Fan posting

I am really vegging out during the holiday break- I am becoming the ultimate couch potato- except trying to draw everything  I am seeing with my eyes- now watching The Fifth Element for the 20th time and trying to get a feel for the characters in the film- here is my bad attempt at Major Dallas ( aka Bruce Willis)....fan sketching away....

another pose test

Another test with 2d assets- I need to find out how to break or the limit of the 2d mapped object so using a standing pose that is near a t-pose will be a good test- So after creating the image in sketchbook pro 7 such that it has no background - I created a mesh object that has a uv image map consisting of the original image.  I then set up an armature that the mesh object is parented to- making the armature follow the flow of the figure pose give the ability to react well to posing- note the parenting option was with automatic weights. This works good for planar objects.... the ability to rotate limbs, and scale them in normal direction allows for a solution to looking like in perspective- the next test will be with linked meshed object that can more in relation to each other--- looking up

there is even the option of rotating the limb into and out of the image plane- which makes the idea of 2.5 d a cool solution

playing with assets

I am still researching the Comics Nextra directive and am looking at creating assets for motion comics and digital comics- I want to see what will break assets and what will flow well- the first step is to create the 2d asset in either photoshop/ scanned from drawing, or in sketchbook pro. Next will be to create the wireframe plane element that will use the 2d asset . here are two images- one create in sketchbook pro, the other created in blender as the first object as a UV map to a mesh object created in Blender ... this object can be rigged with bone deformers and mesh shape keys for slight movements and  expressions- the image that has different moveable features will be build of several plane objects that can slide in respect to one another creating a false sense of head turning during a motion sequence

the node set up  was done in blender using cycles- a shadeless material set up was used for images

and bones were parented over a planar mesh which can have shape keys set during animation

random quik sketch wednesday

Just trying to get ready for Comics Nextra a pats cool idea of creating a mix of motion comics with 2.5 D animation. So I am working on my image creation and digital puppet creating skills- Just so I don't loose a step on drawing- which I will be doing a ton of in the near term as a work on FX Mulrooney as a first test of the process- I wanted to just park a couple of sketch images I did this week and the past week- so here it is- looks like a lot of heads

sketching again

I started sketching back on computer again after the crash of my computer-I lost some programs but maintained most- and upgraded my OS jammed some of my photoshop that I loved, so I decided to re- purchase sketchbook pro and moved to version 7.

I have to say I am starting to like it- so much so that I will attempt some of my comic work to be done in sketchbook pro. When  I was using version 6, I did not think the program was ready for comic production like photoshop CS5 is- but I will rethink this potential with all the new features I am discovering.  The program definitely works as far concept drawings- but I will find out if it can be crisp and clean as photoshop toward comic production... I will still have to use photoshop for final finishes but will look to sketchbook pro for initial pre production and mid production tasks- fingers crossed.

starting again

I had to wipe my computer and have just  re-loaded some programs and left off many others that I had previously before my computer went kaboom- so I need to start creating some more art work in preparation for comic come-back- so here  is another head shot done in photoshop- lost my sketchbook-pro... I am trying to be smarter about coloring so I used two layers- on for flats and second for gradient shadows... instead of using a soft large brush over a mask, I am using gradients for shadows with the selection tool- if the transition in shadow is too great - I reduce the opacity of the layer to blend better...

fall small con prep

I am trying to feel my way through for a presentation at 2014 Motor City Black Age this September and wanted to show some love for Milestone Comics- Just saw a video interview with Denys Cowan and he gave praise to great writer, Dwayne Mc Duffie.  I tried to pitch a Rocket - Static story written by G Teon Walker to McDuffie at a Detroit Motor City convention one year- he kindly turned down looking at it due to potentially drastic legal issues. But was please just to say hello to the guy- But I always wanted to draw a Static character sketch- so I did... Again Rest in Peace Dwayne...

coloring samples for possible jobs- really impromptu

I was told by a wonderful artist to get some samples ready for a possible pro coloring job- so I pieced together some images that I have posted before that may fit the category- Fingers crossed on this one... Salute!!! most if not all were done in photoshop and if someone is curious find the images in the older postings and it tell how they were done-- Nuff Said....

belated mother's day Card

I am in the midst of Game of Thrones during the Mother's day weekend- So I got the idea of showing the fanboy in me about the institution of Motherhood- which of course I know nothing about- Maybe when I grow up, I will adopt-

doodling while sitting with Detroit tradecraft members

I was inspired last night to think about drawing again and to doodle while sitting with Detroit Tradecraft members.... I made statements that the group needs to get into the fund raising and networking phase  and was hit by a lot of new ideas from  a new member as well as an old about getting the world to know we are Alive- I credit new member Kelly Guillory( from Ahsur Collective)- a dynamic young artist and writer has  become the newest member of Detroit Tradecraft and she is a current-"in the trenches" working artist with ideas and plans for living from her art.  She came to her first meeting and this past Saturday and seemed to really vibe with the group and inspire Michael Marcus and those present with her bubbly personality and ideas on trends and media networking.  She appears to be an advocate for the Detroit Area Comic and Art scene. When we did a movie watching hang out later the young lady brought in some of her work, She started working on a commission she had to finish and she has some really awesome skills. Her productivity inspired me to do some doodling of my own- Oh also inspired by the Metal gear Solid (next gen) Game Teon had in the Background.. I got to see Michael Marcus totally engrossed in the game- with his legs twisted into a pretzel- speechless- Priceless...

