THE MAKING OF AN AVATAR Creating "Captain Actuary" Part two

In My previous post I explained how I crashed and burned on an assignment because I made the mistake of putting "more of myself" into the project than was neccessary. In This Next attempt, I restudied the picture, and decided to draw it with "more estrogen" in mind than Testosterone.

STEP ONE ROUGH SKETCHING
Like in the previous example, I still sketched very rough and very fast in order to ride that wave of emotion neccesary to get the life into the drawing. THIS time, I was thinking on a more whimsical level. As a result, my line quality is less sharper, more rounded.

STEP TWO TIGHTENING UP THE ROUGH
Here is where I really start finding the forms. I concentrated a lot more on making things more proportionate, although there is still a level of exaggeration. The Abbacus has more of a prominent role, and Ali, The Allosaurus, has a more "Dino Essque" feeling about him. The facial proportions are a lot more "human" looking, the dreadful Hood on the cape thing is gone, and I've also payed a lot more attention to the "CA " Insignia on his chest. Remembering that he is a runner, with very well developed leg muscles, I wanted to emphasize that, so I put him in running shorts and shoes, showing off the bare legs. To add more comic relief i reasoned that if I was riding a dinosaur he would feel pretty rough, Hence, the addition of the pillow.

FINALLY COLOR!
It goes without saying that Coloring is the best part of the whole thing! Once satisfied, I immediately mailed it off to the client who went absolutely nuts over it!

If theres any lesson to be learned here, its that you should always please the customer first when doing freelance work. Dont be afraid to be critical of your work, take a step back and observe it, you may surprise yourself.

It goes without saying that If you want your own Cartoon Avatoar where i make you into a superhero you, or just plain cartoon you, dont hesitate to drop me a line!

cartoons4u2@aol.com

THE MAKING OF AN AVATAR Part One Creating "Captain Actuary" By Subwaysurfer

"...I WANT YOU TO MAKE AN AVATAR OF MY BOYFRIEND, HE'S AN ACTUARY!..."
I recieved this email from an enthusiastic female client, who wanted to surprise her Actuary Boyfriend with a unique Valentines Day Gift in the form of an Avatar. I was glad that she couldnt see me scratch my head as i wondered just what an Actuary was, and did. I found out that  an Actuary is a financial professional who specializes in risk analysis. They use statistics and other mathematical formulas to calculate the risk of financial instruments. Which means her Boyfriend is a pretty smart guy.

As always, I asked her to email me some great pictures of him that showed front side and three quarter view, and to include a character description of his personality, work habits traits, etc. So that i could use my genuis imagination to construct a humorous caricature/avatar/  I then had to put my genuis on hold as she gave me one of the greatest things that any client can give a caricature artist. A BACKSTORY!!!!  It seems that her pet name for her beau, was "Captain Actuary". She explained that he solved problems with his "ABBACUS OF TRUTH", and being an amatuer paleontologist, he rode. as his Noble Steed, "ALI" the ALLOSAURUS! Continuing on, she explained also how her boyfriend was an avid runner, and as a result, had very large leg muscles. In the course of our conversation, she had provided me with more than enough "visual hooks" for me to  sink my caricature invested  brain into !
We had almost too much fun on the phonecalls devising ways i could have fun breathing life into "Captain Actuary" and I said my goodbyes, and enthusiastically went to work.

STEP ONE:  ROUGH IT OUT FAST!

Whenever I create a character I ride the first wave of emotion that comes to me and immediately rough out the look and postion of the character. At this stage my emotional connection to the drawing is the most important aspect. I like my pictures to have the feel of the character either "getting ready" to move or "in the midst of moving" and drawing quick enables me to do that.  I draw very quickly using the other side of the Tombo Brush pen, which has a nice fine tip marker that is excellent for making rough sketches. As far as the face goes I look for really strong geometric shapes that I can exploit. I do my initial drawing s on tracing paper  knowing that i will go over the rough sketch in the second stage.

