Carlos Illustration

Quick Concept-Tars Tarkas

2012-01-09T14:07:00.001-05:00

Quick concept painting inspired by the new Pixar/Disney movie. I think its going to be pretty great!

Development and Growth

2011-11-18T16:55:00.001-05:00

Here at work we started setting out a few hours a week for development and growth time. This week I decided I wanted to do a character design straight on my cintiq using a slew of custom brushed I've created. This was real quick but fun! Let me know what you guys think.

TMNT

2011-09-12T23:32:00.001-04:00

Been drawing tons of these guys lately, classics!!!

The Angers Max---THOR

2011-09-06T23:35:00.002-04:00

A new addition to the Avengers Max roster.
The god of thunder has seen the world he swore to protect crash down and mutilate itself. The state of the world has left him confronting a darkness within his own soul that he never knew was there. This new dark Asgardian roams the world with a new perspective, god help whoever gets in his path.

THE AVENGERS MAX-Captain America

2011-08-24T22:15:00.002-04:00

In a world were civil war tore America into a thousand pieces, the symbol of that nation finds himself broken and twisted. This is a captain no more, he now represents a reality of tyranny and despair, and revels in it...with a smile.

Another Mash up with friend Jorge Lacera, meet the Avengers MAX!!!

GAMBIT-90's stylin'

2011-08-18T19:09:00.003-04:00

A quick challenge with art brother Jorge Lacera, 90's style Gambit. Had fun with the inks on this one. I always felt that gambit was a natural asshole and loved his relationship of mistrust with Wolverine in the 90's comics. They should revamp Gambit and bring him back with a cool story. Hope you guys like it.

WILDE-TOR Books pitch

2011-08-06T14:01:00.002-04:00

WILDE pin-up image. I was contacted by Joe Karg to ink a pin-up for a pitch to TOR Books. So far I hear the image and concept was received really positively over at TOR, cross your fingers that we land the job peeps. Thanks.

American Vampire-Vertigo Test

2011-07-07T12:35:00.001-04:00

These are some pages from a Vertigo test I was recently a part of with Paper Dog Studios. I did the inks. Let me know what you guys think. Let's see what happens.

SHARKBOXER all pages

2011-06-12T17:32:00.006-04:00

These are all the pages I inked for the short graphic story by my friend and colleague, Joe Karg. I learned a lot through this whole process and I really think I grew as an inker, Hope you guys like!
To check out the amazing colors of this pages check out Paper Dog Studios!!!

Here's a look at one of my favorite pages in full color by Chris Bivins

Meet the KILLER ROBOT SOLDIER...

2011-05-26T14:42:00.001-04:00

A quick robot challenge with Jorge Lacera. Think of him as a dumb brainless robot soldier covered in synthetic human flesh ready to destroy everything in his path with blind obedience....wait....isn't that called a terminator? Who knows! Colored update to come soon!

HellBlazer

2011-05-19T14:59:00.003-04:00

A quick self-promotion image, Hellblazer, also known as John Constantine. Enjoy.

Venom Challenge

2011-04-19T21:12:00.000-04:00

A quick Venom challenge. Had some fun with this one.

Astonishing Assholes-Beast, Cyclops

2011-02-10T18:32:00.004-05:00

-The Astonishing Assholes is a reinvention of the X-men. Young, jaded assholes that have no purpose but to listen to loud music and smash a few heads. They smoke, drink and fuck. Everything your normal teenager does. Enjoy!-

Cyclops is a particularly nasty asshole, the kind with no real remorse. He has no problem disintegrating your bones if you happen to speak to him after a particularly indulgent binge of booze and cocaine. Deep down inside, he's just an insecure little prick like everyone else. Enjoy!

Beast is pissed off at the world. I mean who wouldn't be if they had his ugly mug. He loves punk rock and getting into bar fights. He also has quite the sweet tooth for the opposite sex, doing whatever he can to get his.

Check out Jorge Lacera's and Gavin Goulden's take on these assholes.

Cowboy Concept

2011-01-19T18:15:00.001-05:00

I've been playing a lot of Red Dead Redemption lately and not drawing enough. This is my way of making up for it. haha. Super quick character study of a badass cowboy. Very Red Dead inspired I know, The game makes me wish I lived in the wild west sometimes ha! Hope you guys dig!

The Incomparable Sharkboxer

2010-12-12T21:44:00.004-05:00

So out of the blue this guy, Joe Karg, hit me up on my blog for some freelance work. This is the first piece I did for him, a pin-up for his upcoming graphic novel, The Incomparable Sharkboxer. I gotta say he had some great ideas for these pin-ups, strange but that's what made them so great. For this piece up top I drew every girl individually then inked them and finally composed them so I could have some versatility with the design.

As I kept on doing these I kept on trying to push the inks. At some points pushing some of these made me extremely uncomfortable but then I thought that was a great thing. I really believe I evolved with my inks while doing these. Hope you guys dig.

This was a hilarious concept, I gotta give it up to Joe, he was never shy at pushing the conventional concepts of pin-up art.

This piece was another one where I had a blast drawing a bunch of individual bees and then finding a way to fit them in the composition. I personally think they all look crazy and like I said the all make me uncomfortable, but I really think in the end the color will separate everything really nicely.

These are the first two pages that I inked for him for the actual graphic novel. Check out the inks here they look KILLER!!!

One last note, I broke down and joined twitter. I've actually become pretty fond of it lately and figured why fight it. My screename is CVillagra99 so please click the follow button if you'd like. I will be posting about art and updates and all things illustration.

Zelda+WW2=

2010-12-06T23:54:00.005-05:00

Jorge Lacera had this killer logo on his piece from this theme so I asked him if I could have one for my own piece. He was gracious enough to comply, thanks Jorge!!!
I think the logo really adds something to the piece, what do you guys think?

Another group theme with some of the awesome artist from Irrational Games. Check out Jorge Lacera's take and Chad Kings take!
This theme was to create a mash-up with Zelda and WW2. I thought it would be great to see Gannon as a badass German soldier. Link is going to get your ass Gannon!!! Hope you guys dig. This was a fun piece!

Buzz

2010-11-30T01:14:00.002-05:00

Another challenge with buddies Jorge Lacera and Chad King. This theme was picking a Pixar character and giving them a badass weapon while reimagining them. I picked Buzz Lightyear and decided to make this space ranger a knight ranger. Hope you guys dig!