Getting back into Comics again-

I am planning to get into web comics in 2014 and I am thinking about a cool girl- heroine series. I call it Fx Mulrooney's G-Girl6- In my head, it will be a mix of web comic and social media communication... I am always trying to find a sweet spot- got a lot to do in 2014- including helping other get their comic project done- well here is a quick selfie of the main character Jamie- the upcoming G-Girl6...

title images from hard-drive

I pulled off these from my hard-drive- I created these blender/photoshop images while helping with Bright Futures program At the Ypsilanti High School in 2011.   I really enjoyed working with the high school kids and i did these title spots for  a couple of groups that were running during my time at the school.  I did not want to loose them to time and old hard-drives so up to the blog they go....

oh0 sorry- explanations needed- The Ypsilanti Soul Steppers were a talented High School Step team coordinated by Rev Sanders- a coordinator and teacher. They did some great performances during special school functions.

And Rice records was the operations of young would be rappers cutting tracks with the Bright futures built in sound booth- coordinated by Mr Pierre Rice- a counselor in the program

another blender sculpt

okay I want to do another sculpt so i can move on to the next stages in modeling- retopology- I am practicing trying to keep forms clean and surface smooth- I experimented with cycles node base rendered materials with this one- using a mix shader to mate up a glossy and diffuse render. I also made sure my base model had smooth turned on before rendering and render sampling was on 75 for a smooth look.. After watching a couple of Kent Trammel videos with blender cookie- I am starting to figure out size of brush and scene magnification to smooth out a sculpt more efficiently- I know I can only go so far until the system slows for saving file frequently is useful- For one offs and images it is okay to keep the high res - but I know retopology is needed  before mapping and rigging- those are my next steps after sculping- so here is another image

random- image pics- with branding

Just trying something new for branding purposes- drawing characters on forms with the i below ground productions llc and the Detroit Tradecraft logos- to be used online... One of the big issues with the Detroit Tradecraft group is that there is no branding of the group and no one knows who we are or what we do- so putting out some images in 2014 with Detroit Tradecraft logos that could be used for prints at conventions may be a great idea... or not!- Anyway here is one pic with the branding on it- enjoy

Sculpting on a snowy day-

Okay- I decided to do it again and create a head sculpture of another character of FX Mulrooney comic serires- I am getting better and will probably be going over these designs again before final production.  The sculpt today is of Harlequinn Hunter, one of the main antagonist to the FX Mulrooney character.  he will have a lot of scene time in FX Mulrooney 4 which is slated to be in 3d..... the more I stay at it the more it will come  true for me and the viewers-

Again I did this sculpture in Blender 3d. - Cheers

Its good to be impatient

I have stated for several years about being able to create a cg comic based off my action character FX- Mulrooney- and I have become impatient and crazy enough to move in that direction- so instead of doing a random facial sculpt- it was time to see if I could come up with a likeness to the end goal- so here is FX Mulrooney 1.0 draft sculpt.  I liked it so much I put the brand stamp on it ( from logo created by Graphic designer and concept artist Patrick Hatfield.... Hopefully I keep this up and work toward my dreams of getting this idea out of the basement and out the front door- Ciao

oh PS Please comment and critique this since the harder I am on myself up front- the less issues I will have down the line- thanks all

sculpting on cold day

Have a couple of assignment I need to prepare for by tuesday this week and I am trying to warm up to my ultimate task- completing CG (3d) images for comic book production- I am currently trying to complete 100 images at each  stage of the cg production since in long run doing a whole comic is almost  just short of doing an actual animation- so proficiency and professionalism seems to be a good way to get to that point- I will eventually see ready made products like Poser and DAZ Studio as an option- but since my comic is more stylized- I may have to do it the hard way- my first step is Sculpting, then, retopping,then texturing, rigging,posing and rendering, and post... here is my 10th sculpt attempt- I think I am getting better...

It was made in Blender 2.69 using the clay brush tools, flatten,polish, and brush- with dynamic topology and symmetry along X enabled. The next step in my journey after 100 sculpts will be retopology... fingers crossed

looking at the current masters

I have been participating in daily sketching and posting images on Facebook under  a Sketch a doodle a day link and have been looking at the incredible illustrations of Kim Jung Gi. Mr Gi's artwork is flawless on draftsmanship and visualizing 3 point perspective and construction on the fly.  He also has an extraordinary sense and patience for detail and materials.  So during a sketching session today I used his drawings as reference for a sort of tribute- it came out pretty cool.  This goes to show to progress always refer to works better than yours or just straight from nature.... I will be using this idea in my future with art...

sitting in during winter blast

It is just too cold outside- almost froze trying to free my car after this winter blast- so I will be sitting inside this winter trying to get my mojo back and doing more promoting for me and my art- here is a taste of new images popping out- I found out I also have loads of images sketched out in books to reuse for the masses