STEP TWO: B:OCK IN THE MAIN FEATURES;

Once satisfied with the initial quick sketch i slow things down a bit and really start looking for the main shapes that are going to define the drawing. I start paying attention  How all the propls that make up the caricature will be presented. The face is very important6 at this stage so i really take my time to get that right.  I also start esperiementing more on how individual proportions relate to each other. Even though one pictue is shown here I due about two or three progressions before proceeding to the final stage.

STEP THREE: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!

Once Successful In the two previous stages, Im not ready to go full out and ink it before taking it to the coloring stage. Once i get to the final inking stage i get very meticulous about my linework and never rush. It's important to love every stroke you do, and not to '"veg out" on your drawing. I want to have as much an emoritonal connection at this stage as i did in the beginning. Since I am now adding very definite expression to the drawing, in the case of the Allosaurus  especially i want to be sure to get that right. At this stage ive also added additional elements like a kind of collar to the cape, the "Captain Actuary" "CA" Insignia to his chest, as well as refinitng the look of his Abbacus of Truth.  Once this final Inking stage is done, I do one of the hardest things that i have to do as an artist. I divorce myself emotionally from the piece, and take a hard objective look at it.  Within minutes, i can see that I need to do this over, because Ive gotten it

ALL WRONG!

There was nothing wrong with the physical likeness, perse, but one look at the picture made me realize that instead of drawing for the client, I had "drawn for myself."   My client was a female. This was a gift for the man she loves, and while she allowed for a certain "comic license " on my part, Im sure she didnt want me to "drive off the road" Trying to look at this from a womens point of view, I asked myself would I like this? Probably not. The Allosaurus was too ferocious looking, and the foot was obstructing  the view its head besides. The "BIG FACE" little body angle wasnt really working, here and ended up making her boyfriend look kinda goofy in this pic. Im sure she wouldnt appreciate that. The Abbacus of Truth, seemed like it should have a more prominent role in terms of size, and the "CA" Captain Actuary Insignia, was just downright Lazy! Oh yeah, and what was up with the collar on the cape thing? Overall, I had done an exaggerated wacky portrait that I WOULD HAVE LIKED, but when we are drawing for others we must think in terms of them. As an artist, you must be willing to swallow your ego and start at the drawing board again...... which is exactly what  I did..... See part TWO of

HE MAKING OF AN AVATAR Creating "Captain Actuary" By Subwaysurfer

PRETTY AS CAN BE

Merry Christmas!

This is a project that Ive been working on for the past couple of months and wanted to introduce it appropriately on the day Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Christ. (yes, yes, I KNOW it's not his "real birthday") I've had a lifelong fascination with the person of Christ and always felt that stories and animated features especially didnt really do him justice. Not that I was looking for the message of the Gospels to change, I just wanted the character of Christ, the PERSON of the God-Man to be fleshed outa little more and given a contemporary look. This work will focus on passages taken from the four Gospels in the New Testament, namely, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I find the truths contained in scripture timeless, the stories compelling, and often times humorous. Im bound to unintentionally offend some people in the process of my story telling, but my hope is that loyal fans and readers of my work will be objective enough to let it stand on its own and to enjoy.

In case I havent said it already, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

"Where/How Do I Get My Ideas For Comics?"

HI! IM ELGIN BOLLING, ALSO KNOWN AS SUBWAYSURFER! BUT THEN, YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT DONT CHA? TODAY i WILL BE TEACHING ON HOW I GET MY IDEAS FOR COMICS. IM OFTEN ASKED THIS QUESTION, AND CHUCKLE AT THE ANSWER, BECAUSE ITS REALLY QUITE SIMPLE. EVERY PERSON ON THE PLANET IS LITERALLY A WALKING BOOK, FILLED WITH BILLIONS OF STORIES THAT KEEP GETTING ADDED TO EVERYDAY! ALL THE MATERIAL ANY ARTIST NEEDS TO CONSTRUCT A COMIC STORY IS NOT TO BE FOUND "OUT THERE" IN SPACE, BUT "IN HERE" BETWEEN THEIR TWO EARS. WHENEVER I NEED A STORY FOR ONE OF MY COMICS, I ALWAY GO INSIDE FIRST FOR INSPIRATION....



