Steve Rude: Artist in Motion

Two weeks ago, I got a treasure trove of art books in my DCBS order—among them, last week's review, Modern Masters Volume 15: Mark Schultz, and today's book, Steve Rude: Artist in Motion.

Usually, when I receive art books, I look at the pictures and read passages that interest me, eventually working my way through the whole book. With the Schultz book, I read it start to finish and devoured every image in the sequence of the book. It was such an enjoyable process that I decided to do the same with the Rude book.

Wow. This book is an artistic journey. Rude has long been one of my top 5 guys, but this book only increases my appreciation of the man and his work.

And it makes me want to draw. A lot.

I can't recommend this book highly enough—whether you're into comic art, illustration or the artistic process, you need to own this wonderful volume.

Spike (the rest of the Angel samples)

Here's the rest of the samples I worked up a couple of years ago, in an effort to try and land some work on IDW's Angel books.

I'd love to take another pass at it, but I can't help to wonder if I blew my chances with all of the deadline drama that went on with my dad's death while I was working on 24: Cold Warriors.

The original art for the Angel and Spike sketches were "lost" in the mail, en route to Molly McBride. I still think those pictures are currently adorning the walls of some postal worker's den!'

I kid, I kid...

In today's installment of the Ursula Wilde Production Diary, we look at the pencils to the Ursula Wilde Free Comic Book Day story, coming in May from Ape Entertainment.

At the Athena Voltaire Blog, I'm posting more pages from the first issue of the cancelled mini-series The Legend of Mu-King.

Angel Samples

I thought I'd post some older samples I did, in an effort to pick up some work on IDW's Angel book. Here are a few likeness shots I did a couple of years back.

Of course, doing a static likeness shot is very different from creating repeated likenesses on a sequential page, so who knows if I would have crashed and burned...

Another fun commission

I have no idea what inspired this, but it was a lot of fun to draw.

I was commissioned to draw Athena Voltaire and Chewbacca from Star Wars. The original description had Chewie holding a dead Nazi's severed arm, but that was a little more gory than I wanted to go. I suggested the helmet and the torn flag. I'm very happy with the end result.

Today, at the Ursula Wilde Production Diary, we finish up looking at the character designs.

Over at the Athena Voltaire Blog, we look at the last of the covers of the canceled mini-series The Legend of Mu-King.

And remember, kids, Chewbacca hates Nazis.

Some Athena Voltaire Pencils

Before the creative differences with my AV collaborator, Paul Daly, surfaced, I had penciled what would have been the wraparound cover to the Flight of the Falcon trade paperback. Paul and I are currently in talks, but I think that if/when we get things resolved, and if/when we release a trade, we'll probably just reuse one of the existing covers, in the interest of expediency.

Here's a peak at what could have been.

Speaking of "what could have been," over at the Athena Voltaire Blog, we're presenting the unused covers for the canceled series The Legend of Mu-King.

And the Ursula Wilde Production Diary continues its look at the character designs. Today, it's girls, girls, girls!

Wonder Woman

I did this one for fun a couple of years ago and gave it to my friends at Comic Geek Speak as a contest prize.

The piece hangs together fairly well, despite a disparity of styles: Kevin Nowlan-style rendering on the figure and a loose Al Williamson-esque background with Mark Schultz-inspired drybrushing.

When I was much younger, whatever style I had was defined by my limitations. That will always be true to one extent or another, I believe, but I think I've moved into the next phase now where the style is defined by the conscious choices I make.

Eventually, I'd like to get to the point where the end product is defined by conscious decisions that integrate the disparate influences effortlessly, rather than looking like stylistic choices that were handpicked one-by-one at a buffet of artistic approaches—like some kind of bizarre Shoney's of artistic styles.

Still, it's a learning experience, right?

From the Vault: A Commission

I published this one in the first volume of sketches and drawings I did. It's a commission piece—the only art direction I was given was, and I quote, "Two chicks tattooing each other and include some old-school classic tattoos." I don't know much about tattoos, but this commission provided a fun learning experience.

Plus, I rarely do full-on cheesecake work, so doing this piece was an interesting change of pace.

Over at the Ursula Wilde Production Diary, we have some more character designs.

At the Athena Voltaire Blog, we continue our examination of the series that never was, looking at the covers for the canceled Legend of Mu-King mini-series.