Holy moley, I finished it! Sooo, it didn't turn out exactly how I'd planned (when does it ever?) but I'm still pretty pleased with it.



( detail scans under the cut... )

I had originally planned NOT to use black outlines, but when I started pencilling in all the little pi-rats, well, they were just too small to work without the outlining. I suppose if this piece was much, much larger, or maybe in a different medium, I could figure it out. But in the end, I decided "screw it", because otherwise I was just fiddling and experimenting and afraid to actually commit anything to paper. I finally decided that it was better to do the best I could, even if it wasn't *exactly perfect*, rather than just never finish it at all. And since I'm about to move again, I wanted to finish this before the move or else I was afraid I wouldn't touch it again for a long, long time.

This was inspired by a Disneyland ride that never happened (alas and woe), featuring a described scene similar to this. This piece is an attempt to mimic the look of retro sci-fi movie posters. I'm reasonably pleased with how close I got, considering it's my first attempt, and despite the black outlines (which give it more of a comic book feel, I think).

Rizzo turned out too dark, but I'm pretty happy with the lighting on the pigs' faces. The scanning is questionable - this piece looks better in person. Plus, I had to scan it in 4 pieces and put it back together in Photoshop.

This is 100% hand done (including the lettering, which was either totally hand-drawn or else traced by hand from a computer print-out) in Copic marker on 14 x 17 inch smooth bristol board.



And now, I must sleep. Gotta call in to see if I have any work tomorrow at 7 AM. Bleargh.

Finally got a chance to work a bit more on the Pigs in Space poster. I think this is basically the end layout, unless anyone notices anything that could be improved (constructive feedback/criticism welcome!!!) I just noticed I forgot to put rats in the crows-nest of the ship. Whoops!


( Larger under the cut, if anyone is interested. )

First coloring study on the pigs for my epic "Pigs in Space" retro-sci-fi movie poster attempt.

Normally, I use black outlines in my art, but it seems that all of the old movie posters don't have those, they seem to be in more of a painterly-realistic style.... bright colors and contrast, but no uniform black outlining (darn!) So, this project is pushing me out of my comfort zone once again, and I'm trying hard to color this in a non-sucky way without the black outlines I rely so heavily on.
Also: I am aware that there are some anatomical mistakes (Piggy's left eye looks weird, for example, and I am not sure about the positioning of Link's hand on her shoulder) but would welcome being informed of anything odd that you notice anyway, just in case they are mistakes that I am not aware of. And, now that it's colored in, I am less and less happy with Piggy's face, and a little less happy with Link's. God, I might end up studying the puppets really hard and redrawing this. UGH.
Looking at example posters again, I *think* might need even higher contrast here... or perhaps I just need to be more thoughtful about where the light source is coming from and make heavier shadows and highlights accordingly. Hmmm....

Constructive feedback is SOOOOO WELCOME!!!! Please??

Also: Should I make Dr. Strangepork's uniform blue like Link (as it is portrayed in the show) or should I do like I did with my last Pigs in Space fan art, and make his uniform green to add a bit of variety?

This is all Copic marker on Bristol board, with a little bit of pencil, by the way.

Working on refining one piece of the poster at a time, starting with the hog heros. Have done some revision on the design of the ray guns, so they look much more retro-kitschy, and changed the angle of Strangepork's ray gun, which I think works much better, though I'm not positive that the "shooting end" of it is large enough. I'm having a hard time, however, with Strangepork's left hand, and I have currently taken it out because it was looking crappy. I kind of don't like not being able to see that hand, though, so I think I'm going to have to just keep trying. Maybe he can have his hand on Link's upper arm, like he's peeking out from behind Link... that way all three of them are hanging onto each other in some form or another, which might be kind of nice. Have altered a bit of Miss Piggy's arm/shoulder, and made her more plump, and put her hand on Link's forearm, though it might be hard to tell that??? I'm also starting to think she might need a bit more torso under her boobs, since it's not really right that her crotch is higher than the much-taller Link's crotch... she'd either have to have super long legs (or his would have to be super short) or be standing on a box (which, I guess could be possible for a photo shoot, but then she'd be WAY too short compared to Link once she stepped off the hypothetical box). Thoughts? Does it even matter?



Again, if you see ANYTHING that seems like it's off or wrong, especially anatomically and perspectively speaking, PLEASE, I would really appreciate the feedback!! Overall I'm really excited with how they look so far, and with how the project is coming along.

After considering the great feedback I received on the previous sketch, and after perusing more of the retro-sci-fi posters that folks were kind enough to link me to, I have radically changed the layout of the previous PIGS IN SPACE retro poster drawing. I think this is WAY more awesome and has MUCH closer to the look and feel I was hoping to achieve, though I have not necessarily committed to everything in this newer version.



( Larger version under the LJ cut! )

Things I notice right off the bat that need work: The boat, obviously - this is a really rough sketch. I don’t know how to draw Muppet rats yet and did not consult a reference for this, so the rat looks crappy. But you get the idea. Link is supposed to be pointing his laser pistol towards the viewer, might be hard to tell by this sketch. I don’t think I like the way Strangepork’s pistol is in perfect profile, I think it should probably also be pointing slightly more towards the viewer, but not straight forward like Link’s. I want Piggy to have her right hand on Link’s chest, but I’m not sure that’s physically possible with the angle her body is at. That hand currently looks really wrong to me, as do both her and Strangepork’s elbows. But at least her boobs look better in this version. I forgot to add Link’s other hand on Piggy, either at her waist or shoulder. Will add that later.

