Samurai Helmet

Samurai Helmet, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

I drew this Friday afternoon at the Dallas Museum of Art. They have this really beautiful complete suit of 17th century samurai armor. It also had the sword, bow and quiver of arrows.

Info: Late Momoyama period- early Edo period. Early 17th Century.
Presented to Mori Kobayakawa Takakage by the emperor.

Leia & R2

Leia & R2, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

I did this a couple of nights ago when I was visiting Austin and hanging out with some of the fine folks in the Austin Sketch Squad.

Pencil, Pitt Brush Pen & Sharpie

Holiday Heist!

Holiday Heist!, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

Wishing you all the best this Holiday Season, and a Happy New Year!

Gouash on illustration board, Photoshop.

Post-It Note Art

When I'm warming up my drawing hand, or in need of a break at work, I do Post-It Note art. They're fast, fun, and some of them actually come out half decent. These two are done completely from memory. Yes, I've seen Star Wars WAY too many times. If there is such a thing, that is.

Yoda Vinyl

Yoda Vinyl: Final Front, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

This is a custom KidRobot Munny I painted for a commission. I customized the ears and made his walking stick out of Super Sculpey. You can see in-progress photos here.
I should be making more art posts this week before I head to Dallas for the holidays, so check back later in the week!

Second Annual 12 Bars of Christmas Pub Crawl

Second Annual 12 Bars of Christmas Pub Crawl, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

Here's this year's t-shirt design for the Huns 12 Bars of Christmas Pub Crawl. If you live in Austin, lock your doors and stay home on the 21st. Trust me.

Taste of Winter

Ice Trees 1, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

I got my first little taste of Chicago winter yesterday. It was really cool getting snow. I'm sure the novelty will have worn off by the end of the winter, but right now I'm digging it. Click here to see more icy tree photos.

Nick

Nick, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

This was my dog Nick. I had to have him put to sleep a few years ago. It about killed me. I still miss him. He was quite possibly the most awesome dog ever. We think he was part lab, part whippet. A rugby buddy of mine found him on the side of the highway in Alabama as a puppy and gave him to me a couple of years later when he moved to England to play rugby there. Taking that dog was one of the best things I've ever done. I miss you buddy.

Austin Sketch Squad topic of the week "Pets".

Frazetta Madness!

Frazetta Style 2, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

Here's another "Frazetta Style" drawing. This one is original, however. I based this off a reference photo I took last summer for some pin-up work I was planning of doing. I'm really enjoying this style, it comes fairly naturally to me. I've always worked very softly and this is definitely helping me push my values more and get a much more dramatic effect. I hope I can bring some of this mojo over into my paintings. We'll see. (...and no, I'm not saying I can draw nearly as well as Frazetta, it's just helped improve my drawing. :) )

2B pencil on 80lb Strathmore Windpower drawing paper. Roughly 90 minutes.

Click here to see a larger version.

Frazetta Style

Frazetta Style, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

I was at Chicago Comics this evening and picked up this really fantastic book, Frank Frazetta: Rough Work. What makes this book so great is that it's not about Frazetta's finished work, it has a lot of his comps, sketches and rough ink drawings. Looking at this stuff makes you realize what an amazing grasp he had on human anatomy. It's really an inspiring book and I would recommend it to any artist as a wonderful peek into the process of an extremely talented man.

This is my take on one of the drawings in the book. 2B pencil on 80lb Strathmore Windpower drawing paper. Roughly 30 minutes.

Click here to see a larger version.

Space Ape

Space Ape, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

My self portrait as a mutated human-space ape hybrid for the Austin Sketch Squad.

In the year 3045, a mad scientist discovers my perfectly frozen body in a glacier and decides to give Mother Nature a genetic slap in the face. He will unleash the Merciless Space Ape upon the Universe! Little does he know that the Space Ape really just wants to sit at home, read a good book, and get caught up on the last 1,000 years of movies. Maybe do some grilling. Have some friends over.

Porn-O's!

Porn-O's!, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

Yummy anytime cereal brought to you by the fine folks in the porn industry! Get down with Sin-D Bare and swallow some yogurt-crusted goodness! Porn-O's... now with stars.

Drawing for the Austin Sketch Squad. Topic: Cereal.

Halloween!

A little montage from Halloween festivities in Chicago. That's me as Lego Luke Skywalker (glowing with the power of the Lego Force), Melita 'Miss Monster' Curphy in the insane werewolf costume and our friend Kate as a rocker girl. I have no idea who the guy is in the evil dead biker outfit, but it was awesome and I had to include it.

