J'onn J'onzz and His Amazing Technicolor Razmatazz!

Been AWOL a bit, but you lot out there know that means I've been working on things here in the material world. At least I hope you do. Or you're here on accident because my assumption that "CHUDLY" was a universal slang for hideous man-beast was horribly wrong, and you're confused as to why a Quidditch page would be covered in obscene doodles.

Whatever works, I'm easy.

Also, and quite a ways back, Sean "Don't Take No Smeg From Nobody Ever" Hartter took a crack at coloring my Easter Island Manhunter up there. Turned out pretty Ditko and keen, I think. Sorry it took me so long to post, bub.

A Peripatetic Pejorative

First to get the NSFW doodles out of the way. Prometheus kind of ruined phallic/vaginal monsters for me for a bit, so don't expect to see any more of these for a while.
After this, I tried working on a new-to-me method of comics, involving storyboarding ideas out on post-it notes. However, I found it much more rewarding to just do silly comics on the post-its themselves. We shall see what comes of this. Also included are an early large color exploration of the "fathead" character who keeps appearing in my post-its and a finished doodle of a character who didn't quite become anything, Pizza Dick. He's kind of a Ziggy Stardust Junkfood Jesus with the face of Richard Nixon and the voice of Tom Waits. Maybe someday.

Some of That Funky Old Time Religion Shit

So it's been a hot minute since I've posted anything. Which, as always, is not to say I haven't been drawing. The exact opposite is the case. It's just that life has a way of getting in between me and posting. The Dali-Llama drawing at the top is a more recent little doodle, and the comic page was something done last year while fighting paranoia and anxiety. And the above doodle is something I love simply because of all the linework that went into it. When I get back into printmaking, this is at the top of my list of things to re-do and reproduce.

I've got more that needs to be scanned in, so today will probably be a two-part entry.

Which means you probably won't see me again for another couple of months.

Blocks not of the building, city, or poultry variety

Sort of a response to the whole "alien ninja turtles" buzz from a few months ago. Plus, and excuse to draw Moai. Scanner kind of cut it off, though.

A sketch that never quite came together of Frank Zappa as Hartter's "Crowhead" character. Maybe someday, Sean.

Thora Birch with single-digit hands. Not sure if want.

Some very judgmental giraffes

The final page of the current sketchbook

This new layout for posting is frustratingly absurd, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. Just not at one in the morning. Also, hi! I've kind of been having a creative block lately, and short of a few giant things that I don't know how to properly scan, haven't had much to show off. The good news is I think the block's just about run it's course, so I should be back to posting somewhat regularly again soon.

Also, picked up some really choice art books, so I'll probably get around to sharing some favorite things from those sooner or later.

An Easter Egg Full of Dick

So it occurred to me recently that I never posted the last two Dick Generic comics. Even though that initial idea kind of fizzled out, I should still probably go ahead and put them out here.

This is the last one for now, kind of ending the whole thing on a cliffhanger. Which is better than nothing I suppose.

By the by, I've been slacking off just a bit lately. Too much of the day job combined with a minor art slump. Ideas have been coming, though, so hopefully something to post soon. Thanks for putting up with it, those of you who read this thing regularly.

impasse (IM-pass), noun

So today is my dad's birthday. That has no bearing on the post, I just felt like sharing. Here are a couple of pages of the usual John K model sheet stuff.

 As you can tell by Frankie (of Eric Powell's awesome series, The Goon) and the other little doodles popping up here and there, getting a little burned out on model sheets. So as I'm powering on through the lessons, you'll see more of that stuff popping in and out.

 I am a fan of the Mountain Goats, and the line just felt appropriate here, I dunno

 This is based off a photo by a friend of mine, Daniel DeLuca, a rather talented photographer. This was a shoot for another friend who is an aspiring model and this doesn't do her justice by a longshot in my opinion. But she liked it, so it's going up.

I'm a big fan of superhero comics and the idea of superheroes in general, but I try to limit how much of it I draw because I feel like there's a certain style that goes with that genre and drawing too much of it can really be confining and no fun at all.  Manhunter here is one of those tragic characters who, although made incredibly interesting and deep by other media, has very lackluster comic exposure if any. There are a ton of characters like this, and if I feel inspired again I might do a few more. You all know how fickle I am. This take on J'onny-boy is based off those Easter Island heads, because I feel like that's such a perfect alien design and he's usually halfway there anyhow.

(OSS-uh-late), verb

Um...

Hi.

Yeah, I haven't been posting in the manner I said I would. Which doesn't mean I've been dicking around or anything, it's just that I took a second look at the “Dick Generic” comics and really REALLY thought I could do better. Then I looked at the other stuff I've been putting out lately and kind of concreted that idea. Then I got into a rut. So I headed over to John K's blog (johnkstuff.blogspot.com) and finally decided to tackle his animation principles course. Not that I intend on doing any actual animation any time soon, it's just that the basics of cartooning apply to the paper stuff as well. I've browsed the blog before, but given that I'd had nothing but time on my hands until recently, I decided now was as good a time as any to try and get serious about this stuff. For as many good things as I can do, there's an infinite amount more that I could stand to be better versed in. 

