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.

Oh that costume. Just a little sumthin sumthin.

Star Wars Clone Wars Widevision

Busy times are on the horizon. One card set I am working on is Topps upcoming Star Wars The Clone Wars Widevision set. These cards are a beaut as they give me a lot more room to work with. I'll be doing one hundred (Attempted full color) cards. The catch? Mine are only going to be available in retail packs this time around. Guess that will make them harder to track.
Either way, It's going to be a blast! I am working on a few other sets as well, but more on those later.

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

Did this 4 card puzzle for a collector. I'm really digging the way it came out, and am pretty sure I am going to make something close to it into a print type thing.

Wow.

Disney buys Marvel.

It's amazing what one wakes up to find out about on a Monday morning. So yeah, I now sort of work for Disney, and Marvel. Scrup. Not sure what to make of it, but I am sure it will be full of interesting developments. Please by all means, Discuss!

R2KT

This piece was originally simply a donation piece for the Marla Bea Benefit auction. I decided to do this one and the Black Cat piece as well. And while I am proud of both, I simply love and adore the Star Wars piece the best.
You see it started as me trying to draw something unique for the auction. The requirement was that we draw a strong female type from pop culture and feature the color pink. I thought about it for a long while and realized it would be cool to make a pink Artoo unit. So that was the plan.
Then this past weekend I was at Mini Megacon checking out the exhibitors. I came across the Florida Garrison of the 501st Legion. These guys are a class act all over the world. If I had a Stormtrooper outfit I would totally join. Maybe I'll start building one at the Star Wars Fan Days 3 show in October.
Anyway, I noticed a pink Artoo action figure at their booth, and struck up a conversation with one of the guys there. I apologize in advance for being too sloppy to get a name. I wanted to know if it was indeed a female droid? Low and behold there was, and she had a name, R2KT.
He went on to share the story in brief about young Katie Johnson. She was a beautiful little girl with an affection for R2, and a losing battle with Brain Cancer. Now if I have this a little off, I am sorry for my poor detailing. Apparently, her father was in the midst of building Katie her very own pink astromech droid when she took a turn for the worse. Some of the professional R2 robot builders then stepped in and created a real life pink R2 unit, and called it R2KT. Sadly, Katie lost her fight with cancer and passed away sometime after. So now R2KT has become a staple in the Star Wars world. She is an ambassador of sorts, making appearances at Hospitals, and functions, and continuing to bring more awareness to cancer. The droid was even featured briefly in the Clone Wars movie.
After hearing Katie's story I knew I had made the right choice to draw this piece.
This drawing became more emotional for me as well because of the fact that my little girls had just left me, to go back to Texas. But I guess I should thank my stars, that I can still call them or see them.
So my heart and thoughts go out to Katie Johnson's daddy, and it is very hard to now part with this piece. But the positive side is that it will help to bring us in someway closer to saving future Katie's.
You can read more about the MarlaBea Benefit auction by visiting the following link
MARLA BEA BENEFIT AUCTION

Personal Heroes: George Lopez

I'm not coping well with the fact that my daughters left me today, so in order to keep some sort of distraction I'll make a post about one of my personal heroes. George Lopez.

I'm not exactly sure where I first stumbled upon George Lopez. I'd heard of him before, and even seen him in Shark Boy and Lava Girl, but I don't think it was until I became aware of his show on Nick at Nite that I got a better appreciation for the man as a comedian. All I knew is that after watching the first episode in reruns, I was hooked. I don't recall ever laughing quite so hard at a sitcom as I had this one.

I'm sure there was some attraction to him ( and no I don't mean it like that, cochinos!) because of the obvious Chicano connection. After all I am LOCOduck, But I related to the humor as well because that's what I grew up around myself. It's odd to note as well that George Lopez seems to be the perfect mutation of two people, my step-father; a typical stereo-typical Mexican Alpha Male cut-out, who aside from the various bruises and fantastic insults, I gained two note worthy things from. A sense of perverted humor, (including a healthy addiction to porn, THANKS Orozco) and an appreciation for segundo barrio oldies. Then there is my biological Dad, ( who while yeah, didn't stick around for reasons that would require an entirely new blog post) was the nurturing, intelligent and supportive male figure in my life. Not to mention, that I think he and George Lopez do look oddly alike.

