Onward to glory!!!

Here's a couple teases for something that I have cooking up. Cooking it up like I'm at a tailgate. Like before a big game tailgating. Like a super sized game for a championship. That kinda cooking. Oh yeah.

Reviewing the situation

I love musicals. I always have. It comes from being raised on Disney musicals. The first few movies I really remember seeing, on VHS by the way, were "Dumbo" and 'Robin Hood". It was then that I really feel I fell in love with the musical. Nobody did it quite like Disney in the 90's with "Beauty and the Beast" "Aladdin" and the rest of them. Growing as an artist I have never let that influence escape me. My style is heavily influenced by the Disney artists and I have no doubt that with ever line I draw there is some musical note or song that lead me there.

All that being said it was only natural that I would be inspired by finally seeing the film version of "Oliver". I don't really remember seeing it when i was growing up but I recognized and knew more than half of the songs. The film is gorgeous and I really wish there were more stories like it. The characters are all fantastic and while I have never read the Charles Dickens class upon which it is based I feel like i know all I need to know about these characters.

So after seeing the flick and listening to soundtrack over and over I took up my pencil and decided I would give it a shot at seeing how these characters might look for an animated musical. There are really rough and  mainly first passes but I really like some of them. It also proved as a really good break from the other project I am working on.

So 'consider yourself one of the family' as I share this post with you.

Oliver and Dodger. One these two meet the story really gets fun. Dodger is a fun little character. I kinda wish he was a little older in the film to have the difference between him and Oliver a little greater. That way he would lead him astray more easily, but the kid that plays Dodger kills it anyway. "Consider Yourself" is the first show stopper of the musical and boy is a sight to be seen.

Perhaps the standout character and performance is that of Ron Moody as Fagin, the leader of the band of pickpockets and young thieves. Every song he has is memorable and fun. He is sneaky, conniving and treacherous but has a good heart. But like his song says, he's "a badden and a badden she shall stay". When him and Dodger meet up at the end I was really hoping for a tease of a sequel. How great would "Fagin and Dodger" be?

Another standout and knockout performance belongs to Shani Willis as the hooker with a heart of gold, Nancy. Once she shows up on screen she steals every scene she is and knocks every song she sings out of the park. My favorite is "OOm Pah Pah". Fun sing-a-long bar song.

Ahhhh the villain. Played in the film by the force of nature known as Oliver Reed. Bill Sikes is a nasty piece of work. Partnered with his dog, Bullseye, he works with Fagin stealing from the rich but his attentions turn ugly when Oliver gets nabbed and adopted by a rich family. In the film he doesnt get or participate in any songs and it fits quite well. He is a bastard.

Everybody now! Here is a little test of what the whole cast could look like together. I will work on getting things finalized soon. 

Ive got a few other projects coming in too. One that you will see very soon as it features a local sports team playing in a pretty big championship game next week.

Year of the Dragon

The title of this posting has more life in it than i do at this moment. Been a rough semi stressful one this week. Kinda tired and run down after this cold/cough combo does not seem to want to let me go. Been hacking and coughing way more than i should be and it hurts to laugh. Been repressing any urge i have to get a good laugh out even though that's probably what I need. Hoping some of that fine medication from the pharmacy will help me knock it out. That and get my ass moving in the gym again.

Been having some issues dealing with how i see myself too. There are days when I can wake up feeling good and look at myself and feel that I look good. Then there are days, sometimes its the same day, that I just feel like a lump and unattractive. I know I am not the only one that feels this way it just amazes me how fast a mood can change. Like the flick of a switch. Its scary. Everyones switches in the house have been on the fritz it seems this week. Adding to the stress level I am sure. I wish there was more I could to help around here but it does seem that when i try to really help even more than i usually do it gets worse. So when times get really loud and scary I either hide in my room and turn on my headphones or bury my head under my pillows. Really how old am I?? I might be making it sound worse than it is but the situation my family is in is not something any of us imagined for us. Having my parents be grandparents and parents to my niece and nephew is a daunting task. I try to not make things all about me, but its my blog after all. Thats the hardest thing to deal with most of the time. Putting up with mom and dad reacting to the kids.

So with all this annoying and negative energy around its been kinda difficult to work on some fun new stuff. I have been busy though. i picked up another art job for an online model. Lots to do with this one. Working on logo, text, and promo image for another woman. I will post some behind the scenes stuff on that, meaning rejected sketch ideas mostly.


So i will get off my soapbox for a little bit and try to post some fun works.  Hope you are all having a good month so far.

Sticking with the title of this blog posting i figured i would feature the "Dragon Ladies" that i did for an art group I am part of on a BBW community site. I took the idea literal with a couple of these girls and then I went with one of the best dragon ladies there is, Malificent from 'Sleeping Beauty".

Money, money. Yeah Yeah.

Well would ya look at that. A few weeks into the new year and I've already got two paying gigs lined up and one done already. Funny how things work out sometimes. I know, I know. They always say good things come to those who wait. Of course there are those that say if you want to get what you really want you have to go out there an get it yourself. I've had a couple things kinda spring up out of nowhere so I am not sure where I exactly fit in at the moment. Though of course I've never been one to fit into one spot all alone.

The first of the paying gigs was doing a little job for a new BBW star Ms Choclick Kream. She is a pretty new XXX star and her website will be going up soon. I was surprised and excited when she contacted me wanting me to create a special logo image for her site and her self. She is very sexual and quite naughty so this post is not for the kids. She came up with a fun little project. I teased a few images the other day. I sent her a lot of roughs and she narrowed it down to a few then to a final. Here for your enjoyment are those sketches, the finals and the final final. Hope you enjoy and if you want to check her out that would be cool as well.

New Year.

AhhhhhhhhCCChhoooooo!!!! Ugh.

So it would appear that the fun and excitement of the holiday season has released me from its grips and gave me right over to the cold and sniffles side of things. Ugh. Excuse my coughing, sneezing and unsightly demeanor. 'Tis the season right? I wish they made wreaths of tissues. Thank goodness I am all stocked on them. Oh wait they ran out too?? Now why would I be short on tissues?

Oh right. Happy Thick Chick Thursday everyone. The first of many, 50 plus to be exact, for the new year. It may be a little late in the day, rush hour here on the east coast, but its still that time of the week. As promised I will continue to showcase some of my new and favorite BBW and curvy women art on this day of the week. No amount of sneezing or jury duty will stand in my way either. Yeah I had jury duty today. It wasn't that bad. Lots of waiting around for them to tell me I wouldn't be needed. The system at its best right?

Anyway thats besides the purpose. Here we are again and what a showcase I've got for you. Some unreleased works from 2011, sounds so official doesn't it? As well as some new sneak peeks of project I am working on. Let me know what you think as always.

Enjoy.

Nothing terribly special about any of these. Most of them were just exercises and trying to stay loose at the end of the year. A few stand outs. I'll let you pick which ones you think are best.

What I am really happy about and looking forward to showing you more of is  a little project I have set up with a new BBW model girl online. She came to me asking for a new logo/trademark image. Its a small job and I gave her a lot to choose from but there were a few that i really liked. So here is a little taste.

Looking forward to moving onto colors with some of these even if they aren't the ones that she picks.