The Robot Monster - black & white

From last years sketchbook - a sketch I complete forgot. Based on the goofy flick from the 50ties. Some minor adjustments in Photoshop done. Watch out for a color version soon....

Recent HORRIFIC commission....

This is a recent drawing that took a life on it's own and turned into a Pre-Code Horror comic book cover.... stay tuned for the color version! Pen, ink, brush and Photoshop, 2012.

Captain Berlin saves the day....

...and kicks some Nazi butts! This retro-style illustration is the warm-up to the "Captain Berlin vs. Hitler" DVD booklet, sporting a 8 page origin story of the "Retter der Welt" created by director Joerg Buttgereit of "Necromantik" fame. Concieved by Joerg, Levin Kurio and me it shed some light of the first entcounter of the Captain with the dictator... Style wise I tried to channel Jack Kirby (co-creator of Captain America) and used some of his action poses and mannerisms, so the obvious similarities are intentional. The basic coloration was done by Levin Kurio, I added the yellowed paper, the heavy dots and the imperfections on the line art with Photoshop. The low-res Jpeg here unfortunately kills the vintage 4-color dot effect....

More Captain Berlin coming soon!

Birth of a painting: Bela Lugosi portrait

When I sold my only Lugosi picture two years ago there was a void on the wall to fill. A moody, dramatic shot of Bela from an (at last to me) unknown film was found and so I was inspired to paint a new portrait...


I'm using mainly Vallejo Model Color - a Spanish acrylic paint brand I usually need for the model kits. But they are great for 2-d painting as well and I love the great selection of odd color/tones. After priming the acrylic/oil paper in yellow ocker, I traced the under drawing and started blocking the shadows....the first skin tones....

The hardest part is to imagine the areas that are tinted in black on the reference Pict. Flat black shadows don't work to make him look "dimensional"... so I choosed a dramatic blueish back light, while leaving the collar, neck and background out of focus.....


The next steps: More work was done on Bela, making him look more dimensional, highlights added and blending the colors. Unsatisfied with the background and missing smooth transitions due to the use of acrylics, I put out my water based oil colors (I hate the smell of turpentine).

And to my surprise, they worked like charm! But on the downside - especially titanium white takes an eternity to dry....so I had to pause for a couple of days in order not to ruin the past achievements.After the oil paint had dried I am happy to present the finished painting of Bela Lugosi. I fixed some problems with the hair and the right side of his face, including the transition to the background. The white oil paint was great for beefing up the lightning. 

I'm glad he turned out not too "Dracula" and shows more of the man behind the cape....