On the way home from shopp...BAM!

You know even despite all the things you do to stay safe sometimes things just happen sometimes, though you can still find help even in bad situations. Like today.

Out on a family grocery run and on the way home we happened upon a truck trying to turn left at a blocked off intersection on the highway. A few cars slammed on the brakes and avoided hitting him, and we were able to stop in time, but unfortunately we were rear ended by another vehicle. Luckily it was at low speeds and no one was seriously injured.

There was lots of help from others. From a random stranger making sure everyone is okay, to our boss who was able to pick up my sister-in-law and daughter to take them home, to a family friend who was able to give us a ride to the car rental place after we got really lost.

We have been blessed and watched over through all this. The lesson I take from all this is that bad things just happen. Despite all you can do, but that doesn't mean that there isn't someone watching out for you. I have seen that today. There is no way that many kind people could have been in the right place at the right time just ready to help us like they were.

I'm a really lucky guy, I think life just wanted to remind me of that.

Outlands: Cover Art

Here's some cover art for the first book. Not quite done but I still really like where it's going.

Outlands: Characters

Sorry there has been very few sketches this past few weeks, but there has been a very good reason for that. I've been working on one of my projects and fleshing it out more since I'm in Rexburg for awhile, and have some of my former teachers just across the street. So here you go, some character sketches from my project Outlands.

Villains: The Lurker

It wanders the streets, waiting lurking in dark corners. Waiting, for its next victim...

Villains: The Slave Master

The keeper of the slaves in the mines. A brutal task master who shows no mercy. Doesn't say much, but then his fist do all the talkin'.

Villains: Mr. Cuddles

An explosion at a toy factory created an unholy fusion of inventor and teddy bear. Now with a mind warped by cuteness, he seeks revenge on all stuffed animals.

Villains: The Sinister Pig

"Mr. James Kong, I've been expecting you."

Villains: Necromancer

The undead at his disposal, another killed is weapon for his use. Not to mention he has creepy eyes, and tattoos.

Villains: Monotone

So I was sitting in front of my sketch pad deciding what would be a good villain to draw, and the name Monotone popped in my head. Then I was looking at an amazing book by Creature Box looking for ideas and boom! The idea for a bass blaster was born. I love ideas that just happen.

So Monotone, the villain of the beats.

Villains: Sid Santos

So the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of crazy, along with having a baby, and learning the ways of the dad, I also lost a few parts to my Wacom pen, so that's been out of commission until today.

Anyway this month is Villains! Made up (by me) and already existing. So we start things off with the old west villain from a side project of mine. Sid Santos. Hired gunman with a secret. He can curve bullets by generating magnetic fields.  Yep supers in the Old West.

Baby!

It's official I'm a dad. My little girl was born on March 17th at 1:03 am and weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 13 oz! Blowing away all family records on both sides. Her name is Ariana. A beautiful Russian name I heard on my mission in Siberia.
Mom and baby are doing great, thought my wonderful wife has had a rough time through out all this. Still she is one tough woman, going through a lot this last day with hardly any pain medication (this even being after she already had the baby). I know I couldn't have done it. Anyway things are going great and mom is recovering well. I'll post more later, but here's a pic to tide you over. Enjoy the explosion of cuteness.

Facial Hair: Chief Silverback XIII

War paint just isn't enough sometimes. To really intimidate your enemies fierce facial hair is needed.

Facial Hair: DJ-09

Even robots know they look cool with a good beard.

Facial Hair: Count Dooku

Some times the sinister ones have the best beards.

Facial Hair: Master

A clear mind, inner peace, discipline, and great facial hair are the tools of the master. Cue cherry blossoms.

Facial Hair: State Fair

Ever been to a state fair? I have seen people like this wandering among the booths.

Facial Hair: Guru

Meditation is a means to free the mind, master yourself, and find peace.
On another note I found a new brush and loving the line work!

Facial Hair: Willie "Beef" Jameson

He may be a big man but he has a heart of gold, and a voracious appetite for burgers or anything that comes off a grill.

Facial Hair: Old West 'Stache

We're back! What a week of moving and unpacking everything that's been sitting in boxes for days. Well my life is finally stable enough that I could sit down and draw for the first time since moving.
This month is FACIAL HAIR. There are so many amazing specimens to choose, from the wildly unkempt beard to the trimmed and sculpted mustache. I'll be exploring this wild mysterious,and often bizarre world.

