Super Initiative Man

Meh. Here's the second trading card I did. It's ok, but I really wanted something bold and dynamic. This guy is very classic 1950's comic book retro and I don't think he pops off the card as much as the first card did. In retrospect, the blue background is just to calm and peaceful. But with that much red in his suit, not many other colors worked as a background. I'd started a non-abstract background with buildings but wasn't going to be able to finish it in time for this card. Plus it added too much gray given the gray cape, which also covers so much of the background that it would have been a waste. To top it off, somehow this card was printed slightly larger than the last one, making it look like the card was a full bleed that had a trimming mistake, instead of having the regular white border of the last card.

Again I just didn't put the time into it that I wanted to. Hopefully with most of a month ahead of me I can get the third one going in time to mostly achieve what I want. I've got three decent sketches of female superheros but we're trying hard to keep it exciting for boys. I think I'm going to divert more substantially from kid's sketches and just use them as rough ideas.

I sold my first photo on iStockPhoto. I've only had 3 photos online so I shouldn't be surprised that it took more than a year to sell my first one. I'm 88 cents richer. Or I would be if I could get them to send it to me. Maybe I need to get cracking and upload the other couple of dozen photos that I've had sitting around for them.

Need a Divorce Lawyer in Tampa?

A friend of ours, Roberta Kohn, has expanded her primarily real estate practice to include family / divorce law. She hated taking on divorce cases as much as I hate thinking about someone I know needing a divorce lawyer. But if you need one, you really need a good one, and Roberta is one of the best. And she can do the closing on your house. And make a mean margarita when you're done.

Law Offices of Roberta Kohn, PA, Family and Real Estate Law

What makes this old?

Tugboat Annie (Dell Mapback 192) 1934 Author: Norman Reilly Raine
Originally uploaded by Hang Fire Books

I'm trying to figure out what makes this look old. Ok, the face isn't a style you see today. The stamp-like logo in the top left corner helps. The type and the imperfections on "A DELL BOOK" probably do too.

But the major thing, I think, is the noise or stippling everywhere. If all of the drawn part was solid or shaded without any noise, it would look pretty modern and similar to a lot of Flash work we see today.

Super-Responsibility Strength Man

I just finished this for church. It's our first of a series of super hero trading cards, loosely based on the 252 Basics virtues. It didn't come out too bad, considering that I only got to spend about 5 hours on it. The basic character shape is modified from an online superhero creator. I wasn't too happy about doing that without copyright clearance, but the site encourages people to share their creations, take screenshots, etc. so I think they implied permission to use it in a non-profit way.

Here's the original concept drawing from one of the kids. I think I captured his intent. I've got a half dozen more concept drawings for other cards. If I spend the time on them I might be able to develop an actual comic style, which I've never done. I didn't even doodle comic character sketches as a kid.