Detail of Buzz's face. It's crazy loose and but I did spend like 8 hours on the upper lip. Thought I'd share, hope you like!

The Joker

2010-11-14T22:37:00.001-05:00

Quicky speed painting, prob two hours. I've been looking at some of Frazetta books and felt inspired, who hasn't he touched with his amazing work? I always loved his strong figures and how massive and solid his figures felt. Hope you guys dig.

Halloween Costume 2010

2010-11-01T20:38:00.001-04:00

My Halloween costume from concept to finish. Had a blast but I think wearing this out in the cold night got me sick...oh well!

Recent Sketchbook Page

2010-10-12T11:44:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't been posting much here lately, I plan to correct that. Been to busy with projects, I can't wait to show you guys once they are done! For now you will have to settle for this crappy sketchbook page ha!

BTW The Hub premiered 10.10.10. The Hub is a brand new kids network, formerly known as Discovery Kids.

American Greetings has three shows on, Strawberry Shortcake, Twisted Whiskers, and Maryoku Yummy!!!

I worked on all the properties in some way, will post art soon!
The Hub looks great so far, I'm excited for the possibilities.

Character Concept

2010-09-07T16:25:00.001-04:00

Playing around with some character concepts. Let me know what you guys think=)

A new challenge: CAMMY

2010-09-02T17:15:00.003-04:00

Another fun challenge with my buddy Jorge Lacera. He assigned me Cammy from Street Fighter. I guess I don't do enough girl pics so here are two. Hope you dig.

I can't just stick to one style ever. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. This image was fun tho. Let me know if you guys like it=)

Biker-dude

2010-08-24T23:39:00.002-04:00

A study for an upcoming project, let me know if you guys dig.

TRON

2010-08-01T19:39:00.004-04:00

This was another quick challenge with my art brothers Jorge Lacera and Jim Groman.
I might screen print a few of these, let me know if you guys would want one. Working with the type was fun. The movie looks great, can't wait!

Also I want to try something new, I want to open up the floor to my visitors. I want you guys to suggest the next theme for us to work on. The person's idea I pick will get their choice of original inks for the kick-ass piece or the original inks for this Tron piece. Hopefully you guys out there read this haha!

Predator

2010-07-22T21:38:00.004-04:00

A quick one hour piece done for fun with a friend. I wonder if the movie will be any good. Working on some fun stuff that I will hopefully share with you guys soon. I should be posting way more often.

Love,

Carlos.

Viking!

2010-06-27T12:46:00.004-04:00

A piece for an art trade. Haven't completed a painting in acrylic in ages. Working on other small pieces as we speak. Hope you guys like it.

WOLFY

2010-06-20T22:48:00.002-04:00

Fun Werewolf sketch for fun. Might ink and color this one. It's been so long since the last post. I got a lot in the works so I will post more often...sigh...

KICK-ASS!

2010-04-18T23:24:00.001-04:00

Another sketchbook page. This movie totally rocked!! It's so refreshing to see a movie that doesn't compromise and it's not afraid to shock and stay true to the creators vision. A must watch!!!

DIGITALSKETCHBOOK2

2010-04-01T00:06:00.003-04:00

Here are more pages for my DIGITALSKETCHBOOK.

Good news everyone, I found my sketchbook! What a miracle! Some of these pages are from said sketchbook. I will try and make a post once a week at the least. I'm thinking 300 pages might do the trick for this book, what do you guys think?

Love

DIGITALSKETCHBOOK

2010-03-22T23:51:00.003-04:00

New Project for 2010.

I recently lost my sketchbook and I feel pretty lost. I use my sketchbook everyday and I love it because it's so convenient and I can look through the pages to reflect on my sketches.

However, losing my sketchbook has sparked an idea for a new project, my DIGITAL SKETCHBOOK.

The plan is to draw on lose pieces of paper ONLY and every four pages, I will combine them in photoshop into one page for my Printed DIGITAL SKETCHBOOK. Once I get 100 or 200 pages (I haven't decided yet) I will self-publish the book into my first published book of personal sketches. I'm pretty amped. Hopefully this will turn out ok and hopefully you guys will enjoy it too.

Wish me luck! Here are the first pages.

I was also thinking about printing a sketchbook compiled from my older sketches seen on my flickr and my blog.

Peace.

Relics

2010-03-14T21:28:00.002-04:00

Designs for vinyl record paintings. Will post final product soon.

Recent Randomness

2010-02-18T19:08:00.001-05:00

A birthday invite image I made. Silly.

Soldier

2009-12-07T22:25:00.001-05:00

Just for fun. You guys know when you start a piece and you love it, then you finish and you hate it?...

blah!

CAP!

2009-11-18T21:54:00.002-05:00

What an all American guy!!

Military Dude

2009-11-11T08:46:00.000-05:00

quick piece for fun, couple of hours tops.

Cherry

2009-10-21T22:55:00.001-04:00

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

2009-09-30T14:14:00.005-04:00

This is for our recent theme for the sketch-o-rama blog.

With my "final" piece I wanted to go for more of a children's book feel. I also wanted to add some type that would complement the illustration and I knew I wanted it to be somewhat decorative. I've been messing around with type lately and successful or not, I've been enjoying myself. I wanted to go for a foresty look for this one, let me know what you guys think, might still need some tweaks. I will add color to this and post it in the near future so keep on the look out!

The other image is just a compilation from my sketchbook to show you guys what a spaz I am! I enjoy exploring my ideas and a new one constantly pops into my head sometimes in the middle of drawing some other idea/concept. This can sometimes frustrate me because it impedes my ability to take anything to finish, anything that I am not getting paid for at least !

I would love to hear your guys thoughts on this subject, how good are you guys to committing to an idea. I got a feeling a lot of people out there are like me and love to explore things, come on guys help me out here, I feel like a freak sometimes=)

THE U IS RISING!!!

2009-09-23T18:11:00.002-04:00

This is a drawing of Jacory Harris, quarterback for the U!!!

My team is gaining national recognition again and I think if we can get by the next two games we have a free ride to the championship game!!!

Hope you guys dig!!

I will color this badboy soon.

LB23

2009-09-16T00:15:00.004-04:00

So while the Playoffs where going on this past season I went on a LeBron drawing Binge on my sketchbook. I thought I'd share some of these, not usually what I like to draw but I enjoyed them and I hope you do to! Leave a comment if you diggs!!!

