Adios 2011

I kept coming to my blog and telling myself I needed to update it. After all, it had been September since I last bothered.
There was plenty to share, but a lot of it was pretty depressing.
2011 started fairly strong and positive. It looked to be a banner year. Sadly, it ended up slowly dying until the end.
I guess it's not completely true though. The last month had tons of great moments.
This would be the time where I should give my "Year in Review" But I'll spare you all. There was lots of drawing, but not nearly enough. There was money to be made, but not nearly enough. There was drama. Too much of that.
The important part of the year were the relationships. While one came to an unfortunate end, there were more that flourished from that ash. And that's what I reflect on here, before I go to bid farewell to 2011 and welcome in 2012.
For a year, I've had my baby girls here living with me. It's come with an abundance of sacrifices, but I wouldn't change any of it. We also added two little pups to our family. Oreo and Bitty.

Together, the girls and I conquered many a convention. But the highlight came, when we attended Supercon in Miami. There I met old friends for the first time. Meeting Diana, Shelby and Georgia was almost meant to be. Thanks in large part to old friend Bret, we quickly became great friends, and to this moment I think of them as extended family. I adore them and would do anything for them. 

At the Same convention I met Toni. Adore is not a strong enough word for what I feel for her. Not even love does the trick. I know that now, over the time we got to know each other, and the relationship that has since blossomed out of it, it's the most real thing I have ever felt. Having been together for quite a while now, and never having the slightest disagreement, I see that a loving relationship between two people can be easy. 

Thanks in large part to my friendship with Georgia, more have developed. Again, they seem to be more rediscovered than developed. As if I have known them all my life. Having met Harry, whom has dubbed me an honorary "butt pirate"

Nattie, who has the warmest soul you could ever imagine, and is as unselfish as they come, 

and finally Beth, who surprised and inspired me all at the same time,

I truly believe that somehow I have a cosmic connection to this group of amazing and caring group of family and friends. 

Between the time I've had with loved ones, and extended family, I know now that 2011, despite it's trying times and stressful moments, turned out to be a success.

If 2012 ends up bringing the much hyped and storied end times, then at this point I believe we'll go out in glory. Because if this trend continues and God continues to bless me with people that I cherish, I am in for an amazing year. Luckily, I won't be alone for the ride. 

See you all next year!

Remembering 9-11

So, I haven't posted in a while, but today seemed like the most appropriate time to head back. I'm sure everyone has their specific stories of where they were at and what they were doing that day. I have mine too, but rather than sit down and recall it, I'll just share this piece I did to remember the day. And who better to help, than the ultimate patriot, Jim Henson's Sam The Eagle.

Galaxgals : The story! Card 3

Georgia felt only a slight pressure of traveling incredible speeds through space. The alien space craft she was in was quiet, and she could hear not even a breath escape her captor.
Within moments, a set of lights like she'd only seen in Star Wars movies engulfed their domed cruiser.
In an instant she blacked out.
It seemed like only a moment, but when she groggily came to, all she could see was a small floating space port with neon light signs advertising live nude aliens.
Georgia took a hard swallow, and held her breath. Things were about to become even stranger.

Galaxgals : The story! Card 2

Georgia was usually a pretty heavy sleeper, but on this night for whatever reason, she awakened to the slight sounds of what could only be described as boogers squishing against a trash can lid. 

Before she could turn around everything went black. 

Feeling like she had just slept for a year, she opened her groggy eyes only to feel encompassed by the deepest stars in space. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak. Her arms were bound tightly together by a strange vibrating light chain, and seating directly in front of her was a gruesome and green bug eyed space man. 

Glancing out the window, Georgia saw a site that terrified her even more. Planet Earth, moving farther and farther away!

Galaxgals : The story! Card 1

Yeah, I guess I had promised this a while back. So here we go with card one. (BTW still working on a few kinks for the website, but it's coming.)

Georgia Star was your typical Midwest farmers daughter. In her very early twenties, she was still at that point that many young girls her age were. Wanting to live life, experience something, ANYTHING different.
She had seen her share of back woods boys, and romped through the corn fields a time or two. She'd even been her high school's Prom Queen.
Still, the sleepy farming community that she lived in presented little excitement, and even less adventure.
Every night, Georgia, who was a good God fearing beauty, would say her prayers and make the same wish.
"Lord, I know you've given me family, friends, fun and looks, but I pray that you'll deliver me a life, read about only in books. And a sleek new car. "
Little did Georgia know, that on THIS night, she'd get more than she'd ever hoped for.

