Double Cursed

Stomach flu, heavy deadlines and a candy-based holiday.

I feel horrible.

Bear with me.

This Story is Cursed!

Honestly, I've never had a story get so many interruptions! The story itself must be cursed! Back tomorrow!

Taco Hell Drive Thru 7

Taco Hell Drive Thru 6

Taco Hell Drive Thru 5

Taco Hell Drive Thru 4

Sorry to pause the story. It was Fall Break for my kids, so we went to red rock country and did some hiking. I completely forgot to bank some blog posts to cover the days off. Woops. I have no regrets, it was super fun.

But now we're back. So on with the story!

Bad Timing Again!

Hi Guys. Sorry for the missing day yesterday. And today. I've had a few things pop up. The story will continue on Tuesday.

Taco Hell Drive Thru 3

Taco Hell Drive Thru 2

Taco Hell Drive Thru 1

October is here. Time for a spooky story.

Believe it or not, this story is not ZOMBEANS. This is a different scary story involving Taco Bell.

CALAMITY JACK takes home the Utah Book Award!

Calamity Jack won the Utah Book Award in the children's book category last night!

The nominees were; a picture book (Rick Walton's Mr. President Goes to School,) a novel (Kristen Landon's The Limit) and a graphic novel (us!) It was a diverse trifecta of book types.

Hooray for Calamity Jack!

Princess BATMAN 13

Is this the end for Princess BATMAN?

Yeah, pretty much.

Thanks for participating in the Princess BATMAN posts. It's been fun! Maybe she'll return someday in a big story!

New thing--new spooky thing--starts Monday!

DELAYED!

Uh-oh, the final image in the Princess BATMAN series has been DELAYED! Yesterday's drawing style was such a hit, I thought I'd do another picture in that style. I started it, but it maxed out my B.A.T. (blog allotment time.) I need another day! I'll put it up tomorrow, a rare Saturday post of the final image.

I need two B.A.T.s for this one. Be back tomorrow.

Princess BATMAN 12

If you're gonna be Batman-like, you have to spend some time striking poses on top of a building, preferably in the dark. So here's the Princess on top of her castle.

Today's scene was supposed to be an action scene. But I ended up going out last night (*gasp* out of the studio!) My wife took me to hear Barry Lopez, the National Book Award-winning author. I brought along some paper (on a clipboard. I'm not a sketchbook guy. I'm a clipboard guy.) I listened and drew this night scene of the Princess watching over her domain.

I took the drawing and laid a digital layer over it (for the grays and yellows) and here she is. It's fun to do a different style. I haven't drawn on paper for months!

Princess BATMAN 11

Another peek at the Princess as her mild-mannered alter-ego.

She's a Princess who disguises herself as a Princess.

Here, she's having hot cocoa and scones with a fat duchess. You can't spend ALL your time fighting bunnies.

This is the last week of Princess BATMAN. We'll have two more images, then start with something new next week. (Something Halloween-y!)

BREAKING NEWS!

Remember a week or so ago, when I was up for a big job? Well, I just found out that I got it! Hooray! It is the rarest of all freelance illustrator jobs: a long-term, well paying, BIG job. It's a full textbook for an educational press and it will keep me in LEGO bricks for many months to come.

I don't usually talk about my day-to-day contracts here on the blog, but this one caused so much commotion last week, I thought I'd share the news.

Princess BATMAN 10

Here they are, the million billion bunnies.

Princess BATMAN 9

All this time we've been focusing on our princess in superhero mode, but we haven't seen her mild-mannered alter-ego. Here she is:

The horse has an alter-ego too.

Princess BATMAN 8

Princess Batman doesn't like riding side-saddle in her dress. So she stands.

Princess BATMAN 7

D3 is the one! Here she is in full action mode! She's wielding her princess scepter (which is usually small, but transforms to a staff) and her shield fan. Action petticoats!

Tomorrow we'll see her riding her action pony "Blackie!" Maybe next week we'll see her normal princess identity and some of the villains she fights (including the "Million, Billion Bunnies!)

Watch This Space

P-Batman is running late! She'll be up later in the day.

I accidentally fell asleep last night without doing the drawing. I promise, it had NOTHING to do with my awesome new awesome video game.

Princess BATMAN 7

Okay, it sounds like the longer/puffier dress with petticoats was liked by many! Yesterday's "B" struck a chord. So here is Monday's D2 with a longer gown. And different hair. Some of you requested her hair up.

D3 has flat shoes (better than boots?) tails on her mask and a big skirt with visible petticoat frill. D4 has Goldilocks ringlets and an empire waistline.

I like the blonde hair. I think blonde girls have been relegated to sidekick/comic relief or snob/villain roles lately. Can you think of any popular blonde girl heroes in children's media right now?

There are probably tons--I just don't pay attention.

Dark Souls Update:

I went with "Hunter" class. A female character. I'm shooting arrows at EVERYTHING! So far, so good. But I must admit, the female gait in the game is a little wonky. She swings her arms in a funny, elbows-in/forearms-out style. Must be a Japanese thing. I wouldn't walk that way if I was hunting demons in a zombie castle.

Princess BATMAN 6

Wild cards!

Okay, it's Wild Card Day, where we try a few last crazy ideas before going into the final. A note about Wild Carding--never, EVER do this on a real job with an art director. It almost never ends well. Either you get stuck with your worst idea, or you end up starting all over again.

These ideas are more princess-y. I feel there are lots of sassy, gear-laden, multi-belted girl-heros. But I can't think of anyone who fights crime in a poofy gown.

What should we plug into our existing designs?

Warning! The following is video game talk!

Dark Souls, the sequel to Demon's Souls (my favorite video game this generation) comes out tomorrow. I've had it pre-ordered since May. And speaking of character design, I have to choose a starting character class. In Demon's Souls, I played as a "Soldier." When given a choice, I like to play games as the everyman (no thief or magic classes for me.) There is no "Soldier" class in Dark Souls--they swapped it for "Warrior," which I don't care for.

I'm thinking of going with a "Hunter," or possibly a "Wanderer." And I think I'm going with a female character this time. In Demon's Souls I was a dude.

Anyway, I'm very excited. I haven't picked up a controller for months. Some quality game-time is just what the doctor ordered.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Princess BATMAN 5

Okay, so the two most popular designs were d2 (but with puffy sleeves!) and B2 (with d2's hair.)

Here they are, back in a static pose., and with a few tweaks.

Did the two weeks off give you any fresh insights? I still think we aren't quite PRINCESS-y enough...

D2 is on the left, B2 on the right. Tomorrow is WILD CARD Princess Batman Day--I'm going to throw out some fresh concepts, we'll see if any of them add to D2 and B2. Then we'll take her to final!