tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75188004470166481792024-03-12T19:59:41.562-07:00The Pin Up Art of Dominic MarcoDominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-6786797923226385712015-02-05T15:24:00.003-08:002015-02-05T15:24:49.849-08:00Production Design 101 - 3 Character Design Stereotypes That Need To Stop!<b>1. Glasses denote a nerd/genius. </b><br />
This is such a lazy trope that's been around forever and it needs to be purged to the lowest levels of hell and tortured for a millennia. I have a particular bias with this one because I have a daughter who wore glasses from a very young age, and when she first got them, she was so proud and excited.<br />
<br />
...And then she watched television and became bombarded with the socially awkward, nerdy stereotype that cartoons and tween live-action shows perpetrate about kids who wear glasses. If these shows were to be believed, then glasses and broccoli are the worst two things that you could ever inflict on a child.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oVFWum2iVrI/VNPs1AJBAyI/AAAAAAAAAi8/jAsekYZIUGg/s1600/broccoli-wearing-glasses-green-white-background-35956285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oVFWum2iVrI/VNPs1AJBAyI/AAAAAAAAAi8/jAsekYZIUGg/s1600/broccoli-wearing-glasses-green-white-background-35956285.jpg" height="320" width="314" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
BURN IT WITH FIRE!!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
I almost thought we were done with this lazy trope until I saw the designs for the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Donatello, the brains of the group now has glasses...glasses that are taped together in the middle just like every 80's nerd stereotype to set foot on "Saved By The Bell"s soundstage. But I suppose they must be right. I mean, look at all of these other brainy characters from television and film:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ywHsG_cZGGg/VNPkq4lZdlI/AAAAAAAAAiY/HNCmt_TLTks/s1600/geniuses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ywHsG_cZGGg/VNPkq4lZdlI/AAAAAAAAAiY/HNCmt_TLTks/s1600/geniuses.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Nyuk nyuk! Lookit all dem four-eyeses"</div>
<br />
This is not to say that glasses should be abolished from characters...just that they should be used the same way as we use haircolour in designs. It's just something that's there. Jocks can have glasses, the pretty girl/boy can have glasses, and the brainy character can still glasses. But the character needs to be more than just the glasses.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Multi-ethnic BFF's. </b><br />
This one is a delicate balancing act. You want to include everyone in your show but how do you do it without being obvious? Well, instead of the usual line-up of Leader/Star played by Joe Whitey, BFF/Comic relief played by Leroy Tokenblack, Athletic Go-Getter played by Tina Blondielocks, Brainy/Social Pariah played by Yuko Chopsticks and Fat Kid played by Jose Tacos, how about mixing things up?<br />
<br />
Multi-ethnic social groups DO actually exist, but are rarely so cut and dried as this. How about trying one white kid and he/she is not the central character? Marketing 'genius's will tell you that boys (and there's your demographic if it's animation because apparently girls only watch live-action tween shows like iCarly.....yeah, tell that to my daughter as she's watching Teen Titans) won't watch anything with a female lead, and if you're stuck behind the bullet, then take a page from Big Hero Six and cast your lead as a minority. How about a Latino lead and a latino fat kid? Why not? Two fat kids, and they aren't clumsy or socially awkward? Be a trailblazer! Brainy black female AND an athletic black female?? You rebel you! Obviously, you can't get completely away from the tropes if your production NEEDS multi-ethnicity, but just take the time to look outside at how kids really interact. The world won't end if you put two minorities of the same sex together in a group.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LAxxX-haebA/VNPovjmQ9lI/AAAAAAAAAiw/bYJUQYnv3Ro/s1600/Diversity-Profit-Center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LAxxX-haebA/VNPovjmQ9lI/AAAAAAAAAiw/bYJUQYnv3Ro/s1600/Diversity-Profit-Center.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Pictured above: The cast of every children's show ever</div>
<br />
<b>3. Kid Sidekick</b><br />
"We needs ta put a kid in there, so dey gots someone to relates to, see?" When I was a kid, and we'd be playing superheroes on the playground, the first character to be picked would be Superman, then Batman, then Spider-man, then the Hulk, and so on. You know who never got picked? Robin. It was the same when we played Star Wars...you wanted to be Han Solo. Now, mind you, this was before we saw Return of the Jedi and Luke became a badass with a Lego man's haircut.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SDQGEm50dgI/VNPkkkaEnhI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/jhCtXAnBb28/s1600/luke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SDQGEm50dgI/VNPkkkaEnhI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/jhCtXAnBb28/s1600/luke.jpg" height="120" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Didn't even need to make a new mould</div>
