Harley & Mister J

An ink drawing of Harley Quinn and the Joker that I did during Saturday at Detroit Fanfare. Will be making this into a digitally-colored print, so expect to see that eventually. Comfort has already threatened to dropkick my butt if I don't.

Burgie Awards '13

For next year's Burgie Awards, food critic blogger Burger Beast requested a parody of John Carpenter's slasher classic, 'Halloween' (1978). This was a rather clever challenge that he proposed, trying to make a burger that resembled the jack o' lantern face from the iconic movie poster. I think the solution that I came up with works rather nicely, here, and so did he, which is the important thing.

Check out the previous Burgie Award posters from past years, if you aren't familiar with them:

• 2011 - 'King Kong'
• 2010 - 'A Clockwork Orange'
• 2009 - 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'

Perryfest '12 caricature

Here's one of the caricatures that I did not have enough time to finish at this year's Perryfest. I've had a few requests for Spider-man, but I was pleasantly surprised when one of the two boys here wanted to be drawn as Abe Sapien from 'Hellboy'. He pointed out the print that I had on display, so apparently it must have made an impression.

Lumpin' Happy Birthday

For Dara's twentieth birthday, which was last Saturday. This is the interior of her birthday card, and I know what a fan she is of the Cartoon Network series Adventure Time. Lumpy Space Princess especially seems to get a laugh out of her, so I had to put her in it.

Sorry your birthday wasn't what it should have been, hun. But I hope that this cheers you up and makes up for a little of it.

The Mighty Tool Man Taylor

For the upcoming Detroit FanFare convention in late September, this was my submission for the con's artists sketchbook, "Re-Imagining Detroit." The original theme is to use iconic symbols of the Detroit area, but they were flexible with me on this, which was much appreciated. 'Home Improvement' (which is set in Detroit) was a favorite of mine to watch while growing up as a kid, and the thought of the catastrophe-prone handyman Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) wielding mighty Mjolnir amused me to no end.

Expect to see this done up later in digital colors and available as a print. I'll be selling them at the convention, as well as online of course. And while I'm there, I'll hopefully get media guest B.K. Taylor's autograph, since he wrote a select few episodes of the TV series. I wasn't aware of this at the time that I started sketching this out, so it turned out to be a happy coincidence when I read about his appearance.

EDIT: Didn't get around to making this into a color print as originally planned. Maybe I'll have it done up for next year's convention. But outside the Detroit show itself, I doubt that there would be enough interested buyers to make it worthwhile.

Burgie Awards '11 poster

Been waiting for Burger Beast to post this before posting this, myself. This mock-up artwork is for the food critic's upcoming 2011 Burgie Awards, parodying a variant of the 1933 'King Kong' theatrical posters. This makes for the third annual poster that I've been commissioned, having done this for all the Burgie Awards events thus far. And I have to say, this year's poster is my current favorite.

The WIP sketch

Lovecraft ink drawing

A simple ink drawing of cosmic horror author H.P. Lovecraft.

Adventure Time: Algebraic!

A little gift art for my girlfriend, Dara, to help cheer her up. And from what I've seen, it's an amusing little cartoon. If you enjoy this style, regarding both artwork and humor, then I suggest that you might also take a look at The Perry Bible Fellowship webcomic. Fair warning, though, P.B.F. does often make use of adult-oriented humor.

2nd Burgie Awards poster

If regular followers are having a sensation of slight déjà vu, it's only natural and for two main reasons. This commissioned piece parodies one particularly iconic theatrical poster of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). The commissioner was Sef Gonzalaz, a.k.a. Burger Beast, for his second-annual Burgie Awards event, the first of which I also illustrated as a parody poster in the style of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

The Burgie Awards is set to take place in downtown Miami, Florida at the Transit Lounge (729 SW 1st Ave.) on September 13th, starting at 8 PM. Again, like last year, I would go if I wasn't living on the opposite side of the States. However, if you happen to frequent the Miami area then be sure to stop by for good food and friendly competition. Tell Burger Beast that Silent Sketcher sent you.

