A Boy and His Wookiee 8-23-10

Looks like this is something "Droid" doesn't do.

A Very Special Boy and His Wookie 8-9-10

Today's strip is a memorial to Katie Johnson. I had detailed some of her story on my blog sometime last year. She is the darling who inspired pink astromech droid R2-KT. You can read more about her  on her site . Today is the 5th anniversary of her passing and I thought it only fitting to pay her tribute. Through her, and the amazing little droid that encompasses her legacy, many children, friends, fans,  and families have found happiness and hope.
It's also a bittersweet farewell to my little girls who will be returning home to Texas tomorrow. I'll miss them so, but just as the thoughts of Katie continue to bring a smile to her daddy's face, so to will the summer memories we built bring a smile to mine. Cheers R2 (Katie) I look forward to meeting you this Sunday at CV!

Star Wars Celebration V

I have to admit, I was a little bummed that they chose so few of the hundreds of Star Wars artists out there to attend the show in an official capacity. I was really looking forward to an invite, as were many other artists, especially since I had been invited to Star Wars Celebration Japan. The Orange county convention center is certainly large enough to hold a lot more of us Star Wars artists. Plus I had some great ideas for prints.

But alas, I will still be there. 

Sadly, most of the time the show is going on, I will be busy returning my little ewoks home to Texas. So the only day I will be in attendance at the show is Sunday. The good news is, if anyone is looking to meet me, I'll have a spot. 

From 12 - 2 pm you can find Michael "locoduck" Duron hanging out at the SWGFA booth #1520. (along the same row as the Hasbro booth) I'll be drawing black and white Star Wars themed caricatures, and I'll have some goodies to give away. I'm going to have a limited print of sort to give away as well.  And if anyone spots me throughout the show and says they read this, I'll hook you up with a special freebie as well. 

Anyway, I am really looking forward to the show. Can't wait to see many of you there.

BTW If you happen to wander into the 501st room, be sure to say hi to R2KT for me, and check out the cool Locoduck artwork on her banner.

A Boy and His Wookiee 8-3-10

Here is this week's strip. I know I had said every Tuesday and Thursday, but right now, many things are slowing that development. But hey a strip a week is better than nothing right?
Tomorrow, some news about Celebration V!

A Boy and His Wookiee 7-26-10

A day early!

A Boy and His Wookiee 7-20-10

Enjoy!

UP in the Air

I know it's a movie. It's a damn good movie. But oddly enough, I feel somewhat that it is also the point I'm at in life. Oddly there is a bit of a rock bottom I have fallen into. Many fears are lingering, but much promise is on the horizon as well. 

I have been living in a hotel room since the first week in June. It claims to have wi-fi access, but I have to be sitting in the bathroom or on the floor by the door to get any decent access. To make matters worse my passion feels as though it's been ripped away. My entire studio is in storage, and as a result I have been slacking in my art. I feel it, and know I want to draw, but I can't motivate myself to follow through because my creative space is gone. 

Plus a hotel is a not a home. The one salvation is the fact that my daughters are here. At least for now, until mid August. Then I feel as if this place loses all "Home" and becomes a prison. I know that my girlfriend is experiencing much of the same. But many issues led to our forced time off. And it's hopefully only a matter of time before we both make our way back "home."

In the meanwhile I have managed to light the creative fire. I'm drawing again. Forcing myself out of my artistic fail. I'll share work soon, but in the meanwhile, I hope you are enjoying the Boy and His Wookiee strips. 

Here I'd like to share this piece I contributed to an awesome Alice in Wonderland art book entitled "Through the Looking Glass"

Have a wonderful weekend.

A Boy and His Wookiee 7-14-10

An update on where I am at tomorrow.  A strip today.

A Boy and His Wookiee 6-30-10

Not having reliable internet is making my life very rough, but here is another strip!