If you pushed my two hispanic father figures into one, I sincerely think George Lopez would be the result. In his situation and stand up acts, I hear the barrage of Mexican curse words my step father would use until I pissed myself laughing, some of the same mannuerisms are there as well. Hell the opening "Low Rider" song was a staple in my step-father's tape deck. But then there are samples of my bio-dad as well, George Lopez is one superbly intelligent man, goal driven, and family oriented, he seems like he would give you the shirt off his back, much like my father.

Therein lies more of the respect and connection.

But let's face facts, George Lopez is one really funny "buey." I have watched his HBO special "Tall, Dark and Chicano" about 4 times now. It was filmed live in San Antonio where any of my regular readers know my heart lives it's second home. I find something new to laugh at every damn time I see it. Whether it's the jokes about burritos and McCaca's, the latter of which just tickled my little girls, or his facial expressions, the man is comic gold.

He gives the Latino community a superbly respectable face, dresses like a modern day "Jaime Bond" and is cherished by so many. I think HE was the reason I was willing to sit through Beverly Hills Chihuahua, (which I ended up really liking and buying.)

As you can see I have a world of admiration and respect for the man. He remains high on my list of people I'd love to meet. And he's the kind of Latino I'd like to grow old and become.

Muchas Gracias George, you make one helluva man.

Sketch Card Goodness

Well I was having some issues with my scanner, but it's back in order now. Trying to enjoy the last few days I have with my babies until they go home, so I'll make it quick. Here ya go!






Well I was having some issues with my scanner, but it's back in order now. Trying to enjoy the last few days I have with my babies until they go home, so I'll make it quick. Here ya go!

Legends and Lore

I was invited a few months back to participate in a card set for sadlittles.com called Legends and Lore. But was even more awesome was I was given the opportunity to create a base card for the set. I have to admit I was a little bummed by the subject when I got it. "King Arthur!?" I thought. COme on, where was my chance to draw a cheese cake-ish red riding hood? I had no idea where I was going with it. But finally I came up with the most iconic (at least in my opinion) image of King Arthur. The Sword In The Stone. So this is what I came up! Have to admit I was pretty happy with the end result after all, and I can't wait to see it in print!
Snag up the set, by visiting sadlittles.com

The Greatest American Hero

I have thinned my commission and job list down once more. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just wrapped up a handful of sketch cards for Sadlittles.com Legends and Lore set. I need to now crunch down and move 40 cards out the door for The March of Dimes charity sketch card set featuring the Greatest American Hero. Here is a quick character study and reference I put together. While I love the show, and have the first season on DVD it's nice to have a quick study I can look at.
A few other items of note. I have a small webcam now and am setting up a ustream account so that anyone who wants to can watch what I am working on. More details and schedule to follow soon. On the right of my blog as well will be a current workload list. If you have work coming from me, refer to it.
Okay off to bed. Have to enjoy my last day at 33.

Rolla Coasta of Life

Hey gang. I know it's been almost a month since my last post. I have to admit that I knew they would be spread out, but this was a ridiculous length of time. So there have been a lot of positives in that amount of time, but it's been a proverbial climb. About two weeks ago I jumped on a plane to go and bring my little darlin daughters home. The trip was a 15 hour marathon consisting of me boarding a plane to Texas at 9 am and returning home with them that same night at 11 pm. Needless to say, I packed pretty light. And leave it to me to keep drawing caricatures of sort at 3500 feet. For whatever reason, I decided to draw Southwest Airlines flight attendant (And budding author) Angela.


She was so gracious in accepting the picture that I became somewhat of a mini celebrity on the flight out, at least with the first half of the cabin. My apologies to everyone else I didn't get to draw. Maybe I can exchange caricature art for airline tickets. LOL.
When I got to Bandera Texas I scooped up my lovelies and we made the track back home. It was so awesome to be bringing them home for basically the whole summer. They were superstars all the way home. At the airport in Orlando while waiting for their luggage I snapped a pic of what in my opinion has to be one of the best Star Wars weekends ads ever.



