Soundwave, Superior (sketch)

Transformers will forever go down as one of my favorite if not the favorite cartoon that I used to watch when I was younger.  I had the die cast metal lunch box, countless coloring books, an insane plethora of toys...I was all about that Transformers life.  And if you have anything bad to say about Generation 1 Transformers, I cannot know you.  Say all you want about the others such as Beast Wars and the movies, but you never speak bad about Gen1.  

And by far my favorite Transformer was Soundwave.  While everyone else loved Optimus Prime and Megatron, Soundwave was that go to guy.  He was like getting 5 Transformers in one (so was Devestator, who was also one of my favorites).  I loved how he talked all logical and had no emotion whatsoever...it was always "Soundwave, superior, all others, inferior".  Thats cold man.  And he always had his cassettes with him like Ravage, Rumble, and Laserbeak (who are all pictured above).  And yeah, I'll admit, I thought it was kind of weird that a boombox could transform into a 50+ foot robot, but we're not here to debate the small details.  

I can't wait to finish this one, and I'll be sure to post progress shots as I go along.

Without Wax,

-Charles

Shera: Princess of Power

I finally finished this drawing after the initial sketch was sitting in purgatory for a little while.  Honestly, I never thought that I would go further with the sketch, but I'm glad that I did.  As much as they were considered to be "girl's shows", I was an avid watcher of both Shera and Jem & The Holograms.  Judge me.  Speaking of, I may just do a Jem drawing somewhere down the line.  

But onto this drawing: its obviously Shera with her mighty steed Swift Wind in front of Castle Greyskull.  And like I've mentioned on other sites, technically Swift Wind is a pegasus, but for me to be able to show the most of Shera that I could, I had to omit his wings.  But unicorns are still magical too on their own, so its sort of like a win win.

And as always, if you like this image and would like to purchase a print, feel free to head on over to my prints page, located at the top of this blog.

Without Wax,

-Charles

Sketchiness

I haven't really been posting as much as I should, but please believe that I have still been drawing!! In all honesty, I've been doing more sketching than doing finished illustrations however. I guess in the grand scheme of things, thats good, because it requires me not too think so much on details and just have fun drawing. But these do have to get finished though...I still have sketches from 2012 that I need to make into finished illustrations!! But sometimes, I get stuck when I think about where I should take sketches, and they somehow forever remain sketches. Maybe they'll end up in a compilation of some sorts....

Anyways, onto the art!!

And as always, right clicking and opening into a new window will allow you to see the images larger.

Princess Jasmine and Raja

She-Ra, Princess of Power

I'll be posting more progress of these as they come along.

Without Wax,

-Charles

The (Art) Drop

Every once in a while, there just needs to be an art drop with very little words to accompany said pictures. And thats what kind of post this is going to turn out to be.

But before we even begin the art drop, let me mention that Redux Deluxe is back!!

And will be back for good this time. After nearly a year-long hiatus, my graphic novel in progress is currently being updated. So please do me a solid and check it out! Its not everyday that you see comics and graphic novels about minority kids depicting them in a positive light without there being ignorance, profanity, or other stereotypes involved. And there's also anime/videogames/pop culture influences too...so hopefully there's something there for everyone!

Enough with the self plugs though...now on to the pics:

Since I've been working so hard on Redux Deluxe, I haven't had much time to draw anything really other than Redux Deluxe related stuff. I'm trying to work in some break time to draw other stuff...but commissions will always take a front seat to whatever else I'm working on (for the time being anyway). So if you would like to commission me for any artwork...whether its for logos, illustrations, pinups, posters, or whatever else...check out my Commissions page, or hit me up at Illumistrations(at)gmail.com.

Until next time!

Without Wax,

Wind Wakin', Prince Saiyan, and Authority Hatin'

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything in here since July. I know its been a recurring theme of me saying that I need to update this space more, but I really, REALLY do. This needs to become my main spot on the internet, and have other things funnel away from here...until I transition to an actual hub page.