A Boy and His Wookiee 6-22-10

Trying to stick to a schedule! Here is Tuesday's strip. Another on Thursday.

A Boy and His Wookiee 6-17-10

Thanks to Scott Gammon for pointing out the fact that I was misspelling Wookiee. Ugh. I've had it wrong ALL this time.

A Boy and His Wookie 6-15-10

And here we go....I have a strip for the next three days, then every Tuesday and Thursday after that. I'd love any and all feedback. 

The Bad Boys

As you can imagine, Death Star Daycare center is going to have it's share of factions, cliques, and bullies. Here are a few of them.
The most feared of course would be Lil Vader. Quiet for the most part, but always in control. No one messes with him or his Empire Patrol People.

And of course there is (literally) the biggest bully of them all. Big J and his sidekick lackey Crumbs.

Of course, there will be all sorts of other bad boy incarnates like Boba, Greedo, Maul, and others. 

Tomorrow, we'll show a few of the good guys. 

Death Star Daycare

Sorry guys. I know the idea was to start the A Boy and His Wookie strip on Memorial Day, but I have spent the past two weeks trying to keep my head and life together. While it may not be there yet, it's a little closer. So here is an update on the strip.
I figured the Little Bodies Star Wars characters needed a good backdrop for their adventures. The daycare/school had to embody something iconic about the Star Wars universe as well.
So here is the setting where the strip will take place. I give you the Death Star Daycare Center.
I won't promise that I have updates planned everyday but I am about ready to start showing the strips.

Lost : The End

Sunday was the series finale for ABC's LOST. I came into the show about two years ago, getting to watch the first four seasons on DVD. I really don't think I could have made it had I watched year to year. 

It was one helluva show. mixing human emotion with sci-fi and fantasy. Over the years however, it created a lot of questions. Questions like everyone else, I wanted to see answered. 

Unfortunately, the series finale didn't deliver on a lot of those. But what it did deliver was a two and a half hour roller coaster ride of emotions and tears for many. (Myself included)

I was oddly satisfied by the end. I think it was because I applied it to my life as well. It took on some sharp comparisons to what I am currently going through. After it was over, I felt the need to sleep on it, and the next morning while taking the longest shower of my life, I found myself sinking into the message at the end. To let go and move forward. 

This year has been an awakening for myself as well. I have learned to let go of many things that had created hurt, fear, anger and my own private smoke monster. I feel now like I am at that church in the finale, ready to let go, to move forward. 

A Boy and His Wookie

Believe it or not, this has been in the works for over 10 years. I got a bug sometime back to do a Star Wars fan art comic strip. The idea behind it posing the question, "What if all the characters from Star

Wars went to school together as kids?" 

I conjured up a few images, and had a few ideas, but it never came to fruition.
The idea however, has always been in the back of my mind.
After having completed work on several Topps Star Wars sets (a dream come true in itself,) I garnered a lot more experience with the characters and their universe. I have also grown as an artist, and a writer since then, and I decided now, that with all the excitement surrounding the anniversary of Empire Strikes Back, and Celebration V, it was as good a time as any to revisit the idea.
So, armed with close to three months of material already, and on this the 30th anniversary of my favorite Star Wars movie "The Empire Strikes Back," I announce "A Boy and His Wookie"
Above is the teaser image, and next week I'll divulge many of the character designs and a little more background. The plan is to begin running the strip on Memorial Day.
It will run Monday through Friday the first week, and then Tuesdays and Thursdays from that point forward.
A Boy and His Wookie, is a fan strip and no way endorsed, associated or authorized by Lucasfilm Ltd.

Donna Troy

I really like drawing this outfit. In an effort to post more here, and improve my speed, I am going to start trying to do one daily one hour piece, from start to finish. Here is the result of my first attempt.

Also be sure to check this blog tomorrow for a special announcement!

May the 4th Be With YOU!

Happy Star Wars Day everyone.

