Here are the steps for the previous illustration. They show the different types of body forms you can use to help you create 3-D looking figures (cubical, round, and organic.)

More Kung Fu fun from Hi-Yah!

Admit it, we've all done it. You Google yourself to see what comes up. Well besides tons of Steve Miller Band images I did find this old piece I did for a Daikaiju magazine back in 1995.

Kendo warriors fight with wooden swords. Here is one of my drawings from "Hi-Yah!"

Just being silly today and trying some new backgrounds on an old drwing. Looks like a silly shirt you might buy at the GAP or LIMITED stores for teen girls.

When not drawing or writing I like to mess around with photography, though my wife is the real Photographer in the family. Here is a shot I did of our dog Pavlov as she contemplates the best way to steal my evening snack.

Here is a self portrait I painted freshman year of art college. Please don't ask what I was thinking when I cut my hair.

Here is a colored soldier before I tweaked his tones a bit. I've added a bunch of Dan's early Gung Ho! sketches to the blog.

coming at you!

a couple more

two more

Gung Ho!

If every woman loves a man in uniform these two should have no problem finding a date for Friday night. The following pics are some of the rough designs Dan Norton sent me early on for Gung Ho!

Dan makes it look so easy in these early steps!

loose gestural drawings of a couple Gung Ho! characters by Dan Norton.

Some of Dan's sketches.

Who are these malicious looking characters?

Look out below!

guns!

from Gung Ho! How to Draw Fantastic Martial Arts Comics. Available Now, use side bar picture to link to Amazon.com and place your order!

ditto

ditto

more characters

ditto

Some of Dan's Character and Gun designs he sent me for approval before he put the finishing touches to them.

Here is the Pave Low in glorious color.

Yet another great 'copter from Gung Ho!

Another helicopter, this one from Jason Pederson.

Jason Pederson helped fill my military motor pool with some awesome crafts like this Hercules.

Here is whirly bird from the fantastic Dan Norton. Check out Gung Ho! for more great military tech machinery!

Here is an oldy but goody from my first book Freaks! I just can't shake this flu bug I picked up, so I apologize for the shortage of new posts.

Sometimes after a book is done I can't help but tinker around with the subject matter some more. Here is a spontaneous warm-up sketch that somehow turned into a finished character drawing all before lunch.

Dan Norton follows up his terrific work on Gung Ho! with a few images for my next book Hi-Yah!: How to Draw Fantastic Martial Arts Characters. Here is a promo piece for a video game property Dan did called "Shattered Empire." Dan and some friends own the property and graciously are allowing me to reprint this image in Hi-Yah!

Gung Ho! is in stores today! Remember it makes the perfect Valentines Day gift for that special someone.

Hey, I'm not going to let all the other artists have all the fun. Here is a Shaolin Monk I drew for Hi-Yah!

Brett Booth illustrated this awesome sword fighter from the upcoming Hi-Yah!: How to Draw Fantastic Martial Arts Characters book.

What better way to follow up dinosaurs than with Dragons! People who discovered Brett Booth's terrific dinosaurs in Thunder Lizards will be pleased to see he draws these winged fire-breathers equally as well.

Photoshop gone bad. This is what happens when you have too much time between projects. I added my wife's face and mine to an existing Romance Cover novel and printed it as our first child's baby announcement.

Here is another martial arts character from my upcoming book "Hi-Yah!: How to Draw Fantastic Martial Arts Characters."

When I was growing up reading comics I remember bad guys (or gals) were always drawn as having punk hair and clothes. Colored hair was the quickest way for lazy artists to show someone had evil intentions. I'm happy that witn the influx of anime and manga we are finally seeing more heroic characters with multiple hair colors.

Bill Bronson knocked these drawings out in record time. This is the second book of mine he has helped out on. Check out Scared! to see some of his monstrous creations.

Bill Bronson (www.billbronson.com) is a tremendously talented artist. He helped out with some quick drawings to help me finish up the martial arts book I've been working on. What a great guy!

Hey! Color me too! Another great character from Carlo Barberi!

OOPS! Just found this guy in need of coloring for Hi-Yah!: How to Draw Fantastic Martial Arts Characters. Thanks Carlo!

Well, as I finish up my martial arts book I can start to look ahead to my next project. What could this strange fellow be for?

Next year is going to be a big one for me as I have at least three books hitting the stands. So thanks for all the support in 2005, and I promise to kick it up a notch in 2006!

I just finished coloring Dan (Gung Ho!) Norton's contribution to Hi-Yah!: How to Draw Fantastic Martial Arts Characters. It reminds me a bit of the great Ninja Boy character Dan drew with Ale Garza.

I am pleased to announce Carlos Barberi (Impulse, Young Justice, and Justice League Unlimited) will be contributing some artwork to Hi-Yah: How to Draw Fantastic Martial Arts Characters. Here is a sneak peek at one of his character designs.

I don't know what the holidays mean to you, but I know when I hear Christmas I think, "Oh Boy! an opportunity to Photoshop the Dogs!" So Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year, to you and yours from all of us at illustratorx.com!

I think the real reason Pirates are no longer around is that they relied too heavily on Parrots when they should have been employing monkeys.

Just a quick pic preview before I hit the drawing board for the day. Here is a Ninja from fan-favorite artist Brett Booth.