Lui Louie

WATCHMEN

2012-02-10T07:21:00.000+11:00

So i got to choose this weeks Ozcomics theme thanks to my Sandman entry and i went with the hot topic at the moment, Watchmen.

I started back at TAFE this week, and have already been slammed with a bunch of major projects, so i didn't get quite as much time as i'd have liked on this. There a few things that bug me but as with the JLA piece i did it's getting me in the swing of working faster.

Original inks below, made a few minor tweaks once i got it into the comp.

Go on over and check out the rest of the entries, there's a bunch of great ones already with many more on the way i'm sure.

GONE FISHIN'

2012-02-07T19:34:00.001+11:00

Late last year my work (Mammoth Merchandise) asked me to create a series of tee designs for their end of year giveaway. There was no real theme or anything so i just went with whatever came to mind. I got the idea for this flipping through one of my old sketchbooks.

I'll always prefer screenprinting but since this was a smaller run they were printed Digital Direct-to-Garment and they did come out really well.

JAY ELLE AY

2012-02-05T19:32:00.000+11:00

So i ended up doing a bunch more of these while i was backing up my girlfriends computer. Got myself a Justice League! These are really fun to do, and i'm getting quicker i think. Wonder who i should do next...

Ink on paper, with some colour added in PS. Check out my followgram for some process shots.

GL

2012-02-04T10:21:00.001+11:00

Trying to get into the habit of doing a quick warm up drawing before starting on other things. I have a tendency to spend too long on something (everything) and getting a bit carried away. Hopefully, doing this should help me loosen up and get used to working fast.

NYC SEWER

2012-02-02T13:27:00.000+11:00

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have taken over at Ozcomics this week and the work everyone's producing is insanely good! The Turtles bring out the best in everyone it would seem.

This first one is not what i entered... well not quite. I went with a simpler colour scheme for my final (which is further down), but I do like this full colour version the more i look at it.

Took me a while to figure out what i wanted to draw for this one, but once the manhole cover popped into my head the rest fell into place. Manhole covers have a great graphic look to them, good to draw and it adds that NYC flavour. I was originally drawing Leonardo but the perspective and grip on the sword was giving me too much trouble. The sai fit in there a lot better so i went with Raph (Donatello is my favourite, FYI).

Pencils & Inks:

And below is my actual entry for Ozcomics. I thought this was a much more striking colour scheme.

Now go and have a look at the rest of the entries! There's some amazing work.

GEN X

2012-01-30T19:12:00.000+11:00

Because Marvel should give us a mini series where Chamber & Jubilee are hunting down mutant killing Vampires in England. Preferably written by Brian K Vaughn. Don't tell me you don't want it.

Inks.

SANDMAN ENDLESS

2012-01-27T08:19:00.000+11:00

This weeks Ozcomics theme is Sandman. I knew straight away Death would play a big part in mine.

I decided on using the umbrella as an overall shape for the image and went for it. Still hadn't fully decided what i wanted to put in the umbrella. Maybe Dream or another of the Endless?

Once i finished Death i didn't want to try and draw on to the same drawing especially with those finicky umbrella parts so i scanned it in, printed out the basic shape as a guide and tried to put all of the Endless in there.

Combined the two in PS, added some colour. Pretty happy with this one. It's funny how once you finally decide something's finished you start noticing things you want to fix. That's the good thing about these weekly challenges, you figure stuff out. Sometimes while you're drawing and sometimes after it's finished. But you know for next time.

There's a ton of great entries this week already. Go on over and have a look and like your favourites!

FURRY

2012-01-25T08:58:00.000+11:00

These were all done last year in prep for an exhibition at TAP gallery raising money for the RSPCA (a few of them were in the show). There's a couple of tee's with the second image for sale at my store.

DRIVE BY

2012-01-20T18:58:00.000+11:00

I love seeing cars drive by with a dog hanging out the window. They either look like they're having the time of their life... or like they couldn't care less.

Check out my store. Selling prints of this among other cool things.

THE JUDGE

2012-01-19T09:24:00.000+11:00

This week's OzComics theme was the LAW! I haven't read a lot of Judge Dredd comics (loved the movie when i was younger though), but i've always thought he had a great look. Roughed out a few ideas before starting this one, i knew i wanted him to be pursuing some lowlife scum, but chose to concentrate in on the helmet so i could experiment with the different reflection techniques. Also thought it was a much more striking image.

Here are my pencils. I was originally gonna include shoulders and whatnot but then i got lazy. ;)

MONSERRAT STROUS

2012-01-18T08:40:00.000+11:00

This is a concept illustration i did for a character i'd been mulling over in my mind. Monserrat Strous. I think maybe i'd watched Coppola's Dracula before drawing this cause i'm getting a Gary Oldman Dracula vibe off it.

THE CAT'S MEOW

2012-01-16T20:27:00.000+11:00

This is an illustration i did last year for the Enmore Design Centre's "Cat's Meow, Dog's Dinner" student show at TAP Gallery. After spending months experimenting with acrylics and watercolour, gouache, pencils etc. and making countless dog and cat pictures, i did this over the holidays and it turned out to be one of my favourite works of the year. Not to say i wasn't happy with the experiments, it was just nice to get back some good ol' cartoony comic stuff.

