The Little Mermaid
Once an actress for the live action movie was announced, I just HAD to do my version. Ever notice, though, that the animated Sebastian doesn’t look like an actual crab?
A little while ago, Jimmy Fallon did a sketch on the Tonight Show that combined the "Peanuts" characters with the "Riverdale" show, which inspired me to rethink Shultz's classic crew. Not just in my style, but also to age them up a bit (more middle school than high, though). I sketched them out and then left it sitting for-EVER. Recently, I finally got the urge to finish it up.
Vintage Black Comic Book Heroes: Chisholm Kid
Over the last couple of years, I worked on some projects that really got me thinking. First, there was a mom who commissioned me to illustrate and design some fabric patterns so she could make bed sheets for her kids — one set featuring black female superheroes and the other with black male superheroes — simply because everything else in the market place only featured white heroes. I could just imagine these kids thinking, Spider-man and Batman are cool and all, but are there any heroes who look like me? I'll admit, I knew nothing about most of the characters we used, but researching them was very enlightening! I discovered so many fascinating, complex heroes that rivaled any of the more popular ones. If only they had the chance to find a bigger audience. Then, after the massive success of the "Black Panther" movie, another client of mine, PureCostumes.com, asked me to illustrate a blog graphic of black superheroes who also deserved their own movie (4 from Marvel, and 4 from DC). Once again, I was introduced to some more great characters I'd never heard of. (Both this one and the bed sheets should be in my Deviant Art gallery somewhere, if you're interested). Finally, I recently discovered some older, relatively unknown black comic characters from the 50s, 60s and 70s who, while not superheroes, followed characters every bit as compelling. There were westerns and romance, detectives and spies! Too cool to ignore, I had to start a series of my own, just for fun. Hope you enjoy!
Inktober 08: Young Kiowa woman
I’m already tired of doing these celebrity portraits, so since OKC has finally and rightfully declared today as Indigenous Peoples Day I thought I’d do something different. (I was friends with these two groovy Kiowa sisters growing up, so I guess I’m kinda partial to that tribe...)
Inktober 02: Emma Watson
I’ve decided not to do portraits of just anyone for Inktober but people I admire. So why Emma Watson? First, she’s HERMIONE, duh (a badass character in her own right). But also because she seems so incredibly bright, kind, strong (with, let’s face it, a killer fashion sense). Her whole “book fairy” thing alone is brilliant. A far better role model for youth than any Kardashian.
Inktober 01: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Every year that I try this, I end up wanting to draw full-on comic strips, which takes way more time and effort than I can afford to spend. So in an effort to keep it quick and simple, I thought, why not just do portraits? And to start, I couldn't think of a better subject than one of my favorite human beings.