Time To Catch Up!!!

Hello fellow bloggers and welcome to my meager attempt to bring things up to date. When last we talked I was updating my "A L I E N S Defense System" cartoon. I really loved working on this piece as I was able to see the difference in style and detail over the years.

As of my last post I was ready to start adding color to the piece and had decided to cover the steps from start to finish. However since NOBODY EVER RESPONDS TO THESE POSTS- I am just going to cop out and show you the finished piece (see above). If any of you are curious and want to see more . . . LET ME KNOW and I would be happy to elaborate on the process.

I have been busier then a one legged man in a tushy kickin' contest . . . AND . . . compounded with some fairly serious health issues I have neglected this blog. Since I am getting the impression that I am typing just to see myself type I will keep this short and sweet -in the interest of posterity and all.

I have been spending a great deal of time refining my technique and changing my style over the past few months. I have been a HUGE Mort Drucker fan pretty much most of my young adult into all of my old adult life. Recently I discovered a very talented gentleman named Tom Richmond. Between the two I find that I want to strive to better my caricatures and reach higher for my subjects.

A couple of months back I had the opportunity to design a logo for a gentleman that creates 50's sci-fi campy girl style model kits. After expressing that I really wouldn't be interested in doing anything off color or nudity oriented -to which he replied that he wasn't interested in that kind of thing either- we talked back and forth via email regarding the "style" and "feel" of the logo. From the beginning we both agreed that a WWII, B17 bomber "nose art" feel would fit the company's agenda. I love that kind of art so I went to work and came up with the design that you see below.

AND THAT is this blog caught up. I hope that you -who ARE reading this- are doing well and enjoying the hot Summer dayz. Stay tuned and I will try to do better with keeping this thing up to date!

All the best till next time- nik

A L I E N Defence Part3

Things are coming along quite nicely as I elaborate on my cartoon "A L I E N S Defence System". Again I know that this is a dated piece but I have been wanting to spend some time developing my inking techniques.

I have opted to extend the drawings of both the queen and the drones further into the background. I am just having a great time expanding the characters even though you probably won't see much of the detail in the final piece.

The 2nd image above shows the newly completed black & white graphic compared to the original. A couple of things you might notice right off the bat.

First I decided to change "Defence" to "Defense". Both spellings are correct it just looks better to me using an 's' instead of a 'c'.

Second would have to be the extendedoverall detail. Most cartoonists would defend that the humor carries the graphic and that the image sells the joke. In this case I would have to agree but I just love the subject matter so much that I wanted the drawing to be better.

I thought about updating the names on the gift cards to some of our current notables but since the original concept came from President Reagan I think I will keep the recipients contemporary to the time.

Now that I have completed the drawing I am ready to start adding color.

More soon. Please let me know if any of you are finding ANY of this stuff interesting. I love sharing the process. I can do card tricks if you are bored.

Shalom -nik

A L I E N Defence Part2

Boy what a difference a decade (or two) makes. Back when I did the original drawing, image reference materials were very limited. If I remember correctly I would replay certain scenes from the movie over and over again trying to catch a good glimpse of the queen. Those times have changed as the internet has made image searching almost a breeze. Also, I have a really, really cool McFarland ALIEN queen figure. SHE IS PERFECT (I love the character, the sculpt, the whole concept behind these beasts).

As the new drawing progresses I can't help but feel a bit nostalgic. I am really loving the new look and can't wait to show you the final piece.

Shalom -nik

First THINGS First

Since I have already started on this project I might as well post my first "inklings". I will be approaching this illustration as a "comic book style" piece. It will be a single panel, full color board. However since the days of drawing with BIC Flair pens are long past I will be doing all of the work using a digital medium.

