Seuss Trek Wednesday!

I’m dropping in for a moment to share a couple more fun moments of Trekkieness here at the Bunny Factory.

First up, a sketch cover I did at the convention this weekend.  A fan got a Shatner signature on a blank Star Trek cover, and asked me to fill in the space above it with a portrait of Kirk and his ship above.  I get asked to do likenesses a lot in my work a lot (Mad Magazine, Batman 66, Dexter, Star Trek) but it’s never as easy to a good likeness sitting at a convention floor working from a little phone-google image of the celeb.  Fortunately, the fan brought with him a nice big shot of Shatner’s handsome mug, and it turned out okay.

Second:  We sold a few copies of David Gerrold’s TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES book, (the one with the all-new Tybunny cover art) at the convention….but we only had the softcover version at our table, and no one got to see the FULL wraparound cover that included Koloth bathing in the vile, barking, headless rats (his words, not mine).  Well, since I drew six zillion tribbles, and my devoted wife coloured six zillion tribbles, you have to see them all six zillion tribbles.

 

so there.

And it’s nice to announce that my latest Star Trek-adjacent project (with oft mentioned Trek Legend David Gerrold), “OH THE PLACES YOU’LL BOLDLY GO”  is gangbustering its way around Kickstarter.

But like all things Kickstarter-y, we need  your help to feed the beast (and yes, I’m referring to my teenage children).  If you’re hoping to see the love child of a Grinch and a Horta, or ever wondered how Thing One and Thing Two would deal with the Prime Directive, this is the book for you.

Check out the details HERE.

Ty the Guy OUT!

I’m drawing a cover that features the Bat-Eared Fellow this week, and promoting my Star Trek project, so of course the Bonus Moment is…

 

Pre-Con Sketchcover Commissions 2016

I generally only do commissions on-site at conventions but after a number of requests, I did some in advance last year. I was pleased at the results (I like working at home in my drawing chair!) so I’ll be doing it again this year. At the moment, I’m limiting this to sketchcovers. As long as a convention is still listed, I’ll be taking commission requests for it but I am limiting numbers for each con.

March

Toronto Comicon March 18 – 20

APRIL

Emerald City Comicon April 6 – 10

Calgary Entertainment & Comic Expo April 28 – May 1

(More to be added as they’re announced)

At this time I’m only planning on doing sketchcovers. I do have some sketchcovers in stock; if you want something else, I will see if I can get it from my LCS (and will let you know the added cost).

Single figures are $60, Two figures are $90, ink, markers and copics.

The blank sketchcovers I currently have on hand are:

Batman 66 #23

Batgirl #38

Superman #32 

A-Force Secret Wars #001

The Flash #39

Wolverine #310

Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #001

Wonder Woman #19

Wonder Woman #36 

Justice League #16

 

All covers will be available for pick-up ONLY at the convention. Payment can be in cash at the convention or you can PayPal me before pickup.

If you’re interested, send me an email at tybunny@gmail.com and tell me which blank, and what you’re looking for. I’ll confirm with you before I start anything.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Convention Sketches I don’t hate.

I always hate my convention sketches.

1)  I don’t draw particularly well to begin with, and

2) I’m always seated near Leonard Kirk, the KING of the con-sketch.

Both of those factors lead me to cringe at almost every convention sketch I see scanned and put up online.  But this last weekend, I actually did a handful that didn’t suck.

The above shot of Indiana Jones was done for a fan named Derek Jagt, who went around the convention asking all the artists for a drawing of Indy.  Obviously, I couldn’t draw one out of my head, but when presented with a reference photo, I did this in about fifteen minutes, with two grey markers and a Faber-Castell artist pen.  I’m not sure I completely caught Harrison Ford’s likeness as perfectly as I would have, given another hour or so, but what I like about it is the very casual line work all through the sketch.  When I do a portrait, I tend to tighten up, but this has some of that easy movement one might see in a Mort Drucker piece.  I’m not in his league, but every now and then, I can see what I’m doing to get there.

On the more whimsical side of things, here’s a sketch cover  I did for Jason Truong, a friend of the blog.  Whenever I do Wolverine, The Thing, Nick Fury or Howard the Duck, I always insist on the cigar, since they’re not allowed to smoke in the comics any more.

Even if it’s Chibi Baby Wolverine.  He’s a mutant, he’s got the healing power for when he starts coughing up the phlegm.

There were one or two others that didn’t suck from the weekend.  I did one with V for Vendetta that wasn’t awful.  But I don’t have a scan of that one.

Back to drawing in my home studio…where I get to use an eraser and white out if I don’t like how it’s going.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your BONUS Con Sketches:

I’m serious about not sitting next to Leonard Kirk at a convention if you have any pride.  Look at the sort of thing Len considers a “con sketch”.

It makes you want to break his fingers, except he’s a very nice guy.  GRRR.

Booster Gold! Booster Gold! Booster Gold!

I know I’m supposed to get all excited about the Thor movie, and the Green Lantern movie, and the Herbie the Fat Fury movie, like everyone says I’m supposed to, but my reactions so far have been “meh”.

But when I saw these pictures of Eric Martsolf as Dan Jurgen’s excellent character, Booster Gold from the upcoming episode of Smallville (April 22), I couldn’t help myself – I started grinning from ear to ear.

It’s not just that they get it so, so right– the actor is perfect, the costume is perfect, the sponsor patches, the goggles, the whole thing….it’s that this is a fairly obscure little character from the DC files that you just don’t expect to ever see adapted as a live action version.  That makes it a joyful surprise, instead of just another example the cynical Hollywood money spigot at work.

