Heya

On the urging of my wifebot(tm), and friend Twowingsmambo, and assorted Friends of Robot on the forum that have inquired if all I do is superhero stuf, and if it always looked like this…

…I’ve finally gotten around to digging out drawings and junk that hasn’t really fit the TRDL brand, per se, but I consider formative. I peak behind the TRDL curtain… I’ll post a bit here and there as I scan it. Some, like today’s, will be sketches done for amusement. Others will be my earlier comic art from childhood. Still others will be autiobiographical illustration.

So, for those with an interest… read on!

:::

The first item I have for you from the Vault is MOJO.

In college, I worked at a rental company… one half heavy construction equipment, one half bridal rentals (makes perfect sense, I know) and if not for Friend of Robot Muadib, I’d have probably gone insane. Anyway, as if this matter/antimatter clash wasn’t difficult enough (greasy fingerprints on the showroom linens, hysterical brides staggering in mules around the back lot in search of our wedding chairs, but stumbling into a decommissioned ride-on tiller being disemboweled) we had a curious problem in the dishroom. Whoever we had doing dishes (they come back from the wedding events dirty, we washed and nuked them into semi-cleanliness) would eventually wig out, have some sort of psychotic break, and either quit… or just flee. EVERY one.

We got to joshin’ about it, Muadib and I, and determined that there was some sort of unseen gremlin in there, smearing grime on previously cleaned glassware, hitting the ground-fault on the steamer, stealing the plastic bags, shattering all the champagne flutes, etc. This critter became eventually known as Mojo, and this wes an illustration I did one day, and … Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL – Thomfoolery from the Vault 03
2. TRDL- Thomfoolery from the Vault Part 2 (BIG)
3. TRDL- Thomfoolery From the Vault, Part 3 (Wide)

This piece was done as a gift to the Commission Arts Central Yahoo Group. We created a poll to see which of the ’52′ characters the members wanted to see in the Yahoo Group’s main page illustration. Though several characters received votes, Power Girl was first and Booster a moderate second, and I decided to include both and take Booster down a notch. He seems like a guy who would be threatened by Power Girl…

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute: Power Girl 2009
2. TRDL Tribute: Power Girl [TRDL Redesign]
3. TRDL Tribute: Power Girl 2

This was a commission celebrating the client’s love of ole Shellhead and his many foes. We chose to use the Silver Centurion armor for a little variety, and most of the villains’ costumes are more or less representative of that time period in continuity. This was originally designed to be a larger image, and in full size it’s 18 x 24 but I created a smaller version for sharing. Iron Man was always my favorite character growing up, and this was the first time in years I got to draw some of his rogues gallery. My favorite detail are the pulse bolt burns on Titanium Man’s chestplate…

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute – Xartherian Org Battle Carapace
2. TRDL 2011 No. 5 – Iron Man Series – Modular Armor
3. TRDL Tribute: Madame Masque (Iron Man Adventures)

This was done for a longtime client of mine, Pinapoe, who has several pieces of fanfic under his belt. The subject of this commission is the Silver Samurai, longtime X-Men foe and Yakuza warlord who, in recent convoluted continuity, either is or isn’t in cahoots with Viper and the Hand.

Anyway, the client’s desire was for us to see Samurai despondent and in aguish, his business clothes and elements of armor discarded around him, his daito shattered and his shoto (short sword) before him. The client wanted to see him displaying all manner of gangland Yakuza ink, and this was what made this one so fun. My first pass at the character’s tattoos used more of an international collection of ink styles, and Pinapoe wanted to see more traditional Japanese tats, so I did a second version continuing the theme of his right arm’s ink work. I also did two versions of the finished piece, both dawn/sunset/long-shadow, and a twilight, darker version.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute: Silver Sable
2. TRDL Commission – Silver Surfer and Stardust
3. TRDL Tribute: Silver Surfer [New Years 09]

hello crew.

i hope this is not a dumb question. i didn’t try it.

are blue lines really invisible for scanner? can i ink direktly on this sketches?

what kind of pencil is it?

or am i studip?

please help.

t.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. Photoshop non-photo blue specifications…
2. TRDL Character Factory, No. 51: The Blue Islander
3. TRDL 2011 Holiday Con Sketch – Blue Devil

This was done, thanks to a nice synchronicity, for both the R3 This Week jam and the Character Jam on CHCC.

I chose to illustrate a TRDL-ified version of the character as she appears in the Avengers cartoon. I was going for sleek and nimble and cat-writhey, sort of bound up in that way that cats sometimes do right before a nice stretch. Anyway, hope you like it!

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute – C-3P3 and Tolebacca
2. TRDL Tribute: Amy Shaftoe [Cryptonomicon]
3. TRDL Tribute: Dazzler

This was a commission done for a long-term client. The character shown is Spiral of Mojoworld, from the X-Men books of the 90′s. The client had requested Spiral doing some bellydancing action on a cliff face by candlelight. He was very specific about the details he wanted to see, and as always, it was great to have such a knowledgeable client with a singular vision. We discussed some placement and composition details, the use of hentai and jewelry, and so on, and I think the end result pleased him. The one stumbling block I hit on this one was that in order to do candlelight, the shadows became very extreme and upcast on her body in ways that detracted from the detail and color you see here. I decided to remove the shadow and lighting castonto her body from the candlelight, and allow her to be generally illuminated on her own, and lightened the general light levels in the piece so it wouldn’t contrast as much. I think it strikes a decent balance between atmospheric lighting and legibility for the viewer.

A word of warning, there is mild nudity here (topless, but not sexual in context) so I’ve included it on my main illustration site. Cheers!

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute – Skrulls! [TRDL Alert!]
2. Temporary Service Stymie Alert
3. TRDL Tribute: Cherie

This was done for the This Week Jam.

Subject: Samus Aran, the wily blonde bombshell pilot in the Metroid Prime.

I noted the evolution of this character’s design over time changed as technology changed in the game graphics. Metroid started as just this little robot type warrior running around, then was outed as a female pilot in the sprite graphics days, and then as the game evolved, they offered cooler and cooler splash art and marketing images showing Samus in her smart orange ‘pilotwear’ which would change over time from body suits to shorts again, change colors, etc as her hairstyle morphed long with it. I chose this version of the character because I was inspired by one piece of splash art of her sitting on a window ledge or whatever, which I thought was the best of the bunch. I couldn’t miss an opportunity to draw some armor, so I snuck that in as well. Hope you like it!

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute: Oni
2. Should I do more Dystopia Characters?
3. TRDL Game Mechanics FAQ

This week’s Jam selection was the Scarlet Spider… aka Ben Reilly…aka the Spider-Clone.

This is a second illustration I did for the Scarlet Spider jam on the R3 Forum.

Actually, it was the first piece. But anyway. Marvel zombies will recognize all characters here. Cult film types will recognize the quote. Most of you, probably both.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute – Scarlet Witch: No More Robots 02
2. TRDL Tribute – Scarlet Witch: No More Robots 01
3. TRDL Tribute: Scarlet Witch

This week’s Jam selection was the Scarlet Spider… aka Ben Reilly…aka the Spider-Clone.

Love or hate that storyline, you have to admit that it made waves on the Spider-Man titles for a long time, and frankly, the sheer audacity of the concept has to be respected. Here, a little cross-genre thom-foolery for you.

You can see this illustration herein the TRDL Tribute Gallery.

Follow this topic in the R3 Forum
here!… Read on for more awesome…

Related posts:

1. TRDL Tribute: Bastila Shan [Star Wars: KotOR]
2. TRDL Tribute: Scarlet Witch 2
3. TRDL Tribute – Gwen Stacy + The Spider