CHUD!

2009-09-03T15:51:00.001-04:00

Theme for sketch-o-rama

Based on an 80's scary flick!

CATCHING UP/REDESIGN---welcome!!!

2009-08-28T17:34:00.010-04:00

This was a fun piece to work on. Us at Sketch-o-Rama, decided to do Star Trek as a theme due to the summer movie. I decided to do a comic page for a change. I tried to focus on the coloring of the piece, because I think I would do a good job coloring comics one day. The gag is kinda stupid but it was quick and a ton of fun, hope you guys dig!

FETUS!!!

The deal with this character is that he is the most competitive fetus in the world. The only draw back is that he is a freaking fetus and can't really play any game well!!! Bless his heart he tries as hard as he can but his slimmy gooey fingers and limbs hinder his ability to compete!! One day fetus will win at something but for now...YOU CAN'T WIN FETUS!!!!

Introducing the cutest/meanest dog I have ever met!!

SERG!!

>>The Blog is now done!! I might change the banner if I can think of something better but for now this is it!!! Hope you guys like it, any feedback would be appreciated. And if you like what you see please sign up to follow the blog. Thanks!

Cleveland Art Museum

2009-08-14T08:55:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone, it's been a really long time! I have been working, but also enjoying summer and being extremely busy. I will be making more frequent posts because I have a lot of stuff to share. In the meanwhile the Cleveland Art Museum just opened it's East wing and It's pretty amazing with works from Picasso, Van Gogh, Degas, Warhol, Gauguin and more. Amazing stuff!
Also they have a good variety of classical statues that are great for sketching. I did this sketch from a furniture piece I found really interesting. Hope you guys enjoy and I will be posting more soon!

+New Sketch-o-rama piece coming soon!!

PROGRESS~

2009-05-11T17:01:00.005-04:00

Thor painting I started a while back, this version is about 50% finished, more on this one later.

This piece is big! about 24x36. The drawing is barely getting somewhere but I am excited about the possibilities for this piece. I will make a post for this painting soon!

This is the skate deck I finished for a group show here in town. The skate deck is going for $600.00 if anyone out there in internet land is interested.

Here is a taste of the personal projects I've been working on lately. I am back on the painting groove and I haven't felt this way since college when I was doing my senior thesis. I have a lot of people to thank for this new rejuvenated passion for painting but I won't name then here, you guys know who you are. Hope you guys enjoy the sneak peek and please drop me a line to say what's up. I am planning a solo gallery show in the fall so Im cranking, wish me luck!!

TERMINATOR!!!

2009-04-21T18:28:00.005-04:00

Here is my piece for sketch-o-rama, I did a trillion sketches for this but ended up settling for this one. Oh well, hope you guys dig it and maybe I'll post up the rejected sketches. Got cool stuff I'm working on that I will post soon so keep it tuned in.

VAMPIRELLA!!

2009-04-07T00:23:00.002-04:00

Hey all, just finished another sketch-o-rama post, this one was tons of fun and went fairly quickly, hope you all digs!!!

TRAPJAW!

2009-04-01T00:58:00.003-04:00

Another sketch-o-rama goodie, hope ya dig it.

Who watches the Watchmen?? ME!!!!!!

2009-03-05T22:19:00.003-05:00

Sketch-o-Rama challenge=Watchmen.

Dr. Manhattan learns about the human head structure while eliminating his enemies. Such an efficient fellow!

Cobra Commander REdesign

2009-02-17T01:46:00.001-05:00

Hey all, some of my fellow artist and myself are starting sketch-o-rama back up again. Sketch-o-rama is a theme sketch blog where other awesome artist put up cool pieces based on themes we assign each other, mostly redesigns of cool characters we all love. The theme I came up with recently was to do a redesign of Cobra Commander. I'm talking about the way you envision the ruthless leader of Cobra, the most evil terrorist organization of all time!! This dude should be one badass looking bastard and personally I don't think giving him a serious breathing problem and a skin condition is quite enough for the leader of all this evil! Here's my take, hope you enjoy and I can't wait for everyone else to jump on this one!! PEACE!!!

Sushi Pack-DOUBLE TROUBE!

2009-02-05T01:04:00.004-05:00

Hey guys, so I'm trying to update this blog regularly so I'm shooting for at least once a week!

This is a book I illustrated based on a show I worked on called Sushi Pack, on air on Saturday mornings on CBS!
Working on this book was a TON of work but worth it now that it's out in book stores everywhere so pick one up if you are hanging out and checking out some books!

I'm sharing just a few of the 16 spreads I did for this book. The book is a step into reading book meant to teach kids early reading skills and it's based on an episode from season 1.

Buy one here on Amazon if you care to pick one up and show some love!!

I hope you digs and let me know what you think of course=)

Hulk Test

2009-01-27T17:39:00.003-05:00

Hey guys,

I have made a resolution(non-new years) that I will try and post something at least once a week. I will put my blogging into overdrive and start producing work like I used to. If you guys have any suggestions for themes they are more than welcome! For now this is a hulk study with me experimenting with photoshop and brushes. This took me around 30 min and it was fun. I know it is random but It was an impulse thing. Let me know what you think. Peace!

Skate-Deck Show

2009-01-12T07:43:00.004-05:00

I will be in a custom stake deck show opening next week. Here is my progress so far.

Shoparooni Plushfrom Artshow!!!

2008-11-12T14:22:00.005-05:00

Check out my custom plush I created for a local show here in Cleveland at Shoparooni, badass store!! It's up for auction so if you want total coolness to decorate your house with scoop this guy up, plus is for a good cause!

Hope you guys like it!!

Upcoming art show preview ~SOLDIERS ON BIKES~

2008-10-10T00:37:00.002-04:00

So my friend and Art Director Anthony Davila invited me recently to take part in a local art show here in Cleveland. The show will be held at a bicycle shop and the theme has to loosely include bikes. I was really struggling for a while in deciding what to do for this show, one of the draw backs of not having ONE style to just fall back on, this part of the process is always the toughest. Luckily I've been sketching in my sketchbook a ton lately and from those sketches SOLDIERS ON BIKES emerged, haha random i know! I did a test piece to see if it was going to work and i dig the result a lot and I hope you guys do too. I will actually do this traditionally with painting and collage elements. Im excited and nervous at the same time so wish me luck. Drop a line if you guys dig this.

