Halloween!

Halloween is back, and so is the cherished Jhannian tradition of wishing our dedicated readers a wonderful holiday with a picture by yours truly. Yes, I know we skipped last year, but it won't happen again... Actually, as it happens, it almost happened again this year. I drew this baby from beginning to end in forty minutes. That includes pencils, colors, and inks, so if the drawing isn't very detailed, well, that's why. I simply didn't want to let another Halloween go by without celebrating it, so there you go. Go get your candy!

One-Eyed Pirate

Here you have yet another sketch I drew while sitting (and listening) in a meeting. Just like the pensive old man I showed you a couple of days ago, I drew this one with a black pen and nothing else, and I kind of like how it turned out. I'm really enjoying working in this style, which I'm coming to think of as my "true style" for a variety of reasons. At any rate, I hope you like it!

The Old Man Ponders

Here you have a quick sketch I drew in one of my meetings. I drew it with a black pen, and I think it turned out rather cute, so I hope you like it!

Read This!

I don't care if you like manga or not --you need to start reading Bakuman, the formidable series by Death Note creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. I have only read the first volume, and I already find myself in love with the story, the characters, and the artwork. In short, Bakuman is the story of two guys who want to become manga artists, and so they put a proposal together and submit it to Shueisha. I haven't read anything beyond that point, so I don't know what happens next, but what I have read was so incredibly compelling I had to run to my laptop and write these few lines. Go check it out, and let me know what you think!

Esos sádicos querubines

Aquí tenéis una de esas ideas raras que me vienen a la cabeza de forma inesperada. Estaba sentado en el sofá leyendo o jugando a The Saboteur cuando de pronto se me apareció esta imagen en mi inquieta cabecita. ¿Un ángel con motosierra?, me dije a mí mismo, sorprendido ante la extravagante idea. ¿Por qué no? Y dicho y hecho: me puse manos a la obra, y en cuestión de cuarenta minutos tenía el dibujo terminado. Si Murillo levantara la cabeza...

The New 52

As you may or may not know by now, DC Comics has rebooted the whole DC Universe with 52 new number ones. I have never really followed any DC books, and I am pretty sick and tired of superhero comics, yet I found myself interested in trying out some of their series. Not only that, but, for the first time ever, I bought them digitally, so I said goodbye to good old paper and dived into the digital era of comics. And what do you know, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

I only bought four out of the fifty-two books, but I had a great time reading the ones I got. The first one I bought was Red Hood & the Outlaws #1, mostly because the tremendous Kenneth Rocafort drew the issue. I didn't know what it was about or who the characters were, but the beauty of The New 52 is that you don't have to. Therefore, I approached it without fear, and I had a blast. Scott Lobdell's story is interesting and fun, and the artwork out of this world, so make sure you check it out.

The second book I read was Voodoo #1. DC is integrating some of the Wildstorm Universe characters into the DC universe proper, and since I loved Ron Marz from Witchblade, and I remembered and liked Sami Basri from the same title, I thought I'd give it a try. Voodoo was definitely the weakest of the four comic books I read, yet it was still interesting and I will most likely get the trade when it comes out.

Batman #1 was my third purchase. I have never been a huge Batman fan, but the 11 O'Clock Comics guys were praising Scott Snyder's story, and I've always liked Greg Capullo's art, so I gave it a try. I didn't think it was as formidable a book as my favorite podcasters found it to be, but it was a very solid issue and I enjoyed it very much. And maybe I'm crazy, but I thought Capullo was drawing faces like he was Humberto Ramos. Did anyone notice this as well?

Last but not least, I bought the first issue of a series I had never ever read before, starring a character I had never read either: Batgirl #1. The art in the previews I had seen online looked good, and so I bought it to see what I thought about it. In short, I found both the story by Gail Simone and the drawings by Ardian Syaf more than competent, and I had a blast reading the book, so I think I will definitely continue to read the series. As a matter of fact, I think this one and Red Hood were my favorite two, so I'm glad I gave it a chance. I would suggest you do the same, and let us know what you think of this incredibly bold move DC has made. I, for one, am definitely willing to support them!

A Very Special Present

Here you have the picture I drew for my wife's birthday. It includes me and our three children wishing her the happiest birthday ever, and, as you can see, we are all ready to party. I had a lot of fun working on this illustration, and I hope you guys like it!

