Victor Hugo

The Jasmine Dragon

"The secret ingredient is love!"

I've been in a Avatar mood recently...So I did two (count 'em, two) more "Mega D" Iroh drawings for my sketchbook. They're also posted on my DeviantArt gallery. Also, check out some of my thoughts on the Christian themes in the show at Here I Stand.

As pictured here, Iroh is dressed in his tea-shop uniform from Book 2, when he opens the Jasmine Dragon.

Here I Stand

A Novel Idea

I'm working on a fiction piece for my Honors English class at Concordia. Right now, it's about ten pages. I'd love any thoughts, comments, or typo alerts! Here's the link.

Bad Monkies!

These drawings were commisioned by a friend of mine who uses the moniker "bad monkey" for his screen name. Check out his blogs: The Novel Coder, The Lesser Prince, and Deep in Clowns (last one may contain some mature content).

Obama and the Surplus Population

Draft for next comic

This is the preliminary drawing for my next comic. Just wait til you see!

Those Were the Days

"Stifle, Edith!" It's Archie Bunker! 

Batman vs. Batman!

Yet another random sample from my sketchbook:

Two different versions of Batman square off (as in square chin). Why not? 

Sweeney Todd in "Living" Color

Sorry if some of you think this illustration is just creepy. It is, but I'm just trying to stay true to the musical. Check my previous post to read more on this.

On another note, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE using the computer to add color to my ink drawings! It makes for a much cleaner final product. Thanks to my big brother for giving me a computer drawing pad for Christmas! 

Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd

Yesterday, I watched the Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street with my family. I decided to do a creepy, stylized version of the impeccably shaved serial killer for my sketchbook. A great thing about being a Concordia art student is that I have to produce work prolifically. I'm hoping to add some color to this ink drawing on the computer and get some experience using my tablet pen.

My First Political Cartoon for Concordia

I'm having a great time at Concordia University! I'm hoping to publish this cartoon in our school newspaper, The Sower. This year, Concordia decided to stop providing students trays on Tuesdays in the school cafeteria, Janzow, in order to conserve water and money. Many students, including myself, are not happy with this decision. Despite these mixed feelings, Concordia decided to abolish trays altogether!

Regular readers will notice that Joe has grown up! Yes, Bob and Joe are now attending Concordia as freshmen. Don't worry though, it's just for my comics for CU. I'm still writing regular comics about Bob and Joe's childhood days. My professors are keeping me busy, so I'll post comics when I get free time!

Thanks for reading!

Charles Dickens

This is an example from my daily sketchbook for Drawing 103. Now that I've started as a freshman at Concordia, I'm getting a chance to do lots of art, but not much time for comic strips right now. . .Don't worry, though! Comics are on the way, once I can squeeze in spare time. I might even be able to publish in our school newspaper, The Sower.

[Insert your favorite Star Wars quote here]

I'm at a Target, I see a Darth Vader action figure, I read the label: WARNING! Choking Hazard! Bingo! There's the strip. THANK YOU GOD!
One thing about a strip with regular characters is when I come up with an idea like this, it's impossible to include them. However, I liked this idea so much, I couldn't resist. Hey, maybe I'll make the guy in the second panel Joe's dad or something . . . Okay! I've decided! Introducing: Joe Edison's dad. It may be the first and last time he appears in this strip. Who knows?
By the way, when did George Lucas gain so much weight?

The Fraction Faction

I haven't posted a comic in a while because I'm working on a larger project.

On the last week of high school, my calculus teacher, Mrs. Free, hit us with one last assignment. We had to do a math project and she gave us several options, such as write a poem, make a poster, or write a children's book about math. I thought about what kind of kid's book you could write about math, and the idea hit me! I turned in my rough draft and got 100%, and have been working on illustrations for the story all summer. Here are a few samples:

If you've read my Bob 'n Joe comics, you'll recognize several of the characters.

Tom Waits

Here is a portrait I drew of Tom Waits as a young man. Tom Waits is a musician with the most distinctive voice you will ever hear. He has had a moderately successful career and was nominated for an Oscar for his soundtrack of the movie One from the Heart. He has also done some acting. (Trivia tidbit: he played Captain Hook on Shrek 2.)