But since I've been gone...that doesn't mean that I haven't been drawing...

This first image is of Link from the Nintendo videogame, A Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, that was on the Nintendo Gamecube. That was by far my favorite game on the Gamecube...and I think that they should make a spiritual sequel to that game...and I'm not referring to Spirit Tracks or whatever else.

Link, along with Na'vi, using his trusty hookshot to get away from Phantom Ganon.

Next is Vegeta, of the popular anime, DragonBall Z. I sort of made a tutorial on how I did this image on my Tumblr page (I never really got around to finishing it). I need to do a complete tutorial on how I create, and subsequently, color my images...perhaps in a later post.

Prince Vegeta with the One-Star dragonball in front of Kame House.

And last but definitely not least, is Starscream from Transformers (the Generation 1 cartoon, not the movies). Besides Soundwave, and Devastator, Starscream was my favorite of the Transformers. His backstabbing attitude is hilarious to me. Something that came to my mind the other day though, was how in the cartoons, the Transformers were the main characters, and everyone knew ALL of their names...and no one really knew the names of the humans. But in the movies, the Transformers play a supporting role to Shai Lebeouf and whoever else they decide to cast along with him. Funny how a movie named Transformers has the actual Transformers playing a side role.

Starscream either plotting the overturn of the Autobots...or Megatron. Or Both.

Until next time...where I might actually post a process of how these get created! Maybe...

Without Wax,

Rock The Vote With 80s Nostalgia

Lets get the important stuff out of the way first: PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!!



I've been nominated for the 2011 Black Weblog Award for Best Comic/Gaming blog! So please please PLEASE cast that vote for The Illuminate Darkness Experiment as the best Comic/Gaming Blog! It would definitely mean a lot to me!!

Now with that out of the way...

I'm still doing my ethnicity flips of established cartoon characters. The first one in this post is Baroness from G.I. Joe. I used to love this show...especially the little segment after the cartoon where they tried to teach you some life lesson and ended it with "...and knowing is half the battle". Cobra!


This next one is an African-American flip of Inspector Gadget. This is one of those rare occasions where the image looks completely different in your head before you put it down on paper, but you still like it anyway. I think my favorite part of the image is definitely Penny and Brain. I love how they came out, and I just may do another drawing with only those two in it.


Don't forget to cast your vote for The Illuminate Darkness Experiment as the Best Comic/Gaming Blog of 2011!!


Without Wax,

Fairytales & Nostalgia

I probably should be posting here more often, but I don't really want to make a whole bunch of blog posts in here containing only one drawing. Anyways, the pencil has been staying pretty busy, this time drawing stuff from my childhood and when I was younger...and fairytale (sorta) inspired stuff.


Fairytales:
This one is of Baby Bonnie Hood, of the videogame Darkstalkers, made by Capcom. Its not really a fairytale, but seeing as how the character is based off of Little Red Riding Hood, I thought that it would fit. Basically, she's just Little Red Riding Hood with copious amounts of weapons and explosives. How cool is that? And just like the rest of the drawings that I've been doing lately, she's African American.


Nostalgia:
And here are some things from my childhood. I used to LOVE Voltron...so much so, that I couldn't even watch the Power Rangers because I felt like they were basically the store brand version of one of my fondest memories. So, here's an African American version of Princess Allura, who piloted the blue lion of the Voltron Force.


Speaking of 80s cartoons, I had to do one of Cheetara of the Thundercats as well. I'm sure she's running off to Lion-O's aid from the Cat's Lair or something.


And lastly, an African American version of Sailor Moon and her cat Luna.


Uncategorized:
And this is a drawing that I posted on my blog quite a while ago, but never got around to finishing it. And by 'finishing' it, I mean, just throwing a background on it. I need to do another one of Supergirl though...maybe sometime soon.


I'm still open and accepting commissions as well. Always feel free to email me at Illumistrations(at)gmail.com. Or you can send me a message via Twitter as well.