Back to the caricatures

I figured I hadn't posted any of my caricature work in a while so here we go....
We start with one of yours truly. This caricature represents the status of how my life is going.

I got to work my first abstract gig, and here are two I came up with....

I'm pretty sure this one got me in trouble, not because of the unintentional genital placement, but because he was holding bombs?!?

 I thought she had a great smile. She exuded confidence and was all about the yearbook...

Don't know why, he just seemed monkey like...

Well, his name was Walley

This guy was full of sunshine.....

A couple of super baddies.....

One really cute little super hero....

A few giraffes....

And the great Conan O'Brien!

Little Bodies

Been a while I guess.

I went out of town and visited with my little darlins which always takes priority over anything else. Everytime I go it gets just a little harder to say goodbye. 

But that's why I haven't posted much lately. I have tons of new stuff to post, but we'll have to start with some recent sketch card commissions featuring one of my more personal and favorite little bodies style. 

I actually have a webstrip in the works utilizing this style. I'll get to it as soon as I can get out from some of the sketch cards I am buried under.

Mike

Biggest Fattest Loser.

So the duck is on a diet. You know there tends to come a time when you should realize that you are getting a little too fat for your own good. I've known that I was at that point for a while now, but the tender allure of a double quarter pounder, or a half dozen twinkies always helped me to look in the other direction.
Enter the Biggest Loser.

By chance I happened to stumble across an episode and I was hooked and impressed by the weight that these people were dropping. I knew that I could do that too.

Of course I was delusional to assume that I could lose 40 pounds in a week the way some of the contestants did, but I was bound and determined nonetheless.

I became smitten with Jillian Michaels as well. Figuring she was worth training to anyway.
So I set a goal in mind. I figured 25 pounds in three weeks was reasonable.

My first course was to cut away soda. THAT task in itself has been the most difficult. Especially with my recent love affair with Pepsi throw back. But I was determined to make it water, milk, juice, and the occasional tea and very rare mixed drink. To this day I have been soda free for 2 weeks.

After that I started in on the diet. I cut my calorie intake dramatically. Now I am almost pathetic obsessed with it. I look at every think now for it's calorie count. Haven't had more than about 1200-1500 calories a day. Usually it's even less. But I learned that I needed to eat more to burn more. So I am allowing my body at least the 1500-1800 mark everyday. Still trying to eat healthy. Lots of veggies, fruits, and fish. ( I sneak in a few wings here and there, but my body seems to be okay with that)

Then there's the exercise.
I bought a Biggest Loser cardio Dvd, and have been faithfully hitting it everyday for the past 8 days except for one break day. I sweat like a monster though. But the burn feels pretty good.
I wanted to just apply cardio and not build muscle so I could drop the weight, and then build muscle. But after chatting with my buddy Keelan, I decided that I would heed his advice and try and build muscle, since apparently THAT burns fat faster.

The scale has been an up and down oddball of a ride. I started at 225 and change. Then in the first few days I dropped to 220. Then in the next few I gained 4, lost one, gained one, gained half. I'm not sure what the hell my body is doing. The good news is, that it seems to be doing what it's supposed to now.

I'm happy to report that as of today I am down to 219!
I'm not sure that I'll hit my three week goal. But I do have to say that I am feeling a lot better, and determined to keep the duck from looking like that picture.

I'll post an update on the Biggest Duckiest Loserist challenge on March 11!

Slave Leia .... gotta love her

It's so late tonight. Or early in the morning, whichever you want to go by. But I am sick as a dog, or my allergies are bothering the crap outta me. I tried to sleep but it's hard to sleep comfortably when your eyes feel like they are going to combust and breathing is a struggle. And since clinics don't open until later on, I'm trying to keep busy, without exerting myself.
So what does that mean? New Blog entry, Hooray.
Here is a Slave Leia done as a commission. I went full on watercolor with this baby with the exception of a few marker areas.
I also tried a toonier approach with her as well. Diggin the way old Dead Jabba came out too!
Anyway, more later, I am going to TRY and fall back asleep. Doesn't help that I have to work ALL day tomorrow.
That's all folks.