Life and Death 2

What a week. So much has happened and we finally have a chance to sit back.

First off we got a management position at an apartment complex this past week. Meaning we moved closer to my wife's doctor, and will be within walking distance from everything (two big pluses). Took less time than we thought, despite all of our stuff.
Second, as I mentioned my grandma passed away last week. We had the funeral today. It was really nice. Not really a sad time, but a celebration of a great life, and a realization of how many people she has blessed. So many things I never knew about my grandma... what an amazing woman.
The hardest thing was seeing my dad's grave right beside hers. I really miss him. Things will work out great though. An exciting new adventure, and soon a new life will begin for my daughter. I'm really looking forward to raising her.
Well enough digression. I will hopefully be able to get one last Legendary post in tomorrow. Then I will consult my Cup of Doom to see what the new theme this next month will be. So until tomorrow.

Legendary: Robin Hood

Again I apologize for the sporadic posts this week. Getting ready to move is really hampering my chances to sketch.

Anyway, the outlaw archer himself (minus his merry men). Still he is a man of many talents and from the book, an endless optimist.

Life and Death

I apologize for no sketch yesterday. As we are getting ready to welcome a daughter into our family, and move to a new/old town, all the excitement regrettably has been dampened by a passing of a great woman. My wonderful Grandma Hale sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 97. Sad, but at the same time I'm glad that she doesn't have to suffer anymore. I know she's in a wonderful place with our other loved ones who have passed on.

Legendary: Calamity Jane

Like I said earlier I really love the Old West. So here's another legend from that era. We have the one woman that was  the equal of any man (at least that's what she claimed).

Legendary: Gaia

Greek deity of the earth and mother of all.

Legendary: Hercules

Greek Demi-God, slayer of indestructible lions, many headed hydra, and many other deeds of Legend

Legendary: Ganondorf

Gotta say Ganon is one legendary villain. Not only is he the reincarnation of a demon king, but he is also the wielder of the Triforce of Power which he has used to revive himself after taking a sword through the chest. One of the best scenes in the series.

Legendary: Deadpool

I always considered Deadpool an awesome figure. Guy knows he is in a comic book and still he talks it up.

Legendary: Witch King of Angmar

One of the truly evil villains in literature. Commander of Sauron's forces, and one time ruler of the frozen North. He is really a force to be feared. Unless your a woman. Then your good.

Legendary Fiction

Check it out we have the Dark Knight, the Joker, and Gandalf.

Legendary: Mithrandir

Gandalf the Grey or is it the White? Depends on your position in time relavent to Moria.

Legendary: Joker

Legendary hero, legendary villain. I wasn't sure how I wanted to do the Joker. Either the messy or suave and clean cut, both are awesome and just set your teeth on edge.

Legendary: I am Batman!

There are very few heroes that are as legendary as the Dark Knight. Not only does he fight crime and take down super powered villains, he does it all without any super powers to speak of.

Legendary Status

Sorry only two sketches this time. Dang cold kept me from doing another one. Still we have the legendary Wyatt Earp and the surly Captain Ahab this time around.

Legendary: Capt. Ahab

The man with a bone to pick with one colossal white whale. Ruthless, stern and crazy to boot.

Legendary: Wyatt Earp

Okay we're back. Sorry for not posting yesterday. Colds are not conducive to creativity and focus. Anyway, here's the law of the old west.

Ugh!

Sorry no sketch today. It's been a few days with little sleep, and a head cold that isn't helping anything. So sorry but you'll have to wait till tomorrow.

Wizards, Witches, and Vampires

Loving this week! We have a stern, scholarly Merlin, a frosty, sadistic White Witch, and an evil, mysterious, Count Dracula. I gotta say I am really loving putting my own twist on these characters. Till Saturday.

Legendary: Count Dracula

Nothing like the original vampire of legend. He has it all, flight, hypnotic control, super strength, plus power over wolves. Yeah, the real Dracula is one of the neatest villains.

Legendary: Jadis (The White Witch)

So beautiful, so cold, so deadly. Jadis last queen of a dying world, and evil ruler of a new one. 

Legendary: Merlin

Definitely legendary. Magic anyone?

