Here’s another late sketch for the Periscope Sketch challenge. See the others here: Periscope Tumblr . I haven’t seen the movie yet, but everything I’ve heard points to a good time at the theater.
Below are the grey wash drawings sans color. 11″x17″ on bristol.
Arriving late with my Fashion Disaster for the Periscope Sketch Challenge. I would have liked to color this, but that’s not going to happen. Try to imagine Lynn Varley colors on this;) I’m sure the comic readers out there recognize the Dark Knight Returns reference here. Batman in the pose of the cover to Book 3 and the Batarang in Joker’s eye, but the more obscure reference is from one of my all time favorite comics from childhood, Batman Vs. The Hulk written by Len Wein, penciled by Jose Garcia Lopez and inked by the late Dick Giordano. Here’s the scan from the page where Joker has the power to make all of his own wildest dreams come true. 
I just wanted to see what it might have looked like if Miller included it in The Dark Knight Returns. Batman does not look happy to be initiated into the Insane Clown Posse, does he?
Hey Look! It’s licensed characters! How familiar are you with the DOOM Patrol? I knew of them and liked the character designs, but hadn’t really read many DP comics. I thought I’d start at the beginning by checking out a DC archive book. I retrieved volume 4 from the library and really got a kick out of it. These are zany, wacky comics. Good stuff, very imaginative, unique characters and situations. And to boot, the drawings by Bruno Premiani are delightful. I’m happy someone picked this as a Periscope sketch challenge, and I hope my studiomates get a chance to contribute drawings despite Stumptown Comics Fest preparations for this coming weekend. There is sting with this theme, though, and that is the unfortunate news that the current run on Doom Patrol has been cancelled. Ron Randall was having a good time doing some of the art over the past few months and he was sad to see it go.
I need to site an inspiring reference for two of the poses in this drawing. I received a wonderful postcard of Bruce Lee and a young apprentice from my sister last week. As you can see I blatantly swiped it. Who wouldn’t?
**EDIT: Here’s the link to the posting on eBay Original Art on eBay**
Periscope Studio will be posting original artwork on its eBay site next week. The work that will be auctioned is going up this week on the Periscope Tumblr. All proceeds from the eBay sales will go to the Japan Relief Effort.
My piece is inspired by a short story from the book After the Quake by Haruki Murakami. The stories were written after the disastrous 1995 earthquake in Kobe. Murakami is best know in the states for” The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: Norwegian Wood” and I highly recommend his work. Murakami’s stories have a touch of the absurd, and I’m not sure if “surreal fiction” is an accurate category, but he is extremely readable and the stories are powerful in a way that creeps up on you. All the stories in “After the Quake” are in the service of healing. My drawing is based on the story “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo” and, like all his work, it has descriptive passages that evoke strong visuals. I chose a spoiler-free image that I hope entices you to read the story. I tried to sketch a scene from the end of the story, but I couldn’t succeed in capturing the feeling that the prose gives me. I suppose my failure may be a testament to the power of imagination, which is a key element in this story.
For the Periscope Studio weekly sketch challenge: Tentacles! This drawing was inspired by a playset that my dad gave my oldest son a few years ago. When we finally start getting warm weather, you can be sure we’ll fill the baby bath in the back yard and unleash the Frogmen on the Octopus (or vice versa).
The Periscope Tumblr brings you a week of snowstorms. “Draw someone in a snowstorm,” they request. I reverted to childhood influences for this one. Two influential movie snowstorms MASHED into each other, along with the key characters. This was fun. (Are these sketch challenges killing my work schedule? Let us not speak of this…)
This drawing is an overdue Valentine for my dear sister, Bryn. It also just happens to coincide with the Periscope Sketch Challenge. Admittedly, that was by design not coincidence. If Bryn’s a fan of Janelle Monae (and who isn’t really?) then this is all the more appropriate. I wanted to stretch my imagination on this one in honor of Janelle and my sister. I planned out the figure in the foreground and Photoshop collaged a few structural elements in the background, but left the rest to figure out along the way. It was fun, and challenging. I’ll let you, dear reader, be the judge of the end result;) More Janelle fan art at Periscope Tumblr.
My sister lives and paints in NYC. She’s my hero. She sent me a V-Day card with a print of this recent painting entitled “The Obscure Object of Desire.” This is a scan of a print, so I’m sure the colors are off, but you can get a sense of her work with this. Abstract, enticing stuff, and full of vitality. You can see more of her work at www.brynmcconnell.com . Worth a look, or two or three!
Happy Valentine’s, Sis! (Hope you don’t mind the plug. ) Love Ya!
This guy looks familiar doesn’t he? Well, he may not be who you think he is. He’s one of the characters in Justin Pierce’s webcomic Wonderella. This webcomic is a revelation to me. I only just discovered it through the Periscope sketch challenge, but it’s a fantastic blend of humor, parody, and drama all within the guise of a superhero adventure strip.
In high school, my two favorite movies were The Graduate and Alien, an unusual pairing to say the least. Admittedly, I have had difficulty reconciling these two in life and art…until now! I think the playground that Justin Pierce has created with his webcomic is a stroke of genius and I was more than happy to contribute this token of appreciation to his endeavor.
Here’s the full piece of fan art. Fair warning: Wonderella uses some strong language in this, but I felt it was necessary to stay true to the character. She ain’t no withering lily! Without further delay, please enjoy “Coo-Coo Kachoo, Mrs. Wonderella”…
More Wonderella fan art here: Periscope Tumblr
The original art of Ginormous is available for sale here: Periscope Etsy Store
Well, I thought I may have to skip out on the Periscope sketch challenge this week, due to a lack of knowledge of the theme Mad Men. However, after watching a couple season recaps on youtube and after receiving some inspirational reference material from fellow studio members, I managed to put together a little something. There are already more fitting tributes available for your viewing pleasure at Periscope Tumblr , but here’s my offering nonetheless.
My sketch is probably more of a tribute to the likes of this:
Aaron McConnell 