New Website!

I have had the same web domain for like 11 years now. Locoduck has treated me well. And don't worry, it's not going anywhere. I have just turned it over to some very capable and talented hands. This is the first time my site has been put together by someone other than me. AUGUST 1ST is the target deadline for the new Locoduck Studios site. More details soon!

Supercon Wrap up

 Holee cow, I have completely forgotten what I was supposed to be doing here, and that is updating THIS blog. So here are a few snapshots of The goings on at Supercon.

One of the cooler highlights (after hanging with the Harts) was getting to meet Cary Elwes of Princess Bride, Robin Hood Men In Tights, and SAW fame. Maya drew a picture of him as Robin Hood, and he seemed 100 percent genuine. Real good guy!

Another, mean looking but good guy was wrestler RAVEN! After coming by my table and seeing some of my wrestling art, he decided he'd like to have his picture done as well. I was happy to oblige!

Some of my favorite commissions were getting to draw in super artist Banky's Monkey with a Pencil sketchbook. Here was my odd contribution.

Got to draw Doomsday for the first time EVER, on a (oops) Marvel cover.

I did a few caricatures too. Here we have a couple of crazy zombies "Tasting the Rainbow."

But oddly enough, my FAVORITE commission of the show was this one. I was given a sketch book and granted the freedom to draw WHATEVER I wanted to. Don't know how I came up with this one, but there ya go!

Okay, now that the wrap up is out of the way, I can get to a cool announcement.......

TOMORROW. :0)

Art and the Harts

I'll have a full recap of Supercon in the next day or so, but for now, I'd like to share the most special moment to me.
As my friends, family, fans and readers know I have that cool story about meeting, hanging and becoming friends with Bret Hart. That relationship was birthed by being in the right place at the right time, a serendipity of course, and my artwork. I have always said that Bret as a person was absolutely amazing. Truly his persona carried from ring to reality and was also the best. Perhaps it was in his raising. I feel for sure that Stu and Helen Hart molded not only a dynasty for wrestling fans, but the most caring and down to earth family as well.
At Supercon I had a few wrestling pieces on display, including one of course of the Hitman. A couple of beautiful young ladies came over to my table after noticing that piece. One of them asked if I had any other wrestlers. She held up Bret's drawing and stated he was her uncle. Slowly her face became slightly recognizable. She stated that her father had been a wrestler as well. Of course I had to ask who it was, and imagine my shock and delight when she said it was Davey Boy Smith, "The British Bulldog." That connected it for me. I had just seen this young lady, Georgia Smith, interviewed while watching the Hart and Soul Anthology on Netflix a few days before. With her, was her cousin Shelby-Raee' Smith and not to far down the aisle, Diana Hart, wife of Davey, sister of Bret.
What a small world it was.
She came over and we instantly all clicked. I shared the story of my time with Bret, and one in particular of an encounter with Davey. We laughed and smiled. We chatted like old friends newly found. I tried to explain to my daughters exactly who they were meeting, but sadly it became clear that because Davey had passed, they'd never really know.
I promised them a picture of Davey by the end of the show.
I was a bit nervous as I wanted to give them something worthwhile. Surprisingly the piece came rather easily. After all, I'd grown up watching Davey in classic matches with Bret.
When the time came to give them the picture, they were so pleased. They said that Davey Would have appreciated it, and we agreed he was there in the moment somehow. Then a fly came along and was buzzing us all, not leaving us alone. Diana said it must be Owen pranking and teasing. Oddly this all went down on Bret's birthday. We hugged, and laughed and chatted some more, took some pictures, and decided to stay in touch. Diana said that It seemed somehow that fate had lead us all to this moment. Touching and true. As for my girls, they know the Bulldog well now. When we came home I dug out the old VHS tapes and we watched some of the best wrestling matches EVER! To my new friends found, thank you for making the con magical and cool! I feel like there must be some underlying cosmic connection through my art to the Harts.