<br />
But part of being a kid is wanting to be older! You keep looking forward to that next milestone...at 13 you're a teenager...then comes sweet 16...at 17 you can drive...at 19 you can drink...at 21 you can drink your US neighbours under the table. The point is, kids look up to adults. We represent the strength, courage and freedom that they aspire to one day have as well. Robin was always just some other jerk kid who was standing in the way of us taking our rightful place as Batman's best friend.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BWDoShH1m2U/VNPneUHvBaI/AAAAAAAAAik/aC6jyDRpZ8I/s1600/The_Death_of_Jason_Todd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BWDoShH1m2U/VNPneUHvBaI/AAAAAAAAAik/aC6jyDRpZ8I/s1600/The_Death_of_Jason_Todd.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"HAHAHAHAHA!" - Kids Everywhere</div>
<br />
I realize that the media has made adult males Public Enemy #1 when it comes to interaction with children, but we don't need to carry this stereotype over into fiction and fantasy. This is the place where heroes exist, and we can set an example for children with characters who will never be arrested for DUI's and spousal abuse. Our heroes that we create will always save the day using wits, courage, cunning, and good morals and the kids will be better off for them.<br />
<br />
So in summary...we, as production designers for children's television and film are blessed with jobs that allow us to sculpt the imaginations of a new generation of kids, and to do so, we need to remember what it was like to be kids ourselves. Remember what inspired us to grow up (or not grow up) to do this job, and lets all stop making lazy decisions with our designs that most likely came from focus groups and businessmen. We're all better than this.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Don't Be Lazy!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-17966408368466517622012-03-21T16:07:00.000-07:002012-09-06T17:52:37.413-07:00Anchors Away!A new Pin Up that I recently finished. This is a mixed-multimedia piece that was hand-drawn, coloured in Photoshop and the anchor was built and rendered in Maya.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4KFWgGmbK0M/T2pelSn6GTI/AAAAAAAAAJo/lVBXaDTBp6E/s1600/brassAnchor_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4KFWgGmbK0M/T2pelSn6GTI/AAAAAAAAAJo/lVBXaDTBp6E/s320/brassAnchor_final.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-88728404792511845292012-03-18T10:59:00.001-07:002012-03-18T11:02:03.496-07:00Pin Up ArtThese are a selection of Pin Ups that I've drawn over the last few months, but just haven't gotten around to posting until now.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b8ODhMpYvls/T2YiQ-c1iOI/AAAAAAAAAIc/gsXO_XKXT1o/s1600/elleFett_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b8ODhMpYvls/T2YiQ-c1iOI/AAAAAAAAAIc/gsXO_XKXT1o/s320/elleFett_final.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ax3PSfFXqcA/T2YiTEuwquI/AAAAAAAAAIk/tHXSb4PUiM4/s1600/santagirl02-(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ax3PSfFXqcA/T2YiTEuwquI/AAAAAAAAAIk/tHXSb4PUiM4/s320/santagirl02-(2).jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zz8QDrYdTPY/T2YiUSyk0SI/AAAAAAAAAIs/tTnvhiCWu1c/s1600/tron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zz8QDrYdTPY/T2YiUSyk0SI/AAAAAAAAAIs/tTnvhiCWu1c/s320/tron.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YxQcM46YPbs/T2YiVh4O9-I/AAAAAAAAAI0/WV29HzMXHCc/s1600/red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YxQcM46YPbs/T2YiVh4O9-I/AAAAAAAAAI0/WV29HzMXHCc/s320/red.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h5eV3t_5Ygw/T2YiW0yPMbI/AAAAAAAAAI8/DQhMOq5ZBXI/s1600/beachGirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h5eV3t_5Ygw/T2YiW0yPMbI/AAAAAAAAAI8/DQhMOq5ZBXI/s320/beachGirl.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yFu06Cr2RAQ/T2YjBOv-3mI/AAAAAAAAAJM/e_PevZP-21s/s1600/cassie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yFu06Cr2RAQ/T2YjBOv-3mI/AAAAAAAAAJM/e_PevZP-21s/s320/cassie.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dNQeTyeOnqc/T2YjCgMcc_I/AAAAAAAAAJU/7DjaTpP6Mgo/s1600/baroness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dNQeTyeOnqc/T2YjCgMcc_I/AAAAAAAAAJU/7DjaTpP6Mgo/s320/baroness.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0xa2yQTXvGE/T2YjDkwgRuI/AAAAAAAAAJc/822a760HVzU/s1600/ron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0xa2yQTXvGE/T2YjDkwgRuI/AAAAAAAAAJc/822a760HVzU/s320/ron.