There's a cat that turns up at the door of the apartment block across the street from ours, pretty much around 7:30pm every day without fail, and meows until it's let inside. Whenever i hear it i go and have a peek, and that's where the inspiration for this came from. Unfortunately Superman does not live in that same building. As far as i know.

I also got these printed up on tees to sell at the show, and they sold really well! I have a couple up for sale on my etsy store, as well as some other stuff so have a look if you're interested.

Y THE LAST MAN

2012-01-15T19:47:00.001+11:00

Another entry for the OzComics weekly challenge. This weeks theme was comic book romance, and i straight away thought of Yorick and 355. But i couldn't do a Y the Last Man drawing without including Ampersand and Dr Mann, so i got them in there too...

Here are my original pencils for this. I always enjoy seeing different work stages so i figured i'd post this up. I scanned it at this point and printed it in light blue to ink over. Which i then brought back into the comp and coloured in PS for the finished version above.

As i was doing this i though it'd look awesome on a tee so i mocked one up to have a look. I want one so bad!

Y the Last Man is one of my all time favourite comic book series. It's incredible and i highly recommend it.

TOP COVERS FOR MARCH 2012

2012-01-13T09:03:00.002+11:00

Alright time for my top 10 covers for comics coming from Dark Horse, Image, DC or Marvel in March 2012. Click on the companies to go see the full solicitations. Lot's of great artwork to look at, this was an especially hard month to cull to 10. All credit & copyright for these belong to their respecitive publishers, click on the artists name to go their websites ... let's get on with it...

It would have to be intimidating as fuck following James Jean on covers for Fables, but Ruas has not only maintained that level of quality, he's surpassed it on occasion. And i love that his works have evoked that same kind of Fables cover feel that JJ established, but it's all distinctly his own style. This is a beautiful cover.

Fables #115 by Joao Ruas

Really digging the style here, colours are great and i love the figures.

John Carter: The Gods of Mars #1 by Julian Totino Tedesco

Seems like Daredevil is destined to be in here every month, cause it just keeps getting better and better. Check out Paolo Rivera's blog linked above, it's a fantastic read and very informative.

Daredevil #10 by Paolo Rivera

Check out this time lapse of the cover in process...

Another series constantly in here, and with JH Williams III and Amy Reeder working on it it's no wonder why. Such a cool cover.

Batwoman #7 by Amy Reeder

I'm very excited for this GN. Written by Chip Kidd (Graphic Designer who's done some great work in comics, and also a huge Batman fan) and Illustrated by Dave Taylor, everything i've seen and read make this sound like a unique Batman tale and this cover reflects that perfectly. Click here to read more about this project.

Batman Death by Design by Dave Taylor

Yep. Both covers from Unwritten this month because they're both freakin' great. They'll have to release a Unwritten cover art book when there's enough because they're all pretty much stunning.

Unwritten #35.5 by Yuko Shimizu

Unwritten #35 by Yuko Shimizu

I really dug Steve Skroce's work back in the day (90's!), especially his later work on Wolverine. Feel like i haven't seen him on anything in ages but, good to see his work again and it's looking better than ever. This colouring really suits his style. Great Darrow-esque grittiness to this.

Avengers X-Sanction #4 by Steve Skroce

Probably the comic i'm most excited for this year. Brian K Vaughn is one of my fave writers and though i hadn't seen Fiona Staples art before, everything i've seen so far looks amazing. This is a wonderful first issue cover. Classic character shot but packed with little bits of information about these guys and what situation they might be in. There's been a tad bit of controversy over this cover over the past few days, specifically the breast feeding part. Completely ridiculous.

Saga #1 by Fiona Staples

This book rules. I've only read the first issue, but it was great! Gotta get my hands on the rest! Hands! Get it?

Lil' Depressed Boy #12 by Sina Grace

WHOOPSIE

2012-01-12T18:34:00.001+11:00

This is a concept illustration for a doll i made last year for a TAFE project. The doll has since fallen to pieces (quality workmanship!) but i got some pics i'll put up soon. It came out alright, though this picture is was my favourite part of the project i think.

Watercolours & pen. Whoopsie was actually the name of the clown my Dad used to perform as!

NEW YEAR NEW BLOG

2012-01-02T12:02:00.000+11:00

Been doing a little bit of redecorating on the blog front as well as adding some more content. Not finished everything yet, but it's on it's way. And just in time for the New Year! Happy New Year everyone, hope it was a swell night for all! Mine was entertaining to say the least.

Hoping to really post up a lot more stuff this year so keep your eyes peeled.

DON'T EVEN ASK

2011-12-16T07:56:00.000+11:00

Did this for the ozcomics weekly drawing challenge. Been wanting to do one of these for awhile, guess Spidey was the right theme for me. Couple of hours work, Pen & PS.

CONCEPT SKETCH

2011-12-12T07:54:00.000+11:00

This is an early concept sketch a comic book project i worked on earlier in the year. I'll post up some more stuff from this as well as actual pages soon.

TOP COVERS FOR FEB 2012

2011-11-27T19:50:00.000+11:00

The following are my top 10 fav covers from the recently released Feb solicits. View Full Solicits: DC, Dark Horse, Marvel.

This month has some amazing covers featuring the coolest women in comics, starting off with this wonderful Rogue cover...

X-Men Legacy #262 by Mark Brooks

Beautiful cover. Took my breath away!