To make this drawing, I used white prismacolor pencil on black construction paper. I freehanded it from a photograph on the internet. This drawing was a Christmas gift for my older brother, Casey, a huge Tom Waits fan. Though Casey now works as a law librarian, he took art classes in high school and college, which inspired me to pursue the arts.

In Living Color!

Just for fun, I added some color to my Barack Obama cartoon.

Too Much TV for Bob

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Just for Saint Patrick's day, here's a drawing of a four-leaf clover!

Ireland is a country in which the probable never happens and the impossible
always does.

— Sir John Pentland Mahaffy

Ireland is a small but insuppressible island half an hour nearer the sunset
than Great Britain.

— Thomas Kettle “On Crossing the Irish Sea”

Cast your mind on other days
That we in coming days may be
Still the indomitable Irishry.

— W.B. Yeats

A Short, Short Story

(Note: I wrote this story while on a high school field trip to Wesleyan Writer's Workshop. We were all asked to write a story based on someone we had met. Austen Getner and I were both black belts in the same ATA martial arts academy. He was very short for his age, but never let it bother him, and he had an infectious personality.)

It was the long-dreaded first day of school, which as far as a twelve-year-old is concerned is a euphemism for doomsday. A life sentence after a glorious summer of adventure. The students who were most unhappy with having to come back darted to the desks in the back of the room, as though willing themselves as far away as possible from the center of learning. Near the front were the outcasts: the loners, nerds, freaks, and a boy who was noticeably shorter than anyone else in the room, with short blond hair and bright eyes. He seemed less devastated to have to be back than some of the others and actually wore a slight smile, which vanished when he felt a stabbing pain in the back of his head. He turned around furiously and saw on the floor the sharp pen which had been used as the missile, and near the back of the room, the student who had thrown it. “Hey guys, why do you think little Austen Gimpner always sits at the front? Is it just so he can be as close to the teacher as possible, or is it that he can’t see over anyone’s head?”

“No one can see past your swelled head, Boris.” said Austen. This won a hearty laugh from the nerds. Last year, Austen had been the only one with the spunk to stand up to Boris and his cronies. They were glad to see that Austen hadn’t changed.

“All right, class, that’s enough,” said a gruff voice. Everyone stopped talking. The teacher had been in the room the whole time, hidden from view by his large swivel chair which he turned around to face the class. “I’m Mr. Atlas. Welcome to the fifth grade.” As Mr. Atlas dropped from his chair, there was an audible gasp. He was barely four feet tall. “Let’s not waste any time. Grab a science text book and turn to chapter one,” he said reaching as high as he could to write on the chalkboard. “Oh, Boris is it?” he asked. “Try to keep your comments on Austen’s height to yourself, can you?”

Just Words

Pride and Prejudice

For Valentine's Day, here is a sketch of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, Jane Austen's classic caustic couple.

Role Models

Charcoal Self-Portrait

I did this during my Junior year. The assignment was to draw ourselves but not to show our faces. I used black and white charcoal and grey chalk. Capturing my leather jacket was a challenge, but I liked how it turned out.

Jesus Shirt

I did this in my sophmore year in Mrs. Wilson's high school art class. It earned a silver medal at Nebraska State Visual Arts Competition. I did it in ink and used pointillism (thousands of tiny dots). I especially like it because I'm wearing one of my favorite T-shirts.

Quincy

This is a scratchboard portrait of my dog, Quincy. A scratchboard is a white board covered in black ink. By using special tools, you scratch away the ink revealing the white underneath, so it's like drawing in reverse. It's a difficult medium because it is almost impossible to correct mistakes. I love how doleful Quincy looks in this picture. He is a great dog.

Good and Faithful Servant: Michael Reagan

This is the most recent in a series of ink drawings I did for my school newspaper. The illustrations were for articles about the lives of great Christian thinkers.

The Dragon of the West

Uncle Iroh is my favorite character on the Nickelodeon show Avatar. He is kind, wise, and possesses a wry wit. I've drawn him here in an anime style called "Mega D." I believe the Japanese call ridiculously small and cute characters "chibis." So this is "Chibi Iroh!"

In a public school . . .

Just a thought: if you believe that God had an active role in the creation process, why is it so hard to believe he could produce miracles? Which is harder: to create matter out of nothing or to change water to wine? It all boils down to what you believe about creation.