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qmbGNJK7KwM/T2YiYFZoWCI/AAAAAAAAAJE/y6AwrYbxBAE/s1600/tigergirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qmbGNJK7KwM/T2YiYFZoWCI/AAAAAAAAAJE/y6AwrYbxBAE/s320/tigergirl.jpg" width="279" /></a></div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-60161755772130975332012-03-18T10:57:00.000-07:002012-03-18T10:57:01.704-07:00Card Game ArtLast year, I provided the artwork for a bar/nightclub based card game and these are some samples of the cards:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5TUmz-kYwzA/T2Yh12eeVgI/AAAAAAAAAIE/hm7tvqD6p9M/s1600/girl_lap01b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5TUmz-kYwzA/T2Yh12eeVgI/AAAAAAAAAIE/hm7tvqD6p9M/s320/girl_lap01b.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_DVEtge6Bo/T2Yh3kuziII/AAAAAAAAAIM/AhFb8cRtynk/s1600/girl_spank01b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_DVEtge6Bo/T2Yh3kuziII/AAAAAAAAAIM/AhFb8cRtynk/s320/girl_spank01b.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0mor52A-YwA/T2Yh4mk5n5I/AAAAAAAAAIU/3y3aerSa71Y/s1600/girl_tops01b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0mor52A-YwA/T2Yh4mk5n5I/AAAAAAAAAIU/3y3aerSa71Y/s320/girl_tops01b.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-59292548307897148182011-06-17T14:08:00.000-07:002011-06-17T14:08:33.096-07:003D WorkHere are some renders of models that I've been working on in Maya, Mudbox and Zbrush over the last couple of months. I'm not sure which part of the process I enjoy the most yet because I love the acts of building a model, painting the textures, rigging it, and then experimenting with the lighting. Hope you enjoy the end result!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7awKbfN1AIc/TfvBwAUjcUI/AAAAAAAAAFw/VYdhXXClblw/s1600/218219_1354219271002_1697066804_597292_1434637_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7awKbfN1AIc/TfvBwAUjcUI/AAAAAAAAAFw/VYdhXXClblw/s320/218219_1354219271002_1697066804_597292_1434637_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hLKuDCoeegI/TfvByo22z7I/AAAAAAAAAF0/9waJHlmZtsI/s1600/201385_1324961899586_1697066804_558398_737505_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hLKuDCoeegI/TfvByo22z7I/AAAAAAAAAF0/9waJHlmZtsI/s320/201385_1324961899586_1697066804_558398_737505_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2QYmXJD02YA/TfvB1N5jJgI/AAAAAAAAAF4/jJLMkkWHylw/s1600/218219_1354219311003_1697066804_597293_7690750_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2QYmXJD02YA/TfvB1N5jJgI/AAAAAAAAAF4/jJLMkkWHylw/s320/218219_1354219311003_1697066804_597293_7690750_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tE8-Q1V4h9w/TfvB4Tf2CkI/AAAAAAAAAF8/PhsmXR5NiV0/s1600/221225_1324952539352_1697066804_558378_7772660_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tE8-Q1V4h9w/TfvB4Tf2CkI/AAAAAAAAAF8/PhsmXR5NiV0/s320/221225_1324952539352_1697066804_558378_7772660_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RDN-iAD8isM/TfvB63k8w_I/AAAAAAAAAGA/x2exVuOonIg/s1600/221225_1324952579353_1697066804_558379_2321111_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RDN-iAD8isM/TfvB63k8w_I/AAAAAAAAAGA/x2exVuOonIg/s320/221225_1324952579353_1697066804_558379_2321111_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gI1QFcIeHmA/TfvB9Qq0qeI/AAAAAAAAAGE/ngRE0owQBBE/s1600/221225_1324952619354_1697066804_558380_457897_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gI1QFcIeHmA/TfvB9Qq0qeI/AAAAAAAAAGE/ngRE0owQBBE/s320/221225_1324952619354_1697066804_558380_457897_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rrx_vnkcOWo/TfvB_WsZaFI/AAAAAAAAAGI/-_g7iXZ1eX8/s1600/221225_1324952659355_1697066804_558381_7465394_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rrx_vnkcOWo/TfvB_WsZaFI/AAAAAAAAAGI/-_g7iXZ1eX8/s320/221225_1324952659355_1697066804_558381_7465394_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--MrFAySbEgc/TfvCCZN57qI/AAAAAAAAAGM/Ug2K4IWCg9A/s1600/204838_1324955339422_1697066804_558392_5148966_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--MrFAySbEgc/TfvCCZN57qI/AAAAAAAAAGM/Ug2K4IWCg9A/s320/204838_1324955339422_1697066804_558392_5148966_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aHJv1krZtXQ/TfvCEkTzu3I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/IE8KTm3ZOww/s1600/204838_1324955259420_1697066804_558390_5170458_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aHJv1krZtXQ/TfvCEkTzu3I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/IE8KTm3ZOww/s320/204838_1324955259420_1697066804_558390_5170458_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lwR9MXVRgkc/TfvCHtbz0AI/AAAAAAAAAGU/w80GHwyG8-A/s1600/209814_1324954299396_1697066804_558389_8382605_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lwR9MXVRgkc/TfvCHtbz0AI/AAAAAAAAAGU/w80GHwyG8-A/s320/209814_1324954299396_1697066804_558389_8382605_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gQF7DyiLbpU/TfvCJDwUx6I/AAAAAAAAAGY/avl6bn-OED4/s1600/201638_1324953499376_1697066804_558384_2951412_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gQF7DyiLbpU/TfvCJDwUx6I/AAAAAAAAAGY/avl6bn-OED4/s320/201638_1324953499376_1697066804_558384_2951412_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cZOEcka5L1w/TfvCLLbU4oI/AAAAAAAAAGc/ehnSDtER0Gs/s1600/201638_1324953619379_1697066804_558387_2095856_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cZOEcka5L1w/TfvCLLbU4oI/AAAAAAAAAGc/ehnSDtER0Gs/s320/201638_1324953619379_1697066804_558387_2095856_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-19155993466760002952011-05-17T09:18:00.000-07:002011-05-17T09:18:05.600-07:00Zombies