Wish I had gotten to attend this year. The next few days saw me finishing packing up my life, and the three of us heading to the house of Mouse. Got to meet Tinkerbell which was cool. Then move week started. And it was a nightmare. The second night in our new place, and there was a massive lightning storm that took out a house a few homes over. It caused havok to the electricity and cable, leaving me internet-less and air conditioned impaired. The cable company ran a temporary line and before the day was over, a lawn guy ran it over and disconnected my world wide web once again. A few days later we were back on-line and I had managed to move just about all the heavy stuff into my second story studio. I was ready to get set up and working. After all the heavy lifting I had done the week before, it was a small box that took me off my feet and effectively destroying my back and keeping me bed ridden and un-able to do almost anything but wince and cry like a 1st grade girl. I have managed to miss work because of the intense pain and the inability to sit for longer than a few hours. And once again my personal workload is piling up on me.
So here I lie still in bed, finally managing to put some thought together long enough to update you guys. I've managed to pull a little tray by my bedside so I can do some drawing to try and ease the load. So that be that. But ultimately all is well because I have my little mini ducks at my side for now.


Have a great weekend.

UP from here

Well yes, the post is about UP, (and so is the three minute cave art you see here) and it's about many other things. Beware my readers, it be one of them looong winded posts.
I had the chance to see a few movies over the past week. Some were with my hunny bunny in a theater, while others were playing on the tube while I was working. And although the race was tight, UP edged out Drag Me To Hell by a hair. What a beautiful flick Pixar has put together. I had heard that the first few minutes were better than any love story out there today. And it is so true, once again, the mix of music, beautiful animated human emotions and story that Pixar is so good at floored me. But more on UP in a bit. '



Drag Me To Hell was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. The fact that that my girlfriend wanted to see it was in itself a bit inspiring. To be honest I wanted to see it because the title amused me. So we made our way to a midnight showing, and I was instantly wrapped up in the grossness, the over the top moody sounds, the jump moments, the camp, the soundtrack, the delicious throwback to older horror flick films (right down the oddly grainy projection itself.) I had a really good time at this movie. My brother made a good point though, asking if it was a horror movie or a comedy. I couldn't really answer. I simply said, "It's a Sam Raimi." And a breath of fresh air.

Other movies I saw kind of ran together. Vickie Christy Barcelona, The Spirit, The Wrestler, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Max Payne. Yeah, honestly nothing to write about, (although I really had better hopes for liking The Wrestler)

I managed to get quite a bit of artwork done too. Finished all my Archie cards (scans to come soon), I got several commissions done. Including these delightfully foot filled cards


and the boat caricature below. And I continue to line up my never ending list. I finished a base card for Sadlittles Legend and Lore set (wish I could show it) But I am really enjoying my drawing time.

For those of you waiting on cards, please continue to be patient. I know how hard the wait can be. I am in the same boat, awaiting almost a year now for a sketch. I also must add that my schedule is going to become overloaded the next few weeks since my girlfriend Jaime and I have decided to move in together. We have a beautiful home lined up to rent, and one of the best parts is, I will be bringing my little girls home for the summer. Of course, the move, the trip to get my babies, yeah, it's all happening over the next two weeks. So I beg for your continued tolerance.

Hey by the way, there is a cool blurb about yours truly over on the raider.net. If you click this link and scroll about half way down, you can catch a glimpse of the duck in all his awkward Animal Kingdom gloriousness.
Locoduck on the Raider.net

Oh and side note two. I was at church with Jaime a couple of weeks ago, and this passage stuck to me, leading me to evaluate and recognize one thing, ( Corinthians 15:33 says, Do not be mislead. Bad Company corrupts good character.) I AM NOT BAD COMPANY.

Anyway, this I guess brings us back full circle to UP. For those who have seen it, you know the way it ends, with blessing of a new adventure. I have braved through my black clouds. And with my move, my babies, my new love.....the only place life can continue to go is UP. Onwards to adventure a new.