Frankenmunny

So, here's my Frankenmunny for the Austin Sketch Squad Lowbrow Monster Mash art show opening this Saturday at the Lowbrow Emporium in beautiful Austin, TX. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it to the opening, but you should. There will be free Lone Star beer and a live art event. Go check it out!

Jason who?

OK, sorry for the extreme lack of posts. I'm starting to get settled in here in Chicago. Life's good. I'm in my new place. I won't have furniture for a couple of weeks, but that's OK. Unfortunately, I probably won't have internet for a few weeks also. Therefore my posts will probably be sporadic at best. I'll post when I can, though. Hope all is well out in internet land!

Howdy from Chicago!

Brian & Missy on the El, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

The last week-and-a-half has been nutty! I arrived in Chicago on Sunday, went out with my friends Melly and Marci for my birthday that evening and started my new job at Motorola the following day! So far I'm enjoying Chicago and my job. Now I've got to find a place to live. I stayed with Melly & Larry for a few days and now I'm staying with Brian & Missy. You guys are AWESOME!

Once I get settled in, I should be posting art more regularly. Until then, things may be pretty sporadic. Oh, that's Brian & Missy in the photo. I took that this morning as we were riding the El to work.

Devil Girl Print

Just in time for Halloween, it's the Devil Girl Print! This is my homage to the wonderful Devil Girls of Coop. This baby's perfect for spicing up any bar, rumpus room or man-cave. Order one today!

Devil Girl Print. 13"x19" signed and numbered edition of 50. Archival inks on archival paper. $60.00 each. E-mail me if interested. I accept PayPal. Standard shipping in the continental US is included. (The copyright info will not be on the actual print.)

They did the mash...it was a Monster Mash

Here's the poster I did for the Austin Sketch Squad Lowbrow Monster Mash art show. Swing by for the opening. A good time should be had by all. In fact, I should be back from Chicago for it. Hope to see you there!

Click image for larger, more legible version.

Chicago...

Well, it looks like I'll be moving to the windy city at the end of the week. Over the past week strange things have been afoot in my life and lo-and-behold I was offered a nice new job at Motorola. (Thanks Melly!) They need someone pronto, so I'm hitting the road.

I've had a blast in Austin and I'm sad to leave behind all my friends, but I think this is a step in the right direction. If you're ever in Chicago, drop me a line!

Devil Girl Sketch

A little homage to Coop. It's been a while since I've drawn for me. It was really fun doing this. This will be turned into an ink drawing and eventually a painting. I'm pretty psyched about it. The model I found was perfect. Thanks Cindy!

Kids Stuff

Rocketship, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

This is a commission I did for my neighbor Chris. Some good friends of his are having a baby boy soon and he wanted something unique to give them. This was a fun little break from my normal style.

Munny From the Black Lagoon

Click images to see larger versions

Done! He'll be at the Austin Sketch Squad "Lowbrow Monster Mash" Halloween art show next month at the Lowbrow Emporium on South Lamar. More on the show soon!

Spinybacked Orbweaver

Click on the images to see larger versions.

I've had an abundance of these cool little guys living around my apartment building this summer. I think they're really beautiful.

Toy Factory

So, things are going better with the Munny From the Black Lagoon. I've ended up hand painting everything. It's not quite as clean as I'd like, but I think it's looking pretty good. The other one I'm starting is my FrankenMunny. I'm going to try some different materials on this one. I'll let you know how it goes. (Dremmel Tools are awesome BTW)

Unexpected Visitor

I woke up this morning and found this little guy hanging out in my kitchen sink. He now resides in the ground cover outside my apartment.

26.2

I went to my first marathon training session this morning. 26.2 is how many miles a marathon is. I must be completely off my rocker.

Oh my gouache! Part 2

So I had a few art "life" lessons this week.

Lesson #1- Remember that whole post I made about gouache being awesome and it changing my life? Yeah.... not so much. I've found it increasingly frustrating to work with for pin-ups. I'm sure I'll find other uses for it, but in general, I'm not digging it at this moment in time.

Lesson #2- Don't believe everything you read on packaging. I'm in the process of doing a custom Munny vinyl toy. I put on a really nice coat of metallic green paint and decided to use Scotch blue artist tape to mask off lines, etc. on the head. It says on the package... 'Removes from Most Surfaces Without Damage'. I've learned that the key word in that statement is 'Most'. Please refer to visual aid below...

+ =

Oh well, time to bust out the sand paper.

Oh my gouache!