PunisherMAX #22 by Dave Johnson

This is great in it's simplicity, and i like that we're in there looking out instead of the other way round like usual. The signature bugs me though, there's gotta be a better place to put it.

Black Panther #529 by Francesco Francavilla

I get a nice "epic" book covery feel from this. Francavilla always uses really nice colours, and uses them so simply. Makes it looks so easy.

Supernatural #5 by Dustin Nguyen

Northlanders #49 by Massimo Carnevale

Penguin Pain & Prejudice #5 by Szymon Kudranski

I like the blurryness/depth of field in this. Plus the simple colour scheme.

Conan the Barbarian #1 by Becky Cloonan

Batgirl #6 by Adam Hughes

Batwoman #6 by Amy Reeder

This image has been floating around for awhile, but i never get tired of it. Real nice detail on the costume.

And finally...

Aquaman #6 by Ivan Reis

Mera front and centre cutting loose! Of course this is gonna be one of my top covers.

WORSHIP

2011-10-11T07:03:00.000+11:00

The final of my American Gods concept art series, and the one i spent the most time one. I got really caught up doing this one. It's so easy on the wacom to just keep on making changes, adding stuff, tweaking this. But i'm happy with how it came out.

Click here to see the other concept images.

THE CAVE

2011-10-10T07:18:00.000+11:00

This was the first one i did as part of this project and doing this i started to finally feel comfortable using the tablet. Shoulda done a different pose but oh well!

Only one more to go...

MOTEL AMERICA

2011-10-05T07:17:00.000+11:00

Another from my American Gods Concept Art project (click here for more). Wacom & PS.

SELF PORTRAITS.

2011-10-03T10:30:00.000+11:00

Sigh. I miss my beard.

MEAD.

2011-10-02T09:28:00.000+11:00

Another from my American Gods concept art project, this was the quickest and loosest of them all. Click the tags below to see the others...

SHADOW

2011-09-28T12:02:00.000+10:00

Concept for Shadow from American Gods, part of a concept art Tafe project (click here to see the more).

INSPIRO. LAYOUT.

2011-09-19T19:59:00.000+10:00

More layout inspiration, click the artists names to see more!

Aquaman page by Ivan Reis (only a couple of weeks till this is out!)

Fairest page by Phil Jimenez

Stange Tales page by Rafael Grampa (This short strip is one of the best Wolverine tales)

Nausicca page by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki

Eartha by John Burns

Mighty Thor page by Oliver Coipel

I'm not sure who this is by but it's awesome!

X-Men Schism page by Adam kubert

Frankenstein Agent of SHADE page by Alberto Ponticelli

Birds of Prey page by Jesus Saiz

INSPIRO. LAYOUT.

2011-09-14T16:43:00.000+10:00

Some nice page layouts for inspiration. Click the artist names to see more!


A page from Malinky Robot by Sonny Liew (click here for more info/preview of the book)

A Mike Zeck page from the classic Spider-Man story Kraven's Last Hunt

A David Hitchcock page from A Mother's Love

Insomniac by P. Craig Russel

I'm pretty sure this is a page from Detective Comics by Tony Daniel, but i may be wrong...

A J.H Williams III page from Batwoman. This guy is amazing on layout.

A Marcos Martin page from Daredevil. (this new Daredevil series is freaking fantastic, btw.)

A Travel Foreman page from Animal Man

David Lopez page from Mystic

Mark Buckingham page from Fables (i love the gutter/page designs & accents he uses)

I love doing these posts cause i find all these artists blogs and stuff!

DREAM

2011-09-14T06:54:00.000+10:00

Another of my American Gods concept art TAFE project. This time depicting a dream sequence in which Shadow is confronted with the statues of long forgotten dead gods. I based the room on the framework of a boat, since that's how these gods would have been brought over to America.

Wacom tablet + PS. This was a quick(ish) one, hour or two i think. Though i still feel like i'm heaps slow with the tablet.

YGGDRASILL

2011-09-11T17:14:00.000+10:00

Concept for the Worldtree from Norse Mythology, done as part of a series of concept artworks for the Neil Gaiman novel American Gods. This was taken from no scene in particular (can't recall whether or not the tree makes an appearance in the book), i think i just had this image in mind and started it as something to loosen up, but ended up taking it through to completion.

(Part of a school project to create a series of digital concept art images for an unadapted book, click here to see more).

ZORYA POLUNOCHNAYA

2011-09-06T20:03:00.000+10:00

Concept for the rooftop scene between Shadow & Zorya from American Gods. This is probably my fav out of all the ones i did. Few hours with a Wacom tablet.

(Part of a school project to create a series of digital concept art images for an unadapted book, click here to see more).

LOW KEY LYESMITH

2011-09-05T08:29:00.000+10:00

Part of a project i've just finished at TAFE. We had to pick a book and produce a series of Concept Art images for it using mainly digital means, wacom tablet PS etc. Also had to pick something that hadn't been adapted in a long time/ever so we weren't too influenced. I chose American Gods, as it's one of my favourite books. It's being adapted into a HBO series now, which'll be awesome! But haven't seen anything from it yet.

This is a character concept for Low Key Lyesmith. PS + Wacom tablet. Couple of hours. Had fun doing this one cause i didn't really plan it at all, just went for it.