Legendary: Zorro

Since I did a villain last time I figured a hero would be a good choice for this time. I think I'm really starting to like the whole desperado/wild west thing.

Legendary: Blackbeard

So interesting fact. Blackbeard did in fact have lit fuses in his beard and hair to intimidate his victims. I thought the whole thing in Pirates of the Caribbean was just for effect. Go figure.

Theme of the Month: Legendary People

So my theme this month is legendary people. So what is a legendary person? There are obvious ones like Hercules, Zeus, Paul Bunyan, and so on. Are there others besides the mythological? How about the real life people like Wyatt Earp, or Sitting Bull? Then theres the more modern genre Darth Vader, Batman, etc. Are they also legendary? I guess we'll see if I can reason a few into my sketches.

What have I done?

So a quick recap of my year long goal: To do a sketch a day, except Sundays, following a monthly theme, and only taking an hour to do so. 

Month One review? Not as bad as I thought it would be forcing myself to sketch everyday. I do it anyway, but setting constraints, rules, and being obligated to others is a lot different than just sketching for fun. Consistant long term goals has never been one of my better traits. 

Still I find it paradoxically liberating having to work with these restraints, even if they are just a few. I get to experiment and come up with weird off-the-wall ideas of what to sketch. It's fun! Already I notice that my ideas take less time to develop from scribble to rough sketch (They are still not full on final sketches, but hey I'm making progress). 

I also really enjoy seeing which of my ideas people like to look at. Everyday I find myself looking at the pageviews and seeing which sketch is on top for the week or month. Before my blog was dead, no new ideas, few post, and stagnation, but seeing that people would visit and enjoy my sketches has been a great thing to see. (Side note: Feel free to comment and any critiques, advice, or suggestions would be welcome)

So we begin the new month with another randomly chosen theme... But that's tomorrow's post. I guess you'll have to check in the morning to see what my "soup cup of doom" has chosen. 

PS I won't be doing a daily update form now on. I figured I've tortured you enough with my daily updates. I'll try a biweekly update, Wednesday and Saturday and see how that goes, but I'll still be posting daily if you want to check out the flavor of the day. 

Insects: Rumble Zeek

Funny name, funny bug. Over the top and weird was the choice for my last sketch under this theme. So tomorrow begins a new one we'll see what the cup decides tomorrow.

Insects: Tumble Bee

No wings. Shame. Still it's fun to just blow with the wind. Winding up who knows where.

Insects: AM/FM Bug

Who needs a radio? Just catch one of these from Valos-59 and your set for life. Just make sure to not get between the antennas, could fry your brain.

Insects: Branch Mantis

Why be a stick when you can be a whole branch, leaves and everything. What the heck, lets eat bigger things too!

Insects: Tribal Scout of the Cactus Tribe

Tribal wasps. They are very accommodating and helpful as long as you don't anger them, so no loud noises.

Insects: Meet the Stink Bug

Do you think stink bugs have feelings? They gotta be really lonely. I mean no one wants to get near them because of the stench. And its just their natural scent! Sad day :(

Insects: Sol Butterfly

So originally it was supposed to be a demon butterfly, but became an fire-winged butterfly that lives in the desert (for obvious reasons). I really liked playing with the flames as I sketched this. 

Insects: Beetlefrog

I don't think I would want one as a pet, but they would be awesome to see on the discovery channel.

Insects: Sparky

My lovely wife actually came up with the idea for this one. It's a really fuzzy ant that uses static charge build up, and natural electric generation in it's body to zap prey and predators. It can pack a punch. It can kill most small animals and paralyze bigger ones about the size of a rattle snake. Don't recommend going near one.

Insects: Venom Bug

So no sleep for 2 days, and a strange desire at 11pm to do a weird Venom insect symbiote produced this particular brand of nightmare fuel. Those without teddy bears to protect them may wish to avert their eyes.

Insects: Zuni Bee

I did a series awhile back of similar bugs, and a bee just fits right in with the rest. This one might end up as a full on illustration. So keep an eye out for it.

Insects: Sneak Fly

Weird chameleon/dragon fly hybrid that can blend in with any environment to hunt prey. You know sometimes I even scare myself with what comes out of my head.

Insects: El Guapo

Even bugs have their bounty hunters. If you want something underhanded done he's the one to talk to. If you survive the handshake that is.