Call Off the Search Party...!!!

After an absence this long, not mentioning it is pretty silly, even for someone as sporadic at posting as I am.  However whatever personal issues I was or continue to go through, my dirty laundry - is not why you check this blog, is it?

I don't mean you don't care - I just mean.. Your mainly here to look at cool crap. Or hopefully 'interesting crap'.  Or even 'crap that totally fails', but hey... a 'look' is free, right? Esp. online. So remember, when i 'disappear'.

There's is always a valid reason. No snub or disrespect intended.

'nuff said.

Above is a brief evolution of Maxx Cover 13.  I kept avoiding adding to much color to the maxx..

.. preferring the 'brown paper' version of Jungle Queen Julie with her hair up..

But it's unavoidable. For better or worse... purple guy always sticks out like a sore thumb.

I came across this in a pile of art, it's a film for the printer, back in the negative days.. you'll recognize what page it's from.

Notice the primary colors on the left, the gray bar on the right. Kinda creepy image with the light coming through isn't it?

Was thinking when i die someday and - out of context, if somebody came across this in a thrift or garage sale.. somebody who didn't read comics of know the Maxx,

...they'd have no friggin' idea what the hell it was... would they?

Here's a Heros cover I did for their charity. Nightcrawlers hair is the star of the page. Weird to think for most kids who know him from the X-man movies, he's not gangly or skinny at all.  A deign or 'character language' that only exists in comics.

Here's another Heros cover, just parody of my cover above. Just for fun. No idea what Adventure Time was, had to google it.  Took ten minutes to draw, and it shows. But It still cracks me up.

If anyone bids more than 5 bucks for this sucker, their getting ripped off. : )



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Highlights off of wet ink on a page. Nothing like it.

Here's the third piece i did of these "Two Sisters" artwork, which i've posted before. Here's the anima version.. only i had to 'ruin' one of them.

The point of the original one was looking past an idealized view of women. Of in this case, an asian woman in a kimono.

Huge fan of Junko Mizuno, so part of it is just loves the cuteness of Anima/Manga, yet another part of me that gets sick of how cute it all is. Notice i made a smudge on the sister on the right, so i HAD to add a smudge to the sister on the left too...

So here's the next in the series. I didn't feel I'd 'messed up' the sister on the left enough. Yeah, her eyes were wonky, but i had to go further...

...now ... *that's* more like it!  Gold-Green-Orange is a jarring combo.

Now before you freak out, just calm down. It wasn't that great looking of a face, was it? The point is the facade of beauty, or at least that's what i intended..

Gold paint's always a bitch because it usually scans so it looks flat. It's seeing the highlights in person that adds to the glowing effect.

Now before you have my guts for garters,  remember i did a similar defacing of the original Sisters artwork too. But you know what... much as a lot of people scratched their heads, or wondered " aww, why'd he have to screw up those faces?"... ( which is a valid question ) ...


My heart was touched by one fan who stood in line at the Comic Art Museum. He pointed out this  specific piece (below), and he thoughtfully explained me how, in his opinion, he felt it was not just a moving piece of art, but that it really touched him personally.

Geez.... that really melted my heart to hear that.

He's not alone either.

For some people they feel that same way about the Maxx.  I think anybody who was open minded enough to pick up the Maxx in the first place.. is obviously open to new unusual kinds of illustration and story telling.

Heck, if a comic fan hated my art that much, they'd have to be *masochistic* to keep reading that book otherwise.. right?

I mean, i'm not even ashamed or bothered by it anymore...

My art's messed up, and so am i.

Come on, admit it...  compared to most comics ~ the Maxx it IS...... a friggin' weird-ass looking book!

..but then, i guess, basically... everything i do pretty much is.




Thanks for hanging in there for me.
Sam

Chibi DONE, but started another one...

I'm too worked up, gotta dive in and finish this Chibi Dana & Nola sucker. 

But first .... 

here's an idea for a painting -  it threatened to be just another abstract, 

but let's see if i can't try something ELSE ..

this is actually the back of an old watercolor on some bristol board...  i doodled this woman's face, then got uninspired and tossed it.  since the woman's face seems like every OTHER sam kieth 1800s profile, 

i'll cover it with something (hopefully) better.. These paint drips can be a background might help, or just go nowhere.. we'll see.. 

more abstract shapes..

enough already - 

let's try some doodle of a women's faces on a new piece of bristol.  

not sure which of the two face i like better.  checking faces out upside down (or in a mirror) sometimes helps me spot how badly the eyes can float off the face, 

probably just go with the one i hate the least.. 

in this case, the lower left. 

i wanna work the teal brush  color into some sort of dress she's wearing. Going for a THICK black contour line around her figure, but these grease pencil isn't bold enough. 

that's better.  wow. well, i did say... *thick* didn't i? 

think i can make it work though.. see what i mean? about the feathery teal color looking like a 'dress' she could be wearing? 

now let's try this.. hand rip the outer edge, 

then cut the rest out. 

Now here's a question i'll throw out to you guys... i'll paste the woman on the right over the page on the left.  

So here's the two options... which looks better? Top? or Bottom? 

I know, it's subjective, and sorta depends how 'subtle' ...'busy' or 'interesting' you want your background image. 

i'll think about it myself too, then paste it in later this week. 

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MEANWHILE... 

Let's finish off THIS bit of madness. ...

...so at least you won't have to keep staring at this sucker in so many posts! 

sorry,  i just CAN'T add a buncha blood to the second chibi girl's head -

don't worry, i'll come up with something else cool though... rather than brains...

i get enough gory brains shots doing on 30days - wait, those are vampires. not zombies.

sorry. i'm an idiot -  always mix vampires and zombies up.

I finally popped for a new ipod. ( yay!)  Music fuels art, so i CAN'T go without music..

Here's a trick i use.. letting your brush get dry then blotching the brush hairs... It makes a slightly dry 'diffused' look.  i use it a lot to balance out my slick think line.

You can also use it with colored ink too.. see how the blue blur in her jeans has more motion now?

Oops, forgot this pic of what's in the 2nd Chibi's head - TA DA- plushy stuffed animals! No, nola didn't lose her jean color, my photos just got out of order..

Now here's the colored version.

I know, the splatter fluid on the ax's *supposed* to be pink bubble gum splatting.  but it's printed a little dark..

so maybe it looks sorta bloody after all. * sigh *

But, hey.. the cute little plush toys spilling out of her head..

..kinda cute right?