Super Princess Peach: Mario Kart

People who say that they don't love Nintendo made games fall into 3 categories: 1.) People who never played video games and have no interest to 2.) People who are clearly lying to themselves 3.) People who just want to watch the world burn.  Those are the facts.  You can't say that you don't love Super Mario, or Legend of Zelda...and especially Mario Kart.  The concept of Mario Kart sounds like all sorts of fail, but in practice, it really is a great experience.  I loved Mario Kart the first time I played it on Super Nintendo and have been in love with the franchise ever since.

So when I thought about doing some fanart for Mario Kart, sure, Mario, Luigi, and Bowser came to mind....but I thought that Princess Peach doesn't get enough shine, so I drew her instead (and Princess Daisy gets even LESS shine...so, you know what that means..).  

Anyways, above is the initial sketch after cleaning it up some.  I wanted to draw her with like a Toadstool pit crew, but it wasn't coming together how I had pictured it in my head, so I simplified the idea, which makes it much less busy.

And as always, clicking on the images will allow you to see them in much higher resolution.

If you would like to purchase this illustration as a 17" x 11" print, you can do so either on here on my blog, or on my print purchase page!

Without Wax,

-Charles

Morrigan of Darkstalkers

I seriously think that Capcom's Darkstalkers is a severely underrated game.  Granted, there are some other games Capcom has made that I have given little to no chance in playing for whatever reason (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure comes to mind...), but the Darkstalker's franchise shouldn't be overlooked.  Just from its art direction alone, it ranks as one of my favorites.  So it would be no surprise that I would choose to draw one of its main characters for a Halloween themed print

Morrigan Aensland of Capcom's Darkstalkers

I'm actually amazed that I finished a Halloween themed print before Halloween.

And if you would like to purchase this Morrigan Aensland illustration as an 11" x 17" print, you can do so either on here on my blog, or on my print purchase page!

Without Wax,

-Charles

Samus Aran, The Bounty Hunter (work in progress)

I sketched and inked this drawing a while ago, and amidst coloring it, I stopped working on it.  I think it was because I knew that it would involve a lot as far as time and computer resources (as in RAM) and it turns out, I was 100% correct.  I desperately need a ram upgrade in my computer, like seriously.  Not today, but as in yesterday.  Anyways, here's the work in progress of my favorite Nintendo bounty hunter, Samus Aran of Metroid.  I sometimes like to work without color for a bit to make sure that the shadows and values are right before going on.  Sometimes the actual colors trick my eyes and by the time I see it, its too late.  I'll make sure to document this when I make an actual coloring tutorial that apparently is grossly overdue.

Without Wax,

-Charles

African American Samus Sketch

A preliminary sketch of my favorite intergalactic bounty hunter, Samus Aran...an African American rendition of her obviously.  Updated progress to follow...

Samus landing on Zebes

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,

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,

Self Interpretation

I drew this 'self portrait' of myself because I was going to use it for something, and now, I just completely lost interest in what I was planning on using it for. Its a shame really. Well, I liked how it came out anyways, and I thought that I might as well post it here so that i can be seen hopefully. Its just me, surrounded by things that I use often or mean a lot to me...like my calculator, music, my mp3 player, my laptop...and of course video game related paraphernalia. Also there's some art related things thrown in there for good measure, just in case people can't make the correlation that I like to draw often in my spare time....OFTEN. Oh, and I have no idea where the Infinity Gems or the Ironman hand really relates...but I thought it would be cool. And as always, clicking on the image will show it in its full higher resolution glory.

Without Wax,

Cannon Drill

Something I whipped up really quick but didn't post here. Meh, I would write more, but I'm not really in the composing mood right now.

Super Luigi's World

Little known fact: I like Luigi a million times better than I like Mario. There, I said it. Luigi should get the same amount of shine as Mario does, if not more. Mario always gets his name out there, and he always saves and gets the girl. So I thought, what better way to help give Luigi his comeuppance than to dedicate some fanart solely to him! And here we go (no pun intended)! Super Luigi saving his princess, Princess Daisy, from the terrors of the Mushroom Kingdom.



Of course, I had to remix Luigi a lil' bit, you know, just to show everyone that he is in fact better than Mario.

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,

Just Art...

I don't really have much to say for this post....just art to show. Hopefully the more and more I draw, the better I get. Looking back at the first couple of posts in this blog, I definitely see a vast improvement. But anyways, here we go:










Without Wax,

Striving to be Better

The life of an artist is hard. Its not like you can just sit down some days and force something out...well, at least, thats not how I work. It's a constant struggle...trying to stay motivated, especially when the odds are always stacked against you to sort of 'break into' the world that you keep looking at from the outside in. I would love to call myself a professional illustrator/graphic designer or whatever else mantle, but that's far from where I am right now. So for now, I've chosen to forget labels and just practice, practice and practice some more.

Me taking a 6 year hiatus from art really put me back a whole lot, but sometimes the break is needed. When I came back, I was rusty, and not where I was when I was doing it more often. And earlier when I lost my drive to do anything art related, I really didn't know when I was going to pick a pencil up to draw again, if ever. But that last break is what I needed, and it really pushed me to be better...and you can definitely see that in my artwork. But I should let it speak for itself...













What a difference some time off and practice makes, huh?


Without Wax,

8-Bit Player

I love videogames...thats like deeply encoded in my DNA. I love the newer games on Xbox 360 and PS3...and I love sports games, first person shooters (especially!!), adventure games, racing games (just a smidge below FPS's) and just about everything in between (ooh and fighting games! I'm looking at you Tekken and Street Fighter). But what I REALLY love, are the classics. I love Super Mario, Metroid, Zelda (but to be honest, I've only played Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker...but all of those are ridiculous!) So I just had to do a Super Mario pic...and when I was done with that...I just had to do a Metroid pic. And when I was done with that...a lil' bit of Street Fighter came out. And probably when I'm done with that...I'll tackle Zelda. But in the meantime in between time, I just thought I'd post up what I've done so far. Hope you enjoy!





And a lil work in progress of my Street Fighter pic...


Without Wax,