Goblet Of Fandom

I posted a piece of Harry Potter fan art on the Periscope Studio tumblr and some of the comments have indicated that I got a few crucial details wrong. I know there are some possible points of contention but I did think about the things that might be read as possible errors, at least a little, before I made the image. What follows is all meant in good fun (I want to get in on the nerdiness of being a fanboy too!)

Godric's Hollow, Halloween Night, 1981
The first complaint I saw was that Voldemort didn't look as I've shown him at the time the Potters were attacked but Lindsey looked it up to try and confirm my initial conception that creating the Horcruxes deformed him:

Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C

As for James having his wand it seems like I can be allowed a little creative license in that he is described as 'going for his discarded wand.' I like to think he could have picked it up for a second before he died or that it wouldn't have been that far from him because it was a dark time full of uncertainty and he'd need to be able to protect his nascent family. It certainly adds a little spark of drama to the image and for that, I hope I can be forgiven even if I'm not perfectly on target in the end.

Mutants Mutants Everywhere.

I love mutants when they are benign and contained to the pages or flickering screens of pop culture. In nature they can be (and almost always are) detrimental. In this happier case we can see an example from my childhood that sparked many drawings and flights of imagination; The TMNT. I loved these characters in all their incarnations:

I made this on a whim for my pal Ben Bates after a conversation we had about the differences and virtues of the gritty original comics variety and the more playful cartoon series of the 80's.
Anyone who reads this blog regularly may remember that I did a banner a few weeks back. It was based on a vague idea that I (and surely many others) have had of a Gorilla Fantasy Warrior. My previous post features one and many other examples could be found easily. this weekend though, I found an example that blew my mind with specific overlaps; Behold the might and glory of Gorill-zar...

His cybernetic arm doesn't match up but you can see how his shoulder piece, sword and neck tendons are all pretty close. Crazy stuff!
I don't often buy 'toys' but I couldn't help it. He is just too bad-ass
I am happier than I look that 'Gorill-zar' has joined my forces. His mutant brethren (all from Papo Toys) will be enlisting soon!

Mad Men and Hot Ladies!

A while back Periscope studio decided to start a sketch tumblr and one of our early topics was "Mad Men." I like the look of the show and I enjoy the themes they explore in the series (culture clash, sexual politics, doomed chauvinism, identity, creativity, etc.) I decided to draw the most beautiful people in the cast and tried to pull my color choices from actual frames of the show.

I'm thankful that a woman with Ms. Hendricks' curves is considered 'hot' by the rest of you too now. I've been saying it for years;ask Lindsey.
I used a lot of little pictures to help including some posed for by my friend and fellow Periscoper, artist Erika Moen. I wanted a lady to stand in for Joan and Betty.

Having friends who will pose for you is great because it really allows you to determine what sort of compositional choices are realistic in real time. You need not rely on stock Internet photos or your imagination alone. Sketch out you idea and then pose it; it is like scientific verification!
Here are the inks if you are curious. Joan/Christina's mouth is a little too big (but Steve Lieber caught it before I finished the colors!) There are a few little things here and there that are worth changing on the next one but I had a lot of fun. The color in particular really brought it together (I think.)

You can see patterns and gradients in the piece above and all of those were added digitally by me! I haven't really tried much of that before and I think it worked well this time. I love learning from my mistakes and modest advances on a piece like this.

I'm With The Moose.

Lindsey and I (mostly me) have been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender via netflix streaming at the prompting of several friends from Periscope Studio. I had seen bits and pieces while doing the occasional babysitting gig or hanging with older friends that appreciate good cartoons. My favorite character is Appa. I know he's a 'bison' but I call him "The Moose" because it is funny to me.


My friend Ben Bates told me not to draw him realistic because that is 'an easy idea' and I'm inclined to agree since it was the first thing I thought to do. I just decided to draw him like I draw my comics and do a bit of watercolor. I hope you enjoy it and I welcome you to check out the digital grays in tomorrow's White Pony and give me some feedback on what you think about the transition.

I'm all ears. See you Wednesday!

Deep Blue, Lightning Loop.

I do enjoy video games from time to time. There have been times where I am less than enthusiastic about the effect that video games have on our culture as a whole but that is a different post. For now I'll share what I do like:

Of the games I love F-Zero is one that holds a special place in my heart. I liked it when I played it on SNES and I like the GX game for Gamecube. I like racing games already but what resonated with me was something about the clean, circuit board-like futuristic landscapes and the idea that the culture within the game held racing in such high esteem. My favorite character is Octoman and his vehicle the 'deep claw.' I also enjoyed the classic characters so I made this bit of fan art:


I hope you find this evocative of your own video game nostalgia. I have a few more images planed but I'd also like to hear what sorts of drawings the rest of you would like to see here on the meleeblog. See you all again on Tuesday!

Only A Ruffian Deals A Blow With The Back Of The Hand

I keep meaning to do certain pieces of fan art: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke) is one that I can check off the list! These two are the definitive manifestation of the master sleuth and his stalwart companion in my opinion. I like Richard Burke too but EH just seems more in keeping with Watson as a good friend; he is a less combative fellow:


I enjoyed the new movie and I'm not a purist so I'm willing to check out this modern era show I've been hearing about too. I'll always have a soft spot for the incredible charm, accuracy and earnestness of the Granada series. I hope you enjoy my loving tribute to one of my favorite characters personified so perfectly by a masterful actor.

I just watched "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" as I was finishing up my drawing!

Paul G. Vs. Scott C.

I am a huge Paul Gilbert fan (as anyone who has spent any significant amount of time around me can attest.) I have been wanting to do some PG fan art for a while and I thought, while I was at it, why not give a shout out to Scott C's greatshowdowns.com. Paul has a song called Paul Vs. Godzilla (off of his Silence Followed By A deafening Roar album) that seemed like a perfect context to riff on Scott Campbell's ingenious trope of famous antagonists.

Here it is:

For the full experience play this tune as you visually wade retina-deep in to my musical and artistic triple homage to a great cartoonist, a shredding titan and the king of all monsters.