PS Also on a new Upward adventure is my brother from another mother Kenny Durkin. Congrats to he and his new blushing bride Andi. I love you guys!!!

Recent Caricature Order

The photos I got for this were not as clear as I would have liked them to be in the sense that they didn't show the faces of the coaches too well. So I decided it best to for a more simplified cartoon approach. It was received with great enthusiasm!

*EDIT*
I got these pictures in my email today. Looks like the caricatures went over very well. I always like getting cool follow up like this. As you can see, I also included personal head shots of each coach as well.

Toony Bin Entries

Here are my two contributions to the last two drawing challenges at the Toony Bin.



Here are my two contributions to the last two drawing challenges at the Toony Bin.

Cap and Spidey

I love these characters and I am starting to enjoy coloring on my computer a little more. It's a bit time consuming, but worth the effort. This is what I work on usually when I don't have access to all my art supplies. I have a handful of commissions I am working on as well. And don't forget to get your Toony Bin entries in. I have seen some awesome entries so far.
Have a great weekend my friends!!

Born Again Trekkie

So I have always hated Star Trek. I always thought it seemed like the most boring space adventure out there. Not even close to touching the beauty that is my Star Wars. So when I heard there was a new Star Trek in the works, I rolled my eyes. Then I heard it was a new beginning, and I thought "Oh Great, they are re-creating suck from suck"
Then I saw a preview. "Not bad,not bad at al,"l I thought to myself. Then I saw more previews and I was hooked. I was actually stoked to go check it out. I watched it on Friday and I was blown the frack away. It was spectacular. It was everything that the old Star Trek wished it could be. The new cast gave it such an energy. The special effects were great, yeah, it was oh so delicious. I'm ready to go see it again, and again, and again. My only hurdle to overcome was reminding myself that I wasn't watching Sylar from Heroes, Shaun from Shaun of the Dead, and Harold from Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. LOL. I overcame and they kicked all kinds of ass in the movie.
4 Quacks.

By the way The Toony Bin is up and running. You can see what it is by going to toonybin.blogspot.com

oh what a week.....

To say it has been an interesting week is an understatement. Last Friday started with a trip to the movies to see Wolverine. It wasn't a bad flick. In my opinion however the other XMEN films were all much more entertaining. I think Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool was amazing, and wish there had been more of him in the movie. I'm glad to hear that there is a Deadpool movie in the works with Reynolds already attached.
Saturday, brought us to Free Comic Book Day. In all honesty I haven't participated in anything to do with it since Spider-man came out at the movie theaters. But this year I decided to take my girlfriends daughter to the shop in Lakeland to get some swag. Sadly there was zero presence. Not a consumer in the place snagging free books. The upside was that we got to get one of each. But the best prize of all was the Indiana Jones fertility idol piggy bank that I scored there. I had never seen it before but it was awesome. Yeah the dork in me re-enacted the famous sand bag switch a few times to the eye rolling chagrin of my honey. After that we went to grab a bite at the Macaroni Grill and low and behold, they had coloring placemats. The artist in me couldn't resist, and here is what I came up with. The food wasn't half bad either. Our last stop of the night was to see Monsters VS Aliens in 3D. Of course the movie started 45 minutes late because they couldn't get the projector working. After having some fun in a silent and increasingly impatient theater with my Iphone Whoopie Cushion application, they moved us to the theater showing The Battle for Terra. Not one ticket had been sold for it. They comped us and started MvsA there. It was deliciously gorgeous. And pretty damn funny as hell. I liked it better than Wolvie.
Sunday I got up and went to church with Jaime. The pastor spoke about decision making and crossroads. It was surprisingly relevant and poignant. As I have been at a crossroads in life lately about a few things. It helped clear a lot up, and for now there is a ton of clarity swimming around my head.
Monday I was readying my special new announcement when we got some bad news. My girlfriends granny had passed away. I quickly acquired a plane ticket to South Carolina for her, and found myself in the position of taking care of her daughter for the week. I was flattered that Brit wanted me to stay with her. But that meant a lot of long driving back and forth to work, to check on my chihuahua and back to her house. Most everything art related had to be put on temporary hold. The drawings I did get to do came from a college program graduation. It's always fun to work with and see old friends. I drew this gal from China, and didn't hold back. My co-worker Andi was trying to reassure her that it was very good but very funny. When the gal saw it she laughed and heartily appreciated it. An hour later she came back and gave Andi and I each a Chinese good luck charm. We joked that we hoped it wasn't some kind of voodoo cursed talisman showing retaliation for the drawing.
Thursday brought some obnoxious clients. I just knew that it couldn't end well. I will say that the drawing started as this. Sweet, toned down, fairly flattering. (Believe me it was) It got rejected. My co-worker came back and asked if her neck had really been "That big". To demonstrate the actual thickness the picture went to this.
(Yeah, I was a little more honest and unforgiving this round) I hadn't yet added the braids or glasses as I didn't want the client walking back by and seeing the more "exaggerated" version. My co-worker laughed and said from the photo it "looked like a big pile of $#i+" I died laughing. Then he pointed out the "dirty neck" and I about pissed myself rolling with laughter. Needless to say, I finished it up, adding the glasses and the braids, and was very happy with the end result. I think I just made myself a portfolio piece. So all was not completely lost. I wish business had been better for the day, but thanks to the crossroads speech, I am reassured that the decisions I have made thus far in life have led me to a very happy and fulfilling career in art, and have brought me to encounter many fantastic people. The positive side is that my girlfriend is headed back from South Carolina now, having said her goodbyes and shed many a tear, and our life will continue to grow together. I will post the details of my new art challenge blog "The Toony Bin" on Monday. Thanks for reading, and have a blessed weekend!

