Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel

This was my entry this month for the e-Caricatures forum.  The celebrity of the month was Theodor Geisel, better known as "Dr. Seuss".  I thought it would be a fun excuse to draw some wild Seussian landscapes and use a lot of really saturated colors.

P.S. This is my 100th post on my blog!  It's time to celebrate!  Perhaps by drawing?

Killer Croc Redesign

I am not particularly fond of the newer versions of Killer Croc in the Batman comic (especially in the Hush series).  Overly reptilian incarnations of Croc don't seem to gel with the rest of the rogues gallery.  The classic Batman villains such as Joker, Two-face and Scarecrow don't have to be mutated monstrosities to still be intimidating.  Batman villains work best when writers avoid making them overly fantastic or super powerful.  Instead the Batman villains should be "tragic and deranged humans".  That fits so much better with Batman's own origin and psychology.  Like two sides of the same coin.  

For my version of Croc I wanted him to look a bit more generally creepy.  I was imagining him as a guy with a skin disorder that turns his epidermis into hard scales. After years of ridicule and abuse for his appearance, he finally embraces his disorder. As a result he starts to mutilate himself (cutting off his nose, filing and capping his teeth, removing the skin on his cheeks, contact lenses, skin implants etc).  My version of Croc wouldn't have as many super powers as his modern equivalent, but hardened skin that protects him and deadens pain, a brawler mentality, and a total lack of human compassion would still make Croc a mighty intimidating opponent!

Solomon Grundy

Click on the image for a larger version

"Re-born on a Monday"

This is my version of Solomon Grundy from the DC comic universe.

In the comics Grundy was a man who was murdered in the late 1800s and his body was dumped in a swamp.  Years later was reanimated as a zombie, and his corpse was filled with all of the matter from the swamp.

For my version of Grundy I thought it would look cool to have him from the prohibition era (a mob killing), partially because clothes from that era are more fun to draw.  His body was  dumped off of a highway into a culvert, making his reanimation a bit more disgusting.  Then through some sort of bizarre circumstances he is brought back to life.  I also wanted to make the swamp matter in his body a bit more obvious.  Like all of the mud, vines, briars, etc. are filling, stretching and ripping his dead body.

Jewel Gecko

A jewelled gecko photograph I snapped yesterday.

This is a bit of a deviation from the things I regularly post on here, but, just look at how awesome it is!

deviantArt Dark Shadows contest

This is my entry to the "Self-Explanitory Shadows" (aka "Dark Shadows") contest that deviantArt is hosting. I couldn't help but have a bit of fun with the contest.

Between the posters for this film, Alice in Wonderland, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I am pretty sure that Tim Burton is trying to destroy Johnny Depp's career. "I made you! I can un-make you!"

I think my buddy John Boy sums it up the best: "[Tim Burton] cares more about making movies look like Tim Burton movies then actually making a good movie."

It's a bit heartbreaking, because I freakin' loved his older films, but I haven't liked anything he has done since Big Fish. He needs to stop with the remakes! They are a plague on Hollywood.

Sherlock Holmes: Puzzled

Sherlock Holmes pondering a particularly puzzling case.

I drew this as a celebration of the fact that, as of February (2012), I have officially read all of the Sherlock Holmes novels.  Even The House of Silk.

Funny coincidence: I was about to post this, when I noticed that the theme of this weeks challenge on Illustration Friday was "Puzzled".  Perfect!

Vocal: Banshee's Wail

Click on the image for a larger version

Another of my drawings from "The Vault".  This was a drawing I did ages ago (2008) as a parody of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" using X-Men characters (Banshee in particular).  I thought it fit well with this week's Illustration Friday topic, which is "Vocal".  I have been meaning to upload this on my blog for quite a while, and this week's challenge gave me an excuse.  I don't know why, but I've always proud of this illustration.  Maybe because it's really colorful.

Jabba's Palace: Bib Fortuna Sketch

Bib Fortuna from Return of the Jedi.

This sketch was a bit of a walk down memory lane.  When I was about 15-17 I was hopelessly obsessed with the Star Wars trilogy.  I had a massive collection of the original action figures, and read all of the extended universe novels and comics (except for Splinter of the Mind's Eye).  I even played the Star Wars RPG with my friends.  For some reason my devotion to Star Wars ended around 1999 though.  

When I was young I always tried to draw the monsters and characters from the films, but consistently failed.  So quickly sketching Fortuna, and having it turn out close to how I wanted, was far more satisfying than warranted.  

Björk's Antennae

I recently drew this for the Caricaturama 3000 challenge on Facebook.  The celebrity that week was the Icelandic singer/songwriter Björk.

Jackie Chan in Traction

Click on the image for a larger version

My submission for the Caricaturama Showdown 3000 challenge this week.  This week's celebrity was Jackie Chan.

I can't make up my mind whether I prefer a full body version, or to just crop it at the face.  There are a lot of details that are lost when when you zoom out of it.

Click on the image for a larger version

www.chuckletree.com

Disclaimer: The above image is the work of the beautiful and talented Anna Barrett

My lovely wife Anna spent a good portion of March creating a beautiful new joint web-site to display our art and illustrations.  Come on by and pay us a visit!  Unlike a real theater we don't charge admission, and you won't stick to the floors.

www.chuckletree.com

Textured Moose

Just playing around a bit with textures and line weights.  Moose are surprisingly fun to draw.