Pandoora

So sorry for the break in updates. Had to take a few days away to attend Supercon in Miami! I'll have a wrap up on that soon. In the meantime, here is the last character design I have to share.
At Galaxgals all the dancers are very much alien types. In our eyes, they all look odd and strange. Georgia Star, is the exception and so is the mysterious Pandoora. No one knows exactly where she came from, but she seems to be the closest dancer that Georgia will relate to.
There is definitely more to her than meets the eye!
The next post I show will have highlights from Supercon, and then I'll start to show all my cards for this set alone with the bits and pieces of the story.

The OTHER dancers

Obviously, Galaxgals has to be filled with other exotic alien dancers. Of course they are all the female of their race, and oddly, they all have breasts. Goes to show that human men aren't the only one obsessed. I only did twelve cards for this set so I couldn't really feature nearly the amount of crazy races I came up with. So I will show you some of what I used.
Hope you guys are enjoying the characters so far.

Big Lou

Today we get a peek at Big Lou, the very greedy and awful manager of this quadrant's Galaxgals. He's pretty stereotypical as far as seedy club manager's go. Oddly, he's gay, and has a secret guilty earth pleasure. Anytime one of the space thugs journeys to our planet in search of a female to populate the Galaxgals establishments, he has them bring back; KITTENS.
He thinks they are a cute fuzzy snack.

Georgia Star

Here we have the earthling and main character of my Galaxgals Eradication contribution. She doesn't begin the story looking like this. She actually starts pretty normal. A farm girl from the midwest whose life is about to change completely as she begins an out of this world adventure.
Galaxgals Eradication from 5finity productions releases on June 30.

Galaxgals Eradication

Sketch card sets can be pretty time consuming and even monotonous from time to time. Some of the toughest sets for me can be those featuring characters I've NEVER heard of. Imagine how tough it is to draw fifty cards based on a character with almost zero internet identity and even less reference. It makes you want to cry.

When a set comes along with just a title and the freedom to draw almost anything you want, as long as it stays within the theme, then it feels like a breath of fresh creative air.

But even then, I find myself lacking discipline and direction. I even run into artists block.

With my next two sets I found a way to be original and maintain creative interest.

Let story cards begin.

I wanted to keep the public interested in not only my contributions but the sets themselves as well. So what I have done, is create my cards with their own set of characters and a story that spans each card. I guess it's kind of hard to explain, but I'll try.

With 5finity's upcoming release Galaxgals Eradication (and Badaxe studios Dungeon Dolls) I'll have a new story created entirely for my run of sketch cards. Starting now, I'll be posting the characters designs and info on them here on my blog.

Once those have been posted I'll begin to show each individual sketch card in order along with a piece of the story.

I'll do this until all cards and story pieces have been revealed.

I think it's a neat idea, and it gives sketch card collectors a little bonus to look forward to!

Feel free to let me know your thoughts and enjoy the ride.

and now 5finity and Locoduck Studios present.....

The idea for this set was pretty wide open and simple. Space Aliens versus hot girls. Leaves a lot of room to play right?

I decided that Galaxgals would be a galactic underground and illegal strip club featuring exotic nude dancers of species from all over the cosmos. Run by alien mob boss Gotti Omega, it would be the biggest club ever. Gotti owns several clubs throughout space and each one is run by a manager from the Sleazoid quadrant. Each Sleazoid has a handful of Gotti's space thugs and uses them to scour the various universes looking for the hottest of females to bring (by force and kidnapping mainly) and perform at the clubs.

Here are the designs for Gotti Omega and one of his Space Thug body guards. Gotti is a total chauvinist and extremely ill tempered. Very picky and very crass. The Space Thugs are usually your typical brainless Goons good for one thing and one thing only, following orders.

Okay, that's all for now! Tune in tomorrow for more....

WWE Caricatures

I've had my ups and downs with being a WWE fan. In high school I was a rabid obsessed beast. I watched every pay-per view, bought every magazine and toy, and went to every event that came to town. I even won an art design competition with the WWE magazine. My favorites bounced back and forth between, The Ultimate Warrior, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Mr. Perfect, and Bret The Hitman Hart!

 Those who know me know that for a while I got to be a pretty good friend of The Hitman. Getting to hang with him backstage, travel with he and his wife at the time, and even chatting on the phone and grabbing dinner with him. After the WWE screwed him, I became disinterested with most of what was out there. And when Bret suffered a stroke, I walked away from the show all together.

