2013 Remnants

I can't believe I haven't made a post here for the new year yet, which is a shame.  I somehow got this blog out of sync with my Tumblr one and my Facebook page (Google+ is all out of sync, I probably have to do a massive art post dump there as well to catch up).  This year I'm dedicating myself to keep this blog with at least parity to my other online spaces as well as adding some exclusive stuff to here that I don't post elsewhere.  Actually, for all of my online portals, I'm posting stuff to each one that I won't post elsewhere to keep me motivated to updating all of them with different content.  I guess that is a new year resolution, even though I'm not really big on resolutions.

Let's not bog this post down with a lot of talking though as there is quite a bit of new art I need to share.

A while ago I posted a sketch of Black Canary that I was hoping to compile into one mega image that really never materialized (maybe in 2014?), but I decided to finish it anyways.  So here's that:

Black Canary 2013

And even further back in the year, I posted a sketch of Alice in Wonderland that I just never really got back around to.  I guess in December I felt that I had a whole bunch of unresolved sketches that needed to be seen through, even though I didn't finish all of them.  And here is that one:

Wonderland

And of course with it being December, I had to do the requisite holidays inspired drawing, so here's that as well:

I also did several sketches and redraws of what eventually turned out to be a Dark Phoenix and Scott Summers illustration.  I made a preliminary sketch a long while ago and just sat on the idea until I decided to revisit it with a sketch that went in a slightly different direction:

I just took the best elements of both sketches and combined them into one.  And then after I did that, I couldn't decide on a single background....so I did two.  How's that for not being lazy when it comes to backgrounds?

And then I had an opportunity to do a Jem and the Holograms commission...and why would I not jump on that idea.  I used to watch the show (and maybe still caught a few episodes on Netflix), so this was right up my alley.  Plus it was a chance to exhaust all of the shades of pink and purple that I know...a stark change from the usual color palette that I tend to go with.  It turned out to be...wait for it....truly outrageous.

Jem and the Holograms: click for higher resolution

That turned out to be my last illustration of 2013...which looking back went pretty well art wise.  Looking back at how I started 2013 and how my art has progressed throughout the year, I'm more than excited as to what 2014 has to offer.  I'm definitely looking to new avenues to share my art and get myself out there, and 2014 will definitely be the year for that.  

All of the above illustrations are available for purchase on high quality semi gloss paper at my Storenvy store: Illumistrations.Storenvy.com.

And I guess as always, follow me everywhere: tumblr, twitter, instagram and yadda yadda....the user name is Illumistrations.

Without Wax,

-Charles.

Jubilation Lee

Besides the X-Men issue #1 drawn by Jim Lee, the cartoon from the 90s was my introduction to the Xmen.  I loved that cartoon...even though the animation definitely doesn't hold up today.  Ah, I lied.  I used to be an avid Marvel and X-Men trading card collector.  That was my introduction to the Xmen...but that's neither here nor there.  

Jubilee was one of my favorites...well besides the mainstays of Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue and Storm...and whenever she appeared, Psylocke.  Her "uniform" on the show was soooo 90s, so I thought that it needed revamping.  And well, thats what I did.

This is a part of the original sketch that I did, but something about her face just seemed skewed to me, and instead of trying to fix it over and over, I just drew the whole thing over again.

This is the revised sketch that I came up with.  There are parts of the original that I liked and tried to incorporate into this one, but overall, the redraw is better.

And here's the final version.  I'm still trying to mesh together this cel shading technique with the original way that I color.  I tried to use some Kirby Krackle, but changed it to how I would do it.  Happy accidents I suppose.  

If you would like to purchase this as an 11" x 17" print, feel free to browse the other images I have for sale as prints here.  

Without Wax,

-Charles

Storm

This took a little longer than I had anticipated to finish, but I'm happy with the final result.  I intended to do more to it, but I decided to keep it relatively simple and didn't want to overcomplicate the background, which would detract from Storm.  And as previously told to me, yes, I'm aware that the Sentinel in the background bears more than a striking resemblance to Megatron...that definitely wasn't intentional.  But I'm sure everyone familiar with X-Men lore and what not will know what that's actually supposed to be.

Its also been brought to my attention that sometimes purchasing my prints through Serve can be a somewhat convoluted process.  So I'm now offering the option to purchase my prints as well using Paypal.  That should be easier for most, as well as more familiar.  And what better way to test out to see if everything works than to purchase this very here print!  

Have a great weekend!

Without wax,

-Charles

Its Been a Long Time, Shouldn't Have Left You...

...without some dope pictures to rock to.