TOP DC COVERS FOR NOVEMBER

2011-09-03T07:53:00.000+10:00

Full November solicitations are here. Click the links to check out more of the artists work!

Sweet Tooth #27 by Jeff Jemire

Spaceman #2 by Dave Johnson

I'm heaps excited for this series. The whole concept sounds really cool, and Azzarello & Risso can really do no wrong together.

Nightwing #3 by Eddy Barrows

I've been drawing heaps of circusy stuff lately. Not as well as this, though. These guys looks like a cool traveling circus family.

Grifter #3 by Carlos Alberto Fernandez Urbano (CAFU)

Justice League Dark #3 by Ryan Sook

Frankenstein AGENT of S.H.A.D.E #3 by J.G. Jones

Also been drawing a bunch of crabs lately. Wish i could put Frankenstein in with mine too!

Flash #3 by Francis Manapul

Such a stylish cover!

Fables #111 by Joao Ruas

Diablo #1 by Joseph Lacroix


Batman #3 by Greg Capullo

The cover for Batman #2 was in my list last month iirc, but Capullo has outdone himself with this one. So much energy, great composition and simple yet highly effective colour scheme! Really digging it.

SALIVATION

2011-08-28T08:48:00.000+10:00

It's been brought to my attention that i salivate uncontrollably whenever food is near, in a not so subtle way. Turns out i also do it when i'm looking at a bad painting of a bacon & egg roll. Go figure.

Gotta start practicing more with the tablet, this is a quick one i did the other morning.

TOP MARVEL COVERS FOR NOV 2011

2011-08-27T08:28:00.000+10:00

Full solicits here. Links for artists below each image, check em out!

X-Men #2 by Chris Bachalo

Love the colours on this.

Avengers Origins Vision #1 by Marko Djurdjevic

X-23 #16 by Kalman Adrasofszky

This is just a really cool pose and composition. I get an Miracleman/All Star Superman vibe off it for some reason.

X-Men Legacy #258 by Clay Mann

Clay Mann is quickly becoming one of my fav artists. Everything i'm seeing i dig more and more.

Victor Von Dom #1 by Becky Cloonan

New Mutants #33 by Jason Pearson

This reminds me of the old Bachalo and Mahfood Generation X stuff i used to love when i was a kid.

Magneto Not a Hero #1 by Clay Mann

Mann again. The angle of this cover is great and Mags looks badass.

Incredible Hulk #2 by Marc Silvestri

Hulks vs giant Sharks. Need i say more.

Ghost Rider #3 by Arturo Lozzi

I am by no means a Ghost Rider fan, but this cover alone makes me want to be. This artists work is really really cool.

Fearless #2 by Arthur Adams

TERRACOTTA LIFEGUARD

2011-08-21T08:18:00.001+10:00

I did this for a vector based Illustration project. We had to do a double page spread to accompany an article based on the political and economic relationship between Australia and China.

DOG 03

2011-08-14T08:16:00.000+10:00

Final day to see Dog's Dinner Cat's Meow! Get in there before 4, when it all starts coming down.

CAT 06

2011-08-11T08:12:00.000+10:00

Don't forgot to visit Dog's Dinner Cat's Meow before it finishes up on Sunday. And if you've already been, go again!

DOG 02

2011-08-10T07:09:00.000+10:00

Dog's Dinner Cat's Meow, TAP Gallery till the 14th August.

DOG 08

2011-08-09T07:18:00.000+10:00

I had a dream last night where a zombie's head, after we decapitated it, started buzzing around like a fly and chasing me and Dan Akroyd in circles. Then she gave us some money (500 smackaroonies!) and sent us on our way to find the other surviving humans. Can't wait for Walking Dead Season 2!

DDCM at Tap Gallery. Click me.

CAT 03

2011-08-08T07:07:00.000+10:00

Don't forgot to visit Dog's Dinner Cat's Meow currently on at TAP gallery (until the 14) and tell everyone you know to go to. It's for a good cause, cause animals are awesome!

INSPIRO. LAYOUT.

2011-08-07T09:41:00.000+10:00

Cause i'm about to spend the day trying to layout pages for a comic. Need some inspiration!

We3 page by Frank Quitely

Frank Quitely is a master of layout and i'm sure his work will pop up alot in these layout posts.


Nonplayer page by Nate Simpson

This page above from Nonplayer is a favourite of mine. Taking it out of context of the issue and looking at it on it's own it has a great sense of narrative and is beautifully drawn. I bought a print of this from the artists store for a cheap as price and it's soon to be hanging on my wall!

Uncanny X-Force page by Jerome Opena

I've been reading X-Force lately and Jerome Opena's artwork and page layouts are freaking fantastic. Quickly becoming one of my fav artists.


Flash page by Francis Manapul

Aquaman page by Ivan Reis

Oh Aquaman. You so cool!

Batman page by Greg Capullo

DC Universe Presents Page by Bernard Chang

Red Wing page by Nick Pitarra

The Mighty Thor page by Olivier Coipel

Amazing Spider-Man page by Marcos Martin

Marcos Martin is amazing and looking at his work was what inspired an illustration i did currently on exhibit at Dog's Dinner Cat's Meow.

Peace out!

