So another Free Comic Book Day has come and gone, and once again, Captain Blue Hen Comics turned in an incredible performance! From what I understand, roughly 1400 people came through the doors, most of them families with kids. And again, we artists spent the entire time sketching for kids and not-quite-kids-anymore-but-that's-OK. It was nonstop lines of people, and everyone seemed to have a great time. The CBH folks had their yearly food drive, and did very well for the community. This store and its people do so many great things that go far beyond just selling comic books, and that's only one of the many reasons I return every year. Thanks to Joe Murray, and his entire crew for inviting me to once again be a part of the festivities! Also, thanks to all the fans who came by to say hi, asked for my humble drawings, and who contributed to a terrific cause (or two or three!)!
Now, onto some art. I did a pretty good job of photographically chronicling the sketches I did. I recently got a new camera for myself, and am very happy with the clarity of the photos. This is a fantastic alternative to having to buy a portable scanner! It's also nice to finally have some new art to post, even if they're "just" sketches. So, here are some of the day's pieces:
A kind of sneaky looking Roboy Red. My first Roboy of the day.
This guy's name is Rico, and I was asked to draw him with a stick of dynamite. I'm not sure why, but I complied. I like the way it turned out, and had a good time drawing it. I should also mention that the pose was totally swiped from the reference provided (with apologies to the original artist).
OK, so this guy comes up to me, and says, "I have this sketchbook of characters jumping over stuff. Can you do something for it?" Uh, ok... So I ask him if I can see what others have done so far... "Um, well, you're the first artist I've asked!" Oh boy, talk about pressure! Well, I think it's a respectable effort, and it was cool to be able to draw a car in the shot! Please bear in mind that I drew this with a line waiting for me, so I didn't take as much time as I would have liked. I think the sketch has some issues, but I might revisit the pose another time, as I like the concept. It would be neat to see what I could do with it, if I had the amount of time I'd normally spend on an image. I'm grateful that the recipient thought it was cool!
Rich does manga! Of course, I have no clue who this character is, but it was fun to do the style.
This guy is an actor on some popular TV show, I'm told. I wish I could remember his name, or the show's name, but I suffer from television awareness deficiency these days... unless it involves Thomas the Tank Engine, Curious George, or the like, I'm ignorant. Maybe you readers can identify him from the photo reference under the sketch, and make a game of it! See? I now have an interactive, fun blog! In any event, I was asked to do a more realistic looking sketch, and this is what I came up with for the her. It was kind of fun to do a likeness in this venue. Not typical, as I'm normally asked to draw comic book characters on Free Comic Book Day... go figure!
I really like the way this chunky/clunky Roboy sketch came out. A little different than the way I usually draw him.
An oldie but a goodie. Steel was my first comics gig, back in 1993. Mike Clarke, who wrote
this terrific piece about the day at CBH, requested this from me at the end of the day. I was happy to be able to stroll down Memory Lane with this one.
Jamar is ALWAYS camera aware. I swear, he looked up from drawing for just a fraction of a second, just as I took this shot, then looked right down at his sketch again. There was no way he could have known I was about to snap it. I'm going to begin calling him "Radar!"
My setup at the end of the day. The cup was actually used as a circle template on one of the early sketches of the day. I'd be foolish to keep a filled cup near my drawing area... ahem... moving on...
So, that's my wrap. It was such a fun time, and again, many thanks to everyone involved. This really helped gear me up for convention season, which is almost upon me. I'm looking forward to some wonderful shows this summer, all of which I'll alert everyone to here, in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I'll have another art post coming up shortly, so please stop back soon! Thanks!
Best,
Rich
