Sketch-A-Day 178/365: Modern Pantheon Ares

The god of war, bloodshed, and violence. Ares is a tough s.o.b. no matter what era he's in and is not a god to trifle with. He has been portrayed as erratic, moody, and unreliable. He was more of a street fighter than a well honed militaristic soldier. In the Modern Pantheon he's the embodiment of a bad-boy tough-guy and all too eager to cash the checks which the mouths of others write.

Sketch date: 06/27/13

Sketch-A-Day 177/365: Modern Pantheon Hermes

The Greek God Hermes was the son of Zeus and messenger of the Gods. Initially I was going to make his modern day interpretation be imaged as a bicycle messenger with a shoulder bag and bike helmet. Then it came to me that as a messenger for the Gods, the go between between Zeus and the Olympians and mortals, he was actually more of a personal assistant/liaison. As such I opted to put him in a business casual/hipster light of imagery equipped with his trusty Bluetooth and iCaduceus Tablet. There's no breakdown in communication when Hermes is on the job.

Hermes is attributed with the herald's wand or caduceus and the ram is one of his sacred animals.

Sketch date: 06/26/13

Sketch-A-Day 176/365: Modern Pantheon Aphrodite

The Greek Goddess Aphrodite is the Goddess of love, beauty, desire, and pleasure. Her symbols include the rose and dove. While the sketch turned out more of a Victorian imagery I feel the grace and elegance could be found today in the upper-class society of the Modern-day Gods. She is of course the Goddess most likely to have difficulty keeping her clothes on though when you're an Olympian, the mortal rules of modesty and exposing oneself don't apply.

Sketch date: 06/25/13

Sketch-A-Day 175/365: Modern Pantheon Zeus

So it dawned on me Monday night that when this week concludes, it will mark the half-way point of the 20-XIII Challenge. I can officially say I'm making this happen! Awesome.

To commemorate this milestone, I wanted to make it a good series and chose the Greek Pantheon. It's something I've been thinking about for a while and was pretty stoked to get started. Then I started refreshing myself with the Olympians and the enthusiasm waned. Regardless, after some motivational prodding from some friends I decided to go with modern interpretations of the Greek Gods.

First up is the top Olympian himself, Zeus. To incorporate some of his symbols on this modern take I opted for the thunderbolt, eagle, and scales

Sketch date: 06/24/13

Sketch-A-Day 174/365: Robot Knight

I don't have a story for this one and I really can't think of a reason why a robot would be utilized with a sword and shield along side heavy artillery...but it was fun and turned out pretty cool. 

Sketch date: 06/23/13

Sketch-A-Day 173/365: Mechanized Infantry

The machines were created to replace the need for human soldiers on the battle field. Bigger, stronger, capable of carrying heavier armaments into the field. With them came more destruction and the day which we were no match for our own creations.

Sketch date: 06/22/13

Sketch-A-Day 172/365: Watching You

Introducing the ICU-02 robotic surveillance unit. It knows all. It sees all. Nothing can hide from the ICU-02's large central eye core which is capable of scanning in a variety of spectrums at once. Big Brother has come home, and he's watching you.

Sketch date: 06/21/13

Sketch-A-Day 171/365: Glory of Morning

After the wars are over; when man and their machines have finally destroyed each other. When the machines are nothing more than a footprint on a ravaged and decimated landscape, and man is less than a shadow of his own creation's remnants...the Earth, and Life, will go on in spite. Erasing all trace of what once was.

Sketch date: 06/20/13

Sketch-A-Day 170/365: Robots and Roses

Inorganic and durable machinery meets organic and delicate flora. For the sake of Monday's sketch not being the black sheep of the week, I present to you a robot with a rose.

Sketch date: 06/19/13

Sketch-A-Day 169/365: Flying Robot

I was reminded of several things I need to start drawing from different people. Backgrounds. Landscapes. Buildings. Cars. Robots. Machines...all things that I honestly feel are weak points for me. Yay! I get to showcase my weaknesses for you!! While the joy and excitement is clearly feigned, I do have to say those people are right. You hear that people??? YOU ARE RIGHT!!!!!

Ahem...that being said, last night I sketched up this flying robot. I actually kind of like it, though I doubt I'll be snatched up for a Transformers comic anytime in my future, near or otherwise. ^_^

Sketch date: 06/18/13

Sketch-A-Day 168/365: Here's a Rose, Just Because

When I did this sketch I was on the verge of giving up on this challenge. I think Intense week may have taken a lot out of me. I just wasn't "feeling it" that night with sketching anything. I spent literally hours trying to figure out what to do. I didn't want to do anymore third-party IP and would really like to avoid it as much as possible for a while, at least from the big wig companies. Small press characters I will still do when the mood strikes. I just really enjoyed the Bigger Sword series and would love to do more weeks like that one. Not continue the series but create additional themed series that allow me to flex my creativity. Monday however took a huge dump on me and my mind was ka-put. With midnight ticking increasingly closer I frantically racked my brain coming finally to "just draw a damn flower and be done with it, you haven't done any real flowers yet." After quickly pulling up a visual reference on Google image search I'm able to present to you this rose...just because I couldn't come up with anything else. :P

Sketch date: 06/17/13

Sketch-A-Day 167/365: Girl Intense

What happens when hero emulation goes to the next level? At what point does hero worship turn to obsession? What happens when an obsessed fan gains the power to imitate their hero in every way imaginable? We find out when the latest inheritor of the Flashlight of Infinity discovers she has the ability to make whatever she can imagine become reality and becomes Girl Intense! With the powers bestowed upon her from her mystical flashlight, the obsessed Girl Intense rivals her own hero's might and could be Kid Intense's greatest ally...or his most dangerous foe.