USING A SHARP CLEAN KNIFE I CUT OPEN OFF THE TOP OF MY CRANIUM AND CAREFUL TAKE THE BRAIN OUT AND START SEARCHING MY MIND FOR DATA. THERE ARE BILLIONS OF STORIES, OBSERVATIONS, AND IMPRESSIONS BURIED DEEP IN MY CONCIOUSNESS THAT I JUST HAVE TO BE PATIENT ENOUGH TO ACESS. OF COURSE SOMETIMES PANIC SETS IN AND I DONT QUITE REMEMBER WHERE I PUT ALL MY STORIES. ONCE YOU GET TO THIS STAGE, CONTINUE SEARCHING, BUT BE CAREFUL TO NOTE WHERE YOU'VE PUT ALL YOUR GRAY MATTER, AFTER ALL, YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING IT ALL BACK!

IN ORDER FOR MY WORK TO "RING TRUE" I MUST HAVE A STRONG EMOTIONAL CONNECTION WITH IT. EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS COME FROM DEEP INSIDE BASED ON HOW I FEEL ABOUT CURRENT EVENTS, PAST HURTS, REACTIONS TO FILMS OR SONGS, AND ESPECIALLY CHILDHOOD AND YOUTHFUL MEMORIES. iT'S ALL THERE INSIDE. ONCE i HAVE A STRONG EMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO MY WORK, i KNOW THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL FEEL IT TOO AND NOT JUST BE LOOKING AT :"PRETTY PICTURES" mOST ARTISTS KNOW HOW TO DRAW A PRETTY PICTURE, BUT THE TRICK IS TO WRITE A "PRETTY STORY" WHICH IS WHY SO MANY ARTISTS WHOSE WORK LOOKS LIKE A TEN YEAR OLD CAN BE MORE ENTERTAINING THAN AN ARTIST WHO DRAWS EVERYTHING"PERFECT".

ANOTHER METHOD I USE IS TO JUST GET OUT A REAM OF PAPER AND START 'STREAM OF CONCIOUSNESS DRAWING" sOMETIMES THE OLD IDEA ENGINE NEEDS TO BE WARMED UP, SO I JUST DRAW ANYTHING! ONE DRAWING FLOWING INTO THE NEXT, FORMING ASSOCIATIONS AND VISUAL CONNECTIONS.... SOMETIMES FRUSTRATIONS SET IN AND I START TO LET OUT PRIMAL SCREAMS OF FRUSTRATION ESPECIALLY AROUND DEADLINE TIME.....

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, SOMETIMES IT'S JUST BEST TO CLEAR YOUR HEAD AND GO OUTSIDE FOR A WALK. A SIMPLE CHANGE OF SCENERY CAN SOMETIMES HELP SPARK YOUR IDEA ENGINE. FOR ALL YOU KNOW, THE NEXT BIG IDEA CAN COME TO YOU UNEXPECTEDLY OUTTA "NO WHERE!...'

SOMETIMES OUT OF NOWHERE, AN IDEA JUST HITS YOU!! THAT'S JUST HOW THE CREATIVE PROCESS WORKS!!! WOW... THAT'S GONNA LEAVE A MARK!

Love Letter comic

Here's something different. I was in the mood to do a comic tragic love story wanted to use an animation/comic minimalist technique. We all know a little bit about heartache, dont we? Responses welcome as always.