Strawberry Shortcake

Wish I could say she was all my idea, but my buddy Dennis suggested I do this piece. I had fun doing it. She's all growed up and she's packing heat. LOL.
I have a Rainbow Bright in the works as well.

Apologies to Charles Schultz

This would be one of those "cope" pieces. Often in life when I am in a mood, I draw something to convey that mood. Whether it be happy, sad, whatever. I guess enough time has passed to show this moment in life. When my now defunct marriage was going through it's stages of slow decline, my ex was making new "friends" on of all places Myspace. One of these friends was a guy way out in Riverside California. She had a huge thing for him, conveniently forgetting that she had a husband as well. They exchanged phone numbers and one day when her phone rang I saw the caller ID. It was him, he who she had so affectionately dubbed her "Snoopy."
If the punch to the face wasn't enough, she had to go and take one of my beloved childhood favorites and bastardize it by giving her forbidden Myspace love it's nickname.
Needless to say from that point forward I started to have a huge distain for Snoopy and the Peanuts in general. Everytime I saw them I saw the guy my ex was making a play for.
After things had seemingly resolved themselves, we were on vacation in Corpus Christi with her folks. Low and behold, we found ourselves eating at a seafood restaurant called, Snoopy's.
This drawing was a result of my feelings during that meal.

Since sometime has passed since that disaster has sailed it's course, I find myself coming back to terms with the Peanuts gang. But I figured it was a funny enough drawing, and now as I look back on it, an even more absurd tale.

The Indiana Jones Bunch

Here is another set of cards I did for a great collector in the UK. He wanted busts of all the major players in the Indiana Jones world. Needless to say, because of my love for the subject matter, I was more than happy to oblige. Check em out. Hope you like them.

Clone Wars Widevision Returns

Miss me? Wow, getting close to 2 months since I posted anything. Truth is I have been battling a bout of depression since after the holiday. Visiting my girls and leaving them is always so hard, and the holidays seem to add to that. It's nothing clinical, just a series of hard times and rough spots. Through it all I think the artwork has kept me somewhat sane. And I am hoping I see a silver lining in my future.
I wrapped up 200 Star Wars Galaxy 5 cards but I am behind in showing these, my Clone Wars Widevision returns. I have one more not shown here as well.
Enjoy, two of them are still available for sale. The Ventress, and the Grevious vs the Troopers. If you are interested in either of them, feel free to comment or contact me.
More soon.

Panels on Pages Calendar

I was one of 12 lucky individuals who got to hook up with a Fangirl and create a calendar geeks could adore all over the world. My fangirl was Jamie Doles aka Tripper McGee. She had some challenging but fun ideas for her pin-up. The tie-dye was the toughest, but ended up bringing tons of wonderful color to the final piece. I had a blast working on it, and you can order your very own copy by clicking HERE
The final piece features a slightly different logo and a blurb featuring the real Tripper!

Rocky Horror

These were a commission done for a Christmas gift. I guess the recipient is a huge fan. I remember really liking the music to the movie when I was in high school. And if you haven't ever experienced a live showing of it, I highly recommend it at least once in your life time. Very odd, and a lot twisted, this flick has a massive cult following. The fact that Tim Curry is the star just adds to it's appeal. I guess some folks might have been uncomfortable doing the pieces, but to me it was a delight and gave me a chance to think back to some good memories.

Time Flies when your in love

Happy Anniversary baby! Jaime cakes and I have been an item for a whole year now. Can you believe it? Time sure really flew. Have to admit it's been a ride, but I'm still head over heels for her. Wish I could do more for our one year, but the I.O.U that's going to be attached to it will make up for the lack of many gifts. I promise that.
Lots of love for you always my queen!!!!!

