20 Years Ago, I Self-published My Sketchbook: “Wang-Dang-Doodle!” This Was The Drawing I Used For

A pen-and-ink Pinup of Dixie Evans "The Marilyn Monroe Of Burlesque", that I did back ‘95.. In the early 1990's, I corresponded with her a bit. She was running the "Exotic World" museum in Helendale, California. Sadly, she passed away this month. She was a sweet old lady..

More on Dixie can be found here..

A rough 'SUPERMAN' prelim from 2004 that was part of a commission; complete with anatomy revision notes to myself.. I lost something in the final inks on this one, which is often the case.. Deciding what to keep and what to throw out at the end, is always the hardest part.. Frustrating!

Today’s mail was pretty exciting for me, because I finally scored a copy of “FREE SHIT”, which I was able to purchase via eBay France! I’m a huge Charles Burns fan and have met him a number of times over the years. I’d read that he'd often produce these small 8-page ‘zines called “FREE SHIT” and give them to his fans at signings? Despite this fact, he never seemed to have any copies, whenever I’d ask.. Pretty disappointing.

The book was produced by ‘Le Dernier Cri’ as a limited-edition (1000 copies) in September 2016. So, they’re rather hard to find in North America. And often, very expensive! They’re certainly never Free!! Anyways, this small book collects the first 22 issues of his ‘zine. And is a real insight into Burns’ process and how his creative brain works. Highly recommended!

Re-familiarizing myself with a couple of old acquaintances.. Traditional drawing, pen-and-ink finish, and digital coloring.

This is a logo design that I did for a family friend living out in Strathmore, Alberta.. I was asked to try and incorporate a Warthog (their club mascot) into the artwork.. So I thought the project would be a perfect opportunity for creating a kind-of Hank Porter -esque emblem, along the lines of his amazing WW2 Squadron insignia? I'm still not entirely sure about all of my color choices. But I'm pretty happy with the overall result..

Took almost a year, but I'm finally back with an update..Thanks to all, for your kind patience!

Since February 2016, I’d been working Layout on Nickelodeon’s upcoming “Welcome To The Wayne” cartoon series. But now, I’ve chosen to take some well-deserved time off. I was feeling pretty burnt out, and wanted to take my body/mind off of any kind of clock or schedule, to try and recharge my creative batteries.. Been spending a lot of time thinking about things I’ve already done in my career, and what I still hope to get done? During one of these moments of reflection, I was surfing YouTube and stumbled across something I’d once worked on here..

In 2000, I did Layout and Design work on a rather dodgy Christmas Special entitled: “Timothy Tweedle: The First Christmas Elf”.. It was done thru a small Toronto boutique studio called: 'Animation House'. But I think at that time, they'd just been bought up by ‘Evening Sky Productions’..

That was 17 years ago, and a lot has changed.. Chris Hayes, was a friend I worked Layout with. He passed away suddenly, this past January. Fred Wilmot was the principal animator on the sequence I worked on, and he passed away in November 2013. Our Production Manager was a young Morghan Fortier, who now co-owns her own Toronto studio!

Much of the production work was farmed out to Ottawa’s ‘Dynomight Cartoons’. It was my job to check their Layout work. And to complete Layouts (with Chris) for a big song sequence (featuring “Fabulous Flo”) which would be animated by Fred Wilmot, in-house..

Overall, it was a fun experience. But as is often the case, the project was a low-budget affair with short deadlines. Designs too, were largely non-existent,-- and I had to invent most of that stuff myself, as I was laying out the scenes. I’m relatively happy with the end results, but was frustrated that many of the Staging details we included in the layouts were either ignored, or used sparingly. I think the final animation comes off as pretty rushed, too. Fred probably realized it was not his strongest work, as I noticed he chose to use the name:“Marcello Wilmot” in the end credits!! haha  

15 years ago, I was commissioned by artist Leigh Young to draw a Pinup featuring one of her ‘LUCHABABES’ characters.. i chose to draw “Ambarina”. Shown here, facing off against “The Blue Demon”. I’d just come off working on "THE RIPPING FRIENDS” cartoon series, which (I think) may have informed the way I handled the overwrought anatomy of the Villain, here..

Dunno how or where I found this image, but I've always loved it!.. Wally Wood was a genuine Master at combining cartoony poses with solid construction.. My best guess would be that this was a back cover to one of his 'WITZEND' fanzine issues?..

I was up ‘til about 3am coloring an OLD pen-and-ink drawing for the upcoming “Summer Art Show”, held at the studio I work at.. Today, I’m physically wiped, as a result. I tried to use a color palette that conjures up the feeling of an old 50′s-era comic-book cover.. Perhaps a nod to the ‘MARS ATTACKS’ cards, too? It still feels rushed, but I do like the way his leather boots turned out!

I had a half-finished pencil test or a HELLBOY rotation that I worked on, in 2000. Last night, I added and inked a few missing drawings, so that I could get it ready to post on HELLBOY Day! Congratulations to Mike Mignola for 25 Years of this iconic character!