As before, any comments/critique would be really, really appreciated!

It’s 6 AM, good lord, I need to go to bed!

UPDATE!: This drawing has been scrapped in favor of a newer version, which you can see by CLICKING HERE!

OK, so it's fairly infrequently that I post works in progress and beg for suggestions, but I'm doing it now.

I desperately want this to be the most awesome Pigs in Space fan art ever, because I am seriously thinking of taking a wild chance and attempting to submit some of my Muppet art to Disney, just because why the heck not? So even if you're not a Muppet fan, even if you have no idea what "Pigs in Space" even is (and if that's the case, I suggest you watch this!, starting 25 seconds in), PLEASE, if you love me at all, please take a moment to offer constructive criticism/feedback/thoughts/suggestions/etc. on this very rough sketch.



( Click the LJ cut to see a larger version! I just didn't want to clog up my Flist with a massive picture. )

The idea is to look like some old retro sci-fi movie poster or comic book cover. I don't know if the characters should be larger, popping out of the frame more, or if the lettering is OK how it is or if it should be smaller and/or more contained. Is the lettering dwarfing the characters? Does it work how it is? Notice any glaring anatomy failures? (like Piggy's boobs... hmmm, not sure about them) Any other glaring (or subtle) failures? I'll probably end up removing the pig head/lightning bolt logo that's currently sketched in the upper right corner, because it seems unnecessary and too cluttered. I kind of want some sort of intergalactic foe for them to be shooting their laser pistols at, but I don't know what, or where in the composition, or how much of the foe to show, or if that will distract too much from our intrepid porcine protagonists. Maybe it's not necessary.

The drawing was inspired by this write up by a blogger named Jim Hill describing a totally amazing planned Muppet Disneyworld ride that, alas, never came into being due to Jim Henson's untimely death. The scene describes rat space pirates (pi-rats, get it? LOL!) as the enemy, but that feels too complicated for this picture to me.... or maybe I'm just being a wuss.
From the article:
"So picture -- on one side of the soundstage -- a full-sized version of the U.S.S. Swinetrek. Link Hogthrob, Dr. Julius Strangepork and Piggy -- all dressed in spacesuits & wearing clear plastic helmets -- stand on the exterior of their spaceship, laser pistols blazing away. On the other side of the soundstage ... Well, picture a space-going Spanish Galleon. Covered with rats who are dressed as -- well -- space pirates. Striped bandanas tied around their heads, cutlasses in their teeth. Also with laser pistols a-blazing. Our theater car goes right through the thick of the battle. With laser blasts flying all over the place, rats swinging on ropes -- just out of reach over our heads -- as the rodents try to board the Swinetrek. It's a wild, wild scene."

Reading about what could have been - the merging of Muppets and Disney rides - two of my very favorite things on this green earth - literally makes my chest hurt. I mean, I love "MuppetVision 3D", but this would have been SO GREAT. SO GREAT. Sigh.


ANYWAY. PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS DRAWING. Tell me what sucks and what doesn't!

I can't even tell you how much I love this documentary. If I had a time machine, I would go back and be a fly on the wall (or even better, work somehow) for the entirety of the Muppet Show tapings. This all looks SO incredibly FUN, I can't even stand it. A wonderful group of people obviously having a great time together, making something so entertaining and enduring and creative. I AM JEALOUS AND OVERJOYED AND FASCINATED ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I'm starting to think I seriously missed my calling in life. Perhaps it is not too late.

Plus, massive bonus points for having so much footage of Jim Henson performing Link Hogthrob, my favorite Muppet. There's quite a bit of footage out there of Jim performing Kermit, but this is the only footage I've yet come across where you can see him working the Link puppet and it made me squee with surprised delight. I LOVE the motorcycling and Viking pigs sequences (I get the Muppet version of "In the Navy" stuck in my head after watching it), and seeing how they did it makes me so happy.


Contains motorcyling Piggy and Link. YES.






Contains Jim Henson with Viking Link. YES.






I only wish this documentary was longer! I enjoy the behind the scenes just as much as what ends up on the screen.

Well, I've been posting away on my Tumblr.... more Muppet fan arts, and today I finished up another Harry Potter Tarot card: Filius Flitwick as the Head of Ravenclaw. Yeehaw!

So, I have a bunch of goats that I need to have transported a few hundred miles. Since my petty cash fund is quite low at the moment, I've decided to try taking on commissions for a bit to see if I can raise the money needed to move some sweet retired dairy goats to their new home at a sanctuary.
Usually I only do full-on big fancy commissioned pieces for $100+, but I know that's not very realistic in this economy. So, I'm trying out the "bargain bucket" style, and instead will be offering mini, quick little commissions. Here's what I'm thinking:

$5 for a black & white, one-character piece. No (or extremely minimal) background.
Additional $3 for each additional character in the same pic.
Add another $5 for color.
Add another $5 if you want the original snail-mailed to you, instead of just a scan emailed to you (the original will be about 5 x 7 inches)

Of course, if you want a larger, more detailed (and thus more expensive) commission, contact me and we can talk about it.

Interested? Wanna help me rescue some sweet goats in need of retirement? Want some cheap art? Email me! Nasubionna@gmail.com