Zombies Vs Cheerleaders

Here is a teaser image for the other project I just wrapped for 5finity! The premise, Zombies take on Cheerleaders. That was all we had to work with, so boy did it leave things open to interpretation! I really had a blast with this set, and contributed 20 cards, plus 2 ultra rare battle worn clothing cards! The set is completely sold out before it's even been released.

Mandy Cards from 5finity

Steven Frank and 5finity productions opted to put together a card set based on Dean Yeagle's super sexy character Mandy. I was invited to contribute sketch cards to the set as a rare artist. Meaning I only contributed the above 8 cards. It was an awesome honor to be a part of the set, especially because of Dean's influence on my work and my love for the character. I put as much effort into the cards as I could and had a blast. the first three cards were my returns, and the other five went into packs. So needless to say pulling one of mine is tough chore. Of my returns, the Dino Mandy has been sold to someone attempting a master set, and I gave Dean Yeagle the Cheerleader card as a token of my appreciation. So that leaves me with one. The Mermaid Mandy. The card is not only my remaining return, but is also signed by Dean Yeagle. At this point I am keeping it for myself. But you know, money talks. LOL.
Anyway, this was great fun! The next one to be released was even more of a killer!

One of those bad nights

I came home from work tonight only to find that my girlfriend hadn't been home yet. So I tried texting and tried calling, but got no answer. Now she is a hard working teacher, always dedicating herself to her kids and her classroom, so staying late is no big deal, she does it often. Still, as 1 am trickled in, I started to become un-nerved. Was she okay? Was she cheating on me? Her daughter had not heard from her either, so I jumped in my car, and made the drive down to her school. Nothing. Then I swang by her mom's house. Not there either. I started to boil over, get a little angry. Lord knows based on my marriage and the infidelity that came from my ex-wife, that I have issues with insecurity.
So I made my way home, sat in the living room trying to work and waited. Waited, and waited more. Finally around 4 am there was a key jingle at the front door. As it opened I heard her speak, and then I heard a male voice respond. My heart started racing, I clenched my fists. How was I going to handle THIS? Then the door pushed open further, and I saw her silhouette and then HIS! WTF!?! She had brought another man into our home!? I was about to scream, when I heard her crying, and the I heard the man speak again. This time there was a familiarity to his voice. Then finally the light bulb hit. It was her step-father.
Come to find out she had stopped at the store on the way home from work, and evidently passed out in the parking lot. When she came to, she was in the hospital attached to an IV and all kinds of little electrode things. Her phone had died, and her mom didn't know my cell number. My sweet little bonehead of an almost step-daughter hadn't answered her phone when they tried her. I was relieved and horrified all the same. I kept picturing my baby sprawled out on the ground. Had she hit her head? How long was she there before anyone noticed? She said the doctors almost had to hook her up to a respirator because she was non-responsive.
I kind of wanted to kick myself for even thinking she'd strayed, but you know given my history, you may understand why I did.
Needless to say, I spent the last three hours by her side, and counting my blessings she's okay. But now I'm pooped, emotionally drained and in need of a nap.

Things to come

I've been slaving away over a portfolio/valentine book of sorts. It's all about Indiana Jones, and is in full color. It's called the Book of Jones, and it will be ready in time for Star Wars Fan Days 3.
So how can you get one? Well chances are you can't. See it's not a book I will be selling. It's going to have an excruciatingly limited print run and the only way to get it, is if I give it away. I am handing them out to a select few as gifts and I may give away a few extra to some customers. But it's totally NOT for profit. Just for fun, as a way to give something back.
I'll post more images from it as the show gets closer.

