Franquin-style Lily - Part 2

Here are the sketches I promised I'd show in my previous post:

The first Franquin-style Lily experiment pencil sketch (Type A), done on March 4, 2012:

Another one done on the 14th (with the previous design added for good measure!):

And here's a second variation on the Franquin-style design (Type B), which resembles the previous Lily design I worked with, while also recalling Franquin's work on round-headed characters like Gaston Lagaffe and Modeste!  (It also looks sort of like Peyo's work as well, like the Smurfs or Pirlouit, which was sort of what I was looking for!)

And soon did a fully-inked & colored version on tablet in Photoshop!

I love both designs!  Type B is more like what I was looking for, but Type A looks like it could work.  :)

Happy Birthday, Nico!

Just finished a little birthday present for the funny and very talented cartoonist/animator, Nico Colaleo!

Pictured here is Rekira getting some, er, attention from Nico's "hipster chick" characters, Scribble and Skarfy!  Done on tablet in Photoshop.

Have a great one, Nico!  :)

Franquin-style Lily!

Just to let you all know, the family is doing fine after Arianna's passing.  We're coping as best we can.  Friday of last week was the memorial service, and it went beautifully.

During the last week or so, I've been playing around with Lily Merriweather's design once more.  This particular new look is inspired by the style of another favorite comic category of mine, Franco-Belgian comics! Especially the likes of The Smurfs, Spirou & Fantasio, Modeste & Pompon, etc.  These titles have appealing, cartoony characters, and yet the stories they inhabit are not only funny, but very intriguing as well.

I've been doing pencil sketches, which I'll post next (once I finish a second batch), but here's my attempts on tablet in Photoshop.  This particular style for Lily is inspired by the works of veteran Franco-Belgian cartoonist, Andre Franquin, one of my favorites.  The first, fully colored, was done on March 6th.

And this prior one from February 29:

Goodbye, Arianna

I am very sad to report that my grandniece, Arianna, who was born prematurely on January 14, passed away last night at about 10PM (February 24).  She was in intensive care, and succumbed to an infection she was fighting with for weeks.  My family was very sad over the news, some of my family members pretty much saw it coming.  I was looking forward to having more kids in the family.  (But we still do have Jenna, who's several months old, so I'm thankful for that.)  So I decided to express myself with this drawing:

Done tonight on tablet in Photoshop.

Happiness is... Hugging a Warm, Fuzzy Friend.

After playing my Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron PC game for the umpteenth time (it's one of my favorite games), after using two favorite playable characters in the "Dog Fight" mode (and it's always a comfort whenever they're on the same team), I just felt like drawing this.  Also because, thinking of Snoopy Come Home (Mendelson-Melendez/Cinema Center Films; 1972), I always felt that Snoopy and Peppermint Patty were a great couple.  :)

Drawn this morning on tablet in Photoshop.

Happy Valentine's Day! (2012)

Finished today is a new piece I did for Valentine's Day!  (Done on tablet in Photoshop.)

Here's the first:

I did another version of the above two this morning!  I like the above versions better (a bit more elaborate and polished), but these are worthy of showing:

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day.  :)

My 50th Post!

This is my 50th post on this blog!

To kick off February for this occasion, I did a new doodle on tablet in Photoshop during the night!  Just completed is a scene of Rekira being surrounded by a horde of Omicron Robot Spies, and ready to fight them.

As an added bonus, some more Rekira stuff I had yet to post from last year.  All were also done on tablet in Photoshop.

Here is a test comic art I did of Tatsuo, on utilizing a technique similar to the col-erase procedure I've done with many of my recent doodles.  This was done on December 10 of last year.

An illustration I did on November 5th last year of Mysti-Girl from the Dynamic Heralds!

And another test of Rekira himself done on November 15 of last year.

And a couple of FX tests done with the above.  The first is an NG "half-tone" test, the other is a red neon test.

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Just finished tonight (on tablet in Photoshop), a little birthday card for podcaster/friend Mike Dent (R5 Central and Otaku USA's Friday Ace)!

Hope you have a great day!

The New DC and Marvel Logos!

Yes, folks, I'm just as riled up about the unveiling of the new DC Comics logo.