-SD- Maus the Mouse King

Some additional Salad Days fan art, made a number of months ago. Here's Maus the Mouse King, modeled after her namesake from 'The Nutcracker Prince', albeit namesake in title. From the very, very little German that I am familiar with, "maus" is our English "mouse". An appropriate choice.

The Unique Tales #3

So here's the big reveal of all the work that's been going on behind the scenes as of late. The latest issue of 'The Unique Tales' has made its online debut today and is available for your reading pleasure, absolutely free. If you're a fan of Adam Withers and Comfort Love's 'The Uniques' series, I probably don't need to elaborate too much. But for those of you who are unfamiliar, 'The Uniques' is a present-day, superhero comic book series revolving around a younger generation, rag-tag team of heroes. Issue three of 'The Unique Tales', 'The Uniques's sister mini-series, delves into the Golden Age of their heroes' precursors during World War II. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Read 'The Unique Tales' #3, "...As Defined By Our Choices," here.

I have to really applaud Adam and Comfort with their undertaking in 'The Unique Tales'. It's no small task orchestrating a mini-series like this, collaborating and constantly deliberating back and forth with the contributors involved. They may not work for Marvel, DC, or the other big name publishers out there, but make no mistake they are true professionals. (And quite frankly I am glad for their independence. They have their own, real identity as artists and in their work.) So it's been a privilege working with them and indirectly with the others contributing to this particular issue.


Aside from the Golden Age Taskforce character designs, here's my main contribution to issue three. From top to bottom, left to right, the team is composed of: Ghost, Virtue, Guardian Angel, Liberty, Countryman, and Mercury. Technically it's still a work in progress, but I was satisfied with this stage of the pin-up for the web premiere deadline of this issue. I'll be sure to post the finalized variant sometime before 'The Unique Tales' reaches the publication point. In the meantime, however, I'm going to take a break from this beast and work on some other interests. And if you're interested, 11x17" prints of this pin-up are also for sale. Contact me via e-mail.

postcard zombie prints: NotLD's Karen Cooper

Here's the next postcard-sized print in my series of cinematic zombies, Karen Cooper (Kyra Schon) from Romero and Russo's 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968).


Aside from the gruesome discovery of young Karen devouring her father's remains, the most memorable bit of this sequence was the stabbing of her mother with a bricklayer's trowel. In some respects, the "ghouls" of 'Night of the Living Dead' were more revolutionary than their modern, shambling (or in some cases running) counterparts. After all, these were tool-users. Additionally, unlike Romero's later adaptations, these zombies seemed to have an immediate grasp of the concept. In films like 'Day of the Dead' and 'Land of the Dead' it was a gradually learned process, whereas in this first film it was instinctive. Personally, that notion instills a greater sense of dread. I wanted to convey this in Karen, capturing her with the trowel raised in hand menacingly.

These prints are for sale, so send me an e-mail if you are interested in purchasing. My current asking price is $1.50 USD each ($4 for four prints), plus an additional $2 for mailing costs. Prints will include my personal signature as well. There will also be no watermark, as seen here.

NOTICE: The background is the original poster artwork from the film. It's a filler and gives recognition to the movie from which the depicted character is derived from.

postcard zombie prints: NotLD's Cemetery Zombie

Here's the next postcard-sized print in my series of cinematic zombies, the Cemetery Zombie (Bill Hinzman) from Romero and Russo's 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968).


Hinzman's zombie appears at various points throughout the film, but the scene most memorable to myself is his attack on Barbra (Judith O'Dea), when she is trapped inside her brother's car. Something about the way he slammed his palms against the windows made it intense, so it seemed to me that it would make a dynamic pose in this print.

These prints are for sale, so send me an e-mail if you are interested in purchasing. My current asking price is $1.50 USD each ($4 for four prints), plus an additional $2 for mailing costs. Prints will include my personal signature as well. There will also be no watermark, as seen here.