Dont get "hung by the Tongue"

Ever notice that what the things you SAY concerning/about yourself usually come true? Think about those times in your life when you've said, " I cant do that" or " Im too old," "Im tired" "I'll never be able to afford that!" " I'm stupid..." the list goes on and on..... If we're honest, the WORKDS that we SPEAK are not just "harmless meaning less things" which pop and disappear like soap bubbles. Words have POWER! Power to transform, uplift, and heal, or consequently, to teardownk, or distroy.The Bible says ... whether you believe it or not... God created the heavens and the earth and everything in between by speaking it into existence. Since he made US, he put some powerful stuff in US too!
I was listening to a broadcast on Christian TV one day and the host was speaking on this very subject:

Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth

He then exclaimed, " I WISH I HAD A CARTOON SHOWING SOMEONE BEING HANGED BY THEIR TONGUE!!!
I immediately got to work on the cartoon, confident that I was the ONLY one who thought of the great idea to send it to this broadcaater!

Weeks later I got a very nice rejection letter, thanking me for the toon, but informing me that it would not be used, just like the many hundreds of others who got the same idea to send a cartoon in! LOL!

It's STILL a great cartoon, and still a truism.

There's a reason why your mom used to tell you to
WATCH YOUR MOUTH!!

ANOTHER subwaysurfer comic!!

This is what happens when you sit next to a disgruntled passenger who has a cup of hot coffee

The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival R. O. Blechman, Kim Deitch, and Dash Shaw Panel Discussion

R. O. Blechman, Kim Deitch, and Dash Shaw started off discussing the historial relationship between comics and animation at the Dec 5 The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival. At one Point, Moderator, Bill Kartalopoulos asked the one question that was central in minds of every audience member in attendance, namely, "who was the COOLIEST artist on the panel?" Dash Shaw was the frist to speak up and mentioned how he was very "fashion forward" with his dynamic red scarf that captivated every eye in the room. Kim Deitch chimmed in on how his vintage Blue Jean Jacket called to mind the image of the 1960's youth culture which transformed American media, politics and music. He also added how devishly handsome he was sporting his ponytial. R. O. Blechman pointed felt that his button down shirt and crewneck sweater added an element of classic elegance to a group of panelists obviously lacking in taste and fashion sense, thus making HIM the coolest of them all. Even though Kartalopoulos had posed the question orginally, he couldnt help calling attention to his checked cotton blend shirt that paid homage to the blue collar work ethic that built American fron the ground up, and championed the proverbial "everyman". He also concluded that R.O. Blechman was a "Mr. Rogers" Wannabe in his sweater.
This comment set off a rather explosive debate among everyone else. Kim Threated to hang Dash using his Red Sweater as a noose, Dash rebutted that Kim should stop fighting baldness to the death and should return his tired ,old "Billy Jack" Dungaree jacket to the Smithstonian, before they realized it was missing. R. O. Blechman, being a dignified man was quietly and passionately telling off Kartalopoulos, who was getting angrier by the second. Without warning the entire panel was ingulfed in a giant free for all much to the the amazement and amusement of the capacity crowd!
I have to admit, THIS is what Indy Comics is all about!!!






Of course, you do realize these events occured in the alternate universe that exists between my two ears.......

The truth is while listening to the thought provoking discussions, I was inspired, as always, to draw, as I listened, and this is what came out.

My sincere thanks goes out to all the panelists for their insights! I had a great time and after I left, I couldnt wait to draw a comic, which of course, I did!

I apologized to R. O. Blechman for not drawing his picture as well based on my vantage point, and he was nice enough to write me back. What a classy guy.

Dear Elgin,


No need to apologize for the drawing. I look better as a cartoon than a photograph.
Thanks for sending it.
All best wishes,
R. O. Blechman

Subwaysurfer on BET 106 & PARK with WOLVERINE! Hugh Jackman...well, kinda sorta....

While I wasnt PHYSICALLY on BET's 106 & Park Music video show, my work sure was, and to my delight got MAJOR air time!!!!
As you know, today is opening day for the Wolverine Origins movie, and Hugh Jackman, made an appearance on the show to promote. In my favorite segment of the show, the host brought Jackman, I mean Wolverine over to the monitor to ask how he would handle some of the HIP HOP X Men characters....