Vs MandyI had the honour of doing another collaboration with the great Dean Yeagle (of Playboy and Disney fame) last month...this time it was another special edition cover for the fantastically funny Zombies Vs Cheerleaders by Steven L. Frank. This cover features Dean's signature character 'Mandy' kicking some zombie butt and looking good while doing it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qJ2N375Qjcc/TdKfjOKiGeI/AAAAAAAAAFo/0EFr2wsJT-0/s1600/Zombies-vs-Cheerleaders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qJ2N375Qjcc/TdKfjOKiGeI/AAAAAAAAAFo/0EFr2wsJT-0/s320/Zombies-vs-Cheerleaders.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-56dJm6iMJzU/TdKfnJqkjiI/AAAAAAAAAFs/Bx9k7RqThss/s1600/ZvC_4_Cover_B300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-56dJm6iMJzU/TdKfnJqkjiI/AAAAAAAAAFs/Bx9k7RqThss/s320/ZvC_4_Cover_B300.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-75827506737730502532011-03-03T17:58:00.000-08:002011-03-03T17:58:34.218-08:00Vlad from Hack/Slash<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;">I think I may have mentioned it before, but I'm back in school studying 3D Animation (specifically with Maya, Mudbox and ZBrush) which has been a goal of mine for many years now. This is a 3D sculpt I did of Vlad (without his mask) from the comic Hack/Slash using Maya and Mudbox.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><br style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial initial !important; background-repeat: initial initial !important; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-color: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-style: initial !important; border-top-width: 0px !important;" /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;">Not to fear, I still do pinup art and I'll be posting new stuff soon.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9JW5A387RxU/TXBHRC2EXjI/AAAAAAAAAFU/Cq5pjb5Z-S0/s1600/vlad_from_hack_slash_by_dominic_marco-d3aj97u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9JW5A387RxU/TXBHRC2EXjI/AAAAAAAAAFU/Cq5pjb5Z-S0/s320/vlad_from_hack_slash_by_dominic_marco-d3aj97u.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-22383634630878596212011-03-03T17:57:00.000-08:002011-03-03T17:57:10.252-08:00Mercy test renders<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;">This is my first 3D character model. She's not fully rigged, nor does she have any blend shapes for facial expressions yet but she will in a couple of weeks as I learn how to do them. I strayed away from my initial concept in a few places because there were things that looked sort of plain when they were drawn on paper, but once you got a 3D textured version, they looked so much better. In this case, it was the boots. I originally wanted over-sized Doc Martin combat boots, but when I drew them, they just didn't 'pop'. So I changed the concept to these Iron Man-esque armoured boots that looked alright on paper, but in actuality, were just really cheesy and looked like something from a 90's comic. So I found a cool pair of motorcycle boots online and took the extra effort to sculpt them (because in all honesty, the Iron Man boots were really easy to create and texture). I also ended up giving her a lot more layers than the initial design because I like the idea of her wearing lots of 'found' items.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;">And in case you didn't read the description from my old post on the initial designs, her name is Mercy and personality-wise, she's pretty much a cross between Harley Quinn and Pris from Blade Runner. She's a faerie psychopath that had her wings removed as punishment for her crimes (she has a tattoo them on her back) and she travels with a mechanical teddy bear that has a flamethrower for a hand.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><br style="background-attachment: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: initial initial !important; background-repeat: initial initial !important; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-color: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-style: initial !important; border-top-width: 0px !important;" /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-di5EjLCczBU/TXBG2cn2_qI/AAAAAAAAAFM/9EJcb1gVfLY/s1600/mercy_render_by_dominic_marco-d3ajhci.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-di5EjLCczBU/TXBG2cn2_qI/AAAAAAAAAFM/9EJcb1gVfLY/s320/mercy_render_by_dominic_marco-d3ajhci.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BnnTP7lCq4A/TXBG4wAFGjI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/7S033gYSUU8/s1600/mercy_textures_by_dominic_marco-d3ajhk6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BnnTP7lCq4A/TXBG4wAFGjI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/7S033gYSUU8/s320/mercy_textures_by_dominic_marco-d3ajhk6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c3635; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-38184853312944868412011-03-03T17:55:00.000-08:002011-06-01T11:09:18.570-07:00Zombies Vs Cheerleaders: Hack/Slash Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N9RwsiK3ERI/TXBF93kYpPI/AAAAAAAAAFE/Tbei1l57uy8/s1600/hszvc-coverc_dressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N9RwsiK3ERI/TXBF93kYpPI/AAAAAAAAAFE/Tbei1l57uy8/s320/hszvc-coverc_dressed.