CAT 01

2011-08-06T08:25:00.000+10:00

Dog's Dinner Cat's Meow | 2/8 - 14/8 | Student Exhibition raising money for the RSPCA

DOG 09

2011-08-04T07:18:00.000+10:00

A student exhibition raising money for the RSPCA, Dog's Dinner Cat's Meow is on at TAP Gallery till the 14th august. Check it out!

DOG 12

2011-08-02T07:28:00.000+10:00

Don't forget: Dog's Dinner Cat's Meow, opening 6pm tonight at TAP Gallery in Darlinghurst! Be there or be some kind of square animal hater :P

Aliens are invading.

CAT 07

2011-07-31T08:17:00.000+10:00

One of my process works in prep for a student exhibition opening next week. I'll be posting up a whole heap more in the coming days. To see the ones that actually got into the show, and many many more by people way more talented than i,come to the exhibition! (info below)

TOP MARVEL COVERS FOR OCT 2011

2011-07-27T08:18:00.000+10:00

My favourite 10 covers from Marvel's October Solicitations which you can see all of here. Click the artists names below each image to go their websites and see even more wonderful images!

PunisherMAX #18 by Dave Johnson

X-Factor #226 by David Yardin

Vengeance #4 by Gabrielle Dell'Otto

SHIELD v2 #3 by Gerald Parel

Journey into Mystery #629 by Stephanie Hans

John Carter of Mars #1 by Esad Ribic

Generation Hope #12 by Rodin Escuejo

Captain America #4 by Steve McNiven

Avengers 1959 #1 by Howard Chaykin

The Defenders #1 by Terry Dodson

FLORA

2011-07-26T08:13:00.001+10:00

Some unused character concepts from a project i'm currently working on at tafe.

TOP 10 COVERS FROM DC'S OCT SOLICITS

2011-07-24T07:44:00.001+10:00

My favourite 10 covers from DC's October Solicitations which you can see all of here. Click the artists names below each image to go their websites and see even more wonderful images!

The Unexpected #1 by Rafael Grampa

By far my favourite cover of the month, this is just all kinds of awesome. Seriously, check out his website. Now.

Northlanders #45 by Massimo Carnevale

Supernatural #1 by Dustin Nguyen

Men of War #2 by Viktor Kalvachev

Penguin: Pain & Prejudice #1 by Szymon Kudranski

Wonder Woman #2 by Cliff Chiang

Flash #2 by Francis Manapul

Deathstroke #2 by Simon Bisley

Batman #2 by Greg Capullo

Batgirl #2 by Adam Hughes

ROBOBASENJI

2011-07-10T18:18:00.000+10:00

Inspiro.

2011-07-07T09:45:00.000+10:00

Howzabout a little early morning inspiro?

Nonplayer spread by Nate Simpson

by Joe Mad

Top 10 Marvel covers for Sep...

2011-06-17T19:55:00.000+10:00

Here are my top 10 fav covers from Marvel's September Solicitations, which you can read all of here.

Criminal: Last of the Innocents #4 by Sean Philips

What a babe!

Moon Knight #5 by Alex Maleev

I like the textures in this, the white area is especially pleasing.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 by Kaare Andrews

This new costume ain't really doing it for me, but this is a really dynamic cover.

Wolverine: Debt of Death #1 by David Aja

Daredevil #3 by Paolo Rivera

So simple, and so nice.

Spider Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #2 by Sebastian Fiumara

Spooky & sticky & spidery & Shang-Chi-y.

Uncanny X-Force #15 by Esad Ribic

The colours in this are fantastic.

X-Factor #225 by David Yardin

Good mysterious cover, and very atmospheric.

X-Men Schism #4 by Alan Davis

I dunno who to go for...

X-23 #14 by Kalman Andrasofszky

The colours work so nicely here and Thing looks beastly!

That's it for this month's covers...

Takeshi's

2011-06-17T07:16:00.002+10:00

A series of expressive portraits of Takeshi Kitano.

Top 10 covers from DC's September Solicits...

2011-06-16T10:41:00.000+10:00

DC have released the covers and solicitation info for September, which you can see here. Always a good batch of inspiring artworks to be found and the following are my top 10 covers in no particular order...

Unwritten #29 by Yuko Shimizu

Old school Pulp greatness, not to mention that "poison" quote. Yuko Shimizu's covers for this series have been outstanding from the get-go.

Action Comics #1 by Rags Morales

A great and very intriguing homage to the original Action Comics cover.

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E #1 by J.G. Jones

Frankenstein with a sword and a gattling gun. Plus that 4 armed girl looks awesome!

DMZ #69 by John Paul Leon

I haven't read past the 2nd volume of this series yet, waiting to find a good deal on the following trades, but this cover immediately made me want to re-read and catch up on this series.

Justice League #1 by Jim Lee & Scott Williams

While not really that interesting of a cover, the fact that it's Jim Lee, a brand new Justice League, and Aquaman's in there, hits all the right fanboy notes for me.

Legion of Super Heroes #1 by Karl Kerschl

I really like the colours in this, and it has a real nice flow to it.

All Star Superman TPB by Frank Quitely

I remember when the first released the image for this the sky was bluer, and i think i liked it that way more. Still a fantastic cover for a fantastic series.

Sweet Tooth #25 by Jeff Lemire

Makes me think of the Lion King scene.

Hellblazer #283 by Simon Bisley

This one kind of speaks for itself yeah.