 Eventually I came back around. Watching some of it here and there. But it wasn't until Bret came back, that I did too. Now once again I find myself a pretty big fan. I'm not as rabid as I once was. I don't order every show, or buy all the toys. And I don't wait around trying to get autographs anymore. Although, meeting the MIZ would be awesome!

Needless to say, wrestlers are an easy go to when I am at work and need to draw someone for attention. Usually they are always recognized by quite a few, and I enjoy drawing them. I even take them to an event if I go to one. The John Cena and Randy Orton pics even got some screen time on an episode of RAW! Not pictured here are a few that some wrestlers have even signed for me out of appreciation.
I don't keep them. I actually give them away, but I am very selective to who. If I come across a fan who seems to be as rabid as I was, or a young fan who enjoys the WWE, I have no problem adding to their enjoyment!
On a side note, as cool as it was to hang with Bret back in the day, I can't even get him to retweet or respond to ANY of my tweets. Ugh, well I guess I got lost in the shuffle of a billion fans. But I won't give up on trying. I follow my past favorite Bret The Hitman Hart ( @brethart ) and my current day favorite The Miz (@mikethemiz )
You can follow almost ANY wrestler on Twitter nowadays. It's a good thing past me didn't have that ability. I'd have never left the house!

Spidey Vs Rhino

I just truly love drawing Rhino.

A Patch with a Cause

So the good news is, I now have internet and cable in the home again. It was like a Christmas morning to get my own quick connection. For the foreseeable future there will be regular updates and even a step back into Ustream broadcasts.

Lots to blog about, but for now something really important. I was contacted and asked if I would allow the use of the artwork I did of pink astromech droid R2KT to be incorporated into a patch that would be sold with every dime going to charity. Here is more info as taken from R2KT.com

"In response to the devastation suffered in Missouri and Alabama recently, R2-KT is offering a limited run of "Fan Club" patches to raise money for the Red Cross. Each patch is $10 and all proceeds go to benefit the Red Cross. Order as many as you like by sending a paypal payment to r2kt@r2kt.com "

These guys are a class act and deserve the support. They are down to about 40 patches. Lets help them sell them all!

Still no new art

Sorry guys, I'll have a new art post tomorrow.
In the meantime, a bit of news!
I'll be at Spooky Empire's May-Hem event this weekend! Friday May 27-Sunday May 29 at the Wyndham Resort on International Drive. I'll have some classic stuff, original art, new prints and be doing Scare-icatures. So Be sure to swing by!

Also I continue to chip away at my commission list. If your name no longer appears to the right, that means your package is on it's way, or will ship tomorrow. I have a big shipping day planned. I'll be sending about 7 orders out!

Anyway, that's all for now!

The pains of No Net

Well I was on a roll for a while, updating the blog several times a week. I still do not have internet at my house, and my laptop battery is so old, that it has about 2 minutes of juice before it conks out. So that makes me using wi-fi spots difficult unless I can find a plug.
So my internet interaction right now is limited to the occasional libray visit, what I can do at my fiances school, and my phone.
It was nice for a while when I was able to "borrow" someone's non password protected wi-fi in my apartment complex, but they seem to have moved. Bummer.
My plan is to try and prep a few posts a week and upload them at one of the other internet sites so that I can keep you guys informed and keep the posts coming.
Hope everyone is well!
Mike

May the 4th be with you!

So today is May the Fourth. And last year began a tradition where it was tied into Star Wars. And of course instead of saying May the Force Be with you, the fourth was added instead.

So here is some Star Wars Goodness! This was one of my ideas that I submitted for a base card for Galaxy 6. The original was sold, but I wanted to share the scan.
Have a great Day!

How To Draw: Star Wars Jabba The Hutt

At Megacon this year I was invited to participate in a How To Draw Star Wars panel. I prepared two sessions, one featuring the Rancor and the other Jabba The Hutt.
I figured my blog should be educational as well as entertaining. (well somewhat entertaining)
So here is my first ever How To Tutorial featuring everyones favorite slimy gangster from a galaxy far, far away!

So first and foremost, you want to start with a simple shape. As most artists know, you can draw pretty much everything using basic shapes and pieces. Here we have a piece of doody looking shape. More like a foot, or a kidney.

