic line, which is perfect if you are drawing something metallic or man-made. Here's the drawing and I'll have some more soon!

Rocket Raccoon

This weekend I was lucky enough to see Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, a fun film about a group of heroic space bandits. It is one of the less known and outwardly bizarre Marvel franchises. The team consist of a human, an assassin, a man bent on vengeance, a talking raccoon, and a talking tree named Groot. While some of the characters have been around for more than twenty years, this incarnation of the team was first published in 2008.The film itself is one of the best times that I have had at the movies in awhile, and I highly recommend it to anyone, even if you are not a fan of superhero films. The music is great too! Enough about the movie, now about this little raccoon guy.

This is Rocket Raccoon. Don't let his furry looks fool you, he is a trained killer and weapons expert with a bad attitude. I'm not too sure how spoiler-y I should get here, so if you want to find out more see the movie of wikipedia. This is just a pencil drawing, hopefully I can get a inked version up soon.

Some Superhero Heads

Here are some head drawings from my sketch book today. I wanted to work with my Pentel Color Brush which is like a sable brush but in a pen. I find that it has better quality lines and more versatility with line weights. For the colors I used my Prismacolor markers.

The two heads I decided to draw were Michelangelo, one of the Ninja Turtles and Daredevil. I tried to keep the details to a minimum and focus on the color at the end. There is a pretty big smear on Mikey because I was too impatient to wait for it to dry before erasing. Enjoy!

Captain America Head

The past week or so I have been busy writing my comic and applying to jobs, but tonight I decided to spend a little time at my computer with some digital painting. This is my first attempt at trying to seriously paint anything in Photoshop. I guess the process is a little like painting a real painting, but a lot more forgiving with mistakes. I had fun experimenting. Enjoy!