Thor Painting

2008-09-09T12:58:00.003-04:00

So I'm back to the easel again . This time I am painting Thor the god of thunder. I will again do a process post and describe each step for you guys that enjoyed it last time. This is my very rough drawing and underpainting. I try to be as lose as possible to create gestural strokes and define masses with little limitation of details. This serves as almost a map for me to go from and then really define shapes and masses. I will now let this dry completely and go from there. I will let this piece develop very organically and take it one step at a time. I have no clue as to how much of a finished look this will have but I'm hoping once i reach that state i will just know. Hope you dig this first part and I will post the next session soon, I hope.

Experiments with Memories ~ "Taken"

2008-08-04T15:20:00.004-04:00

~Taken~

I am currently working on a series of paintings entitled Experiments with Memories.

The work mostly deals with my attempt at recalling my childhood memories with no help from physical references like photographs and such. My childhood was unique by most standards and i feel like a lot of thoughts formed inside my head that were fictional but felt real at the moment. I will elaborate on my thoughts on this theme on later posts. For now please enjoy my sketch for this piece entitled "taken".

I am thinking on posting the process for this piece but I am still debating it.
The work will be done in oils for a future gallery show.
Any thoughts are appreciated.

Much love!

HULK+sketches

2008-07-16T10:42:00.003-04:00

So a couple of us here at AG and my good friend and ex-co worker Jorge Lacera decided to do a hulk piece. Sometimes when i commit to these challenges the good illustration bug doesn't ever really strike so I end up with these endlesss sketches of randomness. Anyways I figured I'd post them anyways, I am working on an actual piece but it's iffy right now so I'm not sure if it'll ever get posted. I hope you guys like the random sketches anyways , enjoy!

MADBALLS!!

2008-06-17T12:48:00.003-04:00

We here at American Greetings Properties recently had a gallery show showcasing the relaunch of MADBALLS. Some of you guys probably remember these gross yet awesome foam balls that were o popular int the 80's. There is exciting things happening around this property and I was glad to have been asked to be a part of this show. If you guys want to check out more things madballs head over to the Madballs Central Blog. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy my piece and be on the lookout for the toy in the stores, they are really awesome gross fun . In other news I just got done with a huge freelance job that had me tied up and sleepless for months but now I will buckle down and get my butt painting and working towards a gallery show sometime in the near future. Hope you all digs!!!

Holly Hobbie Classic

2008-05-06T16:45:00.003-04:00

So here at my place of employment, American Greetings Properties, we often get to do specialty artwork for specific purposes. This is a piece I did of Holly Hobbie Classic, one of our oldest properties. I was originally supposed to do this piece in oils but with the short deadline I had to fall back and paint it digitally. There is a part of me that will never truly love this piece because it was always intended to be traditional but I think the outcome was pretty good and it gave me much needed practice with Painter. Anyways I hope you guys like it, and as always drop a line if you digs.

SHUT UP YOU STUPID KID!!!Taxday

2008-04-02T11:38:00.004-04:00

So this is my second little short starting the stupid kid. In this short stupid kid does his taxes and ends up feeling a little "light". Along with this short I am also including the original storyboard from my sketchbook and some development art as well as pencils sketches for the key poses. This is for another contest Channel Frederator is having so wish me luck !!.

ULTRAMAN!

2008-03-12T00:04:00.008-04:00

Detail.

-DAY4-
I had two or three more sessions on this painting without updates to have a bigger leap from the last stage to the final painting. The background was the hardest element to figure out.
It was a challenge because I didn't want it to be too painterly and take away from the figures and I also didn't want it to be too graphic. The figures was just a process of building on the light areas and finally adding the final highlights and details. . I definitely wanted Ultraman to be the focus of the piece so he has the most details and strong bold colors. I made the background lighter so the silhouette of the figures could stand out. Now I need to find the right frame for the piece and varnish it when its all over. The varnish will bring out all the dull colors and unify the piece making it glossy and giving it that wonderful wet look. Hope you guys enjoy the final painting and I hope I didn't bore you too much with my rants about painting. I will start work on a new painting but this one will move a lot slower and it will be a fairly big piece. ENJOY AND DROP ME A LINE IF YOU DIG IT!!

-DAY3-
I worked on the piece for about 2 1/2 hours today. First I worked on the grey areas of Ultramans costume, keeping it simple and not trying to get too light or detailed. Then I worked in the red and got it pretty far along just needing the final touches and highlights/reflections. I established a neutral background color which I will later develop into maybe smoke or something that will give interest without taking too much from the figures. I want the final color of the background to be brighter as well, because I feel it will fit the subject matter better. I glazed in a violet color on the shadows of the monster and worked a bit more in the light areas defining them a bit further. I need to let this part dry so I can go in the piece and start defining areas better with more detail and color. I'm thinking one or two more days and the piece will be finished. I'm enjoying this piece and will hopefully carry momentum into more paintings, i need to paint more and maybe it will lead into a gallery show later down the line.

On another note I saw "The History of Pixar" at the Cleveland film festival and it was amazing and inspirational. If you have a chance to check out this film please do, it's a must for any artist with a need to create quality original material.

-DAY2-
This part is where the fun really begins. Now my focus is on applying my basic light areas on the monster and a dark tone of red on some areas of the ultraman figure. Note that the light areas on the monster are very loose and I let the brush do a lot of the work for me. My objective is not to scrub paint but let the paint dictate what it wants to do. This part of the process gives the monster an organic feel and it creates crevices and other fun things that will later guide me when I am refining the light areas. Also note that the light color is still very much a mid tone just to define my lights and darks. Now I let this stage dry overnight.

I don't mean to ramble on but I figure it would be nice to share my painting process, hope you enjoy it!

-DAY1-
Day 1 was a short day of work on this painting because of pesky freelance jobs. I was basically just able to put down my acrylic base coat and once that was dry, my basic figures in oil. The trick about painting in oils is having patience, so I let this stage dry over night so the next day I am able to apply paint without the worry of taking off paint that is already there.

ULTRA MAN!! He's great, spending his time fighting monsters the size of buildings and saving the life of thousands while he's at it! I'm really exited about this piece and I'm glad to say this will be my first oil painting in a long time. This image is actually a photo of the sketch already down on the masonite ready for paint! I've never really painted anything this stylized in oils before but I'm confident I can make this work and I feel up for the challenge. Maybe I will post process pics as I go along but I haven't decided. It feels great to step away from the computer and get you hands dirty. There is so much going on as far as work and freelance so forgive me if the final takes a while but I'm hoping I can buckle down and grind this one out. Everyone stay fresh and if ya DIG IT drop a comment and say hello!