Once you have your basic Jabba shape, you want to add arms. Jabba has small arms compared to most of his massive fleshy body. Not quite T-Rex small, but tiny nonetheless. Give him a tail as well. You can have it resting down the way he usually seems to have it, but in this case I thought it's be funny to give him a curled elf shoe vibe.

Next we have Jabba's facial features. Pretty much everything on that mug is turned downward. Like he's sleepy, slimy, and unhappy.  His mouth-al region stretches almost the entire length of his head and his eyes are pretty buggy as well. Give him two nostrils. One slightly larger than the other. I am guessing that's the one he seems to pick at the most.

You can add even more depth to his expression by giving him eyelids and an open mouth. Open, because we all know Jabba likes to hear himself speak. And I get the feeling he likes to eat as well. In this step you can also give him some little sausage fingers so he can eat said food.

Time to finish up his deep, mean eyeballs, and add the fun stuff. All the juicy rolls of goosh and flab. You can reference those by adding chunk lines here and there. Be sure to give him that lovely double chin. Jabba's arms are a bit differently textured than the rest of his body. They have lines that run down from shoulder to palm.

Once you have all your details in place and are happy with the composition, go in and add inks of you so desire. I'm sure his excellency would appreciate it if you gave him drool, snot and sandy sweat to complete his nasty look.

Lastly, once your inks are done, you can add color until your heart's content. Slime him up!

Jabba's is a sunny mustardy color, with slight hints of toe jam green for good measure. Of course you can experiment with the colors to get a greasy Jabba of your own. Other than that, you are ready to make most wanted posters for all your Bounty Hunter buddies to feast their eyes on!

So there we go folks! First How to Draw tutorial complete. What do you think? Would you like to see more of these? Keep in mind that they will usually be in this more simple style so that even the most novice of artists can follow the steps. I'd love to see any of your finished pieces as well.

Tigra

Here is a saucy little Tigra card that sold on ebay for entirely too cheap. Meow!
I have a How to Draw Star Wars tutorial scheduled for tomorrow. Be sure to check it out.

Big Daddy Cool Diesel Kevin Nash

I'm a wrestling fan. I used to be an extreme wrestling fan in the 90's.
When I went to Wizard World Miami Kevin Nash was a guest. Now even though I'd met and had the opportunity to hang with him briefly before, that was back in 93.
He jumped from then WWF, to WCW, back to the WWE and lasted for a while in TNA.
Recently the WWE brought him back to fight in the Royal Rumble. Diesel made such a monster splash that it seemed like a no brainer for the WWE to use him. They signed him to a Legends contract but have since to use this monster again.
It was a great pleasure introducing my daughters to him, and at the show I did a quick draw in my more cartoon style of Big Daddy Cool.

....hard at work

I've always been a big fan of photography. In high school I was photography editor for my Yearbook staff, and even now I enjoy taking pictures.
A little over a week ago this picture was snapped of me drawing at the Wilderness Lodge by photographer extraordinaire Chris Genau.
I think the photo is beautiful. Not because of the model obviously, but I like the lighting, the feel, the composition and the depth to it. It looks as though it could be a photo for a commercial advertisement.
Chris took a few other photos of me as well, and there is one other I'd love to get from him if he's willing to share.
Thank you Chris! This is the kind of legacy photo I will adore and hope that my daughters will too.

About those commissions....

Although informative, I know it's a bit of a bland post, so I'll steal a page from my friend Kenny Durkin and post an interesting photo I found on the net here instead.

Okay, so a few tight deadlines were made, and there isn't an immediate con in sight that needs my attention, so I can FINALLY clear off my commission list.
I was able to get everything organized and ready to mow through.
Unless an act of God stops me, I should be through my list by the end of the month. Either, way here is the best way to check the progress of your order.
To the right I have a commission list. It is in the current order I am working on things. As I complete one, I will remove it. For the most part I plan to tackle them chronologically.


Some items HAVE or WILL go out this week that aren't on the list.  Please if you do not see your name in the list and are waiting on something give me at least a week before contacting me about it. Chances are if your name isn't there, it's scheduled to go out this week.

I have a few blog posts planned for the rest of the week so keep dropping in.

Scream 4

Woohoo! Look at me starting the week with yet another blog post. I'd like to tell you to get used to this, but we all know that eventually the blog will start lacking. But for now let's roll with it!

I always get a kick out of the way Ghost Face cocks his head to the side and looks at his
dying victims as some sort of curiosity.

