Timberlee Stump, 2007, digital photograph.
Portland isn't the only place to call itself Stumptown but I wouldn't be surprised if we use most frequently use the nickname.
In any case, the Stumptown Comics Fest is this weekend! I like the size (modest) and mood (mellow) of the SCF. It's a good fit for our stumpy, bridgey town.
Looks like a fine set of exhibitors this year. Heck, the appearance of either Mike Allred or Peter Bagge alone'd be worth the price of admission (five bucks).
STAR WARS: Tatooine Manhunt, 1997, ink.
Gamers may recall Tatooine Manhunt, an adventure supplement written by Bill Slavicsek and Daniel Greenberg for use with STAR WARS: The Roleplaying Game. Both the images in this post were inspired by the Manhunt adventure.
In early SW:TRPG supplements, West End Games relied almost exclusively upon Lucasfilm's stock of concept art and photos to decorate the line of books and, for the most part, it beautifully worked. For Tatooine Manhunt, it didn't. Of course, I felt obliged to create original designs for the key characters!
I drafted the above image in 1995. Two years passed before I added ink. S'just as well, because I much prefer the woman's face in 1997 to the one in 1995. She aged gracefully, I guess.
STAR WARS: Tatooine Manhunt, 2001, ink with digital gray tones.
In 2001 I revisited the Tatooine Manhunt story. The two versions make a funny juxtaposition, don't they?
Original STAR WARS characters and situations created by George Lucas. STAR WARS characters, the distinct likenesses thereof, and related elements are trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd.
Friends Discover Something Bad, 2006, graphite.
This is the third of four drawings I completed for the upcoming second edition of Uresia, a fantasy game setting created by S. John Ross.
I'm quite certain this one was the most difficult to complete, due mostly to the requisite figure interaction.
Studies for Friends Discover Something Bad, 2006, graphite.
In most cases I first worry over heads.
The basic design of the elf girl's head quickly materialized. I recall no additional drafts, only tweaks to the original drawing.
The fellow's head required more work. The scene description indicated a senior sorcerer, but a winning design wasn't immediately apparent to me.
For instance, the second head on the top row looks to me more like the Pardoner from The Cantebury Tales and less like a sorcerer. In my visual vocabulary, a sorcerer wears a high-collared cape and a wizard wears a pointy hat; that Pardoner-looking person's definitely a pointy-hat guy.
The final sorcerer design isn't particularly innovative, but it sufficiently serves the scene's requirements. Contrarily, I'm quite content with the elf design, especially her bug-themed costume.
Drafts of Friends Discover Something Bad, 2006, graphite.
I'd never suggest arranging heads then drafting bodies, but that's what I attempted for this drawing. As you'd expect, the technique was problematic, as evidenced in the second, awkward draft above.
Declaring this one finished was a relief. Whew!
One-panel gag, 2007, ink with digital gray tones.
A collaborative cartoon, written by Brian McLachlan and drawn by me. Read Brian's super-duper strip, The Princess Planet, now beamed into your home via Transmission-X!