And my favourite cover of the month...

Scalped #53 by Jock

Jock you're awesome.

Also the Aquaman #1 and Batman & Robin #1 covers that were in my last post are awesome too. Should post up my top 10 covers from Marvels solicits in the next couple of days. Spilt coffee on my keyboard so i gotta buy a new one so i can get onto my comp. Soo annoying!

Inspiro

2011-06-13T10:27:00.001+10:00

A bunch of cool images i've come across this morning that i thought i'd share. All cred goes to the linked artists, check 'em out!

Swamp Thing by Yanick Paquette

Punisher by Dave Johnson

Aquaman by Ivan Reis

Harry Potter and co by Doc Shaner

TMNT by Traditional Danimatio

Malinky by Sonny123

Zatanna by Adam Hughes

By Roger Cruz

by Sonofdavinci

Batman & Robin by Patrick Gleason

Takeshi Kitano

2011-06-12T10:25:00.000+10:00

I did this earlier in the year for a TAFE project. After exploring techniques and doing some expressive portraits (which i'll post up soon), we had to create a photo realistic portrait. I attempted to do so with hatching, and overall i'm pretty happy with it. I'd like to attempt it again if i get the time. It was tricky though, i took the left side of his face too far then had to spend ages building up the right side again.

He's got such a great face to draw. And the photo i was using for reference is fantastic. I'm pretty sure its by someone on deviantart (couldn't find it though), so creds to them.

A Frank Miller type of face...

2011-05-29T11:06:00.000+10:00

This was done for a TAFE project. Overall i'm pretty happy with how it came out. There are a few things i'd like to change but I didn't have as much time as i'd have liked to spend on it as it was overdue. It took me around 20 hours or so. I don't think i've repeated any quotes, but it's possible i did. Apart from the bricks and the beard it's all made up of quotes from my more favourite Frank Miller related projects.

Looks great printed out a1 size. Click it for a bigger view...

Cat Lady

2011-05-21T08:14:00.000+10:00

A tee design i did awhile back.

"like... Surreal, y'know?"

2011-05-17T16:31:00.000+10:00

This is a portion of a piece i did for an assessment at tafe, to produce a "surreal" style artwork using coloured pencils. I found it quite difficult working with the pencils, think i need to practice alot more, but there are bits i'm happy with and it was fun to do.

Pudden'!

2011-03-25T07:25:00.001+11:00

This is the last of my Magic Pudding postcards, and i think my personal fav. This was a fun project, but if i never have to see this pudden' again it'll be too soon!

Now Rice pudding... I'm fine with that cause it's soooo damn delicious!

Pudding Proof Fence

2011-03-23T22:19:00.000+11:00

Two Puddings

2011-03-22T07:15:00.000+11:00

The Adventures of...

2011-03-19T15:26:00.000+11:00

Another of my Magic Pudding Postcards.

The Magic is in the Pudding...

2011-03-17T09:55:00.001+11:00

Hello! Haven't updated in awhile because school has just been piling on the work. Lots of fun stuff though which i'll start posting up from now.

One of our first briefs was to create a collection of postcards promoting Norman Lindsay's "The Magic Pudding" and the Australian Landscape with an updated & contemporary feel. I decided to recreate famous Australian movie posters, inserting the Pudding & related characters. Here's the first...

More to come!

Shapeman!

2011-02-01T08:28:00.000+11:00

Do no fear! Shapeman is here!

The Shrew

2011-01-30T11:13:00.000+11:00

Sketched this on my Dad's Ipad while we were hanging around yesterday. On some sketch book application. It's actually a pretty good app, with a lot of capabilities. Although my fingers are too fat. It needs a pen to go with it.

I really want an Ipad so i can use things like this.

Well, i spent most of the time playing Angry Birds so that's probably why i want an Ipad. That game is great! plus reading comics on there is fun.

Bird in Hand

2011-01-29T09:23:00.000+11:00

Havent been updating as much lately as i haven't been getting much done lately, in terms of my drawing & painting anyway. I did however get a whole of work done on redesigning the Red Mera Vintage pages, and i'm very happy with how it's all looking and functioning. Check it out here, here and here.

I've got a store up and running aswell, not sure if i've mentioned that on here. Only a few items at the moment. Prints & Zines/Books, with more to come. And cheap too! Check it out here.

Officially enrolled in my course on thursday! Starting in a couple of weeks so that's pretty exciting. Should be updating with a heap more stuff once that gets going.

Peace.

Psychic Octopus Tee

2011-01-23T10:08:00.000+11:00

For Christmas at my work (Mammoth Merchandise), my boss had the cool idea to print up a few different tee designs to give their clients as a christmas gift. I thought this was great, and much better than the run of the mill gifts that are being sent round by companies at this time of year. Plus it meant i got to design up some tees AND get one for myself!

My very first tee with my own design! Check it out...

(My Octopus Man Superhero pose)

I also did a colour version of the design...

Might post up some of the other designs at some point.

Flying Fish

2011-01-19T07:32:00.000+11:00

Merry X-Mas & Happy New Year...

2010-12-29T08:31:00.000+11:00

Hope everyone enjoyed their christmas and has a great rest of the year.

Last Laugh

2010-12-22T09:20:00.000+11:00

Digital Sketch of the day! Trying to get into the habit of drawing on a tablet. It is getting easier, i think.