....something's coming.....something good.....

Artistically inclined? Feelin creative? A little competitive?
Yeah. Monday. Check back here.

Slave Jessica....

I guess I am on a weird draw jessica as kick. This is mixed watercolor and marker sandwich. And is currently available on Ebay. I'll be figuring out the winner of last week's sketch card drawings sometime this weekend, so there is still time to enter and win!
Now I should probably get ready for an excrutiatingly loooooooong day of caricaturing. Whew, I love my job, but a twelve hour shift can really be a kick in the pants.
Have a great day!!

Fan Days

I just got confirmation that I will be appearing for Star Wars Fan Days III this year in Plano Texas. I'll be rubbing elbows with a ton of my favorite artists and peers that I have worked with on many Topps card sets. it will be good to see them again. The show is in October and you can get more details by visiting http://www.scifiexpo.com/DCC/fandaysIII.html

Thanks everyone who has commented on Tragic both here and else where. I know for some reason some of you weren't able to click through to it, if you want to try typing http://www.locoduck.com/tragictheclown.html into your browser, that is a direct link.

I'm also getting really excited, because I get to visit my daughters next week. I cannot wait!

Anywho, here is a little something I did a few days ago as part of a long overdue commission. Enjoy.

Tragic The Clown

So I have written many stories before, but none of them have been more personal than Tragic the Clown. It came about at a very rough point in my life. A time when I knew that my marriage was on its final legs. It is a story that one probably would be surprised to see in comic book form, but since I was a kid, comics were always an escape. They were a way for me to deal with the hosts of other bullshit that I was coping with in life. Anytime something seemed to be going wrong in my life, I drew to deal with it.
Tragic the Clown came at a point in my life when I believed that love was in deed a figment of imagination. That it was something that could possibly never exist. I worked very hard on the story and gave it almost a year of my life. I was very proud of it when I published it and had a stack of freshly baked books ready to sell at Megacon one year. Unfortunately, I sold about two copies. My poor personal "Chasing Amy" story got shoved to the side while my sketchbooks, and other items got picked up instead. I ended up giving many copies of my book away. To my somewhat bittersweet delight, every person that read it, seemed to love it. I know I do. And I hope that you will too. Please take some time to read it all the way through. I would love to hear your comments on it, and will respond to every single one. In addition everyone who reads and comments on THIS post in particular will be eligible for a free sketch card drawing. Hell if the feedback is heartfelt and good enough, I may just give everyone that responds a card.
So click on the illustration below and enjoy.