Gouache Sample, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

Trying out gouache for the first time. I think I may have found my new painting medium. I really like how fast it lets you work. It helps give it a certain dynamic quality I have trouble achieving with oil. I did this in about 45 minutes or so. Image based on a Gil Elvgren painting.

Howdy!

Hi Folks. Sorry I've been MIA for the last week-and-a-half. I've been busy re-vamping my website. Head on over and check it out! Hope you like it.

ManlyArt.com

Comic-Con Swag Part 2

1952 Pulp Book Cover, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

I purchased this original pulp oil painting from Streamline Illustrations at Comic-Con this year. It was painted in 1952 for a pulp novel. I don't know who the artist is or what book it was used on, so if you've seen this before, let me know!

Comic-Con Swag Part 1

Ren & Stimpy, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

When I was at Comic-Con this year I met Jim Smith. Jim co-created Ren & Stimpy with John Kricsfalusi. This one of the layout drawings from "Big House Blues". Footage from that episode was also used for the Ren & Stimpy intro. I got it for $20. I think it was a good deal. I even got a Spumco production folder to boot!

Comic-Con Part 4

Pikachu, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

Well, I wasn't planning to go to the convention today, but I got sucked in. I'm glad I did. I visited with some old friends and made some new friends. It was pretty freaking crowded today. I don't know if I'll come back next year. I'll have to see if anything comes of the contacts I made this year. Kevin, Max and I are hitting the road back to Austin tomorrow. It'll be nice to get home.

The photo above is for my nieces and nephews.

Comic-Con Part 3

Had a great day today. The Con was busy, but not too much so. Also, I bought my first original pulp painting. I'll post a photo of it when I get back and can take a good photo of it. It was a pretty good 'star' sighting day. I saw Stan "The Man" Lee (see above), and the guy that played Scott Farkass, the bully, in A Christmas Story. I'm about to head out for some cocktails with folks I worked with on A Scanner Darkly.

Click the images to find out more info.

Austin Books & Comics Eisner Video

Woohoo! I can finally upload it. Here is the video that Kevin Peake and I did for Austin Books & Comics. We took their mascot, Austin Books Man, and made a Jonny Quest style intro to their informational video for their nomination in the Eisner Awards.

Hope you enjoy it!

Comic-Con Part 2

Geez Louise this place is packed! The convention is way more busy than it was last year. I'm having fun. Meeting people. Basking in the glow of extreme geekiness. I guess the high point so far was showing Mike Mignola (Hellboy creator) my painting of Lobster Johnson, one his more popular characters and getting this reaction...

"Hey, that's nice... that's really nice. I wish I had done something simpler and dramatic like that for my covers" (He's putting out a Lobster Johnson series in the next few months). I know it's not much, but I was pretty psyched to get feedback like that from an artist I admire so much.

It looks like my camera may have disappeared sometime yesterday. I don't know if it's just hiding in my car (I'm searching for it again later) or if a valet made off with it while I was checking in. I'm bummed. It's a great little digital camera. I keep hoping it'll turn up.

*UPDATE*- Woohoo! Found my camera! It was shoved way up under the passenger seat in my car. I have uploaded two photos to celebrate. Click on the photos to read what the hell is going on.

Comic-Con Part 1

Desert Thunderstorm, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

We're almost to San Diego. We spent the night in Yuma Arizona and are about to drive the last 3 hours to San Diego. Preview night is tonight and the convention swings in to full force tomorrow.

There were a lot of thunderstorms in the Arizona desert yesterday. Pretty cool stuff. It's been a fun trip so far. We stopped of at "The Thing?" at exit 322 on I-10 in Texas Canyon, Arizona. What is The Thing? Well, you'll have to just experience that yourself. I will say it was worth the $1 admission fee.

Comic-Con!

Fat Trooper, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

Well, my buddy Kevin, his son Max and I are hitting the road today for San Diego! It promises to be a fun road trip. It'll be nice to spend 5 days in a place where I won't be the biggest geek in the room.

I'll try and be good and take pictures and makes updates about the nuttiness that is this thing they call Comic-Con.

Wahine Runner

My first of (hopefully) many t-shirt illustrations for Brian over at Tiki Tees.

Travis

Travis, originally uploaded by manlyartjpc.

Scannerized portrait for my friends Steve and Ann. Travis is Ann's son.

My nautical is radical...

...apparently. My Creature from the Black Lagoon painting got accepted into Gallery Lombardi's Radical Nautical show. The Radical Nautical show is a juried exhibition here in Austin. All art had to have some sort of nautical theme. The opening is Thursday, August 2nd from 7pm-10pm. Hope to see you there!