Art from the vault

I've been digging through my old art files and selling off some prime pieces lately, and I thought I'd share scans of some of the art before it gets sent off to its new owners.  Lots of memories here -- various Ms. Tree and Wild Dog originals.

The commissions continue

Following Fighting American, I seem to be on an accidental patriotic theme -- here's Captain America (fighting Ultron) and the Shield and his sidekick Dusty! 

More commissions!

My schedule is finally allowing me to catch up on my commission list.  Here are a few pieces that will be going out soon to some very patient clients.

My dad in Japan -- 1945

My late father, Ernest Beatty, was in the Army and stationed in Kyoto, Japan as part of the occupation force in 1945. He brought home a few souvenirs -- some of them shown here. The pencil portrait of Dad is by a USO artist named Bill Gray -- if anyone knows any history on this artist, I'd love to know about it. Dad also came back with a few small color paintings on paper (one shown here as well) -- but the most intriguing thing he brought back to the states was a portfolio of prints of ink wash images. I know nothing about this portfolio, other than what's obvious -- which is that it's a quality collection, and the images are lovely. There are twelve plates in all -- well eleven, really, one of them double sized (two pictures). I'm showing just a few of the plates here, cropped to show just the pictures -- they all have a lot of border surrounding them.  Along with the pictures, I'm showing some of the labels from the portfolio cover, in hopes someone will be able to translate and offer some information on the artist, etc. I may scan more of the plates at a later date. Until then, enjoy.

MCAD Student Work: Part One

For the past several years I've been teaching in the comics program at the Minneapolis School of Art and Design (MCAD). It's been a while since I've posted any of my students' work, and I thought it'd be fun to look at some of what my most recent crew turned out last semester. The work that follows was done for a class called "Materials and Techniques," formerly known as "Pen and Ink." It was, essentially, a class on inking techniques. 

For the early assignments, I wanted to focus entirely on the use of the tools, mark making, line quality, etc. I didn't want the students to be concerned about the underdrawing at all -- so I had them ink pencils other than their own. I also wanted them to understand the level of work a true professional does -- so for their first major assignment, I had them ink over blue-line printouts of already inked comic art. I chose a Jack Davis Crypt Keeper piece and a Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott Fantastic Four page. The following are some of the more successful examples of the students' results.  First up is Davis re-inked by Salina Trevino, followed by Cat Hajek Harris' take on the piece. Click on the pictures for more detailed views.

Now we have Sam Boyd's copy of Kirby/Sinnott, followed by Salina  and Cat's versions

Another challenge I tossed at them was to take several vintage black and white movie stills, and ink over blue-lines of those -- turning them into drawings.  The first example is by Cat, followed by Courtney Billadeau's version of the same photo -- and her inks on pics of Boris Karloff and Veronica Lake. Caitlin Skaalrud's version of that unlikely pair follows. 

Eventually I gave them copies of pencils by pro cartoonists to ink.  Here's Salina and Courtney inking in a slick cartoon style.

And to finish up this first post on this subject, here's Hedwig Vinson's inks over bluelines of a John Buscema  Tarzan pencil drawing.  As with a lot of Buscema's pencils, this was a bit rough and left a lot of room for interpretation.  As you can see, Hedwig finished the piece with a lot of style.

These were early assignments in this class -- eventually these students were inking their own pencils, with a few more attempts at inking the work of other pros in the mix.  I'll be posting some of those later assignments another day.  

If you're one of my students and you'd like to see your work included, please note I can only post what I have on file -- so if you'd like to get additional scans to me, please do so.

If you're a comics publisher, editor or fan.  I suggest you keep an eye on these talented young folks.

SHOCK STORIES & URBAN LEGENDS

Here's a tiny preview of two collectible trading card sets I've been working on for a long time.  They'll be published by Monsterwax this August.  These are undoubtedly the creepiest, goriest, weirdest drawings I've ever done -- very much in the EC Comics tradition -- but pushing the boundaries of taste even further.  These few preview images barely hint at the horrors in these sets -- they are not for the faint of heart!  There are even 3-D cards included! And I may be doing some sketch cards as well. Print run will be low -- limited to 1000 boxes, so if you want 'em, grab a box fast! For more info, check the Monsterwax website.

The Many Faces of Frankenstein

The latest Scary Monsters cover illustration.  How many of these faces of Frankenstein can you identify?