Every now and then I'll try to toss up a movie review. I don't get the chance to go see new flicks as much as I'd like to, but I promise that when I do I'll try and write about it, and if I'm feeling really productive, you'll get an accompanying illustration. Now onto the review!
BEWARE MATEYS! THAR BE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Don't read much more or I WILL spoil the movie for you. You have been warned.
It's been ten years since Scream hit theaters. It was quite frankly the movie that gave rebirth to the horror slasher flicks we all love to be scared and grossed out by. I'm glad it opened the doors for some crazy, scary movies to creep their way into our culture.
Scream 4 opens up by taking not one, but two "Stabs" at itself. Treating us to a handful of hottie celeb deaths. If your a big fan of Anna Paquin, you may want to close your eyes during her cameo.
After moving through the classic Ghostface on the line killer opening we transition to Woodsborro, where David Arquette is now playing the town Sheriff, and his lovely wife Courtney Cox is sludging through her ten year removal of star reporter and fighting writers block while being Mrs. Dewey.
Sydney Prescott played by the now much more mature looking Neve Campbell has written a self help book about survivng her ordeal, and her infamous hometown is the last stop on her book tour.
Of course, with that we have our usual dose of Ghostface killings spattering the story. Some of the death sequences are more graphic then ever. In one scene Sydney's cousin Jill, played by Emma Roberts watches as one of her best friends is gutted. Almost literally. The scene with the actual intestines on the beds will leave you hungry for more. Nummers.
The story line itself does a fairly good job of distancing itself from the same old same old, but still remains faithful to the series.
Emma Roberts does a great job as the cousin longing for Sydney's spotlight. She really sells the screen time as innocent victim and then does a convincing job as the psycho killer who orchestrates it all.
In the end you find yourself believing for a split second that she'll get away with killing Sydney and moving into her role. I kind of wish they Kevin Williamson had gone that route instead. Allowing Roberts character Jill to actually get away with it.
My biggest complaints about the movie are pretty shallow. The first is Hayden Panitiere's hairstyle. Really? She did a great job in the movie and was probably one of the better characters but her short hair just killed it for me.
Another complaint is how they seemed to just force Courtney Cox into the script for the sake of having her there.
And while I adore mine, boy could this movie have been a walking advertisement for the iphone. Almost EVERY character had one. And that's okay with me, but the fact that aside from Dewey using the Axel Foley theme from Beverly Hills Cop, ALL of them used that same generic SAMBA ringtone, and NO ONE changed their wallpaper/screensaver. See I told you it was a shallow complaint.
Other than that, I enjoyed the movie a lot. It was nice to see them reference two of my favorites in SAW and Shaun of the Dead.
Definitely better than 2 and 3, but as Sydney says after putting a bullet through her psycho cousin's head, "Don't fuck with the original!"

My art wall of Fame.

I wish I had so much more artwork from my favorite artists. I'm trying to work hard to rectify that situation. It's on my bucket list of things to do.
Doing more conventions will help me to achieve that goal.
Here is what my bedroom wall is looking like. I have a few originals in my living room as well.
My Holy Grail in the center is an original sketch of J. Scott Campbell's Abbey Chase from Danger Girl. I got the piece when I met him at the CTN ANimation expo in Burbank. It actually made me a little sick that more people weren't flocked all over his art demonstrations, but I took it with a grain of salt because most people were there to see their animation favorites. It just meant more to we fans that knew his amazing work and wanted some one on one time to ask questions and watch in awe as he worked. Before I had actually gotten to meet him, he had noticed a drawing of my Chewbacca, and complimented it. So to cap that trip off with an original made it worth the whole trip.
Next to it have a print of the Black Cat I acquired from him at Megacon this year.
I also have a piece from Scott Blair, and Mike "UrbanPop" Hammer from Wizard Miami, a piece from Echo Chernik, and an awesome Count from Sesame Street done by Poopbird Mike Groves. (I have an original from him I need to frame as well)
Lastly there is a piece from some duck guy. But the content is awesome. Showcasing my two baby girls. I think that's why I liked it enough to frame and include with these greats.
I hope this inspiring wall continues to grow!

Tangled

If you haven't yet seen this amazing movie. Please rush out and do so immediately. It's wonderful. Everything about it, the design, story, animation. All top notch!