La búsqueda del asesino

Llegamos a la última entrega de la saga de Traspiés Hidalgo. Las cosas habían terminado peor que en El Imperio contraataca en la anterior entrega, pero no mejoran mucho las cosas para nuestro protagonista en este tercer libro; más bien todo lo contrario. Como en anteriores entregas, lo que más echo de menos es la acción; pero, eso sí: cuando la hay, es intensa y bien llevada. Los secundarios siguen creciendo y son parte muy interesante de la historia, a veces eclipsando al propio protagonista. Aparecen nuevos personajes para “ayudar” a Traspiés en su largo viaje en busca de su rey y en su venganza contra su tío. A algunos creo que se les podrían haber sacado bastante más partido, como la pareja de mañosos que le intenta enseñar a manejar esta habilidad mejor, o la juglar.

En definitiva, esta novela es un buen final de saga, aunque algunos pasajes se hacen un poco pesados y el final es demasiado abrupto. Creo que se extendió demasiado en la búsqueda y muy poco en el desenlace. Aun así, es una serie muy recomendable.

The Magician

Here you have one of those weird, off-kilter pictures I am so fond of. The idea for this picture formed in my head out of nowhere, and I put it down on paper pretty much unchanged. I did a basic sketch with pencil, and then moved in with my black pens, working most of the details out directly in ink. And I like how it turned out, because it is strange and we don't really know what's going on. Also, I managed to draw what I saw in my head almost exactly, and those pictures, as the great Adam Hughes once said, are always the ones you like the most. Enjoy!

Grouchy

To continue (and most likely finish) with my Dragon Ball ramblings, here you have a picture of Vegeta, the charismatic bad guy who became a good guy... for the most part. I remember the shock and delight I experienced when Vegeta first turned into a Super Saiyan --he just looked so badass! So much so, that I had to portray him in that state, with his super cool blond hair. I don't know about you, but I still find the Super Saiyan look incredibly powerful and awe-inspiring, even after all these years. Anyway, I hope you like the picture!

Monkey Boy

The great Akira Toriyama used to have a very curvy style when he created the hilarious Dr. Slump and the world-famous Dragon Ball. As Dragon Ball went on and on and stretched for more pages than one would have ever thought possible, he started using a lot of straight lines his style became more angular, sometimes almost blocky. Well, since I've been on a Dragon Ball kick lately, I thought it would be fun to draw good old Goku in my curvy style as a throwback to Toriyama's original way of penciling. I think the resulting picture looks interesting, and drawing it was a nice exercise in style. I hope you like it!

Dibujando a ordenador

Hace poco descubrí cómo se crean los "fondos de pantalla" del League of Legend, el juego al que últimamente estoy enganchado. Es increíble ver cómo se crean estas obras de arte. Lo que más me impresiona es la de veces que borran y vuelven a empezar después de pegarse una currada increíble en una parte del dibujo. Si te paras a pensarlo, la gente que pinta a lápiz, tinta o como sea que no tiene esa opción, son auténticos genios. Está claro que el ordenador ayuda muchísimo en la tarea de estos artistas, pues eso de poder mover al personaje por el fondo, darle la vuelta, y demás sin tener que repetirlo es una pasada. Os pongo el vídeo del último campeón, pero es interesante verlos todos.

A Poster, Revisited

Here you have the final version of my FITT principle poster, the one that was finally approved. I had a lot of fun putting it together, and I wouldn't mind working on this kind of project in the future. I hope you guys like it!

A Girl, Revisited

I was asked to redraw the face of the girl lifting weights for a variety of reasons that don't really matter, and this is the final result. I like the original head a lot better, as I find this one bland and not very interesting, but what can you do? Enjoy!

A Poster

This was the first version of the FITT principle poster. After I turned it in, I was asked to change the font for the acronym, and to redraw the girl's face, so this version of the poster went unused. I still like it a lot, though, and so I thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy!

A Girl

Here you have the fourth and last picture for my FITT poster. I think it's pretty straightforward and does not require an explanation, so I'll spare you my usual verbiage. The next step is to put all the illustrations together in a poster and add some text, so stay tuned for the final product. I hope you like it!

A Clock

The third picture for my FITT poster is a clock, or, more precisely, "twelve hours." I was going to draw a cuckoo-clock, but, in the end, I decided to keep things simple and go with a more straightforward illustration. Also, I was trying to work as fast as possible (the first three pictures took me two hours to complete from beginning to end as I worked simultaneously on all three of them), so this rather simple design suited me fine. I hope you like it!