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">The steps involved in the creation of a comic cover...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">First, the editor sends you a written description of what they specifically want on the cover. In this case, they wanted Cassie Hack in the ZvC cheerleader outfit writing 'I will not hack and slash in class', which is a little joke because this is a crossover comic with Hack/Slash. So, the first step for me was to thumbnail out a design for the cover layout . Concept was approved after making one small tweek to the pose (Cassie needed to be looking back at the reader). Second step was to pencil out the cover on 11"x17" comic board. Then I scan everything into the computer and 'digitally' ink the artwork (third image). This gets sent back to the editor for another look - everything is great so proceed to the colours. Colours and effects (forth image) are done in Photoshop and the hi-res copy is sent off to the comic company for printing.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">This comic comes out in May and my cover is a limited edition print run (20% of the total </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 15px;">printing) so it may be hard to find.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span></span>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-71249852602839720312010-12-12T16:00:00.000-08:002010-12-12T16:00:17.859-08:00Cassie HackJust found out that this image appeared as a pin-up at the back of Hack/Slash - My First Maniac #4....also found out that the pages were printed out of order for this issue so my pin-up comes at a strange point in the comic and it's caused a lot of confusion among readers. Anyway, for you H/S fans out there, I'm doing another cover featuring Cassie, and this time it's for the Zombies VS Cheerleaders one-shot from 5Finity.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TQViAz7LyjI/AAAAAAAAAEI/CedkaN-spKM/s1600/Cassie_Hack_by_Dominic_Marco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TQViAz7LyjI/AAAAAAAAAEI/CedkaN-spKM/s320/Cassie_Hack_by_Dominic_Marco.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-50427822622599452010-12-02T19:27:00.000-08:002010-12-02T19:27:23.370-08:00StikfaBuzz Laser<iframe width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xefHT6JuJs0?fs=1" frameborder="0"></iframe>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-69921801636438084992010-12-02T18:25:00.000-08:002010-12-02T18:25:46.716-08:00StikfaBuzz Walkcycle<iframe width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UPNKZ4ldyIU?fs=1" frameborder="0"></iframe>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-23230031943035811322010-11-07T18:05:00.000-08:002010-11-07T18:05:47.690-08:00Beware the Daleks!A quick and dirty render for fun. One of the first things I built with Maya was the TARDIS (hence the awful texture job - I had no idea what I was doing) so tonight I decided to have some fun with it and do a quick render of it alongside the Dalek (which I made after having considerably more experience using Maya)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNda8dpEaZI/AAAAAAAAAEE/aFA1ZpGkg4g/s1600/tardis_daleks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNda8dpEaZI/AAAAAAAAAEE/aFA1ZpGkg4g/s320/tardis_daleks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-77349361869369101582010-11-06T14:17:00.000-07:002010-11-06T14:17:15.206-07:00Pin Up Tutorial - Chapter 1<div class="MsoNormal">Chapter 1. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So You Wanna Make It In Comics...</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Magnum Opus of comic tutorials this will be. A complete guide to life, the universe and everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, maybe not, but you will have to forgive me if I start going on about things that seem like complete common-sense. Back when I was first starting out, it was hard to find a lot of decent tutorials that spoke directly to the comic artist noob, so I want to share anything and everything that I've managed to pick up through trial and error. I also want this to be a completely honest document, and by that, I mean I'm not going to be afraid to share my artistic shortcomings, self-doubts and general silliness. How is this helpful to you? I want you to know that art is always a learning experience...no one has all the answers and no one is an expert. We're all novices because the moment we think we know everything, we stop learning. When kids ask me how to draw comic characters, I tell them to get some tracing paper and trace everything. That's how I started out, and I was