The above image is from a related article on the new logo by the Bleeding Cool news blog.

The clever part of the logo is that it looks like a turning page of a comic.  That description was much better than DC Comics' own description, and it is honestly pretentious.

The article quotes Amit Desai, Senior Vice President of Franchise Management at DC, who we also revealed was behind the presentation to DC Comics internally, as saying “We didn’t want a static logo, but a living identity that could capture the power of our characters and storytelling. What is special about DC content is the notion of a dual identity. When you think about our DC Comics superheroes, there’s a secret identity. When you think about Vertigo, it’s this notion of good vs. evil in many of the stories. And so, in addition to flexibility, the new logo communicates this idea of dual identity: there’s more than meets the eye. You have to take a closer look to understand the richness of our characters and stories.”

So that's all it is.  A "dual identity."  It's gone far beyond its original description.  Even its original "bullet" logo (used from the late 70s to the early 2000s) is a lot more generic and universal, as it opens themselves up to other genres!  Kiddie comics, comedies, romance, etc.  Yeah, remember those?

So, I decided to offer myself a challenge.  Could I do any better?  I decided to take up the challenge.

I present to you my own version of the DC Comics logo, a mix of the "bullet" logo and my own unique touch!  This was done in less than an hour in Flash (and this presentation was assembled in Photoshop).  Since DC stands for "Detective Comics," I decided to use a magnifying glass for a bullet, much like what detectives use.

But, of course, you don't necessarily need a magnifying glass or the brain of Sherlock Holmes to enjoy the adventures of Superman, Batman (himself a detective!), Green Lantern, Sugar & Spike, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, etc.!

So I did you all one better; I did a new Marvel logo, too!

Have you ever noticed that Marvel doesn't have a unique logo of their own, in comparison to DC Comics?  That bothered me.  Even though I always loved that classic "Marvel Comics Group" banner, and the use of different Marvel characters over the logo in the 80s was a nice touch!  But they never went as far as to make their own unique logo.

How do you define "marvel?"  A "marvel" is something that evokes astonishment and wonder!  When looking at the current Marvel logo, it looks too cold.  Too plain.  Just a blocky font that looks like the text for a hard-edged action movie.  Too much grim, gritty macho stuff.  That's not how I'd define a "marvel."

So, I decided to do a logo that defines Marvel!  Something marvelous and flashy.  An M-shaped flash!  This was done in Flash (no pun intended!) in less than half an hour, with this presentation assembled in Photoshop (right after doing the DC logo).  The "With Detail" one could've been colored/arranged better, but it gives you the idea.  :)

Realistically, neither company would accept these logos, even if they liked them.  But you have to agree, they're quite unique!  They not only define the names, but capture the excitement of what comics are supposed to be.  Just like any entertainment company logo (20th Century Fox, Warner, Paramount, Universal, etc.)!

As for current reading content, that's a subject for another day.

With Rekira and Dengeking, PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!

Did this for fun yesterday (January 6th).  Yes, you'll be seeing something like this in Rekira at some point!

Drawn on tablet in Photoshop.  Can you guess the reference?  :)

Introducing Dengeking!

Let's kick off the new year with yet another new character from Rekira!  Here is my own direct answer to the Ultra-Heroes and Henshin Heroes, the Japanese superhero Dengeking the Super-Man (Chouriki Senshi Dengekingu)!

Conceived almost a decade ago for the story, this is an updated design.  Done on tablet in Photoshop.

First Art of 2012!

I have returned yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon from my vacation in North Carolina!  Here's the first drawing I've done to ring in the New Year:

Done tonight (January 5th) on tablet in Photoshop.  Here is Rekira, welcoming the Year of the Dragon.  (Yes, he's part-dragon!)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! - 2012

Currently on vacation in North Carolina with my family.  Here's a drawing I based upon a hand-drawn pencil sketch, took a picture, uploaded it, and did the usual tablet on Photoshop thing, tracing and coloring it.  This is the last drawing for the end of the year.

Hope you all have a great one!

Merry Christmas from Ryusei Works - 2011

Today, for Christmas, I offer you readers my Christmas card (done quickly late last night, because I was afraid I wasn't going to get this done; plus I go on vacation later tonight), featuring Lily Merriweather riding on Rekira, done on tablet in Photoshop!

