No, no...just because I drew him doesn't mean I like him..

I love mythical creatures...dragons, griffins, manticores...all types. I like reading about the "history" of these things and occassionally I'll Wiki it and read about this and that and all sorts of things....The cool thing ( and scary) thing about the Bible is that it has things in there whether it be Giants, Leviathan or the super scary things that come out at the end of times...And whats scary is that these are REAL or may have been at one time. I think the giants were wiped out. Anyhoo...as bad as he is, he's story captivates me. I wonder at time what he must have looked like considering that he was the most handsome and well made Angels of them all. And with that I mean, the infamous satan himself. Now at one time, the guy had a good head on his shoulders but then he got all cocky and lost himself in his own image. We all know the story but I like drawing things like that. So one day I sat down and drew what I thought he could have looked like back in the day...this drawing I'll say is about 3-4 years old...

With a jawbone of a donkey, I have slain a thousand men...

Samson…By far my second favorite person in the Bible…right after him there’s Job, and then Malachi…Yes, Jesus is the top bracket….but I while back I was just randomly sketching here at work like I usually do on my lunch break when I’m broke and I decided to crave out a picture or two of good ole, Samson…The pictures here are of course after and during his slaying of the philistines with the jawbone of a donkey…I mean really…dude killed heaps and heaps of armed soldiers with a donkeys lower jaw…that’s banana’s As much as I love myself some Wolverine, Logan would get his “ass” handed to him, lol…PUN INTENDED. And yeah...none of these are done and they probably won't be...but there is potential.

The Wandering Cape-Man

I was going hrough some files I had here at my desk at work to kinda clean up a bit for memory purposes and I came across some old sketches that I did on my break for a few days. If the picture looks grainy, its probably due to the flintstone like scanner we have here...either way, enjoy...this well probably be it until I'm done with the barbarian drawing...

The Barbarian Horde...

Move it along folks...nothing to see here. Actually nothing really good to read here also...but I will tell you this...apparently my good friends are doing art contests to see who does what...Well...I never have been one to finish anything. I do have awesome ideas but I never really put them to paper. I'm just merely content on writing instead of drawing as of late. I guess this time around they are doing Barbarians and it seems to be somewhere up my alley..blood guts and pillaging...Mmmmmm..gets my juices going. Anyways...I thought I have been stretched or pushed before but this time ..i dunno...I may or may not be able to do this. I mean lets look at the people in this...Adam...he works all day at his computer doing graphic design at his HOUSE in front of his drawing table...Tad...don't know much about him...Torrance...unfortunately he's got a lot of time on his hands but he spent the last 7 years drawing consistantly. Mike..well Mike paints and works in his own framing and art gallery. Me? I sit at a desk all do doing anything but draw, lol. And man, when I get home...all these temptations...the Xbox 360. Fall Out 3. Call Of Duty 4 and soon to be Gears of War 2?! Geez...whats a guy to do? But I'll tell you this..if I do this...if I even draw and get out what I want to do, I'll never have to draw again...my ideas gold and like gold, are always in demand, lol...::::::I wish::::.

It all started with a sketch....

In a quest to re-invent myself and push my skill and pencil to the proverbial limit, I decided to do something that I never did before...Anime. I love the stuff but nevere really wanted to do thatr style. I'd infuse a bit here and there but never really do I go all the way...I left that to the "Judas" known as Tanto ( Torrance). So I started drawing the usual for me. And angry man witha ball cap. Its kinda my shtick if you will. Well I looked around for a refernce of style and eventually found it in some manga video still. The style of coloring was dramatic and I didn't really want to bring that much into it. I mean, yes I wanted to do an anime style piece but it was hard for me to fully commit to it. I started drawing and kept drawing till I came up with a rough sketch that I liked. I took that sketch and placed it on a light table and re-drew it to clean it up a bit. It didn't need to be to clean because I really wasn't going to use the pencil drawing but for a guide. Here's is what that came out to be...Check side bar. So that was done and know I had to figure out HOW exactly I was going to color this piece. I was pretty decent in Illustrator so I felt confident I could pull something of in there. I can't tell you how long it took because I pretty much busted my butt on it and kept at it till my base was set. I don't even know what time it was when I started...All I know is that I was finished. Well....sort of. So there was that and

I have to admit, I was pretty proud of that. I showed around and flashed it about, receiving mulitple compliments on it. I even had a guy wanting to put it on a shirt. I don't think he did though although that would be awesome. So for the final test, I showed the art to my good and best friend in the world, Adam Meyer a.k.a Shard. I send it in an e-mail he looks at it and within 5mins, I revised version somewhere along the lines of this... He took it and defined it in a matter of minutes. And here I thought I was done with the whole piece. Just when you think you got it all said and done, someone comes and and pulls the rug from underneath you. Since then, I've tried this layer method and with decent results. Some of which are not as good the first but the people who I do them of seem to like 'em so I call it "Done." Now I'm on to the next sheet paper...c-ya, folks!

Soo....you say you wanna serve?

