I was drawing, and this happened:

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I don't really have an explanation for it. That is all.

No Apologies

THIS IS A SPOILER ZONE FOR TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I claim to be such a huge Transformers nerd, and yet I don't believe I've mentioned how much I enjoy Transformers Animated--I'm caught up on season three, which has been amazing. Both the series and the toyline are easily amongst the best incarnations of the franchise since Generation One (for anybody keeping score, I do enjoy the two most controversial incarnations of the series--Beast Wars and the live action movie). Transformers Animated has introduced a fresh asthetic, invigorating a franchise that was in danger of stagnating. The new, cartoony look is largely the doing of Derrick Wyatt, who's quickly becoming one of my favorite character designers. The asthetic has been translated into the toy line masterfully by the team at Hasbro, and provides a great visual counterpoint to the gritty realistic look of the Transformers live action movie(s). It is a good time to be a Transformers geek.

Today's post features the Autobots' half human, half-Cybertronian sidekick, Sari Sumdac:

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I elected to draw Sari in my own style, because I think it would be foolish to try and out-Wyatt Derrick Wyatt. Sari is depicted in her powered-up teenage form from season three, though I did take some minor liberties with her costume. I tried to make this one a bit more dynamic, since I know static-ness is an on-going poblem with my art. Sari's costume makes her look like a RAcaseal from Phantasy Star Online, which is definitely a good thing.

• Please check out the fantastic blog of Derrick Wyatt, bad-ass character designer, and genuine Transformers fan: A Delightful Tedium

Flashback Friday, Again?!? WTF?!?

Let's face it. Lately, I have been S.T. Rugglin. Which means that once again, you get something that i drew and colored years ago, instead of a fresh selection from my drawing board today. I'm going to work hard this weekend to get ahead on my blog posts, because I know the 5.7 people who read this blog rely on me for 19 seconds of diversion, twice a week. I promise there'll be all new stuff next week.

Until then, here's a robot that needs no introduction, but gets one anyways--Optimus Prime, heroic leader of the Autobots:

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Current Mood: Gettin' there
Listening To: The Long Black Veil
Reading: Just finished Kiki Strike Inside The Shadow City (which was awesome)
Watching: She-Ra season one
Playing: Possum
Eating: Nothing, I'm starved right now!
Drinking: Vitamin Water

Horrible Post Title #085367: Fangs For The Memories

You're reading this impossibly dorky blog, and asking yourself, what kind of a person is this enigmatic J.Ho? Well let me tell you something--the other day my boss gave me a Transformers pencil (because it's well known throughout the office that I am a zealot for Transformers), and the first thing I did with that pencil... was sketch a Transformer. I did it, as if compelled by some greater force; as if inaugurating that Transformers pencil appropriately with a drawing of a Transformer was ensuring that all was right throughout the universe--nay, the multiverse. That is the kind of person that I am.

Here's Grotusque, one of the Monsterbots:

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Though I never owned the Grotusque toy, I always thought the character looked cool: (sabre-toothed tiger) + (dragon) = WINNER, as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately, because I don't own the toy, I have no idea what color it really is--in various photos I found online, the main torso appeared anywhere in the range of magenta, maroon, or burgundy. In the end, I think my colors skewed too close to the magenta end of the spectrum. Oh yeah, there's also no rhyme or reason to the light sources in this pic.

Close-up photos revealed that Grotusque's face was molded with a slight texture--in my mind, this implied fur, so I decided to give my interpretation an organic face.

The wing is cut off because that's where the paper stopped. And on that awkward note, I will end this post.

(Exeunt)

Put on your game face...

Transformers came out on DVD this week, and I'm glad to say that after repeat viewings I feel the same about it as when it first came out. I got an itch to draw the movie version of Bumblebee, which you can compare to my depiction of the cartoon version from a few months ago.

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Trying something new here... sort of. Combining two of my regular techniques, this one is 100% Photoshop, sketched in pixelly fashion with the pencil tool but colored in the semi-painterly fashion that I use every now and then. It's pretty fast and dirty, all kinds of B.S. imaginary light-sources going on here. Still, I'm fairly happy with it. Bumblebee is drawn, by the way, with his battle mode face-plate (which I think is much cooler than his weird gas tank mouth). I believe it was Vinny who called it Bumblebee's "game face."

BOOYAKA!

Flight of the...

...BUMBLEBEE!

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Those who know me have probably been baffled and confused that my blog has been so primarily focused on the world of He-Man. Indeed, even I am shocked that it has taken almost three full months for an illustration of a full-fledged Transformer to show up here (sorry Battle Beasts, being a part of the Transformers universe isn't the same as being a Transformer).

Bumblebee was the fresh-faced rookie of the original Transformers cartoon--he transformed from a Volkswagen Beetle into a robot. Since then, there have been, like, a million iterations of him in the toyline, but I won't get into that. A new version of the character is also going to be one of the main characters in the upcoming Transformers live-action movie.

My sketch is a pretty faithful rendition of the original cartoon version, and I was able to complete most of the drawing without needing to look at reference. Whether that's sad or awesome, I leave to you, dear reader. My pencil drawing was a little tighter, and therefore the inks were as well. The coloring on this one was fast and simple (but maybe a little bit plain and flat)--you'll note that I have left the black lines intact for the most part. The type treatment just sort of came to life on its own after the drawing was done. All in all, this was smooth-going, and I wish all my pieces came together this easily!