Hey i got into the illustration course! Cool, huh? I got all nervous when i got the letter. Then i opened it. Then i was happy and excited. Just like a movie.

Next two years are gonna be fun and hectic.

Aztec Shade

2010-12-19T09:53:00.000+11:00

This is a lampshade i drew on for my sister's b'day (She likes Egpty/Aztec stuff). It's hard to draw on a lampshade, by the way.

Didn't have time to test it with a light.

Mind Power

2010-12-15T11:10:00.000+11:00

Coloured markers on canvas. Trying to use some of the many many art supplies i have lying around, see what i come up with.

These Hands of Mine

2010-12-14T11:07:00.000+11:00

Mixed media piece on a 90x90cm canvas.

Aquamen

2010-12-13T08:27:00.000+11:00

Just messing around with my favourite underwater superhero!

... ... Not the way it sounds.

A Hard Day's Work Redux

2010-12-01T08:01:00.000+11:00

I don't generally revisit old works. Once i'm done i move onto the next thing, and even if i'm just practising in certain areas (colouring, for example) i'll try and whip up some new drawings to work on.

Always felt like i should give this one a colour though. I think it's because i didn't shade it as much as i normally do. Pretty happy with how it came out.

Sanctuary Ship

2010-11-30T08:01:00.000+11:00

And yet another named for a Champloo song.

Stay

2010-11-29T07:02:00.001+11:00

Another named for a Samurai Champloo song. Went for simple linework with this, trying to let the colouring convey most of the detail and feel.

Verily!

2010-11-26T07:00:00.000+11:00

Home Made Folio!

2010-11-20T07:57:00.000+11:00

So i've applied for the digital Illustration course at Design Centre Enmore. It's supposed to be a fantastic course, but it's extremely competitive and this year they're only taking 1 class of 15!

I had to go sit a 2hr drawing test, which was a little nerve racking cause i'm not fantastic at drawing under pressure (although that's obviously something i have to get over in this line of work). And while we are all sitting the test the teachers are supposed to review our portolios aswell.

I've never had a hard copy portfolio before, only web based. As graphic design is a big part of the course too i wanted to deliver a whole creative package so i took this opportunity to try and put together a portfolio/artbook. Thought it might help mine stand out from the crowd. Plus my mum's been doing a book binding course so i knew she could help me make it look real nice. Here's some photos of what i produced:

I'm really happy with it! The paper looks and feels really nice and it flows pretty well.

The test was good too. There wasn't any interviews or anything so i dunno what the teachers thought of my book, and i didn't get a chance to see much other people's work so it's hard to know how i stacked up. I did catch of glimpse of this girl's illustration from the test and it looked pretty amazing.

Won't find out until December whether i've made it or not so now i wait. Wish me luck!

Thundercats!

2010-11-16T08:04:00.000+11:00

Final Frontier

2010-11-13T07:02:00.001+11:00

Been forgetting ott put these up regularly. Oh, by the way, for anyone who's in Sydney tonight and has some time, Firstdraft Gallery (an ARI) is having their annual fundraiser at Firstdraft Depot 13-17 Riley St Woolloomooloo from 6 till 9. Donated works are being sold, $50 for A4 and $100 for A3. I imagine there's gonna be a lot of really good work going for cheap as chips. Plus entertainment and foodstuffs. Should be fun!

Life & Death

2010-11-10T10:41:00.000+11:00

This is a work i did a few months ago when i was putting stuff together for my show. Never made it in though, as it kinda clashed too much with the style of the other works. I remember when i finished i felt like i'd rushed it too much. That it was too unrefined or somethng. I dunno. Looking at it now though i'm much more fond of it. The colours are niiice.

Not sure if the original concept comes through too well. Haven't had any feedback on this one.

Aruarian Dance

2010-11-07T17:40:00.000+11:00

Another named from the Samurai Champloo soundtrack. This song is probably my favourite, check it out:

Nightshift

2010-11-03T17:08:00.000+11:00

Named after the song on the Samurai Champloo soundtrack. Getting back into some digital colouring.

Ummmm

2010-10-30T08:55:00.000+11:00

A quick sketch from Mudgee,

Purple fields of fun

2010-10-25T18:18:00.000+11:00

So it was my b'day last week and my girlfriend took me on a trip to Mudgee, which was heaps awesome and i miss it already. There were these cool fields of purple flowers on the side of the road where we stopped and took photos. I drew the above for Shikha with some watercolours she gave me. We also did some fishing, ate some nice foods and tasted some good wines. Seriously, go to Mudgee. It's...

...purple fields of fun.

Aaand... i'm finished!

2010-10-12T19:08:00.000+11:00

So, yesterday i finished the Mural off. I started with the red guy and went from there...

Did some more work on the blue guy. He was looking dull compared to the others

Then this guy popped up out of nowhere...

The chalk piles at the bottom of the wall grew nicely and were oh so pretty to look at. I can only imagine how cool it must have looked inside my lungs!

My lovely girlfriend Shikha came down to take photos of me drawing. And i took pictures of her sitting!

Then i tidied it up a bit...

Aaand...

Then i swung off the stairs...