The monitor flashed Puffy's Character , known as SHOWTIME, followed by Ciara's character, Super C, and then followed by Kanye West's character, VO CAL.

I was going banannas, waiting for them to show my favorite character, Grillz, aka Lil' Wanye, since he was the first and best character I created!

to my dismay, that character was never shown!

SOB, SOB , SOB....

Oh well, that's show biz though! I'm thankful to have been asked to do the project, was very proud of what was shown, got major air time, and got a piece of this whole X man Extravaganza! What more could a freelancer ask for!
I cant wait to see the movie, and hopefully, I 'll be getting some calls for th work ive done... at least that's the dream!

Being a caricature artist really came in handy for this particular job. I had to draw this QUICKLY, or risk them going with a "in house" artist and losing any opportunity for future work. As a party artist, "quickly" is my middle name. instead of going to reference photos like I normally would I turned to youtube instead. Doing this gave me the opportunity to view their faces from several angles and to get to see what their faces "did" so to speak. On Ciara, I checked out her music video to see how she moves and although I exaggerated the pose a LOT, trust me, she is REALLLLLLY flexible and a great dancer. Fror Puffy, and Kanye, instead of checking out music vids I looked at vids of them being interviewed which gave me a lot of close ups and frontal shots, and in Kanye's case, helped me to see what he looked like with his mouth wide open, as opposed to smiling at the camera in a photo shoot. I would recommend any caricature artist to do this as its just more "lifelike" then a dull still photo. The comic posing was relatively simple as Ive been a comic fan all my life, being fans of Jack Kirby,and Gil Kane especially. Since my assignment was to draw it "comic book style" I knew I hat to "spot blacks" use exaggerated dynamic anatomy and flat color. Again, it wa a LOT of fun, and Im really thankful at the folks at BET for choosing me once again to work with.
still....
I wish they would have used Lil' Wayne's character!!!

But... true to their word, at the end of the broadcast when the credits were rolling, my name, Elgin SUBWAYSURFER Bolling, came up first as the illustrator while Soljah Boy's performed his new song in the background. not bad for exposure.
Check the clip by going to google and typing in 106 & Park | “Wolverine” goes up against hip-hop celebs
or ,click this link here
http://www.bet.com/video/282277

Wonder Woman!!!!

I found this great site called the BBWW:The Big Beautiful Wonder Woman Blog,where guest artists are encouraged to draw their REALLY Amazonian renditions of everyone's favorite female comic heroine.
My sketch isnt officially on the blog yet, but I couldnt help showin it to ya. It was great fun to do!
At first glance the site seems to be nothing more than a "spoof site" to draw an overweight picture of Wonder Woman. But then I got to thinking about the whole "fat phobia" issue we have here in this country. Can a person be considered "heroic" if they dont fit into the norm of what coventional beauty is? How often do we associate so called "fat" people with being dumb, having low self esteem , and being lazy? by the same token, how often do we attribute positive attributes to people who are in so called "shape?" It's interesting. Can a large woman be considered attractive, heroic, even sexy?Just something to think about.
Nevertheless, I AM a CARICATURE Artist, and I cant help making a joke about my picture, but it AINT a "Fat Joke".
In this pic Wonder Woman is pissed because She forgot where she parked her invisible plane, and is now late for her lunch date.(even big girls gotta eat, right?) If he doesnt find her ride soon, SOMEBODY is gonna get whupped with dat yellow lasso!

sketching on the subway can be dangerous!

Easter's almost here!

couldnt resist doing this cartoon!

Pulp Fiction the animated series by subwaysurfer

Let's not forget Samuel L Jackson's character, "Jules" from the same movie. My task now is to combine the two characters into one picture. i will probably take the suit off of Sam and put him in his skivvies, like John.

here are two earlier versions of Vincent that i thought I'd go with, but i think the first one of him getting hosed down is the strongest.