The majority of this course seems to be copying and understanding model sheets and the deconstruction of actual scenes, and as such this update (and probably a few after) will be full of my attempts to draw/construct these characters and use techniques that I have been up until now unfamiliar with. Though a doodle or two of my own will sneak by here and there. This is about a third of the actual pages I've been working on, because some are less presentable than others (i.e., shit)

         So there we go. Working on becoming a better cartoonist and a better artist over all. I'm not even halfway through this course yet, so expect more of this sort of thing as the weeks go by...at indeterminable intervals. Also hoping to get some HUMAN model sessions in here again soon, because if I don't I'm going to forget how to draw real people ._.

Getting comfortable with your Dick

"Gargantua"

 

Other than just fun silly comics to doodle away at while I slowly go mad, these Dick Generic comics are exercises in sequential art for me. I've never been a big fan of using panels, I usually end up filling them with random images like some kind of series of bizarre television monitors. Might post some of those later, now that I'm thinking about it. Anywho, these comics are me essentially dividing the page up into sections and sort of bleeding the lines here and there, seeing what happens. I've been working on a series of them, so you might notice more odd or experimental stuff as I post them. Which should be every Friday, as I'm doing quite a few in advance. The first few follow this same kind of question-and-answer format, but the ones I'm currently working on involve some kind of narrative. So, let me know what you think.

That horrifying moment when you've realized that the only jellybeans left in the bag are the gross ones.

Seriously, who thought "Buttered Popcorn" was an acceptable flavor?

And on to the update.

I'm having kind of a rough day, starting with last night. Insomnia persisted and so I finished the MPA/Z follow up drawing. But the longer I look at it the more I hate it. It just feels so petty and stupid now, because I'm not a politician, I'm an artist. And a bad one at that. Still, going to post it anyway, just to see if it gets a reaction.

As I was settling into an unsettled sleep last night, an idea for a character and a strip entered my head. His name is Dick Generic, and he can only speak in dictionary definitions. I was feeling down this afternoon, so I scrawled this illustration out on some scrap board I had lying around from when I made the Chudly American logo. 

That sassy spurting Loch Ness thing was part of a doodle that had been on the page for weeks, and I couldn't bring myself to erase him. Maybe he's a representation of how Dick views the rest of humanity, because of his awkwardness we all appear as judgmental monsters or something. Depth.

Better Late Than Pregnant!

No actual update today, my weekend got away from me for longer than I had planned. On the plus side, I did get to help some friends with a photoshoot, so there's that. Still in the middle of working on the follow up to the last entry, so until that's ready I'll be sure to share any doodles/warm up drawings that happen. Sorry guys!!!

MOON EMPEROR??? I HARDLY KNEW HER!!

Another quick little doodle. A few weeks back, a friend and I were joking on ol' Newt and his grand glorious moonbase plan, and the idea of him as a little chubby thing in a space suit pretending to be the President of Moon-America stuck itself in my head. And so I present to you:
MOON PRESIDENT ALPHA/ZAPPA

It's not very good, but then again neither is he.Personally I think it best when viewed while listening to the Flash Gordon soundtrack, but that's really my answer to improving most things. Depending on the response to this I may do the whole team, if not more. Let me know what you think!

RJ



p.s., you may have to click to view the actual size of the picture to read some of the dialogue. I didn't think that through and I'm sorry. I'll make a note to write larger for the future!

A Cosby-puter For All Seasons

So I finally got around to watching the Harvey Pekar biopic American Splendor today. I really enjoyed it, especially the aspects where the actual Harvey Pekar comes on screen to play himself, very meta. Makes me want to see if I can't track down some of the trades, if there are any left in print.

Anyways, here's a doodle of Bill Cosby as a laptop.

A Verbose Introduction

I am excited and pleased to announce my art blog, The Chudly American, to the denizens of the Internet! I feel like I might be a little late in the game in terms of getting started, and I'm learning about how to do all of this as I go, but every one has to start somewhere, right?

Now I suppose the next question is “what the hell should I expect from this blog?”. Well, for the most part it's going to be my art, which if I had to describe it would best be explained as Jim Henson and H.R. Giger's lovechild, published by Mad Magazine. There's usually a heavy focus on themes of metamorphosis , deformity, monsters, cartooning, super heroics, and (as I recently noticed) sexuality. Not erotica by any stretch, but sometimes imagery with subtle or not-so-subtle sexual undertones. It won't always be that kind of work, however, as I do draw other things. But it will probably be the bulk of it, so leave your stomach and your outdated moral sensibilities at the door. Pen and ink drawings mostly, paintings sometimes, just whatever happens to come out of me that week. It is my intention to update every Sunday, either with a new piece or something from the archives. I have a grotesque number of old sketchbooks and notebooks, so what you see may be a few months old or several years old. But I will do my best to provide adequate explanation so hopefully there won't be any confusion. If I'm working on something intricate, which happens, I will also post WIP updates.

Like I said, I'm learning as I go, so if something's off or you think my work needs, well, work, then feel free to comment and let me know. I look forward to hearing from you all soon!

-James