Samurai, Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. The word samurai is derived from the archaic Japanese verb samorau, changed to saburau, meaning "to serve"; thus, a samurai is a servant, i.e. the servant of a lord. The samurai was dedicated to the wills of his master and the code of honor called Bushido, in which he lived by. He would never stray nor leave his master. To the ends of everything a samurai would go for his master. If his master deemed it, he would take his own life. A samurai could not live with the disgrace of failing his master for anything and thus many a samurai would commit Seppuku. Seppuku has been used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, as a form of capital punishment for samurai who have committed serious offenses, and for reasons that shamed them. The practice of committing seppuku at the death of one's master, known as oibara ( I don't know how to pronounce it either). Now I'm not suggesting anyone of us do that. It's a little too extreme but the point is, A samurai is a powerful and great historical person. He lived for his master and in all things he did to the fullest for his master. And as great and powerful a samurai was, his title meant "servant" and that's food for thought.

Irony -A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs: "Lee adores and loves the samurai customs and nature but yet, hasn't really served his Lord. How ironic…"

July 13, 2008 finds me getting out and getting ready for a church that I had almost seemed to lose hope in. I get up, wash my face, brush me teeth and get my clothes in a rush just to be 30mins late for church like I always am. I can't really say why but if society has taught me anything, the reason why would be hereditary and thus clearing me off all charges. Luckily, as late as I am, I almost ALWAYS get there just in time for PT to preach so that should count for something. Every Sunday I think, I should leave…I'm not doing anything and no one would know the difference. Every time I think that, I hear something that keeps me there. I get in and find a place to sit just as PT begins to do exactly the opposite. He gets up and the next thing I know, a baseball comes flying, excuse my cliché, "out of left field". Literally. He begins to talk about baseball and how it relates to the church. The short and sweet version is this, some people come to play and get in the game to win. Others just sit and watch the team they are one win. I thought for a minute and said to myself, "well maybe the players just suck." Maybe the team they are on doesn't work for them. Now when I say that, I mean, team equals church and work for them equals the involvement with the church. Maybe they aren't a catcher or a pitcher or a shortstop. Maybe they can't be a lead hitter or bat clean up. Some people may in fact be bat boys. Now I'm not giving and excuse not to serve, I'm just saying. Maybe the things they can do are not what the game requires. Those people could quite possibly be excellent backgammon players. Who know? But that's exactly the right question. Who DOES know? Yeah…that's rhetorical but if you don't get that joke or know what rhetorical is, the answer is God. I for one, love baseball, and can play pretty good. I love the out field but I hate right field. I can do second base but for some reason, suck at shortstop. I Love the Cubs( who at this very moment is 1 in the MLB leading by one game. Red Soxs are turds, I mean third and the Yankees….well…what about them?) That last statement is placed for comedic value. But I digress, Some people seriously want to serve and serve well but don't know where and how. Sometimes is a personal reason like some people have been burned by others using them. Maybe they feel like they can't fit in with the already pre-established team of players already playing and they feel awkward towards that group that to them seems "clique-ish." They may have all the reasons in the world for not serving and quite legit ones at that but it still doesn't refute that fact that servitude is a necessity. Matthew 20:25-28 goes like this…

"Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

If I was to read into this black people would be the on the apex of that mountain of greatness but I'm not and that was another joke. Serving the church is serving the Lord. I know its kinda hypocritical of me to say and not always do but if I was a broke clock, I'd eventually get it right twice a day. I'll say to myself, well, I did try once or twice. I tried to play the drums and somehow that slipped from me. I was approached to help with the kids. I do funny but I can't do crazy so I backed down from that. I tried my hand at drawing but I don't think it was noticed. But maybe I was doing it for the wrong reason. Maybe I was doing it to hear someone acknowledge me and give me my pat on the back not realizing that God was doing that and I never even noticed. I think I was doing it for earthly rewards…MAYBE. Hah! That's harsh of me to say that about myself but maybe there is truth to that. Again, its very hard for me to write and say this considering who I am and what I have done but I'm a writer. It's what I like to do outside of art…Albeit not a good one but I do okay. So maybe, if I can be that honest about myself, then maybe, there is still hope for me to change. Maybe I can do something what the sweet skills I have. Maybe I can draw for the church or design things. Maybe I can write up stuff for them…I dunno. I do know that there is no use for an African-american-japanese swordsman in training unless there is some underground network of Gideons that are really responsible for placing bibles on the desktops by stealthy sneaking into hotels and hospital cause that would be awesome.

Ye Ole' Hitman...

I get story ideas all the time...my mind is filled with crazy and eccentric story that to me seem awesome. I always say, Man...I've gonna do a comic of that. If you know me at all, then you know it'll never happen. I think I'd be content doing cover art and that would be that. So I got a call from a friend of mine in Cali and he's obsessed with the hitman theme. Loves it...he asked me to do a shirt for him of a hit man. I told him I would and once again, I finished something else. For at least a day, something was in the water cause I couldn't believe that I finished another piece...

But then I got to thinking and remembered that I did a story or a mock-up of a hit man a while ago that was forced to do things because if he didn't "fill in the blank" would happen. Looked around in old boxes and folders and I found the sketch that was done a good few years ago on a plane ride too or from London, England...

I looked at that and thought...maybe NOW I'll give photoshop and chance and see what I can do. I kinda figured a little bit how Torrance colored the first one so I just sat down, took a crack at it and this is what I came up with...