amazed to find out that I wasn't the only one who got their foundation like this. As a child, you obviously don't realize it at the time, but constantly tracing stuff builds up muscle memory and you start to subconsciously get a correct sense of proportions, perspective, and layouts. I used to go through my issues of DC's Whos Who and look for images of characters with fairly basic, skin-tight costumes and then I would trace over the outlines so that I could draw my own costumes and faces on them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After months of doing this, I didn't need to trace the comics anymore and I could draw them from memory. But if you're going to try this yourself, or suggest this to a child, make sure you use the work of great technical artists such as George Perez, John Byrne or John Romita Sr. to trace from! These guys really know their anatomy and dynamic poses...on the flipside, try to stay away from some of the artists from the 90's! You know what I'm talking about...</div><div class="MsoNormal">At this point, I should also mention that these tutorials are mainly focused towards working on covers or pin-ups...if you try and use my coloring style for the interior of a comic book, then may your applicable deity have mercy on your soul because IT WILL TAKE YOU FOREVER to color a page. To make any kind of money as a colorist, you need to be able to do 2-3 pages a day, because starting out, you will probably be making roughly $40 per page. Then, if you multiply that by 22 (there are typically 22 pages in a comic), your total income for that month will be...uh (checking calculator)...$880. And that's before the Taxman and Paypal take a healthy chunk of it. You should also be prepared for the fact that you probably won't get paid right away so be sure that you'll be able to live comfortably for a month or so with no income. Some companies require you to invoice them for each job once the entire work for that month has been completed, and even when that goes through the proper channels, it will still take a couple of weeks for the cheque to arrive. However, if you live outside the States, add another 10 to 15 days while your bank's computers refuse to acknowledge the existence of the internet and apparently still use carrier pigeons to converse with their financial counterpart in the land of the free. Anyway, as I was saying before I got sidetracked, if you are going to be working on the interior pages of a comic, then your best bet would be to use the 'cuts' method of digital coloring. This method dates back to the early 90's when many of you were still creating scratch and sniff artwork in your Pampers...it's also a great way to digitally color if you don't have a Wacom or any other brand of digital input apparatus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started out using this method, but it's been so long since I tried it that it would probably do more harm than good if I were to try and teach it here. <a href="http://www.steeldolphin.com/htmltuts/digital_colorpart2.html">Click here for a good tutorial on 'Cuts' coloring</a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Ok, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it might seem like things got off to a negative start back there, but to be truthful, Digital Colorists have the best opportunity to make more money starting out because we can do more pages a month than pencilers (who are lucky to make $60 per page in the beginning, and can rarely do more than 22 pages a month), and it's also a great way to get your foot in the door, because let's be honest...it's the least glamorous part of the industry so the competition is sparse. Forget those few remaining glorified tracers out there, if you really want to have friends and family members look upon you with confusion, bewilderment, and a hint of pity, then tell them you color comic books for a living. Watch for the blank stare as they imagine you lying on the floor with a pack of crayons and a $2 Whitman coloring book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No fancy terms like Photoshop Creative Suite, Wacom Intuos 4 or Workstation PC/Mac is going to disguise the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fact that, in their eyes, you color other peoples pictures for a living. If you are able to deal with being the bassplayer in the Guitar Hero world of illustration, then congratulations and move on to the next step. <br />