Naughty Potter

I have to say this was a commission, and the request called for a SUPER SEXY HERMOINE. So I aged her a bit, and this was the end result.
Hawt!
A small story for those of you who don't know, but I was mercilessly ridiculed as a teen in high school for the way I drew my girls. A handful of douche bag bullies tended to tell me that my girls looked "ugly"and like "guys"
That kind of negativity didn't drive me into a corner to pity myself, nor did it make me give up. Instead it pushed me to draw some of the sexiest most cheese cake drenched darlings I could.
I'd say it's taken some time, but mission accomplished. Many people who collect my work actually know me for my babe-a-licious ilustrations and I wear that badge with pride today.
In closing I'd just like to say to all of you ass monkeys with the negativity. Fuck you, fuck you very much.

MEGACON 2011 Wrap-up

SO less than one month after doing Miami, it was time for another con. FINALLY, the DUCK had come back.....to MEGACON!!! (of course, my con buddy Dennis was at my side!)

Wanting to make things special for the girls, I decided to let them dress up for the event. What a dedicated daddy! Not only did I manage to prep for the show, but I also put two costumes together for the show. Maya decided to be Poison Ivy. I decided the adult version was a bit much for my 6 year old, so we made her Petite Posion Ivy, or Lil Ivy as we called her. 

Maya kept her costume on for all of about an hour before she was done. She got some attention at the show as well. Getting several nods from the more grown up versions Ivy and even the occasional picture request. See it's Posion Ivy times 2!

But Hailey's HITGIRL seemed to bring the most attention. She decided to keep count of all the pictures people asked to take of her. 66 was her final count. But there were several others nabbing pictures as they walked by.

Some of my favorites Hitgirl moments were with her sister, and Alex the wolf Jedi. (Pic by Cary Bivins!)

Hitgirl taking Kenny Durkin's son Alex hostage, much to his chagrin through the whole show. I think she was crushing.

There were a few other Hitgirls in attendance as well. Hailey was worried her costume wouldn't look right. But I'd say we did a good job. 

Thomas Florimonte of Ka-Blam also known to my girls as Frog Butt, hung out with Hitgirl too!

I got to see HitGirl with J. Scott Campbell's Danger Girl!

And my favorite HitGirl picture of the show was with Kick Ass himself. WIN!

And while not MY daughter, she could call me big daddy if she wanted to. Damn did I say that out loud?

There were a ton of other cool costumes at the show. I wish I had been able to snap more photos but I was glued to my table most of the show. Check out this smoking Tigra!

What Time is it?! AAAADDDVENTURE TIME!

An amazing Chun-Li from Street Fighter.

From DC Comics Stars and STRIPE. Stargirl.

A very convincing Christopher Reeves Superman. I really think he got into his role more than ANYONE ever who has cos-played in their life.

And Maya, didn't ham it up as much as the last show, but she still snuck into a picture or two.

As did I. Jessica Allen Steele as an Abbey Chase that you just HAVE to see in person to appreciate how great she looks. 

And Speaking of Abbey Chase. The amazing J. Scott Campbell was in attendance at this years show. I had to get my daughters over to his table to meet the man who I truly believe has been my biggest personal hero and inspiration in art.

Another inspiring and talented guy was my other table neighbor, Mike Groves also known as POOPBIRD! So naturally when you put a Locoduck next to a Poopbird, the feathers are sure to fly. I wanted to strangle him for being so mega awesome.

This years show also brought a first for me. I got to participate in a How To Draw Star Wars panel with Jason Sobol, Rhiannon Owens, and James "Buckshot" Buchasas (spelling?). Hitgirl took the picture but, that's me on the far right.

I taught the crown how to draw a cool cartoon Rancor monster, and had some cool results. It was nice to see that my steps were easy to follow. This gal took the fact that I drew at Disney and incorporated it into her draw. She also won the original!

This little guy did such a good job as well that he took home an original piece too. A wookie I had drawn!

As much fun as that was, I had commissions that needed finishing as well. Like this Thundarr!

And this piece done for the incredibly talented Echo Chernik of Echo Chernik

And since Cartoon Zombies are what sells for me, I had to do this poor ill-fated Woody.

Overall we had a great time at Megacon, and while I didn't get to walk around nearly as much as I wanted to, I am sure we will be back again next year!