Click HERE to read the Tragic Story

The Comics

So some of you may or may not realize this, but comics have always been my first love. I would love to one day get to write and or draw for one of the big names. But until that day, I have plenty of stories to tell on my own. And I have even published several of them with a HUGE thanks to Ka-Blam comics. Not only are the books quality, but so are the people that run the show, Barry and Jenni Gregory, Thomas Florimonte and Mikey McElroy.
So what I am doing starting this week is making my books available for you guys to read free. I'd love to get everyone's input on the stories as they become available.
To bribe you for your comments I will be giving away one free Personal Sketch card of the winners choice pulled from all comments made on different posts this week. In addition, I will give away one free Sketch Card at random to one person who comments in this week's comic's thread.
So that means my readers have a chance at winning two free sketch cards this week.
Tragic the Clown will be the first comic posted!
Thanks to everyone for their comments and support so far.
And congrats to last week's sketch card winner. Brent Ragland. Drop me an email at locoduck@locoduck.com Brent and we can get you set up.

Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake

.....and here is your camp counselor Jason Voorhees. He's very into fitness, he will make sure your kids get a great work out, and is constantly on the run. He's great in shop class, really knows his way around tools. He'll work with your child's vocal chords, and is very creative. Kids are constantly challenged by him. More importantly he will make sure there is no co-ed fraternization between camp members.

Anyone else see the new movie? I enjoyed it.

Free Sketch Cards and such

I'm pretty swamped with thought right now. Something massive is looming and although decisions have been made and actions are about to take place, I am still certain this current private issue will haunt me for the rest of my life and hopefully not after.
Regardless, I am trying to continue updating my blog with certain frequency.
And as the title says I'm giving away free sketch cards. Unfortunately they aren't the ones pictured up top. Those are just a few Indy Masterpiece Panoramics I wanted to share. I thought they were fun.
What I am giving away this week is a free Sketch Card from Lord of the Rings Masterpieces. You don't get to see who it's by, or what it's of. That's part of the surprise. But I don't really collect Sketch cards myself, so why not pass them on to you.
How do you win? Well you just comment. That simple. If you comment on one of my posts from this point forward, you get your name thrown into the weeks drawing. One entry per comment in each entry. So if I I do three different blog posts and you comment in each one, you get three entries. I will draw a name at random next Thursday. Then I'll send the winner the card free of charge. Not a bad incentive for typing a few words huh? You don't have to be a blogger member to comment, but if you do, at least include a first name so I know who wins.
So get to commenting, there is swag to be had!!!

The way of things

So I am desperately trying to get my commissions out of the way to focus more on drawing for me. I always believed it was more fun when I did it that way. The truth is I have never been much of a conformist when it comes to drawing. For the most part, I draw what, when and how I want to. I haven't been doing as much of that as I like to lately. Truth of the matter is, I draw for a living at work. It's a great job, and I have fun and live comfortably doing it. But there are times when I get home from having drawn for 5 plus hours straight, and then I just want to sit on my ass and watch mindless drivel, (American Idol, Survivor) and some not so mindless, (Lost, Lie To Me, Dollhouse, How I Met Your Mother)
But I'm trying to shake that. Since there is a lot I want to do still. All kinds of creation bouncing round inside this little Loco head of mine.
So I am close to getting to that point.
In the coming months, there will be updates to the sites, Mine, Blogger, Myspace, Facebook and DeviantArt.
I am working on a few projects of a personal nature and a couple of professional ones.
It looks like a good buDdy of mine and I are going to be forming a creative alliance to make some fantastic cartooning goodness. We've collaborated successfully before, why not keep building on it. He remains one of the most awe inspiring creative forces I have known and only great things can come of us continuing to work together.
I plan on putting some social drawing interactions together.
I will be posting Tragic the Clown here so anyone can read it for free. I still think it is a story that should have been read more.
And I plan on giving away free sketch cards.
But most of all, I plan to start drawing more for ME again. After all that's what kept it an escape to begin with.
In the meantime, here is one of those pieces/projects I had bouncing round the head.