Again, it might seem like I'm putting down the coloring profession, but as any colorist will attest to, they're actually the backbone of the comic industry. If you were to strip away the colors from many comics, the resulting pages would look like the bathroom floor of an abattoir (in particular, that little area behind the toilet where no one really ever cleans properly). Yeah, I went there! And even though I made a little dig at inkers earlier, they are actually your best friend, because the first time that you get an un-inked page to color, which is entirely likely to be the first page you ever get to color nowadays, you will yearn for the pristine, razor sharp, penmanship of the master draftsman who was mercilessly mocked in 'Chasing Amy.' Think I'm exaggerating? Find a comic page with a forest that hasn't been inked and try coloring it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can find the razorblades in the bathroom...make sure you leave a note. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately, pencilers are becoming more aware of the technical process these days and a lot of them are tightening up their lineart so that the lack of inks are not so apparent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this is a great jumping off point for the first technical part of this tutorial...in the next section, I'll go over the initial stage of creating your first cover/pin-up.</div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-25985830146034189082010-11-06T13:16:00.002-07:002010-11-06T13:16:46.623-07:00Animation Test #14 - Flour Sack<object style="background-image:url(http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/_L9G6geB3RQ/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_L9G6geB3RQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_L9G6geB3RQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="480" height="295" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-85936823948879402792010-11-06T13:16:00.001-07:002010-11-06T13:16:34.785-07:00Animation Test #16 - Laser<object style="background-image:url(http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/ZAO_pqQelZk/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZAO_pqQelZk?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZAO_pqQelZk?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="480" height="295" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-91898177084347079972010-11-06T13:16:00.000-07:002010-11-06T13:16:17.284-07:00Animation Test #17 - The Walk Cycle<object style="background-image:url(http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/eXOqhgoPxnM/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eXOqhgoPxnM?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eXOqhgoPxnM?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="480" height="295" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-3047220954361239912010-11-06T13:15:00.000-07:002010-11-06T13:15:41.922-07:00Animation Test #11 - Stickman Jump<object style="background-image:url(http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/gn2u_vONhNU/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gn2u_vONhNU?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gn2u_vONhNU?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="480" height="295" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-33105466766287342642010-11-04T20:32:00.000-07:002010-11-04T20:32:38.038-07:00Mercy Character DesignThis is a design I did recently for a character that I plan to model with ZBrush/Maya in the near future. Her name is Mercy, and the inspiration for her comes from Harley Quinn and Pris from Blade Runner.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN6rxVjfRI/AAAAAAAAAD4/Qhr2fOSNxOc/s1600/mercy01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN6rxVjfRI/AAAAAAAAAD4/Qhr2fOSNxOc/s320/mercy01.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN6uWSdH1I/AAAAAAAAAD8/1re5Uqmgn_4/s1600/mercy02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN6uWSdH1I/AAAAAAAAAD8/1re5Uqmgn_4/s320/mercy02.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN6wPBQhFI/AAAAAAAAAEA/VjSVk8jxXL4/s1600/mercy03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN6wPBQhFI/AAAAAAAAAEA/VjSVk8jxXL4/s320/mercy03.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-8743400309032902242010-11-03T20:27:00.000-07:002010-11-03T20:27:43.172-07:00Hack/Slash Sketch CardsThe third set of sketch cards I did for 5Finity were based on Tim Seeley's wonderfully entertaining comics, 'Hack/Slash.' I love this comic, so it was a thrill to massacre Cassie and Vlad in my style. And yet again, I was more comfortable with the medium and I discovered these magically little things called Copic markers...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIn5KfxgXI/AAAAAAAAAC8/5GUq4wwZI0E/s1600/hs_cards02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIn5KfxgXI/AAAAAAAAAC8/5GUq4wwZI0E/s320/hs_cards02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIn9prO44I/AAAAAAAAADA/au4QQAlZqUQ/s1600/hs_cards01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIn9prO44I/AAAAAAAAADA/au4QQAlZqUQ/s320/hs_cards01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIoE-6X27I/AAAAAAAAADE/G5ViI_JlZvY/s1600/hs_cards03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIoE-6X27I/AAAAAAAAADE/G5ViI_JlZvY/s320/hs_cards03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIoGaynlmI/AAAAAAAAADI/DR-Lne5jzBk/s1600/hs_cards04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIoGaynlmI/AAAAAAAAADI/DR-Lne5jzBk/s320/hs_cards04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIoHunuB-I/AAAAAAAAADM/puYCuuzGgqM/s1600/hs_cards05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIoHunuB-I/AAAAAAAAADM/puYCuuzGgqM/s320/hs_cards05.