NOTICE: The background is the original poster artwork from the film. It's a filler and gives recognition to the movie from which the depicted character is derived from.

postcard zombie prints: RotLD's Tarman

With the Motor City Comic Con nearing, I've decided to get a start on some artwork to sell. Here is the first in a series of illustrations depicting cinematic zombies, the Tarman (Allan Trautman) from Dan O'Bannon's 'The Return of the Living Dead' (1985).


There's also a cameo of Tarman in 'The Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave' (2005), which did an awesome rendition of the zombie, but I decided to opt for the original version instead. These postcard-sized prints are for sale online as well, so send me an e-mail if you are interested in purchasing. My current asking price is $1.50 USD each ($4 for four prints), plus an additional $2 for mailing costs. Prints will include my personal signature as well.

Next on the agenda is George A. Romero's movies, starting with the 1968 classic, 'Night of the Living Dead'. Expect to see the Cemetery Zombie (Bill Hinzman) sometime next week.

NOTICE: The background is the original poster artwork from the film. It's a filler and gives recognition to the movie from which the depicted character is derived from.

Unique Tales: golden age Taskforce

Been keeping myself busy, partly with a special project for Adam Withers and Comfort Love, creators of the self-published The Uniques superhero comic. If you follow them you'll likely know this already, but for those not in the know they're starting a new series called Unique Tales with short stories written and illustrated by other artists that expands on the history and setting of The Uniques. I've been working out character designs for several WWII era superheroes, the Taskforce, which has been exciting since I love this line of work and greatly admire Adam and Comfort. There will be some adjustments made, as you can see with Countryman, but these are the initial designs.

________________________________________

Countryman
the original design

the modified design________________________________________
Virtue
This design was too decorated for Adam and Comfort's liking,
however the uniform will be used for more ceremonial scenes.
________________________________________
Mercury
________________________________________
Liberty________________________________________
Guardian Angel
________________________________________
Ghost

Communist portraits commission

Here's Luise K.'s commission, a Christmas gift for the guy rendered on the right end of the row. It was a little tricky trying to stylize his portrait to resemble the other three, who are, from left to right: Marx, Engel, and Lenin. Drawing all those details felt more like topography than facial features.

BPRD trio pin-up

Sometime I'll get back to finishing my six-part series of Hellboy pin-ups. But in the meantime, here's a variant 11x17" print that includes the three main characters: Abe Sapien, Hellboy, and Liz Sherman. If you've been on the fence, unable to decide on which of the three individual prints to buy, perhaps this combination will do it for you. You can purchase one for $7, plus an additional $5 for mailing costs. I accept payment through PayPal.

Makiev commission

Another digitally-colored portrait I finished not so long ago, here's the Soviet assassin Makiev, an original character designed and commissioned by Matt K. I took a great deal of pleasure hammering out this one, as I find the World War II era rather interesting in of itself. For those of you familiar with Mike Mignola's Hellboy, you'll likely notice the similarity of Makiev's mask to Karl Ruprecht Kroenen's. The design of that particular accessory was indeed inspired heavily by it. On another side note, the eyes may seem off. That is due to his left eye, which is slightly clouded over.

Commander Deth commission

A little while back, I created a digitally-colored portrait of mech pilot Commander Ian Benjamin Deth, an original character designed and commissioned by Julie D. She loved it, so much so that she even had it framed, along with a print of my Fast Food Mafia piece that she purchased. Julie sent me a picture of the framed prints today, so I wanted to share it.

Burgies Awards night

Though I couldn't join in on the festivities of Burger Beast's 'The Burgies' it certainly looks like the night went without a hitch, attracting well over one hundred attendees. You can read more about the evening of food and fun at his blog, but I wanted to show a couple of pictures taken that featured my artwork.

John Martin's Irish Pub door with Burgies Awards poster

El Mago, winner of "Best Frita", with son and daughter