This may or may not be my last tablet drawing for 2011; whether or not I take my tablet with me (since I have a laptop), or I do the usual hand drawn stuff while I'm there, or both.  Either way, I hope you like this, anyway. I'll let this card do the talking.  See you all next time, if not the New Year!

A new Lily piece, and RIP Ricky Garduno

Here's yet another Lily test, done this morning on tablet in Photoshop, complete with blue draft lines!  Some people (artists included) like the new hairdo I did for Lily, so I just might use it after all.  :)

And something sad happened this past week; animator/cartoonist Ricky Garduno died at the young age of 35.  Some say it was suicide, which makes his passing more tragic.  (He was very depressed, I hear.)  Although I never met Ricky in person, he became a friend on Facebook a while back, and he enjoyed my art and a lot of other cool stuff I shared there, even commenting a little here and there.  That made things more poignant, so I had to acknowledge that.  Below, here's something I just finished tonight, on tablet in Photoshop, featuring Lily with Kimbo from Garduno's 1930 Nightmare Theater, featured on Dumm Comics (one of my favorite comic strip sites).

Rest in Peace, Ricky.

Charlie Brown Vs. the World!

Here's another piece I just finished today!  Mom thought this was funny.  :)

I'm a big fan of the movie Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World (Universal; 2010), based upon Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley's acclaimed graphic novel series!  The movie was not afraid of its comic-book roots, and is the closest we'll ever get to 60s Batman-style campiness today!  Colorful, action-packed, funny, exciting, even poignant.

Scott Pilgrim is basically the Canadian slacker version of Charlie Brown, and the rest of the characters in Scott's world draw parallels to Peanuts' characters, too, when you get right down to it.  And it was that which inspired me to do this parody poster, with Charlie in Scott's place!  Drawn on tablet in Photoshop.

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Today, Austin-based artist/fellow tokusatsu fan Matt Frank turns 26 today!  I met him in person at this past Dragon*Con, along with several other friends I'd have only spoken to on the Internet, and it was a great time to be had.

And for his birthday today, I whipped up a new Rekira drawing for him!  Done on tablet in Photoshop.

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Hope you have a great one!

Megaro-Goji portrait and two Lily tests

Had a busy but great Thanksgiving!

Below is a quickie I just finished for fun:

A portrait of my personal favorite Godzilla design (the "Megaro-Goji" from Godzilla Vs. Megalon)!  Drawn on tablet in Photoshop.

And here are two Lily pieces I did before Thanksgiving (also done on tablet in Photoshop), with two alternate designs/hairstyles:

Shorthaired variant.  Drawn on the 18th.  Logo is close to the final version (already completed)!

I like this one better!  This is more like the final design I'd settle on, although the hairstyle might go back to the original (which this one is a variant on).  Drawn on the 23rd.

REKIRA Comic Test 01

Here, for my 40th post on Blogspot, I present some more new Rekira pieces I did last night.  A couple of test pieces for the comic project.  Both are done on tablet in Photoshop.

Here's an illustrated color test, for a 50s-style cartoon-like design:

Here's a somewhat rough take of what a typical page would look like, with shading:

And here's the same one as above, tinted in blue.  I thought this looked beautiful.

Bessie Kills Giants

I recently read a really charming and poignant graphic novel story, called I Kill Giants, which was written by Joe Kelly (of Man of Action Studios) and drawn by J.M. Ken Niimura, and published by Image Comics.  The comic is about a young girl named Barbara Thorson, who's a troubled outsider (getting into trouble at school, bullies, etc.), and imagines herself as a slayer of monsters in a fantasy world, being a D&D freak and all.  (Somewhat similar to Pan's Labyrinth.)

I sort of thought or Barbara as a more badass version of The Mighty B!'s Bessie Higgenbottom, in that, despite their differences, they're both "nerdy" bespectacled characters!  And then, it finally dawned on me; "I should do a drawing of Bessie as Barbara!"  And here it is, drawn tonight on tablet in Photoshop.

I think my Bessie drawing skills are getting better!  :)