It Tickles!

I went to the Stumptown Fest on Sunday, and had a great time meeting up with friends of old and making some new ones.  Yesterday for some reason was a rocky road at the drawing board. The stuff I was working on was not coming together, so I did this sketch inspired by the husband/wife duo who have been drawing X-Men character sketches of late.  Great stuff!  I HEART the awesome X-Art of Jesse Hamm and Anna Sahrling-Hamm. (Click the names, view the blogs, thank me later;)

By Crom! More Conan?!

Weeks between blog posts, and I’m posting another Conan drawing.  That seems odd, doesn’t it?  Well, here’s the story:  I was poking around online when I did my first sketch of the Cimmerian (previous post) and discovered the new Conan comic by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan, an adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s Queen of the Black Coast.  Furthermore , I found a contest that Dark Horse was hosting to promote the comic series.  I listened to an audio dramatization of Queen of the Black Coast and did a little doodling, and thought I might enter the contest if I found the time.  Cut to a day or two before the contest deadline and I decided to develop my sketch.  So now my drawing is in the running and part of an album on facebook that may contain the highest level of testosterone than any other collection of images found on the internet.  Hard to believe, isn’t it?  Have a look for yourself: Conan Fan Art Facebook Album

Here’s my color piece.  I wanted to capture the feel of Becky Cloonan’s art for the series, but I’m such a John Buscema fan, I tried to pay tribute to his Conan, as well.

And if you’re interested, here’s the ink and pencil drawing.  This was drawn to the edges of a 14×17″ piece of paper and I ended up narrowing it slightly for the cover version.

Blood Temp Rising…

The Cimmerian senses trouble.  2011 may be skeletal remains in the dust, but beware the ghosts!  Yes, I’m starting the New Year with cliched metaphors….no where to go but up!

Editor’s Note:  Conan was smaller in the original version of this sketch, but my Dad, a reader of Conan books and a comic artist himself, thought he should be bigger and made the revision in Photoshop.  I agree entirely!  Thanks, Dad!

 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Shirking responsiblities last night at the movie house led to shirking the morning away with some fan art for Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  I’ve wanted to see it since it opened and good reviews had my expectations peaked, but I was not prepared for the emotional tour de force that was in store.  Go apes go!  Conquer!  (Wait, something seems to be wrong with this line of thinking…?)

Anyway, on an unrelated note, here’s my contribution to Occupy Wall Street:

Case’s Creature

As promised (*see previous post), a drawing of Jonathan Case’s Dear Creature.  Preorder the graphic novel from Jonathan here, and if you’re in Portland on October 14th attend the book release party, details here.

Watercolor and gouache on paper with some Photoshop manipulation.  Original size 7×11″.

Trekker in the 21st Century

Ron Randall’s Trekker is the theme of the Periscope Sketch Challenge this week.  I’ve been behind pretty much all month and I haven’t had time to make blog posts, but I had to make time for this sketch.  We’re promoting Ron’s revival of his creator-owned series Trekker, now available in weekly installments at http://trekkercomic.com .

For now here’s my tribute to Trekker, let’s call it Trekker in the Sky with Diamond…knee pads.

Save Us, Avatar!

A late Periscope Sketch Challenge entry.  (I had to watch an episode or two on the recommendation of my studio mates, and now I’ve only got a few seasons left to go;)

And here’s a bonus, the 4×6 inch sketch:

Harry You Know Who

Hi, my name is Aaron McConnell and I’m a sketch blog addict.  I should allow myself to do these when all my other work is done for the week, but a little idea for a sketch becomes all consuming.  One odd thing… this drawing sort of turned out to be my Gene Colan tribute sketch.  I did not expect that, and when I got to the inking I definitely had the recently late great master in mind.  

Love for Being Human

Over the weekend I acquired the latest Mike Mignola/Richard Corben Hellboy one shot.  I look forward to any and all collaborations by these masters, and this one entitled “Being Human” is yet another extraordinary tale starring everyone’s favorite demon and his buddy Roger.   You can really sense the quiet kinship the two characters share in this issue.  Corben’s ability to evoke eery atmosphere is comparable to none, imho, and you even get some John Steinbeck tossed in for good measure.  Here’s a little sketch I made inspired by the comic. 

*Edited a couple hours later*:  I do love Corben’s work, I’ve made that clear, but it occurred to me that I didn’t acknowledge the influence of the colorist Dave Stewart as I gushed about this comic.  He obviously has a lot to do with creating the atmosphere.  Unique choices like the green flames on the fingers of the severed hand and the graveyard textures add a lot.  (I don’t think I should write many comic reviews … I’ll stick to the fan art.)

Yes, Apologies Included

Can you tell what I’ve been poring over these days?  You are correct!  ”Torpedo” it is.   I had to get this out of my system.  Apologies to Jordi Bernet and fans the world over.  No apologies to Wonder Woman fans, though.  Let’s get Bernet drawing that title!

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