Saw

I can't really say that I have ever really been THAT big a fan of any franchise horror flicks. I think Freddy and Jason are cool. And I enjoy a really cool horror flick from time to time. The Descent and Drag Me To Hell were a few of my favorites. But other than that, aside from The Indiana Jones and Star Wars movies, no franchise has really stuck with me.
I watched the first Saw movie some years back, and was entertained and caught off guard by the twist at the end. But other than that, I never had much of a desire to see any of the follow ups. Then Universal's Halloween Horror Nights added Saw to the mix this year. They talked about the fact that the Haunted House based on it would feature traps and scenes from the Saw franchise. So I figured it was time to catch up. After all, I like to be in the loop of things I am going to see at HHN.
So I rented Saw 2 and 3, and was hooked. Damn, even more plot twists, a captivating villain, and a killer soundtrack. 4 and 5 didn't really let me down either.
So after I was caught up, I kept thinking about the movies, and had to go see the first one all over again to see the little twists and intricate story lines I had missed. And the movie grew on me even more.
A lot of folks complain that it's like torture porn. But I don't really see it that way. What gets me more about the movie is the characters, the plot twists, and yeah some of the mechanics behind the traps that come up. How people make the choices they do. And really that the damn movies are all about valuing your life.
It seems odd that I can go on for so long about a franchise like Saw, but I have to be honest, I rank these movies as my personal favorites up there with Darth Vader and Indiana Jones.
I want to play a game. Can there be much they have in common with Tobin Bell? Can you the reader make any connections? I actually can see several. Can you? Let the game begin.

Pissed Off Pato

Okay, so several months back I drew a cartoon of a messy pig to illustrate how gross it was to work at a caricature stand after a messy person. I posted this drawing on a private company blog and it too on a life of it's own. The powers that be ended up creating a few other animal toons as well. But my favorite of the bunch was Positive Panda. He was the animal we were supposed to focus on when things might not be as bang up at work as they could be. When sales were slow, or it rained all day, we should always stay positive.
So when September settles in and sales tend to slump it's expected that you may have a slow night here and there. Those nights become "learn nights" as opposed to "earn nights." Nights where we focus on our craft, hone our abilities.
Last week I had one of those nights at a typically good location. I drew 2 pictures. That's right, over a 5 hour span. 2. But through it all I remained Positive Panda. Chalking the night up to a September slouch. The very next night I saw the same thing happening, but I stayed Positive Panda. And after some chatting and laughing and free add ons, (I would color the black and white pictures free to keep a butt in the chair and effectively advertise to other guests) I had an okay night.
This week I was back at the first location for a second time this week. I had a fairly decent showing there a few days ago, and then tonight hit. I had one of the worst nights ever. There wasn't any level of positivity that could break through it. I spoke to the handful of people that did come by.

"So how long will one take?"
" 5 to 10 minutes."
"Great we will be back tomorrow."
"No one is here now, I can take care of you in a hurry."
"Well we have dinner reservations."
"I can start the pictures and finish them up while you eat, what a time saver."
"No that's okay, but we'll definitely be here tomorrow."

I had that conversation several times. Told people where the bathroom was, pointed out restaurants, and smiled. I smiled a lot. Positive Panda. Then I drew a little kid, free of charge to try and drum up some business. Nothing. Lots of compliments and aw how cute's. But no sales.
Then a pulled a demo, a fantastic face with a big mustache. His family took pictures and laughed.

"We definitely need to come back for this after dinner."

They never came back for it. But they got photo's of it for a nice prize.

As the night progressed and my poor back screamed in pain from standing there, I began to lose sight of that Panda, and inside I was growing a little pissed off. But I still smiled. Smiled A lot. I wondered how I could get stuck with the crappiest total two weeks in a row. Who had I pissed off? Was God giving me a sign that maybe I needed a new profession?

I ended up doing 1 picture tonight. One. But even while closing and answering one last question from a family of four who was "coming back tomorrow" I smiled.

Then I cussed like a sailor all the way to my car.

My nickname is Locoduck. Duck in spanish is Pato.

Tonight I created a new little animal. Sorry Panda, for now I'm just one Pissed Off Pato.