Pete and Penny Penguin

I've always been a fan of theme park characters. I don't know why exactly. There's just something... I dunno, "magical" about standing next to some stranger with a big foam head. When I was a kid, I actually got butterflies in my stomach while walking up to meet one at whatever theme park I was at. What am I saying? I STILL get the butterflies! It's weird.

I don't know if they're still around or not, but SeaWorld used to have "Shamu and Crew" which were their Meet-and-Greet characters based on the beloved Orca and several other sea animals. My favorites were Pete and Penny Penguin. There's no real reason why they're my favorites, I guess, other than the fact that I like penguins and they're penguins.

Dolly the Dolphin would probably be my second favorite, simply because
of her incredibly creative name.

And so, as is the case with many little pieces of yesteryear floating around in my head, I decided to draw Pete and Penny. I wanted to give them a new look, so I slightly morphed my Penguin Suits design. Who knows? I might try my luck at doing more Penguin Suits someday with THIS type of look. It's like Superman's dad said, "The son becomes the father, and then the father..."

Meh. Whatever. Now I'm just rambling.

Here! Penguins!

Labeling Mr. Potter - PART TWO

As promised, here are my set of disc labels for "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

I first read the Harry Potter books back in 2007. I had seen all of the films up to that point, and thought I'd give the books a shot since there was such so much hubbub being made. However, instead of sitting and looking at actual pages like some medieval neanderthal, I joined the digital age and listened to the audio books.

While I loved the story and the superb way it was read by the great Jim Dale, I thought the labels for each of the discs were a little... lackluster. But since I'm a nerd, Problem SOLVED! And thus I was inspired to create my own disc labels with J.K. Rowling's wonderful characters!

I figure this will be a sort of on-again off-again project for me, so who knows when I'll get around to the Prisoner of Azkaban. I will eventually, I'm sure.

Chamber of Secrets - Albus Dumbledore

Here's the last in my Chamber of Secrets lineup, (finally, right?) Albus Percival Wulfric Bryan Dumbledore.

Now, to tear myself down a little. I tried to make Dumbledore resemble Merlin from Disney's "Sword in the Stone" because I always kind of pictured Dumbledore as Merlin-esque. Although, after the fact, I think I made him look too much like Disney's Merlin. Dumbledore has a much sweeter demeanor than Merlin, and I don't really feel like that is conveyed well here. In fact, you could replace Fawkes with Archimedes the Owl, and this wouldn't look like a Harry Potter pic at all.

Ah well. This sort of self-criticism is one of the reasons I'm drawing these guys in the first place. Hopefully, my Dumbledore will improve when I revisit him some time down the line.

And now to give myself a little pat on the back... I think Fawkes looks awesome!

Chamber of Secrets - The Basilisk

So apparently, a long time ago in the world of Harry Potter, some guy decided to make a frog sit on a chicken egg until it hatched, and the result was this snarly horrific beast that can kill anything just by looking at it. Sure, why not? I guess that makes sense.

In the Harry Potter books, the Basilisk is pretty much just a giant snake, but in some versions of folklore  and mythology, it's a weird hybrid of a snake and a rooster. I wanted to work in a small amount of rooster in my basilisk, which is why it has the beak and the red plume sort-of-thing.

This was my favorite from these Chamber of Secrets characters to draw so far. Most of my drawings tend to be your typical person of some sort with a pair of arms and legs. It was nice breaking away from that, even if it was for this hideous thing.

Chamber of Secrets - Moaning Myrtle

I really don't have much to say about Moaning Myrtle. She's always in the restroom. Is she stuck there? That would be a terrible resting place for your eternal spirit. And from the opposite point-of-view, can you imagine trying to use the restroom while some ghost floats around?

I don't think I could "go."

Chamber of Secrets - Gilderoy Lockhart

Well, I'm here with my first post of 2013! And it's back to the 'Chamber of Secrets' gang with Professor Fancy Pants himself, Gilderoy Lockhart!

In a society where almost everyone wears long robes, it would be difficult to stand out as a "fancy pants," but that Gilderoy pulls it off easier than planting a mandrake during the winter solstice! Which I assume is easy. Since I'm not a wizard, I have no frame of reference.

Lockhart is known for his smile, and I tried to make that stand out here. I also tried to give him, (with clothing and such) a slightly heroic look, but with a twinge of phony oozing out.

This post is also a two-for-one special, because Gilderoy Lockhart without Cornish Pixies would be like the Hufflepuff basement without a Fat Friar!

...again, I have no frame of reference.

"Attaboy Clarence!"

It's Christmas Eve! And here's the last of my "It's a Wonderful Life" characters! That silly little angel, Clarence Odbody.

I drew Clarence listening to hear a bell ring, which of course, signifies an angel getting their wings. In his hand is his copy of "Tom Sawyer." I'm not really sure why Clarence carries around a Tom Sawyer book, but I think it gives the character a nice touch. Maybe it helps show his innocence or something.

It's probably a first edition, which would be worth a lot of money for George Bailey. Then again, the little personal note Clarence scribbles on the front page probably lowers the value quite a bit. Wacky angels.

I hope anyone that has been checking this blog out for the past month has enjoyed my little depictions of these characters. Have a merry Christmas and I'll see you all next year!

"This is a Very Interesting Situation!"

And next from Frank Capra's holiday classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," is the main character whose life is the wonderful one which the title refers to... George Bailey!

There are several variations of George since the film depicts him throughout his entire life, but every time I think of the guy, this is the image that pops into my head first. It's from the scene where George is walking Mary home from the dance. The expression he has on his face while he harmlessly bullies Mary cracks me up every time. I'm not sure if I did it justice with this drawing or not.

One of the things I love about the movie is just how "realistic" the romance between George and Mary seems. I'm not saying anything new when I say that Jimmy Stewart is one of the greatest actors of all time, and his and Donna Reed's rapport is, (for me at least) the number one reason this movie is so good.

"Hello, Georgie."

Next in my lineup of favorite characters from "It's a Wonderful Life" is the lovely Violet Bick. Violet isn't a very big character in the film, but still an important one. George Bailey doesn't really do much that would directly affect Violet, and yet even her life is different without him. I think this shows how you can have a positive impact on someone's life just by generally being a good person.

As far as the drawing goes, I can't help but see how much room for improvement I have when it comes to drawing women. One of the goals in drawing these characters was to capture the recognizable traits of the actor in a "cartoony" style. However, the more I tried to make this look like actress Gloria Grahame, the more and more hideous she became. In other words, the LESS she looked like Gloria Grahame. While I like the final version, I think she comes across as a little too generic.

Hopefully, next week's character will be a different story.