So… I'm guessing having your D&D characters battle over Hostess Fruit Pies, watching O.J. Simpson, or selling subscriptions
to GRIT magazine, isn't going to be all that original now either.

That's awesome. But, your art would be more fun to see.

I like all of those too Hanzo. But I think I like the middle one of the colored ones better than the right one with more fade (if that's the right term).

Cool, thanks for weighing in!

Just some various experiments with drawing styles. With these three, I tried to draw as simply and directly as possible. Going for speed and not too much noodling since that sends me down a rabbit hole of tedium and wasted time.








I think I'm kinda getting to a simplified style that does what I want it to with this one --






That's the barbarian from the game Golden Axe, so I decided to do the female next. The drawing isn't horrible but it feels a bit generic, like a Bruce Timm wannabe thing.






I also have a tendency to start a drawing out by saying, "I'm gonna emulate such-and-such with this one" but then not really capturing it at all. The first one is Eastman and Laird inspired, the second is Bernie Wrightson inspired -- and by that, I mean I'm trying to do a "simple and fast" version of their stuff and then missing the mark completely. I usually start by trying to emulate their figure proportions but then after that I just start doing my own thing.

Those are great to me. I especially like the last one.

Thanks!

Agreed - and the thing that is perhaps not so obvious to you as artist is that, whatever style you are trying to emulate and feeling yourself to fall short of, to us - the audience - they all look to be in the same style - yours. And they look great!

Thanks for the kind words! I have wondered that very thing -- things that feel like they make a big difference on my end because I'm changing my process / thinking don't really show up in the final work because it's all still being filtered through my own mind and sensibilities.

For some reason, I decided to clean up, revise, and color this Alan Moore tribute piece I did back in 2012:





Based on this one from the great Ernie Chan:

I finally got a chance to read all these and they're great. I think there's a different artist on every single installment and here's my favorites (read them all at the link above).

Catching up.

I like your shading and your colouring. They look finished but not overdone.

Your anatomy continues to develop. It's an interesting look your art has taken on, with more realistic musculature, poses and movement while the faces still have a more cartoony look (I mean that only as a description, not a putdown). I haven't seen much of that elsewhere, maybe you have, like the person you had posted published examples of upthread. To me your current style has a distinctiveness and uniqueness all its own.

I appreciate you taking the time to look, as well as your observations and encouragement!

James: I don't know if you spent much time looking at David A. Trampier's early AD&D work. Probably. But if not, he's
worth a look. He pretty much defined how early Advanced Dungeons & Dragons characters and monsters looked,
were shaded, and their normal types of backgrounds, if any.

I have seen his stuff, he is indeed super awesome.

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Ah, and I even posted right after that. Sorry. No memory of it.