So there you have it! Thanks heaps to West & Phil from Monstrosity Gallery for letting me draw all over their wall (and y'know, all the other help with my exhibition). I had a great time doing it. My exhibition finishes on Friday so get in quick if you haven't been, or if you want to see the Mural in person and swing off the stairs like i did. Well, better not do that last part. Gallery is at 93 Bourke St, Wooloomooloo. Open 11am-6pm.

See the chalk piles grow!

2010-10-10T19:10:00.000+11:00

I was at the gallery today, chalking away. Made a lot of progress on the mural, and thanks to the awesome chalk pastels that West got for me this thing is starting to look niiice. Seriously, how good are these colours? Spent most of the day adding colour and finishing off character number 2, otherwise know as "the green wrinkly guy/thingy". Plus a bunch of peeps came to visit me which was nice. Anyway, here are some progress shots:

Then i rubbed out the shoe and pants i'd done on opening night and started with another character on top. At this point i have a pretty solid idea of what i'm drawing, whereas until now i've just kind of been ad-libbing.

And that's where i left off for today. I'm really happy with the green guy, especially the colours of the new chalks (i think i'll end up adding some more detail to the blue guy). The wrinkles on the head look cool:

I'll be down at the gallery again tomorrow from 11 till 6 so please come by if you are in the area. If only to check out the cool chalk piles.

Adding some colour...

2010-10-02T16:37:00.000+10:00

On Thursday i went down to the gallery and worked on the mural for a couple of hours. Mainly spent the time adding in colour to the dude. I'm still getting the hang of drawing with chalk (don't think i've done it since school) and wanted to see how the colour would look if i did it similarly to how i would with pencils. Cause i'm using a lot of smudging i wanted to make sure i could come back an define everything well once the colour's added. Also changed some things here and there.

Still feeling out what the whole picture is going to be. It's pretty common that i'm not really sure what i'm drawing till i'm almost finished. If this whole thing were on paper i'd probably have erased a good deal more between this and my last entry. But as it's a big ass fucking wall it's forcing me to adapt a bit, which is good.

Check out the chalk pile on the ground. This'll look pretty cool by the time i'm done i'd wager.

Going up to Newy for a few days starting with the TINA Zine fair tomorrow. I'll post some pics of that when i'm back and more to come on the mural next week!

'Inking' opening night pics and the (so far) untitled mural!

2010-09-27T18:58:00.000+10:00

Friday night was the opening of my solo exhibition and it was a fun fun time. Lots of friends, family and colourful characters. Thanks to everyone who came! I had a great time and it was cause you were all there. Here's some pics courtesy of Phil from the gallery (i'll post some more when i've collected them all, and you can also see some here)

On the night i started a live art mural on a spare wall in the gallery. I had no idea what i was going to draw beforehand and was kinda just trusting in the few glasses of wine i'd had to guide me.

This is how it's turned out when the night ended (with a little help from one of those colourful characters i mentioned earlier):

I still don't really know where i'm going with it, but over the next 3 weeks i will be in the gallery at various times working on it and by the 15th October i plan to have a finished mural. I'll be blogging the progress here as it happens so keep your eyes peeled.

I think this guy is gonna be cool.

"Do Not Touch"

We'll see...

Inking - Illustrations by Louie Joyce 24/9-15/10

2010-09-13T10:18:00.000+10:00

Monstrosity Gallery is proud to present a series of amazing illustrations by Louie Joyce.

"Louie Joyce is an Illustrator and Graphic Designer based in Kings Cross, Sydney. His love for comics, both the strong graphic imagery and narrative, is something he tries to distill into single images - moments that exist within larger events, stories or lives.

Like the characters that drift around Kings Cross, Louie's figures - partly obscured, smudged, painted over or caught in movement, exist in both shadow and light. By keeping the subject and the viewer partially in the dark, a subtext and implied narrative is created, leaving room for interaction and interpretation.

While these same characters may end up in Louie's next comic book zine, here for a brief moment, they are given a chance to emerge from obscurity and tell their own stories."

Exhibition runs from September 24-October 15. Gallery open 11am-6pm (Closed Tuesdays) and by appointment.

Hope to see you all on opening night!

Octopussy Faces

2010-09-05T08:16:00.001+10:00

Hello! So i've been very busy getting a bunch of work together for my solo exhibition at Monstrosity Gallery. I'll have some old stuff in there, but i've managed to produce a heap of new stuff too. I'll flip into promotion mode soon and starting putting the flyer and previews everywhere i can. But 24th September. Keep it free for opening night.

In other news, people with octopus faces fucking rule. I've been reading Secret Warriors (which also rules) which has this guy in it...

And then there's these guys...

Visually, a fantastic look.

And hey, sketch of the day...

A space in air in space in air...

2010-09-01T12:41:00.001+10:00

Hey new look!

Capsize

2010-08-27T08:00:00.000+10:00

Haven't been posting much lately as i've been hard at work on a solo exhibition i'm havng next month. More details to come, so stay tuned.

Crazy Baldhead...

2010-08-23T08:07:00.000+10:00

Top Hat

2010-08-12T19:52:00.000+10:00

My brain is a mushed up forget flavoured snow cone.

SPad

2010-08-10T08:26:00.000+10:00

2010-08-06T11:56:00.000+10:00

I of the beholder

2010-08-04T14:22:00.000+10:00

Gulp!

2010-08-03T15:49:00.000+10:00