88 MILES AN HOUR

Pen & Ink on Standard Stock

Original Creation Date: Apr 27 2014

Lots of experimentation with new things in this homage to Doc Brown and Marty McFly. New pens (which I did NOT care for), new vector ideas (notice the blue outline around the black details on the right leg), and some new coloring tricks on top of the vector elements. I certainly learned some things about the process along the way, and all in all had a lot of fun with this piece.

PORTRAIT OF THE YOUNG MUSICIAN

Pen & Ink on 50lb Stock

Original Creation Date: Feb 22 2005

This was to be the cover image for my first manuscript, a work of historical fiction centered on a rock & roll band in the 60's. This central character, singer Tim Quinn, received a seemingly supernatural inspiration for his music in a series of bizarre, lucid dreams... and he was forced to live with the consequences of having no pride in or control over his seemingly genius creativity.

Of course, to develop a story's premise is one thing, and to craft it into a worthwhile novel is something entirely different. "The Evergreen Dream" was in fact finished but wasn't really all that good, and the whole thing pretty much fizzled out from there. However, this sketch, fittingly unfinished, has always seemed to have a more permanent legacy in my creative catalog than the book itself.

ROCKET, COLOR

Pen & Ink on Standard Stock, Colored Digitally
Original Creation Date: Apr 15 2014, Final Completion Date: Apr 21 2014

The Rocket Raccoon piece, in all its digitally-painted glory. Ever since I drew this one, deep down I knew I just
wouldn't be satisfied until I took it to full color. Over the past few days I've been grabbing snippets of spare time
to attack this, one multiply-blended layer at a time. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the results, but after
playing the colorist on the job, I can certainly admit there's a few things I would have gone back and
changed during the inking phase.

But, I guess as a wise artist once said, each finished painting is its own lesson.

A production screenshot, somewhere around the completion of the figure.

A LATE SNACK FOR LOCKHEED

Pen & Ink on Standard Stock
Original Creation Date: Apr 16 2014

Kitty Pryde. Man, those were the days...

ROCKET

Pen & Ink on Standard Stock
Original Creation Date: Apr 15 2014

Rocket Raccoon. Soon to be the most famous raccoon in the world after this summer's release of "Guardians of the Galaxy."

I'd never drawn Rocket before, and found it to be great boyhood fun. I mean, really-- Bipedal animals with enormous guns in outer space?
Sounds like something straight out of a Watterson story-inside-a-story.

I might take the time to color this someday but am happy with the results of the inked work, entirely produced in less than 24 hours.

MADNESS

Pencil, with vector and raster digital enhancement.
Original Creation Date: Apr 11 2014

A new technique I've been experimenting with, using my preferred graphic design weapon of choice, Adobe Illustrator.
This pencil drawing of J, initially not much bigger than a post-it note, was vectorized and colored in AI before being
brought in for some final treatments in Photoshop.

JUST A MAN IN A BAT SUIT

Pen & Ink on Standard Stock, Digitally Painted.
Original Creation Date: Apr 10 2014

When I was younger, my take on the Batman always ended up being this herculean specimen of a man in tights, as if all that was missing was the green skin from another hero named Bruce. These days, I kind of like the idea that the Batman is just a regular guy, albeit with his own twisted motivations to do the things he does in the streets of Gotham at night. Just a guy in a bat suit.

I doubt this is my signature take on the caped crusader, but I think I'm getting closer.

WIN THE GAME

Pen & Ink on Standard Stock, Digitally Painted.
Original Creation Date: Mar 28 2014

Hype piece celebrating the B1G Conference Champion Michigan Men's Basketball
team during their exciting run to the Elite 8 in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Pictured is
Conference Player of the Year Nik Stauskas.

Original artwork, pencil and pen & ink.

NOOTOO

Pencil on 50lb Stock, Digitally Enhanced.
Original Creation Date: Apr 29 2010

I've often said that if I were to live in another era, it would undoubtedly be in the colonial times. The French-Indian War. Something
about seeing the Eastern United States woodlands, which I call home, in a wilderness state just calls to me in inexplicable ways.

This is actually an illustration for an original story that never quite got off the ground. But the
character may turn up elsewhere some day.

THE EMERALD ARCHER

Pencil on Bristol.
Original Creation Date: Jun 20 2005

Gravity.

I learned a valuable lesson from this piece about how to pose a figure from memory... and how NOT to.

Green Arrow in the woods. The woods in question are actually a part of the Hawk Mountain Raptor Sanctuary
in Pennsylvania, a favorite hiking destination of mine at the time. Oliver was added later.

A few years later, then-DC inker Rich Faber was looking over my stuff and remarked about how the character was
incredibly, hopelessly off-balance. And he was right-- I was so caught up in having him appear to rest on the bow that
I neglected the placement of that foot. A lesson worth learning... Chin over feet, and always remember gravity.

HARMON OF MICHIGAN

Pen & Ink on Standard Stock, Digitally Painted.
Original Creation Date: Sept 26 2013

Hype piece celebrating 1940 Heisman Trophy winner and "Michigan Legend" Tom Harmon.
Harmon's famous #98 jersey was brought back into circulation in his honor the previous week
and was seemingly the talk of Ann Arbor for weeks afterward. These two variations explored
both a full-color and vintage treatment.

THE PADDED CELL

Pen & Ink on Bristol.
Original Creation Date: Aug 27 2008

An early Joker, developed initially as an in-class tutorial on inking techniques.
My Jokers have improved over the years.

BUDDIES

Pen & Ink on Bristol.
Original Creation Date: Mar 4 2008

Some of my oldest friends. Really like how Chewie turned out.

BRAVELEIN

Pencil on Standard Stock, Digitally Manipulated and Toned.
Original Creation Date: Mar 15, 2013

Michigan Head Basketball coach John Beilein rallied his troops,
and after failing to win the Big Ten title, marched all the way
to the National Championship game. Win or loss, it was
a magical year for the Maize and Blue.

BUMBLEBEE

Pen & Ink on Bristol.

Original Creation Date: Jun 2 2009

This piece actually began as a rough sketch for students to ink over; I guess I decided to do the project as well.
I always used some sort of comic-book or otherwise geek movie as a subject for in-class illustration work,
just because it immediately engaged the young artists. Also gave the prof a little cred, too.
Pen & Ink on bristol.

DUM-DA DUM DUMMM!! DUM-DA DAAA...

Pen & Ink on Bristol.
Original Creation Date: Aug 20 2008

This Indiana Jones piece was started as an in-class tutorial about different inking techniques, and I remember choosing
to finish it out just for the sake of completion. I also remember working a bit too loose from the pencils and having that right
eye just look... off. In my own defense, this was not worked from a photo, so there's no Struzan-esque likeness captured here.

SANTA'S FLIGHT

Pencil on 25lb Stock
Original Creation Date: Dec 11 2004

This original composition was created to be dissassembled into pieces and used as a puzzle promotion for the
newspaper I was working for at the time. When finished, I actually framed the drawing and presented it to my
grandmother, who helped in many ways to foster a love of Christmas in me when I was a boy.