Gestures 2008

2008-02-25T22:39:00.005-05:00

So i've been taking about 20 minutes each morning recently to warm up doing gestures. Some of them are from my head, others are from reference but my objective is to try and understand the human form in a dynamic and stylized way. I'm liking the unique structure I am achieving with some of the shapes, not concentrating on traditional accuracy but a more modern and stylistic way to interpret the figure. I want to continue this practice and turn it to a daily ritual. I feel it will be extremely beneficial considering I am planning a graphic novel soon. The better I understand the figure from memory the better I will be at telling a visual story. I also included an ink drawing constructed from one of the gestures, drawing with an ink brush is fun and I don't do it enough. Hope you guys enjoy and any feedback is welcome.

SHUT UP YOU STUPID KID!!! Love Fest

2008-02-05T19:33:00.001-05:00

VOTE FOR MY SHORT AND SHOW YOUR BOY SOME LOVE!!!
(To vote just leave a comment on the video)
VOTE!!

Hey everyone, like i've blogged about before i'm slowly learning how to animate. This is a little five second animation for this contest over at Channel Frederator. It stars an original character of mine called simply, stupid kid. If you ever knew a super obnoxious and annoying kid growing up this is him. It's an amature animation but I'm learning and I hope to keep on getting better. Let me know what you think even if you just think is completely stupid. Thanks guys.

SUSHI PACK cont.

2008-01-18T12:18:00.000-05:00

Here is some more stuff I did for the Sushi Pack cartoon on CBS Saturday mornings. Full episodes will be going up on the AGKidZone website soon so if you guys happen not to catch it on CBS you can watch them anytime on the website. This year we hope to push awareness on the property so hopefully you will be seeing cool stuff coming out. I can't wait until we make toys from this show, I think they might start off as a specialty product so expect them to be awesome! This is definitely a great show thats not getting the eyeballs it deserves so i encourage you to watch some episodes and let me know what you think. I've been working on my own personal projects lately and I'm very excited about them but they need a lot of work still.
I will be starting a new full size oil painting soon and I will post the drawing for it in the coming week hopefully. Until then everyone have a great weekend !

GO JOE!!!!!

2008-01-03T20:11:00.000-05:00

SNAKEYES!! One of all my all time favorites. You can't do stormshadow and not Snakeyes now can you?? Hope ya digs!

So my friend and co-worker Saxton Moore is having a G.I. JOE contest over at channel frederator raw. I decided to do my all time faves Stormshadow and Snakeyes (Snakeyes is still in the works). Love these two, I always though they where the most badass, other than Destro that is. I have really fond memories of this show and the toys were a dream come true for a young boy like me. I had tons of fun with this one and even though the holidays got in the way I finally finished one of them and the other should be done tomorrow. Hope you guys digs and hope everyone had a good holidays. Everybody's resolution should be to post more often, I know that's what mine is=)

POWERPUFF GIRLS 10th ANNIVERSARY

2007-11-15T23:28:00.000-05:00

I got contacted by Jay Rogers, art director for Cartoon Network in ATL. for a special piece of the powerpuff girls. Apparently they do a cool in-house calendar with all their properties re-invented. They wanted a dark edgy illustrations depicting the girls in battle with a monster. I gotta say this was a lot of fun and the dudes at cartoon where a real pleasure to work with. I had fun exploring these characters and adding a little bit of me into their world. I was so excited because they wanted me to do my style(or one of them) for this piece. I think once i got the drawing down the rest just flowed and it was more or less painless. Thanks to the Cartoon Network guys. Hope you guys out there enjoy it.

SUSHI PACK PREMIERE ON CBS SATURDAY MORNIGS!!!!!

2007-11-02T17:29:00.000-04:00

FINALLY!!! After long months and crazy hours and turnaround deadlines Sushi Pack will make it's debut on CBS Saturday mornings in The Kewlopolis Block. Sushi Pack is a super group of five pieces of sushi brought to life by a freak lighting storm and now they live in an organic doughnut shop looking to fight crime and enforce peace and justice!! Don't let their size full you because these five sushis pack a BIG punch!! I mainly worked on the show as a background supervisor and character designer. DIC entertainment did the bulk of the production work but we here at AGP did the visual development and quality control. Check out fellow co-workers Saxton Moore and Jim Groman for their post on Sushi Pack artwork. It was a joy to work on this show because the style is fresh and cool and it's a fun show. I've been waiting a while to be able to share this with you guys so here you go. I'll post even more stuff later. Hope you digs!

HADOKEN!!!!!!

2007-10-19T13:29:00.000-04:00

Just a little quickie I had to get out of my system. Damn i used to be into this game!! Still am. Dont mess with Ryu!!!

Hulking Sacks10

2007-09-26T20:00:00.000-04:00

Random, very very random...my kind of animation excersice.
DISCLAIMER...I didn't come up with this dialogue!!!! I was messing around with mouth movements and showed it to a co-worker and that person came up with the quote. I just thought it was hilarious!!!

These are the small post-it drawings that started it all.

Hello all. So I've been playing with animation lately. Just messing around with Flash casually trying to learn and have fun in a very silly way. I AM NOT AN ANIMATOR. I do like trying different things though. This little short is of my good friend and colleague Saxton Moore. I really had fun doing this and I know its silly and nothing great but I learned a lot and I hope to do more and get lots better. I will be posting more soon. I hope to get better at this. Hope you guys enjoy!

Experimentations with Memories in 3-D

2007-09-10T12:21:00.000-04:00

I used this sad little boy for some ink drawings done for the Transplant show (see posts below). I am working on another group show in NYC for sometime in 2008. This was all experimentation, and doing that I started playing around with a 3-D look for some pieces. I didn't know whether it worked or not until last night. I found some old 3-D glasses and tried them on with my new pieces, to my surprice one of them was right on. I figured out what I did that made them work and duplicated that on the other piece. I'm excited about this discovery and I might do further experimentation for future pieces. The pink and blue piece is not 3-D but I thought it looked cool for maybe a t-shirt design. Maybe even without the boy. I will try and post the ink drawings done for the Transplant show at a later time. Please let me know what you guys think. I'm not entirely sure about this direction and so far its all an effort to try and discover what it is I want to say with this upcoming show. Further details will be anounced later when things get more solidified. If anyone has any 3-D glasses laying around and want to see the pieces in 3-D that would be amazing, and if you do please let me know what you think about it. Peace world!