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-5404274958839495482010-11-03T20:17:00.000-07:002010-11-03T20:17:36.727-07:00P'ups Trading CardsThis was the second set of cards I did for 5Finity and this time, the concept was Pin Ups and puppies. I was a bit more comfortable with drawing at that size this time, so these turned out a bit better than the Mandy ones, in my opinion. And yes, that is indeed the lovely Drakaina making another appearance in my work, on the top right corner.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIlODQk4PI/AAAAAAAAACo/jB3xTolrfA4/s1600/p-ups_cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIlODQk4PI/AAAAAAAAACo/jB3xTolrfA4/s320/p-ups_cards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-65900251154469796182010-11-03T19:45:00.000-07:002010-11-03T20:07:59.934-07:00Drakaina<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the artwork that I did for Hal-Con. The fiery red-head is the lovely Drakaina, who was the inspiration for this piece. If you would like find out more about her (and see LOTS more), head on over to her website for some wonderful eye-candy. <a href="http://www.drakaina.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">http://www.drakaina.com/</span></a></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIeeX-zr-I/AAAAAAAAACQ/wdWoUDcragE/s1600/drakaina_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIeeX-zr-I/AAAAAAAAACQ/wdWoUDcragE/s320/drakaina_final.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-59311836423871624462010-11-03T19:38:00.001-07:002010-11-06T14:37:35.641-07:00Hal-Con<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first, and hopefully annual, Hal-con is now over and needless to say, I had a great time. This was actually my first time attending a Con, and it was such a bizarre, nerve-racking, wonderful experience. The lovely Drakaina (the world's number 2 fantasy art model according to AskMen.com) and I shared an autograph table and we were fortunate enough to be placed next to Walter Koenig (Chekov from Star Trek) and Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar from Star Trek:TNG and Dexter). They were both incredibly nice and gracious to their fans. Again, I hope this becomes an annual event, because I'm really looking forward to going again next year. In the meantime though, I have the Halifax Gothic Christmas convention coming up in December where once again, I'll be joining the lovely Drakaina for some more autograph signing.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIctMpMiKI/AAAAAAAAACM/IHaO6lnbh8w/s1600/75069_10150308905635397_662615396_15401821_1618458_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIctMpMiKI/AAAAAAAAACM/IHaO6lnbh8w/s320/75069_10150308905635397_662615396_15401821_1618458_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Chekov in the foreground, Drakaina and I in the background</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN3MPHWArI/AAAAAAAAADw/DF7v7_5qVBI/s1600/76023_10150116612683782_514533781_7869755_3682653_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN3MPHWArI/AAAAAAAAADw/DF7v7_5qVBI/s320/76023_10150116612683782_514533781_7869755_3682653_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This time,we're next to Denise 'Tasha Yar' Crosby</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN3nR5LXvI/AAAAAAAAAD0/tDQMb8s_JDE/s1600/drak-me-amy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNN3nR5LXvI/AAAAAAAAAD0/tDQMb8s_JDE/s320/drak-me-amy.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Drakaina, me and Amy Kerr</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-33373213871170890932010-11-03T19:36:00.000-07:002010-11-07T18:10:37.584-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518800447016648179.post-78552005425277098172010-11-03T19:33:00.000-07:002010-11-03T20:11:02.751-07:00Mandy Sketch Cards<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A little while back, I was asked by 5Finity to contribute some sketch cards for the 'Mandy' set of collectible trading cards. For those of you who don't know, Mandy is wonderful character created by Dean Yeagle and is the subject of many of his cartoons for Playboy Magazine. I'm lucky enough to count Dean as a friend so I jumped at the chance to honor him and his creation. Unfortunately, I don't do a whole lot of work with colored pencils and the results are obvious. Some turned out ok, others didn't. Dean has the baseball one, so I'm glad he got to keep the best card.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ps. They actually didn't look THIS bad, but I used a crappy scanner to make a digital copy of them and a lot of the shading has gone missing here.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIbVY5ms1I/AAAAAAAAACE/kwStbSdQjB8/s1600/cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_j2Wlzh9OCmE/TNIbVY5ms1I/AAAAAAAAACE/kwStbSdQjB8/s320/cards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</div>Dominic Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240295364436014227noreply@blogger.com0