I can't believe that I've gone so long without updating my art blog.  Thats an utter shame, and something thats definitely going to be rectified, even if I have to do microposts to do so.  Speaking of, most of my art has been delegated to my Tumblr page, so if you want to see what I've been up to (and the progress), definitely check there.

So what have I been up to since I last updated?  Well, I brought my weekly updated graphic novel back, only to put it on hiatus again, and then for my database to be wiped.  So, yeah, its gone.  Its gone from online (except from some obscure site that I was 'mirroring' it to, and I use that term in the loosest way possible).  But its coming back...definitely.  I had pages upon pages that I hadn't even uploaded before it went down, and I have so many chapters left to go.

I've been struggling trying to find out the line as to what a 'professional artist' really is.  Like, I have no idea what that entails, so its pretty much impossible for me to chase something that I have absolutely no idea what it means.  If it means that I get paid to do commissions, then I crossed that boundary already.  If it means working for a company, then I still have some ways to go.  But lets not delve too deeply into that...

This is an art blog after all...and that means pics!  So, little to no explanations, just enjoy some of the stuff that I've been up to in my MIA time.

CJ and Angela of Redux Deluxe

African American Sailor Moon

I think to differentiate this blog from my Tumblr one, I'll post different versions and work in progress images of my artwork to keep things fresh between the two.  This time I promise, I'll be updating this blog more regularly.

-Charles

Watch Out!! Here Comes the Spiderman!

click picture for higher-res

I'm going to try and make posts for each individual drawing instead of lumping them all together in large posts of craziness...which means...I'll just have to post more. And honestly, thats what I should be (and will be doing) anyway.
Like I said before, most of the time I draw pictures not only because I think that something would look cool or I have an idea in my head, its more of a problem solving type thing like "how would I go about making that look right on paper (or screen)" or "I have no idea how to color that and make it look okay...", or sometimes its just that I learn something new in Photoshop and I need something to test it out on.
So basically, thats where this pic came from. I STILL need to work on backgrounds...that has to be my weakest point, but other than that, I'm kind of happy how this turned out. I got to practice drawing and coloring explosions, some color holds with the spider web (that was beyond tedious though, and some lighting and reflection which I always love to do. The picture is basically Spiderman going up against his usual selection of foes.
Top-right clockwise: Venom, Mysterio, Electro, Vulture, Green Goblin, Sandman and Doctor Octopus.

Thanks for looking!

Without Wax,

Bats, Octopi and Spirals

Maybe I should be making individual posts for each drawing that I do....

...nah....that ain't happening.

A little while ago, I started all of this ethnicity and gender flip characters with my African American Batgirl. I wasn't too much of a fan of that picture, so I redid it....and there's still some parts of this I don't like. I think I may have to revisit it one more time to get things right.



The next drawing is of Ursula from Disney's The Little Mermaid. I wanted to draw her as younger and sexier....but umm...apparently some people have issues with Ursula being sexy. I say, get over it and live with it. You know she was stuntin' on them young mermaids under the sea.



And last but not least, is an African American ethnicity flip of Spiral from the X-Men universe. I used to love this character on the cartoon (even though she was only in like 3 episodes). I knew that many people weren't really familiar with her...but basically, if you weren't in any of the X-Men movies, the general public pretty much weren't familiar with you. So, she needs some shine. And this one is by far my favorite, even though there's really no background at all to speak of.


I think that I even outdid my personal best by including 4 different light sources. Yeah...almost became too much to handle.

Until next time!

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,

I'm The Best There Is At What I Do...

"...but what I do isn't very nice." - Wolverine

Let the record reflect that I LOVE Wolverine. I think my liking of him started during that great 90s cartoon known as the Xmen. I love Wolverine so much, that even despite that fecal matter of a movie that was called Wolverine: Origins, I still love the character. So when someone asked me to draw something for them for their son, I literally jumped at the chance. And here are the fruits of that 'labor' (honestly, it was more fun than work)

Oh, and please click the picture to enable it in all of its higher res glory.

This is also an example of one of my commissions. This was a digital 11"x17" image, which is going for $35. If you would like your very own commission, please click the commission tab at the top of the page, and then email me!!

Without Wax,

Amazing Spiderman v. Incredible Hulk

I love how Marvel throws in those adjectives for all of their top tier characters...Spiderman can be amazing, spectacular...even ultimate. Incredible Hulk, Mighty Thor, Invincible Ironman...the list goes on and on.

But I digress...

Here is an 8 page (well 9 pages if you count the last page as a double spread...which you should...) This was more work than I thought it would be...but I do like the end result. Every page really is better than the last...and it makes me see that those first couple of pages really do suck. Meh, it is what it is. Oh, and clicking the pics enables you to see them in higher resolution.


















Without Wax,