IRONMAN

2007-08-28T00:56:00.000-04:00

I have been reading tons of great comics lately!! Marvel has its claws on me right now and I'm digging a lot of work out there. Over all i think one character is in the middle of it all right now, Ironman. He's kind of a cold blodded bastard that has a serious case of powertripping. He basically got captain america killed and recently got completely demolished by the hulk in World War Hulk, which is amazing and I recomend it to anyone! So i've been meaning to do an ironman piece and I finally got around to it. Struggled with this one for a bit at the end of the process, but overall it was really fun to do something purely for myself for a change. I feel inspired right now and I'll try to continue this momentum with other pieces. Till next time I hope you enjoy the piece and feel free to drop a line.

Freelance and ©oncepts

2007-08-22T13:50:00.000-04:00

Hello all, sorry for ignoring this blog like a bastard child, I do apologize. I have been soo crazy with freelance and work and also enjoying the summer by staying active. These are concepts and illustrations I had to do for a property called Pretty Freekin Scary developed right here in American Greetings. I am one of two illustrators working on 4-5 books for Penguin publishing and they are due out Sept. in bookstores and wallmart among other places. Fun behind the scenes stuff. Will resume with the personal work very shortly, maybe even tomorrow, but for now enjoy this filler and no, I am not dead...just blog-lazy.

ASSHOLE MOUTH

2007-06-25T14:16:00.000-04:00

Everyone knows one of these guys....now wipe your mouth.

Sorry for the lack of post lately, been crazy busy with freelance and other stuff. I've been wanting to do another framed piece and I thought this would be a good oportunity for one. Kind of discusting i know but they all kinda are. I'll try and make sure to post more often. I got a sketch-o-rama coming soon so be on the look out. Peace out!

THE RHINO: Spiderman Villain Contest

2007-05-11T14:49:00.000-04:00

Quint over at Ain't it Cool News had a contest to design to design an excisting Spiderman Villain for the next movie. The winner will get a couple of cool busts of spidey and venom. I decided to do the Rhino and really give his costume a cool new look. We also had to cast them for the movie, so I decided to go with Dwayne Johnson A.K.A the Rock. I think he would bring charisma and a level of fun that these villains need for the Spideman franshise. I love redesigning these characters and give my take on them. I had tons of fun with this image and it was a completely different way of working for me. I created paths in photoshop for each and every section of the suit to give me the cleanest possilble result. I love it. I hope to work like this more often in the future. Big things to come soon!! Till then stay fresh☻

ROBOCOP!

2007-05-03T17:06:00.000-04:00

FINAL

Initial sketches

Photoshop sketch

Tight pencil drawing
My latest post for Sketch-o-rama. This one took a while to develop but I'm pretty pleased with the result. I've started to sketch out the initial concept in photoshop because of its flexibility to make a cool pose without being restricted by the edge of the paper or anything like that. I also like to skew things and experiment in photoshop until I get something I really like. I then took this piece and did a tight pencil then a quicky digital color job. I'm posting an initial sketch as well to show were my initial look for my version came from. I'll try and post even more frequently, but till next time...peace out!!

By the way who's watching the big fight on saturday?? i got my money on Maywheater!!!

ME AM NO BIZARRO

2007-04-24T19:39:00.000-04:00

Hello again. I feel inspired as of late. I need to post more often and keep myself on a good pace with creating new artwork. I decided to do a Bizarro piece, because what is cooler than a retarded version of superman? I love the concept of bizarro and the endless ways you could interpret him. I did this piece entierly in photoshop and i like certain aspects of it but I'm not at all ready to give up the traditional goodness. Next up is a redesign of Robocop for the sketch-o-rama blog!! I cant wait to sink my teeth into this one, and check out the good work being produced for that blog. Till then enjoy and give a holler if ya feel like it!!

These are some hilarious stagings of my Bizarro having some terrible luck trying to relieve himself done by friend and animator extraordinare Saxton Moore. Yes, even Bizarros need to take leaks✪

The Thing Redesigned!

2007-04-20T09:48:00.001-04:00

Now this was a fun one here. This is a piece for the sketch-o-rama blog. The theme this week was fantastic four. I originally intended to do mr. fantastic...or my version of him Mr. Fantastico! After much sketching I started a painting of him but realized that with my schedule at the moment I would not get it done. I desided to do The Thing instead and Im pretty happy with the results. Let me know what you all think. Till next time. Peace world...we need it!!

8 MAN HOURS & Sketch-o-Rama

2007-04-05T16:41:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Back again with goodies for the eyes and mind, well maybe not so much for the mind. On Wendsday I was hanging around the studio and sat down on Jim Gromans chair conversating with a co-worker, when out of nowhere Saxton Moore pops up and points out how Im sitting on the chair in which Jim put a good solid 8 man hours! It sounded really discusting the way he put it, so I jumped up and thought of Jim farting on the chair amongst other things...hehe. Not that Jim does any of that, hes is quite the gentleman and a great guy (quite clean too!!) I got the funniest picture in my head of Jim sitting in his chair after a long day and him reverting back to Barbarian times, being as manly as ever! I was cracking up! So I had to do a charicature of that in which the character looks nothing like Jim but it is inspired my his nice mug! Jim please don't kill me but I had to!! Anyways enjoy my silly antics!!!

By the way I'm a part of the group blog sketch-o-rama made up of AGP artists. These are for that blog and we are having a blast with it and the work is pretty amazing. Please take your time and check out the good work. It is on my links at the bottom. Peace to all!!

Transplant Show/ Opening Night

2007-03-18T23:19:00.000-04:00

Entrance of the gallery

Sign that the owner of the gallery created for the show

People enjoying the work

Art review from Scene Magazine...click and read. Funny stuff!

We did live painting during the show

Me painting during the second session of the live painting

Cube painting for the transplant show

Saxtons cube painting

Sax and Dave painting.

Artist Dave Savages wall.

Painting titled "Childhood in Waiting"

Detail of panting.

My wall with my ink drawings.

Kids love the Transplant show!

