PEW PEW PEW!

*ahem*

Sorry, got caught up in the moment there…

Yeah, so this one requires a short bit of explanation. So a few days ago I was doodling some 1950’s styled pulp sci-fi rocketships. It was purely experimental, you see—me just having some fun drawing something that didn’t have  a deadline or didn’t need to convey a story. When I do this, I keep Twitter around for company while also having some television on in the background. In essence, I just try to immerse myself in bits of inspiration. It just so happened that Futurama was on at this moment, so it helped me maintain the retro design style. Albeit, it kind of heavily influenced my sketches towards the cartoony.

Go figure.

It was around this time I noticed a Twitter friend’s tweet (it was @omgitsafox, previously mentioned in her birthday post earlier this month). She said something about “zapping some s’mores.” Now, my logical mind assumes she meant she had them in the microwave. But my creative mind, due to the over saturation of rocketships and silliness, decided to conjure an image in my head.

This picture is the ultimate result of that spark of inspiration:

To Stephanie: This one’s for you! May your adventures through the depths of space be void of … s’more monsters … and stuff. Or something. *shrugs* I dunno, it sounded better in my head than it reads on screen…

Tags: omgitsafox, s'mores, sci fi, twitter

I’ve posted a short, ten stage walkthrough of my technique for creating a page for the Rusted comic (which is, ironically, still in early development at the time of this post). And because such a thing is a little too long for a standard blog post, I created a new section on this site specifically for such Articles.

So, if you’re at all interested in how an amateur, no name starting artist does his work, please give it a read!

A Step-by-Step Walkthrough of My Art Process for Rusted
In this article I walk you through the various stages (roughly ten in all) of a page from my webcomic, Rusted (still in early development at the time of this writing). This is not a “how-to” so much as an exploration of the process I use for this particular style.

Tags: comic, rusted, super secret project, walkthrough

See? What do I keep saying. Everyone was born in the middle of the year!

This card goes out to a dear member of my World of Warcraft guild whose character is known as Shizukera Nightfury. She purrs. She’s a demon hunter. She’s … a purring demon hunter.

I should have probably drawn her purring at the tank, come to think of it… crap. Oh well, there’s always next year! Happy birthday, Shizu!

(By the way, she can be found on Twitter as @Shizukera.)

Tags: birthday, shizukera, warcraft

So the test page for “HEAVIKROME” (formerly known as Heavy Chrome) has been delayed due to a change up in art style direction. I’m researching the new style and would like to redo the page I started. So, in the interim, I drew up the first page for “Rusted” instead.

Rusted is a reinterpretation of an old video game property that my now-defunct game company was developing. The theme centered around the idea that a group of old, rusty robots was fighting against a slew of new, shiny warbots. It was a cute cartoony tale. But over the past few years, the idea “grew up” in my head, and I’ve spent the past few months reworking some basic ideas. Rusted is the result.

Once again, comments are welcome and appreciated. I’m looking for comments regarding the visual style primarily (yes, the rough sketchy style is wholly intentional); these can include the figures, the coloring, even the lettering choice. Also, comments on the actual portrayed story (well, the snippet of story) are welcome. Does this page make you want to read more?

Click the image for the full size pic (and easier reading).

UPDATE 07/15/09 12:30am: I’ve adjusted the font of the page for easier readability. Comments on new font choice appreciated.

Tags: Heavy Chrome, rusted, super secret project

What did I tell ya? Birthday central, I say! Today is the birthday of a close local friend of mine, Maria Clark, a.k.a. Lannia Winterstorm in World of Warcraft and @Arcania on Twitter.

I hope today goes well for you. May you have a happy birthday today and many more to come. Uhm… although you may wish to keep that priest bubble handy around Lokker. He can, indeed, be … dangerous.

Tags: arcania, birthday, twitter, warcraft