For those who don’t know, Booster Gold has a permanent place in my heart, and I never get too far away from him (such as the convention sketch from last year, above).  Inking some issues of Dan Jurgen’s original Booster Gold series was my first DC gig, and Booster was one of the main characters on my penciling run of JLA a few years after that.   I’ve written him into stories for no reason other than I felt like it, drawn him in animated covers, and even did art for a Booster Gold Role Playing Game thing back when people still played these…

 

Cover by Jurgens and Templeton. Booster Gold obscura!

So it’s probably that combination of pleasant surprise and personal connection to the character, but I’m a giddy child waiting for this show to air – on the 22nd of this month!  I’ll let you know what I think of it after I see it!  Look at all the exclamation points!

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your Booster Gold Bonus moment…try not to feel too icky.

The image comes from PORTALCOMIC.com but the page this comes from is fairly NSFW, so careful websurfers!

Wizard World Toronto, a little convention art, and the GREATEST CON SKETCH OF ALL TIME!

Uncle Ty's Convention Sketches. Ready in just FIVE MINUTES

I just got back from Wizard World Toronto, and boy, are my arms not tired.

Not because I live in Toronto (and the flight back wouldn’t affect my shoulders, get it?)  but because I spent the weekend, not sketching particularly much.  No more than thirty  sketches over a three day weekend, and at a big convention, I usually do fifty on the Saturday alone!   At first I

One of my less embarrassing con sketches of Kara Zor-el.

thought it was me…did I have a piece of meatloaf hanging off my face?  Did I wear my misanthropy on my sleeve too obviously, or was it the whiff of urine on my street clothes?

No, it was happening to almost everyone at Toronto Wizard Con, (other than Dale Keown and Richard Pace, who seemed to have a crowd around for a while on Saturday, and Adi Granov, who had a minor crowd on Friday).  The attendance was thin, and mostly wrestling fans there to see the Iron Sheik and his pals.  It’s always a bad sign when you start doing sketches for the other con guests or dealers because neither they, nor you, have anything else to do for the next ten minutes.

Too bad… The Wizard folks were nice to us.  LOVELY volunteers, good people…they set up my bootcamp lesson/con panel and promoted it (surprisingly well attended, thank you), and were handing out the water and smiles.   It was Wizard’s first big convention in Toronto, and I was rooting for them.  Let’s hope there’s a few tweaks

Fans love Batgirl. And a lot of fans like her bum. I do what I'm requested...

and fixes before next year rolls around, and the thing rivals San Diego in the future.

The low point came on Saturday when some douche-twerp couldn’t resist the demon on the shoulder telling him to pull a fire alarm.  It emptied out the convention center in the middle of Saturday afternoon—taking nearly an hour to sort out whether we were burning up in a fire, or doing the world’s biggest HOKEY POKEY.   Not everyone came back when it was over.   Hats off the perished souls of Wizard Con Toronto, 2010—you will be remembered.

Highlights include:   being seated next to Gail Simone and Her Mysterious Husband, with Dave Ross to my left, and Kent (Planet of the Apes) Burles to my right.  With things a tad slow, I got to hang with the legendary Gail Simone and Her Mysterious Husband, and  got to see Dave Ross’s new pencils for an amazing Star Wars comic he’s working on, and  laugh with the always

A very non-Adventures style Joker. Dig that crazy haircut.

charmingly French Canadian, Yanick Paquette, and drool over piles of just gorgeous AGENTS of ATLAS original art by my buddy Leonard Kirk.   Len is one of those illustrators I’m openly jealous of, partly because he does THE best convention sketches on the planet

The rule with me at a con is, you get the sketch for free, but it’s done in five minutes.  That way, everyone who wants one gets one, and I give back a little for the fans.  You guys deserve it.  But we artists rarely get to see our con sketches after we let you have ‘em.   About one out of ten, I pull one off that I wish I could hold onto…it captured just the right gleam in Joker’s eye, or the right gesture as Robin jumps off a building.  I sometimes ask if the fan could scan it for me and send me a copy when they get home, but after twenty years of doing this, I have less

Must...eat....brains...unless....there's....donuts....

than a dozen scans of con sketches to show you, and hardly the best of the best.

Zombie Homer is the only one from this year,  as I used to think my BONGO contract forbids sketching the Simpsons, but Ken Wheaton (fellow toiler in Springfield) informs me, I can doodle inside published Simpsons books, just not regular sketch books and on blank pieces of paper…  Ken had a PILE of copies of TREEHOUSE OF HORROR: DEAD MAN’S CHEST for people to buy, so I did more Simpsons doodles this weekend than anything else.

As promised, here’s my favorite con sketch of all time, and the recipient was lovely enough to send me one.

A once-in-a-lifetime-art team.

It was in Paris, and I was seated in between Bernie Wrightson, Neal Adams, and Scott Hampton.  A group of BATMAN artists were touring through Belgium, France and Switzerland and enjoying all the lovely sauces we got with every meal, when some Euro-fan asked if Mr. Wrightson minded inking

Another Paris sketch from '92, featuring Tintin and the original appearance of ELSEWORLDS T-SHIRT BATMAN, seen last month!

the Batman portrait/sketch I had just done for him.  Watching my meager sketch be inked by Bernie was mind blowing enough, but then watching Scott Hampton add those moody water colours, I came this close from stealing the image back for myself…I have the scan though, and I share it here with you guys…the word’s only Templeton/Wrightson/Hampton collaboration.

Neal Adams did not participate in the sketch, but I have something better from Neal…something I’ll show you guys in a future post.  I have to keep the suspense going SOMEHOW.

Ty the Guy

Oh, and PS:  This week, I’m promoting this new Simpsons collection, NOW ON SALE.  I’ve got a fun pin-up inside, and the rest of the book is okay too, I suppose, if you like hysterical comic books.

In hardcover. Kirby says: "Don't Ask! Just Buy It!"

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