Me and the beautiful Beth Brettell, thank you so much for all your help!

Me and Jorge and Chris Ryniak by my section of the gallery.

Picture of the carousel at the show.
We'll finally I'm Posting pictures from the opening night at the Asterisk Gallery of the Transplant Show. It was a great turnout and very exciting for me. I learned a lot from this experience both bad and good. I won't do another show until the work and I are ready. It was great to hear the peoples reaction of my work and a very special thank you to everyone who showed up. I didn't get a chance to photograph the work because of the rush I was under just to get the show together. I will as soon as I get a chance but for now enjoy these pics. We also got review on the weekly cleveland SCENE magazine. The review was overall good even though the dude called me an evil nazi vampire, but I guess that for my first published art review it could have been worse.

✱Transplant Art Show~Tell Your Friends!✱

2007-02-17T20:03:00.000-05:00

I will be a part of a group show coming up March 9th thought April 7th. These are the images for my promotional postcard for this show. If you are in Cleveland during this time please check it out. It will be at the

Asterisk Gallery

in Tremont. I will post the pieces on this blog as soon as the show opens. The video is from the window display we built and set up in Big Fun, a really cool toy store here in cleveland to advertise the show. Enjo¥!!

Props to the beautiful and talented Beth Brettell who designed and layed out the type and elements for the postcards and who had tremendous amounts of patience to deal with my art direction. Check out her blog on my links, you wont be sorry!

War of the Colossal Freaks of Frankenstein's Planet™

2007-01-22T22:22:00.000-05:00

Another promotional image for The Collosal FREAKS!!! This one depicts the reptilian race warrior in his natural environment. These are too much fun and there is a ton of stuff I should be doing instead but oh well. More to come, much more to come.

This is a promotional piece for this concept. The freak in this illustration is one of the elite warriors, looking over the land that he dominates, but for how long? I am currently working on a painted version of this piece so stay tuned. The logo was the creation of Jorge "Parcecles" Lacera. ENJOY!!

This is a concept me and a couple of co-workers came up with for a show that never went up. Anyways I did a whole lotta drawings and a couple of digital paintings which Im displaying in this post. The reptilian with the sword is a member of an underwater clan of freaks and the other blue warrior is from the aristrochatic section of the world, a high ranking warrior with many destructive ablilities. I might update this post with pencil drawings that never made it to photoshop. Hope you like and keep a lookout because there might be a secret surprice to come in relation to this concept.

First Post of 2007/ Happy New Years to All!

2007-01-03T14:34:00.000-05:00

Well the new year is here and for once I have a good feeling about this one. I had a great time in New York celebrating with some of my best friends and fellow artist. Man that city can really wear you out! This post consist of sketchebook drawings of the random kind. I have started to really get into animation and it's history recently, therefore my drawings are transitioning into a more animated style. I learned this great technique from Saxton Moore for drawing and designing characters. The technique consists of drawing solid random shapes of all forms and sizes and then fitting a face into the shape. I think this technique allows for simpler and more pleasing design while staying away from your old habits, therefore a more original fresh look. I want to wish everyone the best for the coming year and please enjoy the work.

P.S. New and exciting stuff in the works so please check back soon.

SKETCH DUMP

2006-12-06T22:09:00.000-05:00

So I pretty much sketch co-workers everyday, most of the time people that are unfortunate enough to be in a meeting with me. I tend to exaggerate WAY too much so please if you are the subject of a drawing here don't get insulted. I like finding shapes and having confident lines. I work with quite colourful characters so if the sketches have personality it is because of them not my drawings. Saxton Moore sits riht next to me and works with me in many projects so I find myself drawing him quite often. Check out his blog, www.sacks10.blogspot.com. I hope you guys enjoy these, I know I did.

P.s. just added a couple of sketches I intended of posting earlier, one is of good friend and co-worker Jim Groman. The other is of writer extraordinare Rick Rising. Hope u like, and Jim, please don't kill me.

Cinderella Painting

2006-11-01T16:06:00.000-05:00

I'm back at oils again!! I am so happy to have been afforded the opportunity to paint in oils again. I got commissioned to paint my interpretation of cinderella. I wanted it to have a classical feel and felt inspired by J.W. Waterhouse. I learned many things about painting in oils in a short period of time. I had minor problems with paint not drying and preparing the piece for framing. Everything worked out in the end and the person it was for loved it so I feel like I accomplished my goal. I will keep on track and start on a number of new pieces. Man digital does NOT compare to painting traditional. Hope u guys like it!

Darth Vader Redesign

2006-10-25T16:49:00.000-04:00

INTERIOR: REBEL BLOCKADE RUNNER -- MAIN HALLWAY. The awesome, seven-foot-tall Dark Lord of the Sith makes his way into the blinding light of the main passageway. This is Darth Vader, right hand of the Emperor. His face is obscured by his flowing black robes and grotesque breath mask, which stands out next to the fascist white armored suits of the Imperial stormtroopers. Everyone instinctively backs away from the imposing warrior and a deathly quiet sweeps through the Rebel troops. Several of the Rebel troops break and run in a frenzied panic.

Me and a couple of co workers(Jim Groman and Jorge Lacera) thought it might be cool to redesign Darth Vader. It was fun to think of it as if he was never designed before and all we had to go by was the passage that first describes him in the script. I was hesitant at first because how could u hope to redesign something so cool and iconic but then i thought fuck it lets do it. It was more fun than i thought and i hope you guys like it.

HAIL TO THE FREAK!

2006-10-03T14:18:00.000-04:00

So finally a traditional painting once more! This is the painting I spoke of in the last post. The show failed to go up because of some stupid shit but thats besides the point. Going back to acrylics wasn't really as hard as I thought it would be. It was a lot of fun and I kinda just went with this drawing without too much thought behind it. The show was supposed to be about freaks so it was an excuse to do a fun character. I didn't have much time to do it so it made me work fast and not overthink or over noodle shit. I am hoping to do quite a bit more in the immediate future. Till then enjoy this one and feel free to drop me a line.
P.S. This is the final custom vinyl toy I did for the Grumpy Freak Show held here at the American Greetings world headquaters. The show was awsome and it raised a lot of money for a good cause. Check out the blog from my links to see other great Grumpys.

VENOM!!!