Without Wax,

Scribbles

I need to make more of a concerted effort to keep this blog updated. Whats crazy is, its not like I'm NOT drawing, its just that I'm not posting it here. From this point forward, I'm telling myself that I have to post back here at least once a week...especially since I've been drawing a lot more than normal recently.

But when I hoard art...that just means that there will be one huge post with art...which I guess is a positive. So, lets get to that:

African American She-Ra: Princess of Power:


African American Scooby Doo Detective Agency:


Mickey & Minnie Mouse:



African American Toni Starks (aka IronWoman):


African American female Naked Snake from Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater:


Nu'Bia, African American twin sister of Wonder Woman:


Darkwing Duck & QuiverWing Quack:


African American Samus, from Nintendo's Metroid:


African American Chun-Li from Street Fighter:


Captain Marvel:



Whew! That was a lot! But if you want to really keep up with me, I tend to update my Tumblr page more often and frequently. Follow me on there, and I'll do the same!!

Without Wax,

Tumbl With Me

Lately I've been slacking on this blog...I guess that's really not a secret. I need to get back into updating this one more frequently, especially considering that this is pretty much the only blog that I try to maintain on a pretty decent schedule. But...I do have another blog...on Tumblr. You can check that one out, because I update that one rather frequently....and artwork generally gets posted on there like within an hour after I'm finished. And I post sketches on there some times...which I never do pretty much elsewhere.

Okay, now that the wall of text is over...on to the pictures! First, I finished that Cleopatra sketch that I posted in my previous entry...now with colors!


And my favorite Transformer, Soundwave. I never really noticed this until I was drawing it, but Soundwave's head is pretty much the Decepticon logo...

I guess I'm getting better at these Transformer pictures...which is making me to seriously reconsider redrawing all of the older ones I've done.

And my favorite meteorologist...Ororo Munroe aka Storm of the X-Men.


So, then I was thinking, that there is a serious lack of good African American super heroes/heroines in comics in general. I mean, aside from a select few, the rest are pretty crap...and have ridiculous stereotypes. So, to fix that, I decided to re-imagine some super heroes as being African American. And the first was Batgirl:


And then I thought...why just stop at super heroes...why not just do other pop culture things like cartoons as well...and then this Scooby Doo picture came out. Its still unfinished, but I thought that I'd post it regardless:


And the others; Rogue, Wonder Woman, and Black Canary:




And I still have stuff thats sitting on my hard drive and sketch pad. I'm loving this sudden rush of creativity. And follow me on Tumblr and leave messages...and I'll be sure to return the favor!!

*EDIT* I can't believe that I forgot to post my African American Power Puff Girls piece!!!


Without Wax,

Coin Heaven

I think the videogame that will forever have the most lasting impression on me is Super Mario Bros. 3. Yeah yeah, my first game was Super Mario 1/Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet, but none of those could ever top the euphoria that was Super Mario 3. Even that music is so iconic and instantly recognizable to me. Recently, I heard the song for 'coin heaven' on tv somewhere, and that just brought back so many memories...so I thought, why not do a drawing of Mario and Princess Peach in Coin Heaven.

And for those not familiar as to what the song is for 'coin heaven' (shame on you!):

Without Wax,

Blog REVIVE: M.I.A.

For a while, I lost my motivation to draw and what seemed like all of my creativity, so I had to take a break...not just a break from this blog but a break from art altogether. That meant no more sketching...my webcomic took a hit...everything.

But recently I've been trying to shake the cobwebs off and get back into the groove of getting better with my artwork...and slowly trying to get back into creating my webcomic..er...graphic novel. It might be a while for me to continue my webcomic graphic novel because of other circumstances (which will be saved for another post). I've recently just been struck with a number of ideas, so I need to get the juices flowing again.

So what have I been doing since I've been M.I.A. from this blog and everything? Well...here you go...IMAGE DUMP:













Thats pretty much what I've been up to. I have an idea for a huge picture that I need to complete for someone special...maybe I'll post progress pics of that...but probably not though, because I want it to be a surprise.

Like they say...back to the drawing board...


Without Wax,