Kid Intense is a character created by Vincent K. Morris and is published by the fine folks at TRIBE Comics. Girl Intense is a character created by Ronald Montgomery.

Sketch date: 06/16/13

Sketch-A-Day 166/365: Intense Johnny

When there's a superhero in your city, you're going to have little fans emulating their hero despite how much their parents tell them to wear their underwear where it belongs.

Kid Intense is a character created by Vincent K. Morris and is published by the fine folks at TRIBE Comics. Intense Johnny is a character created by me and published nowhere :)

Sketch date: 06/15/13

Sketch-A-Day 165/365: Intense Eyes

Kid Intense's eyes pack as much punch as his fists I've heard.

As always, Kid Intense is a character created by Vincent K. Morris and is published by the fine folks at TRIBE Comics.

Sketch date: 06/14/13

Sketch-A-Day 164/365: Intense Noir

Did you ever wonder how Kid Intense would look as a cool stylish crime drama superhero? I did too!

As with all previous sketches, Kid Intense is a character created by Vincent K. Morris and is published by the fine folks at TRIBE Comics.

Sketch date: 06/13/13

Sketch-A-Day 163/365: Extreme Intensity

This one goes out to my good friend Ronald. Just for you here's the reaction of Kid Intense to the discovery of the actions engaged in by his hot supermodel mom in the Extreme Intensity pitch all those wonderful years ago.

Sketch date: 06/12/13

Sketch-A-Day 162/365: Intense PUNCH!

Nothing can withstand the Intensity of the Intense PUNCH!!! Which is cool, if you didn't know.

Once again, Kid Intense is a character created by Vincent K. Morris and is published by the fine folks at TRIBE Comics.

Sketch date: 06/11/13

Sketch-a-Day 161/365: Intense...B!*%#es

Well it's been...wow, over 3 years since I last did any work on Kid Intense. With a recent resurgence among a select group of creatives I found my sketching hand wandering this evening and I guess it's been far too long since I let my pencil flex it's Intense might.

For those that don't know, Kid Intense is a character created by Vincent K. Morris and is published by the fine folks at TRIBE Comics.

Sketch date: 06/10/13

Sketch-a-Day 160/365: Speak Softly and Carry a Bigger Sword 7

Chicks dig big swords. Anyone that says otherwise is lying. The final installment of the Bigger Sword series shows us that it takes a highly skilled and talented woman to properly handle a big sword.

I hope you enjoyed this sketch series as much as I did.

Sketch date: 06/09/13

Sketch-a-Day 159/365: Speak Softly and Carry a Bigger Sword 6

Installment 6 of the Bigger Sword series brings us this beast of a blade proving that sometimes two hands are required to handle a sword that big.

Sketch date: 06/08/13

Sketch-a-Day 158/365: Speak Softly and Carry a Bigger Sword 5

Some would argue the importance of sword size rests more on girth rather than length; as demonstrated by this warrior with installment 5 of the Bigger Sword series.

Sketch date: 06/07/13

Sketch-a-Day 157/365: Speak Softly and Carry a Bigger Sword 4

Installment 4 of the Bigger Sword series brings us a brute of an orc champion. The big question here is, did he lose the arm in battle or from a slip with his own massive blade? Perhaps he's such an awesome warrior that it was intentionally removed in some bizarre orc ritualistic right of passage. Nothing adds insult to injury more than getting your keister handed to you by a one-armed opponent!

Sketch date: 06/06/13

Sketch-a-Day 156/365: Speak Softly and Carry a Bigger Sword 3

Part 3 of the Bigger Sword series. Struggled quite a bit with this one for some reason. The arm and sword positioning drove me nuts but I think I finally got it.

Sketch date: 06/05/13

Sketch-a-Day 155/365: Speak Softly and Carry a Bigger Sword 2

Part two of the importance of having a bigger sword. This is also the first sketch in my new sketchpad, which is also bigger than the sketchpad before it. Upgraded to 11x14, primarily because when I went to pick up a new portfolio they were all out of 9x12's so I figured what the heck, bigger is better! :P

Sketch date: 06/04/13

Sketch-a-Day 154/365: Speak Softly and Carry a Bigger Sword 1

This week will be a series of sketches in tribute to such great and popular game franchises as Final Fantasy and Soul Caliber with their in-your-face and over-the-top phallic undertones of ridiculously massive unwieldy instruments of bloody edged death and destruction reminding prepubescent gamers that no matter what, you must always have a bigger sword than the next guy.

Sketch date: 06/03/13

Sketch-a-Day 153/365: The Follies of Slinky-Girl

After an effort to gain popularity akin to that possessed by such super heroines as Power Girl, Slinky-Girl soon regrets her decision of cosmetic enhancements realizing that gravity and balance are all too real of factors with her unique super power.

Sketch date: 06/02/13

Sketch-a-Day 152/365: The Cupcake Commander

I have to give full credit to my darling daughter for this one. She suggested drawing a guy with a cupcake head that shoots cupcakes out of his armpits...while that awesome power isn't pictured here, I present to you the nefarious Cupcake Commander.

p.s. my daughter is 15.

Sketch date: 06/01/13

Sketch-a-Day 151/365: Nottabat-man Rises

He's the hero his city needs, even when it doesn't want one. Rise of the Nottabat-man.

Sketch date: 05/31/13