2006-09-19T02:17:00.000-04:00

We'll this one was lots of fun! He is just a fun character to explore and i like pushing things to make them my own. Another semi-quick painting in photoshop. I think once the texture was added the whole picture really pulled itself together. I hope you guys are enjoying these villains. I think for the next few posts i'm going to mix things up. I recently completed an acrylic painting for a busted show that failed to go up...oops...wasn't my fault. Now this painting resides at my workarea in AG. As always feedback is appreciated. Hope you like!

Watch OUT!!! It's the Penguin!!

2006-09-08T00:57:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone. Again this is a quick painting done last night for fun and practice. Keeping up with my theme of villains this is my interpretation of the Penguin, Batman's classic villain. I thried playing with the composition a little more but since it was quick it doesn't really matter if its not the greatest composition. I had fun and i hope you guys like it. Feedback always much appreciated.

DOOM!!!

2006-08-28T02:47:00.000-04:00

This is basically just a quick painting done in a couple of hours last night. Nothing too fancy but still fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

The Red Skull!

2006-08-10T22:07:00.000-04:00

Well my first week at American Greetings is almost over. Finally getting a little settled and lookikng to get the ball rolling. I am planning on doing a series on villains as a self promotional tool and see what happens from there. Hope you guys enjoy this one. I had a lot of fun with it and it was a good get away when I got home. Leave one if you feel like it.

Cleveland Bound.

2006-08-04T02:39:00.000-04:00

Three Red Bulls, seven hundred miles, two ciggys, multiple rice crispies threats, seventy dollars in gas, and one hotel room. My first day of two from this trip was pretty smooth. I was excited that the hotel had internet and since I got off the road around seven thirty, I actually got a little painting done. Totally different than anything I will do at American Greetings but I enjoy mixing things up. I already feel more creative being more north, and I must say that the people just get nicer and nicer the northern you get, or is that just me? I'm excited about living in Cleveland, (yeah Cleveland) especially because I will be a part of a very talented team of illustrators. I'm honored. Saxton Moore, Jorge Lacera, James Groman, Kelle Riley, amongs others are incredibly talented and creative. You don't believe me, just check out their blogs though my links. Mauricio I must say that I missed you and thought about you buddy, good luck in N.Y. Anyways I will definetly be updating this thing way more often with hopefully a lot better stuff than this painting, but hey, it's just a blog!

SENIOR THESIS!!

2006-04-29T14:18:00.000-04:00

Catcher in the Rye

The Picture of Dorian Grey

Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde

Sleepy Hollow

Moby Dick
Ok. The time I've been waiting for for four years finally arrived! This Thursday was the opening of our senior illustration show. I must say it was a big success and a great showing of a variety of works. Now it's time to move on to the real world and put my skills to use. These paintings are all roughly 24x31 oils on masonite. I decided to do illustrations based on classical literature because I felt the subject was rich in imagery and substance. It was nice to paint so much and fairly big. It was also nice to have a consistent style and one that I enjoyed immensely. The process was long and tedious but seeing the final products up on the wall made all the hard work worth it. I would like to thank all my amazing peers here at school for providing infinite inspiration to me, you guys are truly amazing and I wish you the best from the bottom of my heart. To everyone else thank you for visiting my blog and I truly hope you enjoy these works! Please feel free to drop me a comment. Prints are definitely available for purchase. I DID IT!!!

Illustration Show!

2006-04-24T02:43:00.000-04:00

Finally the Illustration Show is on Thrusday! Four years of schooling and it comes down to this. I have to say it's been quite a ride. If youre going to the show I hope you enjoy yourselves. See you guys there!!

New Sketchbook Marker Drawings!

2006-04-13T01:11:00.000-04:00

Like I said in a previous post, I've been drawing in my sketchbook like a mad man. I don't know where this is all coming from or what's inspiring me do draw this much, especially in a time like this when i should probably be working on other stuff. I guess I just need a release from everything going on right now, like trying to find a job and getting thesis ready. This style is fun and it allows me to design as well as draw and I'm enjoying myself. Anyways I hope you guys like these and drop a line if you feel like it.

Double Dragon!

2006-04-10T16:01:00.000-04:00

Hey this was a lot of fun!! I actually started with a more realistic and rendered drawing, but decided that sucked and that I needed to stylize the piece. I'm pretty happy with the results and I think the illustrator element really adds something to the design. Let me know what you guys think, feedback is always appreciated.

Pool Shark!

2006-04-05T22:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I took a break from the portrait series but I still had fun with this one. Mucha was a big inspiration for the type of woman I chose. This is pretty simple but I liked the drawing so I wanted to keep it as much as possible. Check out the story behind this piece at Blogarians, it's a heart breaker. Anyways, I hope you guys like it and feel free to drop me a line.

Ok so heres a version without the diagram. I also darkened the background and added a pattern. Let me know what you guys think. I personally will probably still go for the one with the diagram, but thats just me.

Recent Sketchbook Work!

2006-04-03T01:30:00.000-04:00

I recently got a new sketchbook and I've been burning through the pages. I figured I'd post just a few pages right now and then some more later. Let me know what you guys think, hope you like!

Arabian Thief Concept

2006-03-29T01:02:00.000-05:00

Now this is the worst of the worst!! The kind of guy that would buy you a beer and then stick you witht the tab...you know... THAT kind of scum!! Don't let this guy around your sister, ever. Someone you do not want to be associated with.

-Anyways this guy was fun to come up with, Hope you guys like! More to come soon...

Employee of the Month

2006-03-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

I'm learning something new everytime I do one of these portrait illustrations. I pushed this one a little bit more than the others and hopefully that will continue as I keep on doing these. I would love to hear what you guys think about this direction and any comments or critisisms you might have.

-Also my good friend and amazing artist Clayton Stillwell just got his blog, so make sure to check him out in my links if you like incredible drawings and paintings!

Back to the basics...

2006-03-22T00:13:00.000-05:00

I haven't drawn the figure in a long time. I love painting but it was nice to go back and draw again to gain new perspective. This drawing was about 45 min. to an hour. I'm going to miss drawing from the model once school is done with. Hopefully wherever I go I can find a place to keep on practicing good ol' observational drawing from a live model. Hope you like!

Circus Freak: "The Real Four Eyes"

2006-03-18T21:35:00.000-05:00

Im liking this frame element. I feel that it gives the piece instant history. It also allows me to experiment with photoshop and really explore the possibilities. If you want to read a brief story of this character then check out the piece at the Blogarians.