I will be working in PhotoShop CS3. I can not imagine doing anything like the drawing that I am doing without using a digital graphics tablet. A mouse will definitely not allow the natural flow that a wireless pen will. I use a WACOM Intuos 3 , 9 x 12 graphics tablet. There are different lines of thinking regarding the size of a graphics tablet. I prefer to have the larger format because it feels more like my drawing board, however there really isn't a decidedly better size to use. It is purely a preferential thing. Normally I would be using my inkwell and pen but I really want to try to achieve that style of look using a digital media. We'll see huh?!

I have decided to start with the center focus of the illustration, namely the "egg-sacks". The two drawings above show the differences in style since the mid 80's. A really cool aspect about the graphics tablet is that it allows you to work just like a traditional inker and at the same time you can achieve some almost pencil like results.

One of the best reasons to work in digital format is that mistakes are very easily rectified. GOTTA LOVE DEM "UNDO" LEVELS!!!! The downside to digital artwork is that you do not have the tactile joy of creating a piece of art. That's why a graphics tablet is a great middle ground solution. I cannot imagine throwing off the traditional medium to go completely digital BUT it is fun to be able to do both.

More soon. Shalom -nik

HAP-HAP-HAP-EEE NEW YEAR!!!!

Well now . . . what have all of you been up to??? Hello - llo - lo - oooo??? I know I have been negligent in keeping the blog up. I apologize to any and all that care to look in from time to time. I will attempt to do better in the coming months.

At any rate I have some cool stuff on my drawing board this new year. One of the projects that I am working on is updating a cartoon that I illustrated WAYYYY back in the 80's. Starlog magazine published it (my wife sent it) in 1989, even then it was a couple of years old. As an exercise I have decided to 'newitup' and play with some color. I figured I would fill yoooz in on the process just to keep the blog April fresh.

First I will re-illustrate it using some new techniques in the inking-in process and then I will digitally (because my studio is boo-coo cluttered with other projects) paint it. I'll let you in on the process just in case you are curious. Feel free to ask any questions or fill me in on your ideas and or opinions.

Sorry for the long silence. Busy is as busy does I'm afraid. Come back soon.

Best wishes till then -nik

Summer Better Than Others

"Summer time, summer time, sum-sum-summer time . . . " I really hate to see it go. The long hazy days, the katy-didz as they shwiz-shwiz-shhhwizzzzing in the trees and the smells of the pool chlorine and suntan oil permeate the air. But I would have to say that this Summer has been one of the best on record for me. Maybe it is because I am getting old-ER but I seem to have held on to many of the trappings of the season. I have been reaching for my younger days, the music, the laughs, the zany friends that made those times so special. Some would call it "middle age crazy", I call it applying the spice of youth to the boiled rice of redundant days.

To anyone who follows or cares (and if it is you -AWESOME!!) I apologize for the long quiet distance between posts.

I am working on a project that is really cool. It involves a new planet of characters called "Freelings". The concept is pretty cool and the Freelings are FUN, FUN, FUN!!! I will put a picture up later today. Al is gaining momentum in my thoughts but remains a mild distraction for now (sorry buddy). I will add more soon.

Shalom my friends. nik

SHIP-SHAPEing up!

Step by step, inch by inch the mighty . . . . ah heck, it's just a balsa wood frame. BUT IT's MY SHIP!!!! So far the mainframe has been assembled and I am in the process of putting together the many splines that will form the skeleton of shape AL's spaceship.

On a creative note I have to say that the process of designing and developing something that I have envisioned for so long is AWESOME. Seeing the ship that I have drawn for years come to life is just a thrill.9 AND the idea of making AL EoN into something tangible is a jazz to the power of 10. (it's an artist thing, i hope you understand).

"AL EoN Encounters -The Strip" is cooking up nicely. I have 6 strong story ideas and hope to get them drawn soon. The strips will establish his presence and how he got/gets here on earth.

I guess that's it for the ol' nikster today. Come back soon and let me know what you think of all this AL EoN stuff. I am quite sure that it is more cool to me than you but how much so. Let me know.

Shalom.